What happens when the world gets the mini???

[MaximusD]

not to complain, I already got the silver one.. but I wanted to get a pink one for my wife.... unless I win one of those free ones apple is giving out :)..I got 3 ordered right now from Amazon, but I imagine there is NO way apple is going to keep up with World demand + US demand???

England is crazy for them
the French loves them
Germans?
Canadians.. can't believe they will be able to keep them in stock
Japan? forget about it.... everyone one including their infants will have one
China???!!!!! 1 Billion people ++++.... it China gets them.. we might as expect our minis by 2007

oh yeah.. and the other 200+ countries out there.....

Apple... you better get those pumping them FAST!!!

it's only 5 months to Christmas!!!!!

[mdmania]

iPod and iPod minis is the trend setting ever in a history of portable recorders since Sony came with the first portable walkman. But I think iPod out done Sony on this one. And I am glad that I am part of this trend and history.

[DJ Momo]

US is the largest market for electronic high-tech and highh-priced gadgets, I recently read somewhere.

but I will certainly go CRAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZY :)

[funnyperson1]

Originally posted by mdmania
iPod and iPod minis is the trend setting ever in a history of portable recorders since Sony came with the first portable walkman. But I think iPod out done Sony on this one. And I am glad that I am part of this trend and history.

Apple will not have outdone Sony until the Ipod is as cheap and mainstream as the Sony Walkman.

Most people are not willing to spend 300 dollars on a portable music device. Especially when you can get MP3 cd players as low as 20 bucks nowadays.

[Straphanger]

The iPod mini will be out of stock for the next decade?

[SolidGun]

The trend is nowhere near Sony Walkman. You know how well that thing sold. Even with all the DAP sales right now, it couldn't match what the walkman did. They had no other choice back then.

My guess is that we should buy US certified bonds and Apple Mini's and trade them with the foreign countries.

Also, by the time Apple is ready to meet the demand outside US, the market will be dominated by another company that is used to dealing in Europe and Asia. I know that the latest sony product sucked............................ but iRiver is a strong contender in the market. Too bad Philips screwed up with thier idiotic design for the future release of their player. I like the fact that the mini's are so rare though. I feel so special that no one around me has one.
The downside is that, if Apple is busy dealing with this, the release of 4th Gen iPod will be delayed. They do come from different manufacturing facility, but there is only one Apple.

[kazuki]

Originally posted by SolidGun
I like the fact that the mini's are so rare though. I feel so special that no one around me has one.


Haha, I bought my mini in the US and now in Japan when I bring in my mini to school I always have a throng of people around me to try to get a look and all the girls are exclaiming "kawaii!" (cute) left and right, and the guys are like "sugoi!!" (awesome!) and trying to get me to lend it to them (by the way, literally all the guys have these Sony MD players so I just laugh at them :D ). It`s a good feeling.

[wco81]

It's strange that Apple chose to go to Europe instead of Japan.

What are DAP sales?

Anyways, iPods won't go down to the price of Walkmans any time soon. But how much was the original Walkman and Discmans and when did they come out? After inflation, a $300 iPod may not be that much more expensive than the original Walkman.

However, Walkman sales didn't explode until they got the price way down.

I don't see costs coming down on the Mini especially any time soon. Only a limited number of manufacturers making those small drives so they command a premium. Others may come out with better hardware specs. like longer battery life.

But it's hard to beat the interface (both on the player and in the software). That is Sony's problem right now. They have a player slightly bigger than the Mini with triple the battery life. But the interface on the player and their software are suppose to be really bad and they force you to transcode to ATRAC.

Microsoft is coming out with Janus, which will allow MP3 players to store subscription files. That means you download and load onto a player but as soon as you stop subscribing to a service, those files on your player won't play.

Right now, the biggest threat to the iPod seems to be Apple's ability to continue to innovate and to deliver enough product.

[jwc110869]

I don't think Apple will ever be able to keep up with the demand, as long as the demand stays constant. Apple will continue to release newer versions of the mini (8 gb, new colors) long before the company will get a handle on how to keep production high.

Apple is traveling on this vicious circle to make sure they show the marketplace new inovations and increased style.

[SolidGun]

DAP sales: I meant Digital Audio Players being sold out on the market.

The original walkman was about $200 or so. I can't tell exactly because my dad got his from Japan. But the real issue with stating how much they cost needs to bring inflation and misc fees into calculation.
About 6 years ago, I bought a Sony walkman that was the smalled in the world with the most sophisticated design and functions and used gumstick battery and was made of some type of light metal and it cost me $250. So you can guess what it must have been like back when and it was probably more than what the iPods cost to people now.

Well, sony is forcing people to their proprietary format because that is their own baby and want to see it grow. ATRAC is better compressed with better sound quality (subjective).

I think MS will end up like dell and others with their restrictions, unless the price justifies all the problems.

iPods biggest threats are more than that. There are color screens coming out with better battery life and people who know what's what will opt out for one of those players at same price. iPod has been popular for its looks and only its appearance. You could say ease of use, but it isn't ######proof. And obviously, iPods cost a lot more than what it offers. It is most likely Steve Jobs that will hurt iPod sales if he/they don't listen to what customers want.

[shipname]

china does have 1 billion+ people, but only 4 of the billion can afford them, so you don't have to worry

[crazyonskis]

IPOD MINI IS AVAILABLE WORLD-WIDE!!! (ahh why am I so excited...i already have mine and was one of the first to own one in Canada)!

[funnyperson1]

Originally posted by SolidGun
DAP sales: I meant Digital Audio Players being sold out on the market.
Well, sony is forcing people to their proprietary format because that is their own baby and want to see it grow. ATRAC is better compressed with better sound quality (subjective).

I think MS will end up like dell and others with their restrictions, unless the price justifies all the problems.

iPods biggest threats are more than that. There are color screens coming out with better battery life and people who know what's what will opt out for one of those players at same price. iPod has been popular for its looks and only its appearance. You could say ease of use, but it isn't ######proof. And obviously, iPods cost a lot more than what it offers. It is most likely Steve Jobs that will hurt iPod sales if he/they don't listen to what customers want.

Indeed, Sony has a history of trying to force their own proprietary stuff on people and not letting other companies sell it. This is exactly what happened with Beta, which most people agree was a better technology than VHS. As a result of Sony keeping their technology expensive and to themselves, it never really caught on and VHS became the standard.

This is also what happened to Apple computers. Because they were not willing to let third party manufacturers reproduce their products, Apple computers remained too expensive, and they became marginalized in the PC industry.

Even when Apple products have been in demand, Apple has been too stupid to have enough production to keep up. Look at what happened with the Ipod Mini. Millions of people want it, but can't get it...this isn't how a company should be run.

As you said, the Ipod is popular because it is the most elegant solution for playing MP3s. Other companies are already imitating that AND putting in new features. The longer that Apple sits around before coming out with a gen 4 Ipod the more other companies will catch up in sales.

This Ipod Mini debacle is unimaginable to me. If they had priced it a little lower (225, or 200) and actually made enough for the demand, Apple would be making bank right now.

Its almost as if they are more interested in making snobbish products that are too expensive for 95% of the people to buy than actually making money.

I agree on the pricing wholeheartedly. If I hadn't received this mini as a gift I certainly would have gone with a much cheaper Dell DJ, Creative Zen, or most probably an IRiver. Then again, I might have just gotten a 15GB Ipod with my educational discount :p. Also I am more of a function over form guy, and elegance and beauty are things I look for in women...not digital music players.

[wco81]

Originally posted by shipname
china does have 1 billion+ people, but only 4 of the billion can afford them, so you don't have to worry

I just saw a piece on CNBC about car sales in China. People are coming in and buying cars with $30k in cash. So there's some money there, at least in the big cities.

While there are Chinese-made cars, people are buying BMWs and Benzes in the big cities. So even if we're talking about 5% of over 1 billion having incomes comparable to Westerners, we're talking about 50 million or more people. That's the size of a country like Germany or France I believe. But the numbers are undoubtedly much larger, which is why all these Western companies are rushing in there.

[wco81]

This Ipod Mini debacle is unimaginable to me. If they had priced it a little lower (225, or 200) and actually made enough for the demand, Apple would be making bank right now.

The problem I hear is that the company making the drives is having yield problems. These 1-inch drives are pushing the state of the art apparently.

As for the price, there's plenty of demand at $250 so why would they lower price? I don't think it's about the shortage which creates this demand. If you look at other 4 GB players, they are priced about the same. They may be discounted more but some were priced at $250 SRP.

When I first heard the specs., I also thought it was overpriced. But it's a lot closer to its competition than the regular iPods. And the smaller size is really appealing, as well as the click wheel which is better than the one on the regular iPod.

[shipname]

yes i was being sarcastic, but the percentage is very very small

coupel weeks ago while in china i saw a ferrari 360 modena on the Shanghai Hyatt, it surprised me, because if you've ridden in a car in china, you will not understand why anyone will get an expensive car in china

[MaximusD]

The hot item this christmas worldwide will be the mini ipod.... forget getting one for Christmas.. cuz this worldwide thing is gonna squeeze any available mini's out of sight...I'm telling yah.. better get one now!

[shipname]

people are crazy buying them on ebay, 300 bucks plus 20 bucks shipping, one seller even charges 50 bucks for two day shipping, talk about greediness

[wco81]

Check this article out.

Must have been awhile ago that the woman in the story paid $486 for a Pink Mini.

[Dinger]

Originally posted by wco81
Check this article out.

Must have been awhile ago that the woman in the story paid $486 for a Pink Mini.

what article? :confused:

[Asian_N02]

Once the worldwide release comes about...you will see the price of the mini drop. Not necessarily on the Apple site, but on eBay. The market will eventually be saturated with minis...

[wco81]

Sorry try again.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9083281.htm

Registration required.

Basically talks about the shortages and how some people were paying up to $500 on eBay for a Pink one.