“Citing initial channel checks, analysts at Baird U.S. Equity Research are reporting that there appears to be muted demand for Apple Computer’s second-generation iPod nano so far, which could have negative implications for NAND flash pricing,” Slash Lane reports for AppleInsider. “‘We believe Apple did not meet its NAND flash order schedule this month,’ analyst Tristan Gerra wrote in a note to SanDisk investors on Monday.”
MacDailyNews Take: We believe just about anyone can call themselves an “analyst.”
Lane continues, quoting Gerra, “‘While it is difficult to assess the performance of the new nano product family as Apple retailers have been directed to not comment about the iPod’s sales performance, the initial feedback we are receiving from industry sources suggests nano volumes are not as strong as in the same period a year ago, which we do not view as a surprise given the new nano offering’s lack of new feature set besides higher density.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Lack of new feature set? Apple’s 2nd generation iPod nano offers a new aluminum case design which is a smaller, thinner and lighter design that comes in several new color choices, increased battery life to 24-hours, provides new Search and Quick Scroll features, new support for gapless playback, a compact USB power adapter which is nearly half the size of the previous iPod nano USB power adapter, along with offering more than twice the music capacity for the same price as the previous generation iPod nano.
Lane continues, “It should be noted that Gerra’s previous reports on Apple and its plans for the iPod nano were not particularly accurate. In July, the analyst backed other Wall Street analysts in saying Apple’s second-generation iPod nano would see an approximate 2-month delay that would prevent the players from making their way to market until some time this November.”
Full article here.
In a related article, AppleInsider reports, “Analysts for Citgroup on Monday said they expect Apple Computer to sell as many as 18.8 million iPods during the December quarter… Analyst Richard Gardner told clients in a research note on Monday [that] for the third calendar quarter ending September… He is modeling for sales of 9 million iPods during the quarter, including 5 million iPod nanos and 1 million iPod shuffles.”
Gardner also estimated iPod shipments for the fourth calendar quarter, writing, “we raised our iPod shipment estimate from 16.0M to 18.8M to reflect an increase in ‘nano’ shipments from 8.5M to 10.0M and an increase in ‘shuffle’ shipments from 2.5M to 4.0M,'” AppleInsider reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: For reference, in the third calendar quarter 2005 (Apple’s fiscal 4th quarter), Apple shipped 6.451 million iPods (all models). In the fourth calendar quarter 2005 (holiday), Apple shipped a record 14.043 million iPods (all models).
Related articles:
Thurrott reviews Apple’s 2G iPod nano: ‘the best small-sized media player on the market today’ – September 25, 2006
USA Today reviews new Apple iPod nanos, updated iPods, iTunes 7 (each earns 4 stars out of 4) – September 21, 2006
CNET Editor’s Pick: Apple’s new 2G iPod nano – ‘sure to be top choice among wide range of users’ – September 14, 2006
Apple intros new iPod nano with new aluminum design in five colors and 24-hour battery life – September 12, 2006
Maybe people are waiting to see what Microsoft has. As much as I don’t like them, competition is good for us. Apple needs a little competition in the iPod business.
– Mark
as long as I benefit from the struggle… I don’t care who wins
And Apple will be laughing all the way to the bank when they have yet another record breaking Christmas sales quarter. These anal-ysts are idiots. Next story….
Or maybe everyone who wants an iPod nano already has one & is not gonna buy another one anytime soon.
Any guy with Tristan for a monicker has got to get it wrong most of the time.
“Apple needs a little competition in the iPod business.”
<sarcasm>
Yeah because the iPod and iTunes solution has been so lacking in features and usability.
</sarcasm>
Just bought two 4gig nanos for my friends, getting seven shuffles for my family this Christmas. Simple!! (1 nano, 1 shuffle last year)
Just give it a little time.
Many people still do not know the difference in the past model and this model. And as new iPods roll out, more people will buy.
I had a friend that thought the new model my co-worker purchased was the old iPod Mini- because of the color!
Really, it is a product…… no earth axis off-set :’
Or maybe it’s just not as “shocking” as the nano of last year. Remember your reaction to the very first nano? The new one is nice. But it’s not the revolution of the first one. Although the new shuffle is impressive. I’m thinking of buying one to supplement my 4G 40GB iPod.
Still, how much would you bet that the new nano is on a lot of people’s holiday wish lists?
I plan on getting one after 07, just waiting for my moneys to come in.
I’d like to buy Nanos for the other two guys in my band. Neither of them is very computer savvy. If I gave them Nanos they would be filled with all of the songs we play so there would be no excuse for not listening to and learning the material. There would be no CDs to lose and no bulky portable CD player to carry around or skip.
I wish Apple still made a 1gig Nano and offered it for $99, I’d buy’em for the band then for sure, I may anyway but $200 would be easier to swallow than $300.
I have several friends who are excited by the reduction in price of the Apple HD based iPods. As the price of iPods goes down I thiink there is another whole market to discover.
BS and FUD
I am still using my 6gig iPod mini. This thing refuses to break or die out. When that time comes, then I will get a new one.
I have mentioned this before, but I think Apple should have coloured the click wheel with the same colour as the casing.
Like the black. (In my opinion the best looking one)
It would have made the difference between the old mini’s greater. (The mini’s were fabulous… but this retro design might be too soon)
‘HD’
I wish Apple still made a 1gig Nano and offered it for $99, I’d buy’em for the band then for sure, I may anyway but $200 would be easier to swallow than $300.
Dude, go to the Apple Store and look for the special deals RED tag. Go there and Apple has many of the old iPods heavily discounted.
Later
This looks more like an “anal list”
MW:head-I ain’t touchin’ that one.
To tell you the truth, I really don’t see THAT much of a difference between the two. Yes it has colors, and that’s cool. But most people just got the iPod Nano and probably won’t see a reason to spend that much money again.
I’m not upgrading my iPod until they have some incredible breakthrough. Hopefully bluetooth enabled so we’ll be able to connect to a car… 😀
~Caleb
I believe anyone can call themselves a publisher.
I would get a new 8 GB nano if it still looked like a miniature iPod instead of a miniature, er, Mini.
Shawn Wu (analyst) last year in September said exactly the same thing regarding the new iPod nano, refering to slow white version sales and a lack of overall sell-through…
We all know how accurate Mr. Wu was with those “channel checks.”
Please.
MP3 players are way to expensive for what they are. All of them. Apple included.
Every year around this time people talk about lackluster iPod sales. Stock price dips.
Then Apple sells an obscene amount of iPods. Sale price rockets up.
Guess who benefits?
Just got an 80 GB to complement my 60 GB, 4 GB Nano, and ancient Shuffle.
Gave the “old” 60 to my son.
Using Handbrake, I loaded half a dozen movies for a trip last week, and watched James Bond on a full-sized TV in the rental condo. Really remarkable.
At the airport, I listened to 3 hours of instructional Spanish Tapes imported off cassette with Wire Tap Pro, and jammed with music during the flight.
At the tradeshow, I referred to my calendar, and used the contacts to make calls.
Damned versatile device.
MDN: Lack of new feature set? Apple’s 2nd generation iPod nano offers a new aluminum case design which is a smaller, thinner and lighter design that comes in several new color choices, increased battery life to 24-hours, provides new Search and Quick Scroll features, new support for gapless playback, a compact USB power adapter which is nearly half the size of the previous iPod nano USB power adapter, along with offering more than twice the music capacity for the same price as the previous generation iPod nano.
Yeah, yeah yeah…. You can defend till your blue in the face, but the guys got a legitimate point… I mean let’s be realisitc here, last year when the orignial nano was released, it was a radical change compared to the mini…. The second generation revisions are minor in comparison. Same goes for full size iPod…
Though these changes and price-cuts are welcome, I fear they are not enough to top last years holiday iPod sales of 14 million… Just not enough reasons for current owners to upgrade.
BTW… As an AAPL share-holder, I hope I’m wrong about my above statement.