GristyMcFisty used our news submit to tell us that Apple may
be about to announce the launch of its 5GB mini iPod next month along side the
new flash based iPod. Most competitors have 5GB versions of their own digital
music players as a lot of alternative players or based on Seagate's 5GB, 1inch
hard drive with the rest using Toshiba based hard drives. The current iPod mini
is currently built around a Hitachi 4GB 1inch drive, from what is known. The launch of the new 5GB iPod mini could be down to Hitachi improving capacity on their drives or Apple using a different hard drive supplier it is not known which.
The new 5GB iPod mini is rumoured to have new colour casings but this has yet to be verified. Other rumours floating about are that Apple may release an iPod capable of receiving satellite radio signals from US based Sirius satellite radio service. The new 5GB mini is slated for an early 2005 release, which coincidently was the same release date for the flash based iPod.
|  Apple may announce a 5GB iPod Mini next month, alongside the anticipated Flash iPod, reports on the web suggested this week.It"s certainly an obvious upgrade, given that"s the capacity offered by almost all Mini rivals on the market today, such as Creative"s Zen Micro.Most of the alternatives to the Apple player are based on Seagate"s 5GB, 1in hard drive, with a lesser number of vendors opting for a Toshiba product of comparable spec.The iPod Mini is currently based on a 4GB, 1in drive from Hitachi, it is believed. Whether the Mini update should be read as a capacity improvement on Hitachi"s part, or Apple has turned to another supplier, is not clear.
 Apple sources regular iPod and iPod Photo drives from Toshiba.That Apple is preparing such an update comes from "reliable sources" cited by AppleInsider. The report also points to suggestions of new colour casings, though it admits such rumours remain unconfirmed. That also goes for the talk of an iPod with integrated satellite radio to be found over on MP3newswire. It claims Apple may be planning to release a device that can receive signals from the US-based Sirius satellite radio service. Either way, the updated Mini is said to be lined up for an early 2005 introduction, the same timeframe previously forecast for the Flash iPod.
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A satellite radio based iPod would be interesting indeed.
Source: The Register
