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Apple announces iPod nano

mrgreen4242 said:
Seems neat, but... useless. I mean, if they were offering a full movie/tv download service, and bundling a 40-80gb iPod with a device to stream it to your TV wirelessly, maybe I'd bite, depending on price... but seems a bit under featured and overpriced without an iFlix store and an INCLUDED way to get the signal to your TV AND a way to wirelessly control it.

Ah well, at least they are making steps forward.
Click to expand...

I agree that an iFlicks store would be optimal, but like you said it's a start. :) Great to hear this from podfuture, hopefully it's just on target as the Nano (though lower price and more features are always welcome!)

I've got tons of clips that would be perfect on a Video iPod, of course a big catch will be the allowed file formats. If .wmv and .rm are out then that kills most of my selection anyway, and unfortunately that's pretty likely.
 
podfuture said:
This Oct 7 (plus minus a day or two) event is part of a 1-2 punch for Christmas...
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Very interesting info! If it turns out to be true (just like your call on the nano did), you'll officially be macrumors forums hottest inside source! Keep it up!
:D
 
Lara F said:
I agree that an iFlicks store would be optimal, but like you said it's a start. :) Great to hear this from podfuture, hopefully it's just on target as the Nano (though lower price and more features are always welcome!)

I've got tons of clips that would be perfect on a Video iPod, of course a big catch will be the allowed file formats. If .wmv and .rm are out then that kills most of my selection anyway, and unfortunately that's pretty likely.
Click to expand...

There are always ways around the official supported formats. I am pretty sure ffmpegx can convert both RM and WMV to other formats (just google ffmpegx).

It's not a seamless experience, but if you've got a lot of video that you want to convert then it's probably worth it-
 
This would make sense, Apple often releases new products close to the beginning of their fiscal quarters and October is the beginning of their 2006 FY

Also, Toshiba announced early this year that their 80GB HD for iPod size devices would be ready for Q4.

So combine the iPod video with what they'll announce at Paris and we'll get a jolly Xmas. :D



Originally Posted by podfuture
This Oct 7 (plus minus a day or two) event is part of a 1-2 punch for Christmas.

The VidiPod (the name I give it) is a high-end device. I cannot know if the WiFi is standard or not, but I believe it will be. I don't see FCC approvals yet, though..

I have to pose questions to my buddies and see how they answer. I only refer info from those who have seen the pre-production units first hand. They nod positive on

Price $449 (this has most uncertainty)
Capacity >60GB
Wifi Standard
Update to Airport Express
Update to iTMS.

Another nod: Focus is music videos and QT movie trailers. Sit on your sofa. Use the iPod as the source and controller. Stream to your TV. Get fat.

Some mention of cool games but Apple has no content.

Apple intends to control more of the accessory business because it it comes with good margin and they give us the most consistent experience.

This means we get more cool "made for Apple" stuff, but at a little higher price points.

I can't handle all the good news coming from Apple!! Neither can the wallet.
 
This would make sense, Apple often releases new products close to the beginning of their fiscal quarters and October is the beginning of their 2006 FY

Also, Toshiba announced early this year that their 80GB HD for iPod size devices would be ready for Q4.

So combine the iPod video with what they'll announce at Paris and we'll get a jolly Xmas. :D

EDIT: sorry second post, didn't click the reply button at the right place... OUPS!

EDIT2: Bugger, I need to learn how to pst better....



Originally Posted by podfuture
This Oct 7 (plus minus a day or two) event is part of a 1-2 punch for Christmas.

The VidiPod (the name I give it) is a high-end device. I cannot know if the WiFi is standard or not, but I believe it will be. I don't see FCC approvals yet, though..

I have to pose questions to my buddies and see how they answer. I only refer info from those who have seen the pre-production units first hand. They nod positive on

Price $449 (this has most uncertainty)
Capacity >60GB
Wifi Standard
Update to Airport Express
Update to iTMS.

Another nod: Focus is music videos and QT movie trailers. Sit on your sofa. Use the iPod as the source and controller. Stream to your TV. Get fat.

Some mention of cool games but Apple has no content.

Apple intends to control more of the accessory business because it it comes with good margin and they give us the most consistent experience.

This means we get more cool "made for Apple" stuff, but at a little higher price points.

I can't handle all the good news coming from Apple!! Neither can the wallet.
 
Lara F said:
I agree that an iFlicks store would be optimal, but like you said it's a start. :) Great to hear this from podfuture, hopefully it's just on target as the Nano (though lower price and more features are always welcome!)

I've got tons of clips that would be perfect on a Video iPod, of course a big catch will be the allowed file formats. If .wmv and .rm are out then that kills most of my selection anyway, and unfortunately that's pretty likely.
Click to expand...

I was just thinking about my previous comments and I've decided that I would rather have either a nano sized device for video (although with a screen the size of the whole thing, of course.. which would mean a touch screen virtual scroll wheel interface) or a mac mini sized TV box.

The iPod macro, as I saw someone here cleverly term it, is just to big for my tastes. The iPod mini is actually pushing it. Watching something on a screen the size of a nano would actually be all that bad if the display was bright and clear and had a really good range of viewing angles. The weight is the real issue... holding something the size of an iPod macro at the right position to watch it would get uncomfortable after awhile, a 1.5oz nano would be doable.

Sure, capacity it limited... but for that small resolution yould wouldn't need much in the way of bittrate. Even 480p is down to what, 1gb per 2hours with mpeg4 now? So you can have 2 movies and 500 songs on a 4gb nano. Not bad at all, in my book. They just need to figure out a way to get a TV output into the same thickness nano now, and develop a screen coating that will keep the display viewable even though you are touching it...
 
AidenShaw said:
jouster said:
Love to see these arguments that market share matters where Apple has it (Ipod), but market share isn't important where Apple is a tiny niche (Mac). :)
Click to expand...

But that doesn't make me wrong. Obviously the Mac is different, but so what? We're not talking about it in this thread.
Click to expand...
 
VIDEO BEFORE CRIMBO?!

October lauch is seeming increasingly likely, however would the MAc expo in january be better placed, with hype around the nano it may be hard to push yet another ipod before crimbo. I think this does however confirm that apples long term interest is in home entertainment and video too.......so three cheers :)
 
podfuture said:
Try

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/ads/480.html
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I didn't think much of that ad when I saw it in the "media event". The fact that somebody's hand is trying to grab the iPod nano away is slightly humorous, but at the same time both distracting and a mixed message. Sure, everybody will want one, but given the reports of iPods being popular targets of theft, I'm not sure we want it demonstrated.
 
Doctor Q said:
I didn't think much of that ad when I saw it in the "media event". The fact that somebody's hand is trying to grab the iPod nano away is slightly humorous, but at the same time both distracting and a mixed message. Sure, everybody will want one, but given the reports of iPods being popular targets of theft, I'm not sure we want it demonstrated.
Click to expand...

Haha, I didn't think of/notice that. It's a good point, you probably would notice it was missing as it is so light, and it's small enough that you could lose it fairly easily.

It's also expensive enough that you'd be extremely pissed if that happened, unlike the shuffle where you would most likely be only moderately pissed. :D

Perhaps they should saved that ad for a different campaign where the tag was something like 'Get your own'. The shuffle would have been a good one for that.
 
I just went by my local Best Buy store and they had about 20 nanos in-stock.. about half black and half white. I bought one. This thing is incredible. Now I've got 2 more coming next week from the Apple online store... I guess I'll be returning one.
 
verces said:
I have supported Apple since I started to look into their 3rd Generation iPods in the beginning of the year 2004, and made myself buy a 4G 40GB iPod color. (Which has now become a collectors edition....)

Ever since, Apple has continued to amaze me. The Shuffle was a sheer MP3 market killer, and now with the complete overhaul with mini and the introduction of the nano seems like Apple is completely on the prowl in terms of the MP3 player market.

I do not believe that the mini is gone forever, if it was replaced, these nanos would've been called minis. I for one reason believe that the minis will come back with a complete upgrade and face lift.

1. Weight reduction: Minis are too heavy for their relatively small size
2. Color screen: This particular omission was a crucial factor for many to opt for the iPod color screens
3. Improvement of the scratch-proof surface.

I don't see Jobs, a genius enterpreneur, will simply suddenly betray the Mini which has served Apple so well, that it has been doing half the work in the international iPod sensation. Minis never made the color break. They will.

It has to come down to this:

1. the Shuffle range: Flash based quick iPods. (perhaps a scrolling screen in the future)
2. the mini range: Iodized surface but smaller and slimmer and with color
3. the nano range: ordinary iPod surface with smaller and slimmer aspects.
4. the macro range: the iPods (color)
5. the video range: This particular spot has been in the debating room for a long time, and till this date we do not know. There were rumours of its possibility in September (which is now), but with the nano introduction, the video range has become even more remote.

Apple is insurmountably clever. They knew that many people who looked at their iPod catalogue and said "gee, I love the iPods but they're way too big capacity for me...I don't need that much....but I can't stand the minis..the color is just too..."

So, they came up with the iPod, except in a mini version. Superb idea, why ever did they not think of it in the first place??? The next obvious move is to cater for the mini crowd, who love the iodized surface.

HAIL JOBS!
Click to expand...

i agree about apple being smart. another thing that i thought was that yes, the minis were exremely cool - but if you had a 40GIG model, you would never switch to a mini.

so - dump the mini, bring out the nano - again there's the wow thats cool factor, and again there's the never going to get one thing - so what you need is something in the form of the mini, but with the capacity of the big ipods....

now that ipods have been around a while, a lot of people will be looking to perhaps replace theirs, and the mini form is tried and tested.

so there you go - the mini to come back with 40, 60 GIG drives, and the 4Gs to evolve into video, wi-fi models.

Iain
 
Actually...

It does not work the way you think. iPod 'shuffles' songs. It does not select one song randomly after another. It shuffles your library (or selection) and plays until it is done with all the songs, playing each one only once. It might be possible that it divides the songs of your selection choosing a predetermined number of songs at a time, but the concept will be the same. Anyhow, that is why it keeps track of the played songs. If you choose shuffle and then press play, it will play every song in your library only once. What happens most of the time is that people select something, like a playlist and press play, then before it finishes, they choose something else, like an artirst, etc. and the shuffle is re-done, for the current selection they have made. Try one of your playlists, and press shuffle. It will play each song only once.

Chundles said:
The shuffle feature is random, if you have a selection of 1,2,3,4,5 then 1,1,1,1,1 is a possibility for a 5 song playlist. Random means it can take any of the songs and play them at any time. It's not like the lottery where if a number is drawn then it is no longer available for selection, in this case, all songs are available at all times for example:

Lottery method:
1st Selection

1,2,3,4,5 -> say it chooses number 3

2nd Selection

1,2,4,5 -> 5

3rd Selection

1,2,4 and so on.

iPod shuffle method:
1st Selection

1,2,3,4,5 -> 3

2nd Selection

1,2,3,4,5 -> 3

There is nothing to say the iPod or iTunes cannot select a prior song for the next played.
Click to expand...
 
If you play an entire playlist on shuffle, I assume that it then reshuffles the playlist to another random order and plays them through again in THAT order. If so, then in theory the last song of the first shuffle could come out first in the second shuffle, and you'd hear that song twice in a row.
 
Don't assume...

It does stop after the playlist is done.


Doctor Q said:
If you play an entire playlist on shuffle, I assume that it then reshuffles the playlist to another random order and plays them through again in THAT order. If so, then in theory the last song of the first shuffle could come out first in the second shuffle, and you'd hear that song twice in a row.
Click to expand...
 
Just to make sure everyone is aware (despite the fact that it's been mentioned a couple of times now) on the iPod Shuffle, play is random, but it can't play a song that has already been played in that 'session'.

e.g.

1st selection: 1,2,3,4,5,6 --- song chosen=5

2nd selection 1,2,3,4,6 --- song chosen=2

3rd selection 1,3,4,6 --- song chosen=3

etc.

So yes, once you have finished a 'session', say with song 1, the next session could well start with song 1 (this the exception to the rule).

A session refers to a time where all the songs are played. As far as I know this is correct, though I don't own a Shuffle myself, this is what I've read about a hundred times on webpages, debating the randomness of the shuffle.

iTunes' party shuffle is not like this, off the top of my head, I don't know any method that is used. Though it seems that my Party Shuffle hates me as it plays all of about 10 songs out of my library and just shuffles those.
 
i've noticed a lot of people complaining about the loss of ipod minis are saying things like "i was thinking about getting one" or "my girlfriend wanted to get one", stuff like that.

now, i WASN'T thinking of getting an ipod mini but i am thinking of getting a nano. it seems that a lot more people are either getting or going to get a nano now, people who would not have bought a mini, no matter how much they updated them.

i'm curious as to how the nano will sell compared to the mini, which it replaced. i think it will beat the mini.
 
The people that are thinking of getting a Mini now can still get one. If I wanted one I'd buy it from the Apple sales store, the refurbs are a great price and look brand new.

It will take a while for all the Minis to make their way through the distribution chain.

It was a bold move by Apple. One hand the Mini's were selling great, OTOH by introducing the Mini's successors now they really strike against all the companies now making 4-6GB players in the Mini form factor.
 
madmaxmedia said:
The people that are thinking of getting a Mini now can still get one. If I wanted one I'd buy it from the Apple sales store, the refurbs are a great price and look brand new.

It will take a while for all the Minis to make their way through the distribution chain.
Click to expand...
And by introducing the Nano at this time, while the Mini's are still popular, there is a better chance that the Mini's will be purchased by someone who still wants one before they are gone.

This will reduce/help clear the supply of Mini's on hand.

Sounds like good business to me.

Sushi
 
sushi said:
And by introducing the Nano at this time, while the Mini's are still popular, there is a better chance that the Mini's will be purchased by someone who still wants one before they are gone.

This will reduce/help clear the supply of Mini's on hand.

Sounds like good business to me.

Sushi
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm guilty of that. Got my Nanos and one of the last Silver 6Gb Mini's 'cause they are going fast.

All 4Gb Nanos sold out in the HK Apple store in minutes. They didn't sell ONE 2Gb until all of the 4Gigs were gone. Price diff here is only $48USD.

I observe that when using Etymotics you can hear a crunch when backlight and the scroll wheel are moved (not enough to worry about, but never heard this on the Minis or 4thGen).

And lastly, everyone on the street that sees the Nano wants one. I have never been so approached having a new toy in hand.
 
can anybody tell me if the nano's sound quality is as good as the shuffles or big iPods? The 1. Gen iPod mini was a little bit weaker than normal iPods... everytime I change the from the normal to mini, I hear the differences :eek:
 
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