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Tuesday, February 22, 2005, 01:00 pm
Sources detail expected iPod product line overhaul
Apple Computer on Wednesday is expected to unveil a major overhaul to its iPod product offerings, according to a multitude of reports.Following requests that dealers return their remaining stock of iPod photo players, sources say Apple will discontinue its 40GB iPod and iPod photo models, replacing them with a 30GB iPod photo for $349 and a 60GB iPod photo for $449.
The iPod maker will reportedly keep its 20GB monochrome display player at $299 for the foreseeable future, or until supplies are exhausted. Both the new 30GB and 60GB iPod photo models are expected to debut with Bluetooth wireless connectivity, sources added.
As previously reported, Apple will also debut 4 new models of its iPod mini player, which will retail for $249 with a 6GB drive and color display. Sources said the company will continue to sell its current 4GB iPods, sans the 'Gold' model, for $199 until supplies run dry.
It remains unclear what will become of the Special Edition 20GB U2 iPod, which currently retails for $349 -- the same price point the company will target with its new 30GB iPod photo.
Also unconfirmed is whether the new iPod photo players will continue to ship with a carrying case and docking station at their new price points, or if these accessories will now be sold separately.
An official announcement is expected at 8:30 am EST on Wednesday morning.
Editors from the MacShrine Web site helped contribute to this report.
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Previous Comments View All
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You are obfuscating dude. It's all pops and clicks on this end.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=51485
I point you to my last post there.
I guess the question to ask at this juncture is: How long can Apple maintain adequate market interest in the iPod? New models, new features, is that enough to keep the fires burning? Do people who already own iPods feel the urge to upgrade when the newest version is revealed?
In my case the enthusiasm has waned a little. I have an iPod and it works fine or my needs. It won't get replaced until it wears out (which will be a long time in my case). Nothing mentioned in this article would motivate me to go spend the money - again.
What about the rest of you iPod owners? Ready to ebay the old one and buy a new one?
Hey WelshDog,
I did upgrade from a 3G 30GB to a 4G 40GB iPod (giving my old one to my wife). That was easy.
Now - would I upgrade based on anything that is rumored? I wouldn't call it an upgrade. There are things I do like white water rafting, snow skiing, and vacationing where I'm not sure I want to have my "big" iPod with me. So I'm looking at buying an iPod Shuffle.
I will note that Bluetooth wireless looks very interesting. I'm VERY tired of cords getting tangled up. So if I can spend $80 or less on good bluetooth headphone that are easy to recharge then I might look at upgrading to the new iPods. Especially if I could transfer my pictures from my digital camera or even my video camera directly to my iPod. Then I would definitely take this on vacation with me too.
Forward progress is always good. My girlfriend loves her silver iPod mini but there are a couple of things that have irked here.
1. The need to "reset" the iPod every now and then
2. The difficulty in choosing the backlighting option when you need it.
The new iPod mini will conveniently dispose of problem number 2. That cures %50 of her pain points.
What i'll likely do is grab her a 6GB iPod mini color and I'll take over the silver iPod mini for myself. I'm also buying my mother a shuffle for her birthday. I don't think I'm the minority when I say that there are LOTS of people who plan to make iPod purchases so I guess I'd say that Apple should have rather steady sales for the near future.
Forward progress is always good. My girlfriend loves her silver iPod mini but there are a couple of things that have irked here.
1. The need to "reset" the iPod every now and then
2. The difficulty in choosing the backlighting option when you need it.
The new iPod mini will conveniently dispose of problem number 2. That cures %50 of her pain points.
What i'll likely do is grab her a 6GB iPod mini color and I'll take over the silver iPod mini for myself. I'm also buying my mother a shuffle for her birthday. I don't think I'm the minority when I say that there are LOTS of people who plan to make iPod purchases so I guess I'd say that Apple should have rather steady sales for the near future.
I agree on the backlighting. The whole POINT of backlighting is because you can't see the screen, so how can you navigate through 3 menus if you can't even see? Well, I can do it sometimes because I memorized that it was the last option on the main menu
I'm probably gonna buy a 30gig and give my mini to my mom.
wireless headphones???????
hmm on my ipod.. u hold down the menu button and the backlight turns on.. im sure its not any specialer than ur guys' ipods??
or.. maybe it is. 
What's all the talk of uprading your iPod? Although Apple has sold a lot of of theses mp3 players the majority of the worlds population does not own an iPod. A rough estimate would be that 0.000001% of the population owns one. So I don't think that to have people upgading there iPods is the only way they can sell them. Wether the new iPods are any good is not a question of how much better they are compared to the previous model, but how good they are compared to other mp3 players.
I don't own one and I think I'll hold of untill they have a 10gig iPod mini since it's not an item of nesseaty only one of desire.
Viktor
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I guess the question to ask at this juncture is: How long can Apple maintain adequate market interest in the iPod? New models, new features, is that enough to keep the fires burning? Do people who already own iPods feel the urge to upgrade when the newest version is revealed?
In my case the enthusiasm has waned a little. I have an iPod and it works fine or my needs. It won't get replaced until it wears out (which will be a long time in my case). Nothing mentioned in this article would motivate me to go spend the money - again.
What about the rest of you iPod owners? Ready to ebay the old one and buy a new one?