New iPod touch in the works?

[aenti]

Read about it here.

Thanks to Boy Genius Report.

[projectdarkside]

I went off task and started reading about the new MacBooks and their "glass" track-pads
-I cant wait, cause supposedly they're gonna be released around september which is my birthday month! Although my parents will not give me the money for a MacBook altogether the "little" money they usually give me should help some what like 5% of the total cost

[aenti]

You can do it pds!
I'm going to be in the same boat. This iPhone business is straining my income immensely.

[projectdarkside]

Haha

[fury]

I wonder what they'll do to trump the original iPod Touch without branching it off as another division of their mobile device lineup or competing with the iPhone. Of course, they're no longer getting a monthly kickback from new iPhones, so supposedly they won't need to avoid cannibalizing any of their existing products. Are they still getting the monthly kickback from the original iPhone sales?

What could they add to the iPod Touch that would warrant such a bump in the product identifier?

They could possibly make it compete with gaming devices like DS and PSP by giving it good external speakers, for example (stereo), or by making it truly an iPhone-without-the-phone by keeping everything but the cell radio. Voila, then the iPod touch eclipses the handheld gaming market AND the standalone PDA market at the same time. I think if they get the price of the entry level model down to $200 or $300 it will do just fine.

[iHero]

The refurbished 8GB Touch dropped to $199, doesn't that tell something about a new product?

[fury]

I wouldn't think so. Refurbs typically drop in price like that all the time. The 8 gig Touch new is only $299, Apple's handheld device refurbs are typically, as far as i know, half the new price plus $50 (refurb 8 gig 1st gen iPhone being $249, 16 gig being $299...)

[psylichon]

What would be in a new touch anyway? A camera?

[fury]

That's what I was wondering. My best guess is just that they add some stereo speakers to it and make it compete with other portable gaming systems. That would also distinguish it more than just being an "iPhone without the phone". Perhaps more storage and battery, as well. That might give people a reason to get one even if they have an iPhone.

Imagine the iPod touch innards, but with a battery filling up the rest of the thickness up to the iPhone's thickness - 24 hours of movie watching/game playing, anyone?

[projectdarkside]

What if they kind of turned it into an "iTablet"
-you know like a mini touch-screen computer in the palm of your hands