Surprise! Apple to refresh iPod nano / touch, make tons of iPhones
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted June 29th 2008 12:09AM
posted June 29th 2008 12:09AM
Analysts love to come up with all sorts of conjecture based on history, numbers, and general guesswork. In this case, FBR Research analyst Craig Berger has a few predictions to give us regarding the future of Apple's iPod and iPhone lines. We'll keep them short and sweet here and leave the static mulling to you. First, he expects an updated, lower-priced iPod nano in the near future along with product refreshes for both the iPod classic and touch. That sounds about right, as Apple is almost due for updates of those products anyway. As far as Apple's production rate, he says Apple has increased iPod production around 15 percent and sees Apple shipping 15 million iPhone 3G by the end of the year (he's a big fan of the number "15"). Nothing really surprising here, but if all this pans out, Apple will dig deeper into the smart phone market while tightening its stranglehold on the PMP landscape.
who would take a given asshole? is that even possible to do?
I am betting that Apple will come out with a 64BG iTouch with built in 3G Data only capability along with the standard WiFI. Maybe a camera too,
Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! LOL LOL CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!!!!!!! It's a CAPTAIN, but hes CAPTAIN OF OBVIOUS!!!!! HAHHHAAHAHHA ITS ALMOST LIKE IT RYHMES!!!!!! OMG THAT COMMENT MADE MY DAY!!!!!!!!!
Macs- for people who really have no use for a computer other than it looks pretty sitting on their desk.
tojfs7931's comments- comments made by inexperienced idiots who have obviously never used a Mac.
pwned
@Austin
I HAVE used a Mac, and there is only one thing I can say:
Next time I use a computer that does what someone else wants it to do,
(i.e. a Mac running OS X, which is a lame excuse for a UNIX OS), and not what _I_ want it to do, I am going to overclock its CPU to 500 THz and see what happens. Maybe It'll run faster...
@"Intelligent"
That has to be the most unintelligent (and unintelligible) post I've read here in days.
That comes up 2nd in the unintelligent posts, #1 is my post misunderstanding the time zone launches of the iPhone 3G, do you remember that one phanbouy? :)
ha.. good call, i knew you looked familiar
One thing you can bet money on is different color variations of the iPod Touch. BestBuy and other retailers are now stating the color of the iPod Touch on their labeling. I'm no analyst, but the only reason to state the color on labeling is to avoid any potential confusion.
As far as other updates to the iPod Touch line, I expect to see a bump in storage capacities to 16mb and 32mb. With the recent capacity changes and price drops with the iPhone, the iPod Touch needs to be percieved as a good value, and any major price drops will only cannibalize iPod Nano/Classic sales.
Again, I'm not an analyst, so take my comments with a grain of salt.
32 megabytes? That's whole lotta storage!
640K is more memory than anyone will ever need.
32MB??? One of my mp3 Disconet Ultimixes is almost that size. But the funniest part is my first hard drive for my Mac Plus was a mind-numbing 20MB at the time. My how times have progressed.
In gonna get the new 3G iPhone
I have the 2g now but I want gps.
If they upgrade the memory on the
Nanos or touches to anything higher
then 16 GB I'd be tempted color is
no factor.
i'm noticing a
trend lately
in where posters like to suddenly and without
warning
hit the return key
It is almost like
They are writing a poem
or maybe a song
I
Haven't noticed
Anything
More like a haiku
With nothing to say
Not only fanboys are empty
Yawn. Is this what passes for news these days?
"Man predicts something."
its teh weekend so yes this is what passes as news
With so much of iPhone and iPod touch hipe, the older versions of iPods like Video, Classic, Nano and Shuffle are totally dead. O dont think anyone buys them now...
No way Jash. I would stop buying apple MP3 players all together if they went touch screen only. I love the fact that I can change songs, change volume, change my position of the song all without looking (especially when driving). I love the UI of the iphone/touch but i hate the fact that I have to physically see what I am doing. With all the great things about the iPhone UI set aside, I hate the fact that i can't type/text without looking or change songs, volume, or song position without looking. I think there will always be a market for devices like these. That is until a better tactile touch screen is created (screw haptic feedback). Price and storage space is also great on these devices.
Oh wait, were you being sarcastic?...
Then it's good you're not being paid to think. You're talking "hype", but the majority are people merely "interested" in the iPhone. That's why the internet search count is so high.
i want a 32(64)gb nano! or touch..
2048 gb? :O
i think what he's saying is that 64 is really the same thing as 32. double vision.
Predicting Apples moves is easy they do the same thing year after year.
1) iPod touch will have update late September/October 2008, when a keynote event is due. This will be around the 1 year old mark for touch, so we will get a 1.5 version. GPS, better battery life, some sort of case re-design around the same old screen that will scratch more.
2) September/October 2009 we get iPod touch 2. This will include a screen change (larger + pixel density of the current Nano) and probably a different chipset, ow, and a case that dosn't scratch as much as the one before.
They shot themselves in the foot with the touch screen thing. Once you get the resolution high, the screen as large as it will go -within the form factor- and the fastest CPU needed, it's all software changes and prating about with the case every year.
finally, someone who makes sense.
The calendar says its time for updates, but when you add in the new pricing on the iPhone I suspect they'll have to re-position much of the iPod line. They can do it with features, capacity, and/or price.
"Apple will dig deeper into the smart phone market"
It actually seems like Apple is losing market share in the smartphone segment. Their share was down in Q1 and 15 million iPhones sold isn't going to keep up with the explosive growth of RIM, Nokia and HTC.
People will stop buying those non-Apple phones once the iPhone 3G hits the market. Fifteen million iPhones this year and forty million iPhones next year (including newer models) will overpower the growth of those other companies. Once China gets a whiff of the iPhone, those other smartphones are as good as done for. Apple's gonna have two stores in China and they'll have lines around the block just to get into the stores to try out the toys.
"People will stop buying those non-Apple phones once the iPhone 3G hits the market."
You tell that to the Canadians. :)
Hum.
I just bought an iPod Nano last week. My second Nano and my second iPod. I just love the Nano, it's so great! So i don't care.
I don't care if you hurt me some more
i don't care if you even the score
you can knock me and i don't care
you can mock me and i don't care
you can rock me just about anywhere
it's alright 'cus you're all i've got tonight
you're all i've got tonight
Is anyone else sickened by the company logo now?
happy sunday to you too
Yeah, I'm allergic to apples too. I come out in weird little rash every time I eat one and the acid is a killer.
8GB iPod Touch = $300
8GB iPhone = $200
A refresh is very necessary.
What's with corporations that make white electronics and production delays? Apple? Nintendo?
I really wish they would make a inanophone or whatever it would be called. Something smaller with lighter apps. I just don't need all the functionality of a smart phone.
Start a blog and get a large audience and poof you're an expert/analyst. That's the way the technology and journalism industry have been moving lately.
I'm hoping for an iPod Touch w/ WiMAX, althought it'll probably be unlikely..
I'm expecting them to bump up the Nano's top storage capacity significantly to start phasing out the Hard Drive based iPods for good. If Apple is smart, they'll have 64gb Nanos out my Christmas.
There is no real reason for the Nano to be stuck in budget land anymore, it is feature-for-feature identical to the iPod Classic, if they just bump up the storage there is no longer any reason to continue making the failure-prone HDD models at all.
I wish too they would bump up the storage to at least 16gb. But I really wish they would go back to the previous generations size. I can't stand the short fat nano's. That probably won't happen so I will continue to use my 8gb black 2nd gen Nano till it dies. I just use it at the gym and in my car and have no desire to watch video's so that is why I like the smaller previous generation.