Flash iPod: 'Life is Random'?

[kfury]

Meaning of random

I think it's likely that 'Life is Random' refers to the device's optional ability to be reloaded with a random assortment of songs (or semi-random, influenced by playlists, ratings, etc.) each time you sync it with your main library.

Back when the iPod was introduced in October, 2001, I wrote a post about the problem with usch alarge player, and theorized a player whose maximum number of songs more closely matched its maximum battery life. It looks like three years later this may be what they've got.

In a nutshell you'd be able to keep a core of favorite songs/albums, but most of the device would be dedicated to a randomized mix taken from your main library, a 'personal radio station' if you will. Every time you plug the micro in to charge it, these random songs are swapped for new random songs, so it still feels like you have your whole library in your pocket.

Here's the bit I wrote in 2001

 

[trose]

I didn't have time to skim this whole thread, but I'll comment anyhow.

I don't see the problem with no screen.

For one, I almost always (98% of the time)have my iTunes running on shuffle mode, and if I get to a track I don't want to listen to, I just skip it.
Second, no screen does not equal no feedback. Remember, our computers can *gasp* speak! If you are using an audio device, why not have the interface be in audio form? Seems natural to me.

If no screen means a cheaper price and smaller size, I think it's a good idea. Apple is innovating here, and the people jumping to conclusions about how it would suck are just not thinking out of the box.

This may be the first iPod I buy, if the price is right. I don't have a large enough library or listen to enough music to ever justify the cost of a standard iPod or even a Mini. Plus, I hate carrying around a lot of stuff.
I mean, with a wallet, cell phone and my keys I already feel like I am carrying too much and I know I am not alone in that feeling.

 

[maya]

So did they take out pictures up close and personal or from afar.

What if the screen is on the other side or maybe on the top of this "remote"? No mention is made if they got a look at the whole thing or just a side of it.


I think there is a small screen however maybe to the top of thee device with the buttons on the side or something of that nature.

Sony LCD remote anyone in white.

 

[dekator]

When iPods dropped in price last time they dropped by what, $30? Waiting months for a $30 decrease in price is being cheap. Sorry.

How many cushions of impertinence, decadence and just plain senselessness do you have between you and reality ?

Well, I'm happy to be cheap aka extreme low on money then.

 

[Yvan256]

Actually, some people use them to listen to music too.

Give it up ioinc, io_burn is too snob to actually care what we little people think...

But I said it before and I'll say it again: iTunes is what switched me from Winamp, and I bought the iPod because of its integration with iTunes. If Apple didn't release iTunes for Windows, I'd still be using Winamp along with my CompactFlash MP3 player, I would never have bought an iPod and I'd never consider buying this rumored 500$US Macintosh.

 

[GrannySmith_G5]

Holy poop, this site will be flooded with negative comments in a few minutes when the main page gets updated with Thinksecrets reports of less than exciting updates coming to powerbooks tomorrow.

 

[Rootman]

It comes loaded with 100 free songs randomly loaded from iTunes. Every one comes out of the box different. Neat.

 

[Yvan256]

It comes loaded with 100 free songs randomly loaded from iTunes. Every one comes out of the box different. Neat.

Wow, now THAT would be a big marketing stunt!

 

[nate13]

horrible slogan, probally not the ipods... or a fake?

I personally think that "life is random" is the worst slogan EVER. Im even venturing to say that it is FAKE!! I mean, common, they have just sued rumor sites, wouldn't it be the ultimate surprise for everyone if that poster dropped and a BETTER poster with the flash iPod remained? Finally about the no screen... the iPod is (and has always been) about choice, or at least thats what i see of it. the reason you carry you music with you is to change it depending on your mood, to show it off, w/e.
at least thats my take of it.

 

[Trekkie]

I can only imagine the absolute horror you must have experienced using a cassette tape deck.

HAHAHAH

Thank you for making everyone in the office look at me for bursting out laughing.

Every once in a while I remember what it was like in the late 80s when I first started buying music at Wal-Mart on Cassettes for $6.49 to $7.99.

If you wanted to hear a song over, you rewound. If you were lucky you got a tape deck that knew when to stop based on how loud the song was, it never worked quite right because some songs would have a soft spot enough to fool it

Finding a song? I remember kneeling in front of a home stereo at a 9th grade party franticly trying to find 'you killed the clown' by Thompson Twins so my friend could get a good long dance with this hot chick (relatively speaking for 9th grade standards). It was a 5 min 'slow' song, he was very appreciative.

It amazes me what the on demand thing has done for kids, I watch my little one want her shows RIGHT NOW because we have a lot of them on TiVo and when we go to a hotel or visit family without this technology she is ticked off.

 

[nagromme]

Deleted. Duplicate of below. Forum swamped! World Chaos! Double posts!

 

[displaced]

The translation from the original Italian had me thinking...

'seems' to be no screen.

Now, what kind of screen looks like there isn't a screen?

Well, I don't know if others have seen them, but OLED screens are common on mobile phones, and when they're off they pretty much look like a continuation of the outer shell.

OLED screens are very low power, and look gorgeous. Much better than a clunky recessed LCD panel. The screen would be very small on the iPod Flash, and so would be cheap and easy to mass produce. I can't see any downside to their use in this situation!

Or am I missing something?

 

[vollspacken]

Holy poop, this site will be flooded with negative comments in a few minutes when the main page gets updated with Thinksecrets reports of less than exciting updates coming to powerbooks tomorrow.

why negative..?

up to 1.67 GHz, faster and bigger drives and bluetooth 2.0 sounds pretty good to me

vSpacken

 

[Trekkie]

I know this.....if it has no screen, then it will have no sales....period.

You willing to bet the un-announced iPod Micro or whatever they call it on this?

Find the stats on the iPod Mini or iPod from announce to 3 months and if it doesn't beat it you buy me one? vice versa since you feel it sucks i give you the $149?

Jeeze people, go back and read when the iPod was announced how many of you poo poo-ed it and look where it is now? It is a large reason that Apple has had such a monster turn around.

 

[Buffalowing]

"No mp3 player has ever been built without a scree to my knowlage,"

Creative makes one,maybe more,can't find them now...here is one for sure.....

http://creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=216&product=4983

 

[FreeState]

Umm people read the whole artricle....

In the very begining it says:


"Some of the crew that are in charge to put the billboards inside the windows of Moscone Center (where Steve Jobs' opening keynote will take place on Tuesday) didn't take the same attention and let our staff to have a short peek of some mega-posters...

So here we are: what's new. A new adverstising photo that show the brand new iPod. A special one, because it will be narrower and probably without a large display".

Sounds like the article says two different things.... not trusting this one until I see it...

 

[nagromme]

Screenless? Look at Virgin's player etc.

Screenless removes the iPod clickwheel advantage. Weird! SOMETHING has to make up for that. Some truly novel navigation method? Maybe. Or truly TINY size could do it. It still wouldn't be the product for ME, but a really tiny iPod could still be a neat choice for some. At the right price.

Compare:
http://www.virginelectronics.com/is...US/-/USD/ViewProduct-Start;?ProductSku=VF0001

That Virgin player has no conventional screen (looks like a number readout) and holds 1/8 GB for $80! Or 1/4 GB for $100. (A "whopping" 80 songs--if you accept lower quality to make them fit! More like 60 songs really. The 1/8 GB model would hold 30!) But it's also silver-dollar sized and super-light.

Now raise the capacity to a USEFUL level and you might have a glimpse at the flash iPod.

A $200 2 GB iPod, if it was nearly that small, would compare favorably: SIXTEEN times the capacity, for 2.5 times the price... 240 songs instead of 30! Or compare the 1/4 GB Virgin to a $150 1 GB iPod. For $50 more, you get 4 times the capacity.

Those low iPod prices are just rumor still, and of course not everyone wants a super-tiny player at the expense of the screen. But it could be a decent option to add to the line-up.

As for the "random" thing... That's old news to people who already have--or plan to have--a player. But in my experience, random play of a big batch of songs IS the biggest thing OTHER people notice about my iPod. It's probably good marketing--to reach people who haven't already grasped why they should get a portable player. And for those that already DO grasp it... the iPod name alone is probably sufficient marketing for now. Apple's got an easy sell for people who are already in the marker.

So instead, Apple may focus on the UNINFORMED, UNTAPPED market. "Life is random," sounds too basic to us, but it's perfect for them. And THEY are the main audience for a low-end/low-cost device.

Is it Tuesday yet?

EDIT: I personally like a screen, but I just realized that I don't use my iPod's screen normally I almost always play the same playlist (3 stars or better, auto-excluding anything played in the last month) and I just skip blindly with the iPod kept in my pocket. An iPod CAN auto-refresh its playlist automatically with fresh music every time you connect it. See this thread for tips: http://ipodlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=131252 Food for thought... (And if a remote added an optional screen, you might have the best of both worlds--size and usability.)

 

[Object-X]

Wow, a new Apple product which we have practically no information about, and the legions of MacRumors retards have already decided it sucks, they won't be buying it, the entire line is going to bomb, and Apple is going to go bankrupt.

I really don't even know why Arn bothers to have discussion threads on new rumors, as they're almost ALWAYS the same, it's like reading a wacky mad lib.

OMG! (PRODUCT NAME) is the (NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE) thing yet! No (EXPECTED FEATURE)?! I WAS more than willing to shell out (ESTIMATED PRICE) for (PRODUCT NAME) before we found out it didn't have (EXPECTED FEATURE). I can't believe (ENDORSING CELEBRITY) would stand behind this (NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE) device! Apple is only going to sell (NUMBER LESS THAN 10) of these to the (NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE) users. I don't know who would buy a (ESTIMATED PRICE) (PRODUCT TYPE) anyway! There's no way they could even begin to compete with (COMPETING PRODUCT) without a (EXPECTED FEATURE) or (ADDITIONAL EXPECTED FEATURE)! What were you thinking, Steve? You're a/an (PERSONAL ATTACK)!



...But, I don't want to rock the boat in this thread, so I'll go with the pack and say "OMG SCREW U APPL WAT R U TINKIN STEVE?!?! NO SCREEN?!?! WTF!!!! I CLICKED NEGATIVE TO THIS POS RUMOR! LIFE IS RANDOM?! MORE LIKE APPLE SUCKS."

Am I doing this right?

::wipes tears from eyes:: Man, that is hesterical. My stomach hurts.

 

[Trekkie]

Would YOU pay 250,000$US for a car? No? Then you must be a cheapskate... from the point of view of a Billionaire.

Actually, you're 'those people' or 'the riff raff' they're too high brow to say cheapskate.

 

[Trekkie]

I've been hoping the impossible, a Sirius iPod.

I know it isn't gonna happen but that is what I want.

I'm rooting against you for a XM one so we cancel each other out.

 

[sethypoo]

How different would this be to a CD multi changer in a car, the user could pre program 10 preset playlists and switch between them. Within each playlist the user could then forward and back track, maybe even a button that cycles repeat options.

If the price was right, I think this would be a very useful machine, imagine the battery life if it didn't have a screen.

Just trying to use some intelligence.

Exactly. Imagine a $99-$149 iPod! Plus a student discount.....yowsa, I'd buy that!

Regardless, I think Apple has a few tricks left up their sleeves. Don't worry. I can't wait to attend next years MacWorld San Francisco.

 

[SWC]

I'm sorry but this has to be the most stupid forum in the history of macrumors!

No mp3 player has ever been built without a scree to my knowlage, and I think you'll find no consumer in their right mind would buy one. And if it was voice activated or had some sort of voice scrolling, could you think how long that would take to scroll through songs! not to mention the fact that you'd have to remember every song on your mp3 player.

Guys c'mon use your inteligence and stop perpetuating a lie

Jason

There are a bunch that have no screen creative makes a memory stick player that has controls on it for prev/next play/pause etc. and no screen. When you have a low capacity player a screen isn't that important. 1 GB is about the max i could see being useful with no screen.

 

[UberMac]

I'm Sceptical about the whole thing to be honest.

First of all it seems unlikely apple would not have a screen (though if anyone can pull it off its Apple)

Secondly, the posters show only the "life is random" words and a black arrow on green background - this looks like the iPod advertising campaign...but no dancers perhaps apple has taken its advertising campaign one step furhter than "from the makers of iPod" on the iMac G5...to "iPod presents to you, iHome, the iPod for the rest of your life"

Well its just another angle on the whole thing...being as i havent seen pictures of the player (they have apparently) I'm not ready to believe everything they say...perhaps this is another bit of Apple leaking before tomorrow!

Well I'll wait to see

 

[sethypoo]

How different would this be to a CD multi changer in a car, the user could pre program 10 preset playlists and switch between them. Within each playlist the user could then forward and back track, maybe even a button that cycles repeat options.

If the price was right, I think this would be a very useful machine, imagine the battery life if it didn't have a screen.

Just trying to use some intelligence.

Exactly. Imagine a $99-$149 iPod! Plus a student discount.....yowsa, I'd buy that!

Regardless, I think Apple has a few tricks left up their sleeves. Don't worry. I can't wait to attend next years' MacWorld San Francisco.

 

[Zaty]

First, I couldn't believe either that Apple could come up with a face-less iPod. But after giving some thought, no display makes the thing easier to operate. It makes the iPod cheaper and lighter and more durable (no display that can break) and also yields longer battery life.