iMac Revision and iLife on August 7th?

[gloss]

The multi-touch interface is horrible at scrolling through long lists. Short lists, it's great; superior to the click-wheel. I mean, to each his own, but I've used a friend's extensively and it's one of the major reasons I waffled and probably won't buy one. For a small amount of music on a 4GB or 8GB, sure. But even with a lot of music on his 8GB model, it was a pain; I couldn't wait to get back to the easy, fast scrolling of the click-wheel.

And how can you compare, really? Even if you devote all the usable space on an 8GB to music, it can barely hold the number of songs as my 30GB video iPod can hold albums. I think it's a great interface for the iPhone. I think the mouse is a great interface for a computer, but I wouldn't want to use it to control a toaster.

Multi-touch would be fantastic for large collections, IMO. They just need to provide the same 'alphabet list' that they have on the iPhone's contacts list, so that you can zoom through your collection by letter. No-brainer.

Or, hell, an active search function, which they already have on current iPods, so I can't see being an issue with the rumored multi-touch iPod.

 

[sanford]

I think Apple will move your direction. I don't see any reason why Apple would use a virtual click wheel for an iPod widescreen when it doesn't use one for the iPhone. Apple is all about unifying the look, feel and user experience of its products up and down the line, and they will want the iPod to have a very similar user experience to the iPhone.

There's definitely a possibility of a widescreen iPod cannibalizing the iPhone market, but Apple did a fantastic job of differentiating the iPod mini/nano from the iPod on storage, physical size and price. I think they'll distinguish the iPhone from the iPod on phone functionality (iPhone has it; iPod doesn't), storage (iPod will be much larger), battery life (iPod will have longer battery life), size (iPod will be flatter and lighter) and price (iPod will be cheaper).

Those differences should be enough to clearly define separate markets.

I do agree that if Apple replaces the click-wheel in the video iPods -- which I hope they don't -- they won't replace it with a virtual version on the screen. They'll use the multi-touch interface of the iPhone. Of course if they use the same processing power as in the iPhone, iPods are going to slow down a bit. The iPhone is pretty "snappy" but it's not as fast changing menus, screens, etc., as an iPod with all those high-resolution graphics to draw.

 

[sanford]

Multi-touch would be fantastic for large collections, IMO. They just need to provide the same 'alphabet list' that they have on the iPhone's contacts list, so that you can zoom through your collection by letter. No-brainer.

Or, hell, an active search function, which they already have on current iPods, so I can't see being an issue with the rumored multi-touch iPod.

It's the scrolling that's the problem. If they revise the interface so that if you, say, drag you finger to the bottom of the screen and it keeps scrolling, it will be much better. But having to repeatedly stroke the screen to scroll through long lists is a pain. Even on some of the shorter lists on the iPhone.

 

[acrafton]

You do realize that some of us actually use the iPhone to make phone calls, right?

Exactly. . .and to the comments that it would hurt sales to come out with a widescreen IPod. . .no, not really. I will not buy an IPhone because it doesn't mesh with my companies bb system and I hate AT&T. Same with my wife, my neighbor, and most of the people I work with. . .

However, we will ALL buy a widescreen IPod with touch screen - I will buy two, but if they come out with a fatboy IPod without touch screen I will wait or buy a different product. . .

So sales will actually go UP as people who want phones buy them and people who don't will have something else to buy.

 

[KingofAwesome]

the only copy of mac os x you can buy off the shelves right now is tiger for ppc, which doesn't include ilife. ilife only comes shipped with new macs, and it's never been packed with the operating system itself.

iLife can definitely be purchased separately. As for OS X being sold PPC-only, that's because no new version of OS X has come out since the Intel machines first came out.

And how can you compare, really? Even if you devote all the usable space on an 8GB to music, it can barely hold the number of songs as my 30GB video iPod can hold albums. I think it's a great interface for the iPhone. I think the mouse is a great interface for a computer, but I wouldn't want to use it to control a toaster.

Now hold on a second there, your comparison suggests that your albums contain an average of 3.75 songs each. I'll grant that it's only roughly a quarter of the space of a 30GB iPod, but exaggerations do nothing but discredit what would otherwise be a perfectly valid point.

 

[acrafton]

There are 177 posts at this point and im not going to read ALL of them to see if im repeating myself. So here it goes...

Ever since Apple announced the iPhone there have been a number of people who wanted to wait and see if the phone would be as revolutionary as they said it would. Some people have been on the fence about getting a new ipod or not (im in that category). I understand the iPod is the device that has changed how people listen to music and the biggest selling product that comes out of apple, but what sense would it make to release the iPod in august, just shy of two months with the iPhone on the market. Wouldnt it make more sense that apple would ride the wave of the iPhone for as long as possible before releasing a new ipod? Especially if the new iPod is widescreen and runs OS X. If that were the case anyone that would be contemplating the iphone because of the widescreen feature would surely get an ipod. No, I think apple is going to wait till november, either early on or right around thanksgiving, just in time for christmas shopping season. More people would be willing to pay $250 for a new ipod thats widescreen than $499 for a phone that would force the person to pay at least $59 dollars a month. thats just what I think. . .

Keep in mind that many people need and want a PHONE not just an IPod. The blending/confusion of the two devices as an either/or is a mistake. As I mentioned there are many people who will NEVER buy an IPhone for a variety of reasons (millions perhaps) but will jump at the next gen IPhone with widescreen. Also keep in mind that the PROFIT on a new IPod may exceed that of the IPhone (even if the price is lower) due to the pulling out of expensive content (flash drive, wifi, sw, etc.).

 

[BKKbill]

This is what it is all about even for god forbid Apple It does keep the wheels turning and the prices lower.

So sales will actually go UP as people who want phones buy them and people who don't will have something else to buy.

 

[rbroady]

I think Apple will move your direction. I don't see any reason why Apple would use a virtual click wheel for an iPod widescreen when it doesn't use one for the iPhone. Apple is all about unifying the look, feel and user experience of its products up and down the line, and they will want the iPod to have a very similar user experience to the iPhone.

There's definitely a possibility of a widescreen iPod cannibalizing the iPhone market, but Apple did a fantastic job of differentiating the iPod mini/nano from the iPod on storage, physical size and price. I think they'll distinguish the iPhone from the iPod on phone functionality (iPhone has it; iPod doesn't), storage (iPod will be much larger), battery life (iPod will have longer battery life), size (iPod will be flatter and lighter) and price (iPod will be cheaper).

Those differences should be enough to clearly define separate markets.

great point, i feel they will do something big to really set it appart from the iphone. we will just have to wait and see, i cant wait

 

[mickeymikey]

The multi-touch interface is horrible at scrolling through long lists. Short lists, it's great; superior to the click-wheel. I mean, to each his own, but I've used a friend's extensively and it's one of the major reasons I waffled and probably won't buy one. For a small amount of music on a 4GB or 8GB, sure. But even with a lot of music on his 8GB model, it was a pain; I couldn't wait to get back to the easy, fast scrolling of the click-wheel.

And how can you compare, really? Even if you devote all the usable space on an 8GB to music, it can barely hold the number of songs as my 30GB video iPod can hold albums. I think it's a great interface for the iPhone. I think the mouse is a great interface for a computer, but I wouldn't want to use it to control a toaster.

From your comments, I can tell that your really don't have much "seat time" with the iPhone. When scrolling through albums, artists, songs etc. the phone has the A to Z strip on the side just like the Contacts (see pic). All you have to do is press Z, and you're looking at ZZ Top, etc., INSTANTLY. With a click-wheel, you have to scroll for days to get the end of a long list.

Click-wheel is linear, not random access like multi-touch. Multi-touch not good for long lists? Sorry, you're mistaken. Take another look.

PS - In addition to the large capacity video iPods that live in the cars, I have several 8GB nanos for portability. So, it's pretty easy to compare to the iPhone. 8GB vs 8GB. For me, the iPhone is MUCH easier!

 

[Daringescape]

Complete heresay, but

I was at the dentist yesterday and the hygienist saw my iPhone and was telling me about a patient that had an Apple product about the size of a phone with a slide out keyboard. She said it had number engraved on the back (control number Im assuming) and he really wouldn't let her see it.

I know it sounds like one of those my brothers girlfriends boss daughters etc... so take it for what its worth.

 

[mathwhiz90601]

WHY are we all speculating on ipods in an IMAC forum?!?! Get your own threads.

The iMac: Two lines possible. I'd like it.

I don't think any iMac will sell with less than 1GB RAM or 250GB HDD. Aluminum enclosures sound good, especially with the color-neutrality issue since consumers will want to do photo editing on them, which would require precise colors.

Processors will see a bump, possibly to Mobile Extreme or desktops, possibly quad.

I still am holding out for a July revision.

 

[LoganT]

WHY are we all speculating on ipods in an IMAC forum?!?! Get your own threads.

The iMac: Two lines possible. I'd like it.

I don't think any iMac will sell with less than 1GB RAM or 250GB HDD. Aluminum enclosures sound good, especially with the color-neutrality issue since consumers will want to do photo editing on them, which would require precise colors.

Processors will see a bump, possibly to Mobile Extreme or desktops, possibly quad.

I still am holding out for a July revision.

This is an Apple forum.

 

[®achaeL]

Price of the new iMac?

What are the odds that the new iMac will be the same or around the same cost of the current iMacs?? Somebody told me they would be the same cost... but when does a company release a better model for less??? They would have to further reduce the cost of the current ones.

 

[verniesgarden]

And how can you compare, really? Even if you devote all the usable space on an 8GB to music, it can barely hold the number of songs as my 30GB video iPod can hold albums.

Now hold on a second there, your comparison suggests that your albums contain an average of 3.75 songs each. I'll grant that it's only roughly a quarter of the space of a 30GB iPod, but exaggerations do nothing but discredit what would otherwise be a perfectly valid point.

I think you misinterpreted him, what he was saying was the number of albums on his 30 gig ipod exceeds what the average max number of songs can fit on a 8gig iphone, which is very easily done

 

[verniesgarden]

I was at the dentist yesterday and the hygienist saw my iPhone and was telling me about a patient that had an Apple product about the size of a phone with a slide out keyboard. She said it had number engraved on the back (control number Im assuming) and he really wouldn't let her see it.

I know it sounds like one of those my brothers girlfriends boss daughters etc... so take it for what its worth.

couldnt of been an apple product, can you think of anything they've ever made thats had a slide out anything, everything i can think of have been a seamless all-in-one smooth design

i think your dentist is BSing

 

[Daringescape]

couldnt of been an apple product, can you think of anything they've ever made thats had a slide out anything, everything i can think of have been a seamless all-in-one smooth design

i think your dentist is BSing

I kind of thought the same thing... but I was thinking maybe it was an iPhone design that never made it to production and he still had it?? I doubt that Apple would let those be out there still though.

I dont know, I just thought it was interesting. She did say he is from the Ukraine, there cant be that many Apple employees that high up with Russian accents.

OK, Now Im just rambling, Ill stop.

 

[mathwhiz90601]

I kind of thought the same thing... but I was thinking maybe it was an iPhone design that never made it to production and he still had it?? I doubt that Apple would let those be out there still though.

I dont know, I just thought it was interesting. She did say he is from the Ukraine, there cant be that many Apple employees that high up with Russian accents.

OK, Now Im just rambling, Ill stop.

Maybe it's an ex-Soviet techno thingie.

 

[®achaeL]

Price of the new iMac?

What are the odds that the new iMac will be the same or around the same cost of the current iMacs?? Somebody told me they would be the same cost... but when does a company release a better model for less??? They would have to further reduce the cost of the current ones.

 

[NickD]

Apple has definitely had a track record in releasing better machines at lower costs consistently over the years. I wouldn't be too surprised if the new machines cost less than the current ones, if not the same price.

 

[gkarris]

I can't be the only one who thinks (assumes, even) that the next iPod will be touch-screen with a click-wheel interface ON THE TOUCH SCREEN like this mock-up:

Why would Apple bother with a touchscreen clickwheel when they can use the iPhone touchscreen gestures???

 

[Irishman]

I WANT this rumor to be true. Therefore it will be.

Seriously, has anyone given any thought to plausible upgrades we'll see? Other than the stated processor bump and glowy keyboard, I mean.

I'd love to see an upgradeable graphics interface...whether it be AGP, PCIEE, whatever.

More affordable half- and full-terabyte drives. They're available now. An 8 series nvidia graphics card, with 256 or even 512 MB SDRAM. An inboard Dolby Digital surround audio processor so you could output movies to a true 5.1 system.

Default bluetooth and wifi, but dump the gigabit ethernet. Who cares for it on an iMac? I love they're ditching the 17 incher and focusing on the 20 and 24 inchers. Higher resolutions mean they could do something awesome like put a Blu-ray drive in there. Full HD movies...mmmmmmmmmmm

Anyon else got a feature wishlist?

 

[c.joe.go]

just in case someone cares

http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/new-imac-details-surface/


don't know the reliability of this..... but what the hell.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Why would Apple bother with a touchscreen clickwheel when they can use the iPhone touchscreen jestures???

Agreed. The important thing to make it simple for users of iPhone, iPod and iMac is that the interfaces and gestures (note spelling - where not clowns here) are the same..... the one product line that doesn't have mass market appeal like the iPhone or iPod is the iMac...... how easy would it be for someone who has reservations about OSX to switch to an iMac from a PC because they have used multi-touch OSX on their iPod or iPhone......... its the KISS principle..... KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID......... ever used Lotus Notes ? I hate it.... why ? Because it doesn't store its common commands the same way Windows/MS applications do....... its not a bad product but I'm so used to using windows and MS office that when I want to refresh my screen or check spelling I cant find the short-cut key or menu option even thou I've been using Notes for 10 years !

Apple use this principle very well........ or will use it very well....

 

[viper002060]

that looks dumb.

if they seriously release an ipod that looks like that weird square thing, they're out of their minds.

 

[MacinDoc]

Apple has definitely had a track record in releasing better machines at lower costs consistently over the years. I wouldn't be too surprised if the new machines cost less than the current ones, if not the same price.

My impression is that Apple usually releases better models at approximately the same price. What will be interesting is whether the low-end iMac will remain at approximately the same price if the 17" model is dropped (I predict a $100 increase in the base model price if the 17" is dropped).