iPod touch Firewire Charging Dropped on iPod Touch 2G (Images)

[840quadra]

I wasn't aware of this until I tried to connect my trusty old Firewire charger to my new iPod Touch. Unlike the first generation, the 2nd Gen does not support Firewire charging from either an active port on a system, nor from a wall (or car) charger. If you do happen to plug in one of these power sources, Apple was kind enough to program in this handy little message.





Not only was it sad when they dropped Firewire synch abilities on the 5th Generation ipod (which needed fast transfer speeds MUCH more than any model previous), they now have dropped charging support on their newest hardware. Apple's further abandoning their own technology is quite sad. However, I guess saving a penny here and there ads up .

This is the only disappointment I have with the 2nd Generation iPod touch over my recently sold 8gb previous model. Over all, it is a great device with nice added touches that make owning it a great experience. Sadly I will now need to have 2 chargers in my car as I still actively use a 15gb 3rd generation iPod for my primary music POD.

 

[Ivan P]

It's mentioned on the website that only USB is supported, and it was also rather well publicised on MacRumors that Firewire charging was no longer supported...

 

[angels lust]

Guess we'll have to wait it out for USB3.0

 

[Jakethasnake919]

I am correct that firewire cords can not be used to sync on the iPod Touch 1G right?

 

[mavis]

Guess we'll have to wait it out for USB3.0

What for? The touch and the iPhone are both MUCH slower to sync than older iPods (I have a 60GB iPod Photo and a 1st gen Nano to compare them to) so a faster connection won't make a BIT of difference. No pun intended.

The bottleneck is not the interface, it's the memory used for storage.

 

[angels lust]

What for? The touch and the iPhone are both MUCH slower to sync than older iPods (I have a 60GB iPod Photo and a 1st gen Nano to compare them to) so a faster connection won't make a BIT of difference. No pun intended.

The bottleneck is not the interface, it's the memory used for storage.

The more you know...

 

[thomahawk]

Noooooooo! *Screams in Agony*
now what am i going to do with my lonely firewire port on my macbook..... i was planning to buy a firewire cord for my ipods but now i see that the recent ones released from last year to now dont support firewire. now what can i do with it... i dont want to get a firewire HD cuz USB 3.0 is like getting hot now, them rumors, sheesh.

 

[DMC-12]

Not only have we lost firewire's speed, but also the connectivity with older accessories. My Monster FM transmitter/charger won't work with my iPhone 3G or the new iPod touch. I have to use a USB hub in order to sync without unplugging my external hard drives.

 

[mavis]

Not only have we lost firewire's speed, but also the connectivity with older accessories. My Monster FM transmitter/charger won't work with my iPhone 3G or the new iPod touch. I have to use a USB hub in order to sync without unplugging my external hard drives.

Actually, you don't even have USB2.0's speed, as I explained earlier. So there really hasn't been any loss in speed.

 

[DMC-12]

Actually, you don't even have USB2.0's speed, as I explained earlier. So there really hasn't been any loss in speed.

I stand corrected. Is there and inherent disadvantage for Firewire vs. USB 2.0 then?

 

[840quadra]

It's mentioned on the website that only USB is supported, and it was also rather well publicised on MacRumors that Firewire charging was no longer supported...

I think calling it well publicized a bit much. I do apologize for posting old news if it is something that everyone already knew. It wasn't something I was aware of after checking the following locations before posting.....

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/09/2nd-generation-ipod-touch-2-1-firmware-speaker-thinner/

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/09/2nd-generation-ipod-touch-2-1-firmware-speaker-thinner/

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/10/ipod-nano-touch-disassembled-ipod-touch-has-a-bluetooth-chip/

And Apple?

For the record, Apple only mentioned USB charging on the 1st generation iPod Touch tech spec page. The ability to charge the first generation iPod touch with Firewire was not well known, or advertised for the most part.

Check the archive yourself
http://web.archive.org/web/20080119034520/www.apple.com/ipodtouch/specs.html

• Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter (sold separately)
• Fast-charge time: about 1.5 hours (charges up to 80% of battery capacity)
• Full-charge time: about 3 hours

Says almost the the exact same thing on the current iPod touch page

• Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter (sold separately)
• Fast-charge time: about 2 hours (charges up to 80% of battery capacity)
• Full-charge time: about 4 hours

Regardless, I still feel that the Touch supporting firewire charging was not well publicized in version 1.0. And it's subsequent removal also wasn't well publisized in the new version. But again, that is just my opinion.

What for? The touch and the iPhone are both MUCH slower to sync than older iPods (I have a 60GB iPod Photo and a 1st gen Nano to compare them to) so a faster connection won't make a BIT of difference. No pun intended.

The bottleneck is not the interface, it's the memory used for storage.

I agree 100%. The Flash based memory is the bottleneck on these things. Really slow writes (read is okay though). Firewire is really missed when connecting one of those new high capacity Classic models.