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Last Month's iPods Don't Fade Away –They Get Discounted
Electronics | Sep 26, 06
With the release of its new line of iPods, Apple lowered some price points and instantly reduced the cool factor of existing inventory. The effect on older model pricing has been dramatic.
Consider the 30 GB iPod with Video – 5G, which went for at least $275 two weeks ago. It now may be had for as little as $239. Note, however, that much of that drop is probably attributable to the lower price of the "Updated" 30 GB – 5G, which is selling for $249 (one wonders if Cupertino's pricing strategy could have been influenced by new SanDisk and Microsoft – see "Can SanDisk Sandbag the iPod?" and "The Zune: Microsoft's Little Brown Lump Of DRM-Enforcing Digital Joy"). An even more dramatic effect can be seen in the case of the 60 GB iPod with Video – 5G. There is no 60 GB model in the new line (instead Apple is offering a 80 GB model for $349). The result is that the 60 GB iPod has fallen from a minimum price of $360 before the new release to as little as $299 today (see graph below).
Time Period: 10/17/2005 through 9/18/2006
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price
Indeed, it's a similar story across the entire iPod line, as you may observe by checking out the PriceSCAN Price Indices for these products. The bottom line is that if your ardor for the iPod hotness of two weeks ago has not been cooled by Apple's announcement, you can now get that same player at a sharp discount to what you would have paid earlier in the month.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 8:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Zune: Microsoft's Little Brown Lump Of DRM-Enforcing Digital Joy
Electronics | Sep 19, 06
The iPod's many colors have been said to evoke thoughts of ice cream and candy. Verizon's appeal to the taste buds is apparent in the dark mocha hue of the Chocolate. Now, Microsoft has produced the Zune, available in white, black, and brown, or as my colleague David Cost put it, "a turd or pooh-like color". David went on to add that he thought "the odd choice of color was prophetic". Current web buzz has the rumored Xbox tie-in a red herring. Further, the vaunted Wi-Fi capability is now said to allow Zune users to share DRM-protected songs wirelessly just three times or for three days (whichever comes first) before the man shuts the party down. To be sure, the Zune comes with a three-inch screen, larger than the iPod's 2.5-inch display. Yet it's unclear what Microsoft will do to make video content available. There's an FM tuner (can't anyone but PoGo! put an AM radio in one of these things?) It's got a 30 GB hard drive and has been said to have a suggested retail price of $299. That may be a problem in itself, since the 30 GB iPod is now priced at $249. Microsoft is now rumored to intend to lower that SRP before release, making it more competitive with Apple. But the Zune, which comes pre-loaded with major-label music, is already said to be priced as a loss leader for Microsoft's music download service. There's some innovation here, in that Zune Marketplace will allow unlimited downloads for an as-yet unknown set fee. If that fee were low enough (and the buyer's rights don't expire too quickly, if at all), perhaps Redmond can find a business model here.
Look, folks, I'd really like to see some serious competition for Cupertino in the digital player market. But a sepia-toned player that narcs on music-sharing kids? Late night comedians are already making jokes about giving Junior a non-Apple MP3 player so he can let the world know you don't love him enough to get him an iPod. Microsoft's response seems to be a device that tells you to get off your ass and virally promote that new track (not more than thrice!) before it closes you down. Beyond this, paying 20% more for a slightly larger screen, a radio (there are cool-looking FM iPod modules) and some very limited music-sharing capability hardly seems like a value proposition truly threatening to Apple.
As for the colors, the black has a hint of blue, while the brown sports bits of green. I wonder if that last touch is a harbinger of profits or just a way to give Microsoft's new offering that "undigested" look.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 8:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New iPods: More Memory, Smaller Size, And A Tough Day For SanDisk
Electronics | Sep 14, 06
Well, you could see it coming. Back in August, the Wall Street Journal reported that SanDisk would challange the iPod Nano with its new Sansa e280, an 8 GB MP3 player priced at $249.99, thus offering twice the storage of what the Journal calls the "comparably priced" Nano.
Writing of the Nano (the 4 GB version of which was already selling at a 10% discount to the e280's reported price) I noted that "Further discounting of this mature product is entirely possible, and so is the addition of a few more gig of flash." ("Can SanDisk Sandbag the iPod?"). Well, it turns out the new, thinner, 4 GB Nanos are to be priced at $199.99, a 20% discount to the e280. And in addition to these brightly colored new 4 gig players, Apple is introducing an 8 GB Nano. The price? $249.99, precisely the same as the SRP of the new e280. So, like Sansa, Apple apparently knows where to buy flash memory. Interestingly, the 8 GB models come only in black (always cool), a color the 4 GB Nanos are not available in. Could this be an attempt to allow instant visual recognition of a superior Nano, allying style, greater capacity and snob appeal in an attempt to get consumers to step up to the more expensive model? Nah, Steve just wouldn't do something like that.
Also added to the iPod lines are iPods with Video said to be 30% thinner than those of the last generation. There's now a 80 GB model, whose greater storage capacity should help accommodate movie downloads from iTunes (note that while a 30 GB model will still be produced, the 60 GB version is being discontinued). And in the continuing war on fingerprint-covered music players, Apple is also introducing a 1 GB version of the Shuffle, billed as the "world's smallest digital music player". Using a clip, it attaches to one's belt, lapel, or who knows what else. The new Shuffle features an anodized aluminum case. At $79.99, it should prove a cheap, low-smudge way to rock your workout.
Look for all these iPods to be offered by vendors on PriceSCAN.com, and use our site to keep an eye out for bargains on older models as the new line rolls out.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 8:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
But If We Made Too Many PlayStations, They Wouldn't Be As Cool
Video Games | Sep 7, 06
According to the Associated Press, production problems with the Blu-ray component of Sony’s PlayStation 3 have so limited production as to compel the firm to delay the launch of the product in Europe until March of next year. U.S. consumers fear not, however, for while the A.P reports that the production drop is on the order of a million units, American and Japanese launches are still slated for November, with 400,000 units available in the US and 100,000 in Japan.
As for the Europeans, well, guess they'll have an added incentive to familiarize themselves with Nintendo's new Wii and Microsoft's Xbox. The irony here is that given Wii's technical advantages and competitive pricing (see "Nintendo Gives Kids Extra Time To Whine For Gift Of Holiday Wii", "Nintendo Undercuts PS3 and Xbox, And Continues Pop Culture’s War On Spelling", "But Its Got Blu-ray – What More Do You People Want From Us?" and "Sony PS3 Priced Within Reach Of Many Home Equity Borrowers") you'd think Sony would be making every effort to grab global market share where it can. The only silver lining: should the PlayStation 3 prove a market disappointment, less production could soften the blow. Wonder if anyone in Tokyo made an argument like that during the Betamax debacle...
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 10:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
