“As a sign of changing times, Apple shares rose this morning on the news [of a $149 iPod nano 1GB unit and a new lower price, $69, for the 512MB iPod shuffle] . There was a time when lower prices used to send analysts scrambling, fearing tighter margins and price wars. These days, everyone understands what Apple is all about,” Rick Aristotle Munarriz reports for The Motley Fool.
“More iPods in place doesn’t just mean the one-time sales. Those iPods are the catalyst for growing sales of digital downloads at its iTunes stores and a higher mainstream profile for the Apple brand. That increased public visibility has helped Apple sell more of its higher-margin computing products,” Munarriz reports. “Cheaper iPods may be welcome news to you and me, but they’re not so endearing to Apple’s competitors. Companies such as Creative Technology, Sony, and iRiver will need to react accordingly now that the lower end of the market just got lower. It won’t be easy for them. They don’t have the benefit of running a popular digital download store (though Sony owns one of the major music labels) or selling Macs to justify price cuts for the sake of moving product.”
Munarriz reports, “Apple sold 14 million iPods last quarter. Nobody else even came close. Since its inception, Apple has moved more than 42 million iPods and delivered 850 million iTunes tracks. It’s quite the empire, and at $69, the iPod is now likely to penetrate even further into the mainstream. Granted, that market is less likely than the first wave of iPod adopters to pay for digital downloads or shell out four figures for their next computer, but Apple wouldn’t mind more attention from the masses. There’s strength in numbers.”
Full article here.
Advertisements:
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iMac and MacBook Pro owners: Apple USB Modem. Easily connect to the Internet using dial-up service. Only $49.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related articles:
Apple shares rise on $149 iPod nano, $69 iPod shuffle, Showtime content news – February 07, 2006
Apple unveils new 1GB iPod nano for $149; iPod shuffle now starting at just $69 – February 07, 2006
something new is coming. Time to get rid of stock.
(though Sony owns one of the major music labels)
Why do writers write in parentheses? I think kids are taught in elementary school that if you can’t work an idea into a sentence, then don’t include it at all.
Anyhow, very astute article otherwise. He gets it, and so will the iPod competition.
isn’t it over 950 million not 850 million according to the iTMS?
This morning’s mail brought a Wal-Mart advertisement featuring a 512MB version of The Cube digital audio player.
I hear a rollback coming!
Ouch!
I forgot to mention it was the same as the OLD price for a 512 MB Shuffle, $99.99!
Sorry!
Am I to believe that parentheses are only here for ‘lesser’ writers (like myself)?
(what’s wrong)
(with parenthesis?)
(I use them quite often)
(and in the right places, they fit in real well)
Mugwump, they teach elementary school pupils lots of rules that we adults break regularly, and rightly. Like the rule about complete sentences. We also like to judiciously split infinitives, which, like the rule about dangling prepositions, is what rule breaking is made for.
951,712,346…tick…tick…tick.tick.ticktickttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
http://www.apple.com/itunes/1billion/
I wuz gonna git wonna them there iPods, ya know? Specially since they lawered the prace summore. When I wint dawn to Wal-Marks I looked at one real close, ya know.
There wus no ‘Plays For Sure’ logo on it. I wuz told to look for that by the computer guy in the local shoppng guide, cause it meant it’s work with my PC. I luv that e-machine, ya know.
Anyhow, I bought one of those Lyras, ya know. It’ll work with my PC. Whin is Apple gonna make there iPods work with my PC?
I posted earlier today that Apple can’t make new announcements everyday of the week…perhaps I was wrong!!
Take ’em apart Apple!
And the sky is blue {I find that reading through parenthetical sentences is much more draining to read, and takes more effort to fight through to get to the [ultimate] meaning of the idea, [which is being more and more used on the internet due to lack of basic journalism (and lack of employed internet editors)] which would greatly improve the flow of writing if it involved a copy editor}.
I did a quick check of MP3 players at bestbuy.com. They have the usual line of iPods but they have others as well.
The closest in price was a 512mb SanDisk that is $69.99 on sale (regularly $99.99).
Others at 512mb included a $89.99 Creative, a Sony at $119.99, an iRiver on sale at $126.99, and a Samsung at $149.99.
The 1gb selection is slim starting with a SanDisk on sale for $99.99, an iRiver at $126.99, a Samsung at $159.99 and an iRiver with color screen at $169.99.
The only hard drive based player they had besides the iPod was a 20gb iRiver model which lists for $269.99 but was on sale for $228.99. More like clearance sale…
The least likely to sell is a 256mb unit from Phillips priced at $99.99!!! It includes built-in speakers so it might have some appeal…
Parentheses have their place. Especially in ASCII art.
.–..–..–..–..–..–.
.’ \ (`._ (_) _ \
.’ | ‘._) (_) |
\ _.’)\ .—-..—. /
|(_.’ | / .-\-. \ |
\ 0| | ( O| O) | o|
| _ | .–.____.’._.-. |
\ (_) | o -` .-` |
| \ |`-._ _ _ _ _\ /
\ | | `. |_||_| |
| o | \_ \ | -. .-.
|.-. \ `–..-‘ O | `.`-‘ .’
_.’ .’ | `-.-‘ /-.__ ‘ .-‘
.’ `-.` ‘.|=’=.=’=.=’=.=’=|._/_ `-‘.’
`-._ `. |________/\_____| `-.’
.’ ).| ‘=’ ‘=’\/ ‘=’ |
`._.` ‘—————‘
//___\ //___\
|| ||
||_.-. ||_.-.
(_.–__) (_.–__)
iPod critic: But iSteve, the Shuffle doesn’t have a display and radio and the other features of those more expensive 512mb and 1gb players…
Don’t you love it when Apple turns the tables on those other guys?! Could you have imagined that Apple would be the low-price leader by having a product with the fewest, but only the most essential, features?
I’m waiting with baited breath for the “Cry Me an iRiver” announcement.
Now that the iPod will be in all the various niches of the portable player market, Apple needs to do the same with hardware and software.
Mac Mini needs a version at $399. Make up whatever excuse to price discriminate: Ah, student version, competitive trade-in, whatever. This way, you won’t erode the base price or profit of “regular” mini. And while you’re at it, give the damn things away to public and school libraries at or near cost to get people using them and so people can see people using them. The whole secret Mac world thing is a loser and pretty sickening.
Nevertheless, rock on Steve!
The stock was slipping. So how does apple stop it? They release a new item.
Makes me wonder how many new items they have in the wings.
Makes me wonder how many new items have wings.
Makes me wonder how many times you can write the same thing.
Makes me wonder why I don’t buy more iPod bling.
I like oder women ’cause they don’t ask for rings.
Makes me wonder if bees listen to sting…
Sheesh the MDN server is bogged, ’cause I can’t get no pings
STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
STOP THE MADNESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!