Aren't sales going to take a dive now on the current 5th Gen iPod?

[staylor928]

It would seem the sales for the current 5th Gen iPod will slow to a trickle since Jobs basically showed us what the 6th Gen iPod will look and function like. I would think the new 6th Gen model would be out within months. If he waits until fall, too many people will sit back and wait. iPods generate too much cash for Apple to have sales significantly hurt. I have a 3rd Gen that works just fine but have been waiting for the moment to upgrade and will continue to sit on the sideline until the new model is released. I would think the only people that would buy a new iPod now are those whos iPod has just broken or the uninformed "older" demographic. Just one mans thoughts.

[studogvetmed]

No, I don't think they will.

Though the iPhone is a glimpse of what is to come, it's not here yet and though we get a lot of "Should I buy now or wait" most people will just buy what they want. And the average consumer who have help iPod sales store don't even research things, and won't even no the twinkle in Steve Job's eye that is the iPod and 6G iPod.

Only the die hard will wait on the hope that what they really want will come around. I wouldn't expect a new iPod out until AFTER the iPhone is released, and the iPhone isn't going to take away from regular iPod sales for two reasons: Price point, and Two much in it for application.

I'd say there is a much larger "younger" "I want it now" demographic who will still snatch up iPods like they are candy.

[SeannyBoy84]

Good points. Although 9 months is a long wait for the inevitable touchscreen 6G, a lot of people will, especially if it's for their hard-earned iPod. I don't think Apple will break their pattern and release what would be a successful holiday lineup, earlier in the year. Let's face it though, people want iPods. Anytime, anywhere. The 5Gs will continure to sell, nonetheless. I don't believe sales will suffer much at all. The majority of consumers will not wait for another holiday season, even those that know there probably will be new ones this fall, and there always will be new ones this fall. Only a select bunch will wait and wait, until the next one comes out in which case they wait again for the next and all they're still left with is a 3G. No offense :p

[studogvetmed]

It took me three and a half years to part with my 3G, though the 5.5G was finally what I wanted in a new iPod, so I'm happy :)

[Arkonnan]

People who want high storage capacity will be out of luck with the iPhone, so no, I don't think sales will suffer much. The phone targets a particular market segment, and I don't think it was intended to cross paths with the full-size iPod. It's meant for on-the-go people with smaller media libraries.

There are a lot of people who don't want or need a phone(not to mention the fact that Cingular is the devil).

I have a feeling that when more movie distribution deals are secured later in the year, we will see a true media-oriented iPod without the phone functionality that will be hard disk-based. Apple isn't just going to toss aside its high storage capacity market. And that high storage capacity market has been itching for the widescreen treatment for some time now. We will be heard. :P

[paranoidxe]

We've seen multifunction phones already, they really aren't that neat. The iPhone looks neat but good god that price is ridiculous.

[studogvetmed]

I don't know why we assume that only people with small media libraries want low capacity items?

It's not hard to manage a large library on a small device.

[alpha80]

I think the most likely thing is...

Flagship 6G iPod 100GB stays @ $349

iPhone 4GB Flash will drop to $449, then $399

Thicker HD iPhone for music/video will stay priced high...
..minimum 2X the flagship iPod...

iPhone 40GB HD - $699
iPhone 100GB HD - $799

maybe even a monster for $999, with a few hundred GB...:D

Keeping the daddy of the iPhone family high,
ensures good sales of the flagship iPod @ $349,
and especially the lower iPod models for $75-$199

[alpha80]

It took me three and a half years to part with my 3GI still can't jump from my 3G 40GB!:D

I will kick it to the curb ASAP,
when the thick HD iPhones come out tho...:cool:

[Aceon6]

I think the 5.5 will do just fine. The target market is totally different. The iPod is a true consumer device and appeals to folks who have large media libraries.

The iPhone will save corporations a lot of money, so I see corp sales as a big piece of the initial iPhone sales. Until the storage capacity gets up around 20g, it's not going to be able to replace a true iPod.

[Amelie]

I would think the only people that would buy a new iPod now are those whos iPod has just broken or the uninformed "older" demographic.
I think sales will do okay. Your "uninformed" demographic isn't necessarily older; they are of all different ages and backgrounds. Most people who buy iPods are not Apple watchers and they have little clue when they purchase the product about generations and the time periods between them. Many of my acquintances with the newer iPods have asked me what the hell I'm talking about when I say "5th generation" or "5.5".

[studogvetmed]

I still can't jump from my 3G 40GB!:D

I will kick it to the curb ASAP,
when the thick HD iPhones come out tho...:cool:

There certainly was something sexy and sleek about the 3G, giving her up for my new one was tough, but I don't regret it. It'll probably be another three years before I let this one go regardless of what comes up in the next years. Not necessarily because I won't want to, but the wife will never let me ;)

[paranoidxe]

I don't see the 5G sales dropping just because of the iPhone release, its a new product as in a cell phone not a new iPod. iPod features are sort of a side feature.

[thom y]

ABSOLUTELY, SALES OF THE 5.5G IPOD WILL TAKE A DIVE UNTIL APPLE ANNOUNCES THE REAL WIDESCREEN TOUCHSCREEN IPOD

Almost certainly Apple Inc. will introduce a 6G widescreen video iPod WITHIN 2 MONTHS for the following reasons:

1) Clearly the technology for a widescreen iPod has already been developed, as indicated by the demo iPhones.
2) Apple would not have spent all the R&D dollars to create 200 patents for the iPhone only, even if they predict selling 10M of the buggers. Surely, it would be advantageous to spread this technology to other devices like a 6G widescreen iPod.
3) Too many people like you suggest will be hesitate to buy a 5.5G video iPod, just because they know a new one is imminent (remember what happened just prior to the release of Core2Duo MBP's). Apple cannot afford to wait until June for the iPhone (which will only be released in the US market at that time) and watch full size iPod sales dwindle. Sure they got the Christmas sales, now they better consider upgrading it already. Come on, the last upgrade was rather benign: bigger HD and brighter screen, search tools... not what most of us are waiting for in a "video" iPod.
4) If they wait too long, Microsoft will steal too many of the features of the iPhone and try to salvage the Zune.
5) We have been waiting for over a &*(&& year already for this device.
6.) Lets face it, after seeing the iPod function on the iPhone, the old UI and click wheel of the iPod is dated and no longer cuts it. I mean the click wheel is very limiting for scrolling through 80GB of music (even with the crummy search tools and alphabet index that is on the newer iPods). Album art currently sucks on iPod video and iPod nanos, compared to the iPhone. I mean Album art is even better on the crappy Zune. Cover Flow is probably better suited for the iPod than for iTunes on your Mac. Whether people will admit it or not, I predict the click wheel and older UI is gone on the next video iPod. The UI will be similar to iPhone.

Now, I have my fingers crossed that they don't screw up and leave out the WiFi and internet communication. I don't care about phone part in their trilogy.

[shamrock593]

ABSOLUTELY, SALES OF THE 5.5G IPOD WILL TAKE A DIVE UNTIL APPLE ANNOUNCES THE REAL WIDESCREEN TOUCHSCREEN IPOD

Almost certainly Apple Inc. will introduce a 6G widescreen video iPod WITHIN 2 MONTHS for the following reasons:

1) Clearly the technology for a widescreen iPod has already been developed, as indicated by the demo iPhones.
2) Apple would not have spent all the R&D dollars to create 200 patents for the iPhone only, even if they predict selling 10M of the buggers. Surely, it would be advantageous to spread this technology to other devices like a 6G widescreen iPod.
3) Too many people like you suggest will be hesitate to buy a 5.5G video iPod, just because they know a new one is imminent (remember what happened just prior to the release of Core2Duo MBP's). Apple cannot afford to wait until June for the iPhone (which will only be released in the US market at that time) and watch full size iPod sales dwindle. Sure they got the Christmas sales, now they better consider upgrading it already. Come on, the last upgrade was rather benign: bigger HD and brighter screen, search tools... not what most of us are waiting for in a "video" iPod.
4) If they wait too long, Microsoft will steal too many of the features of the iPhone and try to salvage the Zune.
5) We have been waiting for over a &*(&& year already for this device.
6.) Lets face it, after seeing the iPod function on the iPhone, the old UI and click wheel of the iPod is dated and no longer cuts it. I mean the click wheel is very limiting for scrolling through 80GB of music (even with the crummy search tools and alphabet index that is on the newer iPods). Album art currently sucks on iPod video and iPod nanos, compared to the iPhone. I mean Album art is even better on the crappy Zune. Cover Flow is probably better suited for the iPod than for iTunes on your Mac. Whether people will admit it or not, I predict the click wheel and older UI is gone on the next video iPod. The UI will be similar to iPhone.

Now, I have my fingers crossed that they don't screw up and leave out the WiFi and internet communication. I don't care about phone part in their trilogy.

I'm with you buddy, :), apple have to release the WS iPod soon or people like me are going to spend there money else where! Hurry up Apple! I'm worried that Jobs is too excited about the iPhone, sure he was more excited then the crowd at MacWorld!

[studogvetmed]

If you can't wait until June or up-to September for a new iPod, you better go ahead and spend your money elsewhere. I don't think we'll be seeing a new iPod until then. July at the absolute earliest in my opinion.

If you can find another player that does what you think the iPod should and you'd be happy with, you'll be better off buying it instead of pining, unless you just enjoy complaining about what or what might not be coming around the corner.

[paranoidxe]

There is no way the 6th gen iPod is going to get released BEFORE the iPhone so we are talking sometime after June AT LEAST. I bet holiday season 2007 if not early 2008.

[3ntr0py]

i can only speak for myself, but i know that apple is DEFINATELY losing a sale of a 5.5G ipod here. my 4G crapped out on me about 6 months ago and i have been waiting and waiting and trying to figure out if i should buy a new video ipod. i was actually really close to getting one, and then the iphone was demoed. now i'm just going to wait patiently until they release a new ipod with SOME of the same features before i plunk down all that cash. when i bought my monochrome 4G ipod, they released the color screen photo ipods 2 months later. i can't help but feel like that same thing would happen if i bought a 5.5G ipod right now.

and as much as i would LOVE to get an iphone, there's just no way i can afford to shell out that much cash, no matter how cool it is.

[bdb]

I expect a major revision was delayed due to resources being sucked away for iPhone development. Also, PortalPlayer had just announced their next development effort (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) last February, so it probably wasn't ready in time for an August release (and was likely delayed by the NVidia takeover).

The 5G is definitely getting to be "old news", and I'm sure Apple is aware of it. There's bound to be a new one this year. PortalPlayer's hardware is no doubt ready to go, and Apple just probably needs to do some development. There's a chance they might even release it earlier than expected, since its not really competing with the iPhone.

I'm holding off replacing my monochrome 4G as well.

[thom y]

I FIGURED IT OUT: WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, APPLE WILL ANNOUNCE ANOTHER SPECIAL MUSIC EVENT

They will first announce that they have finally settled their differences with Apple records and are going to carry the Beatles library on iTunes. Steve gave this hint in his iPHone Keynote ... you saw all the Beatles music on his iPhone, even though this isn't available yet on iTunes. Apparently, a deal is imminent. During the same event, he will announce the long awaited 6G widescreen, high-capacity HD-based, touch screen iPod. It will hopefully have WiFi and internet browsing and email capability.

Let's hope he doesn't get Yoko Ono or Paul McCartney to sing at the end though !!!

[whatsthematrix]

i can only speak for myself, but i know that apple is DEFINATELY losing a sale of a 5.5G ipod here. my 4G crapped out on me about 6 months ago and i have been waiting and waiting and trying to figure out if i should buy a new video ipod. i was actually really close to getting one, and then the iphone was demoed. now i'm just going to wait patiently until they release a new ipod with SOME of the same features before i plunk down all that cash. when i bought my monochrome 4G ipod, they released the color screen photo ipods 2 months later. i can't help but feel like that same thing would happen if i bought a 5.5G ipod right now.

and as much as i would LOVE to get an iphone, there's just no way i can afford to shell out that much cash, no matter how cool it is.


That with the 4G happend to me 2 and it ####ed me off since I researched it and waited for the release with a color scree :-( but no. Luckelly I rsponded quick and got a good price when I sold it. I'm sure they developed everything at the same time and expect a bit more silend release of the 6G not to overshadow the iphone. Not sure about the rest of the world but you can't get a black 5.5g around here and my guess is that they let it run out of stock and all of a sudden its there with a 80 gb drive. I'm this close to buy a 5.5 but can't stand the thought of a 6g being there all of a sudden. So will try to hold out. Wil be good for them if people just start buying them and buy the phone rather than buying the phone and not buy an ipod as well.

[bdb]

During the same event, he will announce the long awaited 6G widescreen, high-capacity HD-based, touch screen iPod. Jobs thanks the developer's families for all the long days of work and sacrifice, and now he's going to make them build another model and get it into production in three months. You're quite the optimist!

[shamrock593]

I FIGURED IT OUT: WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, APPLE WILL ANNOUNCE ANOTHER SPECIAL MUSIC EVENT

They will first announce that they have finally settled their differences with Apple records and are going to carry the Beatles library on iTunes. Steve gave this hint in his iPHone Keynote ... you saw all the Beatles music on his iPhone, even though this isn't available yet on iTunes. Apparently, a deal is imminent. During the same event, he will announce the long awaited 6G widescreen, high-capacity HD-based, touch screen iPod. It will hopefully have WiFi and internet browsing and email capability.

Let's hope he doesn't get Yoko Ono or Paul McCartney to sing at the end though !!!

Oh god I hope ur right! :) I sick of my 5G and its getting really old really fast, but the likely hood of Apple releasing the WS iPod before the iPhone seems low. Oh well, I think I'll wait, if I buy anything else Ill regret it when the iPod 6G comes out!

[3ntr0py]

Jobs thanks the developer's families for all the long days of work and sacrifice, and now he's going to make them build another model and get it into production in three months. You're quite the optimist!

maybe the reason that all the developers were so swamped is because they were developing both the iphone AND ipod at the same time? just a thought. it seems that most of the new ipod is already done with the technology that went into the ipod portion of the iphone.

i'm really just trying to justify my wishful thinking that a new ipod is coming out soon ;) . i'm tired of being ipod-less!

[paranoidxe]

Well I really really doubt we will see a announcement of a new iPod before the iPhone release, they want to sucker people with the iPhone first for those of you too impatient to wait for a new iPod model..then they'll release a updated iPod a few months after the release of the iPhone.

[I<3music]

My 5.5 Video is relatively new, back from september, after my 3g died :[

I am a fan with the touch screen, even more so if there is a click wheel of sorts by touch !



Anyways,
I thought about it, if there will be a touchscreen iPod, it will not be for another year. Or at least until the holidays.

And even so, I would not buy the first version. Id wait for the the version, say a "6.5", this removes kinks and improves overall preformance.

All in all, I wont be parting with my 5.5 any time soon.

[erasure]

apple got in a tricky dance. they needed to release news at the beginning of the yr, so it became the iphone. but now they have to wait for it to clear FCC. they couldnt make it clear FCC first in fall 2006 and have it for sale last wk because once you put it up for clearance it becomes public knowledge.

so now, you got 'no' product for sale for presumably 2 quarters of 2007, and nothing really new in qtr 4 2006.

they should release a widescreen, nontouchscreen ipod in Feb/March. that would help them w/ semi new product and save face w/ the iphone.

the iphone 1st gen. isn't going to grab the bulk of the hardcore music/vid audience at that price point while only a few gb storage... it's only to blow away Sony Ericsson walkman/phone products and hit smartphones/pdas, RIM (non corporate) buyers.

[MovieCutter]

ABSOLUTELY, SALES OF THE 5.5G IPOD WILL TAKE A DIVE UNTIL APPLE ANNOUNCES THE REAL WIDESCREEN TOUCHSCREEN IPOD

Almost certainly Apple Inc. will introduce a 6G widescreen video iPod WITHIN 2 MONTHS for the following reasons:

1) Clearly the technology for a widescreen iPod has already been developed, as indicated by the demo iPhones.
2) Apple would not have spent all the R&D dollars to create 200 patents for the iPhone only, even if they predict selling 10M of the buggers. Surely, it would be advantageous to spread this technology to other devices like a 6G widescreen iPod.
3) Too many people like you suggest will be hesitate to buy a 5.5G video iPod, just because they know a new one is imminent (remember what happened just prior to the release of Core2Duo MBP's). Apple cannot afford to wait until June for the iPhone (which will only be released in the US market at that time) and watch full size iPod sales dwindle. Sure they got the Christmas sales, now they better consider upgrading it already. Come on, the last upgrade was rather benign: bigger HD and brighter screen, search tools... not what most of us are waiting for in a "video" iPod.
4) If they wait too long, Microsoft will steal too many of the features of the iPhone and try to salvage the Zune.
5) We have been waiting for over a &*(&& year already for this device.
6.) Lets face it, after seeing the iPod function on the iPhone, the old UI and click wheel of the iPod is dated and no longer cuts it. I mean the click wheel is very limiting for scrolling through 80GB of music (even with the crummy search tools and alphabet index that is on the newer iPods). Album art currently sucks on iPod video and iPod nanos, compared to the iPhone. I mean Album art is even better on the crappy Zune. Cover Flow is probably better suited for the iPod than for iTunes on your Mac. Whether people will admit it or not, I predict the click wheel and older UI is gone on the next video iPod. The UI will be similar to iPhone.

Now, I have my fingers crossed that they don't screw up and leave out the WiFi and internet communication. I don't care about phone part in their trilogy.

Wow, you seem awfully sure of yourself there. I think you may want to rethink that a bit:

1) You're right, clearly the technology is there. This is obvious, and it's also obvious that it will move into the iPod realm very soon (4-6 months)

2) They will, read #1

3) Apple can wait all they want. You have to take yourself out of the fanboy mentality and realize that those of us who read rumor and enthusiast sites, make up less than 2% of Apple's iPod customers if not less. I talked to people the other day, they hadn't even heard of the iPhone, and they didn't know the iPod played video. They had iPod nanos though. If you'd think for a moment, you'd realize that 99% of people have no clue that there might be a new iPod in the next 6 months or even 6 years! They don't care. What they see now is good enough for them and it's cool enough for them, so Apple can wait as long as they want to release a new iPod.

4) The idea of Microsoft stealing the iPhone features for the Zune is laughable. They're trying to compete with the iPod, not the iPhone. If anything, they'll steal from the iPhone and put it into their Windows Mobile platform, not into their crappy MP3 player. Besides, so what if Apple "waits too long"? If they released a new iPod tomorrow...how does that prevent Microsoft from stealing iPhone features and putting them into a Zune???

5) Tough $#!*. Apple doesn't care if you've waited all your life for this. They'll release it when THEY want to, not when you can't stand it anymore. They know you'll buy it whenever they'll release it...so what's the rush, especially when there's existing product in the supply channels. That's business 101 dude.

6) Again, you need to pull your head out of your @$$ and realize that 99% of the people DON'T CARE, I repeat DON'T CARE. They love the iPod as it is now and will continue to buy it. Yes, we've seen how an iPod functions on the iPhone, and it will be integrated into the iPod line in due time. But people aren't exactly storming Cupertino demanding an iPod with multi touch and a full screen. You have to look at it from the perspective of your kid sister, your parents, your uncle who's an account down the street at the local bank. These people don't have any clue what Apple might release next, nor do they care. And for all the press coverage the iPhone has gotten, I can guarantee you 95% of the population still doesn't know what it is or what it does, much less the interface it has. So who cares. You'll get your damn 100GB iPod widescreen with touch controls in a few months. God knows I'd be first in line to get one.

Finally, you won't be getting internet communication in the iPod. That's not what the iPod is for. You want internet communication? Buy an iPhone. But the iPod is a media device, not a PDA.


i can only speak for myself, but i know that apple is DEFINATELY losing a sale of a 5.5G ipod here..

They don't care, they're getting your money the next iPod and they know it. Somebody else will buy the 5.5G iPod. They're not losing a sale, the sale is just delayed. If you were to buy a Zune because Apple didn't release a 6G iPod, THEN they'd be losing a sale.

[studogvetmed]

You know I want to see a better iPod too. It will come.

On the comment that Zune album art is better, I would rather have the smaller, clear album artwork of the iPod, than the Blown up, grainy artwork on the Zune. The graininess of the album art on the Zune may be a measure of the quality of artwork microsoft used on their preloaded demos and users who use better resolutions may have a nicer album art on their personal collection, but so far from what I've seen the iPod album art, though small, looks better in the 5.5 gens.

[paranoidxe]

You know I want to see a better iPod too. It will come.

On the comment that Zune album art is better, I would rather have the smaller, clear album artwork of the iPod, than the Blown up, grainy artwork on the Zune. The graininess of the album art on the Zune may be a measure of the quality of artwork microsoft used on their preloaded demos and users who use better resolutions may have a nicer album art on their personal collection, but so far from what I've seen the iPod album art, though small, looks better in the 5.5 gens.

Kills me these days with what people are concerned about, seems like its no longer about functionality as it is beauty..people would rather have a device that makes their friends go "OMG WOW THATS SO COOL!" so they feel good about themselves than a device that is 10 times more functional.

Me? I'd take function over beauty anyday. I don't see any iPod beauty pageants this year.

[studogvetmed]

Isn't it great that Apple provides both in the iPod? :rolleyes:

Beauty and Function. IT's why I love Apple, but of course not everyone agrees with that statement. My wife thinks my iBook is the least functional computer ever, but I think the same of her Window's XP machine, but it's how we were raised. I understand the ease and function of Mac. Do you how much my productivity increased with the advent of Expose? With Spring loaded folders? I just showed spring loaded folders to a professor yesterday. He was amazed. He went "You mean I don't need two finder windows?" Nope. Just drag and "Boing" Drive as deep into the folders as you need. :D

Anyway, off topic ;)

[bdb]

I don't see any iPod beauty pageants this year.CNet has recently been adding "sexiness" into their DAP comparisons lately...essentially your DAP (not just iPod) beauty contest. It may seem silly, but its part of this product environment now.

A lot of people were upset that the iPod didn't win over the Toshiba, which got an extra point for being the brand new hotness. I wouldn't be surprised if they stop using the category because people will get angry if the iPod doesn't always win.

[thom y]

I FIGURED IT OUT: WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, APPLE WILL ANNOUNCE ANOTHER SPECIAL MUSIC EVENT

They will first announce that they have finally settled their differences with Apple records and are going to carry the Beatles library on iTunes. ... Let's hope he doesn't get Yoko Ono or Paul McCartney to sing at the end though !!!


Now it looks like this will occur sooner than later:

http://www.torontosun.com/Entertainment/Music/2007/01/17/3393906-sun.html

PROBABLY TOO SOON TO SEE THE 6G iPod

Yet, rumors are the 6G widescreen iPod is coming soon:

http://www.macscoop.com/articles/2007/01/17/multi-touch-powered-widescreen-ipod-and-tablet-mac-on-the-way

[studogvetmed]

Now it looks like this will occur sooner than later:

http://www.torontosun.com/Entertainment/Music/2007/01/17/3393906-sun.html

PROBABLY TOO SOON TO SEE THE 6G iPod

Yet, rumors are the 6G widescreen iPod is coming soon:

http://www.macscoop.com/articles/2007/01/17/multi-touch-powered-widescreen-ipod-and-tablet-mac-on-the-way

Because the rumour "Real video iPod" hasn't been rumored to be coming soon for the last year... :rolleyes:

[thom y]

PROBABLY TOO SOON TO SEE THE 6G iPod


we can only hope something new is coming:

http://www.t3.co.uk/news/247/general/general/apple_unveiling_more_next_month