Apple competitor sees signs of flash-based iPod coming soon
Monday, December 20, 2004 - 01:05 PM EST"Today, with Apple reportedly poised to debut its first flash-memory-based music player after rocking the market for hard-drive devices with the iPod, some competitors are taking a similar laissez-faire stance," Ina Fried writes for CNET News. "'Welcome to the party,' said Thomson Vice President David Arland, whose RCA brand is among the top three in U.S. retail sales. With Apple widely expected to unveil a flash iPod in January, rivals say they expect the Mac maker's product to give them a boost as well."
"Thomson and others say they hope an Apple flash player will ignite sales for all concerned," Fried writes. "'When they've come in, they've always raised the water level,' said Dan Torres, Rio's vice president of product marketing. "That's good for the industry.' Torres sees a flash iPod as a fait accompli, noting that suppliers in Asia have said Apple has been making purchases consistent with the development of a flash music player. 'We've been monitoring this for a while,' Torres said. 'We believe that it is not a rumor; we believe it is very true.' Apple is widely expected to announce a flash iPod at Macworld in January. But for now, the company has declined to comment," Fried writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: iPod flash, the worst-kept secret in Apple's history? Well we still don't know the specs, design or even the name for sure, yet.
Related MacDailyNews articles:Smith Barney analyst expects Apple to sell 22 million 'iPod flash' units over next two years - December 10, 2004
Report: Toshiba to supply flash memory to Apple Computer - December 09, 2004
RUMOR: Apple's 'iPod flash' revealed (with image) - December 07, 2004
RUMOR: Apple to introduce 5GB 'iPod mini' and under-$200 flash-based iPod in early 2005 - December 03, 2004
Merrill Lynch raises Apple target; says 'look out for flash iPod, possible entertainment server' - November 29, 2004
RUMOR: Apple to start making flash-based iPod stockpiles for January debut - November 12, 2004
BusinessWeek: 'Expect a flash memory-based Apple iPod sometime next year' - November 11, 2004
RUMOR: Apple Computer to launch new solid-state flash memory iPod this Christmas? - October 01, 2004
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So are Rio really saying "Flash, ah ah, he saved every one of us"?