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Flash iPod Details?
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What about the ears?
You guys are eye-philes! Don't forget that this thing will be plugged into your ears. On the iPod, you manipulate the controls and get feedback for your eyes on the screen. What if this device has an even simpler interface, with feedback delivered to your ears (voice synthesis, beeps, etc)? One annoyance when jogging with the iPod is that you have to look down to select songs (especially dangerous on the treadmill). Now you can change songs without ever breaking stride. Imagine yourself on the subway or walking downtown ... eyes on horizon ... cool aura intact ...
Cheers!
You guys are eye-philes! Don't forget that this thing will be plugged into your ears. On the iPod, you manipulate the controls and get feedback for your eyes on the screen. What if this device has an even simpler interface, with feedback delivered to your ears (voice synthesis, beeps, etc)? One annoyance when jogging with the iPod is that you have to look down to select songs (especially dangerous on the treadmill). Now you can change songs without ever breaking stride. Imagine yourself on the subway or walking downtown ... eyes on horizon ... cool aura intact ...
Cheers!
ambush said:
i never stated jobs was perfect, simply that he was very smart, knows his customers, the industry and trends. obviously he gets things wrong. however in the past it has usually come down to pricing the product out of the market, like the cube(which i might add was a major criticism of both previous iPods). he wasn't wrong in knowing people wanted it, just in his ability to price it right for the market. there have been very few post-NeXT times when steve has got the design or market segmentation wrong (dalmation and flower power iMacs being a garish exception).
truly random may indeed suck for you and for many of us, but for the intended target audience it is not going to be an issue, and that's the point.
People, let's all keep in mind that this is entirely speculation until tomorrow morning PST. It may very well have a screen. Who knows for sure? Not I. Not you.
ok try to imagine, it could hold 240 songs. worse come to worse you would need to click 240 times to find the song you want to play, however without screen, you still need also 2-3 seconds to recognize directly from your ear after each click, so.........
Would it be a small screen on the edge of the device which is not shown on the "banner"? lets pray
Would it be a small screen on the edge of the device which is not shown on the "banner"? lets pray
there will be multiple playlists...
you press and hold the button to fast forward and rewind. you tap it once to move forward and back each track. and you tap it twice in succession (similar to how you back up a track on cd and current iPod) to advance a playlist. Then your songs play at random or straight through in each playlist.
you press and hold the button to fast forward and rewind. you tap it once to move forward and back each track. and you tap it twice in succession (similar to how you back up a track on cd and current iPod) to advance a playlist. Then your songs play at random or straight through in each playlist.
doogle said:
rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise, and buttons too so they still are right side up. That way you can access the buttons easier with your thumb while it's in one hand
I agree. i definately would not buy this thing. If it was between 30 and 50 bucks max i would.mrzippy said:
dashiel said:
I totally agree. Think about who is buying this. Teens!
PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE DIFFERENT AND "REBELLIOUS"
What is more "against mp3 player tradition" than having no screen? It's crazy, rediculous and awesome! I think teens will love it!
I take my ipod running with me and I never change songs. I just shuffle for the hour that I'm exercising. That's exactly what it will do. It's PERFECT!
I was trying to figure out WHY a screenless iPod rumor is so believable. I couldn't put my finger on it.
Then the hairs on my neck stood on end as I slowly looked down at my right hand... resting on a buttonless mouse!
Which, somehow, I still find myself liking and using more than the fancy multi-button scroll mice dangling off my shelves... I guess I do like simplicity sometimes.
Then the hairs on my neck stood on end as I slowly looked down at my right hand... resting on a buttonless mouse!
Which, somehow, I still find myself liking and using more than the fancy multi-button scroll mice dangling off my shelves... I guess I do like simplicity sometimes.
no screen and only 1gb of memory? this thing better not sell for more then 99 bucks. I hate to say this but the Creative Zen people are gonna laugh at this one. I know those zen players suck, but they are agressively catching up to Apple and now this? Seems to me like Apple is getting lazy being at the top.
To All the Naysayers
Do you run a multi-million dollar company? Do you have teams of marketing experts at your disposal? Do you even know anything about marketing research? My guess is no, you live in your own little world and know what you like and what you don't like. Apple is obviously entering the lower end, small capacity, screenless, ipod market for a reason. In the gym today I noticed lots of people with stupid Nike players - this will blow that away. There will be no flop so please ****.
Do you run a multi-million dollar company? Do you have teams of marketing experts at your disposal? Do you even know anything about marketing research? My guess is no, you live in your own little world and know what you like and what you don't like. Apple is obviously entering the lower end, small capacity, screenless, ipod market for a reason. In the gym today I noticed lots of people with stupid Nike players - this will blow that away. There will be no flop so please ****.
Maybe the device has add-ons - the four buttons seems like something from a previous generation ipod (if looked at horizontally), there could be a screen attachment on top and a clickwheel attachment at the bottom, and you get an ipod micro
they sort of add on like the iTalk and other accessories, and not some kind of clunky screen on an earphone attachment that's all too common on other players?
they sort of add on like the iTalk and other accessories, and not some kind of clunky screen on an earphone attachment that's all too common on other players?
If this is the "one more thing" that Steve shows, he will be booed off stage. I'm sorry, not even Apple can make a screenless 240 "iPod" a must have, even by those that it is targeting.
Although I am not in the market for an iPod, I feel that if the iPod flash is exactly as rumored, it will fail, compared the the other iPods, because there will be nothing about it that sets it apart from other flash based mp3 players.
Although I am not in the market for an iPod, I feel that if the iPod flash is exactly as rumored, it will fail, compared the the other iPods, because there will be nothing about it that sets it apart from other flash based mp3 players.
No screen is perfect
Contrary to most posters it seems, I don't see any problem at all with no screen.
Walkmans didn't have a screen -- you put in a tape and pressed play. Maybe the approach with iPod Shuffle is the same -- you load 1G of songs, press play. Difference is obviously that 1G is more than the 12 songs than a tape and that "shuffle" dances the order around. But the concept could be the same. Sort of a 'set it and forget it' mantra
90% of the time, I listen to iTunes on Party shuffle (as probably lots of people do) so I'd be totally happy with a no-screen, 200-song (~10-12 hr) tiny iPod. For the gym or a quick trip somewhere it would be my 4-star list, or top 200 of my most-played list, or top-rated Blues list -- or whatever. I wouldn't care about what order they were in as long as I could skip one if I wasn't in the mood. Plus, I could switch it up easily and very quickly (way quicker than the 60 GB Photo anyway) when I got home.
I'm definitely getting one of these as soon as they're available!
Contrary to most posters it seems, I don't see any problem at all with no screen.
Walkmans didn't have a screen -- you put in a tape and pressed play. Maybe the approach with iPod Shuffle is the same -- you load 1G of songs, press play. Difference is obviously that 1G is more than the 12 songs than a tape and that "shuffle" dances the order around. But the concept could be the same. Sort of a 'set it and forget it' mantra
90% of the time, I listen to iTunes on Party shuffle (as probably lots of people do) so I'd be totally happy with a no-screen, 200-song (~10-12 hr) tiny iPod. For the gym or a quick trip somewhere it would be my 4-star list, or top 200 of my most-played list, or top-rated Blues list -- or whatever. I wouldn't care about what order they were in as long as I could skip one if I wasn't in the mood. Plus, I could switch it up easily and very quickly (way quicker than the 60 GB Photo anyway) when I got home.
I'm definitely getting one of these as soon as they're available!
There is a vast difference between 12 songs and 240.
Walkmans didn't have a screen -- you put in a tape and pressed play.
Maybe the approach with iPod Shuffle is the same -- you load 1G of songs, press play. Difference is obviously that 1G is more than the 12 songs than a tape and that "shuffle" dances the order around. But the concept could be the same. Sort of a 'set it and forget it' mantra
[/QUOTE]
Walkmans didn't have a screen -- you put in a tape and pressed play.
Maybe the approach with iPod Shuffle is the same -- you load 1G of songs, press play. Difference is obviously that 1G is more than the 12 songs than a tape and that "shuffle" dances the order around. But the concept could be the same. Sort of a 'set it and forget it' mantra
[/QUOTE]
If this thing turns out to be like we think it will no way I'm buying one. However, I said the same thing about the iPod mini (I haven't bought one) but a lot of other people have.
sjjordan said:
Teens do want to be rebellious, but that doesn't mean they're f'n stupid. How about...an iPod with no headphone jack. How rebellious! How...DIFFERENT! (Blah). They (teens) can tell a good product from a bad one. I hope this product fails, if it is released sans screen. Would serve Apple right, thinking that whatever they release, no matter what kind of crap it is, it's guaranteed to be a hit.
not sure if this has been posted, as i don't want to scroll through all 100 or so responses so far, but ....
i don't think a screenless-ipod is a bad idea ... back in the days of cassette and cd players ... no screen! you can put a predefined playlist or entire album (just like a cd) on the flash ipod ... sounds great for running/working out! i hope it's $50!
i don't think a screenless-ipod is a bad idea ... back in the days of cassette and cd players ... no screen! you can put a predefined playlist or entire album (just like a cd) on the flash ipod ... sounds great for running/working out! i hope it's $50!
All i can add to this thread is this:
to all you people that think this flash iPod will only play in shuffle mode, WTF?!?!?!
what if Apple decide to bump up the storage capacity to 2GB(presuming there isn't one already) or hell 10GB in a few years time, and we could then store 480 songs or more on that little device with no screen, who the hell would wanna listen to all those songs with only a shuffle function?
food for thought.
to all you people that think this flash iPod will only play in shuffle mode, WTF?!?!?!
what if Apple decide to bump up the storage capacity to 2GB(presuming there isn't one already) or hell 10GB in a few years time, and we could then store 480 songs or more on that little device with no screen, who the hell would wanna listen to all those songs with only a shuffle function?
food for thought.
The optional screen
If this has a standard dock connector, it will be compatible with all the car stereo iPod interfaces out or coming out. Some of those can display the song info gotten from the iPod over the dock connector. If it was small enough, you could even have a car stereo where it just jacked into a hole in the front. Yesss.
Other wild possibility is that it uses Bluetooth to use your cell phone as a display. Cool, but only a handful of people could make use of it anyway.
I still think that what these people saw was not the new iPod (which there very well may be one) but the new iTunes remote control that Steve hinted at a while back when asked about the Airport Express not having a way to control the songs without going over to the computer (a Bluetooth keyboard works for me, but is a tad large).
If this has a standard dock connector, it will be compatible with all the car stereo iPod interfaces out or coming out. Some of those can display the song info gotten from the iPod over the dock connector. If it was small enough, you could even have a car stereo where it just jacked into a hole in the front. Yesss.
Other wild possibility is that it uses Bluetooth to use your cell phone as a display. Cool, but only a handful of people could make use of it anyway.
I still think that what these people saw was not the new iPod (which there very well may be one) but the new iTunes remote control that Steve hinted at a while back when asked about the Airport Express not having a way to control the songs without going over to the computer (a Bluetooth keyboard works for me, but is a tad large).
In What Way?
They are? By what measure? Every number I've seen over the past year shows Apple's dominance growing every month, even *without* a flash version of their player.
Maybe I'm wrong...are there other numbers?
agentmouthwash said:
They are? By what measure? Every number I've seen over the past year shows Apple's dominance growing every month, even *without* a flash version of their player.
Maybe I'm wrong...are there other numbers?
Moonlight said:
You nailed it! Exactly what I've been thinking. What would differentiate the flashpod from any other player without a screen? What would make it better? The iPod is popular not only because of its sleek design, but the UI. I do not see Steve abandoning what has made the ipod a success.
Another side-effect (advantage) of the display-less design is how much it simplifies the interface to the device. With no display there is also more room left for the buttons. One of the rumors says it has four buttons, but I can see how you could create a device that had only three. One button (the largest) controls power, play, and pause (like the current iPods). The two remaining buttons are for "up" and "down." Press one of these button once and you skip forward or backward in the playlist. Press and hold the button and you control the volume of the playback.
One of the reason I see this three or four button interface as an advantage is that it means the device can be made very small, yet the buttons can remain at a size that retain ease of use. Some of the current flash-memory players have so many small buttons that I feel they would be very awkward to use (think of wearing gloves and trying to use one of those devices).
Lastly, do you really need a display? Yes, if you want to compete directly with the iPod mini and standard iPod. But, there are lots of cost-sensitive users who look at practically nothing but price. And, I think there are lots of situations where you don't really need a display. When I'm out for the day with my current iPod (walking, driving, etc.) I usually access only two features or buttons -- play/off and volume. Thus, the rumored iPod shuffle would work quite well for me probably 70% of the time that I use my iPod. During the remaining 30%, well that would be compromised, but I think some could live with that after saving $100 over the iPod mini. Also, I can see places where the iPod shuffle would go that my current iPod wouldn't, so there we have an actual improvement in music accessibility. Some of these arguments might only apply to current iPod users, but, you know a sale is a sale is a sale.
Could any other manufacturer create such a device (no display) and expect it to be successful? Perhaps not. Apple has a real advantage here. The have the iPod mystic, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, and a rapidly growing number of Apple retail stores where the iPod shuffle can be fully explained and shown to greatest advantage. I suspect that this product will do very well.
One of the reason I see this three or four button interface as an advantage is that it means the device can be made very small, yet the buttons can remain at a size that retain ease of use. Some of the current flash-memory players have so many small buttons that I feel they would be very awkward to use (think of wearing gloves and trying to use one of those devices).
Lastly, do you really need a display? Yes, if you want to compete directly with the iPod mini and standard iPod. But, there are lots of cost-sensitive users who look at practically nothing but price. And, I think there are lots of situations where you don't really need a display. When I'm out for the day with my current iPod (walking, driving, etc.) I usually access only two features or buttons -- play/off and volume. Thus, the rumored iPod shuffle would work quite well for me probably 70% of the time that I use my iPod. During the remaining 30%, well that would be compromised, but I think some could live with that after saving $100 over the iPod mini. Also, I can see places where the iPod shuffle would go that my current iPod wouldn't, so there we have an actual improvement in music accessibility. Some of these arguments might only apply to current iPod users, but, you know a sale is a sale is a sale.
Could any other manufacturer create such a device (no display) and expect it to be successful? Perhaps not. Apple has a real advantage here. The have the iPod mystic, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, and a rapidly growing number of Apple retail stores where the iPod shuffle can be fully explained and shown to greatest advantage. I suspect that this product will do very well.