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Next Generation iPod Touch to Have Built-in Microphone and Camera?

Next iPod Touch....

Built in

... Compass and GPS
... 64GB
... Micro
... Camera

all like the iPhone but without the phone features.

Why?

Because not all want to pay every month 40€ for a device.... :cool:
 
fraggot said:
I don't really understand why they're adding all of these features to a MEDIA PLAYER./QUOTE]

did you also complain when they added a browser, calendar, notepad,email etc. To the iPod touch? Fact is that especially with the app store, the iTouch is a lot more than just a mediaplayer. Or should Apple disable the app store on the touch, so people would only use them for media-playback, and nothing else? My iPod touch is a mediaplayer. And a calendar. And a web-browser. And game-console, email-client, notepad, remote control... Adding a camera to themix would be a nice addition.

And there's nothing wrong with calling the device an iPod. Hell, apart from the iMac, current Macs are nothing like the original Mac was, yet we have no problems referring to them as "Macs". Should Apple invent a new name for the touch, as opposed to using a name that is already known everywhere?
Click to expand...
 
fef714 said:
AT&T makes most of the money from the iPhone, and I get the feeling Apple is pretty ticked at AT&T.
Click to expand...

I doubt that is true. Both companies make a lot of money from the iPhone. AT&T gets 2 years of cellular subscriber fees, OTOH they eat the cost of the original subsidy- unsubsidized iPhones are pretty expensive.

baleensavage said:
I've never understood the fear that the iPod touch would cannibalize iPhone sales. They are totally different markets. I think Apple is realizing this as well. The iPod touch is becoming a gaming device and if it wants to compete with the likes of the PSP and DS then it's going to need to add some features to keep up. I love my iPod touch, but I have no intention of buying an iPhone.
Click to expand...

Not only that, but why does Apple really care, either way it's a sale for Apple with a pretty good profit margin for either product line.

There will always be some difference between the 2 product lines, but that has to do with price as much as anything else. An unsubsidized iPhone costs a lot more than the equivalent storage iPod Touch. Part of that is in the phone part, part is in the other extra features.
 
jshmrsn said:
This would definitely be another killer feature to make the iPod Touch rise well above the PSP and Zune...
Click to expand...

the zune yes but PSP no. If you forget the PSP 3000 has a built in Mic and you can buy a Camera add-on for all models of PSP (has been out for a long time only in Japan).

please do your research before you reply.

anyways i will be buying a 3rd gen iPod touch only if its like the iPhone 3GS
 
madmax_2069 said:
the zune yes but PSP no. If you forget the PSP 3000 has a built in Mic and you can buy a Camera add-on for all models of PSP (has been out for a long time only in Japan).

please do your research before you reply.

anyways i will be buying a 3rd gen iPod touch only if its like the iPhone 3GS
Click to expand...

Yes, because people love buying a camera they have to attach whenever they want to take a picture vs one built in.....
 
fraggot said:
I don't really understand why they're adding all of these features to a MEDIA PLAYER.

I enjoyed having the iPhone cause it had all the features that no one else could get in a similar product. I think Microsoft is actually doing the right thing by not making it anything that it isn't and keeping it basically to the core of what it is.

It no longer even is an iPod, they should really stop calling it one. iPod is just a piece of software integrated into the PDA device.
Click to expand...

I use my ipod touch as a PDA just as you have mentioned and I enjoy it more then my other PDA's lol but about adding features to a "iPod" so should we take the camera,bluetooth,GPS,compass,touch screen and apps off the iPhone as well? I mean who needs all that to make PHONE calls right? and of course the ipod is just really like the software on the device but thats true about all iPods. Take for example the shuffle without the software its just a tiny brick, but with it its an ipod I really don't agree with your statements.
 
I would expect they will probably add the camera, microphone, GPS, and compass to the iPod Touch. It would help developers if the iPod Touch had all the capabilities of the iPhone (except the phone). I would also expect them to use the new ARM chipset that is in the iPhone 3GS.

If the iPod Touch has all of the physical features of the iPhone, then Apple can make more money from the app store.
 
TheCheapGeek said:
I have never understood the point of carrying a phone and then using another device to make phone calls over wifi. Just use the phone generating the wifi, or better yet buy an iPhone. The only way this semi makes sense is if that phone in your pocket is a work phone that you do not pay for.
Click to expand...

Like JJRV I've an E series Nokia (an E71 to be exact). It's a free handset on the Three network here in the UK. It's also only £20 a month for unlimited text, unlimited email, 1GB a month 3G data allowance and a bunch of other stuff. You can tether using it and run it as a local wifi hotspot. The 1500mAh battery lasts a few days usage and it's made out of stainless steel so it's damn near indestructible. Push email via Nokia messaging or Three is free. Nokia's OVI service is free too. It has VoIP built in. Three also do unlimited Skype for free even if you don't have a contract or PAYG credit!! It's also smaller than an iPhone. So, for £360 you've a really useful, small, well built phone that lasts days.

An iPhone that did that would cost nearer £2K over 18 months for equivalent usage I worked out. O2's 3G coverage isn't a par on Three's 3G coverage either. The difference in cost buys you quite a few iPod Touches which you can tether to the Nokia via wifi.

So, in theory, you could stick the Nokia in your pocket and use VoIP on a Touch and it would cost you about a quarter of the cost of an iPhone contract.

But, it's pretty stupid when the Nokia totally dumps on the iPod Touch and the iPhone as a VoIP phone and hands their arse back to Apple. Nokia's built in VoIP/SIP stack doesn't get cut off when you switch to another task on the E71 like Skype does on an iPhone.

Even if Apple added a multitasking VoIP/SIP stack to the iPhone/iPod Touch, it'd still be 5 times the cost of a Nokia E series on a worse network with a battery that won't last a day of being constantly on it's data connection.

See http://www.three.co.uk/Internet_Services/Call_chat/Call_chat_service?content_aid=1220455597804 for the free Skype calls on Three btw.
 
smileyborg said:
There are some other little differences between the iPhone and iPod touch as well. The one that pops into my mind right now is the lack of Public Transportation/Walking Directions in Maps...that was a big issue for me in college, and something I'm very happy about now that I have an iPhone instead of my iPod touch.



The TomTom GPS "hardware" is reportedly just an external GPS antenna to boost the reception, not a GPS receiver. Plus all of the other features.


Having to scrounge up free unprotected WiFi is actually tough with the iPod touch...I've been there. You get lucky sometimes, but when you really need it, you often can't find a network to connect to. And you can't use WiFi while you are moving in a car or walking down the street, for example...
Click to expand...

If you are willig to pay for WiFi you can find it nearly anywhere. It's still cheaper than the highway robbery rates that ATT charges (and the coverage is probably just as good!)

And wifi in a moving car? Yes, it exists. Take a look at the MiFi from Sprint for example.
 
I knew this was going to happen, but bought the 2G Touch anyway.
Eventually the 3G will be in the refurbished store, that's when I'll upgrade! :D
 
The future IS the iPod Touch & iPhone !!!!!!!!!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/168810/ipod_touch_ascendant_as_traditional_ipod_sales_fall.html

IPod Touch Ascendant as Traditional IPod Sales Fall

"This is one of the original reasons we developed the iPhone and the iPod touch," he said. "We expect our traditional MP3 players to decline over time as we cannibalize ourselves with the iPod touch and the iPhone. However, we have a great business that we believe will last for many years and which we will continue to manage well and offer the world's most innovative products."
Click to expand...
 
To all of you who doesn't realize that the iPod touch might cannibalize on iPhone sales, take a look at this example.

Say that I want an iPhone, boo hoo it's too expensive/ATT has no coverage where I live/I hate ATT/ I don't want a two-year contract/whatever reason not to buy it.

Then there is the iPod touch. Which might ultimately become an iPhone without cellular service(and to all of you who want's Cellular service to the touch, get real, that would make it a phone and it would be sold as such).

Say I'm considering the iPod touch, but at first I'm disappointed that it lacks some useful iPhone features such as camera etc...

But when the iPod touch gets all these features I might be more willing to accept iPod touch + some cheap crappy phone to make phone calls with, instead of just an iPhone that does it all
 
Apple knows the original iPods are dying. The classic iPod might not even get a refresh. Based on the comments in the conference call yesterday, I think Apple believes the future of the iPod is the iPod Touch. Sure, there will always be a smaller market for the shuffle and even the nano, but the future is the touch devices.

Personally, I see Apple doing something similar with the iPod Touch as they did with the iPhone 3GS. I'm guessing the next iPod Touch will have the camera/mic/speaker....and will be positioned to take market share from the other portable camera/camcorder type devices like the Flip. Basically an all-in-one media device.

However, I think they will keep the current iPod Touch, increase the flash memory, lower the price, and position it as the next general use iPod. This will help please the people who don't want anything other than a Music/Movie device....BUT....gets them into the App Store Ecosystem.

So you'll end up with the iPod Touch and maybe the iPod Touch Video?

-Kevin
 
What I want in the next iPod touch is (other than camera, microphone, GPS and all the other "cool" iPhone components):

A decent pair of built in speakers, it would be great if there was one covering the front of the bottom and another one covering the front of the top, it would differentiate the touch a little more as a media player and it would be great for wathcing movies.
 
tadad1 said:
The Touch 2G has a bluetooth chip originally used with the Nike+ feature, in OS 3.0 its use was expanded to include the use of bluetooth stereo headphones and peer to peer connectivity for multi-player gaming.

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/softwareupdate.html
Click to expand...

Nice. I'm surprised I missed that one haha. Not that I know all, but I am usually VERY up on everything Apple. Guess it is cause I don't have a Touch since I got my iPhone 3G a year ago.

Apple needs to update the specs page for the iPod Touch!
 
fraggot said:
I don't really understand why they're adding all of these features to a MEDIA PLAYER.
Click to expand...

Really? Last I checked, music is not the only thing thats considered "media"


fraggot said:
I enjoyed having the iPhone cause it had all the features that no one else could get in a similar product. I think Microsoft is actually doing the right thing by not making it anything that it isn't and keeping it basically to the core of what it is.
Click to expand...

The Zune HD says otherwise.


fraggot said:
It no longer even is an iPod, they should really stop calling it one. iPod is just a piece of software integrated into the PDA device.
Click to expand...

and what exactly is an "iPod". Where does it menton "music" or "movies" ?

Evangelion said:
Since iPhone doesn't have one, neither will the iTouch.
Click to expand...

dont be so sure.

macoutu said:
Built in

... Compass and GPS
... 64GB
... Micro
... Camera

all like the iPhone but without the phone features.

Why?

Because not all want to pay every month 40€ for a device.... :cool:
Click to expand...

  1. Dont see that happening
  2. That may very wel happen. More storage is always nice
  3. yes
  4. yes
I know I'm happy with my $50 a month plan from boost.

Evangelion said:
did you also complain when they added a browser, calendar, notepad,email etc. To the iPod touch? Fact is that especially with the app store, the iTouch is a lot more than just a mediaplayer. Or should Apple disable the app store on the touch, so people would only use them for media-playback, and nothing else? My iPod touch is a mediaplayer. And a calendar. And a web-browser. And game-console, email-client, notepad, remote control... Adding a camera to themix would be a nice addition.
Click to expand...

in my opinion, all of those make it a "media player". The app store? It has some "media apps" such as some games, music and video.

Really the ipod touch is just a hand held computer- PDA
 
Getting one regardless

With 64GB, it FINALLY surpasses my ancient 3rd gen ipod from 2004 which has 40GB of space.

The mic would be super excellent, I'd be skyping like crazy.

As far as the camera... if it's on the back, I don't care so much about it.
I'd want one on the front for video chat. :)
 
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