We think you shouldn't buy an iPod right now
By Ryan Block 
posted Aug 16th 2007 11:23AM
posted Aug 16th 2007 11:23AM
We can't speak to what specific technology Cupertino's got brewing behind the scenes (we know it's OS X-based, and hear it'll use more flash), but whatever it is, we'd wager it'll be released in September or October. And not just because Apple's has taken to launching at least some new iPods every year since 2003, or admitted that it considers its iPhone business its "third", separate from its dedicated music player business (and thus wouldn't consider the iPhone its big iPod launch for 2007), or has just generally been mum about the iPod all year. It's more to do with the fact that since 2004 the company has statistically fallen into the groove of using those two months to launch new flagship iPods (probably thanks to their close-but-not-too-close proximity to the holidays).
Do we have inside dope from Apple on this one? No, none at all. Just a lot of retail reports and mounting evidence that suggests a pretty obvious conclusion. Yeah, we expect new iPods this year (seriously, why wouldn't there be?), and if we were gamblin' men we'd put our money on the September - October. Of course, we know Steve will totally read this and launch in November or December just to mess with us, but hey, as long as the masses get their music players before our annual present-opening ceremonies, everybody's happy.
Well then, should I buy an iPhone now?
Go ahead. Nothing new until atleast Q2 '08 from what I've heard, and I've got an aunt who's up there in apple's dev department.
Keep making comments like that & you'll be saying "I had an aunt who worked in Apple's dev department"
Remember, Apple doesn't mess around when it comes to leakers!
We apologise for the fault in the
subtitles. Those responsible have been
sacked.
Technically, it's not a leak if she's deining a new product is on the way. It's just quoting the offical line from the company.
I see Godwin's law was in full effect today.
Disregard my above post, I scrolled up to far and hit the wrong reply button.
I'm not sure if you should, Only cause you want an iPod, not a phone that dose everything else under the sun, I would wait till god knows when untill the next iPod release, It'll look the exact same as the iPhone except for the phone part, base your conclusion on that. All I know is the next iPod is gonna kick ass.
hmm cant wait to see um.
It is time. wo ho
This is possibly the most anti-Apple post I think engadget's ever made.
That's funny, because there's always someone saying we (or I) am already too biased towards-Apple, not against. (And when there's not, there's someone else taking your position, claiming the opposite.) I just don't get it -- we call it as we see it time and again.
If iPods are in the news they are gonna report on 'em, just like other techno-stuff.
I think overall Engadget does the best at this, despite what others may say.
They attempt to be even-handed at least.
If iPods are in the news they are gonna report on 'em, just like other techno-stuff.
I think overall Engadget does the best at this, despite what others may say.
They attempt to be even-handed at least.
Just bustin' balls.
:)
Ryan, there's a rumour that the Zen Vision:M is being discontinued. Haven't seen that on here, unless nobody's sent it in.
How the hell is this even remotely anti-Apple? It's just speculation based on current and historical observations. Grow up.
@Ryan & Simon
I detect quite a bit of intentional irony/sarcasm in his post. I think, and I may be wrong, that what he is saying is that this article is not anti-apple at all and that even seemingly anti-apple articles on Engadget are pro-apple.
Anyways, who really cares? This isn't Nazi Germany, Engadget can write with whatever bias they want. I'm tired of people complaining about the content on Engadget for having a bias or spelling errors. Untill our robotic overlords take over the site those are inevitable.
"Anyways, who really cares? This isn't Nazi Germany, Engadget can write with whatever bias they want. I'm tired of people complaining about the content on Engadget for having a bias or spelling errors. "
This is a freaking gadget blog, not an Apple rumor site!!! I want Apple news from time to time (once in a while) but this is getting stupid.
And yes, I have an iMac.
damn andrew you're such a moron!
nazi-germany?
hello, wake up from youre 60 yearish sleep.
ghee
"damn andrew you're such a moron!
nazi-germany?
hello, wake up from youre 60 yearish sleep.
ghee"
What the enigma isn't the latest in data encryption?
I see Godwin's Law is in full effect today.
Really quick too!
It's not insignificant that the underlying assumption throughout this entire piece is that the reader will, at some point, buy themselves an Ipod.
As much as I hate to say this, my iPhone is just not cutting it music wise. 8gb is not enough and the recessed headphone jack is driving me crazy. Please Apple, release a new iPod and keep it HDD based, 16gb is way to small.
this is true...i'm hoping for a new 30GB iPod so i can switch from my Cowon A2 (don't need a PMP anymore).
I dunno, man. You're right, it doesn't hold what my 80gig does, but I've got 1100 songs at a decent bitrate on mine, and it's only about half. other half is three full length movies. that isn't bad for my phone.
Also, the jack hacked me off, too. However, it's fixable. I took a dremel to the end of my shures. Just shaved off a touch of the big chunky plastic plug. Now it fits in there perfectly, no big thing.
Nah, 16GB is enough for your quality stuff. I think you've got too much crap in there. Go on an MP3 diet!
@brian welch:
Dude, I've got over 6000 songs at a decent bit rate and they take about 30GB.
It's cute that you Engadget thinks Steve would even consider changing the launch date of a major product like the iPod because of some speculative post based on very few facts that arrives at a broad conclusion anyone could have come up with. People have been saying not to buy a new iPod for months now.
dude, do you really think they were serious about steve jobs changing the launch time of a major project because of their post? keeee-rist...
Did you really think I was serious, period?
You did sound pretty serious...
ya it was serious
I'm going to listen to Engadget on this one. I know Engadget cares about their readers, and they may be know stuff they can't tell us and this is as close as they can get to actually telling us.
I'd put my money on Sept. - Oct. From a previous working for a company who developed similar albeit tremendously less successful products, later than October and they would risk having a full pipeline for the Holiday buying season. Product needs to be on the shelves by October at the latest.
I Hope So, the 6G iPod Looks pretty good to me, if not I'll the U2 iPod, It'll probably be touch, the next iPod, I just don't know if my heart can take that...
if the new ipod is nice enough (and i mean a complete overhaul)..i might consider buying it over an iphone.
I Agree
I would like an iphone-type device. Ipod + pda type functions. I would like this with a phone but I really don;t need the web browsing experience. Although the whole "iphone nano" rumor really appeals to me.
You can't really get the iPhone more "nano" than it already is, that thing is packed to its limit. Unless you slash some big feature, which I don't see apple doing, the iPhone cant really get any smaller.
Holy famous last words
Some reasons for a company not to launch a new product is
1) if the old product is selling at market saturation (I dont think the iPod is selling at that point -- but not sure).
2) The profit margins on the new product is substantially less than on the old product (that is, they would have to sell more than double of the new product to make the same amount of money they would have made by continuing to sell the old produt). Of course this is little excuse not to tack on minor revisions.
3) You're not worried about innovative products coming from the competition
4) You've launched a product to break into a new market and want it to gain as many sales as possible (ie, you'd rather people buy that if considering features of the old product)
It's obvious that there's a new iPod coming this year, I don't know why people are treating it like a big secret, undercover thing. I’m already bored of waiting and moved on to other things, my gadget money only sits still for so long then I need some comfort buying. Personally I think Apple has a waited a bit to long this time, then again everyone will want one as long as it has a massive memory and touch screen. Who am I trying to kid, all the stuff I’ve just bought will be on ebay by the end of the week after the announcement. Lol.
Also, for the past few years, in the late Summer/early Fall Apple has run a deal for students where they can buy a Mac and get a free iPod Nano or discounted iPod. It's usally shortly after this deal ends that updates to the iPod lineup are made.
I guess lots of students take advantage of the deal, helping to deplete stocks of soon-to-be "old" iPods in order to make room for the new version.
This year, that student deal ends on September 16. I'll eat my hat if Apple releases an iPod before then. I say anywhere from Sept. 17 through mid-November is fair game for iPod updates.
Yay, the battery in mine 5G is wasted. I replaced it and it is still wasted, I figure there is something wrong with it. So I am holding out for the "6G" ipod. I am hoping it is very iPhone like.
- K
It's already "wasted", what?! I've had my 5G iPod since July 06' and it still runs strong.
Risk NOT having a full pipeline.......I gotta learn how to type.
Being a long term Mac user, the only thing that bugs me about Apple's recent popularity is that sites I love like Engadget are being flooded with assholes. I would love to be present when some of these commenters finally grow up and say to themselves "I used to argue about what?"
But as far as iPods go, the only update I need is bigger hard drive space. I've been holding on to a shuffle for 2 years waiting for at least a 120GB iPod. One good thing about owning a shuffle is it motivates you to create a bunch of playlists.
Fishes,
narco.
agreed. i definitely noticed a spike in ignorant-ass comments with release of the iphone
but hey, if it gets people excited and encourages apple (or other companies) to release more innovative products, i guess it's not entirely bad
I have no problem with people who have a valid reason for disliking a specific Apple product, but a lot of people these days really don't have a reason. It's like arguing about religion but worse because at the end of the day, they make everybody happy. Well, for the most part.
Props to you for wanting +120gig ipod. thats pretty much what i've been holding out for in the last few years.
I was holding out for the 80GB model, but my collection grows so rapidly that I have to get 120GB since my iTunes library is about 100GB now. AND it's all legal. If I don't have it on CD, I have it on vinyl. However, if something happened to my iTunes library, I would cry.
not to sound nerdy but, these conversations aren't as nerdy as they used to be. more like, kids so pissed their parents wouldn't buy them an iphone, they take it out on engadget fans that do own one,"i could't get one, so i became an apple hater..."
I'm more than happy with my Zune... I don't need a new player every year. I think I'll pass on all of the iNouns...
How the heck is this highly ranked, the Zune Zucks, how many Microsoft employees post about Zunes and Xbox360's? I'm thinking in the thousands.
Wait, people can actually like a product? People have their own opinions? Blasphemy.
this is probably true since apple is offering free nanos with the purchase of a new system. we just ordered 4 new systems for a small business and they gave us 4 free nanos with the purchase.
I don't think that's really a huge indicator. Apple has been doing the Student Union deal for a long time now, I remember them doing it with iPod Minis.
I'm personally shocked that there hasn't been a new iPod yet. My girlfriend got me a 5G in early January 2006 for my birthday, I never dreamed it'd be the latest and greatest for nearly two years.
Well Ryan hasn't claimed himself to be Nostradamus. We gadgets fanatics love speculating, especially when it comes to Apple product because they are so unpredictable. Be like me, read every rumor, analyse it logically and last but not least don't forget a big table spoon of salt.
THey should announce something! Their stocks (along with everyone else's) are falling pretty fast.
Just a couple weeks ago they were 146ish
right now they are at 113!
It'll still be a Rev A apple product. Six months down the road, brighter screen, longer battery life, extra features locked out of the previous gen ipods. It'll probably have integrated itunes as well.
Dan, that's because the Creative Zen sucks.
Get a clue? ZVM kicks the crap out of the 5G in every department. "Ohnoes!, it doesn't have the handcuffs of sacky iTunes and is as thick as an older iPod which we didn't complain about back then"
Gotta I love how there was no mention of Creatives discontinuation rumour.
"We think you shouldn't buy an iPod right now"
... Engadget discovered that serious music lovers in the know actually buy iriver instead? (and even more serious ones Rockbox them) ;-)
I think serious music lovers would all agree that it really doesn't matter what mp3 player you choose to listen to. Serious music lovers wouldn't waste their time on tech blogs immaturely arguing about mp3-player supremacy.
Serious music lovers know that there is a difference between seriousness and pretentiousness.
That cord is wrapped around the guy's neck. He probably bought an iPod five minutes before reading this article.
Actually, it's wrapped around his left arm. Being an Apple user, he is trying to be different in his suicide by attempting to induce one of the signs of a heart attack, pain radiating up and down the left arm.
Or maybe he just has no idea how to groove without tangling himself...
@ Homeboy
Apple? Unpredictable? For months we say "They're going to re-design the iMac. We know it". They say nothing. Months later they say "Hey, look at our new iMac". The world says "Okay. We knew it was coming - it's pretty cool, but we knew about it". iPhone? We knew it was coming probably over a year before Apple muttered a single word about it - well, at least there was speculation and horrid photoshop jobs going around. So, for a year we knew what was going on while Apple didn't even hint at it. So, if Apple doesn't even need to hint at something for us to know, how does that make them "unpredictable"?
I can tell you that there won't be any updates until after September 16 at least. Apple is currently running a free ipod nano (or value of said nano towards a full blown iPod) promotion when you purchase a qualifying Mac for students. It would be quite pointless to release a new product during that time period. October sounds about the right time though for a nice hear up towards boosting holiday sales. I just purchased a new one regardless though since the current iPod is a nice step up from my 3rd generation one which has finally given up the ghost.
As long as it has 100GB+ capacity, I'll buy it the moment the Apple store comes back from it's inevitable downtime.
Dammit! i've just planned to get a new ipod..
I find it pretty annoying that Engadget is becoming more and more of an Apple rumor site... it's ridiculous.
I think Mr. Block is trying too hard to be anti-Apple.
I just took care of her
Of course they release new ones... I just ordered a 5.5G with 80Gig because I couldn't wait any longer... If I would have done that 3 months ago we would already have a 6G.
I always laugh how the world reacts every time Apple raises a finger. We've become so sensitive to every move from Apple "the store is down", "rumors of this," "rumors of that." It gets our attention. Then Engadget wants to be the instigator. They post something that they know is going to bring a deluge of message, mine included.
Is Steve Jobs the greatest puppet master and are we being the flock of most easily led sheeps?
I'm just curious. I own several iPods and a few older Macs, and I'm very happy with them. But, it always mesmerizes me how we all react to the slightest move, rumor, and/or picture coming from Cuppertino or someone just trying to instigate the masses.
I can't think of any other company that can draw that much attention and curiosity from the world.
Steve Jobs sir, I salute you for a job well done.
I agree, I doubt my parents ever wanted to miss school like I did on the day of an apple keynote. And he(jobs), speaks so excitedly of his own products, saying things such as, "this is really cool." "Isn't this amazing." But I can't deny it, it usually is.
You shouldn't buy an iPod ever, they are overpriced and there is much better stuff out there.
I won an iPod Nano (1st Gen) and I thought it was awesome. When the iPods that could play video came out I wanted one but I was cheap and happy enough with my Nano that I had gotten for free. That same Nano's screen broke a few month's ago and although it still plays it makes it really hard to find any of my music. I was going to upgrade to a 5.5G iPod but instead I decided to wait for the new one that was sure to come out. Now I'm still waiting. Apple, Please make this one awesome, the wait is killing me!
Glad to see you still holding out too then.
Sorry to hear about your Nano 1G though. I got one when it came out, but didn't take off the wrapping. I just wanted to get one because it had just came out and wanted to test it out. Shortly thereafter, I sold it and got nearly all of my money back.
The 2G Nano still looks attractive, but with all these rumors flying around, it'd be best to just be patient for the time being. ;)
My $.02 - Apple releases the iPhone first to make sure there are no (major) problems with the screen, battery, interface, etc. Then, after a few months, replace the iPhone's cell guts with a 120gb HDD and release it as a 6G video ipod.
That would be my fantasy right there. They could make the iPhone's casing slimmer and just make it one big touch-screen! Who knows though.
I'd love to see the TV shows I bought from iTunes play in high-resolution on a widescreen iPod. Pretty soon, Apple is going to have to release HD-quality videos in their iTunes online store because right now, the videos they sell look pretty grainy and pixelated (if those words help).
..
If anyone has an iPhone right now, would you mind telling me how you like watching iTunes-store bought videos on it? Do the videos look good or bad? Would you say the videos look clear? I say this because the videos would look bigger on it rather than on a regular iPod.
Considering I paid $79 for a Kingston 8GB CF card this spring and the 64GB cards are on the market, albeit hyper-expensively, why do you (the general you, not you specifically) think Apple will be investing in HDD technology, rather than flash memory?
I said HDD for a few reasons. Solid state would be nice for durability and battery life but I don't think the 'iPod community' would accept a new iPod that did not meet or exceed the storage capacity of existing ipods (80GB). And with a bigger screen on this iPhone minus the phone, people could actually watch video and enjoy it so they would need the additional storage. And - a quick google of '64GB flash' shows prices exceeding $4K each. Even if Apple could get a 97% discount, they would pay $120 and still only have 64GB.
At some point in the last two weeks, at around 6:30, I saw a couple SUVs full of food being delivered to the building on the Apple campus where iPod work is done. Take that for what it's worth.
Ahghhhhhhhhrggghhh! I wish Apple would hurry up and announce a release date for them! My 4G's busted, and has been out for repair (at Best Buy, ugh) for three weeks, and I'm dieing to just get a new iPod - but there's no way I'm buying a 5.5G when we know the new ones are right around the corner.
Apple! Release them in early October so I can ask for one for my birthday!
Just to let you know, AT&T has finally OK'd an iphone discount for us employees in October... a whopping 10%. perhaps at&t is still in kahoots with apple, so maybe they're trying to get us to buy in october since the new stuff is finally coming out? just a thought.
"Of course, we know Steve will totally read this and launch in November or December just to mess with us"
Technically, Steve will have to release in January since you just predicted Nov/Dec =).
Great, your prediction now pushes the release to Feb/Mar, and this one to Apr/May, no, wait...
If EVERYONE buys an iPod right now, he'll have to launch sooner!
I said HDD for a few reasons. Solid state would be nice for durability and battery life but I don't think the 'iPod community' would accept a new iPod that did not meet or exceed the storage capacity of existing ipods (80GB). And with a bigger screen on this iPhone minus the phone, people could actually watch video and enjoy it so they would need the additional storage. And - a quick google of '64GB flash' shows prices exceeding $4K each. Even if Apple could get a 97% discount, they would pay $120 and still only have 64GB.
The new iPod is already here, it’s called the iphone. :) If apple releases a new "iPod" it would simply be an iphone clone without the camera and phone capabilities, and sold at $100 less than the 4gb and 8gb iphone models. So if you want a new iPod get an iphone? (But I hate ATT).
Also, do you think apple would harm its iphone sales by releasing a new iPod so soon? Ok, its third in line, but right now people are saying "I really want a new iPod, maybe I’ll just get an iphone because it’s out and it’s got all the features in one package?"
If apple releases a new iPod this year it would have to be extremely different (in overall features) than the iphone platform, maybe an iPod UMPC? :)
You're missing the point. People want more than 4 or 8 gigs, which is why the iPhone is not a replacement for the iPod. Using your logic, the iPod nano is the "dedicated mp3-player" version of the iPhone.
BTW...I thought all of the "but the iPhone IS the new iPod" people went away when Gates announced that the company was working on the 6G iPod at a recent corporate meeting.
I really want a new iPod, but I will NOT buy an iPhone for the following reasons:
-8GB is not enough when you add video in to the mix.
-AT&T sucks. I'm extremely happy with T-Mobile.
-$599 plus an expensive data plan is way too much for me.
-I am in a contract with T-Mobile. Cancelling to switch to AT&T just adds even more to the price.
-The iPhone is missing features that EVERY other phone has. (MMS, anyone?)
Oh, man...Jobs, I meant Jobs, not Gates (*facepalm*). I'll see myself to the door.
Yo, I wasn't saying that the ”iPhone IS the new iPod”. I was just discussing possible apple strategy. I know 8GB is not enough, however, if you want to fit lots of bang into a small device you will have to sacrifice something.(like a large drive? Not to mention power consumption issues).
Also, even if Mr. Gates...eh?...Jobs, announced that the company was working on the 6G iPod, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be an iphone clone without the camera and phone capabilities. :)
I don't know if any one got this email from Apple yesterday, but I got one saying that now was the perfect time to buy engraved iPods for my company Christmas presents, complete with iPods in red ribbon and iTunes Christmas Tree themed gift cards. My first response was "really---a Christmas email in August???" and my second reponse was that they must be trying to squeeze all the juice they can out of the current line. The other possibility is that they are going to keep the current line through Christmas and ring in the new year with some new iPods at MacWorld. If they roll them out in Sept-Oct, there are going to be some early business shoppers looking like cheap fools at their Christmas parties.
"That's funny, because there's always someone saying we (or I) am already too biased towards-Apple, not against. (And when there's not, there's someone else taking your position, claiming the opposite.) I just don't get it -- we call it as we see it time and again."
Oh, you mean like talking about how great it is that Apple the "Punky Underdog" has dominated the market, calling anything with a touchscreen an iPhone clone (when the iPhone was certainly not the first of the slim touchscreen phones) and berating the iPods competition like the zune while not taking the iPod/iTunes to task for its DRM, itunes lock-in and closed standards, not to mention lack of features and over priced?
naah, thats not biased towards Apple at all!
theyre not going to release a new ipod until at least after the academic "free ipod with a new mac" special goes away.
A new iPod would be perfect for Christmas! Apple rules. They make better computers than PC. I saw a poll on this today on who is better - Mac or PC. You can vote for Mac too at http://www.pollicious.com
I'm a (happy) iPod/Mac user and this post really embarasses all of us on this side of the camp.
Sorry PC people for having such ignoranuses on our side. I use Vista on a PC as well and don't mind it at all.