iPod Accessories - Mic and Photo Storage are Here!

[MacRumors]

Today, Apple released (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/oct/16ipod.html) two accessories that were codeveloped with Belkin.

The Belkin Voice Recorder allows users to record and instantly review voice recordings, as well as sync these notes with their Mac or Windows PC. Voice recordings are stored in WAV format.

The Belkin Media Reader allows users to import, store and backup digital photos by providing an adapter which supports Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick, SD and MMC. The iPod will then sync with iPhoto, allowing users to keep their photos organized.

More details and ordering information available at http://www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html.

[nycmacartist]

I think the mic is about as attactive as a tumor. I wish Apple had designed this. Or better yet, have it built in.

[Wash!!]

Way to go Apple I just got my friend to download the win version so he can see how good it is:D

[robotrenegade]

Lame!!!

[Le Big Mac]

What a bonus for digital photographers who own iPods (me:D )!!!

I'm surprised only that they didn't develop this already, but anyway, it will be great on the next trip.

[erik1975]

After updating to version 2.1 the voice record does not show up in the extras menu. Nor is it accessible in the diagnostic mode. There must be a requirement for the Belkin HW to be plugged in to enable the feature. I was hoping for a crude record method with the headphone speaker. :(

[fred]

KLUDGE....KLUDGE....KLUDGE

These things should be built-in and not be appendages....

[bennetsaysargh]

ugh! i was hoping that you would be able to use a regular mic for it. this sucks. are you sure that you cant record with a mic other than the belin/apple one?

[CrackedButter]

I don't care how lame the voice recorder looks, i was about to spend £100 on a digital recorder from Olympus and now i don't have to.

I got my ADC membership today and i rang them and queitly (but jokingly) asked the guy if he was going to have a busy day on friday, he said yes. ;) I asked some questions with something else and said i would be back tomorrow purchasing whatever Apple was offering.

This is going to be great for lectures, a voice recorder AND a new 12" PB! Discounted as well!

[kuyu]

this voice recorder (while kind of ugly) is the deciding point in my ipod purchase. I am in college, and the ability to record and burn to CD every lecture will be amazing. I will be able to listen to the lectures in my car or while walking around on campus. This is the greatest feature yet on the ipod. I just hope that the mic will pick up voices from 15 feet or so. Otherwise I guess i'll be sitting in the front of the class from now on. This event today was apple's trump card. I wish I had some money to buy stock with. Oh well, maybe next time.

[Totalshock]

Anyone know if the recorder lets you hook up to an external microphone or line-in? I do a lot of phone interviews for work, and would love to have a digital backup of my recordings of it, but if I can't hook it up to the mini-jack on my phone line tapper the way I do my existing tape recorder, it's less than useless to me.

Too bad... I thought that was gonna be a killer app.

[JoE950]

god where's the speech activated browsing? grrrr! write apple emails!!! get us some speech browsing!!!

[ColoJohnBoy]

I know a lot of people were hoping for line-in or some way to connect an external microphone, but this is perfect for what I'd use it for, and for what most people will use it for - taking voice notes, recording lectures, stuff like that. The iPod isn't generally a pro tool - mostly just college and high school students using it - those are the markets they are going to design peripherals and accessories for.

Though both could DEFINITELY look nicer than they do.

[ZildjianKX]

Anyone else bummed the Flash Card reader is so big and takes batteries? I was hoping for a tiny addon that is powered by the iPod...

[jxyama]

i asked this at the other thread, but probably worth repeating..?

is it just a reader or does it write as well?

i assume it's just a reader since it's not advertized as a read/writer...

[jxyama]

Originally posted by ZildjianKX
Anyone else bummed the Flash Card reader is so big and takes batteries? I was hoping for a tiny addon that is powered by the iPod...

oh... i really should read up on these, eh? :rolleyes:

batteries?? ugh, that sucks. yeah, like you said, it should be powered by the ipod.

no wonder it's so "huge" (relatively speaking...)

off topic: good thing 'tar has to be somewhat "earned"... this newbie sure is getting ahead of him/herself! :p

[Freakk123]

This is really good for me, because it will allow to record classes at my highschool, when I do interviews for the school paper, I'll be able to do it with my iPod, when I do photography, I'll be able to save it to my iPod... These accesories are just what I need. Its just too bad that it doesn't have line-in capabilities.

[Timothy]

Well...if Apple has now incorporated the "record" feature and that is available to 3rd party developers, I imagine it is likely that other add-ons will surface relatively soon, with features such as line in.

This is progress...

[jxyama]

Originally posted by Timothy
Well...if Apple has now incorporated the "record" feature and that is available to 3rd party developers, I imagine it is likely that other add-ons will surface relatively soon, with features such as line in.

This is progress...

good point... hopefully so.

btw, i really like the idea of being able to easily record and make cds of lectures. too bad i'm not in school anymore, but perhaps will come in handy a few years down the road...

[nagromme]

Recording is great--but I'll probably wait for Apple to build it in. I hate extra "bits."

Still cool to have new options!

For flash reading, I like the reader I keep in my PBook's card slot!

[noel4r]

$99 so you can store data on your ipod? sounds a little bit too much for me. it's basically a card reader, right? how about that mic for $49?

[fpnc]

I'm hugely disappointed about the new iPod accessories. The key point here is that they aren't Apple products, so in my mind all of the rumors were wrong. Belkin's voice recorder is okay, but I think I'll have to pass on it and hope that someone else does a better job with the design and features (I want both line-in and microphone).

And as for the card reader (also Belkin's) I can only say this, it looks to be a complete hack job. I didn't think that Apple would introduce a card reader and as far as I can tell this product from Belkin falls far short of what I'd really like. This probably isn't Belkin's fault (entirely), as I've said before I don't think the iPod was designed with any form of a card reader in mind.

To name a few problems, the card reader attaches via a cable (seems like you'd often want three hands to use it), requires its own batteries (4xAAA's -- ugh), and since this is a third-party product heaven help you if it doesn't work to spec (i.e. Apple says it's Belkin's fault, Belkin says it's Apple's fault, etc.). I can just imagine how I'd feel if I shot 200MB of photos and then got home and found that they were either corrupted or missing entirely from the iPod. True, anyone (including Apple) could make a flawed product, but if it were an Apple product you'd have a single vendor to work through and I think you could trust that Apple would eventually make things right (or very close to). I suppose if the Belkin card reader worked flawlessly (a possibility, obviously too soon to completely dismiss this product) then it could also be an okay product. But, I'm not planning on rushing out to buy one.

Oh, I should be clear that I have nothing against Belkin. I've purchased several of their products and they've all worked well. It's just that I was hoping for some well integrated, Apple designed and produced products. As far as I can tell, neither of these products is what I'd call insanely great and I guess I was hoping for some real Apple magic.

[ZildjianKX]

Originally posted by noel4r
$99 so you can store data on your ipod? sounds a little bit too much for me. it's basically a card reader, right?

One thing I can always expect from Apple, no matter how expensive I think an accessory is going to be, they always exceed my expectations and make it even more expensive... I'd buy the flash card reader if it was $50 and didn't take batteries.

[bennetsaysargh]

now that recording is out, someone needs to trick the into thinking that the belkin is connected. it probably send a certain code to the iPod just like the remote, and then it thinks that it's attached, letting anyone use whatever mic they want.

also, it's a speaker, so i might wind up buying it for the reason that most portable speakers are 65 dollars. i know the quality won't be the same, but it might be good for some cases.

[Docrjm]

Looks like I might have to upg to a 3G ipod. The card reader is certainly a huge plus. `canon 10d uses mem cards big time. Does it support verified transfers?

[snahabed]

Belkin doesnt have specs up yet.

Does this record at 22222mhz? Sorry if I am mangling terminology.. I am asking for a friend who records audio for broadcast, and I think this is the minimum quality necessary

[pb1212580]

Just spoke with Apple and the guy was trying to tell me that he thinks that the speakers will play songs from your iPod library besides playing the recorded stuff. Can anyone verify this? i thought it would just play what's recorded...?

does anyone know how photos are viewed from the card readers? and it's only b/w...what about colors?!?!?!!?

[FlamDrag]

It cannot be terribly difficult to attache a much better mic to that Belkin thing. It would be even less attractive though...

However, the Beilkin thing might downsample the quality / make it mono / or something else so it may be all for not.

That said, it's only a matter of time (I'll guess a week from when they start shipping) before someone makes it work.

The card reader is useful, but it seems that this functionality should be as simple as a cable directly from the camera to the iPod to eliminate the need for a memory stick (etc) all together.

I was hoping for something that would really force me to buy an iPod, but I think I'll wait a bit longer for any new generations.

[FlamDrag]

Originally posted by pb1212580
does anyone know how photos are viewed from the card readers? and it's only b/w...what about colors?!?!?!!?

The iPod doesn't view pictures from the card reader - it simply acts as a massive memory card so that you can only purchase 1 memory card for your digital camera and dump the images onto your iPod and re-use the same memory card in your camera again.

When you get back to your computer, then you pull the images off of the iPod and view them in Photoshop or whatever else you choose.

[visor]

ok, so pepsi is going to give away a hundred million songs... in the USA.
well great, i couldn't care less, could I?

The iPod needs a $50 external microphone to do what actually the included headphones should - act as micrphone. Big deal - for belkin that is. I don't fancy buying a mic for fifty bucks. One can probably get a class A music studio mic for that price..

A card reader for a hundred bucks - so you can transfer your photos to your ipod...
well, If I wanted to carry a big hunk card reader around, I might as well take a powerbook and transfer the potos right onto that via firewire. makes a better display, too.

Right now, my ipod is checking it's disk. It's busy for about half an hour already, no, I didn't disconnect without unmounting... would I trust my great pictures to such a device? Not without a backup.

[gwangung]

However, the Beilkin thing might downsample the quality / make it mono / or something else so it may be all for not.


Downsampling may be a concern; for my purposes, I wouldn't worry if it's mono or not. Better for me to get a nice, strong mono signal...don't think the sound quality's high enough with portable stereo mikes.

[fpnc]

Originally posted by pb1212580
Just spoke with Apple and the guy was trying to tell me that he thinks that the speakers will play songs from your iPod library besides playing the recorded stuff. Can anyone verify this? i thought it would just play what's recorded...?

does anyone know how photos are viewed from the card readers? and it's only b/w...what about colors?!?!?!!?

It says the speaker can be used as an alarm clock, so I think this indicates that it can access your playlists.

As for viewing the photos, you can't on the iPod.

[visor]

Originally posted by snahabed
Belkin doesnt have specs up yet.

Does this record at 22222mhz? Sorry if I am mangling terminology.. I am asking for a friend who records audio for broadcast, and I think this is the minimum quality necessary

22GHz? What is he trying to record? Microwaves or infrared?

[snahabed]

Originally posted by visor
22GHz? What is he trying to record? Microwaves or infrared?

I am such a moron about this stuff... he needs it to record interviews for AM broadcast radio.. so i guess half the 44.1ghz CD-quality.

Right now he lugs around his laptop, minidisc recorder, and a huge mic. He would be elated if the iPod could substitute here, as long as the sound quality is acceptable.

[TiBook1ghz]

Ok, it says the Voice Recorder records to WAV format. So the format is there for excellent quality recording...

There has to be a way to use a real mic and bypass that crap, I'll see what I can figure out.

I hope to find out that the Belkin doesn't downsample anything, that recordings sound very good (they should since its not a lossy format), and that we make a line-in possible. Or someone develop one.

I just want a tool to record my shows and the shows I go to see. Lets hope it can be done.

[walkingmac]

was poking around at Sony and found this...

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=yIbYPt_I_tDYF-BHwanSNZDYViO0i4QtnZM=?CategoryName=pa_PortableAudioShowcase_NetMDProducts&ProductSKU=NWMS70D&Dept=pa

I found it very funny.... 299! what a joke for 256mb of storage....

But more to the point and the reason I was there.... if Apple really wants to use this new recording funtion, they need to get the same sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz like the MiniDisc to be real.

[visor]

Originally posted by snahabed
I am such a moron about this stuff... he needs it to record interviews for AM broadcast radio.. so i guess half the 44.1ghz CD-quality.

Right now he lugs around his laptop, minidisc recorder, and a huge mic. He would be elated if the iPod could substitute here, as long as the sound quality is acceptable.

hm... well it will be a most interesting interview. I wonder if he finds anyone who can vibrate his vocal chords 22 billion times a second.
I think myself lucky if I get beyond ten thousand times.. doenst matter much for me anyway as I don't hear much after about 16 000Hz anymore.

[MGnards]

Having used other memory card readers, (FlaskTrax, NixVue Vista) I think the Belkin design is actually really smart. The main problem with the other readers is that they suck battery power like nothing else-with the aa batteries already in the unit, that won't suck on the iPod's battery life... If it did run directly from the iPod, i guarantee you that the battery life would drop to at most 1/5 of what it is now, and everyone here would complain about that instead :) So, while it may not be that pretty of a device, I'm buying it.

mgnards

[walkingmac]

Originally posted by MGnards
Having used other memory card readers, (FlaskTrax, NixVue Vista) I think the Belkin design is actually really smart. The main problem with the other readers is that they suck battery power like nothing else-with the aa batteries already in the unit, that won't suck on the iPod's battery life... If it did run directly from the iPod, i guarantee you that the battery life would drop to at most 1/5 of what it is now, and everyone here would complain about that instead :) So, while it may not be that pretty of a device, I'm buying it.

mgnards

But it could at least be an option if ppl wanted to suck the life out their rechargable battery

[TMay]

It doesn't state such, but I have to wonder if the adaptor could also power the iPod in a pinch, just like the battery pack accessory. This would be doubly attractive for photographers.

[aphexist]

I think all the comments regarding the card reader, such as "I would rather just plug into my powerbook" aren't very well thought out. This is a device that is not much larger than the iPod itself, reads 6 formats of digital media, and is self-powered.

I am not a pro photographer, but I bring my camera with me quite a bit. Can you imagine having to open up even a 12" Powerbook and prop it up on something and navigate the download process while:

-in the rain
-at a sports event
-while walking
-while standing on a ladder or riser
-when your laptop is low on batteries and you are out of memory cards

Just think about it.

[plastree]

I want a stereo line in for my iPod! I have a great stereo mic that I use for field recording, but I'm limited to the fidelity and usability that my minidisc recorder offers. The iPod would be so much better! This won't happen, but whoever releases a line in accessory with 24 bit converters will get my business and accolades.

[aswitcher]

The card reader looks pretty fine and knowing people who use digital cameras they will want one (including me if Sony get that 828 out soon). I was looking at 512-1024 cards and they are pricey. Buying this would allow me to work with just one. I was disappointed to see it didn't take Sony's new Sony Pro memory type which is where they are shifting their products. Maybe in the next version...

I sort of had in my mind they might allow USB links to pull digital stills off without a completly seperate device. Guess that was asking a bit much.

I was really hoping that it would also take digital video because for non-DV cameras video sucks memory (13 minutes of 640x480 at 30fps to fill a gig) and this would have been brilliant. I wonder if they could upgrade the software to allow for MPEGs etc to be pulled off?

I had hoped that the reader would be designed to clip onto the iPod. For field work some sort of case or frame to provide for easier handling when the devices are linked and to provide some protection in bags and from the elements is a must I think. Belkin do good product so I really hope they have something in the pipeline for this. Optional colours might be nice.


Jason

[boehncke]

I really hope the reader will pull ALL the info off the memory card. This includes ALL photo formats (RAW, JPG, etc.) and all movie formats. Syncing with iPhoto is all fine but: it won´t work on windows (they don´t have iPhoto), and why build in a limitation at all?

I routinely take great movies with my Sanyo Camera (Xacti J-1) super-small camera, TV quality video saved to USB card. Check out www.sanyo-dsc.com - you will see an ever better cam, tiny (!!) yet shoots videos at 30 fps, 640x480 DVD qualit, with AAC stereo audio (!!), AND you can shoot 3 MPixel still images WHILE shooting the video. Available from November in Japan and Europe (dunno about the US but shouldn´t be too different).

So heck.... someone in the know please post here if it will pull all data off the card or not... this is VERY important!

Greetings from Germany (where we miss out on the music store.... duh.... would be nice to have it here as well!!)

[whooleytoo]

What do people make of the Music Quiz iPod game? It made me realise just how poorly I know my music collection! ;)

[sososowhat]

I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!

[boehncke]

Originally posted by sososowhat
I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!

Actually, almost all digital (still image - photo) cameras use USB, some USB 2.0 --- but the point is still valid, since USB can be attached to the 3G iPods. Maybe it would have required too much software on the iPod chips (would need some version of image capture I guess), don´t really know.

[aswitcher]

Originally posted by sososowhat
I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!

FW is mostly for Digitial Video cameras that already have 60-80 minute tapes costing $20 odd USD. They use firewire to transfer to PCs. Given how much the tape stores and how small and cheap they are an external backup drive (iPod) has limited appeal.

Still cameras on the other hand usually have USB or you can remove the media (CF2, xD etc) to pull the data off. This media costs a fortune in comparison to DV tape, especially for fast high quality ones ~$250-500 USD for 1+ Gig. An external drive (iPod) is a relatively cheap option if your going to be taking losts of shots and away from a laptop. This is tripply so if you are using high quality digital video on still cameras which chews through memory big time. I really hope this device can suck that down now or with upgrades.

Jason

[dankashane85]

Believe me you do not want a built in mic for audio recording on a harddrive based recorder. I have and Archos jukebox recorder I purchased for recording lectures and literally every 5 minutes you hear (very loudly I might add) the harddrive spin in order to write the data to disc. Admitedly the iPod has a bigger RAM cache than the Juke box but 32MB is still only about15-20 minutes of recording at a decent level. I had to eventually buy and external mic for ~$150 b/c the noise was driving me crazy and I would miss things in the lecture.
I am very happy that the iPod mic is atleast somewhat external.

[VicMacs]

remember that these are 1st generation accessories... i expect better things to come but this is good for people that said... 'i take a MD over an ipod because i can record' now the have nothing to say... and this must be a plus for all those photographers like the ones i know who are real mac enthusiasts and are obliged to carry their tiny powerbooks around to store the photos they take at a wedding, or party or whatever... now they just have to carry an ipod... definetly a plus...

this is a good start for broadening ipod's horizons...

i have a newborn 12inch pb with my girlfriend! im the happiest mad.. errr.. dac... errr mac-dad

i will wait till the ipod has a color screen to upgrade my 10gb 2nd generation one...

my 2 cents

[bennetsaysargh]

Originally posted by plastree
I want a stereo line in for my iPod! I have a great stereo mic that I use for field recording, but I'm limited to the fidelity and usability that my minidisc recorder offers. The iPod would be so much better! This won't happen, but whoever releases a line in accessory with 24 bit converters will get my business and accolades.

the way it probably works is when it it plugged into the iPod (the microphone) it probably send a certain code to the iPod o get the mic thing turned on on the iPod. i think once someone finds that code, it's only a matter of time before it is put into product that don't have a built in mic, making it good for people who want to use their own mics. it is the same way with the remotes. they had to be backwards programmed for lack of a better term. they need to find the input code before, then they needed to make it able to send it to the iPod via the 4 pin remote jack.

Originally posted by boehncke
I really hope the reader will pull ALL the info off the memory card. This includes ALL photo formats (RAW, JPG, etc.) and all movie formats. Syncing with iPhoto is all fine but: it won´t work on windows (they don´t have iPhoto), and why build in a limitation at all?

foreshadowing perhaps? ;)

Originally posted by whooley
What do people make of the Music Quiz iPod game? It made me realise just how poorly I know my music collection! ;)

i love it! it gives me a chance to show my knowledge, and something to do one the bus :)

[h'biki]

Originally posted by visor


The iPod needs a $50 external microphone to do what actually the included headphones should - act as micrphone. Big deal - for belkin that is. I don't fancy buying a mic for fifty bucks. One can probably get a class A music studio mic for that price..



Hahha. Right. You could get a Shure SM58, the workhorse microphone, for around $100US but its not a 'Class A' studio mic. 'Class A' studio microphones are between $250-1000 for condensers. And they're going to be phantom powered too, which means you're going to need good pre-amps and good DA converters, which means you're looking at between anohter $500-5000 (depending on what you want - the Avalon's kick ass)

Makes $50 for a microphone attachment seem pretty reasonable?



A card reader for a hundred bucks - so you can transfer your photos to your ipod...
well, If I wanted to carry a big hunk card reader around, I might as well take a powerbook and transfer the potos right onto that via firewire. makes a better display, too.


I agree the card reader is large, but we'll see dedicated single-type card readers soon I'm sure. Ones which clip straight onto the dock connector. And I'd still pay $50-100 for it, cause its worth it. Slightly more expensive than a normal *FIREWIRE* card reader and it allows me to store to my iPod.

Just cause somethings not quite what you want and is more than you're willing to pay, doesn't mean its stupid or expensive.

[tizza]

That's it - I'm buying an iPod!!!!!

[MM2270]

Originally posted by ZildjianKX
Anyone else bummed the Flash Card reader is so big and takes batteries? I was hoping for a tiny addon that is powered by the iPod...

Yes, I'm a little disappointed too. It's looks freakin' huge! It's typical because Apple didn't design it. Although Belkin makes useful products, they ain't no Apple when it comes to compact and appealing designing. I wish Apple had taken the time to design these 2 peripherals. I don't perosnally mind the mic, but I see that many people on this board don't care for it, to put it mildly. I was hoping to get the card reader thing, but I'll have to wait and see one in person before I can think about it. Based on the pics, I would not want to have to carry that thing around, and worry about THREE AAA batteries dying on me to boot! :rolleyes:

Well, here's hoping that it's nicer in person than it is in the pictures.

[damax452]

Apple needs to fire Belkin, they don't get it. Apple products are alway so sleek, Belkin just makes clunkers that cheapen the look of the iPod. I'm kinda dissapointed, as many of you seem to be, with todays updates.

Although the new features are neat, they are not too impressive, I would have been much happier with a software update that allowed me to use a regular mic in the 1/8" headphone jack. And $50 for a little mic? No thanks. I have no use for the card reader, but for some its probably a great thing.

[cubist]

OK iPod users, how much recording time are we likely to get before we need to recharge? I'd like to get 8 to 10 hours if possible. Mono is fine (lectures). Anyone know? What kind of life do you get playing music?

[fpnc]

Originally posted by sososowhat
I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!

The problem with your assumption (or request) is that all of these cameras would have to have their firmware updated in order to work with the iPod. What you seem to be overlooking is that both devices would need new firmware, it couldn't just be done on the iPod side.

As for USB, I don't think many cameras even support peripherals. Usually, when you connect a camera to a PC the camera is in a USB mass storage mode, this is just the opposite of what you'd need to connect the camera to an iPod. In that case, the iPod would need to run in mass storage mode and the camera would need to be a USB host (and I'd suspect that most cameras can't even do that).

[walkingmac]

again the issue of quality built in recording options. The line-in port as we all know by now is mono.... but as I recal the dock has a STEREO port on it that can be used.... that being said it should be posable to make an accessory that connects via the dock port on the 3G iPods that has a STEREO line in.

Still no word if the Sampling Frequency is up to 44.1 or not.... but I'm waiting for that bit of info!!!

[fpnc]

As for an audio recording device, what I'd like to see is something that might look like Griffin's iTrip. It would have a built-in microphone on one end, a small speaker in the middle, on on the other end a mic and stereo line-level input. It might even have its own battery (one AA) so that it could provide some active audio processing (gain control, pre-amp, etc.). Of course, it would also offer high-quality recording (assuming that the iPod could handle such input, same question on the stereo inputs). If someone could design a nice looking and reasonably compact device like this I would buy it in a heart beat. I was hoping that Apple would produce such a device, I'm not really that impressed with Belkin's offering (I guess the latter is okay for low-quality voice memos, but that's it).

[hulugu]

The thing is, which no one has mentioned, the iPod has this capability to use and accept data from other devices—this strikes me as a huge extra in the iPod and means, I believe, that other vendors will be able to develop their own solutions. Look at the cases, headphone, and connectivity solutions available for the iPod. I think a media reader and line-in audio device could be developed other vendors: Griffin, Macally, etc. and Apple will accept these.
But, the card reader should be self-powered (the iPod probably can't sustain itself and another device for the 6-10 hours we ask) and the line-in device looks poor in the photos, but I'd like to see one before I pass judgment.
BTW, anyone have suggestions about cases for a 2nd G iPod? I managed to maim the one it came with.

[gogoman]

Fret not everyone. Griffin Tech is sure to bridge the design gap missed by Belkin.

[paulwesley]

Anyone know if the new mic has a 2nd headphone jack, so you can have BOTH mic and headphones connected at one time?

If not, it should. How annoying if you had to unplug and replug the headphones/mic every time you switched from recording to listening to music...

Great to see this direction opening up, at any rate...

[fpnc]

Originally posted by gogoman
Fret not everyone. Griffin Tech is sure to bridge the design gap missed by Belkin.

Griffin makes good products but they always seem late to market. It's not uncommon for them to pre-announce a product and an estimated ship date and it usually then slips, and slips, and slips (finally being released anywhere from 3 to 6 months after their original estimate). But I would tend to agree, Griffin could/should redo Belkin's efforts.

[fpnc]

Originally posted by paulwesley
Anyone know if the new mic has a 2nd headphone jack, so you can have BOTH mic and headphones connected at one time?

I'm pretty certain that it does not have a second jack, but it does have a small speaker so that you can at least preview or hear your recordings.

[fpnc]

Originally posted by hulugu
The thing is, which no one has mentioned, the iPod has this capability to use and accept data from other devices—this strikes me as a huge extra in the iPod...

I don't mean to be totally rude (said with a friendly grin), but I don't understand your comment about "...which no one has mentioned..." Because, well, isn't that what we're all talking about here?

In any case, one thing that I've mentioned before and something which no one else seems to take into account is that the current 3rd-generation iPod has no hard attachment points. This means that just about any peripheral that is attached to the iPod has to connected via a cable and this isn't very elegant or convenient for a mobile device that you might need to operate with one hand. Take the photo card reader. Imagine how much better this would work if you could firmly attach this device to the bottom of the iPod (with some type of clip device or even small thumb screw). Apple should have designed the iPod to accept an attachment point like this (IMO). The fact that they didn't include this leads me to believe that no one at Apple fully considered the iPod peripheral market. I have a small Sony mini-disc player/recorder that has a single screw-thread attachment point that works great to secure an extra battery pack to the player. A similar physical attachment point like this on the iPod could be very useful (it could have been integrated into the docking port).

[Telomar]

Originally posted by cubist
OK iPod users, how much recording time are we likely to get before we need to recharge? I'd like to get 8 to 10 hours if possible. Mono is fine (lectures). Anyone know? What kind of life do you get playing music? You get 8 hours playing music at 128 - 160 kbps. The audio is recorded at around 160kbps so I'd expect something similar. Not really sure until it's tested how much the Mic might drain or how much writing to HD might drain.

[d1gg3r]

Originally posted by FlamDrag
The card reader is useful, but it seems that this functionality should be as simple as a cable directly from the camera to the iPod to eliminate the need for a memory stick (etc) all together.

Exactly, most cameras have USB connectors so what's the problem with just connecting directly? Does anybody know? This seems such a logical thing to do!

Originally posted by aswitcher
I sort of had in my mind they might allow USB links to pull digital stills off without a completly seperate device. Guess that was asking a bit much.

Why asking too much? Surely it's just a software upgrade for the iPod?

Originally posted by fpnc
As for USB, I don't think many cameras even support peripherals. Usually, when you connect a camera to a PC the camera is in a USB mass storage mode, this is just the opposite of what you'd need to connect the camera to an iPod. In that case, the iPod would need to run in mass storage mode and the camera would need to be a USB host (and I'd suspect that most cameras can't even do that).

Why can't the iPod play the host? The camera acts as a hard drive. So, it would only need firmware update to iPod. Can iPod play as a host? Zat is de qvestion!

Cheers Daniel

[iHack]

Originally posted by CrackedButter
I don't care how lame the voice recorder looks, i was about to spend £100 on a digital recorder from Olympus and now i don't have to.

snip

This is going to be great for lectures, a voice recorder AND a new 12" PB! Discounted as well!

Get the Olympus. WAV recording is terrible for anything longer than a short note. The files are huge. I have an Olympus and it stores up to 11 hours on a 32 MB smart media card. Sure it's compressed, but the compression is optimised for speech. The sound quality is actually very good. It features voice activation too, so you record hardly any silences.

M.

[whooleytoo]

Aaah! After installing the latest iPod software, my iPod battery indicator (or the iPod battery?!?) is broken. After a few hours plugged into the dock, it still shows almost empty charge. (I also noticed, the indicator has changed, before the battery had just 4 segments, now it has many more).

[Analog Kid]

I'm really underwhelmed by these peripherals...

Recording only appears to work with this one mic.

The mic is mono, and attached to the unit-- I'd like high quality separable stereo mics on a cable so I can keep the iPod on my hip and record ambient sound.

The mic might be good for recording lectures, or what-not, but if it's a student accessory or that quality it should be $20, not $50.

(The mic shouldn't be built in. The quality would be awful and would only serve as a tick box on a spec sheet. A dongle is fine, just make it reasonable.)

The card reader is just another box to carry around. I was looking forward to this for vacation photos, and possibly video off a "still" camera. I want to be portable. An iPod on my hip is fine, but the reader would stay in my hotel room where I may as well dump to the powerbook.

For $100, they could put a small LCD panel on there and make it close to useful. Heck, a Palm doesn't cost much more than $100...

Yes, it is stupid if I can't use it. There's only been a handful of posts that see this as really useful.

I do hope this is the start of a trend though. Having a hard drive on your hip can be really powerful if it's coupled with useful peripherals...

Let me plug in an iSight, for example... Put a really small LCD where the Apple logo is on the camera, and dump the data to the iPod.

[Analog Kid]

Originally posted by fpnc
The problem with your assumption (or request) is that all of these cameras would have to have their firmware updated in order to work with the iPod. What you seem to be overlooking is that both devices would need new firmware, it couldn't just be done on the iPod side.

As for USB, I don't think many cameras even support peripherals. Usually, when you connect a camera to a PC the camera is in a USB mass storage mode, this is just the opposite of what you'd need to connect the camera to an iPod. In that case, the iPod would need to run in mass storage mode and the camera would need to be a USB host (and I'd suspect that most cameras can't even do that).

The iPod has a processor on board-- that's what makes it more than a hard drive. It could easily act as host to a device that meets the USB Mass Storage spec.

I have to believe if it can decode AAC, it can read from a USB port.

Heck, it can already control the hard drive it's attached too. Even if it just used the RAM as a bucket and pulled bits from the camera to RAM and then alternately dumped it to the hard drive.

[Analog Kid]

Originally posted by fpnc
As for an audio recording device, what I'd like to see is something that might look like Griffin's iTrip. It would have a built-in microphone on one end, a small speaker in the middle, on on the other end a mic and stereo line-level input. It might even have its own battery (one AA) so that it could provide some active audio processing (gain control, pre-amp, etc.). Of course, it would also offer high-quality recording (assuming that the iPod could handle such input, same question on the stereo inputs). If someone could design a nice looking and reasonably compact device like this I would buy it in a heart beat. I was hoping that Apple would produce such a device, I'm not really that impressed with Belkin's offering (I guess the latter is okay for low-quality voice memos, but that's it).

Now this I like. Empty the iTrip tube and put the mic at one end to give it some directionality. That would be good for a student who wants to focus on the professor.

Still mono, but useful.

Forget the speaker, that's what the headphones are for.

[jcshas]

$99 to upload photo's to my iPod? You must be kidding. Say hello to the worlds most expensive memory card reader! Maybe I'll consider picking one up when the price drops to about $30-40, or when hell freezes over (oops, that already happened yesterday).

[applekid]

I'm glad to see the new flash card dumper. It is something my dad and I always wanted ever since we saw the original iPod. My dad's company might consider buying a few of these things because they are usually out doing field testing and need to take lots of pictures. I would also like to applaud Apple's work on the new iPod update. It feels more responsive in the interface and games, the new battery meter just looks sleeker, and the better contrasted removed these faint grids I had all over my screen. And to add to that, I had this blob of dark liquid crystals on the edge of the left side of the screen, but now that has disappeared completely too!

When I think of computer peripherals, I'm thinking of everything that I can hook up to my computer that acts as input and output. I think the iPod will be part of a bigger scheme of things to come.

[luiss]

Check out this SD (as opposed to say, MiniDV) camcorder the Panasonic SV-AV100 (http://www.time.com/time/gadget/20030917/). With the Media reader for iPod, the 20 minute record time for a 512MB SD card is bearable, just keep offloading to the iPod. A 10X speed 1GB SD card costs about $500. For that amount you could by an 20GB iPod and a Media Reader.

[FlamDrag]

A poster above missed the point a bit...

Yes, firewire cameras are currently expensive - but all you would need is a cable that has connecter A (who cares what it is) on one end and iPod connector on the other.

The cord should be long enough to place the iPod in your pocket / jacket / backpack and stay attached to the camera at all times if need be.

It should be that simple.

A card reader at any price is an unnecessary extra.

++

I'm pretty sure - not positive though - that Belkin's thing uses the headphone jack for speaker use - not for mic use. The mic part probably utilizes the dock connector. So in my understanding, all the talk about mono-line-in is moot. It's whatever the dock connector can do.

++

With this massive launch, I guess it will be quite some time before we see any major revisions to the iPod.

[fpnc]

Originally posted by Analog Kid
The iPod has a processor on board-- that's what makes it more than a hard drive. It could easily act as host to a device that meets the USB Mass Storage spec.

I have to believe if it can decode AAC, it can read from a USB port.

Heck, it can already control the hard drive it's attached too. Even if it just used the RAM as a bucket and pulled bits from the camera to RAM and then alternately dumped it to the hard drive.

You seem to be suggesting that you've seen the iPod act as a USB host. I've never seen evidence of this. When it's attached to a host computer I think it only acts as a USB mass storage device. And as for USB hosts and peripherals, I think it's more than just firmware/software. There may also be hardware related constraints. That's why I think it may not be possible for an iPod to function as a USB host (i.e. it may be limited to acting as a mass storage device). As I understand it, the USB standard states that only one USB controller can exist in an interconnected system. Thus devices that can act as both controllers (hosts) and peripherals would seem to be a rather odd collection of hardware. I don't claim to be anything near to an expert on this (and I certainly could be wrong); however, I'm not convinced that an iPod can act as as USB host.

However, as I understand it Firewire devices are much more capable of acting like peers and that could explain why Belkin's card reader (for the iPod) is based upon Firewire.

[hulugu]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by fpnc
I don't mean to be totally rude (said with a friendly grin), but I don't understand your comment about "...which no one has mentioned..." Because, well, isn't that what we're [B]all talking about here?

At the time no one had mentioned that other vendors could come out their own solutions, rather than noting that the iPod could do these things, the previous posts were about how they didn't like Belkin's.
(With a friendly grin.)

The hardpoint idea is very interesting, maybe 4G iPod?

[withnail]

Originally posted by FlamDrag

I'm pretty sure - not positive though - that Belkin's thing uses the headphone jack for speaker use - not for mic use. The mic part probably utilizes the dock connector. So in my understanding, all the talk about mono-line-in is moot. It's whatever the dock connector can do.


Nope, everything connects up top, via headphone and remote jacks. I would guess that it sends a signal via the remote jack that says "hey, I'm a mic, not headphones" which enables the "Voice Memos" menu under Extras. (Similar to the hidden recording fearure already present in the 3G iPods)

...it woulda been nice if the mic had REC/STOP/PAUSE controls right on it so you don't have to navigate through menus. Also, I agree with others, the speaker is a waste of space. A jack out to headphones might've been engineered along with the buttons, still keeping to the current form factor.

[abdul]

i was wondering if anyone knew what the quality of the recording through the mic was. good enough to record the lecturer?

and how many minutes does it record?

can it be optimised for speech?

and how powerful is it? e.g. do you have to talk directly into it for it to beable to record it well or do can you sit 10 metres away and still get a fairly clear recording?

[withnail]

Originally posted by abdul
i was wondering if anyone knew what the quality of the recording through the mic was. good enough to record the lecturer?

and how many minutes does it record?

can it be optimised for speech?

and how powerful is it? e.g. do you have to talk directly into it for it to beable to record it well or do can you sit 10 metres away and still get a fairly clear recording?

From the manual (http://web.belkin.com/support/download/downloaddetails.asp?download=1225&lang=1) :

"Hold the microphone a few inches from your mouth and speak."

Hope this doesn't mean you HAVE to be that close to get good recordings! If so, why would they have billed it as good for "memos, lectures, interviews, or conversations"? If you can get good results recording lectures, I'll get one.

Also, since it records to WAV, I don't think it's a matter of optimizing for anything until you offload it and transcode it to mp3, aac, etc.

I believe the recording time is bounded by power and storage constraints of the iPod.

[jimthorn]

I would be surprised if the folks over at iPoding (http://www.ipoding.com) don't have one of Belkin's voice recorders disassembled and hacked into a line-in recording device within a week. They had an original iTrip hacked to work with the 3G iPods right after the new iPods came out (sure, it wasn't pretty, but it worked).

And I agree with some of the other comments: Belkin may get their products to market quicker, but Griffin's products retain much more of Apple's sense of style. The iTrip looks like an Apple-designed product. So hopefully we'll see a better version of the mic from Griffin, with lots of extra features.

[walkingmac]

I personally couldn't give a hoot for that the format is (to a degree) or how much it will drain the battery recording... I know for myself and everyone else who are really interesting in the new (relative) feature is the quality. I almost feel lied to since NO ONE has offically stated ....this is the Sampling Frequency....

Please... someone out there has to have info on this.

[bennetsaysargh]

does anyone even have the damn thing yet? don't bash it until someone has tested it's quality and ease of use.

[walkingmac]

not blasting.... just not seeing info from the manufacture or apple i find odd and upseting is all... but i am waiting and interested to hear from even just someone who has the new accessories

[bennetsaysargh]

i myself am waiting for user reviews before my opinion is said. i think that it might be good, but hopefully it exceeds my expectations.

[usersince86]

I'd like to see the following on a future generation iPod:

* stereo 44.1MHz analog audio line-in recording (with dock or whatever; limited only to HD space remaining)
* FW800
* color screen
* pix and/or some type of video playback (even if only through an output)

and some "dreaming" ideas:
* BlueTooth (for whatever benefits that would provide)
* KEYNOTE playback (and/or PowerPoint playback) via BlueTooth or the video out (THAT WOULD ROCK!!!)
* OS X "portable" (let others make apps for it)
* digital/optical recording
* multi-track recording (dreaming)

suggested names:
* iPod AV
* iPod Pro
* iPod 2
* iPod X

[walkingmac]

Originally posted by usersince86
I'd like to see the following on a future generation iPod:

* stereo 44.1MHz analog audio line-in recording (with dock or whatever; limited only to HD space remaining)
* FW800
* color screen
* pix and/or some type of video playback (even if only through an output)

and some "dreaming" ideas:
* BlueTooth (for whatever benefits that would provide)
* KEYNOTE playback (and/or PowerPoint playback) via BlueTooth or the video out (THAT WOULD ROCK!!!)
* OS X "portable" (let others make apps for it)
* digital/optical recording
* multi-track recording (dreaming)

suggested names:
* iPod AV
* iPod Pro
* iPod 2
* iPod X

I would definetly have to agree with you on some if not most of your thoughts here.

• Since the announcement I have wondered about the quality of the recording feature and upset that neither Apple or Belkin have released specs on that. (I have noted in other postings that the dock supposedly has stereo recording capabilities, and thus posable to develop an adapter for the dock connection to handle a stereo line-in). Allowing for also digital/optical recording and multi-track recording would be quite a leap, however worth dreaming about.

• FW800??? not sure if it should be the only connection due the fact that there are too many machines out there that are relatively new and don't sport such a port. Maybe if there was a way to make it a hybrid port.... or maybe the dock just had both ports available.... IDK

• Color Screen and video playback... I think this is a must! The next wave in the digital hub will be movies in my mind. The ability to show your latest family vacation, favorite trailer, or even move your DVD movie files over to it for time shift fair play viewing. While the current screen size is small, adding a video out might be the solution. However this brings the issue of some sort of video card (I am not a tech guru and don't know or have an understanding in such things, so if I am off on something, don't laugh ;)) which brings other issues to the table. However, ultimately the way to go.

• not sure what benefits BlueTooth would bring.....

• Presentation ability would be huge. Video playback and output would be there (thinking that video is already implemented).

All in all... what we are really talking about is almost a whole new version of the iPod. A Pro Version. A ProPod (my own name idea... probably thought of before, but...ehhh). A new Pro iPod that has High Quality analog or posable digital recording capabilities. A slightly larger color screen to handle the video playback and presentation ability and FW800 option to get it on your 60-80-100 GB ProPod.

Lastly, I think Apple is once again ripe for a portable system and think that OS X is solid enough for it and the technology is now here to remove the limitations of storage capacity to have an almost (or possibility complete) full standard OS. Maybe even develop a system that the FULL OS is loaded in RAM/ROM (sorry no true techy) so that when you hit your on/off button you are right there. However I don't think this type of a system is suited for a media portable. The last thing you want is a complete operating system (of any sort really) powering your capture, especially in a live situation. While I know how freaking awesome Mac OS X is and stable, I have had small hiccups during a media capture live and in the studio. Studio you can just back track and start over and it no big deal, but in live situation, if something goes wrong, you lose. There is no do-overs.

So there it is... We have iBooks/PowerBooks. The next logical step could be iPods/ProPods..... and seeing the a new portal (PowerPod.... idk)

[aswitcher]

Originally posted by walkingmac
I would definetly have to agree with you on some if not most of your thoughts here.

SNIP



Bluetooth would allow
* Synching without cradle or cables (automatically)
* file exchange between devices - including data downloads from bluetooth enabled cameras
* Wireless headphones - likely a single piece device - wireless controller for home and for keeping iPOD safe in bag
-> Within wireless headphones or seperately via current headset arrangements, bluetooh could support interuption of play to auto pause and put through phone calls from bluetooth equiped mobiles/cell phones.

Jason

[walkingmac]

Originally posted by aswitcher
Bluetooth would allow
* Synching without cradle or cables (automatically)
* file exchange between devices - including data downloads from bluetooth enabled cameras
* Wireless headphones - likely a single piece device - wireless controller for home and for keeping iPOD safe in bag
-> Within wireless headphones or seperately via current headset arrangements, bluetooh could support interuption of play to auto pause and put through phone calls from bluetooth equiped mobiles/cell phones.

Jason

Good Point..... ya I would say then definatly add that. I would say (in the little dream world that we are playing in for all this) that such a feature could be added to both (iPod and ProPod) due to the fact that I for one could see a normal everyday iPod owner making good use of such an option...

Thanx for the insite Jason and usersince86.

[bennetsaysargh]

i think the top line iPod is like the powerpod. if they can keep it's storage high, and add a video card, bluetooth, and maybe a line in, it would sell a lot. i would buy it. no need to even use DVDs! i can rip them onto my computer, and then sync them onto my iPod. after that, i can use a cable to hook it up to a TV. it would rule so much!