[pinkoos]

So much for Steve saying flash-based players are toys/gifts that never get used:

Apple to begin manufacturing flash-based iPod next month

By Kasper Jade
Published: 04:00 PM EST

Flash-based iPod digital music player on tap for early 2005.

To his credit, Thomas Weisel analyst Jason Pflaum had this one nearly down pat.

Apple Computer in December will begin manufacturing a third variant of its flagship iPod music player, which will be based on solid-state flash memory, AppleInsider has confirmed through well placed and extremely reliable sources.

According to contacts in Asia, the computer company will build a stock-pile of approximately 2 million flash iPods before the product begins shipping world-wide in late-January or early February. The new players are slated to be announced at the annual Macworld trade show in San Francisco during the second week of January.

Though precise specifications were not readily available, the flash iPod will reportedly use controller chips from Austin, TX-based SigmaTel, and feature a storage capacity in the range of 256 Megabytes to 1 Gigabyte. Sources were unable to confirm if the player would be released in more than one configuration.

The iPod flash will retail for below (US)$200 and sport a similar user interface to the company's ubiquitous iPod and iPod mini.

Despite comments from Apple chief executive Steve Jobs that flash-based digital music players are often received as gifts, rarely used, and "end up in a drawer," market share figures speak for themselves. Although the iPod holds a whopping 92% slice of the pie for hard drive-based players, this figure shrinks to 65% when flash models are tallied as part of the mix.

Sales of flash players remain strong in the second half of 2004 and account for a larger percentage of digital music players than that of hard-drive music players when surveyed on a global basis. The introduction of an Apple-branded flash player is expected to increase Apple's share of players in the far east, where the adoption rate for the iPod has been feeble.

At last year's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Jobs introduced the iPod mini, a 4 Gigabyte hard drive-based player designed to compete in the high-end flash player market. A renowned success, the iPod mini drew strong demand throughout the better part of the year, but priced at $249, it remains inaccessible to many.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

A rumor site is confirmed?

[OAW]

I'm still holding out hope that this "flash iPod" is really an AirTunes Remote Control. The thing about flash players is that you can make them extremely small. But you can't really go any smaller than an iPod Mini and still be able to effectively use the Click Wheel. And the Click Wheel is what sets the iPod apart from the competition. So what's the point of Apple making a flash iPod if you can't go smaller than a Mini? If it's the same size as a Mini then you might as well get a Mini. Much more storage and it's not like they aren't selling like hotcakes. Now Apple does need a remote for Airport Express music streaming. That is a serious shortcoming of an otherwise awesome product. So I suppose in a few months we'll see what the real deal is.

OAW

[Goldfinger]

Originally posted by OAW:
I'm still holding out hope that this "flash iPod" is really an AirTunes Remote Control. The thing about flash players is that you can make them extremely small. But you can't really go any smaller than an iPod Mini and still be able to effectively use the Click Wheel. And the Click Wheel is what sets the iPod apart from the competition. So what's the point of Apple making a flash iPod if you can't go smaller than a Mini? If it's the same size as a Mini then you might as well get a Mini. Much more storage and it's not like they aren't selling like hotcakes. Now Apple does need a remote for Airport Express music streaming. That is a serious shortcoming of an otherwise awesome product. So I suppose in a few months we'll see what the real deal is.

OAW

Thinner, less weight and better battery life.

[discotronic]

This rumor has been floating around since summer in one form or another. Here is a link to a recent discussion.

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=232829

[iPoder]

I saw a few flash memory MP3 players with 1 GB around $180, 512 MB around $130 in the current market. For some kids, this is all the money that they can afford.

1 GB gives you around 250 songs, which are plenty for some.

I won't be surprised to see the new iPod 'Flash' with approximately the same size of iPod mini, but maybe a little bit thinner. It may use the same click wheel, and same size of LCD display; while iPod mini gets a bigger hard drive 5 GB.

Then Apple can finally say it has a full line of products for different customers.

[Mojo]

I have been using launchTunes and netTunes to remotely control iTunes. This has made the use of my Airport Express much more convenient. If you use a portable Mac you can control iTunes from anywhere your wireless LAN reaches.

launchTunes automatically starts up iTunes on a selected iTunes server. netTunes allows control of the server's iTunes from any client Mac. The apps are less than $25 if purchased together.

http://www.shirt-pocket.com/ is the place to go to download the applications and use them on a trial basis.

[tooki]

It's not confirmed until Apple makes an announcement.

tooki

[bbales]

Originally posted by iPoder:
[B]I saw a few flash memory MP3 players with 1 GB around $180, 512 MB around $130 in the current market. For some kids, this is all the money that they can afford.

1 GB gives you around 250 songs, which are plenty for some.
/B]

My nearly 12-year-old wants a mini. I'm worried she'll lose it, break it, whatever. This -- if it's real -- would be more viable. Unfortunately, this is one of those things they probably won't debut until January -- and her birthday is in December. Two major gift-giving occasions, but I probably won't know anything yet!

[iPoder]

Originally posted by bbales:
My nearly 12-year-old wants a mini. I'm worried she'll lose it, break it, whatever. This -- if it's real -- would be more viable. Unfortunately, this is one of those things they probably won't debut until January -- and her birthday is in December. Two major gift-giving occasions, but I probably won't know anything yet!

I would suggest you giving her a certificate of your own making for purchasing an iPod. You don't need to give her huge amount, but just encourage her to save it up. A good grade, or some other special achievements, give her another certificate.

Once when she saves up enough amount or the iPod price drops, she can buy anything she wants. It works wonderfully for my family and relatives.

[Eug Wanker]

Don't forget guys, that the 6 GB Microdrive comes out this quarter supposedly, which probably means a 6 GB iPod mini in early 2005. I could see the 4 GB getting pushed to $199. And there is still always the 2 GB Microdrive available too.

AirTunes Remote Control

See this thread.

[macgfx]

If we do see a "Flash Card iPod" it will be purely a matter of retail PRICE. Even the 4Gig HD in the Mini is costly for Apple. I'm sure it costs more than the 15Gig from the 3G iPod. If priced right say $125-150 for a 512Mb, should take off. I think it would need to be upgradeable too.

The real ? is will we see it, that 4Gig HD should be dropping in price for Apple so they maybe able to retail it for $199. Looking at how Apple sells its other lines, I'd say NO Flash-Based iPod, it just does not hold true to form. I've been wrong before.

[iPoder]

Beyond the cost issue, flash memory iPod has the following advantages that HD iPod will not be able to achieve,

1) Total skip-free
2) Lighter weight
3) Longer battery life
4) More durable

So, we will see whether the rumor is just a rumor pretty soon.

[Thorin]

I'd quite like to see a slimmer flash-based mini, to retail at a price that would make it competitive with other flash-based players, and I'd like it to be very durable. I think they should play up the idea that it's the ipod you don't have to baby, that you can go jogging with, and not go into a panic if you drop.

I think they really need to improve iTunes to make it easier to work with multiple iPod's as well, so I could have my 20gig iPod that I use most of the time, and my iPod Mini Flash for the gym.

[DasDaSein+]

This one at MacKompass looks nice. Questionable colors though.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by DasDaSein+:
This one at MacKompass looks nice. Questionable colors though.

I could see that design working. Though, I would put the wheel above the display in this case (you would still be able to see the display below your thumb). The MacKompass design pretty much requires two-handed operation.