# New iPod Line Up / Shuffle Price Drop...



## CreativeEye (Jun 28, 2005)

ok - so the 30gb has been dropped and now you get the choice of 20gb or 60gb - but the entire 'white' ipod range is now colour screen...

also the 1gb iPod shuffle is now only £88.99 in the UK - hopefully the 512mb shuffle might come down too...

and with the announcement and release of iTunes 4.9 i think the up-coming special ipod event should herald in something new and cool...


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## fryke (Jun 28, 2005)

The shuffle didn't drop in price in the US, though, so I guess that's rather a tweak than a drop.


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## Canada-Man (Jun 28, 2005)

What the ???? the new iPod comes with USB 2.0 cable only, you have to buy the FireWire cable separately.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jun 28, 2005)

Canada-Man said:
			
		

> What the ???? the new iPod comes with USB 2.0 cable only, you have to buy the FireWire cable separately.


Uhhh... been this way for a little while now, nothing new here.


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## Canada-Man (Jun 28, 2005)

Really? I didn't know since I own a 2nd generation. It is a sad world we live in.


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## RGrphc2 (Jun 28, 2005)

whatever the iPod update doesnt bother me, i have a 40GB B&W and that's fine for me, that's all the iPod is to me, just a music player, not a photo player.

it would have made more sense to drop the 20GB for the 30 though...


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## CreativeEye (Jun 28, 2005)

yep - it happened a couple of months ago - and usb2 is pretty fast anyway!

fryke - maybe the cost of the shuffle in the UK has been bought in line with the US now - its not a massive drop only around £10 - but still... thats £10 that can now be spent on music!


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## Shookster (Jun 28, 2005)

parb.johal@ante said:
			
		

> ok - so the 30gb has been dropped and now you get the choice of 20gb or 60gb - but the entire 'white' ipod range is now colour screen...



So do standard iPods replace the iPod Photo now?

Edit: Never mind. I've just found out that they DO replace iPod Photos.


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## JetwingX (Jun 28, 2005)

so, do you all think that this is all we see this summer, or is apple going to pull another "tweak first, update later" with the 5G of iPods?


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jun 28, 2005)

What could be in the 5G iPods that's not already in the updated 4G iPods?  The only thing I can think of is bluetooth/wireless connectivity, and that can be added aftermarket (at least for headphones).  We can all wish for features, but deep down I think we all know what features make sense and what features don't -- we also know what features Apple is likely to add and what features are just stupid ideas that fit one person's lifestyle...

...if any of you say "video!" I'm going to personally castrate you.


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## fryke (Jun 28, 2005)

violence is not a solution, ElDiablo.


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## JetwingX (Jun 28, 2005)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> ...if any of you say "video!" I'm going to personally castrate you.



it's in iTunes so i don't see why not ^^


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## Convert (Jun 28, 2005)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> ...if any of you say "video!" I'm going to personally castrate you.



This is now my sig.

I am happy with my iPod... it's fairly bulky, it freezes, it's dying, I'll get it repaired soon, but I'm still happy. I wouldn't have brought a 20GB iPod anyway, just not enough space for me, personally. I still want to see a colour iPod Mini though.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jun 28, 2005)

it's obvious to me what they can do:  make the damn things smaller.  i bought my shuffle cos the 40gb is just too heavy for any of my shorts - it's summer and i wear shorts. 

40gb ipod+walking+about 7 minutes=shorts round ankles.

mini should be redesigned to accomodate a full-fat ipod size screen (i like to see album details in the main screen) and then stick a 40gb hitachi drive in it. my freind has a player smaller than a mini. i thought it was a bag of crap (humph!-not-an-ipod! arrogance) until he told me it was 20gb. my jaw dropped. technology is moving on. surely they can now do a much smaller, large capacity ipod. with a colour screen. hike the price for a bit, seeing as the most expensive ipod (60gb colour) is now only £300, instead of £400/£450 as usual and hail in the removal of the ipod mini. 

also the shuffle needs a screen. a little screen. no controls, no functions, and no menus, i just want to see what song is playing
So:

Shuffle 512 (with screen)
Shuffle 1gb (ditto)
iPod 5gb
iPod 20gb
ipod 40gb (all smaller than the mini, all colour. not arsed about photos, just a colour screen is easier to read and navigate.)

in my lifetime.


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## Shookster (Jun 28, 2005)

Several competing MP3 players offer radio capabilities. Apple may add this to the iPod range in order to compete with these devices.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jun 28, 2005)

like, FM radio? i think not. it's not very apple to offer such an old technology, just because rivals offer it. do you have a floppy drive?


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## Shookster (Jun 28, 2005)

Lt Major Burns said:
			
		

> like, FM radio? i think not. it's not very apple to offer such an old technology, just because rivals offer it. do you have a floppy drive?



I remember hearing ages ago about some firm offering Apple their satellite radio service to use in the iPod series, but I think they refused.


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## AdmiralAK (Jun 28, 2005)

FM radio? - man I have not listened to radio since...well two weeks ago  - but it was only because I did not have my 'pod with me  I would much rather have a cellphone with FM rather than an iPod with FM.

I do have a floppy drive actually, but it is removed from the computer and the internal casing removed - I used it to educate my employees on how disc drives look like inside lol


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## Stridder44 (Jun 28, 2005)

FM Radio?

/Your Grandma wants her tech back.


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## mw84 (Jun 28, 2005)

FM radio, I personally wouldn't want or need that but DAB radio with some kind of recording feature built in? Yes please !


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## CreativeEye (Jun 28, 2005)

i agree with Lt Major Burns that theres still a huge amount that can be done regarding new designs. 

essentially the basic design of the ipod hasnt changed since its release in '01. the forward movements have been the navigation method, and rounded edges / corners... and remember that i'm only talking about form - not extra battery power etc which is a given in tech advances over time.

i get the feeling that apple are simply milking the current line-up for what its worth and that we'll be seeing totally new ipods (in form) when the new intel mac designs are released next year - or - in time for christmas sales.


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## Convert (Jun 28, 2005)

...what's wrong with radio? Just for the news, basically. It's a personal preference of mine that I would love to see on the iPod.


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## fryke (Jun 28, 2005)

Three things... First: They shouldn't mess with the basic iPod design too much in my opinion. It's an icon already, and if they deviate, the momentum they've created, could get a hit.

The 1" drives used in the minis don't go to 20 GB yet, so that friend's player either _isn't_ a 20 GB model or it has the 1.8" drives inside, which wouldn't let it be smaller than the iPod mini in my opinion... But hey: I'd gladly be wrong and see the iPod mini go 10-20 GB soon.

What I _really_ hope is that they'll find a way to simply shrink the iPod a tad. Not much, just a bit.


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## enforce1 (Jun 28, 2005)

::runs over to desk, shoots slev for buying the 60 gig for 600 bucks, or whatever the hell it was::

I got the photo when it came out. The big one. Dang.


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## CreativeEye (Jun 28, 2005)

theres a link to a phone icon apparently for itunes at the bottom of the page in the link below (that article is worth a read too)...

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1155


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## fryke (Jun 28, 2005)

That phone icon lets me think it'll be just another Moto phone. Doesn't look very innovative (maybe that's a good thing, too). MacBidouille says it's gonna have 555 MB free for music, which isn't really a _lot_ of space - and users might be better off using an iPod shuffle for their music. Hm. We'll see soon enough.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jun 28, 2005)

http://www.mp3players.co.uk/site/uk/archos_gmini_xs200.html

it's ugly, and it's a pain to use (folder trees, no tags) but shows what can be done in terms of shrinkage.

iPod could:

lose the chrome - it's not iconic, it doesn't serve a purpose, it's difficult to keep clean/free from scratches. in terms of design, in which apple love simplicity, it's pointless, and bad because of it.

lose space from the depth - make it thinner - thinner than a mini, but lose the mini's curved edges - it forces the screen to be smaller. keep rounded edges, just don't make the curve as big. also i like the rounded edges at top and bottom of ipod - slips in and out of pockets.

keep it white, keep the square screen above round click wheel

keep the icon, lose the pounds


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jun 28, 2005)

Me too... but you know, having a dock, carrying case, and the option of FireWire or USB2 was worth it to me.  With the new pricing for the 60GB, if you purchased all the accessories separately, it would actually be more than $600.

We were forced to pay more, but we actually got more for our money...


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## Canada-Man (Jun 28, 2005)

About that radio thing, if there was an iPod compatible with XM Radio I'd buy it right now because I could listen to MLB games everywhere except in the subway.

Go Expos :,-(


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## Shookster (Jun 29, 2005)

Lt Major Burns said:
			
		

> http://www.mp3players.co.uk/site/uk/archos_gmini_xs200.htmllose the chrome - it's not iconic, it doesn't serve a purpose, it's difficult to keep clean/free from scratches. in terms of design, in which apple love simplicity, it's pointless, and bad because of it.



The chrome back serves as a heat spreader to stop it getting too hot. I quite like the chrome actually. I think it makes the iPod seem to be of higher quality than models that are completely plastic, although it does add to the weight of the unit.


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## Ceroc Addict (Jun 29, 2005)

Just checking - is there any difference between the current "All new iPod" and the iPod photo?

i.e. Is it just a matter of a firmware update to get the podcast features on the iPod photo and has anything else significant been added?

Kap

P.S. 


			
				Fryke said:
			
		

> The shuffle didn't drop in price in the US, though, so I guess that's rather a tweak than a drop.


The 1GB shuffle has dropped by $20 in Australia.


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## fryke (Jun 29, 2005)

Okay, I guess the 1GB shuffle _did_ get a price cut. I didn't see it at first.
About the 60 GB iPod: It's the same as the last one. Only firmware change (available for download). These 20/60 GB versions are still 4G iPods, they only dropped the 'photo' name now that all of them have colour screens.


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## RGrphc2 (Jun 29, 2005)

You would have thought the would have dropped the U2 iPod by now, it's not really limited edition anymore either.  

The price of the Shuffle did drop by $30 in the US, its now $129...i might be getting a 2nd iPod soon, just to have one for working out, a harddrive really isn't the best thing in the world to be buppin around.  

If anything Apple should have sponsered iPod's by big bands and change it every 3 to 4 months.  Like U2, Grateful Dead, Foo Fighters, Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Coldplay etc etc...feel free to add to the list.


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## Convert (Jun 29, 2005)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> Me too... but you know, having a dock, carrying case, and the option of FireWire or USB2 was worth it to me.  With the new pricing for the 60GB, if you purchased all the accessories separately, it would actually be more than $600.
> 
> We were forced to pay more, but we actually got more for our money...



Exactly. I purchased the 40GB iPod Photo for £300 (actual retail price was £360), and I received all the accessories noted by ElDiabloConCaca. I'm happy.


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## Shookster (Jun 29, 2005)

RGrphc2 said:
			
		

> You would have thought the would have dropped the U2 iPod by now, it's not really limited edition anymore either.



Some companies use "limited edition" as a marketing strategy to promote sales.


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## fryke (Jun 29, 2005)

Yeah. Bad practice, and I think they shouldn't promote _one_ band like this for a very long time. I actually _like_ U2, but I guess those who want a U2 iPod have one by now. Why not simply create a black version of the iPod instead (if it sells well enough, I mean).


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## RGrphc2 (Jun 29, 2005)

fryke said:
			
		

> Yeah. Bad practice, and I think they shouldn't promote _one_ band like this for a very long time. I actually _like_ U2, but I guess those who want a U2 iPod have one by now. Why not simply create a black version of the iPod instead (if it sells well enough, I mean).



Well, u could buy an black iPod from Colorwarepc, but it will cost more money than a regular iPod.


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## Shookster (Jun 29, 2005)

fryke said:
			
		

> Yeah. Bad practice, and I think they shouldn't promote _one_ band like this for a very long time. I actually _like_ U2, but I guess those who want a U2 iPod have one by now. Why not simply create a black version of the iPod instead (if it sells well enough, I mean).



Speaking of which, how come Minis come in a range of colours but the standard iPod doesn't?


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## CreativeEye (Jun 29, 2005)

Shookster - think of the standard ipod as powerhouse G5's and the ipod mini as the fruity fun 'everyman' imac's.

im sure i read somewhere that a company had made some coldplay x&y accesories for the ipod.

as much as i think apple will be changing the form of the ipod in some way with its next iteration - i also think that the white / chrome and scroll wheel will more than likely stay. the screen wont get any smaller - but at the same time its not likely to stay the same size. look at the wheel on a standard ipod - they are pretty big! think about the same tech but in a wheel / selection tool thats the size of navigation on the shuffle - it leaves a huge amount of room for a bigger screen...


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## fryke (Jun 29, 2005)

The minis are aimed at women, the white ones at men? Or is that too simple a marketing thought?  Basically, having several colours available is a logistical nightmare, unless you can somehow anticipate what version will sell better...


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