iPodNN reports, “Several third-party retailers, in particular, are noted to have undergone spot shortages of the iPod nano and touch. ‘Our sources indicate that this is due to unexpected strong demand as many thought stand-alone MP3 players were a ‘dead’ category,’ Wu remarks, ‘but we believe the lure of multi-touch, apps, and attractive prices where the lack of monthly service fees (compared to a cellular contract), is helping.'”
“Wu suggests that the iPad and MacBook Air were also high sellers,” iPodNN reports.
Read more in the full article here.
IPod has plenty of traction left for years to come
I just bought my 4th generation iPod touch Saturday at an Apple Store. Gave my daughter my 3rd generation touch, she passed the 1st generation touch to her brother. That’s recycling! I still need to get the wife a touch.
@silverhawk: same here – I gave my son my 2G touch for Christmas last year and got myself a 3G. He just sold that 2G to his sister to buy a 4G (she hasn’t played her DS since). My 3G will go to my other daughter this Christmas and I’ll get a 4G – she’s already claiming it as hers anyway (her Christmas wish list has ‘Dad’s iPod touch’ on the top of it).
@JV
Here, here! I get along with my iPod touch and cheap Nokia phone until the iPhone goes to T-Mobile. I’ve still got my original clickwheel iPod and my black video iPod. Saving them for posterity. Anyone want to buy a Mac IIci and a Performa? I’ve got a laser writer I’d be willing to part with as well. All the above work well.
Your typical “stand-alone MP3 player” might be a ‘dead’ category. But the iPod touch is much more than just a music device. And Apple’s dedicated mobile music devices offer highly desirable functionality and packaging for athletic activities.
The spectacular growth in iPod sales is history. But there is no reason that the iPod product line cannot continue to flourish for many years to come.
Dead? Really? WTF!
Plenty of zunes and Win7 phones available. No shortages there.
@Silverhawk….whats your number? I’ll touch your wife for ya
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@Mick
Hands off my spousal unit!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The current generation iPod touch with >300 ppi resolution, real world VOIP, multitasking, free texting options, Pandora, HD video camera/editing and Unreal/iD games is going to do some serious damage this year.
I don’t think that the Sony PSP and NIntendo DS will ever recover.
The fact that Apple’s competitors have NOTHING in this huge product category completely mystifies me. Apple is swallowing entire markets unopposed with the iPod touch.
And the iPad is doing the same.
KingMel you are right. The iPod touch is not a stand-alone MP3 player, it is has a music player as one of the hundreds of thousands of things it can do. Technically no iPod is a stand-alone MP3 player, they will play MP3s, but Apple does not sell them; music player would be a better choice of words. I was like Sliverhawk and got a iPod touch before making the jump to iPhone; my husband surprised me when he told me I had better not give it to anyone else. However this does not explain why there is a shortage of iPod nano players. I think that the new players may be a bigger hit then retailers thought. Getting back to a very small music player with not much else was a great move. Size may be the biggest motivator for the nano buyer instead of all the other crap Apple has put in it. This is the first real drop in size it has had, and unlike the shuffle you can see what you are playing. If this is the case than Apple may have a unexpected hit, and the tech writers will have to rethink the “MP3” market.
@silverhawk: still have the original 5GB iPod (Mac only then), also have a LaserWriter (needs a little work), but don’t have the Apple IIc or Mac SE/30 (had a micron xceed graphics card for internal grayscale display and also drove a 2nd color monitor). I have a few ADB switches if anyone needs one…
Yeah, I got an original 5GB iPod, too. Battery still works, even though I have a spare. Have a SE, and a Plus, and a LC575 and a Motorola Starmax, and tons of SCSI peripherals.
Yah….I bought a MacBook Air, 2 iPod Touches, and an Airport Extreme.
@silverhawk
ouch! Sounds like the wife sorely needs a touch. The year’s end hasn’t arrived yet: ample opportunities to step up to at least one iPhone or iPad.