Digital Home Thoughts: Bigger nanos On The Way?

“A recent report from Gartner suggests that Apple's formidable buying power may provide the company a coup in pressing manufacturers to drop the prices of NAND flash memory low enough to allow for much higher capacity iPod nanos later this year. ‘Gartner forecasts that a 16Gb (2GB) device will be available in the third quarter for about $30, down from its current price of about $35. Due to Apple's procurement power and investment, it is conceivable that it could get pricing for a device at $25 or even $20. This pricing would enable capacities of 12GB, leaving enough room for the remaining component and manufacturing costs as well as Apple's margin, while still reaching a $250 price point.’ According to AppleInsider, an updated nano is expected this fall. MacRumors reports that Apple is stockpiling flash memory, presumably for higher capacity nanos down the road. The highest capacity iPod nano is currently 4GB.”

I love how small (but not how delicate!) the nano is. I still have a 3rd gen 40 gig that looks rather portly next to these newer, slimmer models. The thing that always turned me off about the nano was the 4GB capacity. I just have way more music than that. 12GB would be a big improvement. Personally, though, I am waiting for them to come out with a new video iPod that plugs directly into your brain.