New iPod touch is most expensive ever sold by Apple

Cupertino (CA) – Apple today announced new versions of the iPhone and the iPod touch. But while some have expected that the iPhone will get cheaper, the new version introduces an old price point. The new iPod touch is the most expensive iPod ever sold by Apple.

Twice the memory in the iPhone will come at a $100 premium, translating at a MSRP of $499, while the existing 8 GB version will continue to be offered for $399. The new 16 GB model costs as much as the original iPhone with 4 GB of memory, which was launched in June 2007.

The iPod touch is now available with 32 GB of memory for $499, joining the 16 GB model for $399 and the 8 GB model for $299. In a prepared statement, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod and iPhone Product Marketing, said that “for some users, there’s never enough memory.” The new high-end iPod touch continues Apple’s strategy to increase the average selling price of iPods, which was at $181 in Q4 of last year.

However, it will be interesting to see, if this new 32 GB model - which is the most expensive iPod in the product’s seven-year history – will be accepted by consumers.

Apple said that it sold more than 22.1 million iPods and 2.3 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of last year. More than half of the company’s revenues are now coming from iPod related products and the firm’s digital download services.