iPodspotting

After having dinner with ota at Tamarine (see ota's review), we stopped at the Apple store to look at the 4 GB iPod Nano and the new 30 GB iPods with Video. I'm amazed at how thin and tiny these new iPods are in comparison to the older models. Sadly, they didn't have any 60 GB iPods to look at. After querying the Apple sales associate regarding this omission on the sales floor, he responded by saying that the store hadn't received any of the larger units yet.

This brings up an interesting facet of size vs. price. In the past, the lower capacity units of the iPod have tended to outsell the larger capacity units, mainly because people didn't think they had enough music to fill the iPod. With the iPod video, I almost feel like it's not worth purchasing the smaller unit, because I know how quickly video can eat up space. Still, the 30gb iPod is now very thin, and I predict that it will still sell incredibly well.

The interior of the Apple Store in Palo Alto has changed somewhat -- gone are the tall black shelves which once housed software and iPod accessories. The new shelves are shorter (about waist high), which contain products on the interior of the bookcase and iPod displays on the top of the bookcase. This configuration reminded me much more of the flagship (2 story) Apple stores. The kid's area also seemed to be missing (but it also could be my recollection is bad).