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Next Generation Video iPod?

The 6th Gen really needs to take another leap in the line 3rd mono 4th colour 5th video. I personally want wireless headphones and/or a touchscreen pda device. I can't see Apple doing this for a bit and tend to believe Think Scret saying there are problems and delays.
 
aswitcher said:
The 6th Gen really needs to take another leap in the line 3rd mono 4th colour 5th video. I personally want wireless headphones and/or a touchscreen pda device. I can't see Apple doing this for a bit and tend to believe Think Scret saying there are problems and delays.
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The problem I see (as a user) of a touch screen is fingerprints. Just how are you meant to enjoy the high quality picture when it is hidden behind all the smudges?
 
BeyondCloister said:
The problem I see (as a user) of a touch screen is fingerprints. Just how are you meant to enjoy the high quality picture when it is hidden behind all the smudges?
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Yep, thats going to be a key challenge. Not sure how they can solve it. Cant image they will go wtih a stylus or some sort of ring on your hand for inputing.
 
Who knows what the next one will be like, but I suspect it to be in 40 and 80GB versions, have bluetooth (with or without bluetooth earphones) and a larger screen. I think they will keep the classic click/scroll wheel though, maybe have the faded grey one appear when you touch the screen - 'touch anywhere' screen? The only problem is, like what other have mentioned is the fingerprint/scuffing/scratching problem. Maybe they could include a lined case somehow, so that when you slide it in, it wipes all the crap off the screen... or scratches it 😱 😛
 
dguisinger said:
However, it is important to understand, the PortalPlayer and Samsung chips have dedicated circuitry for decoding music from WMA, MP3, and AAC.

Without this, the battery life would drop. They also now days have video accelleration as well for MPEG video standards. Intel doesn't have this in Xscale, xscale is too generic..
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I've seen Intel demos (public, at trade shows) of Xscale doing real-time MPEG-4 playback, along with the next generations of handheld GPUs from nVidia and ATI. We've also seen Intel's roadmap showing the half-watt x86.

Your assessment is good for the current lines, but don't rule Intel out in the future.
 
I just can't get excited about a touchscreen iPod. I don't like the way touchscreen devices work.

Then again, Apple is pretty amazing at making pressure sensitive devices that have a pretty good feel. I guess if someone can pull this off, then they can.

And when you think about it, once you start a movie on a device and start watching, the buttons and other controls are just taking up space--wouldn't it be nicer if they just faded away until you needed them again, making room for a full-device picture?
 
iSee said:
And when you think about it, once you start a movie on a device and start watching, the buttons and other controls are just taking up space--wouldn't it be nicer if they just faded away until you needed them again, making room for a full-device picture?
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🙄 Just like Windows Media Player does in full screen mode?
 
Multimedia said:
Reads like this product is in redesign phase due to technical difficulties with what they thought it was going to be. I think we'll be lucky to see this ready for the Christmas shopping season. 🙁 Maybe they'll bump the storage capaciry on the 5G meanwhile. 🙂
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Bumping the HDD capacity of the 5G makes a lot of sense to me, considering the huge quantity of 80GB drives they bought from Toshiba, coupled with the 60GB being put on the 60 day at-risk list,which I believe has expired by now...sounds like the iPod line is in a bit of a flux right now...
 
what bout me

EricNau said:
Except that wouldn't cause anyone to buy a new iPod even if they didn't have to. Even if they just changed the design (and didn't add any more features) they could sell a lot more.
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I can think of one person who would buy an 80GB iPod. ME!🙂
 
I'd love to see one of those touch screen devices where the surface gets 'hard' over the areas that are supposed to be the interface... so the play button when its a play button would be a raised arrow under the screen etc... I've seen something close to that on a couple of japanese camcorders, but nothing like that in the US market... wonder if that is why apple went with Samsung?
 
Peyton said:
I REALLY need a new iPod I want them to release it yesterday, this is beginning to sound like vista...🙄
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According to the Buyer's Guide the iPod was last updated ~200 days ago. Just how frequently would you like them updated? Every 100 days? So you can whine about how you just updated and now it's obsolete after 3 and a half months?

Is your iTunes Library >60GB? 🙄
 
Peyton said:
off topic, did anyone else hear that vista was delayed until NEXT JUNE??? 😱 😱 😱
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No, it hasn't. That's just what Garnter believes will happen. You know, Gartner - the research firm that gets about nothing right with Macs, PCs, or anything else in the last 5 years? I'm not saying it won't happen. I'm just saying that Gartner knows pretty much jack.
 
Ok Good, Makes me feel a little better after just buying an Archos AV500. which is an AMAZING device by the way! I hope Apple follows along the line of this thing when/if they release the real vPod
 
Peyton said:
I REALLY need a new iPod I want them to release it yesterday, this is beginning to sound like vista
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Except this device was never actually announced. How can it be late if we don't know for sure that it is comming?
 
BeyondCloister said:
The problem I see (as a user) of a touch screen is fingerprints. Just how are you meant to enjoy the high quality picture when it is hidden behind all the smudges?
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I think the lack of tactile feedback is a bigger problem. I already find it obnoxious that the select buttong on my 5g isn't raised like it was on my Mini. It makes it harder to find by touch. I cant imagine how bad this would be for a touch screen.
 
i want my 80GB or more!!!

I am not interested in a video pod and it seems that most don't care about more storage (except for video downloads). Should I assume that whenever an 80GB pod is released, it will be in the video form? I simply love having a ton of music with me and by 60GB has been full for way too long.:
 
I could see a bump to an 80 GB HDD not just as a "holdover" until a new iPod is announced, but for people who like it just the way it is--maybe they will keep selling if the public isn't sold on the new product. Doubtful, but not altogether impossible.

How long until all iPods are Flash based? With a 60 GB Flash storage, wouldn't the battery life be that much longer? Coupled with the right ARM, they could really be promising.
 
Actually, I'd prefer if the regular iPod line was updated with bluetooth (and sure, wi-fi, and made thinner, and a hard drive capacity bump, etc. -- I WANT BLUETOOTH!) and the "full-screen" version was treated as a separate product.
 
dguisinger said:
However, it is important to understand, the PortalPlayer and Samsung chips have dedicated circuitry for decoding music from WMA, MP3, and AAC. Without this, the battery life would drop. They also now days have video accelleration as well for MPEG video standards. Intel doesn't have this in Xscale, xscale is too generic.

Actually, if you look, xscale isn't a product.
They have several different lines of products, some being IO processors, others being for handhelds, with different subsets of functions and features.

I do not beleive they have a embedded cpu for media players; they have handheld computer cpu's, but those are obviously aimed at a different use, have more features, worse battery life for audio-only apps, and of course, a much higher price point than a dedicated media player would.

In the end, PP/Samsung remain the best option.

On the other hand, don't forget the XScale "product line" has been used by apple before, for example, the network io processor is in the xserve RAID. Apple picks the best tool for the design. I give them credit for this; alot of companies like to use a single product and cookie cutter it into everything for ease-of-design...... that typically doesn't ever fit the needs of each individual market itself, and results in a poor product.
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The Dell DJ and Creative Zen line use Texas Instrument processors... But I guess that makes them need a bigger battery, thus making the product bulkier in the end. We don't want a big battery in the iPod, so I agree, PP or Samsung only should be used in the iPod line unless someone else comes out with a power-efficient chip.
 
rye9 said:
I don't really want a storage increase, but a battery capacity increase.
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My thoughts exactly. The battery is the real weakness of the current generation, not the HD size. I have the opportunity to purchase a new iPod at 20% off, so I've gotta take my friend up on the offer - which means my waiting game is over.

I figure if/when the new gen finally gets past the delays and releases, I'll just sell this one and break even on it.
 
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