RSSApple Sells Out of 1GB iPod Shuffle
By Ed Oswald | Published December 19, 2005, 12:36 PM
If you wanted a 1GB iPod Shuffle for Christmas and haven't gotten it yet, good luck finding one. A message in the Apple store indicates that the larger version of the two Shuffles has "sold out for the holiday," with no availability until the middle of January.
While the player may still be found in some retail locations, it is likely that the stock currently available is the last of the players from Apple until next year.
BetaNews checks of the Circuit City, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com Web sites showed the player was sold out through those retailers' online stores.
While at first glance the date may not seem odd, it actually falls right around the time of Macworld 2006 in San Francisco. Apple has long used the yearly event to launch new products, and rumors have pointed to a refresh of the company's entry-level flash memory based music player.
The smaller 512MB Shuffle version seems to still be in good supply, with a wait time of one to two business days for shipment of the player. However, the shipment dates for this version would be something to watch for clues as to Apple's next move. The company has been known to suddenly increase ship times when a product refresh is imminent.
If the iPod Shuffle were to receive a refresh, it would be the first time since its introduction at the last Macworld expo. Rumors include the release of the Shuffle in multiple colors, as well as a further shrinking of the form factor of the device.
As is standard with such industry speculation, Apple is not commenting on the matter.
I have two, new, sealed box, 1GB iPod shuffles available as of 12/24/05. Email me if you want one. Price is $125.00 plus shipping (and tax if you are in CA). classiccamerasus(at)yahoo.com
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Addition of an LCD Screen and FM Tuner at the same prices -- that's what Apple really need to do =) - it's --that-- simple =)
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Too bad it's not going to happen. That would hurt their iPod Nano sales too much and they wouldn't want to do that. Just get yourself one of the smaller Creative Labs players and you will have what you want.
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It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Apple were to make some changes to the iPod Shuffle. Interest in the iPod Shuffle have fallen since they haven't changed since they launched it January. After they released the iPod Nano in September the Shuffle has been the ugly stepsister that nobody really wants anymore.
Regardless I have my doubts that there is much of a future to the Shuffle.
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actually there is, one CANT't buy NANO because of its weak construction...
say you go running early in the morning, you need something small, yes even SMALLER than NANO but which is so hard to break as shuffle is!
Add to it a very nice price and THE BEST SOUND QUALITY of all iPods (apple says that, reports too) and you have one nice goodie.
I am awaiting refresh, keep it comming!
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With demand this strong for Apple, Sony must be hoping that Apple never makes a games console!
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They did try it years ago before Steve Jobs returned to Apple. It was called "Pippen".
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