5G iPods, PowerBook Updates?

[LaMerVipere]

I'd round off the front but that looks about right. The think secret article describes the new ipod as being like the mini. This means there will be white and aluminum. I'd jsut expect the back to not be so different from the front.

I would love it if the iPod adopted the iPod mini's anodized aluminum enclosure, and abandoned the tired chrome. No more scratches! (Or at least, a heck of a lot harder to put noticeable scratches onto it) They could still keep large parts of it white, to make it recognizable.

 

[quackattack]

Based on the cinema display and mac mini white+aluminum design trends, I would imagine the 5th generation to look something like this (my pshop skills arent that great, lol):

I don't see them totally dropping the white trend, the general size of the unit, or anything too revolutionary, just evolution on the ipod design. I certainly hope a thinner, color, high capacity version presents itself; the only thing keeping me from a 40GB, especially the Photo, is the thickness of the unit.

The more I think about it, that looks pretty right on to me. I can see it looking alot like that. The sides may not be rounded on the back. Probably a sharper corner, like the mac mini. Very good work!

 

[Yvan256]

Oh come on, the 'dual-core G4' is just as much of a pipe dream right now as the G5. I hate to tell you all this, but the only real way of increasing the performance of the PowerBooks right now is the mpc7448. [...] The fabled '970gx' may remedy some of those issues, but that's even more of a pipe dream.

How about that new Cell processor? IBM makes it, don't they? Sony will use it in the Playstation 3, won't they? Cell is a PowerPC-class CPU, isn't it? And Cell is a lot, and I mean a LOT more powerful than anything in any home desktop right now. A PowerMac Dual G5/2.5GHz looks like a calculator compared to a Cell CPU (never mind Athlons and Pentiums).

Sony was part of the keynote earlier this month. And not just anyone from Sony either. That was too strange in my opinion (why wasn't the demo made by some tech at Sony?). My guess is, we'll see some kind of merger/partnership between Apple and Sony in the future. Maybe there's never gonna be a "G5 laptop". Maybe the Mac mini will be the last in the serie of "G3/G4/G5" Apple computers, too.

My insight?

MWSF 2006: "Introducing: Mac mini Cell, iBook Cell, iMac Cell x2, PowerBook Cell x4, PowerMac Cell x8."

 

[pbook15]

The more I think about it, that looks pretty right on to me. I can see it looking alot like that. The sides may not be rounded on the back. Probably a sharper corner, like the mac mini. Very good work!

The original iPods were more like this with the sharp edges, my roommate still uses his and personally they feel uncomfortable in your hand comapred to the 3rd and 4th gen ones. (I don't know if the 2nd gen ones sported the rounded corners) I hope they do not go back to this style. I had a mini for a few weeks while my 3rd gen was in for repair and liked it, almost to the point that I was disappointed when I had to return it but I needed my 15GB of space back. I digress... The mini's hard lines at the top and bottom are in no way uncomfortable and that particular style, in my opinion, is a good mix of the iPod and newer devices like the iMac and Mac Mini.

 

[feakbeak]

5G iPods with mini casings

Mini iPods are nicer than the white ones. If Apple can make white anondized aluminum, yet retain the scratch resilience of the mini surface, then I'd say go for it. White iPods are my least favourite aspect in the ipod family of course should be changed where necessary.

I completely agree. I've been wanting to see a full-sized iPod with mini styling ever since the mini's came out. When the 4G's came out still white I was disappointed, but the 12h battery life did it for me and I bought a 20 GB.

I just ordered a Green iPod mini for my girlfriend's birthday. The next site I go to is Mac Rumors and see the rumore of 5GB mini's. Oh well, that rumor was circulating a few months ago and I decided to not buy her the mini for Christmas and wait until her birthday in case they updated the mini's at MWSF and they didn't. I'm not waiting again, besides it is just 1 GB. She's got over 20 GB of music, so it really doesn't matter. But if they come out with a purple/orange mini I'll be disappointed because that's what she really wanted. She'll be happy regardless though, I'm far more anal about this stuff than she is.

 

[supergod]

The iMac G5 really made me think a lot about the iPods design elements when it came out. I remember on these forums everyone was in agreement that it would be thin, pizza box, but almost certainly anodized aluminum (except for the pyramid mac thing... lol) and then Apple came out with an all white, all plastic iMac. That really amazed me as I had no idea how they could deal with all the heating issues, but well, obviously they did. Beyond that, it had the all over two layer effect: a thin transparent layer over a white opaque surface making the machine appear smooth and shiny, just like the iPod uses. So: why couldn't they just make the iPod white all over?

I'm sure they could handle the heating, but obviously, they lose the appeal of their two part design, (Yin-Yang, whatever) and fail to destinguish the back from the front. How about this as a way around: the design of the next iPod takes total inspiration from the iMac and takes an all white surface from front to back, and puts the metal on the bottom and the top.

This matches the basic minimalist philosophy of the iPod in matching technology with design. Everything on the 4G is there for a reason... except for the back. If you put the metal on the top and bottom it becomes attached to the different ports and, furthermore, serves as a way to let off heat. Everything would still function the same, and laser engraving could still be used to put your name on the top of the iPod, this way you could still see the personalization when the pod was in your pocket or while you select a song, rather than having to turn it around. To differentiate the back, you add a grey, slightly textured Apple logo.

To complement the new top and bottom, you replace the current dock with an anodized aluminum stand, basically the same as the iMacs (modernized of course to accomodate new features and the iPod photo) and you add metal to the headphones. Those stupid white buds are already used as a show offy status symbol, from Apples standpoint they might as well emphasize it: flaunt what they've got by "blinging" out the earbuds.

Well, that's what I think and what I've got to say. Tell me if you think I'm on to anything.

 

[_bnkr612]

a quick remix

a quick remix...

 

[SiliconAddict]

Maybe this will shut up the G5 whiners.

Maybe pigs will sprout wings.

Face, G5s aren't fitting in Powrbooks, not any time soon. G4 Freescale possible dual core able to do 64 bit WILL with less power draw... it's BETTER than G5, deal yo!

And maybe you will shut up because you don't know any more then the rest of us.
And maybe you will get a clue that dual cores won't be even sampled before the 2nd half of the year at earliest. Note the word: SAMPLED. This coming form the folks at Moto. I really am sick of people spouting off like they are the end all be all authorities on Apple when in actuality they don't know jack ****.

Word to yo mama yo.

 

[Porchland]

Eh, new iPods.

Keep it the same, leave the white. Plus, won't all these new iPods turn people off? Are they going to release a new iPod every 6 months now?

Fishes,
narco.

Average time between iPod generations has been something like nine months since the beginning. Relax.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Oh , it's 1.67 ghz becuase the clock speed has to be a multiple of the fsb hence 167mhz X 10 = 1.67ghz. 1.7 wouldnt work.

Yes I'm aware how multipliers work on a system. It doesn't change the fact that they have hit a dead end with this chip. And while battery life is all well and good some of us want a good balance between performance and battery life. The G4 barely gets adequate battery life and performance is nonexistent as far as I’m concerned.

 

[GregA]

How about that new Cell processor? IBM makes it, don't they? Sony will use it in the Playstation 3, won't they? Cell is a PowerPC-class CPU, isn't it?

Thanks for the reminder. Cell is a PowerPC derivative, I wonder what kind of technical hurdles there are (or even legal issues if IBM has signed certain deals).

It is an intriguing possibility for the Mac's future.

 

[jiv3turkey748]

5gig minis would be nice...but im not so sure about silver, but apple will probaly make it kool looking....i hope it has an fm tuner

 

[jiv3turkey748]

There's just one problem with the radio. It would most likely lower the sales of iTMS. And although Apple isn't making that much profit of the music store (or is it??), it's still a good weapon for marketing the Apple and iPod brand. "500 000 000 Songs Sold!" looks a bit different than "50 000 000 Songs Sold!".

i dont know if a tuner would really hurt itunes sales, whenever i listen to the radio it just gives me more songs to download (of course i dont pay for my music)...dont tell the police tho

 

[GFLPraxis]

How about that new Cell processor? IBM makes it, don't they? Sony will use it in the Playstation 3, won't they? Cell is a PowerPC-class CPU, isn't it? And Cell is a lot, and I mean a LOT more powerful than anything in any home desktop right now. A PowerMac Dual G5/2.5GHz looks like a calculator compared to a Cell CPU (never mind Athlons and Pentiums).

Sony was part of the keynote earlier this month. And not just anyone from Sony either. That was too strange in my opinion (why wasn't the demo made by some tech at Sony?). My guess is, we'll see some kind of merger/partnership between Apple and Sony in the future. Maybe there's never gonna be a "G5 laptop". Maybe the Mac mini will be the last in the serie of "G3/G4/G5" Apple computers, too.

My insight?

MWSF 2006: "Introducing: Mac mini Cell, iBook Cell, iMac Cell x2, PowerBook Cell x4, PowerMac Cell x8."

In 2006, yes, but not this year

That'd be awesome.

If Cell is as powerful as hyped, the x86 platform has its days numbered.

Check this out
http://www.blachford.info/computer/Cells/Cell0.html

Imagine a world where PowerMacs are 10x more powerful than equivilant PC's...

 

[aswitcher]

The 5th gen will hopefully do more than push up GBs and fiddle with the look. I am hoping for real advances such as Airport for AirTunes interfacing and/or BT for wireless headphones...

In the least the 5th gen iPod Photo should be built to allow direct interface with digital cameras to provide downloading and viewing in the field via USB 2.0. Thats the one real feature that hinders the success of this model imho.

 

[johnbro23]

a quick remix...

I just tried to draw something like that in AutoCad, but I got frustrated and quit. I actually had the exact same idea, with the aluminum siding matching the Mac mini.

Anyways good job. I assume you did that in photoshop? I dont know anything about photoshop, but its probably easier than CAD.

 

[jkung]

my thoughts

the white ipod is the icon for the company so i don't think that will change. I see more special editions ala U2 and HP versions.....more like collectors items. It will create a niche market again- that is where the ipod started.

some cool collectors editions would be:

1. Carbon fiber- cool with cars
2. Mercedes (or whatever) - comes with purchase of new car
3. black and white- simple yet desirable
4. Oak frame- sanded and polished all nice......this would be ill....
5. something that looked like a technics 1200....something on the DJ Hiphop vibe....that would be crazy.

oh yeah, and the new PBs better be crazy. The time they are making people wait for this is crazy. Don't you feel like the PC books have gotten like a million updateds while mac users just get the same ish but with a 10 mghz speed bump?........mac pbs usually are So innnovative so they better have built in everything (bt, wifi, mad ram, digital out, lightup keyboard, movie mode *no os boot)

my 2 cents
j

ps...what if they had a built in camera set for the new version of i chat.....and the audio from ichat should be surround or at least stereo....right person coems from that speaker and the dude on the left should be on he left speaker....

 

[VicMacs]

No doubt you would then complain about the people who are using wireless earphones to 'show off'.

Ever occur to you that the people with the white wires are just listening to their music? How does actually using the device equate to showing off?

WRT bluetooth headphones - who wants another thing to have to charge? What if the headphones run out of juice, but your iPod doesn't? So now you can't listen to music.

Sure, wireless would be cool, but impractical imho.

of course they would have a way of connecting to the ipod, either to charge or to listen to music

 

[GregA]

oh yeah, and the new PBs better be crazy. The time they are making people wait for this is crazy. Don't you feel like the PC books have gotten like a million updateds while mac users just get the same ish but with a 10 mghz speed bump?........

We got lucky with the powerbooks. When Pentium 4 came out it was way too hot for laptops, so they stuck for years with the cooler and slower chips while we were using G4s on our desktops AND laptops. Now the G5 has come along and we have the heat problem they used to have.

It's actually pretty historically rare to have laptops at the same speeds as the desktops.

If Cell is as powerful as hyped, the x86 platform has its days numbered.

Check this out
http://www.blachford.info/computer/Cells/Cell0.html

Imagine a world where PowerMacs are 10x more powerful than equivilant PC's...

Thanks for the link.

Although the x86 could lose out, Windows will be ready to jump to whatever processor it likes. Windows NT already ran on PowerPCs, the new XBox is running an XP core or something AFAIK, and MS owns Virtual PC. If Microsoft wants to release XP for PowerPC (emulating Intel for older apps), with Office etc all running natively, they could do it now. If Intel loses, does Apple improve?

 

[_bnkr612]

I took RichP and doogle's designs and put them together, in pshop.

 

[rikers_mailbox]

Probably been said already. . .

The iPod update will, IMO, be for iPod-photo only. The current 20/40Gb iPods are still quite far ahead of many competetors and do not need to be updated. They sell fine.

If the photoPod is separated from the regular iPod line with a new appearance and more features (btw, where's Home-on-iPod?), it could become a yet another iPod product. . . which we all know the PC crowd eats up.

I would personally like a TiVoToGo-esqe ability to transport, but not watch, recorded video.

 

[musiclover137]

i agree with what people have said about updating the auido aspects of the iPod. including the color screen for album art.

but more importantly, an audio input with a decent sample rate as seen in many other mp3 players (Nomad JB3 for instance). this, along with more hard drive space, would bring in new customers who record live music.
this also makes me think about direct ripping to the iPod, via cd player or someone else's computer.

along with this, i hope the colors come back for everything at apple. i loved the original iMacs and could see all iPods being available in colors along with Mac Mini (a clear iPod would kick ass). colors are already being done by competetors, so apple will do something a little different and a lot better.
i wish i worked for them...

btw, what does IMO and IMHO mean in these posts?

 

[Devie]

Wheres my powemac updates

 

[QCassidy352]

Yes I'm aware how multipliers work on a system. It doesn't change the fact that they have hit a dead end with this chip. And while battery life is all well and good some of us want a good balance between performance and battery life. The G4 barely gets adequate battery life and performance is nonexistent as far as I’m concerned.

I'm just curious what you do with your laptop that you consider a 1.67 Ghz G4 to have "nonexistent performance." My gf's single processor 1.25 Ghz powermac G4 runs everything more or less as well as my 1.8 Ghz G5. Now, we're not rendering video, but unless that's what you're doing (or something equivalently demanding), I really think you're under estimating the G4. I'm sure there is some technical difference between how fast my G5 and her G4 perform operations, but from a regular user stand point, the difference is hardly noticable.

 

[jackieonasses]

I'm just curious what you do with your laptop that you consider a 1.67 Ghz G4 to have "nonexistent performance." My gf's single processor 1.25 Ghz powermac G4 runs everything more or less as well as my 1.8 Ghz G5. Now, we're not rendering video, but unless that's what you're doing (or something equivalently demanding), I really think you're under estimating the G4. I'm sure there is some technical difference between how fast my G5 and her G4 perform operations, but from a regular user stand point, the difference is hardly noticable.

I'll continue Qcassidy352's arguement-

I am the one who sold him the G5 - and My 1ghz Powerbook ran as fast (or a little slower) then the G5 in normal usage. Given the Powerbook had twice as much ram. I dislike some peoples argument that "G5 or bust" When in fact a 1.6 G5 will *most likely* be at - or below performance levels of the 1.67 G4. (the only thing stopping the G4 would be the bus) Altivec would win. Simple as that. The battery life you were talking about Silliconaddict is decent - or higher then that of most Wintel books. So the Powerbook (besides the lack of usual updates) is doing fine with the G4, Just the name is what kills it.

kyle