New iPods delayed?

American Technology Research senior analyst Shaw Wu said he believes new versions of Apple's video iPod and iPod nano could be delayed by up to six months. "We previously believed that new Nanos and the widescreen video iPod could ship in Q3 and Q4, respectively," Wu wrote in a research note. "However, we now believe that both could be delayed by a quarter or two." The analyst expects a new iPod nano to arrive during the December quarter, pushed back from his previous September quarter estimation. The delay, according to Wu, is due to Apple's shift of its system-on-a-chip suppliers from PortalPlayer to Samsung. The analyst maintained a "Buy" rating on Apple shares, but lowered his price target to $75 from $101 as a result of the equity market's lower trading multiple.

"We believe the price points will remain the same at $199 and $249, but that storage capacities will be doubled to 4GB and 8GB, up from 2GB and 4GB," Wu noted.

The analyst said that issues regarding battery life continue to be "the key gating technical factor" that may delay the launch of the rumored widescreen video iPod into the first half of 2007, according to AppleInsider.

"Apple is aiming to increase both the screen size and improve the battery life -- two conflicting attributes that are difficult to improve simultaneously and require significant engineering," the analyst wrote. "Depending on how much progress is made, we are picking up that wireless Bluetooth headphones may or may not be included with this next-generation vPod."

Apple has been experimenting with numerous methods to reduce battery consumption, according to Wu, which include the use of improved battery management software, both NAND flash as well as microdrives, and a larger battery.

"While it may sound counterintuitive, a positive side effect of these product delays could mean better spacing of iPods in 2007," Wu wrote. "With the original Nano and vPod released a month apart in late 2005, it created a very strong December quarter but exhausted Apple's iPod pipeline for 2006."

by MacNN Staff