This year Apple got an early start to their Back to School promotion that’s usually just a free iPod Nano after rebates. Fortunately, this year’s deal also applies to iPod Nanos and Touches.

The rebate can be applied to either iPod and is good for a $299 total cost for the iPod. That’s essentially the cost of the 8 GB iPod Touch.

Buy a qualifying Mac and iPod with your Apple education discount from June 3, 2008, through September 15, 2008, while supplies last, and be eligible for a rebate up to $299.

The free iPod deal each year before school is a great deal, but this one creates the most bang for your buck when buying your Apple computer. For instance, the basic MacBook costs $999 with the educational discount and the $299 Mail-in-rebate will apply to an iPod Touch purchase. Looking on eBay, one would say a brand new iPod Touch (8 GB) would sell for about $230. This essentially brings the purchase of a Mac to $770 (before all fees and taxes). Not a bad deal!

Click here for link to Back to School Promo.

The iPod Touch has continued to captivate me. I’ve been increasingly interested in purchasing one for quite some time. The ability for the iPod Touch/iPhone/OS X software to become more complex and developed, alongside 3rd party app development, is making it an enticing buy. But what’s holding me back?

For starters, there’s a hefty price tag–$299 for an 8GB model. I have a relatively large music collection, but an even larger (size) of TV Shows and Movies that I’ve downloaded from Apple’s iTunes store. By all means I don’t have to have my entire iTunes library with me at all times, but sometimes I want to rock out to some punk and sometimes I want to listen to some indie rock. I go through different music moods and I want to easily switch between my whole library.

What occurs to me is that every sign is pointing me towards the iPod classic. It’s got the size, ability to play TV Shows and Movies, and is even slighty smaller than the iPod touch. Unfortunately, I don’t want to part ways with the iPod touch’s features and larger viewing screen.

I want the touch interface and web capabilities of the iPod touch with the storage capacity of the iPod classic. Oh and one more thing, I’d like to see the device’s size shrink down to that of an iPod nano.

iPod touch interface, iPod classic storage size, and iPod nano form factor. Bring me that Apple, and I’ll hardly think twice about dropping $299.

Apple (AAPL) has literally sold tens of millions of iPods since they first debuted. Some people have purchased more than two and some have purchased different versions (nano, shuffle, etc.). With all the excitement surrounding the iPhone, there seems to be a euphoria that’s blocking the future outlook. Will previous customers eventually buy new iPhones, like they did iPods?

iPods have been a craze, year after year, it’s been on the top of lists and consistently selling far more than other MP3 Players (i.e. Zune). Currently, the iPod product lineup varies in price from $79 to the all-new iPod Touch’s top-of-the-line price of $399. There isn’t any plan attached to these Apple products, and no necessary additional costs.

Most iPhone purchases cost $599 (for 8GB model), alongside about a $60 a month voice and data plan from AT&T (T). Put the costs together and it is a phone/iPod that will cost over $2000 in total charges in the first two years. This price isn’t necessarily an unusual number for phones that need intensive data packages.

The question comes into play when you factor this exceptional amount of money alongside the possibility of Apple updating the product with 3G and more flash memory in the future. What will users do when the possibility of getting a new iPhone becomes a reality? Will they simply buy the new model and sell the old one, or will they hold out, and keep the phone for two to three years?

If this happens, the market could see a saturation of iPhones and the supply will outweigh the demand. Then, new model iPhone sales could quickly dry up. We’re hoping for the iPhone to continue to sell like the iPod did, but there could be trouble in the next couple of years.

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)

It’s unclear how long Apple’s (AAPL) rally will continue, but for now, let’s look back on one of the most incredible stocks in recent history.

Let’s not forget how Apple was merely a $20 stock back in 2004 and 2005. A pebble in the electronic market, little more than a tick on Microsoft’s (MSFT) back. Those times have quickly changed, and Apple is capturing one of the largest profit margins in the industry.

Investors were quite curious about the “iPod” in 2001, as a set back Steve Jobs introduced the revolutionary device to a crowd of no more than seemingly 100-150 people. The stock hit the ground running from there. As the evolution of newer devices and more cross-platform technology was introduced by Apple, investors saw the opportunity to jump aboard (me being one of them).

Shortly after a nice run, Apple had a 2-for-1 split on February 28, 2005. Many took their profits and let the stock take its course, but nobody could’ve expected Apple’s near future. By that time, Apple has introduced the iPod mini, soon afterwards, the first iPod shuffle was created. The stock didn’t stop.

Each time a new product was announced, the company quickly popped in stock, and investors were questioning every move. Consumers were eating up Apple products, not Creative or SanDisk products. How could this be? It was a simple result of pure brand power. The company had captured the attention of the World through the consistently sleek designs that were now an expectation of the company’s end results.

The most influential move had yet to come. The stock had actually been suffering for quite some time. Slipping from an all-time high of close to $90 per share in January 2006. Then, in January 2007 Apple came back into the spotlight. The MacWorld event at Moscone West was due to start, and months of rumors had been floating around. In the end, many of the rumors were hardly far from the truth.

The iPhone was introduced and the stock immediately jumped over $100 per share. Took the Americas by storm, and propelled Apple into the mobile phone market. While rumors speculated over various concerns, Apple prepared for the launch date and delivered, with thousands of phones selling the first day.

Now, Apple consumers and investors have plenty to look forward to this upcoming holiday season. From the iPhone to the all-new iPod touch, those stockings will be full of products dawning the little Apple logo. With rave reviews already being placed into young kids’ brains, parents will be looking for any way to get their hands on these one-of-a-kind products. Looks like it’s going to be another nice holiday for AAPL.

Below is the original event in which Steve Jobs announced the iPod:

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Component research company, iSuppli, just released information related to the iPod Nano’s current profit margin. The numbers below don’t account for various other costs in the production process, only the part by part costs.

iSuppli estimates the bill of materials (BOM) at $58.85 for the 4 GB nano and $82.85 for the 8 GB version. Apple sells the 4 GB model at $149 and the 8 GB model at $199.

Source: Teardown Reveals Nano Component Changes, Cost Reductions

As Apple (AAPL) has been doing for a number of years now, they offer a back to school deal that includes a free iPod Nano with the purchase of a new computer. It would be interesting to see whether or not the Nano is now the updated version for those who purchase a new mac over these five days. On September 16th, the deal goes dormant until next year, so take advantage while you can. Just bring proof of higher learning enrollment, in the form of a student id or some other clear evidence of enrollment in a college institution, and advantage of this incredible offer.

After a set of amazing updates and releases over the past few days, Apple (AAPL) is poised to capture this holiday season by storm. Of most utmost importance is the updated release of the iPod Nano. Known for its small form factor and functional user interface, the Nano has just become the “it” device. Holding everything from Music, Podcasts, and Video, the new Nano is a huge leap from its predecessor. As the advertising campaign says, “[It’s] a little video for everyone.”

The shorter, stockier iPod Nano now measures in at around 2.75″ x 2.06″ x 0.26″. The music player offers two choices, a 4GB model which will hold about 1,000 songs and an 8GB model that will hold about 2,000 songs (in 128-Kbps AAC format). The device will have a continuous audio playback time of about 24 hours. The Nano now plays up to 5 hours of video playback on a single charge, with the capacity to hold 8 hours of video.

It’s hard to believe some of the sweeping changes between the previous generation iPod Nano and the one offered today. For instance, a simple update to the screen brightness has made the screen 65 percent brighter. Resolution has also been increased to 320 x 240, which will allow for more pleasant and vivid movie watching. By making the device slightly shorter and wider, the screen has been widened and now sits at a 2-inch diagonal.

Various websites have already received their Nanos and have pictures of the unboxing process. Check out one of the more popular gallerias at AppleInsider.com.

Reviews have also begun to surface, and the optimism doesn’t appear to be fading. PCMag.com has just completed a full-scale review:

In fact, a beautiful screen and just-as-thin body make the device seem like a large evolutionary step. The new user interface also combines the nicer touches of the iPhone’s U.I. (such as Cover Flow) with new elements (a split screen which shows album covers for highlighted songs and a new Now Playing screen).

The new main menu has a split screen, dividing the space equally between the familiar iPod menu lists on the left and a moving image of an album cover on the right.

The battery life for the nano is rated at 24 hours for audio and five hours for video playback. Our audio rundown test yielded a battery life of 24 hours and 6 minutes; our video test is still underway.

One of the only possible areas for concern would be the actual dimensions of the click-wheel, which seems to have continued to shrink. This could potentially be cause for concern for those users with larger fingers. We’d recommend actually getting your hands on one in an Apple Store if that is of any concern. Otherwise, the device is priced exceptionally well, starting at $149 (4GB model), and comes in a variety of colors (white, black, (red), lime green, and sky blue).

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)

With the holiday season just around the corner, and an impressive new line of updated and new iPods, Apple (AAPL) is set-up to make a killing.

Here’s a brief rundown:

iPod Shuffle

• Reinvented Colors
• Product (RED) Color

iPod Nano

• New Stockier Version
• Cut to $149 and $199
• Plays Video
• Slideshows with Music
• New User Interface

iPod Classic

• New Name for Original iPod
• 80 GB and a larger 160 GB Hard Drive
• Rounded, All-Metal Casing
• Now from $249
• New User Interface
• Black and White

iPod Touch

• 8 GB and 16 GB
• 3.5″ Touch-Screen Interface (much like the iPhone)
• Wi-Fi Enabled
• Download Music from iTunes Store Wirelessly
• Safari Web Browser
• YouTube Online Videos
• 8MM thin
• Starting from $299

iPhone

• Wi-Fi iTunes Downloads
• No longer offering a 4 GB version
• Price Reduction of the 8 GB to $399!

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)