Canada Now Dumping Ground for iPod-Nano-That-Never-Was

[Jason Dunn]

<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1224864016.usr1.png" border="0" /></p><p>I wrote about the issue of the <a href="http://www.zunethoughts.com/news/show/90687/did-the-zune-16-make-apple-scramble-to-keep-up.html" target="_blank">4 GB iPod Nano that Apple created, then never announced</a>, last month - but what I didn't expect to see was these 4 GB Nanos show up in Canada. The screen capture above is from the <a href="http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/dept.asp?logon=&amp;langid=EN&amp;catid=21176&amp;CMP=NLC-email_weekly" target="_blank">Best Buy Canada Web site</a>. I'd heard rumours of the 4 GB Nano showing up in smaller European markets, but for Apple to release them in Canada - when the Apple Canada Web site <a href="http://www.apple.com/ca/ipodnano/" target="_blank">doesn't even list the 4 GB Nano as a product</a> - is decidedly curious. Apple must have made a lot of these 4 GB Nanos for them to end up here. What's kind of crazy is the price point - they're only $20 less than the 8 GB Nano, while the 8 GB Nano is $40 less expensive than the 16 GB Nano. $20 to double your storage is a no-brainer - $40 to double your storage is a bigger jump. Has the 4 GB Nano shown up in your local market?</p>

[Darius Wey]

I'd heard rumours of the 4 GB Nano showing up in smaller European markets... Apple must have made a lot of these 4 GB Nanos for them to end up here... Has the 4 GB Nano shown up in your local market?

The 4GB nano is more prevalent than first suggested. A lot of them showed up in Australia on the day the new iPods were announced.

[Phronetix]

Interesting. While it is obviously impossible to gauge the supply level based on the simple presence of units for sale, this certainly adds some strength to Apple's not wanting to be seen to be behind the new Zune release.

Apple apparently had the 16 GB almost ready anyway, but went with the 4 and 8GB as an original plan until the Zune news. That's my read. What I don't understand is why they didn't seize an opportunity to sell a sub $100 Nano. That would have generated more of a buzz.

I don't expect these 4 GB units to sell until they see a price drop anyway.

D

[Jason Dunn]

Apple apparently had the 16 GB almost ready anyway, but went with the 4 and 8GB as an original plan until the Zune news.

What make you think that? No one could get the 16 GB until a week or two after launch, and they had several weeks before that when the 16 GB Zune leaked. When has Apple announced a new product, then released a new capacity shortly afterwards? To my knowledge, never.

It's OK to admit that Apple got caught unaware - they're not always perfect. ;)

[Phronetix]

It's OK to admit that Apple got caught unaware - they're not always perfect. ;)

Hehe. I wasn't trying to not admit to something. Honest.

If these 16GB units were shipping after only a week, then that strongly suggests Apple was already well into production. Maybe the 16GB were always going to be part of the launch. Not sure why the 4GB units came to be. Perhaps they were a bridge for Apple, easier to produce so there'd be some at launch. My feeling is that Apple was getting the 16GB ready for a pre-holiday drive, then MS made the 16GB Zune announcement. If that wasn't the case, and Apple was planning three tiers of storage, with all those colors, well... then they made the right call and simplified their own launch by announcing the 8 and 16GB.

Is Apple so worried about the Zune that they felt self-conscious enough to not mention the 4GB? I doubt that. (I don't buy the theory that the 16GB size did not exist until the Zune announcement). Apple certainly makes a point of pretending to be unconcerned with the competition to its iPods, but that is nowhere near the case behind the scenes. How could it be. This is big business, and Apple's job is to ward off the competition.

It is time for a stronger number two in the music player marketplace. The way that I see things, I only see one path for MS. They need to, over the next year, marry the Window mobile OS with the Zune. Whether that would be a Zune that had elements from the WM OS, or WM devices that ran Zune software or applications. Or both. Microsoft seems to be maintaining the Windows Media player app as a way to differentiate the two device genres, forcing those with WM devices to buy Zunes. The thing is, they're buy iPods instead. Microsoft has essentially decided to compete against ITSELF, and it appears to be losing.

Jason, what if your WM phone had Zune software that did everything that your Zune does, and acted like a zune when you plugged it into your computer? Would that not be a game changing experience for you? I'm sure you've thought about it.

I will tell you what it would be like? I have that with my iPhone. An iPod better than any I've owned, and hey, a great phone too. [/iphone commercial]

I would say that MS has two years max to get this done. Can they do it? Do they want to? I am starting to think that it might be that they can't.