iPod demand outstripping supply in New Zealand

Apple's inability to match demand of its popular iPod portable music players with supply is once again frustrating its resellers in New Zealand, writes the New Zealand Reseller News. By last week local Apple distributor Renaissance had 8,000 outstanding iPod orders on its books, worth over $3.2 million. "The shortage has struck all iPod models, but is less severe on the Shuffle. The 20GB and Mini models are in highest demand." In the interim, Murray Wood, a local New Zealand reseller, says local shoppers are buying from Apple’s web stores overseas, which do not give prior warning of stock limitations. "The sites say delivery will be in one or two days, but after the customer has placed the order and paid they are told shipment will be delayed,” he says."We [resellers] are paying for our honesty as we do not take money from customers for placing back orders." Steve Ford, Renaissance Apple division general manager, confirmed the shortage is a result of demand outstripping supply.

NYC police: iPod, phone thefts on the rise

Yesterday New York City police reported that an increase in subway crime this year was driven almost entirely by a sharp rise in robberies and thefts of cellphones and iPods. Ellison Emmett, 26, a lawyer who lives in the West Village, has rules for riding the subway while listening to her iPod. "You keep it in your bag," she said. "You keep your bag in front of you. You keep your hand on it." Sarit Sela, 27, an administrator at Goldman Sachs who lives in Astoria, Queens, said she kept her iPod in a handbag, secured by a clip. "When I'm on the subway, I try not to change the music," she said. Both women had heard about recent thefts of iPods, the digital music players that retail for $100 to $550, depending on the model.

Roadtrip+ charger/FM transmitter combo for iPod

Other World Computing (OWC) and NewerTechnology today announced the RoadTrip+, a new version of its FM transmitter for the iPod. It allows consumers to take their tunes on the road and charge their iPod at the same time. The RoadTrip!+ provides "clean, dynamic audio to a user's FM stereo while also charging the iPod's internal battery... Users simply hook the RoadTrip!+ to the 12-volt power source in their car, plug the dock connector into their iPod, tune their radio to 87.9MHz and enjoy." It is compatible with third- and fourth-generation, photo and mini versions of the iPod. The RoadTrip!+ combination FM transmitter and iPod charger is immediately available for $28, while the original RoadTrip! FM transmitter-only models are also available for $15.

Netherlands tax could devastate iPod sales

A Netherlands proposed tax on MP3 players could devastate sales of hard disk players, such as Apple's iPod. The tax is set to become law in the Netherlands in a few short months unless the European Commission finds a reason to intervene. "The idea of all levy based legislation is that some form of copyright collections agency collects tax by imposing a surcharge at the point of sale for any storage devices that could possibly be used to store pirated works," reports The Register. "Because of the fact that the great bulk of iPods are used to store legitimate iTunes files which are Digital Rights Management (DRM) protected, this means that copyright is being purchased twice over for these devices if a levy is also paid." If this legislation comes into play, the surcharge will be as much as €3.28 ($4.3) per gigabyte. This might put €180 ($235) to the price of a top end iPod.

New Nokia phone offers 4GB music storage

Electronics giant Nokia hopes to challenge the iPod with its new N91 mobile phone. The device offers 4GB of storage space, positioning it against the iPod mini, rather than Apple's high-capacity iPods. Nokia claims the device can hold up to 3,000 songs, but would hold closer to 1,000 by Apple's measure. Besides functioning as a phone and music player, the device offers digital camera and e-mail functions. "Our research shows that people prefer to leave the house with just one device," Nokia director Bob Shallow says. The N91 claims to offer around 12 hours of battery life, about the same as Apple's claim for a 20GB iPod. The phone will allow users to download music on the go, rather than having to sync it to a computer. Nokia hopes phones that combine music playing will give a boost to slowing sales of handsets. The mobile phone industry's annual growth rate has slowed from 44 per cent at the beginning of last year to 10 per cent now. The N91 is expected to sell for $500.