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iPod Nano, iPod Touch Revisions in 3rd Quarter 2008?
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Return to original "2001 Monolith" form factor, all touch screen.
That form factor was the best design Apple has ever produced. I'd love it for an iPhone nano form factor as well. (ducking)
Since the capitalized 'I' occurs in the first word of the sentence, my guess is that it was typed on some authoritarian product such as Outlook which capitalizes the first letter of each sentence automatically.
I'd hate to see the situation suggested by some that, just because of the SDK and upcoming apps, all new devices will have to support all functionality.
I personally think there's a market for a simple classic-nano form device with a touch interface that does just music, video and games. I don't see the need to cram wi-fi or communicsations into every device, unless the ability to purchase directly from the device is seen by Apple as the required revenue stream for the entire product line.
And when would that be, the in the "3rd Quarter" (more precisely)?
Yesterday I saw some iPod Touch still in sale in some stores ($20 off), for what it's worth...
Yesterday I saw some iPod Touch still in sale in some stores ($20 off), for what it's worth...
I'm thinking again that some version of the touch or iPhone could very well become a removable trackpad on laptops.
- syncs/charges and acts as input device when snapped in
- pop it out and, voila, there's your iPod or phone, charged and sync'd
- with it out, your laptop is nicely locked.
just a thought.
- syncs/charges and acts as input device when snapped in
- pop it out and, voila, there's your iPod or phone, charged and sync'd
- with it out, your laptop is nicely locked.
just a thought.
Good point - I agree that there's a market for the simple unattached device. Was just thinking about possible changes that could be made. I do think, though, that if there is significant revenue coming from the mobile iTunes store, it would not be a stretch for Apple to want that capability on as many iPods as possible. I'm not saying that the iPhone/ iPod Touch OS should be included on all iPods, but I think the possibility of a nano or classic that would allow you to buy songs directly from the device would be desirable for many consumers, as well as Apple.
What came to mind to me is that if the iPhone gets an OLED display, the iPod Touch will probably too and so will the iPod nano, making them even thinner. I guess that's gonna be it.
Now I'm a little bit confused!
My 1st gen 2Gb iPod Nano is slowly dying! The battery won't even last a full day and the headphones are completely FUBAR
I'm thinking about buying a 32Gb iPod Touch because, with the 2.0 firmware coming in a few months, I feel that the device's features will increase substantially! Besides, MacRumors Buyer's Guide tells me to "Buy Now, Product recently updated", that's perfect right?
WRONG!
Because I'm a stubborn little creep..., I have to check out Apple Rumors at least once a week and this time the rumor just happens to be about the iPod I'm willing to pay 459 for. Although I'll still probably just buy the current version of the device, my only question is:
Apple said that with the new "mobile" OS X and with the advantage of not having fixed plastic buttons on the interface it would allow them to increment the features on such devices without changing the hardware itself. However, am I the only one to think that firmware 3.0 (example) will be available only for the iPhones and iPod Touches (???) released this year and not available to all the previous iterations of the device?
That's my biggest doubt of all. What do you think are the chances of Apple saying: "Ok, we have a new firmware update with a billion new features... but you can only use it if you have a 2nd Gen iPod Touch/iPhone".
Anyway, that's my only doubt
My 1st gen 2Gb iPod Nano is slowly dying! The battery won't even last a full day and the headphones are completely FUBAR
I'm thinking about buying a 32Gb iPod Touch because, with the 2.0 firmware coming in a few months, I feel that the device's features will increase substantially! Besides, MacRumors Buyer's Guide tells me to "Buy Now, Product recently updated", that's perfect right?
WRONG!
Because I'm a stubborn little creep..., I have to check out Apple Rumors at least once a week and this time the rumor just happens to be about the iPod I'm willing to pay 459 for
. Although I'll still probably just buy the current version of the device, my only question is:Apple said that with the new "mobile" OS X and with the advantage of not having fixed plastic buttons on the interface it would allow them to increment the features on such devices without changing the hardware itself. However, am I the only one to think that firmware 3.0 (example) will be available only for the iPhones and iPod Touches (???) released this year and not available to all the previous iterations of the device?
That's my biggest doubt of all. What do you think are the chances of Apple saying: "Ok, we have a new firmware update with a billion new features... but you can only use it if you have a 2nd Gen iPod Touch/iPhone".
Anyway, that's my only doubt
As far as big changes, there doesn't seem to be any obvious directions to go, but Apple always has something up its sleeve.
Even if there is no form factor change, a change in internals could provide different hidden benefits- greater battery life, greater capacity, cheaper memory (more room for lower density memory chips), etc.
There are a lot of competitors in this segment, so Apple has to keep up the pace. At some point we will be at say $149 for 8GB and $199 for 16GB, so an internal improvements will help Apple meet those price points.
Even if there is no form factor change, a change in internals could provide different hidden benefits- greater battery life, greater capacity, cheaper memory (more room for lower density memory chips), etc.
There are a lot of competitors in this segment, so Apple has to keep up the pace. At some point we will be at say $149 for 8GB and $199 for 16GB, so an internal improvements will help Apple meet those price points.
Goodbye old fashion scroll wheel iPod. Say hello to the new iPod nano touch. Also the classic will be discontinued pretty soon too. Because of all the awesome apps that will be coming out only for the touch/iPhone, developers will discontinue making games for the old fashioned iPods. Everyone is going to want a touch screen iPod. My prediction for September/ October revision:
2 GB Shuffle ($49)
8 GB nano touch w/ smaller screen ($149)
16 GB nano touch w/ smaller screen ($199)
32 GB iPod touch ($299)
64 GB iPod touch ($499)
16 GB iPhone ($299)
32 GB iPhone ($399).
2 GB Shuffle ($49)
8 GB nano touch w/ smaller screen ($149)
16 GB nano touch w/ smaller screen ($199)
32 GB iPod touch ($299)
64 GB iPod touch ($499)
16 GB iPhone ($299)
32 GB iPhone ($399).
Wolfson Microelectronics makes DACS and chips for music reproduction. And its products are used in high-end hi-fi components. Just one of the reasons the iPod doesn't half sound good. This suggests to me that Apple is going for a cheaper DAC, with the result that sound quality could be compromised in ew products.
What do you guys and women think?
What do you guys and women think?
I'll tell you EXACTLY how they can improve the Touch!
1. Get rid of the black bars at the top and bottom. It's a complete waste of space!
2. Bring back the scrollwheel! A touchscreen scrollwheel that responds to anywhere you put your finger would be much better! It's too hard to use as an everday MP3 player. That's why I returned mine to Costco and went back to my iPod mini and I couldn't be happier.
3. Bring back white color. I hate Apple's new black/silver scheme. It's unoriginal and uncool.
It shouldve looked like this!
http://www.gadgetspage.com/wp-content/ipod_av.gif
1. Get rid of the black bars at the top and bottom. It's a complete waste of space!
2. Bring back the scrollwheel! A touchscreen scrollwheel that responds to anywhere you put your finger would be much better! It's too hard to use as an everday MP3 player. That's why I returned mine to Costco and went back to my iPod mini and I couldn't be happier.
3. Bring back white color. I hate Apple's new black/silver scheme. It's unoriginal and uncool.
It shouldve looked like this!
http://www.gadgetspage.com/wp-content/ipod_av.gif
what will this update do for the two ipods??
i hope not too much cause i have a ipod touch now and i dont want it to become obsolete
it will... eventually !
Now I'm a little bit confused!... Apple said that with the new "mobile" OS X and with the advantage of not having fixed plastic buttons on the interface it would allow them to increment the features on such devices without changing the hardware itself. However, am I the only one to think that firmware 3.0 (example) will be available only for the iPhones and iPod Touches (???) released this year and not available to all the previous iterations of the device?
That's my biggest doubt of all. What do you think are the chances of Apple saying: "Ok, we have a new firmware update with a billion new features... but you can only use it if you have a 2nd Gen iPod Touch/iPhone".
Anyway, that's my only doubt
If we look at what happened with previous iPod iterations, I think we can predict (be pretty sure) that at some point in the future, the updates will only be available to certain model. Even if it doesn't look like it, there is often quite a bit of changes under the hood, between each iteration.
Think about it as the fact that they wouldn't put out a new generation just for the sake of reducing the price of old models (?) and to make it look just like a new product when in fact, nothing has changed inside. They wouldn't start the whole manufacturing process only to make an old product look like a "bran new" one...
You kidding me? Current iPods sound terrible. Compare them to the 1st Gen iPod Shuffle. Now that's a nice souding iPod. The new ones sound pretty bad in comparison, you can't even use the EQ because you get clipping when the one fader is above 0dB... Wolfson might make some high end HiFi stuff, but the chips in iPods must be rock bottom end. On the other end, the iPod earbuds kind of compensate for the bad sound
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iPod shuffle touch. Lol!!!
Only kidding. Maybe they will come out with something brand new??
something totally different from the phone and the touch.
iPod shuffle touch. Lol!!!
Only kidding. Maybe they will come out with something brand new??
something totally different from the phone and the touch.
You kidding me? Current iPods sound terrible. Compare them to the 1st Gen iPod Shuffle. Now that's a nice souding iPod. The new ones sound pretty bad in comparison, you can't even use the EQ because you get clipping when the one fader is above 0dB... Wolfson might make some high end HiFi stuff, but the chips in iPods must be rock bottom end. On the other end, the iPod earbuds kind of compensate for the bad sound
This doesn't happen when driving a line level load like a headphone amp. The first shuffle used a dual-transistor output stage which doesn't have the problem. I have never used the EQ though, it shouldn't be necessary.
The problem is all the circuitry apple sticks after the Wolfson chips to drive a wide range of headphones as best they can while fitting everything into as small of a space as they can to maximize room for storage. The Wolfson chips are actually quite good.
I really hope Apple doesn't use Cirrus Logic chips across the board...I don't like how they sound. On the other hand, if they found a third DAC supplier who could provide a great sounding chip, and reworked their line level output circuitry, and modified their headphone amp circuitry this could be good news...though that would never happen.
Most likely they will just replace all the remaining Wolfsons with Cirrus chips and possibly do some minor storage or price adjustments.
I would hate it if they did something like that - but I'm not sure how focused on sound quality Apple is vs. things like form factor, battery life, etc... I will be in the market for a new ipod later this year and I'm hoping for an improvement in sound!
Why would you say that? This may presage a major change in the nano's internals; given that its form factor has changed every year, it seems like a natural time to ask if it will do so again.
Not until the AT&T exclusivity agreement is over.