Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Could the iPod really be Apple's PDA in the future?

Peyote

Peyote

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
With so much controversy over whether or not Apple should release a PDA, and with Jobs stating that they never would...I began to wonder: How hard would it be to add PDA functionality to the iPod? Specifically, the ability to input text. If Apple moves the iPod to bluetooth, which I see as a high probability, what is stopping apple from including the necessary functionality to be able to use one of the small folding bluetooth keyboards already available for PDAs? Then you could input text directly into your iPod. That would be great for taking notes, etc.

Another idea I was kicking around...if Apple ever *somehow* found a way to incorporate 802.11 wireless connectivity...I wouldn't want to surf the net or anything on my iPod (even though you could if you had the bluetooth keyboard!)...but it would be really cool to be able to walk around with my iPod, walk through a Wifi hotspot, and have the latest news, sports, weather, stocks, etc all downloaded to my iPod automatically.


However I think the most important feature they should incorporate would not require bluetooth, or wifi, or anything extra. I want to be able to sue my iPod as an Etch-A-Sketch. Think about it....the wheel is already there..euse the wheel to make the lines, and the buttons to tell the lines where to go! Well I don't know, but it seems like it could work somehow. Anyway, are there any other interesting features you guys would like to have on your iPods?
 
its doubtful that bluetooth would be incorporated into the ipod, its too slow for transfer rates. and why use a bluetooth keyboard with it? they have that laser one going around now that projects a keyboard onto a flat surface, now that would be awesome for input into the ipod, but still i cannot see the ipod reaching these stages of functionality for quite some time because it is first and foremost a music player and thats what gets it selling and they should keep riding these sales as much as they can
 
I think the iPod already is Apple's PDA - just a "lite" version. Jobs said (and I agree, at least for my uses) that most people use PDAs primarily to retrieve information. PDAs still aren't good for inputting information. The iPod can already hold lots of information for retrieval (contacts, calendar). Sure, it needs to be better but it's pretty good right now.
 
Funny you should post this today: did you see the link on the front page regarding developing iPod apps? Tim Monroe of Apple's Quicktime group gives detailed instructions on how to write iPod apps, including a QuickTime movie player!

The iPod is actually running a slimmed down version of OSX! VERY interesting!!
 
I think that Apple will just continue to keep the iPod as a music player without adding too much other extra, unneeded features. The ability to store notes and contacts will hopefully be as far as they go. The iPod was not meant to be a PDA and should not become one. If Apple does decide to develop a PDA (which I really doubt would happen) it would probably become a whole new product line (iPDA?) running a more sophisticated but still stripped-down UNIX-based OS.
 
there comes a point when you would be trying to make the device do too much. the ipod can take care of tasks like contacts and calender now. the ipod will never have the functionality of a PDA, which is why i have one of each. a PDA will never handle music as easliy as the ipod and the ipod will never be as fuctional a PIM.
 
i hope it does but doubt it will

what i think it should do at least is improve on what it already does as far as viewing info, in otherwords i think a bigger and color screen are something that could go a long way. I remember reading that they could make the scroll wheel like the minis and then make the screen that much bigger. and if it were color... higher resolution, that would kick booty, cause right as much as i would like to view calender stuff i just can't on that little screen with just those dots...

Also it would be nice if you could import your to do lists on to it (if you can and i don't know how please someone tell me!)

i really honestly feel bad that the pda market is dieing, i feel like someone needs to just get it right. its possible that no one is really using them to input info but how useful would that be if you could!! right down appointments/notes/new contacts constantly. I've always had a dream of taking a pda to school, taking notes with it and then bringing it back and syncing it with my computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back