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April 10, 2003 - A re-designed Apple iPod in two new hard drive sizes with control buttons and a docking/charging station will be announced toward the end of April, sources have confirmed to Think Secret. The new models will be available in 15GB and 30GB sizes, as the 5GB and 20GB models will be discontinued. In addition, Apple's new music service is expected to be announced at the same time the new iPod's debut.

The new design -- shown below in a Think Secret-commissioned artist rendering -- will now have four, round control buttons immediately below the display. Previously the rewind, fast forward, pause/play and menu buttons encircled the touch-sensitive scroll wheel. The addition of the control buttons will apparently not increase the unit's overall size or cause a reduction in size of the scroll wheel or 2-inch diagonal display. The current models are 4.0-inches tall and 2.4-inches wide.




Artist Rendering: Chip Buchanan
The removal of the control buttons from the sides of the scroll wheel will be somewhat of a disappointment for those used to navigating the iPod with one finger. Because the control buttons will now be slightly higher on the unit, it will require someone with smaller hands to move the unit down in the palm of their hand to strike the control buttons after navigating with the scroll wheel, or use two hands.

New to the unit is a FireWire docking/charging station -- shown to the right in the artist rendering. The dock will be included at no additional charge with the units and will come with the standard dock connector cable. The only benefit of the dock over the cable is the ability to stand the unit upright, similar to a PDA.

Sources have confirmed the new models are in full production in Asia and are now in transit to the United States.

It is not known when the new models will be fully available to the public for sale, but it is expected they will debut the last week of April. It is expected that the 10GB version will be lowered in price to US$299, the 15GB version will retail for $399 and the 30GB version will cost $499. Apple could cut prices even slightly lower to spur interest at the last minute, but sources report that is unlikely.

It is expected that the 5GB and 20GB versions will be discontinued, sources report. What is not known is whether or not the older 10GB model will be re-designed with the new look.

USB 2.0 support has also been added to the iPod, primarily for Windows users.

The update to the iPod is no surprise. It has been rumored for months that Apple would revamp the now-popular portable music player available for both Windows and Mac users. Since it's introduction in October of 2001, the iPod has become one of the most popular portable players. In the final quarter of 2002, the iPod was the top-selling player in terms of dollar market share at 27 percent, according to market research firm NPDTechworld. In terms of actual units sold, Apple placed third with a 11.2 percent market share.

The Windows version of the iPod is the most popular product, controlling 58 percent of the units sold, compared to 42 percent for the Mac version. Of the three iPod models, the 10GB model is the best seller, according to NPDTechworld.

If Apple does lower prices on the three models, industry watchers expect that the 10GB and 15GB models will become even more popular during an economic downturn that is seeing 76 percent of Americans thinking twice about spending money on discretionary items, such as electronics.

News of the new iPod models comes as retail giant Target Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. have decided to no longer sell the iPod, as Think Secret reported exclusively on Wednesday. Both companies have stopped selling the product after objecting to details of the company's new dealer contract, which will ultimately have some negative impact on sales. Best Buy, which also sells the iPod, continues to handle the product.

It is expected that when Apple announces the new iPod model, it will also announce details of its new online music service. Consumers will reportedly be able to buy music from music labels such as EMI, BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music on a per-song basis, after previewing short, 30-second clips.

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