Apple's other gear: AV Connection Kit and nano in-ear earbuds

Almost lost in the shuffle (oh, wait, that's one they didn't announce) among Apple's other product announcements today were a couple that may prove handy for dedicated iPod users. In particular, the AV Connection Kit is a $99 bundle that includes the iPod Universal Dock, Apple Remote, iPod AV Cable, an iPod Dock Connector to USB 2.0 Cable and an iPod USB Power Adapter. The $49 iPod nano in-ear lanyard earbuds join Apple's existing $39 iPod lanyard earbuds; the extra $10 presumably covers the few extra nanometers of plastic needed to get these suckers further into your ear canal.

[xbox360-forums.com @ Jan 10th 2006 3:27PM]

Lovely stuff. Still, its not a macbook pro.

[brandon @ Jan 10th 2006 3:42PM]

I'm glad they came out with a bundle. I was looking into purchasing them separately a few weeks ago and it would have cost me more money.

[Sujay @ Jan 10th 2006 3:57PM]

PIMP is all i have to say....



PIMP apple rules

[dave @ Jan 10th 2006 4:06PM]

An extra 100 bucks for stuff that should've been, for all intents and purposes, included with the iPod in the first place. Holy hell.



I like Apple products, but I'm no apologist. I don't care how great their margins are on the iPod, but they are screwing their customers and laughing all the way to the bank with "accessories" like these.

[IK47 @ Jan 10th 2006 4:16PM]

Apple does not exist to please you.



Apple exists to gain CAPITOL.



don't forget it.

[Matt @ Jan 10th 2006 4:28PM]

Is there a mistake in the description on the store? I thought the nano couldn't do slideshows on the tv...



*About iPod Compatibility All iPod models with Dock connector are compatible with the iPod AV Connection Kit. Different iPod models offer different capabilities:

Music playback: All iPod models with Dock connector

Slideshows: iPod with color display, iPod nano and iPod with video

Video playback: iPod with video

[pmac2322 @ Jan 10th 2006 4:41PM]

Is that like Washington D.C.? Seriously, capital. If you are going to state truths, state them accurately. Thank you.

[David @ Jan 10th 2006 5:22PM]

Included? Because ALL MP3 Player include a dock, remote, and AV cable. You're just looking for something to whine about, this is a good value deal when most of these market for �30 each separately

[Jeremy @ Jan 10th 2006 5:58PM]

Don't be dissin' them in ear headphones! Yes, they took me about 3 months to get used to, but they are FAR superior to the included iPod headphones; they are far more comfortable sitting in your ear, they have a much better sound, and their bass is much more powerful. I am going to sell my lanyard headphones, and buy these because they are SO MUCH BETTER!

[Echo_ @ Jan 10th 2006 7:24PM]

jeremy buy real canal phones like the shure e2c



the apple ones blow ass

[Eric @ Jan 10th 2006 9:23PM]

Dave-- Remember a little while back, when all the iPods got a bump up in storage space but remained the same price? Part of the reason was because they de-bundled items such as the dock and AC adaptor. Did you complain then? Or were you psyched that you could buy a 40 GB iPod for the price of a 30 GB ipod?



By not including these accessories, they shave a good chunk off the price of the base iPod. Maybe not 99 bucks, but still. It is smarter of them, and better for the customers, to leave out accessories that not everyone is going to use, thereby keeping the price of the iPod itself down.

[vip malixi @ Jan 11th 2006 5:59AM]

I think Apple noticed that many people buying the new model ipods already own older iPods and usually already have the accessories: AC adaptor, etc. So they figured, why have people pay for a second AC adaptor and other accessories they already have?



Also, Apple's strategy is to avoid the price-war tactics of the PC biz which is downing Gateway, Dell, etc. It wreaks havoc on predicting profitability if you and your competitors are lowering the price of your products every time you release a new model. So what Apple does is it keep its product price constant (and thus retains predictability and retains margins) but ups the features (bigger hard drive, faster graphics card, etc.)--which usually doesn't cost it that much because parts suppliers eventually lower the price for these upgraded models to the same price as they were selling the lower-grade models. A pretty sane and strategic way of doing business, I must say.

[greg @ Jan 11th 2006 6:24AM]

11. put it perfectly

[W.J. @ Jan 12th 2006 9:56AM]

So, is it true that the nano can now display slideshows on TV using this kit?

[aelso @ Jan 19th 2006 5:45PM]

I've just worked out that it's exactly the same price if you buy all the items in the bundle separatly. So if you don't really need a USB cable, buy everything separatly and you'll save a bit of cash.

[aelso @ Jan 19th 2006 6:39PM]

Separatly? I meant 'separately'. Sorry for the spelling mistake.

[Anm @ Jan 22nd 2006 1:14AM]

Ummm... Just bought my first iPod because of this.

My vision: iPod Video plus AV kit would be a digital media center at home, but I could pick up the iPod for my music collection on the go.

Reality: It doesn't replace a proper media center because there is no on-screen display. I expected on screen track info and a menu to navigate. After all, the remote implies I'm too far away to see the tiny screen. The menu button doesn't even do anything as far as I can tell.

Please PLEASE tell me I'm wrong!