HiFi Blog: digital audio goodness

Guess those rumors were true. Yesterday Apple introduced the 1GB Nano; same features as its brethren, for $149—available immediately. Also announced, price cuts for the Shuffle—you can now get the 512MB model for $69 and the 1GB Shuffle for $99.

While I’m not so keen on paying 150 bucks for 1 gig of storage—yes, even if we’re talking about the sleek and tiny Nano—I’m happy to see the Nano reaching this price point. It’s not unreasonable to expect the $149 Nano’s capacity to double within a year—similarly to what happened with the Shuffle; $99 bought you a 512MB one when it was released while it gets you 1GB now—and that’s when things are becoming to get interesting.

• iPod nano: 1GB (black) $149


• iPod nano: 1GB (white) $149


• iPod shuffle: 1GB $99


• iPod shuffle: 512MB $79

UPDATE: iLounge got ahold of the 1GB Nano and it seems as though the device’s screen was victim of cost savings:

The most notable difference is shown above; though the resolution and screen sizes remain the same, our 1GB unit (left) has modestly less impressive backlighting than our earlier 2GB and 4GB models (4GB shown, right). In person, the 1GB nano’s screen is a hint less bright, and has a slightly pink tint, rather than the “blue-white LED backlight” listed as of the date of publication on Apple’s web site. It’s unclear whether Apple is now using a different screen supplier for all iPod nanos, or whether the lowest-priced nano has a lower-quality backlight or display than the others; in any case, while not a positive change, it’s small.

PS: Oh, while we’re talking Apple, is anyone surprised that the iPod accessory market is estimated to be around $1Bn per year? [via] (Josh has got a nice take on this a propos to the HiFi industry.)