“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
So are Rio really saying “Flash, ah ah, he saved every one of us”?
as long as the ipod flash does not look like that supposed leaked photo
iPod flash.
iPod Mini flash
iPod Mini Me
iPod Mod
iFlash
My vote: iPod micro.
Anybody got visions of a Japanese Godzilla movie with everyone point up at the unearthly invader and then running in panic.
iBored with the iPod – what is this iPDN (iPod Daily News)?
Lighten up, Francis.
ENOUGH WITH THE IPOD ALREADY. GEZZ
There was no leaked photo. It was a drawing by somebody who made it based on a discussion with another person who described it to him. (if that person actually did see it, of course).
Could this whole thing be in conjunction with the motorola/apple phone?
Flash media for the itunes on the phone????
FlashPod
I really can’t see a flash-based player being released when sales of HD-based players are widely projected to be about 4 million units this quarter. The Globe & Mail has a story on iPod minis being impossible to find. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041220.wxipod20/BNStory/Technology/
Why dilute the market?
“‘When they’ve come in, they’ve always raised the water level,’ said Dan Torres, Rio’s vice president of product marketing.
Good point as this explains why competitors drown in their lazy mediocrity.
Hahahah…
Welcome to the party.. we have 60 songs.. but…okay it’s a short party.. we have to be in bed by 11pm…
RCA is getting cocky?
LMFAO!!!!
Hey RCA, welcome to the wonderful world of media relevance..
Enjoyed your interview? Okay great.. fuck off.. go make the crappiest electronics on Earth now you twits..
I think Mike just said it all.
iFlashed my iPod photo with my iBod download. iyiyi.
It’s Christmas, what happened to the Dell music player?
Dell Digital Jukebox portable music player, dubbed the Pocket DJ 5
Mike:
Two words�
Less caffeine!!!
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The Apple flashpod is not the so-called iPhone from Motorola.
The Motorola phone will certainly have a small capacity flash card to accept a dozen or so songs from an iTunes library. No big deal. And, of course, you’ll only be able to use the phone with the specifed Service Provider – not just with any company. Currently Nextel and Cingular use Motorola phones exclusively. Remember, Apple is not making the device… it’s a Motorola manufactured cell phone. Several other manufacturers: Nokia, Samsung and LG and others will also provide phones to download MP3 music in the near future, although they will not be compatible with iTunes and wil only be available with specified provider as no cellphone is available in the U.S. without a service contract.
i think the iphone will be the flashpod. doesn’t make sense for an ipod to be based on flash after apple’s been basing them on hd’s for so long.