APPLE is braced for a customer backlash after slashing the price of its entry-level iPods by 30 per cent just weeks after thousands were bought as Christmas presents.
The one-gigabyte Shuffle, which can store 240 songs, is being reduced from £99 to £69. The 512-megabyte iPod Shuffle, which can hold up to 120 four-minute songs, is being reduced from £69 to £49.
Although Apple remains the dominant player in the market, it has been forced to cut prices to stave off competition from rival manufacturers.
Competitors Sony, iRiver and Creative Technology are making inroads with cut-price players. However, Apple customers are already being steered towards a new version of its popular Nano player.
Analysts said Apple’s new price cuts were a response to a continuing reduction in the cost of computer chips that power the devices’ memory.
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