“Everybody likes to predict that Apple’s incredible roll in the audio business will come to an end. Everybody likes to say that the iTunes Music Store’s 99-cent tracks won’t be able to compete with subscription services forever,” Harry McCracken writes for PC World. “Everybody likes to theorize that the music industry will conspire to crush Apple. Everybody might be right in the long run, but I suspect that a signficant percentage of the real everybody that matters–the people who buy audio players–are going to gravitate to the Nano simply because it’s so slick and so different from what Apple’s competitors have. (Side note: If you’re Microsoft, Napster, Real, Creative, Sony, Samsung, or one of scads of other companies that compete with iPod and iTunes, how are you feeling today?)”
“The Nano will shake up the market in multiple ways. All of a sudden, a high-end flash player with a gig of memory doesn’t look very high end. And mid-sized drive-based players that seemed sleek look a bit chunky,” McCracken writes. “But the Nano’s a more expensive player per gigabyte than the iPod mini, at least for now: $249 bought you a 6GB mini, while the Nano maxes out at 4GB for the same price. The iPod mini’s quoted battery life is better (18 hours versus 14 for the Nano… but maybe its lower battery life is due to a smaller battery). And it’s possible there’s such a thing as being too small–a PCW colleague who tried the Nano’s click wheel wondered if a wheel that small may turn out to be harder to use.”
McCracken writes, “Will the Nano have this category all to itself for Holiday 2005? Apple rivals had some warning a product sort of like this was on its way, but even they may have been surprised by how big a departure the Nano is from the Mini. Betcha that some are embarking on rush projects even as we speak.”
Full article here.
Advertisement: Apple iPod nano. 1,000 songs. Impossibly small. From $199. Free shipping.
We bet chairs are flying and f bombs are being dropped, even outside of Redmond.
Related articles:
Sony and Warner holding out on Apple iTunes Music Store Australia – September 08, 2005
Sony Connect President in wake of iPod nano: ‘we will accelerate our challenge’ to Apple iPod – September 08, 2005
Mossberg: Apple iPod nano ‘beautiful, incredibly thin, and exceeds Apple’s performance specs’ – September 08, 2005
Apple’s iPod nano will make competitors whimper, Motorola’s ROKR inexplicably bland – September 07, 2005
Tech pundit Enderle: ‘iPod Nano is a hit,’ Motorola ROKR ‘simply doesn’t have enough Apple in it’ – September 07, 2005
Jupiter analyst Gartenberg: ‘the market is going to go for Apple iPod nano in a big way’ – September 07, 2005
Analyst: iPod nano ‘could be Apple’s next home run’ – September 07, 2005
Video of Steve Jobs introducing iPod nano, ROKR iTunes phone now available online – September 07, 2005
Apple’s Steve Jobs predicts ultra-thin iPod nano ‘will become the highest volume iPod in the world’ – September 07, 2005
Apple introduces iPod nano – September 07, 2005
Over 1,000 accessories now available for Apple iPod – September 07, 2005
Big hit for the holidays. Here we go again?
Looks like Apple will be using this new Nano iPod and the ROKR phone to help curb the tide until Intel Macs are released.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
I can hear the crying from here… especially from Creative and Redmond (Microsoft).
I think they should have made the nano a bit bigger and had a better battery. The mini had 18 hours, nano – 14. A slight step backward?!?!
The Ginza store in Japan sold out of black before 3:00 and a few hours later all of the 4GB models were gone. With only white 2GB models left the store was still packed and the line was out the door.
Yeah, it looks like the competitors should be worried. They’ll have nothing comparable to offer and Apple will own the holiday season and needless to say beyond, way beyond!
18hrs vs 14hrs, like if you are going to ever make the difference between the two. And the form factor should actually say that the Nano might be a step FORWARD actually wrt the Mini. Much smaller battery and still 14 hrs? Must be a better battery.
I wish it was flexible so that it could go in my back pocket
You see where this is going…
iPod nano: all things music. the battery life and storage space will increase in time
iPod shuffle: will keep it around if it sells and if the nano can hold its pricing. if not, no big deal, nano takes over
iPod: this is reserved for all the bells and whistles they can bestow on the hard drive. In other words, here comes the iPod video. Video to go…but more like TiVo than full length movies. Store the latest version of “24” and bring it over to your friends house via the iPod.
iPhone: you can’t believe that Apple believes too much in that phone. It’s hard to get two companies (especially when one is Apple) to work together, let alone three companies. In due time, Apple will design their own phone. Why else do you think they buried the Rokr announcement with the nano announcement.
I don’t understand how people can say that Apple won’t stay on top of this digital music industry and Microsoft was and still is on top of the PC industry in terms of sales. I have a Mac and have always had one, but facts are facts. If Apple stays ahead of the curve and continues to stun the industry with overwhelming innovation and flexibility (the iTunes program kicks ass), they should be good to go for a long time to come.
AAPL is only a couple cents away from $50 at this moment … analysts busily rewriting their forecasts of gloom and doom … the only difficult decision about the nano is which color.
At least Sony has other things like the PS3 to bring in $$$ … Creative is done.
Apple’s stock is at 49.83 a share as we speak.
After all these years of being gobsmacked at what Apple comes out with, you’d think I’d learn to expect the unexpected!
Apple: Daring to imagine the unimaginable.
have you seen that Creative are now branding their new players Zen Nano Plus? Unbelievable!!!!
saweeeeeeeeet
How are Microsoft, Napster, Real, Creative, Sony feeling today?
Microsoft – After watching the Apple video of the Sept 7th event, Bill Gates said “We were f–cked by Apple” and Steve Ballmer threw a chair.
Napster – After watching the Apple video a conference was made to discusss ways to motivate the music labels to force Apple to increase iTMS prices to save their buisness.
Real – After watching the Apple video and downloading iTunes 5, they realized their hacked “Fairplay” scheme to get their DRM music on a iPod was broken. They are asking DVDJon for help again.
Creative – After watching the same Apple video, called in their lawyers to discuss how to revise their patent lawsuit to cover the iPod Nano, the lawyers warned them they would also be taking on Cingular and Motorolla. Creative is reconsidering it’s position.
Sony – After watching the Apple video, cancelled a multi-billion yen project to copy the iPod Mini and is considering dropping their music from the rest of the iTMS stores. The only problem is all their artists are defecting and signing up with Apple directly.
For those talking about the batter life – remember the Nano has a color screen opposed to mini, therefore will use more battery, 14 hours ain’t bad
“The Ginza store in Japan sold out of black before 3:00…”
I read many, many years ago that white is a funeral color in Japan. I know that the iPod has been available in various colors, but considering that white is practically Apple’s corporate color, maybe that is why Apple has had some issues in Japan. Maybe releasing the iPod nano in black was more of a recognition of Japanese culture, rather than just to look “cool.”
Which brings me to something else. Is there a “Goth” movement in Japan? If white is a funeral color in Japan, would Japanese “Goths” wear white clothes, nails and lipstick and bleach their hair? Just curious.
Interesting you should ask, leodavinci.
In fact there is a group on Japan that bleaches their hair blonde, wears white eyeshadow and lipstick and uses artificial tanners to darken their skin , kind of a reverse Goth!
i think apple determined that 4GB and 14-15 hours of battery life is the threshold after which people would prefer it to be smaller and lighter. i’d pay more if it’s smaller, but i wouldn’t pay more for a 50 hour battery or for 6GB.
creative and sony could also learn from how apple keeps its product line and price points simple. apple killed the mini even though they could’ve kept selling it alongside the nano, for those who want the attributes of the mini. just so people won’t be confused by having too many choices.
I just read on “DellDailyNews.com”, “DellMinute.com” and on “DellObserver.com” that Michael Dell has just announced a big media event for Oct. 7, 2005. Word is he is set to announce a new Dell iPOD Nano killer!
Stay tune…
Why not kill the Mini? The nano is probably hard less expensive to make and probably greater margins (no hard disk mechanism, no extruded Al case, etc.). If there’s no mini, you have to get a nano. No canibalizing of product since the mini is dead.
From the article:
…”a PCW colleague who tried the Nano’s click wheel wondered if a wheel that small may turn out to be harder to use.”
I haven’t seen the nano’s wheel firsthand, but there is such a thing a too small (think of cell phones where you all but need a toothpick to work the buttons).
Apple, when the iPod micro comes, have it as thin as a credit card but keep the scroll wheel and display at usable dimensions.
zupchuck, i agree that what apple did was smart. but look at the creative and sony MP3 player lines; they just keep introducing new ones without killing any of the older ones.
btw, analysts think the nano has smaller margins than the mini. i disagree because i think apple could’ve held off bringing out the nano at 199/249 until margins were better, by just capacity-bumping the mini to 8GB and color screens, without losing any ground at christmas. but i think apple got the costs down so much because of the samsung deal that they pushed up the nano’s debut and now will have another record-setting quarter.
“From the article:
…”a PCW colleague who tried the Nano’s click wheel wondered if a wheel that small may turn out to be harder to use.”
I haven’t seen the nano’s wheel firsthand, but there is such a thing a too small (think of cell phones where you all but need a toothpick to work the buttons).” – pod zone
pod zone, since PC World said it, it must be true! Apple is doomed! DOOMED!
Ah, on second thought, Rock on Steve!
In general, flash memory is more expensive than Microdrives; however, the Samsung deal Apple struck may make the margins very close. Really, given the price Apple got for the NAND, it’s hard to imagine any of Apple’s competitors coming up with anything close to the same price. You have to have huge volume to get a deal like Apple’s.