Don’t kill the 8gb touch!
In September of 2007, the iPod touch was launched in Australia.
Although it was then only available in 8 and 16 gigabyte models, the 16gb version took its sweet time reaching Oz; however, I was captivated by the touch and ended up plonking A$419 for a measly 8gb variant.
It’s been a dream so far; it has stayed relatively scratch-resistant and I’ve only used about 3gb in songs, photos and one episode of The West Wing, which is a political drama that everyone should watch. I have used it to the best of its abilities – in fact, I may use it more to check my emails and RSS subscriptions around the house than as an awesome multimedia device.
However; the 8gb has proven to be the ‘underdog’ in terms of capacity v. popularity; both models were reduced in price only a few months after their release, and now the 16gb model retails for just (I use this in a rather skeptical tone) A$499, which is now only A$100 more than the 8gb model. It proves to be a better deal for most.
However the release of the 32gb touch (and 16gb iPhone, for the US and Europe) at Macworld in January has rendered the 8gb sitting on the shelves. The 16gb model is now the ‘cheap’, popular, and well-known model, and the 32gb touch (at a whopping A$629) is now the flagship iPod – more of a ‘dream’ than a reality for most.
So the 8gb is probably a bit lonely. And really unneeded. So, in a very Apple-like, iPhone 4gb-like way, it’ll probably be killed, leaving me with an old relic that is really only six or seven months old. Great! But before Apple can do this, they’ll need to lower the 16gb price to A$399 and the 32gb price to A$499; perhaps a 64gb is on the way for that A$629 pricepoint… but maybe not.
