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iPod touch New Features for the NEW iPod Touch

A

Andrew K.

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 9, 2008
1,432
1
So I have been reading all this about new features that people think will be in the NEW iPod which is definitely coming in late September.

First of all before you think Apple will put some certain features:

:apple:"THE IPOD TOUCH IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A MUSIC PLAYER":apple:

okay here a list of features that Ive read may be added:


1. GPS - at first I though it would be impossible because Apple even hesitated to put maps on the touch when it debuted. It may be added but may add bulk to the touch, and even though they made the iPhone a bit thicker, I dont think Apple will want to fatty up the sleek touch form factor unless they taper the edges and can still fit it in.

2. CAMERA - My thoughts are NO. I have never seen a camera on a music player and is an odd feature to have. People may be drawn away because they just want a music player not a camera. Although you could use it for Geotagging it's not a big enough feature to integrate. Plus the 2 megapixel camera in the iPhone is too small anyway, and have gotten complaints so a camera wouldn't be relevant right now.

3. FM Tuner - Apple wants you to buy their music. If you can listen for free your not buying music, I know there is Pandora (which is Excellent) but it still directs you to buy songs from iTunes. Wifi has proven to be a better source to buy music straight to your touch.

4. PRICE DROP, STORAGE BUMP - Apple loves to do this, why? New features bigger capacity at a slightly lower price point? My Credit Card is Already Ready. They may drop the 8gb model and add a 64gb drive but since they are still expensive, they may go off their original playbook and go with 54gb model to be on point with price and revenue.

5. NEW DESIGN - If apple has taught us anything its that they like to change up how there products look when updated. These new models will differ from old ones and make you want to buy them. The NEW touch may have the same form factor of the iPhone 3G But waaayy thinner and may adopt a plastic back even though Apple has kept that sinnister chrome that scratches instantly. If they were smart they'd go with an aluminum back like the 1st iPhone.

6. SPEAKERS AND MIC - Apple has never had speakers built into an iPod and they wont. WHY? There are to many speakers systems custom built to play all iPod models and would take a devastating hit to there sales. And a mic is just getting to close to the iPhone in functionality. Apple must keep features distinct between iPod touch and iPhone to keep up sales and even make you want to buy both. (got me to)

7. EXTERNAL VOLUME BUTTONS - Steve Jobs Hates Buttons,as long as he's alive the NEW iPod touch will not ADD any buttons, sad but true.

8. BIGGER SCREEN- here's where I'm on the fence. it would be great to increase the screen size but Apple saves costs on manufacturing the same screens for touches and iphones. They could however make this a distinguishing factor that may boost their sales from the iPhone.

9. 3G DATA CHIP- No. sorry if I offend anyone but its way to close and remember iPod Touch is a MUSIC PLAYER.

Okay so there's a list of things that may go in the NEW iPod. On another note here are some things that may enhance the MEDIA aspect of the NEW Touch.

1. DOWNLOADING MOVIES - would be awesome but may have to delete other content if you run out before you buy a movie.

2. MOVIES IN COVER FLOW ( with play/ chapter option) - I've wondered why they haven't added this like they do with music.

3. BETTER HEADPHONES- better quality head phones could stop the whining ( me too ) of the sound quality and form factor, because everyone knows they just aren't that comfortable.

4. SONG SEARCH - just like contacts, may be helpful if you have a lot of media.

please add to anything I may have left out or missed :D
 
wow, i usually got annoyed when people post these threads, but thank you, you actually took the time to write all the possibilites out, and state why.

that said, i think you are about spot on as anyone can be, if not a little better

also, i dont know the possiblity, but a higher res screen would be a bonus
 
Thanks:D that's kinda why I made this post from reading so many random comments of new features
 
1. Camera - You've got a beautiful screen. It makes a perfect viewfinder. Here is a player that has a camera. The Touch could do it better.

2. Bluetooth - Already in every other device Apple sells. Eliminates wires and the need to be parked on a dock. Many other players have it.

As for "THE IPOD TOUCH IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A MUSIC PLAYER", you're wrong. They could have left "iPod" off the name as the Touch is more about connecting than about music. It's more about video and photos than music. It's more about what you can see on it's screen than what you can hear from it. I wouldn't own it if the dominant thing it could do was music. There are better music players out there.
 
4DThinker said:
As for "THE IPOD TOUCH IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A MUSIC PLAYER", you're wrong. They could have left "iPod" off the name as the Touch is more about connecting than about music. It's more about video and photos than music. It's more about what you can see on it's screen than what you can hear from it. I wouldn't own it if the dominant thing it could do was music. There are better music players out there.
Click to expand...

The iPod is a music player with multimedia/PDA features and a larger screen. As for what it's mostly used for that's down to the individual user.

Name a better "music player" and do tell what makes it superior to the Touch.

I agree with everything the OP said, well written.
 
Andrew K. said:
3. FM Tuner - Apple wants you to buy their music. If you can listen for free your not buying music, I know there is Pandora (which is Excellent) but it still directs you to buy songs from iTunes. Wifi has proven to be a better source to buy music straight to your touch.
Click to expand...

Though I don't think it's likely to happen either, I don't believe in the whole "iTunes ecosystem" as some have called it. You can't buy the entire iTunes collection, and music will keep getting made. iTunes will let you buy what you deem essential for your personal collection, but you'll have to stray to hear new stuff and the other songs you just can't afford. Radio's not going away, so why shouldn't Apple play nice. Same argument goes for the :apple:TV and getting it a TV tuner.

Otherwise, I think you're spot on. :)
 
Hahahahaha, better headphones? People have been complaining about them since the first iPod and when they finally updated them they only updated the form and not the quality. They've known about their shoddy headphones for a while now but they're never going to do anything about it. As far as the other 3 things you mentioned, downloading movies, song search, and movie cover flow are all firmware updates as opposed to hardware updates.
 
4DThinker said:
As for "THE IPOD TOUCH IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A MUSIC PLAYER", you're wrong. They could have left "iPod" off the name as the Touch is more about connecting than about music. It's more about video and photos than music. It's more about what you can see on it's screen than what you can hear from it. I wouldn't own it if the dominant thing it could do was music. There are better music players out there.
Click to expand...

I agree. There are other iPods that are more geared to music as their main feature. Its too big for it to be First and Foremost a music player. You dont need that big gorgeous screen for music. Video/Photos/Music is what this thing is all about. And now that 2.0 is out with apps its much more than just a music/videos/photos player. Its morphing into a nice PDA type setup. And with the new power comes new features. Of course, this is just the way I see it.

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Jason
 
I know it's a hardware upgrade, but I would love it if my Touch had an external speaker. Just sitting around checking out a youtube video, etc it would be nice to not have to attach earphones or mount the touch on a sound dock. I played around with a friend's new iphone and it was the one thing I really found that I wish was on my touch too.
 
no to the gps feature. not everyone has wifi everywhere, without 3g and edge it would be kind of pointless
 
SaSaSushi said:
The iPod is a music player with multimedia/PDA features and a larger screen. Name a better "music player" and do tell what makes it superior to the Touch.
Click to expand...
The Touch is a pocket Mac that can play music too.

My Zune 80 and Samsung P2 are both better sounding, and the P2 has a broader array of music related features than both. All are available from the Now Playing screen. It has a better equalizer, more genre profiles, three user profiles, DNSe, DNSe profiles linked to playlist, Bluetooth (two headsets at a time), FM radio with recording to MP3, variable playback speed (handy with audiobooks and podcasts), and TTS (text to speech). It also has more screen display options while playing. Music can also be chosen instead of game sounds while playing games. If you have an audio file (perhaps a lecture you've recorded with the voice recorder) you can mark an A-B section for repeat.

I own and listen to several players. I compare them using the same headphones, and I have several headphones to try each one with. The Touch isn't the worst music player. It's not my best either.
 
I would not go so far as to say that the Touch's main purpose is a music player. It's an aspect, but certainly not the focus.
 
pismodude2 said:
:mad:No:mad:
Click to expand...
Thanks for that thorough elucidation. :rolleyes:

It's clear you've never used bluetooth. California has recently made bluetooth the mainstream technology for handsfree. With a bluetooth adapter on your iPod dock or home stereo amp, the music on a Touch (with bluetooth) would escape the limits of that headphone cable. Using my Samsung, Insignia, or Philips player with bluetooth I enjoy my music selection on the best speakers I own, with the device in my pocket. I leave my device in the house but listen to it with wireless headphones in my shop. Those headphones let me pause/play, control volume up/down, and go next or previous track with no wires to the device.
 
Wild speculation included!

Andrew K. said:
FM Tuner - Apple wants you to buy their music. If you can listen for free your not buying music, I know there is Pandora (which is Excellent) but it still directs you to buy songs from iTunes. Wifi has proven to be a better source to buy music straight to your touch.
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't Apple offer an FM Tuner? Because Apple is secretly prepping their OWN satellite radio station for every iPhone, iPod, and Mac/PC (along with iTunes 8) going forward. Podcasts just don't cut it for real bona fide terrestrial radio, which I want to be able to listen to on my next iPod, which is now SO MUCH MORE than "just a music player". Plus, Apple could offer most stations with NO sports blackouts, like WTCB-FM out of Columbia, WMYI-FM out of Greenville, Q99-FM out of Roanoke, WGN out of Chicago, KMOX out of St. Louis, local NPR stations, and that list goes on.

Also, because TV these days is a sucky proposition, and because TV is increasingly on-demand these days (Apple is smart enough to know this, I'm certain), Apple could create the best TV-watching experience out there right now! Apple could license all the networks on iTunes, all their studios, and even studios that aren't on iTunes (like NBC) to offer their programming almost like what DirecTV & Dish Network offer us now: crystal clear high-def streaming, SAVING shows to your computer (if you happen to like a particular show, for instance), and what is inevitably going to happen: CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN-CHANNELS. Even worse for cable and satellite, it's completely free with a $15 ONE-TIME payment called "iTunes Premium Pass", or just $5 ONE-TIME for those who don't wish to shell out.

What is iTunes Premium Pass, you ask? Well, iTunes Premium Pass (iTPP from here on out) will be the cost of 1 $15 iTunes gift card, there is NO monthly fee (bye bye Netflix and eMusic!), and in this new iTPP service, you can get all-you-can-eat music, all the TV shows, movies, audiobooks, and other things you can download, being able to purchase items from ANY iTunes store AROUND THE WORLD, the aforementioned Apple satellite radio station FOR FREE, the aforementioned ultimate TV-watching solution FOR FREE, and more features that Apple deems appropriate to build in going forward FOR FREE.

I almost think that this might be partially the mystery "product transition" that's supposed to happen very soon. People want a subscription service for music, etc. but they don't like paying a monthly fee!

The second part of the mystery "product transition" is a new iPod Touch that is significantly lower in price than what they offer currently, and way more feature-rich than any other media player on the market today. "iPod 2,1" is just to throw us all off, the features that Apple is piling into the new iPod Touch is going to be undoubtedly the Version 2.0 of the iPod Touch line.

The third part of the mystery "product transition" are new MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros; again, significantly lower in price and more feature-rich than their counterparts. Blu-Ray (yes, I'm one of the Blu-Ray backers), improved chipsets, etc. All of this will undoubtedly be BEFORE September, in an Apple event that will cover both the music business and the Mac business.

The fourth part will be...new Mac Minis, to bring the Mac Mini up to speed as a true low-cost alternative to the iMac and Mac Pro and the perfect switcher machine, as well as a perfect 2nd Mac! No more than $399 (undercutting the competition by a lot), with the improved graphics/chipsets, Blu-Ray, etc. The perfect media server/"whitebox" device as well, it will be the PRO MODEL of the AppleTV, if not in name. This is the "Apple Media Center" we've ALL been waiting for, no offense. No less than 500GB of hard disk space, and the best value in a HTPC on the market today!

And the final part is...New ACDs (about mother-f***ing time)! Built-in iSights IN THE DISPLAY, along with a full complement of TV ports (among them component and HDMI in), 36" and 42" sizes, and they will be about $500 or so, or if you get the aformentioned new Minis, they're BUNDLED IN for a nominal fee (probably no more than $50)!

That's all my rampant wild speculation, so is this conceivable?

BJ
 
When I said it was "FIRST AND FOREMOST A MUSIC PLAYER" I was referring to what an IPOD is supposed to deliver in sound and video. But I agree they have strayed off the path a little with PDA type features which doesn't bother me one bit :D
 
This is great. I beleive that there might be a camera and maybe a GPS. Thats all, but i doubt there will be a GPS as apple do not currently have their own maps, well they have Google Maps but they need to be downloaded, but they do not have one big map of a country stored on the device to use outside of wifi zones. :confused:
 
I can imagine GPS being a possibility. My TomTom has no internet connection but stores the maps on an internal drive. Just stick in a GPS radio and have it work with Maps, Apple could sell region maps via iTunes for when you're away from WiFi. Bish bash bosh.

I don't really see how the touch can be improved. It's amazing as it stands. I'd like an FM radio but that'll never happen, definitely more storage (won't buy my own iPod Touch till they're at least 64gb), maybe a built in DVB tuner but that will definitely never happen. At least it has the iPlayer :)
A speaker could be nice too. At the moment I use my PSP with the internet radio function for when I'm working on my game. Speakers aren't great but that's not too important.

Oh- and shrinking the footprint would be nice. I'd like it with a shorter forehead. Keep the chin.
 
4DThinker said:
Thanks for that thorough elucidation. :rolleyes:

It's clear you've never used bluetooth. California has recently made bluetooth the mainstream technology for handsfree. With a bluetooth adapter on your iPod dock or home stereo amp, the music on a Touch (with bluetooth) would escape the limits of that headphone cable. Using my Samsung, Insignia, or Philips player with bluetooth I enjoy my music selection on the best speakers I own, with the device in my pocket. I leave my device in the house but listen to it with wireless headphones in my shop. Those headphones let me pause/play, control volume up/down, and go next or previous track with no wires to the device.
Click to expand...

Bluetooth AD2P sucks. The audio quality is absolutely terrible. They should leave that feature out of both the iPod touch and iPhone.

If I wanted to listen to sub-FM quality audio I'd go buy a pocket radio and purposely listen in an area with bad reception.
 
mosx said:
Bluetooth AD2P sucks. The audio quality is absolutely terrible.
Click to expand...
I suppose you think music through earbuds is wonderful. :rolleyes:

You should come to my house and have a listen. IMO music through earbuds sucks. Music through internal speakers sucks. Music through good headphones is better. Music from most iPod docks sucks. Music through a good full range set of speakers sounds great. Bluetooth is an easier and more versatile way to get it there than fishing out a 3.5mm to stereo RCA cable.
 
I bought my Touch two weeks ago, keeping in mind.

What you've written is completely true, but some of the things you've written may be wrong, after all, Apple has a tendency to surprise, right?

They want to keep the Touch like the iPhone, minus the Phone. Camera? Unlikely, but possible, GPS? Maybe, but would add bulk, thinner design? Probably. Change of back? That's a high possibility, they may make it like the iPhone 3G.

The things I personally think will happen is price drop, change of back, and maybe bluetooth.
 
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