Apple’s “Rock and Roll” event yesterday didn’t exactly rock much more than iTunes, disappointing many who held lofty expectations for an Apple tablet unveiling.
Apple’s fall event, which traditionally focuses on the company’s iPod products, has garnered more attention since the launch of the iPod touch. While the long absent Steve Jobs did preside over yesterday’s proceedings, Apple’s iPod hardware remained relatively untouched. The iPhone did get a touch-up with the release of the 3.1 software update.
Avi Greengart, senior analyst of consumer mobility for Current Analysis, questioned some of Apple’s choices in the evolution of its iPod products. While Greengart was generally upbeat about a 16 GB iPod touch dropping to a price point of $199, he questioned the mass appeal of a new 64 GB iPod touch that debuted at $399.
But as positive as he was about minor aspects of the announcements, Greengart said overall, he was baffled by some of Apple’s omissions. “The downside is that they didn’t go any further than this. I don’t know whether to call it strange, or odd or good that the iPod Nano was the only device to get a camera,” he said, noting that such omissions from the iPod touch only add to fragmentation for developers.
“If you’re writing for the iPhone collective now, you really are going to have different hardware that you’re writing for,” Greengart said.
When asked whether the move was an attempt by Apple to avoid cannibalization of the iPhone by the iPod touch, Greengart was skeptical. “I think they wanted to hit that $199 price point for Christmas. I think it’s possible that they didn’t want to have multiple iPod touch lines just yet.”
It’s fair to note that Apple is rarely able to live up to the incredibly high expectations placed on its events. The company’s cult following often generates a climate that is more imagination than reality. Apple is certainly far from adding features and additional models to the iPod line, but for now at least, it appears consumers will have to accept that the device will evolve in nano steps.
