Apple announced new iPods. Does anyone care?

Apple once again announced a new batch of iPod devices to lure consumers in the trap of buying just another iPod that can store more Gigabytes, is smaller or offers a touch screen interface. High-End users have the choice between a 8 and 16 Gigabyte iPod Touch which looks pretty similar to the iPhone but ships without phone capabilities or between a 80 and 160 Gigabyte iPod Classic device.

If you prefer small you have the choice between a 8 Gigabyte iPod Nano or a 1 Gigabyte iPod Shuffle. Users are given choices which is fine but the question that no one asked so far is about need. Who actually needs a new iPod ? Even if you own an old generation iPod you probably can't justify a switch to a new product.

I have an iPod Nano with 4 Gigabytes for instance and a music collection that is above 10 Gigabytes. Do I need all of my music on a new iPod to be happy or is it enough to use smart playlists ?

Users who have a broken device surely have no other choice and I can fully understand that they want to go with the state of the art but everyone else ? Let us take a close look at the specs of the high end iPods:

Users who already own a 40+ Gigabyte iPod will surely not swap their device for a iPod Touch with 16 Gigabytes or less because it would mean that they would have to reduce the amount of files that are currently on their player. It is also unlikely that they will make the switch to the 160 Gigabyte model which doubles or even quadruples the capacity.

My prediction is that Apple will sell heaps of the iPod Touch simply because it offers a new user interface. This is a device to brag with; something that makes the owner stick out of the masses of iPod users.

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