A number of sites this week suggest that the next iPhone will be announced during the week commencing on Sept 7.
The Apple Store is no more. Online purchasing has been integrated into the main apple.com site. At the top right of a page is a shopping bag icon that takes users to their purchase account: my details were already entered. As reported on Engadget this is apparently "to give customers one simple destination to learn and buy without navigating between two different sites".
There is an apple.com/th site, but as the Online Store no longer exists, the English pages for those in Thailand have gone, so examining prices is not so straightforward as before.
When Wall Street looks at Apple it often cites market share or growth, and if Apple fails to reach Wall Street's predictions, the share price falls. What Apple works on is profits and while some also worry about what is called cannibalism -- one product taking sales from another -- that is not a worry for Cupertino. The iPad stole sales from Macs, the MacBook from the MacBook Pro and the iPhone from the iPod.
Sales of the iPod have dropped in recent years and recently the iPod with a hard disk was shelved as parts were no longer available, leaving those devices with flash storage. Sales of these dropped although several millions each quarter are still sold.
When Apple Music went public in June this year, some of the publicity material showed the iPod range with new colours. There was much online comment, then the products themselves were released.
The iPod shuffle came in a new range of colours. The iPod nano had the same colours and a change from the 32-pin connector to a Lightning cable. The iPod touch was updated significantly. I have been using the iPod shuffle and iPod nano this week and find that there is still a lot going for these devices.
The iPod shuffle is only 12.5g and might get lost quite easily in the bottom of a bag. On the back is a spring clip that allows the device to be attached quite easily to clothing or a belt. In the few days I have had it with me, it was hardly felt when attached this way, making this perfect for those exercising.
Its light weight does not detract from performance and it belts out the sound from the old-style ear buds that were in the box, along with a short charging cable. This links the iPod shuffle to the computer via USB but connects to the device in a unique way. Apple uses the headphone output for data transfers (to or from iTunes) and for charging. The price of the iPod shuffle in Thailand is 2,200 baht.
The 2GB capacity of the iPod shuffle holds enough of my tunes for just over a day's non-stop music. There is no screen, so organising music is done via iTunes; or there is a random function.
Using the three-position power switch, the user can have music played in the list order or -- as befits the name -- shuffled. You never know what is coming next.
The 5,900 baht iPod nano has a larger capacity of 16GB so can handle much more music as well as photos, videos and podcasts. It also works with the Nike+ fitness system and has a radio receiver: the ear buds acts as antenna. There is also a clock with a choice of several faces.
I put on all of the photographs I have in my Photos library when I synced with iTunes. I was not able to add all of my music as the library is too big, so I made a selection of artists, adding just over 1,500 songs, but had just 1GB of free space left over. I also added a couple of short videos for testing purposes.
It is slightly heavier than the iPod shuffle at 31.5g, but this is hardly noticeable when carried. It also has a good sound output. I first tried the new style ear buds that were in the box first: these do not have the volume control like those with the iPhone.
As the device also has Bluetooth I was able to pair my Harman Kardon Esquire Mini Speakers and was also quite happy with the sound output through that device.
The screen is a 2.5-inch display of 240x432 at 202ppi. Photos and video were sharp and clear. This device is available in the same colours as the iPod shuffle: silver, gold, space gray, pink, blue and (PRODUCT) red.
Both of these iPods have a place still, particularly because of their respective weights which makes them useful for those who exercise.
I also have an iPod touch on my desk, in case you are wondering.
Graham K. Rogers of Mahidol University's Engineering Faculty, has OS X flavoured web pages at www.extensions.in.th/index4.html
IPod shuffle.
IPod shuffle, showing 3-position power ON/Off/Shuffle control.
