“Investment bank Piper Jaffray said Wednesday it disagrees with the consensus on Wall Street that growth in Apple Inc.’s iPod business will screech to a halt this year, saying new products like a sub-$200 wireless touchscreen model will allow the company to grow the segment at moderate levels for the foreseeable future,” Katie Marsal reports or AppleInsider.
“‘While we do not see the iPod business as a significant growth catalyst, we believe Apple remains positioned to slightly exceed Street estimates in 2008. Specifically, we believe the Street expects iPod unit growth to be about 53 million in 2008, essentially flat year-over-year. We disagree,’ he told clients. ‘We believe Apple can maintain iPod unit growth and slightly exceed Street expectations for the full year,'” Marsal reports.
“While Munster admits that it’s unlikely the iPod will ever return to a high growth business of 20 percent and above, he sees growth levels of approximately 10 percent as obtainable on a yearly basis even given the possibility of an off quarter where units will reflect slightly negative growth,” Marsal reports.
“‘We note that this rapid increase in available features on the iPod touch is not speculation; Apple has indicated that the new iPod touch (and iPhone) operating system will be out by late June,’ he said. ‘Secondly, we expect Apple to release new Wi-Fi enabled, touchscreen iPods in the sub-$200 range by September. In fact, we believe the concept of the iPod will change in the next 12-18 months from a standalone music player to a mobile Internet device that fits in your pocket,'” Marsal reports.
Much more in the full article here.
sub $200.00?
Maybe they meant sub-woofer, 200 watts. Perfect for cruising because you know everyone around wants to know what you’re playing in your car as you drive around. Or at least feel it.
Also known as the iPod Touch which costs $299 at present.
Not much to go under $200 I would think.
PJ: Master of the Obvious
Oh, I would love to see sub $200 iPod Touch with 32 GB storage. That would be a sweet spot. I bet MS will announce a new Zune a the same time to steal the thunder. They will announce a new color. Dark Chocolate Zune. Even browner than their first POS Zune.
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A $200.00 submarine?
Mmmmm, dark chocolate.
Hence, the name “iPod” vs. “iMP3 Player.”
By Jobs!!! They’ve been planning this all along…
Steve said earlier on in the decade that the PC had entered its 3rd Golden Age as the digital hub. The reason was because the mobile experience just wasn’t ready for primetime, i.e. small screen, slow networks, etc.
The Touch OS is a revolution whose day has come.
munster is mostly spot on with his reporting but….. The 1 gig shuffle never cost $149… so this sort of throws all the #’s off.
The 1GB Shuffle did cost $149 when it was introduced. I know, I bought one. Biggest impulse purchase I’ve ever made.
“Apple has indicated that the new iPod touch (and iPhone) operating system will be out by late June”
What? Apple should compensate me!
…I only bought my iPhone 9 months ago and it’s old already? Grab the pitchforks and torches!
(How were the townsfolk always able to find such cool torches? Ever try making one of your own? It ain’t easy)
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming….
I believe it will be $199 and be part of their educational campaign “Buy a Mac and Get a free iPod” This will help spur the growth of the iPod Touch as a mainstream iPod.
512 k was $99 ….. i forgot that there were 2
what happened to the mac mini being in production this week and possibly being released?
First generation iPod shuffles were originally sold at US$99 for 512 MB (0.5 GB) models, and US$149 for 1 GB models. In June 2005, the price for the first generation 1 GB iPod shuffle was lowered to US$129. In February 2006, the prices for first generation iPod shuffles were lowered to US$69 and US$99 respectively.
WIKI
wow, that was a lot of money….