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Apple's Updated iPod Nano to Lose Click Wheel?

Sevey is getting more form over function everyday.

He should move to a place that snows and needs gloves, then he will see that getting frost bite on your fingers should not be a sacrifice to use a product.
 
Yes Apple could make the Nano even smaller if they used a virtual click wheel on a touch senitive screen. If could even work will.

But,.... I have the current Nano ad I notice that when I cary it around it's not the Nano itself that is bulky, but the earbud (or in my case in-era) headphones. These and the long long cord add more bulk to the total package than does the iPod itself. This goes tripple for my iPod Shuffle.

If you consider a shuffle and a set of earphones as a "system" then if the size of the Shuffle were reduced to zero you'd still not cut the bulk of the system even in half. To make it smaller than 1/2 size they will have to loose the wire cable too.

My idea? Loose the cord, loose the iPod and keep the only part you really need, the in-ear headphones. Two solutions: (1) Just build the music player inside a pair of earplugs with no wire or (2) Keep the iPod and add a wirless connection to a pair of ear plugs.

Best however to make the system flexable and make the earplugs usable with or without the iPod nereby.

Science fiction? Not quite. Many older people have in-era hearing aids that are quite sophisticated with digital signal processing, battery and all

Loosing the clickwhhel is a small step. They have a long way to go. The goal is that the device disapears from sight
 
I think he's probably right about the Apple TV update, I also don't think we'll see it at this event. It seems like something they would hold another special even for later in the year, or wait until January. It also seems unlikely that Apple's huge new data center is ready for that much streaming traffic yet. Although I guess if it's ready to go, they'd want to get them out to the market in time for the holiday shopping season. But I still think it'll be a no-show at the September event.
 
Not Available said:
What do you think of the idea below?

Remove the click wheel, and have only the screen. But control the iPod by performing the click wheel moves on the screen. Now this is something I'd LOVE to have. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Basically removes the camera, then. No way to hold it and control it, really.
 
Wade Uh Minit

Wu has a terrible track record, but because he said ANYTHING, you guys wrote up this whole article to spew his low grade imagination?

I can deliver into your hands—on demand—much more flavorful stuff.

For instance: The new iPod Nano will come in a completely transparent case and appears to the eye to be a clear shard of glass with only the patch that is the screen showing up as opaque. Apple has filled the interior with an oil that surrounds circuit and battery components—all of which are made of materials of the same refraction index.

The iPods will come in seventeen colors plus two models that glow in the dark. One uses luminescent dye, the other is powered by cosmic rays.

The new Nano is the first iPod with Bluetooth, enabling one to pair it with stereo earphones (optional) and keyboards (optional) for menu input and note taking.

A special frame mounts two iPod Nanos on your face in focus and appears to others as large sunglasses. One Nano is used for each eye. The result is coordinated (via Bluetooth) 3D viewing of all iPod Nano-generated video media. The same frame is used to facilitate shooting 3D media. The frame can be used with a single Nano as the world's best steady camera mount, too. $39.95, Apple.
 
Usernames Suck said:
Because on the menu for the nano, the options there are too many options to fit on the screen for even small fingers. You need analog controls to get through the menu. The click wheel may be small, but It has a wider range of area to click the buttons on the click wheel.
Click to expand...

But you don't have to select options that way. Right now, you have a list of options with one option highlighted, and moving round the clickwheel moves the selection up or down. Same can be done with a touchscreen. It just notices the movement of your finger. It doesn't have to be 1-to-1. Moving your finger from the top to the top moves the selection by a certain amount, not the whole screen.
 
I never fully liked the clickwheel. Everything was great about it except that last millimeter of control - I could get really close to the selection I wanted, but would always undershoot or overshoot it, and would have to stop, take a breath, and move very very cautiously to actually zero it in.
 
chris975d said:
But if you imagine that interactive screen UNDER the current screen, but just in place of the current clickwheel, I think it becomes an interesting concept.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. Something to add to that is that I measured the click wheel on my 4g nano, and it's 3x3 cm, the same size as the small touch screen floating around. The click wheel could be virtual, with some multitouch capabilities.
 
If to be true, sensationalism is what I suspect. For an iPod of this size, this would signify a change in product lineup, for the iPod shuffle would become nonessential. If we see a storage bump in the iPod touch, the iPod classic would have no need. Could we see an iPod lineup of two? Doubtfully so, as I see a refocus on touchscreen devices, with relevance to the iPad.

In truth, I personally believe this rumor to be associated with the shuffle. It's far more sensical for a 2 inch screen to appear in this specific iPod model. Either way, I'm excited.

This is what I see as an ideal lineup:

<iPad>
64GB - 128GB - 256GB
7 Inch Screen - 10 Inch Screen

<iPhone>
16GB - 32GB - 64GB
3.5 Inch Screen

<iTouch> Rebranded
32GB - 64GB - 128GB
3.5 Inch Screen - 5 Inch Screen

<iNano> Rebranded
8GB - 16GB - 32GB
1.7 Inch Screen - 2.8 Inch Screen

Unlike the others, the iNano would pertain to a closed iOS, where as it is now, certain specific apps will be downloadable, with it geared emphatically towards music. For a device of that size, music would be the focus.

I love speculating, and it's been long overdue for a re-imagined iPod lineup.
 
Smaller and no click wheel? We already got that it's called shuffle and it sucks.

If they apple does remove the click wheel they need to make the screen a bit bigger so you can use touch. On the other hand I haven't used a nano since the touch came out, so I don't much care about what happens to it, but kids in poorer countries will be pissed if nano becomes shuffle I can tell you that.
 
current nano is beautiful...they should make the shuffle with the touchscreen and not nano
nano without click wheel will suck:(

i hope they continue selling ipod classic...its a wonderful device

it sucks that the current gen (3rd) ipod touch will become the base ipod touch, ...I was hoping that they'll do away with the current design...guess i'll have to spend more money to buy the 4gen ipod now :(
 
it's a Shuffle revamp, not a Nano

last Shuffle went too minimalist and i don't think they sold many. never see people buying them. don't see many out walking (yes, they are small so maybe you don't see them. hahaha).

most people have worked out you NEED a screen of some sort. this fixes it.

6 days and we'll see...
 
Wow. Shaw Wu looks at an image on a media invite that has a guitar and makes a prediction that this is going to be a music related event, when for the past handful of years Apple has traditionally done a music themed event in the fall. I'm speechless.

I am so deathly sick of hearing his predictions. They are either incredibly inane and obvious like this one or flat our wrong. He has no good information to pass on.

The stuff coming out of Chinese manufacturers is far more interesting and full of intrigue. Wu's pronouncements are just laugh-inducing.
 
so...

This is on page one because...?


Small White Car said:
My prediction: The iPod Classic is dead.

They MIGHT keep selling it for another year. Heck, maybe even two. But I don't think it has any more updates left in it. What you see on Apple.com right now is probably it. They'll keep selling them until people stop buying them, but that's about it.
Click to expand...

Well, until flash memory catches up with hard disks.
 
Salacion said:
This is what I see as an ideal lineup:

<iPad>
64GB - 128GB - 256GB
7 Inch Screen - 10 Inch Screen
Click to expand...

Won't happen untill at least next year and even then prices for SSD are still a bit high,

Salacion said:
<iPhone>
16GB - 32GB - 64GB
3.5 Inch Screen
Click to expand...

There will not be an iphone launch at an ipod event. Plus the iPhone was just updated.

Salacion said:
<iTouch> Rebranded
32GB - 64GB - 128GB
3.5 Inch Screen - 5 Inch Screen
Click to expand...

Your kidding right? iTouch? :rolleyes:

The iPod Touch is a great name. no need for apple to please the kids who go around calling it by its incorrect name.

I do see 128GB happening sometime. 50/50 on the 5" screen. The most perhaps a 4" screen. but they may stick at 3.5"

Salacion said:
<iNano> Rebranded
8GB - 16GB - 32GB
1.7 Inch Screen - 2.8 Inch Screen
Click to expand...

iNano? sigh....

8GB will go away. 16Gb and 32GB will be the ones to stay. 2.5" screen. One size.

Salacion said:
Unlike the others, the iNano would pertain to a closed iOS, where as it is now, certain specific apps will be downloadable, with it geared emphatically towards music. For a device of that size, music would be the focus.
Click to expand...

So iOs with out wifi?

Salacion said:
I love speculating, and it's been long overdue for a re-imagined iPod lineup.
Click to expand...

Yeah. You need to work on your names though
 
Tactile audio controls

If the Nano goes touch-screen, how about incorporating slim volume control buttons along the edge of the device, a la iPhone/iPod touch, but with a third button in between, essentially incorporating the function of the in-line headphone remote into the body of the device?

Navigating screen-based menus would require you to look at the screen (obviously you need to see what you're doing), but these minimalist hardware controls would let you control basic audio playback without looking at the screen - an advantage that the click-wheel iPods currently have over the purely screen-based audio controls of the touch/iPhone.

This would allow the designers to ditch the space hog of a click-wheel, but maintain the ability for users to control audio playback without having to look at the screen.

The same function could eventually be migrated to the iPhone and iPod touch (I'm aware of Apple's disdain for hardware buttons, but this is only one more), where the centre pause/skip button could even be utilised for app-specific functions, such as a hardware shutter release when using the camera.
 
I still think the 6G nano will look almost identical to the 5G nano, but will be physically "thicker" (between 1.0 to 1.5 mm) to accommodate a bigger battery and more flash memory storage. The result is a player with an added 10 hours of audio play time (around 35 hours) and increased storage capacity (16 GB for US$149, 32 GB for US$179). It will also add the ability to take still photos in addition to videos.
 
A lot of Macrumors won't believe leaked pictures, but will believe some crazy analyst?
 
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