Next Apple iPod to do eBooks?

[mac-er]

Fake. Apple "ordered" a company to send all its manuscripts to it?

Companies don't "order" each other around....that wouldn't get very far in the business world.

 

[GregA]

this would be fantastic.. ebooks and i would also like to see pdf added to the list!! the current text feature is nice but adding pdf abilities would be better

And websites, RSS etc. We need a simple way of quickly grabbing a lot of webstuff to synchronise.

Then again - if you take the current iPod, make it full screen, replace the hard disk with 10GB flash ram & bluetooth/wireless (will that combo increase battery life?).... maybe we'll update on the go.

Please apple, something lighweight, long battery life, thin and portable, scratch-resistant, and super high res/high contrast screen (OLED/eInk?).


edit: also magazine support for those macworlds I have in the Zinio reader format would be awesome

If this happens, would it be as an extension of the existing iPod, or as a similar/related product? Can you imagine a light & thin iPod nano with an 8x6 inch eInk screen, for instance?

 

[Takeo]

Fake. Apple "ordered" a company to send all its manuscripts to it?

That's not what the article says. I interpreted it to mean that someone or some department within some publishing company was told... by someone else at the publishing company... to get all of their manuscripts archived and sent over to Apple.

 

[Detlev]

I absolutley like this idea. Imagine college professors being able to produce podcast notes (some type of e-book podcast) and students being able to download them.

I also see it being useful for short things like Cliff Notes, written (typed) podcasts, concert programs, newspaper or magazine subscriptions but not front line books. Although, it could work in concert with Project Gutenberg or UPenn's online book programs. The extra screen real estate would be important.

 

[msandersen]

That's not what the article says. I interpreted it to mean that someone or some department within some publishing company was told... by someone else at the publishing company... to get all of their manuscripts archived and sent over to Apple.

That was my reading, that they were ordered by their sbosses in the company to get the manuscripts ready and sent to Apple, presumably because of a deal between the two companies.

 

[bigjohn]

As soon as Zune hits the market, Apple will counter with iPod 2.0:

Jobs doesn't exactly respond to what other people do, he does his own thing.

That's why we like him so much

 

[inkhead]

I'd like to point out the reason it is being released at WWDC. It has a form of widgets and internet connectivity options. It will be a whole new platform for developers to release apps. I was told this 6 months ago, by somebody who has always given me Apple rumors correctly.

 

[KingYaba]

These white ear budded headphones remind me of the book fahrenheit 451. Soon iPods will now dictate what people read, on top of what people listen to (music, podcasts, audiobook) and what people watch (movies, tv shows).

iPods will rule the world.

 

[hyperpasta]

lakjshdfkljhadsf.

How? Why? Seriously guys. Maybe Apple WILL implement eBook functionality. But if I know something about Apple, they take baby-steps. You can expect ONE insanely-great new feature in the new iPod. No more.

 

[Keebler]

If it's going to have a huge screen why not make it have a satellite based navigation system too. That would be handy...

As for the reader, sounds cool to me!

this is a great point and something that would totally enhance the ipod line.

here's why:
1. points of reference - my garmn gps has PORs for anywhere i go...picture it: gas stations, restaurants, historical landmarks etc.. i believe it even has cinemas too. think of walking around as a tourist after dloading the map to a new city and know exactly where you are going.

2. memory - maps don't take a lot of memory. my garmin only has 64 or 128 MBs...so, a few songs worth, of maps. and i have ALOT of territory on it. in fact, about 18 driving hours worth, including fully maps of major cities.

3. ipods are already integrated into vehicles and personal gps' are growing huge in popularity. combine this with an impatient society wanting everything in 1 gadget

of course, i'm sure the electronic side of things in terms of connecting to sats etc.. might cause issues, but it's an interesting thought at least.

 

[AP_piano295]

next ipod to cure cancer

 

[DaveGee]

Hey,

Anyone else remember iBrary? A rumor circa 2002 if I remember... Check out the screen shot (luckily I founded still floating around thanks to google).

Edit:

Link to 2002 MOSR discussion

It works by browsing a local book repository, a public Internet library, or a global Internet library (dunno which repository) for books or periodicals. It presently uses a format (.ibook) that is a sort of hybrid between eBooks and Audible.com (it seems that Harry Potter is available in this format). You can listen to the recording of the book as you read, since iBrary syncs the book's text with the recording.

I am also told that it utilizes dramatically improved text-to-speech, which suggests that may be a built-in feature of an upcoming OS update. This allows books which don't have soundtracks to be read by the computer, in any of 4 (currently) voices: Storytime, Narrator, Novella, and Anchorman. The synthesis quality is outstanding, seemingly able to handle emotion quite well.

Services are also available which allow you to lookup words in a dictionary or thesaurus, which may have a connection to Sherlock, or be handled within the app. When you click on the curled page corners there is an (OpenGL powered?) animation of the page flipping.

Dave

 

[Yvan256]

PDF compatible? OS X print/export support?

Not sure if it's been mentionned, but will this thing be PDF compatible? Or if it's a special format, will OS X have an update to add "print/export" capability for it or will iTunes simply be able to import a lot of different formats and convert for the iPod?

As for GPS/maps, well, I'd have no choice but to buy this new iPod if it had that feature, especially if it also had speech capabilities ("turn right at next stop", etc).

I'd like to point out the reason it is being released at WWDC. It has a form of widgets and internet connectivity options. It will be a whole new platform for developers to release apps. I was told this 6 months ago, by somebody who has always given me Apple rumors correctly.

I also expect the new iPod, if it's touch-screen and the whole surface is a widescreen display, to have custom apps/games and a new special version of Xcode to develop iPod apps/games. Maybe even the possibility to add your apps/games to iTMS (iTunes Media Store, obviously).

And while we're at it, put Wi-Fi and Safari on it.

 

[Chris Bangle]

FADER Magazine already on itunes...... If thres already a magazine it cant be hard to get more

 

[tny]

Well there you go, was wondering about Chinese (mainly Mandarin), didn't think of Hindi. So English is only the 2nd most spoken language, huh. Add Spanish and Portuguese, and it would be 2nd! Well OK, not how it works...
So Mandarin, English, Spanish and possibly Hindi dictionaries should be hot sellers on an eBookPod then.

Those actually look more like the figures for first languages. English is the most spoken language; Chinese is the most common first language. (English is far and away the most common second language, and many English speakers live in cultures where second-language learning is effectively deprecated, such as the US). However, the difference between English and Chinese is less than 10% for first and second language speakers. (It's even more complicated than that, as the definition of "Chinese" is really more a political matter than a linguistic one; in Europe, the various Chinese "dialects" would be considered separate languages, but they are joined together by a common writing system.)

 

[MacsomJRR]

could be really cool

I hope that the screen is nice and easy on the eyes. The issues that I've had with devices that try to do this plus other features (i.e. like a palm device) is that: 1) the screens aren't big enough (the iPod mockups look like they will be OK) 2) scrolling is funky (fluid wheel scrolling could be accurate, fun and easy to use and 3) staring at a bright screen for hours of reading is tough on the eyes and feels a little weird.

This is a pretty exciting feature though, can't wait!

 

[MacsomJRR]

Fake. Apple "ordered" a company to send all its manuscripts to it?

Companies don't "order" each other around....that wouldn't get very far in the business world.

Obviously they are paying them to do it. I order McDonald's around every time I walk in there and order them to make me a McFlurry. I order Rubio's to make me a 99 cent fish taco. I order myself to shut up now or this could go on for hours

 

[tny]

That was my reading, that they were ordered by their sbosses in the company to get the manuscripts ready and sent to Apple, presumably because of a deal between the two companies.

The problem with this rumor is that publishing companies most certainly would not send over *manuscripts*, which lack production editing, but rather *page proofs* or even *mechanicals*, which are post-production editing, or (since they're far more likely to have these than proofs), *loose pages* from remaindered or warehoused books. I can't imagine that they would be working from manuscripts, as they would have versioning issues (the manuscript is not the final version of what it published, as authors nearly always make changes to galley proofs, and editors *always* make changes between the manuscript and the galleys; but changes are rarely made after the page proofs, and almost never after the mechanicals); and I can't imagine that anyone in the publishing business would speak of "manuscripts" when what they much more likely to be talking about is loose pages.

 

[50548]

You probably would. I think Spanish is the world's 2nd-most spoken language. Well, don't know about Chinese... Besides, you are being America-centric here, there are markets outside the US, you know, like Spain. Reference works like Dictionaries and Thesauruses will probably be bestsellers for such a device. If I go somewhere, I could load it with a dictionary for the national language for the country, say English-Spanish. My Spanish is not good, so if it could pronounce it for me, all the better. And I know of English speakers who can't read or spell very well either. My brother's dyslexic, and yet also a programmer. The Spanish were the first to discover and explore America, you know (though 500 years after the Vikings). In Canada they're split between English and French. They're like Americans without the attitude or penchant for invading other countries.

Agreed...one day "americans" will learn that there is a world (and a much bigger market) out there, before making such comments...

 

[quigleybc]

so....let me get this straight..

The new iPod is going to Play Movies, TV, Music, Nintendo games, eBooks, and have a big touch screen....will it have a flip out knife and spoon too?

 

[guzhogi]

Maybe a whole new kind of display using E ink. Sony has something called a Reader that uses it. It draws very little power, none at all if the background is static and unmoving.

Look at it here. http://www.eink.com/

But does it do color? It would suck if you it was b/c you'd have to buy one iPod that uses this for books/artricles and another for videos.

 

[Porchland]

Size matters

The current iPod is 4.1 x 2.4 inches. A mass market paperback -- which ain't big -- is roughy 7.1 x 4.3 inches, which is almost twice as large as an iPod. Most eBook devices are the size of a mass market paperback or larger. Portable DVD/DVR players are also typically larger than the iPod enclosure.

I am all for a wide format iPod where the screen is the thing, but I'm not sure I want to read a book (or watch movies) on it if it's going to be the same size as the current iPod enclosure.

I suspect it will be larger.

 

[Porchland]

These white ear budded headphones remind me of the book fahrenheit 451. Soon iPods will now dictate what people read, on top of what people listen to (music, podcasts, audiobook) and what people watch (movies, tv shows).

iPods will rule the world.

No, that was commercial radio and network television.

The iPod -- and satellite radio, cable, broadband Internet, etc. -- have diversified what people read, watch and listen to. An iPod video player would continue to broaden the availabilities of diverse content.

 

[dernhelm]

didn't people read about it having a bigger screen?

Sure we did. Will it be as big as a paperback?

 

[brepublican]

So does this mean brand spanking new eBook capable iPods, with built in WiFi, Bluetooth, Toaster & George Foreman next Tuesday??/