Today Apple made several updates to their iPod product line. The changes were as follows:

• Introduced a new 6GB iPod Mini for $249 (formerly the 4GB iPod Mini cost this)
• Lowered the price of the 4GB iPod Mini to $199 (down from $249)
• Added a 30GB iPod Photo for $349
• Dropped the 40GB iPod that was previously at $399)
• Lowered the cost of the 60GB iPod Photo to $449 (down from $599! A $150 drop!)

This means that Apple now literally has an iPod for sale at every price from $100 to $449. Now, if you want an iPod, you can get one, no matter what your price range. The current product line is now:

1. $99 for an iPod Shuffle with 512MB
2. $149 for an iPod Shuffle with 1GB
3. $199 for an iPod Mini with 4GB
4. $249 for an iPod Mini with 6GB
5. $299 for an iPod with 20GB
6. $349 for the U2 Special Edition iPod with 20GB
7. $349 for an iPod Photo with 30GB
8. $449 for an iPod Photo with 60GB

The only gaping hole I see here is the cancellation of the 40GB iPod at $399. I'm surprised they did this. This would have filled a nice notch in their apparent $50 increment price policy.

This appears to be a serious move by Apple to push sales of the iPod Photo. I had heard rumors in the past that the iPod Photo wasn't selling well. This wasn't surprising because all they had was a 60GB version for $499. That's a lot to pay for an iPod. The introduction of the lower priced 30GB version of the iPod Photo and the lowering of the price of the 60GB iPod photo appears to be Apple's answer to this.

This was a very smart move by Apple.