Behind The New iPod Rumors |
A new generation of iPods is coming and the cat-and-mouse game that Apple's (AAPL) legal department plays with the rumor sites in advance of a product launch is now fully engaged. On Saturday, Aug. 18, Apple issued a cease-and-desist order against MacRumors, demanding that the site remove a video purporting to show a click-wheel driven iPod interface that lets users scroll through a photo collection with the "coverflow" visual metaphor pioneered in iTunes. On Wednesday, Apple legal asked 9to5Mac -- and later Gizmodo -- to remove a fuzzy photo of five squat devices that the sites claimed were prototypes of next generation iPod nanos. Both complied, although as of this morning the original photo can still be seen here (scroll down to the comment left on Wednesday at 3:25 p.m.) . Gizmodo interpreted the cease-and-desist order as confirmation that the photos were genuine, but Apple has been known to leak and then demand removal of bogus product shots, just to throw reporters off the scent. The most useful intelligence so far comes today from Kasper Jade at AppleInsider, who posted a detailed report early this morning pulling together everything he's been able to learn about the next generation of iPods. According to Jade, Apple in mid- to late-September will introduce as many as four new models, most if not all using NAND memory rather than hard drives to store music, videos and other data. The flagship video iPod and iPod nano, according to Jade, will run a variation of OS X rather than the Pixo-based software that drove the first generations of iPods -- the culmination, as he puts it, of "a multi-year effort ... to form a new platform of digital devices around the common core of [Apple's] legendary operating system software and expertise in industrial design." Jade's sources in the Far East, where the iPods are being manufactured, also suggest that there might be an element of truth to some of the spy photos and videos that Apple legal has been suppressing so assiduously. Meanwhile, Blackfriar's Carl Howe has issued the most detailed speculation to date about what Apple's forthcoming iPod announcement might include. He doesn't claim any inside sources, but by reviewing Apple's current line-up and anticipating how the company's might incorporate iPhone technology into the iPod without requiring major repositioning of the product line, he predicts that the September lineup will include (quoting directly from his post): - A wide-screen video iPod. Apple's new video iPod will still rely on disk storage in 80 and 160 GByte capacities, but will gain the iPhone's high-resolution screen and touch panel interface. I do not believe that Apple will add WiFi wireless networking to these iPods, choosing instead to keep the functions simple to understand and the interface simple, while providing music and video lovers with storage far beyond that available on an iPhone. These features will set the prices of the high-end of the iPod line at $299 and $349. - iPod nanos with video support. The iPod nanos will look much like smaller versions of the video iPods, with displays across more (but not all) of their bodies. But these iPods will only sport flash storage in 4 and 8 GByte sizes, and their screens will be considerably smaller than the video iPod. I further expect these nanos to retain the touch wheel of today's iPod nanos to keep costs down and to retain one-handed operation, a key attribute for many iPod users. Price points here will range from $149 to $249, just as today. - More storage in the iPod shuffle. The low end of the iPod line will continue to eschew displays, focusing instead on delivering more storage to accommodate large iTunes plus songs. Expect the iPod shuffles to now sport 2 GBytes of storage for $79. Again, this is pure Blackfriar speculation, but it's pretty smart and if reflects Apple's real dilemma as it attempts to refresh its aging lineup of music players while keeping the iPod and iPhone lines from cannibalizing each other. As Howe puts it: "The iPod update I've proposed is simply an evolutionary update, while the iPhone was a revolutionary introduction. But when you're running a $25 billion business, one revolution a year is probably enough." |
