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We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser. Home / Editorial / The Rumor Mill iPod Sport, the SUV of Digital Music Players 2004.12.22 In the old days of MacWeek, Apple used to send up "trial balloons" to see how the market might respond to a new product. Today we have websites that exist only because of Mac rumors, and they've been at the forefront of the "flash iPod" craze. As always, this column is based on no inside sources. Instead let's try to think like a marketer. How would you sell a lower-capacity iPod to the public? Low Cost First off, it has to have a lower price. No matter how much smaller or cooler it might be, if it costs more than the US$249 iPod mini, not too many people are going to line up to buy it. Compared to hard drives, flash memory is expensive. A 4 GB Compact Flash card sells for $370-400 these days, but the Hitachi 4 GB MicroDrive sells for just $220 configured for use in a Compact Flash slot. It kinda makes you wonder how Apple can sell a 4 GB iPod mini for $249 and make a profit. Looking at the market, you can buy a SanDisk 256 MB MP3 player for $70, a 512 MB player for $115, and a 1 MB model for $154. There are no 2 GB models for an obvious reason -- they'd cost at least as much as the iPod mini. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com Remember that we're dealing with Apple here, and that means a premium price that people are willing to pay. If others can sell 1 GB digital music players for $150 and up, Apple will probably sell the same capacity for $199. A 512 MB model might reach the market at $149. Should we hold out for 256 MB at $99? While Apple could do it, I don't think there's enough profit at that price point for Apple to go that low. And, unlike at least one website, I don't think Apple will cut costs by leaving the screen off the flash iPod. That's just silly. Low Capacity Apple markets the iPod mini as storing up to 1,000 songs on a 4 GB hard drive. That means a 1 GB flash iPod would store 250 songs, 512 MB would have room for 125 songs, and a 256 MB model would only have room for 60-65 tracks. Would you spend $100 for a device that only stored 60-65 songs when you can buy an MP3 CD player with 160 track capacity for about the same price? That's another reason I think a 256 MB player would be difficult for Apple to market. Small Size The iPod mini showed that people are willing to pay a premium for a smaller package, and a flash iPod could be even smaller than the iPod mini. Still, I don't think size alone is going to drive the flash iPod market. Solid State While I believe lower cost and a smaller size will be selling points that help offset the lower capacity of a flash iPod, I don't think they are compelling reasons in and of themselves. There should be a more tangible benefit. There is -- flash memory. You can run some flash memory devices through the laundry, drop it, and sit on it without destroying it. Hard drives are relatively fragile, and that's part of the reason for the iPod mini's aluminum case. Better yet, you can jog with solid state memory and not worry about damaging a hard drive. This is the tangible benefit, which leads me to the conclusion that Apple will christen the new model the iPod sport. Instead of spending $249 for an iPod mini and adding a waterproof housing, the iPod sport could be water resistant from the box. Scuba, snorkeling, skiing (snow and water) are just the tip of the iceberg. My guess is that we'll see the iPod sport in underwater yellow as one of two or three color options. Red and blue are my other guesses -- no white or brushed aluminum this time, just very solid plastic. Sure, Apple will sell the iPod sport to people who aren't into sports, just like the auto industry sells SUVs to people who never take them off road. And I think the iPod sport will be as hot as SUVs were before gas prices went up, especially if Apple offers 1 GB at $199. - Anne Onymus <This article is available in a printer-friendly version.> Low End Mac Reader Specials Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94 -- Free shipping available. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here. OWC: Burn DVDs, DVD-DL, CDs, DVD-Ram - FAST! Superdrive upgrades from OWC starting from $31.99 with options for nearly every Mac. Models with Lightscribe, Blu-Ray too! Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac. Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs. Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you. New MacPro Memory 800Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $88 / 4GB $138 / 8GB $274 - Click to Maximize your Macs... Recent Rumor Mills New Apple drive supports Blu-ray and HD DVD, 09.11. Tired of being second-guessed and sometimes outmaneuvered by Microsoft, Apple has embraced both next gen DVD formats with its new SuperDrive Extreme. California: Beyond 'no light bulbs for you', 02.01. A Calfiornia assemblyman wants to make incandescent light bulbs illegal - but that's just the beginning. His next target: CRT monitors and TVs. IRS to tax Second Life, WoW, Monopoly: How to fight back, 12.18. Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, and now the IRS wants to tax your virtual life as well as your real one. Sudden impact: Apple's great Asteroid hoax, 06.09. Truth of the matter is, the Asteroid Project didn't exist to produce a viable product, but as a way to shut down rumor sites. More in the Rumor Mill index. Links for the Day Mac of the Day: Centris 610, Feb. 1993 - This was the Mac we used when we started Low End Mac in 1997. List of the Day: 1st PowerMacs is for pre-PCI Power Macs. September 5 in LEM history: 99: Why the G4 uproar? - 00: It wasn't even a Mac - 01: Stop the upgrade insanity - 02: Sharing your Internet connection - The evolving low end - 03: Apple #5 in laptops - 06: Installing Linux on a PCI Power Mac - PDQ PowerBook G3 at 8 - The good old days - 07: Comparing Apples and Dells - 12" PowerBook G4 reliability Recent Content on Low End Mac Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700. Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this. Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap. Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them. Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675. Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate. Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910. 11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03. The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard. Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more. Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today. Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349. Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850. Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r. Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS. Upgrade Options for 15" and 17" Aluminum PowerBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 09.02. Memory, hard drive, optical drive, and flash card readers for 15-inch and 17-inch aluminum G4 PowerBooks. More links in our archive.

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