“Apple Computer hit the cultural jackpot yesterday as its rainbow-hued iPod Mini – a portable jukebox barely larger than a business card – hit the streets with a roar. Hundreds of download-hungry music fans lined up at the company’s SoHo store to pick up the hot new gadget, and Apple said it had received 100,000 orders for the junior digital music player before its official 6 p.m. launch,” Heather Gilmore reports for The New York Post.
“The tiny but powerful audio tool – a mini version of Apple’s full-size iPod – had been touted for weeks, and many said they were not surprised by the company’s $25 million payday. ‘It’s off the charts,’ said iPod product manager Danika Cleary. ‘Folks can’t wait to get their hands on it.’ On Prince Street, Apple scruffs said they had received thousands of calls in the days preceding the launch, and late yesterday a platoon of nascent iPodders descended on the store,” Gilmore reports.
“‘There are certain things in life that are better small,’ said Manhattan model Kevin Lewis, 27, who stomped his feet in the late afternoon cold. ‘This is one of them. All my friends have the bigger one,’ he added. ‘I want the best one,'” Gilmore reports. “At an Upper West Side gym this week, half a dozen admiring carb-counters surrounded one woman who had an early copy of the scratch- and stain-resistant gadget.”
Gilmore reports, “Analysts said Apple.com, the company’s Web site, had a 24 percent increase in visits as frenzied fans checked out the new audio tool.”
Full article here.
In this consumer driven materialistic age its sad that a product can generate so much press when the world has many more important problems to discuss & solve. So I stand here embarrassed to say that I want one too. Why? Because it is the best at what it does.
My Mom in Law wants one in pink but I don’t think they will hit Japan til like Apri??? I am still filling up my 30 gig but I think one also might make a nice present. Some article talked about the gift giving market being hot for this and I guess they were right. I want to share the iPod experience but want to do it as cheaply as possible.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> If they want something bigger later they can pay the extra for it themselves.
Someone please email prag boy Thurrot this link…
Whatta freak.
The iPod Mini is a luxury item everyone can afford. It is one of those things that you have to have to feel modern and is important enough to your quality of life that you would want the best,
Give me a break Sara, why can’t people enjoy themselves? Should we spend all our waking ours trying to eradicate world hunger? News flash, there will always be problems in the world as long as it is occupied by humans. Go join the peace corps and leave the rest of us alone to enjoy our iPods.
there has to be a balance with this kind of thinking sara, i don’t feel bad that i bought my ibook g4 or that i am going to buy my ipod mini in a few weeks, i will have both of them for about 3 years, then sell them and upgrade (or upgrade and sell them). I won’t toss them in the garbage, i’ll pay for them with hard work, and i won’t have 20 of them, just enough for personal use. i understand your point, but it’s okay to have and want “things” as long as those “things” don’t become your compelete identity. And denying yourself all “things” shiny and pleasing won’t make people any less hungry.
Back on topic…all I can say is Apple has a major winner on their hands here. They’ve taken all of the good aspects of the 3G iPod and have improved upon them with the mini. The smaller size, better navigation with the click wheel, brighter and clearer display, improved battery life, etc., all improve on what was already the finest music player in the world. All I can say is that I’m hard pressed to name any consumer electronics product I’ve been more satisfied with after purchase than I have been with the mini so far. So much so that I’m going to put my 3G iPod on eBay because the mini is all I could want or need.
Helloooooo, Thurrott – where are you? Seems your story last week was a bit off…
I was in the Denver Apple Store this weekend and it was packed. They are selling like hotcakes. Wait, how well are hotcakes selling these days? Maybe better than hotcakes!
“It’s too expensive.”
“It’s a niche market.”
“It doesn’t support WMF.”
When will people ever learn?
“The iPod Mini is a luxury item everyone can afford.”
That’s not true. There are many people who can not afford an iPod mini or otherwise. Flame me all you want to, but I will still say that it is over priced. It’s probably well made and does it’s job well, but I’d have to agree w/ David Pogue and say that it is $50 over priced.
Hey, I can’t afford one right now, but I still don’t think it’s overpriced. I’m just under-earning!
WMF? Aryugaetsu? “Wrestling Men’s Federation”?
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Exnihilo. The iPod is the best of its class in the world. There are a limited number of times when you can buy something that you can be so sure is best of its class for as little as 250 dollars. And I am not sure but are you saying that if it was 200 dollars people could afford it but they can’t because it is 250 dollars? I think anyone that could afford to spend 200 could do the small stretch to 250… especially to have the best.
My shame tops all of your’s!!!
I got a call from my mom, a 50yo professional and a divorcee, and she started asking me about the iPod mini. Knowing that her two brain cells devoted to computing would not truly appreciate the glory of the Mini, I thought she was on a fishing expedition for my birthday present. WRONG!!! She pre-ordered one for herself and one for her boyfriend, but NONE for me!!! grr. Its wrong to raise the hopes of a mac user like that.
It seems to me, with few exceptions, those people who can’t afford $250 can, almost daily, afford junk food, cigarettes, the legal or illegal drug of their choice and the legal or illegal game of chance of their choice. Whatever makes your day. Some of us like to listen to our tunes.
Guys, you’re both wrong. Many, many people cannot afford the iPod mini. Only 8 percent of the world has indoor plumbging.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy an iPod mini. Go ahead if you can afford it. But don’t forget to help others too when you get the chance.
As I always said, fasting and sleeping with two naked young woman at a time is better than an iPod, but not by much. Woo hoo!
There may be some truth in the iPod Mini being overprice (I don’t so, just received my green iPod Mini Friday afternoon), but I think people would complain regardless.
If Apple stated the iPod Mini was $200, people would say “What was Apple thinking, for $100 more, you could get over 3x capacity in the 15GB iPod. They should be selling it for $150.”
I put the blame squarely on those ‘rumor’ sites. Everyone was so convinced that Apple was gonna release a sub $100 MP3 player. When they didn’t, they felt ‘betrayed’, that Apple screwed them.
BTW, for those people who would spend $50 more for the 15GB iPod, Apple would definitely take your money. I don’t think they see it as a loss if you opt to buy the larger capacity iPod.
so many people have them… wheres mine? 🙁
I don’t “blame” the rumor sites. Apple uses rumors to generate publicity leading up to product annoucements. Live by the rumor, die by the rumor. Tough noughies. Those rumors were around for more than enough time prior to the mini annoucement for Apple–if not to shoot them down–at least hint that the rumors were well off base.
Good point.
Well, I was gonna say it’s not Apple job to say if these rumors floating around are true or not (or using rumors to their advantage). But now that I think upon it, you’re right. It is not the rumor sites fault (since, that is what their sites are supposed to be doing). It’s *our* fault if we bought into the ‘hype’ in the first place.
If the mini were overpriced then it would not be sold out. Prices are based on where supply meets demand. If Jobs had priced the unit at 200 they would not be able to keep up with production and they would have lost money. This is a business not a fantasy world. If anything the unit is priced too low. Profits are made on the margin. That is the last increment of pricing. At 200 dollars Jobs would have sliced the margins to the bone. You only cut margins to that level when you are selling a commodity like a DRAM Chip or a Hard Drive. When you are selling a hot consumer item that has a branded image and is unique in the market place you price the units as highly as possible to meet demand at a level where you can supply the market. If you want to fix prices based on slogans and ideals you can always move to Cuba, none of the former Soviet Bloc operate that way anymore so Cuba is your only option. It’s hard to set up a DSL modem down there though.
I feel for you jeff!
Jack:
“And I am not sure but are you saying that if it was 200 dollars people could afford it but they can’t because it is 250 dollars? I think anyone that could afford to spend 200 could do the small stretch to 250”
Yes, that’s what I’m sayng, and I am one of those people. $50 is not chump change, and I don’t feel that it’s a small stretch. If something went up in price 25%, ($200 to $250) I wouldn’t consider it a small increase. You could use the same arguement for the bigger iPod.
I’m waiting for the day when someone makes an iPod mini competitor that people will pay attention to. I think the only thing that will bring down the price is competition that doesn’t really exist right now.
“That’s not true. There are many people who can not afford an iPod mini or otherwise. Flame me all you want to, but I will still say that it is over priced. It’s probably well made and does it’s job well, but I’d have to agree w/ David Pogue and say that it is $50 over priced.”
Ahh the whining battlecry from a child living in the “Age of Entitlement” ;o)
News flash: The world doesn’t owe you a living, nor does Apple owe you a Mini below cost.
Ever heard of a thing called a savings account? You put 20 bucks in there every week and before you know it, even you will be able to buy the best MP3 player on the planet! ;o)
I love my Gold Mini! The thing is everything I wanted it to be and more! The new click wheel is perfect, the finish is prefect, the display looks great, the unit feels solid, it doesn’t skip when I run with it, the battery lasts for what seems an eternity and I can control the thing by feel when it is inside my jacket pocket.
The price is FINE! Thousands of other INFORMED consumers agree. Only the cheap skates and whiners can’t get over the reality that the build cost of the Mini is more than they are willing to pay for one.
Needless to say, my 40gb hasn’t seen the light of day since the Mini arrived. If I didn’t rely on it for road trips and vacations, I would have already put it up on EBAY. For everyday use, the Mini is all I need.
Easily one of the most satisfying electronics purchases I have ever made.
“News flash: The world doesn’t owe you a living, nor does Apple owe you a Mini below cost…
Only the cheap skates and whiners can’t get over the reality that the build cost of the Mini is more than they are willing to pay for one.”
Please tell me the cost price of the iPod mini. I’m really curious. I’m sure you know, because you TALK like you have some information about it. Seriously, I’d really like to know what the profit margin is on these things.
BTW, if you had the choice of buying the iPod mini for $200 vs. $250, I’m sure you’d willingly pay $250 INSTEAD of $200 because it’s so wonderful, right?
If you think it’s worth it, that’s fine. I really don’t care how much YOU pay for anything. You can pay $100 for a piece of chewing gum. It’s not my money, what do I care?
It’s expensive, and I’m not the only other INFORMED customer that thinks so.
The cumulative time spent redundantly bantering this topic “everywhere” since the iPod mini announcement could have been used to earn enough money for everyone to afford one by now.