The Unofficial Apple Weblog has commented on rumors that Apple will be releasing a 2GB version of their iPod Mini that uses flash-based storage.
To tell you the truth, it all sounds pretty dubious to me. Aside from the fact that it’s mostly guesswork, why would Apple move to a flash-based iPod mini? Isn’t it the shuffle’s role to go after the flash-based music player market? Apple typically keeps very distinct lines between products, and as such I don’t see a “merging” of the hard drive players and flash players. Mr. Wu suggests that Apple would be producing a 2GB flash-based mini. Does that mean the 4GB and 6GB models would remain intact as hard drive-based devices? That’s only going to confuse consumers. If the shuffle were selling poorly or not making the inroads Apple had hoped, maybe the mini could be moved over to “help out,” but I even doubt that.
Are the rumors true? I guess we’ll find out in a few months, but until then, us iPod fans are left to wonder and speculate.
Full article here:
http://www.tuaw.com/2005/07/27/flash-based-ipod-minis/