iPod Touch Shortages Reported; Pricing Changes Expected
by Eric March on June 20, 2008 at 6:31 pm
And so it starts. According to Lehman Brothers analyst Ben Reitzes, orders for the 8GB iPod Touch are starting to experience a “small but significant” delay of 1-2 business days to get it in stock, indicating that stocks of this particular model of Touch may be running low and Apple is not replenishing them.
This is pretty much right on schedule for a September(ish) iPod refresh period; if you’ll recall, reports of iPhone shortages began to pop up right around the end of march/beginning of April, starting with 8GB model shortages, a little over two months prior to the WWDC keynote announcing the next generation of the device. That’s right about where we are now in relation to the next iPod line refresh, with the same low end model being the one to kick off the stock clearance. If this is the start, then the pattern should hold; the number of places selling out will grow, and the 16GB vesrion will start up next, followed by the 32GB model.
There is the possibility however that Apple’s Back to School promo is also having an effect on stock levels, though shortages large enough to cause delays at retail stores — especially big box electronics outlets like Best Buy — seem to indicate something a little more significant than than that is going down.
Furthermore, Reitzes suggests that Apple are going to need to restructure pricing on the iPod Touch in the wake of the new lower-priced iPhones which, even though subsidized by the carriers, still represent a significant enough price threat to the Touch to cannibalize a significant portion of its sales, carrier costs aside. Reitzes says in his report, “We believe Apple will need to reposition the iPod touch product by September now that the iPhone acquisition price is lower. We expect the iPod touch to experience significant cannibalization from lower-priced iPhones.”
Might we start to see price slashing on iPod Touch models as we approach September and remaining inventory needs to be cleared? Might be a good time for you holdouts to pick one up, assuming you’re not particularly keen on seeing what Apple’s got up its sleeve for the next iPod generations.
(via Apple Insider)
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Posted in Hardware Related, Rumors, Uncategorized
June 20th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
The problem I see with this is:
OK, Apple is slowly running out of stock, right on time for September, perfect.
But, they advertise the whole back to school thing since April until September, so why promote it so much if they don’t plan on producing many more since the next generation of iPod touch’s will be announced come September, most likely?
It is like a wasted promotion for something they don’t plan on producing anymore with a next gen on the way.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Apple almost certainly has a certain amount of stock earmarked and set aside specifically for the Back to School promo, so I don’t think there will be any worry about running out there. It’s the rest of the stock that’s destined for retail outlets that appears to be starting to run out.