iPod Spawns Family

- 2001.11.05

Okay, the iPod is overpriced. Steve Jobs has heard our complaints and plans to release four new iPod units after the holidays, according to our secret sources at Apple - not to mention the guy who pumps Jobs' gas.

The Big iPod

First up will be a larger iPod designed around a 10 GB 2.5" notebook hard drive, the same mechanism found in the iceBook. These drives retail at $200 less than the tiny 1.8" drive used in the original iPod, which may be renamed the Little iPod or the Mini iPod.

The Big iPod will be a bit larger, will include USB (it's slow, but this addresses one more concern about the first iPod), and will be available with other 9.5mm 2.5" (20 GB, 30 GB) mechanisms for those who want or need even more capacity. We're guessing Apple could sell the 10 GB Big iPod for $200-250.

The iMan

Here's a brilliant idea for those with more money than sense: a hybrid CD player and iPod. The iMac will use the expensive 1.8" hard drive in the current iPod, but will also function as a traditional portable CD player. It will include FireWire, USB, the ability to directly rip CDs to the iMan's hard drive, and the ability to play MP3 CDs.

The iPod Server

This one is brilliant. The iPod Server is an MP3 server for your network. It will include FireWire, USB, and 10/100/1000 ethernet. It will run customized version of Mac OS X Server, include a remote control, and support powered speakers. It can also be added to the AUX input of a traditional stereo.

The iPod Server will use a 3.5" drive and include a CD-RW mechanism for ripping MP3s and burning your own CDs. Remote burning can be managed via iTunes with any Mac on the network.

That's not all: The iPod Server will work as a file server and can run server applications such as Web and email services. The whole iPod Server will be about 7" wide, 7" deep, and 3" tall. Like the Mac itself, the iPod Server can act as a hub for the digital lifestyle.

The iPod Radio

Not enough for you? Apple has once again teamed up with Bose, this time to produce a combination iPod/Wave Radio. The iPod Radio will include a slim 3.5" hard drive, a CD-RW mechanism, and all the electronics of the Wave Radio. It will also be able to play MP3s from CD.

Prices and availability for these hypothetical products are not known, although we hope to see them all at Macworld Expo in January.

- Anne Onymus

Recent Rumor Mills

• New Apple drive supports Blu-ray and HD DVD, 09.11. Tired of being second-guessed and sometimes outmaneuvered by Microsoft, Apple has embraced both next gen DVD formats with its new SuperDrive Extreme.
• California: Beyond 'no light bulbs for you', 02.01. A Calfiornia assemblyman wants to make incandescent light bulbs illegal - but that's just the beginning. His next target: CRT monitors and TVs.
• IRS to tax Second Life, WoW, Monopoly: How to fight back, 12.18. Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, and now the IRS wants to tax your virtual life as well as your real one.
• Sudden impact: Apple's great Asteroid hoax, 06.09. Truth of the matter is, the Asteroid Project didn't exist to produce a viable product, but as a way to shut down rumor sites.
• More in the Rumor Mill index.

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
• List of the Day: MacBook List for those using a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
  
• September 6 in LEM history: 99: G4 vs. Pentium III - 00: Setting up a server - 02: Norton Utilities warning - 10 greatest computer annoyances - 06: iMac Core2 Duo - Mac mini Core Duo - The iMac Core2 value equation - 07: Apple seduction - Why I really want an iPod touch - iPod history, 2005 to present - Upgrading a Power Mac G - Apple intros iPod touch, classic, and video nano

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• Anticipation: New iPods Now, New Macs Later, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.05. The season of new iPods is at hand, but new Macs may wait until 2009.
• Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05. Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
• Buy a MacBook Now or Wait?, MacBook touch Patents, Samsung X360 Takes on MBA, and More, The 'Book Review, 09.05. Also 20 years of portable Macs, data backup and preservation, universal U-Charge battery charger for Mac 'Books, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
• Source of iPhone 3G Problems, Army Uses iPods as Field Translators, Gains with Business, and More, iNews Review, 09.05. Also UK bans iPhone ad as 'misleading', iPhone password easy to bypass, GM to offer radios with USB in 2009 models, weather tracking software, and more.
• Macs Gain Ground in August, Consumers Most Likely to Buy Macs, LaCie USB Speakers, and More, Mac News Review, 09.05. Also migrating Time Machine to a new drive and two new keyboards from Logitech.
• Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
• Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
• Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
• Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
• Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700.
• Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this.
• Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
• Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
• Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
• Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
• 11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03. The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
• Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more.
• Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
• Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
• Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
• Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
• More links in our archive.