iPod 6G iPod ideas - alternative functionality

[CellarDoor]

Alright, time to stop feeding off of the collective. it's about time I stopped lurking and reciprocate some ideas.

It seems to me that, assuming the rumors have any kind of validity, that a touch-sensitive, full-screen, BT enabled 6G ipod could have a remarkable amount of ulterior uses.

Plop an ipod next to your computer and suddenly you have a new 2.5 inch (or whatever) spans of screen real estate. use it as a toolbar for PS. use it as an true "tactile" equalizer in itunes, garageband, or soundtrack. Use it as your inventory in Heros of Might and Magic. Remember Launcher? let your ipod be a bank of frequently used scripts and programs. a secondary dock. a constant open Mail window. Whatever.

Gyroxide has a few ideas of his own that touch on this, with something called "miniWidgets," but I think it can be taken much farther. Whether or not Apple will want to do this is up in the air, considering if implemented incorrectly it could really reduce the simplicity Apple strives for. However, 3rd party dev teams and programming enthusiasts could really dig into this kind of opportunity.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Vader]

That all sounds very cool!

 

[runninmac]

I would love to control iTunes on its own seperate screen! Great idea

 

[pdpfilms]

As long as they developed a more secure device to physically hold the iPod (the dock can be a bit wobbly), this would be a great thing to have. I could see it happening.

 

[CellarDoor]

(the dock can be a bit wobbly)

good point. it might work best if it was just sitting flat on your desk. i think that's how I would prefer to use it.

I would love to control iTunes on its own separate screen!

no kidding. especially from across the room. portable front row.

 

[CellarDoor]

also I forgot to mention that it could easily replace the front row remote coming with new macs. with a remote like that front row could really make some progress on all of the potential it has.

i dont know how difficult to get 3rd party programs into the ipod would be... though I'm sure someone would figure out a crack eventually, if apple were to block that kind of expanding.

 

[Peyton]

very good ideas actually. maybe you can write a letter to apple explaining this. I hear they write back

 

[killuminati]

very good ideas actually. maybe you can write a letter to apple explaining this. I hear they write back

I also think that's a great idea. It would be especially useful if the new iPods came with the rumored 4" screens. That's a lot of extra space that could be used in very creative ways. Especially if the ipods had a touch screen.

 

[CellarDoor]

very good ideas actually. maybe you can write a letter to apple explaining this. I hear they write back

That's a good idea. I'll shoot them an email when I'm get out of the studio. Strange, I would have thought that I would be too lazy. I guess I just really desire this kind of functionality

It would be especially useful if the new iPods came with the rumored 4" screens. That's a lot of extra space that could be used in very creative ways. Especially if the ipods had a touch screen.

yeah 4" would knock it into the minitablet, or microtablet area... which is a very sexy playing ground. for the kind of thing I'm talking about, I think the touch screen would be a necessity.

 

[(L)]

it'd have to be modular - nobody wants a bunch of built in features that they don't use, the primary function still being a music/media player. So, it all depends on how much Apple wants to capitalize on the iPod accessories/software market.

 

[CellarDoor]

it'd have to be modular - nobody wants a bunch of built in features that they don't use, the primary function still being a music/media player. So, it all depends on how much Apple wants to capitalize on the iPod accessories/software market.

This is the kind of interactivity I'm talking about. If your iPod is within BT range (assuming BT is there) then it mounts on your desktop. Then you have a palette that you can bring up with a function key. The palette has modules supporting whatever open programs that have modules associated with it. Just drag the modules you want into the iPod icon on your desk. You can set certain ones in a favorites menu on your ipod. intuitive.

I'm sure there are issues that would have to be ironed out, but I think its feasible.

 

[student_trap]

sounds like a great idea. However i doubt we would see such usability if it made the device more complicated.

Also, how long would a bluetooth ipod's batteries last for?

 

[CellarDoor]

sounds like a great idea. However i doubt we would see such usability if it made the device more complicated.

Also, how long would a bluetooth ipod's batteries last for?

Good point. What i know about BT (which isn't much) tells me that most BT devices are in a constant 'discovering' mode, which is a big battery drain. Perhaps apple knows of away around this, maybe making it so the ipod is the "slave" to one particular machine and just sits tight waiting for a specific signal, as opposed to looking for other device's signals constantly. I really have no idea. I was basing these ideas off of some rumors that popped up recently (it's too late to look for links to old threads) about the how the 6G iPods would have it. although, when I think about it, the concept would work fine on a plugged-in iPod. it just wouldn't be as bad*** i guess.

I dont think the usability would be compromised or the device made too complicated if the concept were implemented correctly. and if apple decides it doesn't like it, the open source community will find an answer. it always does!

 

[ITASOR]

Wow being able to use it as a screen for toolbars would be AWESOME!

 

[billchase2]

whoa, using it for your photoshop/other apps' tools... LOVE the idea!

 

[CellarDoor]

Wow being able to use it as a screen for toolbars would be AWESOME!

whoa, using it for your photoshop/other apps' tools... LOVE the idea!

Thanks! Yeah, when you start thinking about the different options, there's really a limitless potential. even if there were only two or three different options, say... itunes window offscreen, photoshop tool bar (or whatever palette), and maybe a email client, would totally change the way we think about using computers. it would open the industry to other solutions like this, which could really take us somewhere.