We'll see who is right in this discussion. In any case, I have been waiting for a flash based iPod in the size of 2 GB and up. I'll be the first one to snatch one up. 2 GB is still not much, but perhaps Apple will couple this 2 GB flash player with the new AAC Plus. We'll see soon enough. Carrying along about 40 CDs with me seems about right. That's a pretty good selection on long trips. 2 GB for $199, that's my target. Long battery life and no worries about hard drive failure when you jog, that's what I long for.
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iPod Flash Early 2005?
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The Man said:
I certainly think Apple will go with either Option A or Option B. Option A is, as you described, integrating flash into the iPod mini. Option B is developing a smaller form factor and marketing it differently somehow, i.e., iPod sport, iPod micro, etc.
There are lots of good reasons for Apple to go either way, so it will be interesting to follow the speculation over the next two months.
~Shard~ said:Ah, gotcha - makes sense now. Thanks for the compliment then.
Yah, those were pretty nice. It was either the year before or the year after that we has a quarter for each province and territory as well, which was cool. This year, there was an extremely limited number of special quarters released just about a week ago, for Remembrance Day (November 11th) - they actually had a red poppy (a symbolic flower, I won't get into it here...) in the center. Supposedly it's one of the only (if not THE only) quarter ever released in the world with color on it.
Which Mint did you visit? The one in Ottawa is the original mint, but the one in Winnipeg is the one which manufactures all the coinage now...
It was Ottawa... I was referring to millenium quarters, but I saw the provincials while I was there. I'm really curious about those red poppy quarters, I'll have to go to the mint's website and check them out, maybe try to get some
Here's a thought - maybe Apple won't introduce a completely new line of flash-based iPods, rather just augment the iPod mini line to include a 1 GB player, and make it flash-based. This would alleviate any problems with having too many products etc. - just keep it simple. Of course, you would still have the image of different products, since the iPod flash would no doubt be smaller, etc., but at least they could simply branding. Nah, who am I kidding, it'll never happen...
Of course, you would still have the image of different products, since the iPod flash would no doubt be smaller, etc., but at least they could simply branding. Nah, who am I kidding, it'll never happen... 
artifex said:
It's not a bad thing at all, but Apple trades on its image of exclusivity and luxury. If you take away the exclusive aspect then you have to take away the high prices too, and if you do this with one product line that bears all the hallmarks of every other product line then you have to offer lower prices across the board.
Yes, this can be considered a good thing for us, we get to have the cool new Apple gear at lower prices, but if everyone else has it too then the desirability decreases. Would you value your iPod/iMac/Powerbook etc as much if it cost half as much?
Again, I point out I'm not trying to say this is a bad thing as such, just that it could signal quite a change in peoples perceptions of Apple - and their future market share in both computers and music.
one3 said:OK Kids... one more variation of the iPod Micro.
This time the 'click wheel' becomes a 'click slider' - works similar to click wheel, you can click on the buttons or slide left to right to navigate. Holding down the "menu/play/pause" button for a second or two goes to the menu, but just doing a quick click activates "play/pause". A less radical design then my 'round' iPod mockup.
Hmmmmm. Yes, we're probably going to have to stick with the rectangular block design for a while or maybe more rounded off like the iPod Mini. The flash iPods will definitely need some color cases.
The Menu/Play button is going to be a little funny. Maybe the Play/Menu click area needs to be larger than the other two. It'll look more like a D-Pad on a game controller then. We're missing a select button! Ah!
I find your idea completely innovative though. Some good thinking going on in your brain.
Maybe Apple needs to make a completely new interface for this iPod. You will undoubtedly have fewer songs depending on the size of memory and scrolling that quickly will become useless. However, one of the major features of the iPod over other MP3 players has been its scroll wheel which is great for changing the volume.
I find the circle idea to make more sense. Perhaps the circle iPod Micro could fit inside a square. What was the bezel on the circle will act as a scroll wheel, or even click wheel. That way, the screen can be a simple square LCD. But, we'd still be missing a select button. Clicking the LCD doesn't seem too good. Maybe the LCD will be a touchpad for the select button?
applekid said:The Menu/Play button is going to be a little funny. Maybe the Play/Menu click area needs to be larger than the other two. It'll look more like a D-Pad on a game controller then. We're missing a select button! Ah!
I find your idea completely innovative though. Some good thinking going on in your brain.
Thanks! As for leaving out the select button ... that's just one of a thousand reasons you won't see me replacing Jonathan Ive any day soon
.... but it was fun just to play around in Photoshop.AirUncleP said:
My thoughts exactly! I own three iPods (two 2nd gens and a mini), and I've switched to a flash player for working out. At the gym yesterday, there was a woman trying to work out while CARRYING a full size iPod in her hand. Every time she went to a new exercise station, she'd look for a place to set the iPod down, constantly being concerned whether it would fall or get knocked over. I wondered why anyone would try to work out being tethered to the iPod brick. I tried years ago using the belt clip and I was always worried that it would pull my shorts down!
I switched to the mini (fits in my shorts pocket), but after the second time it locked up, I got concerned that I might be damaging it, so I've switched to using a Rio player.
I prefer AAC to MP3 or WMA, so I will be among those in line to buy an iPod flash player the day they go on sale.
I hope they design it for one-hand operation. My hands are large and it is very difficult to operate the scroll wheel on the mini with one hand, especially while running. My guess (and fear) is that because the scroll wheel is such an integral part of the iPod concept/marketing, they will produce a small flash player with one, regardless of whether it makes sense from a usability/industrial design perspective.
If it's 1gb and I can get one for say 150 euros, I'll consider getting one for my girlfriend.. I have to push her towards the Apple world
1 gig for $220(AX price)-$250 Aussie...probably dreaming...maybe $300 but then the mini with 4GB is only $70 away...and unless the mini flash had new features $70 more for 4x the volume seems the wisest course...or wait until MWSF and see if theres more changes in the line...
one3 said:OK Kids... one more variation of the iPod Micro.
This time the 'click wheel' becomes a 'click slider' - works similar to click wheel, you can click on the buttons or slide left to right to navigate. Holding down the "menu/play/pause" button for a second or two goes to the menu, but just doing a quick click activates "play/pause". A less radical design then my 'round' iPod mockup.
very cool...
but i think they would make the screen display vertical. kinda hard to explain. but think of how easy it would be if you had your right handed thumb just scrolling up and down with the click buttons underneath!!! i can see it already... it has in the settings menu- left handed or right handed- which would just flip the display aroundto make it easy for left handed people to read the screen. but sadly... it might just be in the ipod mini case (which is a nice case dont get me wrong) but it would be nice to see a little difference in form factor. Makes me think that apple will release the ew ipod minis and micros at the same time!!!
so that the cases both change and it keeps consumers feel like they aren't buying a outdated product (if the buy the mini). confused yet???!!!
apple should do more special edition ipods, to promote album sales they could have ipod micro with snap on cases that display album artwork of the artist of choice (by the consumer). the cases could be sold at apple resellers and their own retail stores. Or maybe if you buy a certain amount of the artists collection at the same time they will ship a case to you? Just trying to think of inovative ways to seperate the micro from the mini!
aswitcher said:
But the same reasoning could've been used for the iPod mini. There's a 5x difference between the mini and the 20GB iPod. I don't think it's the space that matters, but the style and functionality (getting an even smaller iPod that's more reliable).
-Chase
Upgradable iPods?
I'm wondering: wouldn't a 256Mb flash iPod be a good idea, if you could upgrade the flash memory in the future, if you needed more space? We're used to that with computers, why not with iPods? In that case, Apple would have a nice entry-level iPod that is upgradable if you're done with its limitations...
I'm wondering: wouldn't a 256Mb flash iPod be a good idea, if you could upgrade the flash memory in the future, if you needed more space? We're used to that with computers, why not with iPods? In that case, Apple would have a nice entry-level iPod that is upgradable if you're done with its limitations...
FlashPod is the way to go. What is so wrong with going after the other part of the market. There are still a lot of people who don't want to spend a lot of money for an MP3 player, if Apple can offer a $150 512-1gb fPod maybe with an expansion slot, then that would be awesome.
Inside information
I have the inside scoop...
In order to make the FlashPod even smaller, there will not be a traditional Li-ion battery. The FlashPod will be... solar-powered.
Of course, it won't work well in places like Seattle or the U.K., but we all know that Steve doesn't like either of those places too much anyway.
Mark my words...
I have the inside scoop...
In order to make the FlashPod even smaller, there will not be a traditional Li-ion battery. The FlashPod will be... solar-powered.
Of course, it won't work well in places like Seattle or the U.K., but we all know that Steve doesn't like either of those places too much anyway.
Mark my words...
Personally I favor a 1GB Flash drive, especially if it's priced at $150 or below. I currently own an iRock 256mb and would love to get an iPod, but simply can't afford it. I would definitely find the cash for a 1GB iPod though. With a 24 GB music library it'll be hard to choose what music to listen though!
I doubt that Apple will pursue this level.jhomayne said:i'd love a cheap 256mb flash ipod..
A year ago, I purchased a 256MB flash player for around $250.
Today they are about $70.
There is no margin in this market for Apple.
However, around the 512-1GB area, there is. That is where I would expect Apple to focus on.
Sushi
please just spin the ipod off into another company already so I don't have to hear about it any more when I go to Mac pages. I'm so tired of it.
Let Apple Computer make computers and let them be forced to innovate and do real advertising instead of riding this little calculator that plays music's coat tails.
I'm glad that every illiterate mtv mistake of nature has one.. really I am, but it's boring and gets in the way of focusing on Apple making computers and needing to make money off of selling computers.
Let the kiddies flame on.
Let Apple Computer make computers and let them be forced to innovate and do real advertising instead of riding this little calculator that plays music's coat tails.
I'm glad that every illiterate mtv mistake of nature has one.. really I am, but it's boring and gets in the way of focusing on Apple making computers and needing to make money off of selling computers.
Let the kiddies flame on.
Some_Big_Spoon said:
Really? Computer companies should just make computers? If Apple followed your advice they might as well close up shop - throw in HP, Dell, etc. in addition... I suppose you also think telephone companies should only over telephone service as well, and not offer Internet access, e-mail services, digital TV, VoIP, etc.? I'm sure telcos could sustain themselves on LD revenue on its own.
As for your comment, "let them be forced to innovate" - apart from the iPod, what do you call the G5 PowerMacs, the new G5 iMacs, and OS X? Those are all very innovative engineering feats. Apple needs to innovate, yes, and along with their other products, the iPod is one of the most innovative concepts of recent years.Ah yes, insulting iPod users using stereotypical generalities, great, thanks for displaying your maturity to the entire forum.Some_Big_Spoon said:
Some_Big_Spoon said:
There has been a great deal of intelligent discussion and debate in this thread, not much flaming. Or is someone who doesn't agree with you automatically flaming?
I find it ironic that you would post this, being the person who earlier posted a message in this thread containing "I don't care", copied and pasted several dozen times - a post which I reported due to its immaturity and lack of contribution to this thread - and the Mods removed it, rightfully so.
If you're trying to cause trouble or rile people up, please go elsewhere, that behavior isn't welcome here at MacRumors. You are of course entitled to speak your opinions, but there is no need to user such an overtly negative tone coupled with insults.