Digital Portable Players

Six 'Digital Portable Players' stories March 2011 - September 2013

Apple quietly adds $59 AppleCare+ for iPod touch and iPod Classic

Seth Weintraub Sep 10 2013 - 9:13 pm PT

Screen Shot 2013-09-10 at 11.52.53 PM

Not only did the iPod (~~Rasputin~~) Classic not die as predicted (again) today, Apple is wrapping the ‘old man of the iPods’ up with its Apple Care Plus plans along with the more popular iPod touch. According to the updated iPod support page, Apple customers can now purchase an additional year of coverage for the iPods as well as phone support beyond 90 days and most importantly, two incidents of accidental damage coverage (+$29 service fee) for $59 here.

Previously, only regular AppleCare as available to iPods and was grouped in with Apple TVs.

Apple also raised AppleCare+ fees today on iPhones from $49 to $79 and also launched in Europe.

Update: We have also learned that out of warranty replacements for the iPhone 5 (and presumably 5s) will be priced at $269, an increase of $40 over the past year. This inflated cost may make it easier for iPhone owners to justify the up-front cost of AppleCare+.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Microsoft’s entertaining Surface Stomp commercial still doesn’t show how it works [Video]

9to5 Staff Oct 15 2012 - 7:12 pm PT

0 Comments

Great commercial—except they did not really show how or if it even works. It reminds me more of an iPod shuffle commercial than a hybrid tablet/laptop introduction.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple’s new iPod ‘Bounce’ ad ready to watch online; first real bounce test too

Jake Smith Oct 10 2012 - 5:43 pm PT

0 Comments

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrRHPf0_B3M&feature=plcp”]

Shown during its media event last month, Apple posted a new iPod advertisement online. It has also been appearing on television. The ad, titled “Bounce”, highlights the various new designs in Apple’s iPod lineup and the choice of colors it now offers.

In case you are wondering how these iPods really bounce, we have the first iPod touch drop test below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys: Today’s iOS device price drops

Seth Weintraub Oct 4 2011 - 1:48 am PT

0 Comments

From 9to5toys.com:

Apple iPod nano 8GB for $129 (pictured, $20 drop)
Apple iPod nano 16GB for $149 ($30 drop)
Apple iPod touch 8GB for $199 ($30 drop)

Also notable is the release of the iPod touch in white; it’s available in 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB models for $199, $299, and $399, respectively, the same as the black version.

Apple announced price drops on its older iPhone models. With activation of a new 2-year contract, the iPhone 4 8GB is now $99, $100 off, while the iPhone 3GS is now free, a price drop of $99.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Does Apple have to kill the iPod?

Seth Weintraub Sep 13 2011 - 12:25 pm PT

0 Comments

Will the touch turn into an iPhone, the Classic be killed by iCloud and the Shuffle and Nano be morphed into wearable/iWatches?

from Wikipedia, data to Q2 2011

Out of Apple’s incredibly successful product lines, the iPods are the only one dropping numbers and revenue (above, mostly to iPhone and iPad, not the competition). Analysts as well as Apple forecast iPod sales drops close to 20% this quarter over the year ago quarter, which is an acceleration of the previous year to year drop. Apple’s very nature is to only go after lucrative expanding markets so there could be some motivation to cut or revamp the iPod lineup.

There’s been some talk of Apple killing the iPod touch at next month’s iPhone 5 announcement, which happens to be smack dab on top of the release window of every iPod announcement of the past 5 years. The idea is that if a “cheap” iPhone is made to cost less than $300, what is the point of having an iPod touch alongside it only a few bucks cheaper? Indeed, having the iPhone event during the normally scheduled iPod event could indicate some sort of new branding/pairing or at the very least a new release schedule. Interestingly, we’ve heard there are global constraints on iPhone 4 happening globally, but not on iPods ahead of September…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple drops prices up to AU$50 on iPods in Australia

9to5 Staff Mar 31 2011 - 6:37 pm PT

0 Comments

Australian readers are reporting that Apple’s iPods had dropped in price up to AU$50. 3rd party retailers haven’t all reflected the price drops. Full price details below. Anyone else seeing a price drop out there?

Expand
Expanding
Close