Comments on: Apple doubles iPhone, iPod Touch capacity

The iPhone now comes in a 16GB version, while the iPod Touch goes all the way up to 32GB. Both models are $100 more than their lower-capacity siblings.

[john55440]

Boost Sales?

"This move should give something of a boost to iPhone and iPod Touch sales."

I don't know - with no new features and a +$100 price tag, in this economy, it doesn't sound like a very compelling offering.

[Lee in San Diego]

Time will tell

Not everyone is in financial trouble, not yet anyway.

[DnetMHZ]

economy..

I know the economy is bad right now, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at my local Apple store. You can barely walk around in there, it is always packed with people many of whom appear to be making purchases.

[gopnick]

The economy

The economy is fine. We aren't even in a recession. We still had
positive GDP growth last quarter... for it to be a recession you need
two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. No way is that
the case. The economy is just taking a breather. People still have
tons of money and will spend themselves into oblivion.

[Penguinisto]

Sure.

"no new features"? Err, Sixteen Gigabytes of storage is one hell of a nice new feature. Give me a built-in terminal capable of SSH on it, and I can turn it into a 100% portable anywhere/anytime *nix administration tool.

Give me a small but usable Apache service on it, and I can use it as a portable mini-server, from which to install whole desktops or servers with.

Leave it as it is, and I can now store a shedload of documents and files to transfer on a business trip without having to lug around an extra hard disk or laptop with.

You probably don't find such things compelling. That's natural. But please do not presume to dictate what "compelling" is or is not for the rest of us, please.

/P

[groink_hi]

The People of the United States...

These are the people who complain about very high gas prices, yet they invest heavily into very large SUVs and Hummers.

US citizens is one group of people who will buy stuff - regardless of the economy's condition. The number-one goal of an American is to be happy. If buying a $500 iPod touch makes him happy, then let him go ahead and splurge.

[brucepet]

Boost Sales...No

You are right that in this economy the lack of new features and a higher price is not compelling.
Just take a look at Apple's stock performance the last month or so. The tech and Wall St. community were not impressed with the offerings at MacWorld.

[celticbrewer]

No Thanks

I wish I took advantage of the 80GB zunes when they were about $120. But even at $250, they're still a much better value than ipods.

My mother recently got an ipod touch and it's just alright. It can be a serious pain in the rear to use. And the iTunes software bites the big one.

But hey, if you want a 32GB MP3 player for $500, I'm not going to stop you. I'm sure there's plenty of brainwashed apple fans willing to hand over their money. Those people should look into scientology as a religion- it's a perfect fit!

[bommai]

Is that you Ballmer?

Are you tired of chair throwing? Are you disappointed that all your efforts to come up with an iPod competitor has failed? Just when you could equal the iPod Classic, Apple came out with the uber-sexy Touch. Have you even used a Touch. How does the big bright multi-touch screen compare with the Zune's.

Are you comparing a 80GB Hard drive to a 32GB Flash. What is the highest flash based player the Zune has?

Why is iTunes so good for everyone except you? With Mac market share growing, do you think the Zune even has a chance.

[drhamad]

Apples and Oranges

You're comparing prices of two very different products. If you want to compare to the 80 gig Zune, compare it to the iPod Classic.

[Thomas, David]

LMAO

... i can't even respond because it's such an obvious troll. At least
make it entertaining and make up something that is plausible.

[Penguinisto]

Nice...

I may have to grab one yet, though I'm still holding out for a Skype-like client that I can latch onto WiFi with.

/P

[k2dave]

This is so obviouse a money grab by Apple

I'm not saying Apple is wrong for getting as much as they are for their products, just that they are really playing their customers on it, to IMHO a insulting level.

[Penguinisto]

Doubling the storage is such a 'scam'... :/

I mean, it's just as bad as those nasty ol' hard disk makers for charging more for terabyte drives than they do for 500GB ones!

(yeah, sarcasm. gotta love it).

/P

[mikeburek]

old days

When will companies return to the old days of making products and giving them away with the motive of making the world a better place and not the motive of income and profit? Charging for products... What's next? People having to go to some centrally located commercial building to get a product instead of having it shipped their house?

[john55440]

Govt. Jobs Report - Worst In 4+ Years

"The nation?s employers eliminated 17,000 jobs in January, the government reported Friday, the first decline in the work force in more than four years,..."

The media just repeats Government statistics, such as the one shown above. The "shoot the messenger" crowd just don't want to hear the truth.

[technewsjunkie]

What relevance to article??

nt

[FuManShoes]

$100 more and still no 3G?

I agree with the guy who calls this a money grab. There is no way some feel-good UI changes and another 8Gb of flash are worth a $100 price hike. Prospective iPhone owners want 3G. That's what we're waiting for. Is it that tough to add a ******* chip that phones half this size have had for 2 years?

[Delorean2006]

iPhone 2.0

Apple couldn't just add everything at once to the iPhone because there would really be nothing else to build on. iPhone 2.0 is going to have it just wait.

[Vegaman_Dan]

What kind of backlash will there be?

I think Apple may be hesitant about releasing a 3G phone after the nasty backlash they got with their loyal customers on the first gen iPhone. If they release a 3G version after Jobs clearly stated they had no intent on doing, calling the technology immature and not reliable, then people would be right to be rather upset.

I have no doubt they will release a 3G phone- they may just want to wait until they have sold off their excess surplus inventory of unsold product first. Look to the announcement of dropping production of the iPod and iPhone by 60% as an indicator of oversupply and not enough demand.

[goldstategirl]

Allow T-Mobile service in US and I'll get one

Otherwise, I hate AT+T/Cingular service just a little more than I love Apple products...and THAT IS A LOT.

I work on a glorious Mac Book Pro and have been te proud owner of mostly Macs, have Nano and a larger iPod 3G that still kicks ass. An IPhone would sooo compliment my business and personal workflow but NO.

I really do not want to go back to AT+T/Cingular...I don't trust those people even with dumping the Cingular name.

Anyone care to talk me over the ledge on this and promise me AT+T's got a net waiting below?

[vfischer]

T-Mobile

I so agree. Ano other T-Mobilers want service for this phone from T-Mobile????

[NewsBiscuit]

Joswiak, is that a pseudonym

Greg Joswiak? Is that a real guy, or have Jobs and Wozniak recombined their DNA into hyrbid clones designed to take over the world, one well designed UI at a time?

[knarfl1]

Haha. Was thinking the same thing reading the article.

I hear Steve Blammer and Bill Tages are working on a WinPhone. :)

[KarraGJ]

Joswiak

Joz as I knew him is a warm, kind very capable person, very much real. He was a joy to work with.

[davenyc1]

Steve's Outta Touch

Jobs is outta touch. But then again he has always been a hit or miss kinda guy.

He keeps rolling out one high priced item after another. Even the elitist, gotta-have-an-Apple-at-any-price crowd, is wearing thin. His new customers are "Average" Joe & Jane. With Americans losing homes at 7000 per day Steve needs to lower prices and/or offer bundled packages that include free trial movies & songs. Apple has over $15 billion in the bank and can easily afford exciting promotions without denigrating it's pricey, elitist, out-of-the-box-thinking, sex appeal.

He owes it to shareholders to drive sales up. Instead most are scratching their heads in total disbelief. Many are wondering if he's lost his game once again. Or worse, he's tanking the stock intentionally to buy AAPL at a huge discount. The stock keeps sinking from these pathetic over-priced roll-outs.

LOL...Kinda reminds me of Mel Brooks "The Producers" or Pete Rose gambling on his own games. Not so LOL for shareholders.

[knarfl1]

Huh, kinda sounds like another company: MSFT

Apple overprices their stuff, ships products that aren't even on par with existing products but people buy readily pay for it for some reason. Before the software update (let's not call it "upgrade"), iPhone could only send text msgs to one person at a time. Sad but true. True desktop Internet experience? Uh, where's the Flash compatibility?

Pay $300 for designer jeans? I'll stick with my Levis.

[brucepet]

Steve's Outta Touch--I think you are right!

AMEN

[jscott418]

The rich mac fans keep buying

Of course the richer Mac user's will continue to buy. But the rest
of us are beginning to see how Apple makes its money. They
have frequent product upgrades, their products are designed in
a way to encourage buyer's to buy other Apple products in order
to enjoy all the features. This is a monopoly! How come Apple
gets away with stifling competition but Microsoft takes hits all
the time. Heck Microsoft does not even build computers, they
are a software company! Apple does it all!! I just love how Apple
manages a small user base over the years, yet makes so much
money.

[rpkelso]

Double the storage capacity for $100?

So the iPhone gets 2x the capacity... that's 8GB more for $100. The Touch gets 2x the capacity... that's 16GB more for $100. Am I missing something?

[k2dave]

Yes you are missing $100

The prices that Apple sets really has little to do with their cost, just how much they can get out of people. They sell a premium product and have established a uniqueness in the marketplace, so they can afford a monopolistic pricing model where prices are set quite differently (read higher) then a competitive market where other devices compete.

[ev61]

outta touch?

All I have to say, is even at 32GB it will not hold a substantial music and video library. I got my 16GB touch and can hold about a quarter of my music library, a movie and a tv show or two. I am glad I have that extra $100 in my pocket, because even at that number I can't do what I want.

At $500, I would get one of those "one laptop per child" computers and feel good about myself.

[MadLyb]

Still not there

OK, we got the capacity to a usuable level, but where is Bluetooth Audio and a usable price?

I really like the design of it, but it is waaayyy overpriced. Maybe if they got the price down to $300 and added Bluetooth Audio.

[dm66]

bluetooth badly needed

Add bluetooth and I'm buying 2 at least...I figure its tech and hence you get screwed on prices anyway as soon as you buy it...it will be superseded

[Starfires]

Flashy Prices

Wow, you're paying a lot for that flash storage. I know there are problems with hard drives, especially their bulk, but is all this really neccessary? Still, it's good to see the storage increasing, doubling each time. With video playback, 64 Gig and up would be a good amount.

[bboyswoosh87]

If they added GPS

I would only buy the iphone if it upgraded more memory like a 30 gb. I would also like to see faster response time, it is way too slow. Lastly, I would like GPS instead of that crappy Google maps. I think that would be a worthy adversary in phone market place. Well theres more, but it would satisfy me if i saw a phone like this.

[iBuzz]

The new iPhone's here!!! The new iPhone's here!!!

Now I can be someone! This is the kind of phone that makes
people! Things are going to start happening to me now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt7eLe8RBJQ

[jr20079]

Too expensive

$500? Get a laptop! But then again it is very portable

[Kingofthe440]

flash support

I don't know why the addition of 3G would be so big when there
is still no flash support! There are so many sites that rely on flash
for their core use, why can't they add this? In my opinion this is
what would propell the iPhone and iPod touch into the next
generation.

[BigGuns149]

Not the most expensive ipod in real or nominal dollars.

While the $499 ipod touch is pretty pricey it isn't the most expensive ipod ever in nominal dollars and definitely not real dollars. The ipod photo 60GB originally retailed for $599! In real dollars portable digital audio players in general have become much cheaper while offering more storage and features.


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipod_photo

I think the news in my opinion is that we are starting to see 32GB solid state based players that are profitably being sold for ~$500. In a year the price could easily be half that. For the sake of audio 32GB is essentially infinite for a lot of people. You could store over a day worth of lossless audio on such a player and well over a week to two weeks of lossy audio depending upon the bitrate. Unless you are going to buy $100+ headphones or you are going to hook it up to a high end stereo system lossless doesn't make much sense. People who want a portable device for audio only have virtually no need for a hard disk player with that amount of storage. The only question is how much longer hard disk player will be popular for video?

[lrd123]

iPhone Capacity

I just wanted to say I luv my iphone. Would I like a 16G model yes, but the 8 GB has served me well. Imagine a phone you can actually learn from?

[krosavcheg]

then you need to see it

u have to see www.white.in to check this amazing thing that I came across.