iPod Updates?

[arn]

Spymac (http://www.spymac.com) claims 10gig update to the iPod before March...

...and an anonymous emailer writes that the iPod with have equalizer support at MW Tokyo.

Overall credibility unknown (which usually translates to pretty low)... but do what you wish with it...

[voicegy]

Arn, I'm shocked and appalled...trolling around on Spymac, of all places. Honestly.:rolleyes:

Well, I must admit I wandered over there last week and noticed their High Profiled Big Deal Apple "Sage" is no longer posting...and that was only after, what, 3 posts? Guess the kid had a runny nose...

Hey, Spymac is pretty to look at, but so is Windoze XP, and that ain't sayin' much.:p

(going to go sit in the corner now...)

[arn]

I know there's a fair bit of spymac controversy around... but I like to stay out of it... all of these posts are archived... so reliability can be gauged in the future... (just search the Articles forum)

arn

[davidc2182]

i've got a sick ibook, when i got my new ipod i didnt look where i was plugging the cable in and i jammed it into the ethernet slot, and now the ethernet doesnt work :( but does anyone have some real insider info on the new ipod is it really coming out before the end of march because i'm a student and i just recently scrounged up the 400 bucks to buy mine and i dont wanna have wasted my money, do you think if i plead with the genius at my local apple store and tell him a sob story he would let me know so i could return my ipod? or if anyone knows for sure about a new ipod, otherwise that new archose jukebox with color screen and camera module looks awfully nice!

[krossfyter]

stupid question ..maybe..

is that a new iPod or an upgrade on the original?


how much do you think this will cost?

[emdezet]

Originally posted by davidc2182
i've got a sick ibook, when i got my new ipod i didnt look where i was plugging the cable in and i jammed it into the ethernet slot[...]tell him a sob story he would let me know so i could return my ipod?

Assuming you are not kidding....
Try that! I'd love to know how Apple deals with customers that don't think twice before buying or using a product. You read rumor sites AFTER you buy a product, and once you got it you can't even handle a plug and play Apple device. Forget that Archos thing. AFAIK it even sports USB. Probably way too much confusion for your peanut brain. (Pardon my French!)

And just out of curiosity: How much would you have had to pay for your hardware TO MAKE YOU WATCH WHAT YOU ARE DOING?

emdezet

[Macmaniac]

I hope the do 10gig and drop the price of the original!

[gandalf55]

it would be nice to be able to go to the Apple Store and have them take the original iPod and install the 10g drive into it for a fee. Think this is possible?

[canadianmac]

:D What I really want is the iPod with an FM Tuner. Is that to much to ask. Use the current dial wheel as the tuning wheel and allow me to create folders with my favourite radio stations! even I get a bit tired of listening to the Tragically hip and Waylon Jennings.

[mymemory]

Hey, looks like there are a bunch of people plugin the firewire cables in to the ethernet port. A friend of mine did the same a few weeks ago but with his pismo.

The iPod would be the coolest machine with line audio imput, s-vhs video out put and itunes visualisations. That would be the worlds most perfect tool for VJ's!.

[BeerDrinker29]

Originally posted by arn
I know there's a fair bit of spymac controversy around... but I like to stay out of it... all of these posts are archived... so reliability can be gauged in the future... (just search the Articles forum)

arn

Thank you very much, Arn. I don't think it is your job to decide the credibility of rumors -- just report them. As you say, I think most of us can decide the former for ourselves.

[BeerDrinker29]

Originally posted by Macmaniac
I hope the do 10gig and drop the price of the original!

Somone in the Spymac forums (or AppleInsider? Can't remember) said that distributors in Europe already dropped the price of the iPod by about $60.. seems good.

[oldMac]

This rumor is kind of like saying "I predict that you will able to buy a computer with a 2.5 Ghz processor by August."

Obviously, you just can't get enough drive space in an iPod. What's enough for MP3s and carting around digital media? 100GB? Maybe for now? But a few years from now, I'm sure that only 1/2 TB will seem like "enough" for your desktop system, and "I can't believe I can only fit 10 Divx movies on my iPod".

So, when Toshiba announces 10GB and 20GB versions of the 5GB drive that's currently used in the iPod, you can bet that Apple is working to get them in there as quickly as possible.

[oldMac]

Of course, I want an iPod. Mostly for carrying files (and MP3s for the car). But I don't think I'll be interested until it hits 20GB at about the same price point.

[BeerDrinker29]

Originally posted by oldMac
This rumor is kind of like saying "I predict that you will able to buy a computer with a 2.5 Ghz processor by August."

Obviously, you just can't get enough drive space in an iPod. What's enough for MP3s and carting around digital media? 100GB? Maybe for now? But a few years from now, I'm sure that only 1/2 TB will seem like "enough" for your desktop system, and "I can't believe I can only fit 10 Divx movies on my iPod".

So, when Toshiba announces 10GB and 20GB versions of the 5GB drive that's currently used in the iPod, you can bet that Apple is working to get them in there as quickly as possible.

You really think so? I don't think Apple is in such a hurry to update a product that is selling so well.. and isn't that 10GB toshiba drive already out?

[agreenster]

I really like the idea of a 10gig iPod, but I like a price cut of the 5gig even more. The ONLY reason I havent rushed out and bought an iPod is because of the price, not that I cant fit 2000 songs on it. Jeez, I dont even HAVE 2000 songs.

I think Apple is missing the picture here. If they are trying to boost interest in the iPod, size of the HD is not whats going to bring me (and other users, I suspect) into the market. I know Im totally going to get flamed for saying this, but I wont spend a dime over 100 bucks for a digital music player, 5 gig or 10 gig. Thats just too much to pay for portability, especially when I have my laptop with me at all times, my car stereo, and home stereo/computer, to keep me 'music-ed up.' An iPod would just be an added toy, not worth 400 bucks.

Point is, its not like I jog 10 hours a day. If Im not home, Im at work or school, where there is always a stereo or computer with iTunes. The only reason I would need an iPod is for the Gym, or that occasional Art history class-lecture that I couldnt care less about. Yeah, its expensive to make an iPod, and they ARE spectacular little jobbies, but c'mon. You can buy a lot of more important stuff with 350-400 dollars. Like Powerbook ram.

Apple, majorly cut the price if you want iPod interest. Well, from me at the very least.

One more thing-- the idea of a radio tuner is not too bad. I wonder if it would make the device seem 'cheaper' if it was dubbed a radio tuner as well. I dont think that software-wise it would be a big deal, but I wonder how difficult it would be to get the hardware to comply while keeping the size of the case small. I imagine Apple could do it.

[bobartig]

I hate to burst your bubble, agreenster, but Apple's never been into appealing to the lowest common denominator, and the $100 MP3 player market is still entrylevel/bargain basement items like the Rio600, or a stripped down Nomad II with 0 mb storage. The iPod was really packaged to be a complete solution to digital/MP3 music, not an addition to your office stereo, your laptop, your home hifi setup, etc. Apple even admitted the market they were after was sub$500 consumer electronics, which isn't (at least in my mind) the impulse/casual purchase, but rather the market of digital cameras, low end camcorders, or a mid-range HT component.

As a laptop owner, you probably don't get a kick out of the current digital hub offerings, and sundry small digital devices, since most of them seem to imply that you leave your computer at home. And it doesn't help that mobile professionals are quickly moving away from laptops in favor of said "small digital devices", but as a laptop user, I can say I'm enjoying taking my ipod around instead of my Ti.

[batmyke]

SWEET! I hope this rumor is true... I have held off on buying an iPod for three reasons:

1. 5 Gigabytes just doesn't cut it for me; I have a large cd collection I have been transferring to MP3 over several months, and it will require over 7 GB when it is done...

2. I had wondered if there would be an upgrade anytime soon, so I figured waiting was the best move.

3. I just haven't had the $350.00 (education discount) handy!

I think it would be wise of Apple to keep the 5 GB model available for a lower price-point, to encourage more purchases from those who want to spend a little bit less for the greatest MP3 player yet!

[agreenster]

Oh--my bubble isnt burst, and you make valid points. I know apple doesnt like to make cheap products, and I never expected that. I guess you're right though, Im not a digital device person. Plus, I forked over so much on this laptop that the last thing I want to to is spend even more money.

I guess I love my laptop because I use my computer for vastly more than surfing the web, listening to music, and playing games. Im a professional/student who uses their computer as a means of livlihood. Digital devices are add-ons, not replacements for my digital video editing/3D animating/website designing that keeps my head constantly spinning. I think its safe to say that many professionals are moving toward some smaller devices, but not those who use their comuter AS a means to work. Sure, the people who use a computer for task-keeping and typical business could do just fine with a desktop, a palm, and an iPod. But not powerusers, like myself.

But I still want the quality of the iPod for the price of a Rio. Dont we all?? :)
No harm in asking.

[mischief]

I want Bootability. I wanna take a little iPod-like doohickey to a client's home, plug it in via FW and boot from it. I want FW bootability dammit.:cool:

[Digidesign]

The thing about carrying around your entire music library is that not every song on every CD is worth listening to, again and again. And the reason many of us grab an iPod is so that we can listen to what we want to, versus what we can. I just got my iPod this week, and went through my entire cd collection looking for songs to put onto it (FYI, got about 300+ cds, more than enough to fill up 5GB) and after going through every CD, I've got about 380 songs at ~2.2gb worth (I encode at max freq + have a lot of 10+minute songs). Granted, a lot of my cds suck, thanks to my whimsical buying tendencies :p, but hey, the point is that you have more than enough room to listen to your favorite songs.

When 10GBs comes out, I'll be psyched like the rest of you (and hope there's some sort of upgrade route, official or unofficial) but for now, enjoy your 5GB! If you don't learn to appreciate what is there, you'll never be satisfied, even if they threw in 20GB (by then there might be quicktime movie files or what have you, and you'll want to copy your entire video collection and 30terrabytes just isn't enough! Well, you get the picture.... :) )

btw: Mischief, supposedly there is a way to boot off the iPod (http://www.ipodhacks.com) but it's not recommended, since the iPod's drive isn't meant to handle the same stress and use levels as a regular hard drive. I've read that someone used their iPod as a OS X Server, but fried it after a few days (or was it hours?) since there's no heat regulation, and it was just too much strain to handle. I think it'll be hard at this point in time to get full FW hard drive capabilities on something so small, but yeah, it'd be sweeeet if they could do it!

[mischief]

I thought that FW wasn't bootable yet?!? There was some issue with adressing or how "core" it is on the Mobo.........

Hell, if they do a 20Gb iPod and it'll take 5-10 minutes of being boot so I can diagnose a machine I'd buy one instantly.

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by mymemory
Hey, looks like there are a bunch of people plugin the firewire cables in to the ethernet port. A friend of mine did the same a few weeks ago but with his pismo.

The iPod would be the coolest machine with line audio imput, s-vhs video out put and itunes visualisations. That would be the worlds most perfect tool for VJ's!.

That level of user error just makes my head hurt... that would be a code... EOBTKAC error...

They even label the ports AND cables on things like Firewire, ethernet and such. The only cables that I can think of without a label would be the phone and ethernet lines. Even those are hard to mess up, unless your one brain cell just died of loneliness.

Sheeeeeesh

[ThomasB]

Has SpyMac every correctly predicted an apple product?

[Timothy]

I've seen several comments along the lines of "why do you need more than 5 gigs in an MP3 player?" I have to think that these comments are coming from those who have not yet taken a complete dive into the world of MP3s...so let me explain why I need more space...

I've converted nearly my entire CD collection to MP3s. This is the only way I listen to my music now. It has made a huge difference in my listening habits. I no longer have to decide "which" CD to listen to...I just play through iTunes on shuffle. If I hear an artist, and want to hear more of that artist, I just do a quick search and pull up all of the songs of that artist. I don't spend any time searching for or changing CDs anymore. Its great...until you experience listening to music this way, you might not understand why I love it so much.

I bought an iPod when it was first announced. It holds something like 4.7 gigs of songs...but I have 9 gigs of MP3s on my computer. So, suddenly, it became a "decision" again. I had to pick and choose which of my CDs I'd load, and which I wouldn't. One of the "benefits" of iTunes/iPod is that it auto-syncs...but if you have more songs than will fit on an iPod, you lose much of this benefit. It becomes a much more manual process, and by reverting you back to the "decision" making, it mars the experience a bit.

Give me the 20gig! ;-)

[sprescott1974]

So i just got a 14" iBook it has a 20gig drive and between Jpegs and mp3s I've only got about 9gigs left on my harddrive. Now, my question is this, if I had an iPod would I be able to load all my mp3s on it and free-up that harddrive space? That alone would be a huge advantage for my purchasing one, especially if there were a 10 or 20gig model. That way I could store my entire CD collection on my iPod.

[Digidesign]

if I had an iPod would I be able to load all my mp3s on it and free-up that harddrive space?

Well, certainly byte for byte you can transfer your MP3s over to the iPod, as much as the iPod can hold. There are also things you can do to optimize the space the mp3s take up, for instance, some folks use VBR (variable bit rate) when encoding their songs, and this helps to cut back on file size while retaining a resonably high quality. I've heard that a VBR high-quality encoded file set at 160 kbps is comparable to one encoded at 320 kbps, and VBR 128 to a 160, etc. Honestly, my ears can't really pick up the difference unless it's pure vocal or ambient noise (i.e., winds) but VBR should help cut down on size.

Yes, 10 or 20gb would be nice. But I'd rather have 5gb at this current form factor, then have 10 or 20 and have it be all bulky and clunky (Archos, anyone? :D )

[Hemingray]

Figures. Right after I went and bought an iPod YESTERDAY!!

I say SpyMac is full of you-know-what.

And I'm just fine with 1,000 songs in my pocket. I don't even HAVE 2,000 songs! And even if I did, I would only want the best ones on my iPod.

Uh...sothere! :P

[Gelfin]

Hey, SpyMac means low credibility, but this one is just an easy spike over the net, so to speak. I think they're being way too optimistic in guessing "before March" (you do realize that's less than a week, right?), but now that Toshiba has announced the 10 and 20GB versions of the iPod's HD, I doubt there is any safer guess you could make about a future Apple product.

I'm just wondering if I'll be able to totally void my warranty and replace my iPod's HD myself when I start needing the space. I could also stand one of those 20G drives for my Powerbook. :D

[nerveosu]

here is mpeg la's auto responder for QT related questions...


http://www.macrumors.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=2351

[Bophonic]

IT NEEDS AN FM TUNER SO WE ALL CAN LISTEN TO HOWARD STERN ON IT IN THE MORNING... AM I RIGHT???

[sprescott1974]

Originally posted by Bophonic
IT NEEDS AN FM TUNER SO WE ALL CAN LISTEN TO HOWARD STERN ON IT IN THE MORNING... AM I RIGHT???


Let's start a petition for this!

[mischief]

I can't stand that whiney putz. He's like Kenny G posessed by Woody Allen.

[cryptochrome]

If quicktime 6's acc audio is as good as they say, it would let us store maybe 33% more songs in the same amount of space. All the more reason for them to make acc available.

[SPG]

Sure double the size would be nice, but the iPod as it stands right now is one hell of a device. I got one and even if they announce a 10gig version as soon as I opened it I would've still had an amazing MP3 player file transfer device.
As far as the price dropping on the 5gig, I doubt it. The 10gig and 5gig drives that are inside it are still the same price, so if there is an upgrade it will mostlyikely be the same price just more storage space.
FM Tuner? Audio input? Great ideas for add ons. Firewire microphone with a good aiff encoder would be sweet. I'd rather see the unit price stay where it is or go lower rather than have extra features that will make it even more expensive.



BTW mymemory, the word is iNput, with an N, as in a signal coming in. Not trying to be mean, it just one of those things that kind of bugs me a little (like I'm sure this correction bugs you).

[chmorley]

Mischief--I boot from my iPod about once every two weeks. I boot it into OS 9 and run Norton Disk Doctor and Speed Disk on it. It works perfectly. As soon as I can find my OS X CD (after we're done working on the house), I will try booting from OS X and running Drive 10 and NDD 8 on it.

I have read that Apple is (of course) aware that the iPod is bootable, but doesn't support or recommend it.

Of course, I have to give up disk space to do this, but given how fast the firewire interface is, it would be a piece of cake to add/remove the necessary files when I need them.

I have to admit, I was not all that impressed by the iPod the day it was released. It is a bigger technology advancement than I ever thought.

Chris

[-=AsukA=-]

Im currently waiting for my iPod to arive, and while waiting AND reading this thread i got to thinking... the only thing that defines the iPod as a SPECIAL MP3 player is the firewire connection. if apple will put a 10 or even 20 Gig HD in it you have to keep in mind how long it will take to load it up full of MP3's, so if the current iPod takes 10 min's to fill it FULL if MP3's. then a 10 gig HD will take 20 Min and a 20 will take 40min! And as far as apple goes that a little to long... i think once apple pute firewire 2.0 (or gigawire what ever you call it) on there computers THEN we can for sure see a 20 gig iPod with equalizer, and iTunes visuals... say in 1 year....? are there any PEE CEE's out ther with built in USB 2.0? or are cards still the only way to get it? giga wire is 800MBps right? so how long will that take to load 20 gigs? 20 min?

BTW are the ear buds that come with the iPod any good for digital sound? or should i get new ones? i need a experts opinion AKA someone who KNOWS there sound.

[mischief]

We know Apple will do a new case soon. So what if a feature of that case is an iPod "socket" where the present Zip is?

iPod has always taken criticism for its case being TOO clean. But if it's designed to compete with iomega's Peerless system but with Bootability and a native socket............:D :p :eek: :cool: :)

[Classic]

http://homepage.mac.com/johnhuber2/PhotoAlbum2.html

Also, he's got a pretty cool leather case...

Also, check out http://www.mosr.com as they have some more interesting dirt on the future of iPod, including an all in one iPod and CDRW.

[mischief]

Finished of course but yes, exactly. You could keep a "Digital Wallet", bootable and has all your Apple Apps on it. As most computers between home and work have dedicated sets of SW this means you could free up the space used for Apple Apps and the OS. This would explain the easy-access RAID support in the OS X CD.

[Timothy]

Hey...as long as we're dreaming...

Instead of FM radio, how about the new XM Satellite radio? :D

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by -=AsukA=-
Im currently waiting for my iPod to arive, and while waiting AND reading this thread i got to thinking... the only thing that defines the iPod as a SPECIAL MP3 player is the firewire connection. if apple will put a 10 or even 20 Gig HD in it you have to keep in mind how long it will take to load it up full of MP3's, so if the current iPod takes 10 min's to fill it FULL if MP3's. then a 10 gig HD will take 20 Min and a 20 will take 40min! And as far as apple goes that a little to long... i think once apple pute firewire 2.0 (or gigawire what ever you call it) on there computers THEN we can for sure see a 20 gig iPod with equalizer, and iTunes visuals... say in 1 year....? are there any PEE CEE's out ther with built in USB 2.0? or are cards still the only way to get it? giga wire is 800MBps right? so how long will that take to load 20 gigs? 20 min?

BTW are the ear buds that come with the iPod any good for digital sound? or should i get new ones? i need a experts opinion AKA someone who KNOWS there sound.

I found that the iPod gets songs from iTunes at the rate of over one per second. It may be faster for other people, since I did the sampling rate at 192.

As for the stock ear buds, I found that they are a bit week when it comes to base level. I plugged a pair of Koss headphones in ($50 when I picked them up a few years ago) and it makes a world of difference. With those, I am no longer carrying around my cd pack since I have already put 46 cd's into the iPod. I still have room for more, with 1.3GB free (571 songs in it so far) :D.

[greg6028]

Originally posted by canadianmac
:D What I really want is the iPod with an FM Tuner. Is that to much to ask. Use the current dial wheel as the tuning wheel and allow me to create folders with my favourite radio stations! even I get a bit tired of listening to the Tragically hip and Waylon Jennings.

That's it! That is what is holding me back. I am a little old too, I would like AM too! If they add FM/AM and more up to 10 gig - Apple has a sell for me!!

Think about it APPLE, help us older folks! ;)

[dualburn001]

I personally have 200+ cd's so the iPOD would be perfect for me but since I'm cheap ill wait for a price break beacuse $399 is a little to much. If it was $299 then i'd be interested so I'm waitin for a new iPOD to come out so i can buy the old one.

Now on the subject of innovation....what if the ipod had a touch screen???? hmmm.......



Dualburn001

[Gelfin]

Originally posted by dualburn001
Now on the subject of innovation....what if the ipod had a touch screen???? hmmm.......

Ironically, the controls on the iPod currently are far more innovative than a touchscreen. The jog wheel was a wonderful idea. A touchscreen would be very fragile compared to what's on there currently, and it would be far more awkward to navigate the device.

If you haven't played with an iPod in person, I highly recommend it. The controls are some of the most elegant I've seen on a device like this. One of the best things about Apple's designs is that they seem to understand that bleeding edge technology does not necessarily make for the most innovative solution.

Oh, and it's also kinda neat how the controls are laid out to look like a speaker cone. :)

[AlphaTech]

The controls on the iPod make it so that you can be using it within seconds. The learning curve is almost a flat line.

From what I have seen of touch screens, like in PDA's, they scratch WAY too easy.

Apple got this one right, first revision.