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iPod Accessories - Mic and Photo Storage are Here!

Belkin doesnt have specs up yet.

Does this record at 22222mhz? Sorry if I am mangling terminology.. I am asking for a friend who records audio for broadcast, and I think this is the minimum quality necessary
 
SPEAKERS?!

Just spoke with Apple and the guy was trying to tell me that he thinks that the speakers will play songs from your iPod library besides playing the recorded stuff. Can anyone verify this? i thought it would just play what's recorded...?

does anyone know how photos are viewed from the card readers? and it's only b/w...what about colors?!?!?!!?
 
It cannot be terribly difficult to attache a much better mic to that Belkin thing. It would be even less attractive though...

However, the Beilkin thing might downsample the quality / make it mono / or something else so it may be all for not.

That said, it's only a matter of time (I'll guess a week from when they start shipping) before someone makes it work.

The card reader is useful, but it seems that this functionality should be as simple as a cable directly from the camera to the iPod to eliminate the need for a memory stick (etc) all together.

I was hoping for something that would really force me to buy an iPod, but I think I'll wait a bit longer for any new generations.
 
Re: SPEAKERS?!

Originally posted by pb1212580
does anyone know how photos are viewed from the card readers? and it's only b/w...what about colors?!?!?!!?
Click to expand...

The iPod doesn't view pictures from the card reader - it simply acts as a massive memory card so that you can only purchase 1 memory card for your digital camera and dump the images onto your iPod and re-use the same memory card in your camera again.

When you get back to your computer, then you pull the images off of the iPod and view them in Photoshop or whatever else you choose.
 
what a lame bummer event

ok, so pepsi is going to give away a hundred million songs... in the USA.
well great, i couldn't care less, could I?

The iPod needs a $50 external microphone to do what actually the included headphones should - act as micrphone. Big deal - for belkin that is. I don't fancy buying a mic for fifty bucks. One can probably get a class A music studio mic for that price..

A card reader for a hundred bucks - so you can transfer your photos to your ipod...
well, If I wanted to carry a big hunk card reader around, I might as well take a powerbook and transfer the potos right onto that via firewire. makes a better display, too.

Right now, my ipod is checking it's disk. It's busy for about half an hour already, no, I didn't disconnect without unmounting... would I trust my great pictures to such a device? Not without a backup.
 
However, the Beilkin thing might downsample the quality / make it mono / or something else so it may be all for not.
Click to expand...

Downsampling may be a concern; for my purposes, I wouldn't worry if it's mono or not. Better for me to get a nice, strong mono signal...don't think the sound quality's high enough with portable stereo mikes.
 
Re: SPEAKERS?!

Originally posted by pb1212580
Just spoke with Apple and the guy was trying to tell me that he thinks that the speakers will play songs from your iPod library besides playing the recorded stuff. Can anyone verify this? i thought it would just play what's recorded...?

does anyone know how photos are viewed from the card readers? and it's only b/w...what about colors?!?!?!!?
Click to expand...

It says the speaker can be used as an alarm clock, so I think this indicates that it can access your playlists.

As for viewing the photos, you can't on the iPod.
 
Originally posted by snahabed
Belkin doesnt have specs up yet.

Does this record at 22222mhz? Sorry if I am mangling terminology.. I am asking for a friend who records audio for broadcast, and I think this is the minimum quality necessary
Click to expand...

22GHz? What is he trying to record? Microwaves or infrared?
 
Originally posted by visor
22GHz? What is he trying to record? Microwaves or infrared?
Click to expand...

I am such a moron about this stuff... he needs it to record interviews for AM broadcast radio.. so i guess half the 44.1ghz CD-quality.

Right now he lugs around his laptop, minidisc recorder, and a huge mic. He would be elated if the iPod could substitute here, as long as the sound quality is acceptable.
 
Ok, it says the Voice Recorder records to WAV format. So the format is there for excellent quality recording...

There has to be a way to use a real mic and bypass that crap, I'll see what I can figure out.

I hope to find out that the Belkin doesn't downsample anything, that recordings sound very good (they should since its not a lossy format), and that we make a line-in possible. Or someone develop one.

I just want a tool to record my shows and the shows I go to see. Lets hope it can be done.
 
Originally posted by snahabed
I am such a moron about this stuff... he needs it to record interviews for AM broadcast radio.. so i guess half the 44.1ghz CD-quality.

Right now he lugs around his laptop, minidisc recorder, and a huge mic. He would be elated if the iPod could substitute here, as long as the sound quality is acceptable.
Click to expand...

hm... well it will be a most interesting interview. I wonder if he finds anyone who can vibrate his vocal chords 22 billion times a second.
I think myself lucky if I get beyond ten thousand times.. doenst matter much for me anyway as I don't hear much after about 16 000Hz anymore.
 
Belkin Card Reader...

Having used other memory card readers, (FlaskTrax, NixVue Vista) I think the Belkin design is actually really smart. The main problem with the other readers is that they suck battery power like nothing else-with the aa batteries already in the unit, that won't suck on the iPod's battery life... If it did run directly from the iPod, i guarantee you that the battery life would drop to at most 1/5 of what it is now, and everyone here would complain about that instead :) So, while it may not be that pretty of a device, I'm buying it.

mgnards
 
Re: Belkin Card Reader...

Originally posted by MGnards
Having used other memory card readers, (FlaskTrax, NixVue Vista) I think the Belkin design is actually really smart. The main problem with the other readers is that they suck battery power like nothing else-with the aa batteries already in the unit, that won't suck on the iPod's battery life... If it did run directly from the iPod, i guarantee you that the battery life would drop to at most 1/5 of what it is now, and everyone here would complain about that instead :) So, while it may not be that pretty of a device, I'm buying it.

mgnards
Click to expand...

But it could at least be an option if ppl wanted to suck the life out their rechargable battery
 
flash adaptor question

It doesn't state such, but I have to wonder if the adaptor could also power the iPod in a pinch, just like the battery pack accessory. This would be doubly attractive for photographers.
 
I think all the comments regarding the card reader, such as "I would rather just plug into my powerbook" aren't very well thought out. This is a device that is not much larger than the iPod itself, reads 6 formats of digital media, and is self-powered.

I am not a pro photographer, but I bring my camera with me quite a bit. Can you imagine having to open up even a 12" Powerbook and prop it up on something and navigate the download process while:

-in the rain
-at a sports event
-while walking
-while standing on a ladder or riser
-when your laptop is low on batteries and you are out of memory cards

Just think about it.
 
I want a stereo line in for my iPod! I have a great stereo mic that I use for field recording, but I'm limited to the fidelity and usability that my minidisc recorder offers. The iPod would be so much better! This won't happen, but whoever releases a line in accessory with 24 bit converters will get my business and accolades.
 
The card reader looks pretty fine and knowing people who use digital cameras they will want one (including me if Sony get that 828 out soon). I was looking at 512-1024 cards and they are pricey. Buying this would allow me to work with just one. I was disappointed to see it didn't take Sony's new Sony Pro memory type which is where they are shifting their products. Maybe in the next version...

I sort of had in my mind they might allow USB links to pull digital stills off without a completly seperate device. Guess that was asking a bit much.

I was really hoping that it would also take digital video because for non-DV cameras video sucks memory (13 minutes of 640x480 at 30fps to fill a gig) and this would have been brilliant. I wonder if they could upgrade the software to allow for MPEGs etc to be pulled off?

I had hoped that the reader would be designed to clip onto the iPod. For field work some sort of case or frame to provide for easier handling when the devices are linked and to provide some protection in bags and from the elements is a must I think. Belkin do good product so I really hope they have something in the pipeline for this. Optional colours might be nice.


Jason
 
Card Reader

I really hope the reader will pull ALL the info off the memory card. This includes ALL photo formats (RAW, JPG, etc.) and all movie formats. Syncing with iPhoto is all fine but: it won´t work on windows (they don´t have iPhoto), and why build in a limitation at all?

I routinely take great movies with my Sanyo Camera (Xacti J-1) super-small camera, TV quality video saved to USB card. Check out www.sanyo-dsc.com - you will see an ever better cam, tiny (!!) yet shoots videos at 30 fps, 640x480 DVD qualit, with AAC stereo audio (!!), AND you can shoot 3 MPixel still images WHILE shooting the video. Available from November in Japan and Europe (dunno about the US but shouldn´t be too different).

So heck.... someone in the know please post here if it will pull all data off the card or not... this is VERY important!

Greetings from Germany (where we miss out on the music store.... duh.... would be nice to have it here as well!!)
 
Camera<------>Firewire cable<----->iPod

I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!
 
Re: Camera<------>Firewire cable<----->iPod

Originally posted by sososowhat
I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!
Click to expand...

Actually, almost all digital (still image - photo) cameras use USB, some USB 2.0 --- but the point is still valid, since USB can be attached to the 3G iPods. Maybe it would have required too much software on the iPod chips (would need some version of image capture I guess), don´t really know.
 
Re: Camera<------>Firewire cable<----->iPod

Originally posted by sososowhat
I don't get why they didn't let us download photos directly from the camera using firewire. No box to carry/attach, just firmware to update.

Is it because FW-out cameras are high-end & Apple's just mass-market? I don't claim knowledge here...just a desire to do something simple!
Click to expand...

FW is mostly for Digitial Video cameras that already have 60-80 minute tapes costing $20 odd USD. They use firewire to transfer to PCs. Given how much the tape stores and how small and cheap they are an external backup drive (iPod) has limited appeal.

Still cameras on the other hand usually have USB or you can remove the media (CF2, xD etc) to pull the data off. This media costs a fortune in comparison to DV tape, especially for fast high quality ones ~$250-500 USD for 1+ Gig. An external drive (iPod) is a relatively cheap option if your going to be taking losts of shots and away from a laptop. This is tripply so if you are using high quality digital video on still cameras which chews through memory big time. I really hope this device can suck that down now or with upgrades.

Jason
 
built in mic

Believe me you do not want a built in mic for audio recording on a harddrive based recorder. I have and Archos jukebox recorder I purchased for recording lectures and literally every 5 minutes you hear (very loudly I might add) the harddrive spin in order to write the data to disc. Admitedly the iPod has a bigger RAM cache than the Juke box but 32MB is still only about15-20 minutes of recording at a decent level. I had to eventually buy and external mic for ~$150 b/c the noise was driving me crazy and I would miss things in the lecture.
I am very happy that the iPod mic is atleast somewhat external.
 
remember

remember that these are 1st generation accessories... i expect better things to come but this is good for people that said... 'i take a MD over an ipod because i can record' now the have nothing to say... and this must be a plus for all those photographers like the ones i know who are real mac enthusiasts and are obliged to carry their tiny powerbooks around to store the photos they take at a wedding, or party or whatever... now they just have to carry an ipod... definetly a plus...

this is a good start for broadening ipod's horizons...

i have a newborn 12inch pb with my girlfriend! im the happiest mad.. errr.. dac... errr mac-dad

i will wait till the ipod has a color screen to upgrade my 10gb 2nd generation one...

my 2 cents
 
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