“The widely reported rumors, which Apple declined to address, suggest that the company will unveil an inexpensive iPod that will cover the end of the market dominated by cheaper MP3 players from Creative, Rio and Dell.

The risk in such a move would be undercutting brisk sales of iPods, which now range in price from $299 for a 10GB drive to $499 for a 40GB drive. In Apple’s fourth quarter, ended Sept. 27, sales of the iPod generated $121 million in revenue, up 9 percent from the prior quarter and 128 percent from a year ago. The company has said the iPod business is profitable.

‘I don’t think Apple currently needs to sell a $100 iPod at risk of cannibalizing sales of existing models and sacrificing gross margins,’ said Tim Deal, analyst with Technology Business Research in Hampton, N.H. ‘Apple already has the market lead, so I don’t see the need for (the $100 version) when people are buying $299 and $399 models.’”

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Dennis Lloyd

I'm a passionate, long-time lover of Apple products, and was a civil draftsman and graphic designer before creating the iLounge web site. My prior projects include work for The Los Angeles Times' LATimes.com, and the company Creative Domain, where I developed websites for clients including Columbia Pictures, Disney, Fox Studios, Universal Pictures and Warner Brothers. As the Publisher of iLounge, I direct the site's community forums, photo galleries, iPod User Group, and general business affairs, which have grown under my watch to over sixteen million page views every month. I'm happily married with one daughter, one dog (Rocket the Wonderdog), one cat (Ferris), many iPods, iPhones, iPads, and two turntables.