Future iPod Functionality?

[arn]

This CNet article (http://news.com.com/2100-1040-866172.html) discusses the new contact functionality now available on Apple's iPod.

With this added functionality, people are predictably speculating about adding further functionality... but Apple's director of hardware product marketing speaks again:

But Apple doesn't see iPod morphing into a Palm-like device. The new software, developed by Apple, is there mostly as a convenience.

"We see it primarily as a music player," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior director of hardware product marketing. Joswiak said the company has no plans to add a calendar function, for instance. "It is still 100 percent a music player, but people say, 'I take my iPod everywhere,' and they want their contacts with them," he added.

[Mr. Anderson]

another quote from the article

"There's a reasonable expectation iPod could be a Trojan horse for them into the handheld market,"

Sneeky, Apple, sneeky

But they still need a color touch screen.

[arn]

Originally posted by dukestreet
another quote from the article

"There's a reasonable expectation iPod could be a Trojan horse for them into the handheld market,"

Sneeky, Apple, sneeky

But they still need a color touch screen.

this quote was from an analyst though... not from Apple itself.

arn

[wrylachlan]

I doubt that they're going to make the ipod into a PDA so much as a universal display device. You can take your music with you, now you can take your contacts with you. I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that within a year or so the iPod will have a color screen and be displaying your iPhoto images and maybe even short movie clips. In fact I will eat my shirt if we don't see this in a year, but the PDA market... the thing is just too bulky for that.

[Mr. Anderson]

arn: I realized that, but it still sounds interesting.

besides, it is arleady being used for more than just music. I can see it redefining itself, becoming much more than what Apple ever intended. Whether they recognize that or not remains to be seen.

[Timothy]

Since I consider Apple to be populated by intelligent beings...I refuse to believe that they are ignoring the future market of PDAs.

I've been convinced since day one of the release of the iPod that they did so in order to dip their toes into the waters of the PDA market again. They wanted to create a very simple, portable computer-related device, and to guage the market for such devices among their faithful customer base.

It then follows, in my theory, that the iPod, though very cool in what it does do, is merely a precursor to what is to come. But, it also serves a very important function as well; adjusting price/performance perceptions in the PDA market.

Irrationally, IMO, many have claimed that they would never pay +$500 for a PDA. Apple, with the iPod, is building the PDA up in features and capabilities such that the market will recognize the clear advantage of a "complete" device when they later introduce it. In other words, if you are willing to pay $450 for an MP3 player, how much more will you pay for an MP3 player, Cell phone, organizer, and notepad in one unit?

The iPod is a precursor, in spite of cautious tales told by Corporate ants.

[AmbitiousLemon]

Timothy: i couldnt have said it better myself.

and along those lines, if we look at other technologies apple has been experimenting with lately (wireless, hi res displays, remote computing) we see they are slowing getting their cards in place.

[Mr. Anderson]

not to mention bluetooth

this might seem like a small, insignificant thing right now, but it opens up a whole new world.

I have to agree, the iPod is just that, a pod, a seed. Soon it will sprout and eventually grow:cool:

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by Timothy
Since I consider Apple to be populated by intelligent beings...I refuse to believe that they are ignoring the future market of PDAs.

I've been convinced since day one of the release of the iPod that they did so in order to dip their toes into the waters of the PDA market again.

...

The iPod is a precursor, in spite of cautious tales told by Corporate ants.

I agree, mostly... We've seen Apple break into different market areas too late, but they redeem themselves with technologies that other companies don't have yet-- Then the other companies catch up to Apple, and it becomes a slump. IMHO iTunes and iPhoto are both prime examples. I've seen tons of commercials advertising iPhoto-like apps on PC's already. So if Apple decides to reenter the PDA market, months or years after the big names have dominated it, they're going to have to do a hell of a good job. Surely Apple isn't just going to jump into an area that they've already failed at, in this case at great danger to the company as well... So be patient, and when Apple finally gets the PDA ball rolling, we should all be amazed. I have to think, tho, that the timeline is more like 3 years than 1... They need something to revolutionize the PDA industry, and there aren't many options in the near future... You can stuff more RAM or communication devices into a Palm Pilot, and it's still just an overpriced notepad. It would be interesting if Apple borrowed some technology from Wheels of Zeus, when it's up and running... They could have a much better GPA unit than the other PDA's have, and who knows, it could be internal. Anyway, I digress. My point is, wait for it. The iPod isn't going to morph into a PDA overnight... Be glad they stuck the Contacts feature in so soon :)

pnw

[gandalf55]

ive been hoping for a pda... i have a visor, a pocket pc, and an iPod. i use the iPod every single day (drive, music) - now i think a reg. pda isn't enough.

take the ipod... add bluetooth network tv to it. ability to play video media. contacts, email, surfing, file storage, watson-like hooks to online dbs to query, handwriting recognition (the pocket pc has GREAT recognition), etc. sure... might be a $800-$1,400 device, but if it did almost everything you would want... it would be amazing. add it to a laptop and you have a serious digital hub going on there...

[AmbitiousLemon]

ah yes i should have added apple's newton handwriting recognition. apple did it right in the mid 1990s ive been wondering when the competition would catchup.

[sjs]

Joswiak says "its still 100% a music player, but people want to take their contacts with them".

If people would like to have their contacts with them, then certainly its a given that many would also like to have their calendar (schedule) with them. But Joswiak says "no plans for a calendar" function...?

I don't believe that for a second. They can add the function for just the cost of a bit of software development. It uses almost no HD space and it will SELL MORE iPods. Come on Joswiak...

[Timothy]

SJS...I agree that that was an innane statement by Joswiak.

I tire of the "corporate" speak that is propogated in our society. Can there be no better way? Must companies and representatives obfuscate and mislead in their public comments? Is this the only way to run a successful company in our current climate? :rolleyes:

Frankly, I'm surprised that Apple didn't take the extra 8-10 hours of programming time they would have needed to take to include calendar functions along side contact functions. But, they'll roll this out as some grand feature in an upcoming release of the iPod, and at the time Joswiak will state "we'll never add note functions to the iPod."

And, I'll believe him then about as much as I believe him now. Just as I don't believe that SJ is really not thinking about how best to get Apple back into the PDA market.

[dongmin]

Sell the hardware but let people develop the software. Why limit what it can do? Obviously it's capable of doing so much more. This thing could explode into something beautiful.

[Mr. Anderson]

Before it becomes something new, Apple is going to have to add a few things. The interface/display isn't much when compared to other handheld devices.

The problem with that, though, is if they add a color screen and a stylus to the mix, then you've got a PDA. I don't see that happening any time soon.

For now its a portable 5-10 gig harddrive with some nice options for music.

[blakespot]

Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
ah yes i should have added apple's newton handwriting recognition. apple did it right in the mid 1990s ive been wondering when the competition would catchup.
The competition has not yet caught up. The Newton OS 2.x print recognizer is indeed _still_today_ superior to the best that Transcriber (Pocket PC's recognizer) or even its big brother Calligraphy has to offer.


blakespot

[blakespot]

At most the iPod can function in a "PDA" capacity at the degree that the Franklin Rex did. Does anyone recall that PCMCIA-form-factor "PDA"?

And that's a pretty limited capacity.



blakespot

[Pants]

I really cant see the point of apple making a PDA - outside the US, they really dont sell that well. Here in Europe everybody (an I mean everybody!) has a GSM phone that contains a contact list etc. The big move isn't to design a PDA with wireless capability but to bring some of the more useful PDA functionality to the mobile phone. For example, Nokia and Ericsson are now selling 'phones' that run java apps with colour screens for less than a half decent PDA.

now what I would love to buy(and pay extra for!) is an apple powered mobile phone as opposed to the awful and unusable M$ CE on my sony.

[jaykk]

I like this new utility by which you can store any text as contacts.. cool
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/ipodtexteditor.html

[Xapplimatic]

There's a good reason it's called an iPod and not an iWalk! iWalk would be too much like "Walkman" which is a music only device.. obviously Pod is just something that contains things.. could be anything.. first music, now contacts, then..? Calendar, appointments, videos.. I don't see why not. 10 Gigs and an ARM processor.. not quite an iBook, but certainly able to outpower most PDAs.. just the interface lacks.. now add that extra contact on the headphone jack as the serial interface to a keyboard with the next major OS upgrade.. voila! iPod is now a (ahem! Coining a new phrase) PodMac!

[Wry Cooter]

Clock or calendar? No... will drain battery faster. Only reset with a hot sync.

Apple may sneak in with more functionality of some type out of the iPod, but you are barking up the wrong tree with your Newton Wet Dreams. The PDA has a lot to shake out right now until it settles into its new niche.. cell phone PDAs. Bluetooth leads to this. PDAs are going to merge completely with phones, Telephony is the next project for the digital hub. Hardware to be made by third parties. Software, for voice mail, caller ID capture, address book, an iApp. Attractive to business markets even, starting with mom and pops first, then sneaking back into corporate once Mac OS X certification gives IT tech schoolers an MCSE style diploma to plop on their resume for job security.

[Xapplimatic]

While merging PDA functions into cell phones is a neat trick, I disagree that phones will absorb the entire PDA market. Some people don't want to be bothered by phone nonsense when they are out and about.. many have learned to leave the digital leash at home, but still want access to their personal information and tunes. Moreover, a phone is not powerful enough nor large enough in form factor (given the fact that it must be slim and trim or people don't want it) to have serious storage capability beyond a simple contacts list. PDAs are thought of as having more potential than that. No cell phone has the storage capability possible for something in a traditional PDA form factor. There just isn't enough guts room.. Ever wonder why that omnibus (huge) Nokia PDA/phone 2000 thingy with the fold-open full keyboard and larger screen didn't go over well? Because it was too gosh darn big!

[AmbitiousLemon]

although i agree with you Xapplimatic ive always thought the pda and phone could share a future together just not in the form factor that you discussed as not working.

i always thought that having a pda that could synch with the cellphone one could free the cellphone of much of its size. what i mean by this is that if your phone is essentially an earbud and antenna then your dialing (do people still calling it dialing since no phones have dials anymore?) and your contacts list could be incorporated into a pda. so you access your phone [which is just an earbud that sits in the ear and behind the ear (like old fashioned hearing aid) and an antenna] with your cellphone. you can keep the earbud in your ear and when calls are recieved you are the only one who hears the ring. also when you need to make a call you pull out your pda and pick a contact and tell it to dial. entering contacts will also be through the pda. or you can press and hold a button on the earbud and speak the contact like so many cellphones do now. for those who do not want a bud in their ear alld ay they can attach it to the side of the pda and only use it when needed and let the speakers on the pda alert them to calls.

this way someone can buy a pda and choose not to buy the cellphone or can get the cellphone as well with full cellphone/pda convergence wthout loss of formfactor.

i dont think this will ever happen but id like to see it happen.

[Timothy]

Ambitious...I think you've outlined the best form factor that I've seen. Is it technically possible to do? If so, imagine dual earbuds, wireless, being able to play your music in stereo, and then cutting in when a call comes in.

I like it...

Part of the problem with incorporating a PDA into a phone is that one of the most important uses of a PDA is taking notes when you receive phone calls. A bit difficult to do if your PDA is held up to your ear ;-)

[Wry Cooter]

Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
for those who do not want a bud in their ear alld ay they can attach it to the side of the pda and only use it when needed and let the speakers on the pda alert them to calls.

this way someone can buy a pda and choose not to buy the cellphone or can get the cellphone as well with full cellphone/pda convergence wthout loss of formfactor.

i dont think this will ever happen but id like to see it happen.

I always thought the ideal cell phone interface would be eyeglasses, with the dialpad on your wrist watch. Or you could have a twisty wristband on the watch that would act as a cell phone mouth piece. Make the phone something you might already wear.

Although I like the idea of a PDA interfacing with this. Who wants to tap a wrist watch sized screen?

Anyway, don't think the future of the iPod will be a PDA, as much as a media server. Such as an MP3 player. Or an audio recorder. Or playback or storage for DV or Digital Cameras. The flexibility is there, it just isn't going to be Newton II.

The address book is just a nice conveniience to those who otherwise would have a pocket filled with a PDA for just that purpose anyway. Now they can carry Tunes, and their phone numbers to boot.

I swear I saw a kid in starbucks the other day cramming his Palm with Cheatnotes for an exam..

[Wry Cooter]

Originally posted by Timothy

Part of the problem with incorporating a PDA into a phone is that one of the most important uses of a PDA is taking notes when you receive phone calls. A bit difficult to do if your PDA is held up to your ear ;-)

And what is it that people write down?

Usually, its a phone number.

Caller ID can already do this, but a PDA Phone can store that in a meaningful or useful form. (I'd like to see a storable playback buffer of 30 seconds to grab quickly spoken numbers and addresses tho)

You can always have the caller alphanumeric page, email you the info or leave voice mail.

And when you aren't yakking into it, THEN you can take notes. Maybe even listening to the message you recorded when Joe told you the wrong directions to the party.

Oddly, I never did think much of the idea of PDAs being MP3 players. Or Cell Phones being MP3 players. Or their rings playing Harlem Shuffle. Its just that MP3s are such a hot sell you could probably sell a turd if it had a label that said "Plays MP3s!"

I think PDAs will merge with phones. And the growth of the PDA market is married to the idea, and dependant on the support the cell networks growing to support them. So its a wait and see proposition, to be a safely exploitable market.

iPod like devices will serve another sort of purpose- capturing and playing back large AV media files.

[Mr. Anderson]

You plug in an ear piece, and take notes as you talk.

[rushed4nr]

Yeah, I hope the ipod will take on more multimedia fuctions than pda functions. Apple, who's been blamed for aiding music pirating, could change that perception and make a tidy little profit in the process.
Imagine if you will a world where you could download quicktime music files from a page much like Apple's popular movie trailers page. New and upcoming artists could post their songs there. You could preview them for free, and download them to your ipod for like 2 or 3 dollars. Apple gets a cut and the artists get a cut - everybodys happy. Ooops, did I mention when you download the song you'd also get the video, the lyrics, or whatever interactive fluff they wanna add that quicktime supports. Every iPod would be a walking kareoke machine (-maybe that's not a good thing-).
Heck, and if the music companies allow the Apple stores could double as music stores that you go in to load up your iPod with the latest singalongwithtunesandvideos files exclusive to iPod at first to serve as the pilot program to show that the music revolution can still be fair to both artists and listeners alike.
:rolleyes:
Are You With Me!!?? Are You With Me!!?? hello.....

[Wry Cooter]

Originally posted by rushed4nr
Every iPod would be a walking kareoke machine (-maybe that's not a good thing-).
Heck, and if the music companies allow the Apple stores could double as music stores that you go in to load up your iPod with the latest singalongwithtunesandvideos files exclusive to iPod at first to serve as the pilot program to show that the music revolution can still be fair to both artists and listeners alike.
:rolleyes:
Are You With Me!!?? Are You With Me!!?? hello.....

It would be like the Sing Along with Disney Tapes, except it would be Sing Along with Pixar, and our children could grow up to be bittersweet crumudgeons like Randy Newman!

[whatever]

Last night on a flight the man next to me asked me about my iPod and I spent the next 20 minutes telling him all about it. One of the weird things was when he called it an MP3 player I had to correct him and tell him that it's not just an MP3 player. I then explained to him that when a new standard of music because available, Apple can create either a patch which will allow the iPod to use it. I often wondered why Apple doesn't talk about that fact. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a unique feature found only on the iPod.

The contact information on the iPod is excellent. Just last night I had to find a number and instead of digging out my Palm I just scrolled to the contact info on my iPod. Most excellent. IMOP the way my iPod displays my contact information is much better than my Palm.

What I would like to see is Bluetooth technology added to my iPod. A Firewire Bluetooth transmitter, similar to USB on Apple showed last week, could plug into the top of the iPod. A calendar would be nice and is possible.

Once Bluetooth is added to the iPod, the flood gates just open. A small Bluetooth tablet which acts like a tablet for entering data into the iPod or a Bluetooth keyboards. All Apple needs to do is add Bluetooth tech. to the iPod.

[mischief]

The App Arn posted in Article Discussion " 3D OS X" brings an interesting concept to mind.

What if Apple replaces the existing finder with something like this (plus a window feature to cover some limitations)? The iPod's control surfaces when combined with a touchscreen and Apple's Handwriting tech could eliminate the keyboard and mouse.

Now that I've started a round of flaming that does not use the obvious 3-letter cliche...........:D

[Gelfin]

Originally posted by rushed4nr
Imagine if you will a world where you could download quicktime music files from a page much like Apple's popular movie trailers page. New and upcoming artists could post their songs there. You could preview them for free, and download them to your ipod for like 2 or 3 dollars. Apple gets a cut and the artists get a cut - everybodys happy. [...]
Heck, and if the music companies allow the Apple stores could double as music stores that you go in to load up your iPod with the latest singalongwithtunesandvideos files exclusive to iPod at first to serve as the pilot program to show that the music revolution can still be fair to both artists and listeners alike.
:rolleyes:
Are You With Me!!?? Are You With Me!!?? hello.....

Um, no. Not with you. Liquid Audio (http://www.liquidaudio.com) is taking the slow boat to bankruptcy based on exactly this business model. The problem is that while this provides benefits to both artists and listeners, it cuts the real juggernaut of the music industry right out of the loop. You're asking Apple to backstab a legally sanctioned (and very abusive) monopoly, the very monopoly which already accuses Apple of abetting piracy just because they're selling a friggin' device.

What people need to understand is that there is very little difference between the music industry in the United States and a mafia organization. They just use oppressive contracts and lawsuits in place of protection rackets and drive-by shootings.

[photony]

Perhaps I'm the only one here who wants this, but I have a dozen friends and myself, all professional photographers and all Mac users who would buy an iPod tomorrow if there was an app that would automaticlly download images from a digital camera (to save CF card space) when plugged into the camera. A digital wallet of sorts to alleviate the need to bring a big Powerbook to shoots. Any programers out there want to make a few bucks?

[mark_sloan]

The beauty of the iPod is its versatility and mobility. As someone posted earlier, put a Bluetooth adapter in the Firewire port and the iPod is able to connect wirelessly. Bluetooth enabled digital cameras would be able to upload to it without a problem, no more laptops to store your photos. The part I like most about the iPod... you can treat it like a repository. Others posted about wireless keyboards and tablets... how about a Bluetooth pen? You don't need a tablet. With Bluetooth you can have an earpiece for the phone and listening to music and a seperate pen to not only input into the iPod, but to interact with other "nodes". Use the pen to virtually "select" items from one iPod (or anything else for that matter) and copy it to another iPod. Using a wireless pen opens the door to new interface designs not limited by screen sizes... and with the iPod you have a mobile computer that fits in your pocket to record everything... I see something like the iPod eventually being kept in your pocket and forgotten about as much as actually holding it and pushing buttons. Or at least, it is possible.

[photony]

Bluetooth not necessary, as I can use firewire, and my Nikon D1x has no bluetooth to get TO the iPod, so one small cable is easy enough. I'm simply talking about an app that would turn the iPod into something that I could go to a shoot, have music to listen to, then when I fill a card, transfer the images to the iPod to hold for later so I can keep shooting. No need for pens and crazy controls. I just need an application that can be installed into the iPod to make it more for my purposes than just a music player. I have a nice MD player for that.

[Wry Cooter]

Originally posted by mark_sloan
The beauty of the iPod is its versatility and mobility. As someone posted earlier, put a Bluetooth adapter in the Firewire port and the iPod is able to connect wirelessly. Bluetooth enabled digital cameras would be able to upload to it without a problem, no more laptops to store your photos. The part I like most about the iPod... you can treat it like a repository. Others posted about wireless keyboards and tablets... how about a Bluetooth pen? You don't need a tablet. With Bluetooth you can have an earpiece for the phone and listening to music and a seperate pen to not only input into the iPod, but to interact with other "nodes"....

I admire your enthusiasm, but I think the following deserves reading:

http://www.mac-upgrade.com/article_115.shtml

[mark_sloan]

Yes. My enthusiasm is mostly dreaming, but groups like Sony have presented some really interesting applications of Bluetooth and other wireless technologies at UI conferences. No, I don't think Apple will do any of this soon. But I do believe some industrious programmers could release some really neat hacks...

As for the camera thing. Yeah. With the firewire cable you SHOULD be able to download your pictures into the iPod. Again, someone needs to develop it. Will Apple? Not enough resources... We're talking about a company that spent resources on getting quicktime movies to play in the Dock when they had not gotten DVDs to play correctly. I mentioned Bluetooth for this as well because I love the idea of keeping the iPod in a pocket and connecting without cable hassles... Of course few camera's have Bluetooth... And the pen wouldn't be needed, the dials on the iPod would be more than enough to find nearby devices and connect to them.

Again. My enthusiasm is based on concepts that were presented a year and a half ago at a conference. Nothing more. The reality is that Apple probably won't do anything groundbreaking with the iPod until some programmer does it first.

[whatever]

Well after posting my last post about my iPod dreams, I had to check an address so I grabbed my trusty Palm V and guess what? It was dead. I hope that when I get home tomorrow that it's cradle will bring it back (or do I finally have an excuse to buy a new one, any suggestions?). Well any how, I needed an address and I grabbed for my iPod and there it was. Thank God! My iPod saved my ass today!

Rock-On

[mcrain]

Originally posted by dukestreet
I have to agree, the iPod is just that, a pod, a seed. Soon it will sprout and eventually grow:cool:

Not too long till we have iWeed! Soon, there would soon be iHead shops, and all sort of iWeed paraphanalia!

[mcrain]

Ok, the last post was just plain silly. I admit it.

The iPod isn't just a mp3 music player. It's a 5-10 gig hard drive. There's no reason a phone couldn't be developed to sync with the ipod (especially if both were bluetooth enabled) to get phone numbers or worse, to record phone calls (legal or not).

Because it's basically just a hard drive, there's also no reason it couldn't become the storage device for data from all sorts of other devices. So, the main computer is the hub, but the ipod could be a portable semi-hub in a similar fashion.

Name any device, and you can probably come up with a way that a 5-10 gig portable drive could be added to make it more useful.

Examples:

10 gigs is 2 DVD's worth of video footage.
10 gigs is a lot of very high res photos.
10 gigs is 200 songs
10 gigs is a heck of a lot of addresses or phone numbers

Rather than make the ipod the PDA or the something that it is not, just keep it what it is. A nice music player that doubles as a big portable hard drive. Then, all you have to do is figure out a way to get other devices to dump and retrieve their data to and from it, and voila, all those other devices become more useful.

Can you say "hub"?