Apple to announce updated iPods, sources say

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By Nick dePlume, Publisher and Editor in Chief

February 17, 2003 - The weeks following Macworld Expo/San Francisco have brought Mac users a whirlwind of new Apple product releases, with updated Power Macs, iMacs, and Xserves announced in the last month. Sources say that an iPod update is definitely in the pipeline, and could be the next announcement.

At this time, we are unable to solidly confirm the exact specifications of the new iPods, and cannot commit to a specific release date. However, it appears that the refresh will provide a bump to the size of the hard drive -- bringing the product line to 10, 20, and 40 GB -- while maintaining the current form factor and core feature set.

The iPod update could come as soon as the early part of this week, even Monday or Tuesday, but could also be in the ensuing weeks. Regardless, across the board there are indications that this release will take place sooner rather than later.

Supplies of iPods have become increasingly scarce in the retail channel, with the current models clearly having reached "end of life" status. While the iPod supply shortage in January was commonly attributed to greater-than-expected holiday sales, the dearth of iPods now supports what we are hearing from sources about new units.

This update could be the last for the iPod before it undergoes a major revamp. Later this year, Apple will reportedly unveil the first radically new successor to the iPod, incorporating a feature set significantly different from today's.
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