Rumor: iPod Updates But Not More Storage?


This may be more idle speculation than rumor, but MacOS Rumors is running with this one, suggesting a (full-sized) iPod update may be imminent.

But you can forget about 50 or 60GB hard drives in iPods for a while, even though Apple may make some detail and/or pricing changes to the iPods around May. Currently, the 15GB iPod retails for $299. Its 4GB cousin sells for $249.

It makes sense, given that this is the all-important 'Dads-and-Grads' sales season, and that a lot grads are going to be looking for not only portable storage via USB 2.0 or FireWire, but also that much more important music player. But does anyone need more than 40GB for music storage?

MOSR conjecture that Apple may not move to larger drives - such as 60 or 80GB - until late 2004 or 2005. 1.8" drives of this capacity - at least initially - are going to be e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e though.

And, given the shortage of iPod Minis, it also makes sense to distance the low-end full-sized iPods from the 4GB Minis. Apple's margins on the original iPods have got to be a lot better than the Minis, whose microdrives alone must cost Apple a penny or two at wholesale.

MOSR, however, is tipping that an 8GB iPod Mini will arrive before the year's out, probably for $299, which would probably see the base iPod bumped to 20GB.

Interestingly, MOSR assert that Apple has found (no source cited) that most people do just fine with around 5GB of storage for their music - the capacity of the original iPod - so perhaps huge hard drives are not necessarily what the market wants.

Could you use 60 or 80GB in your iPod?