PortalPlayer Planning Wireless... Wireless iPod?

[nagromme]

Not holding my breath

As long as the iPod doesn't cost more or weigh more for wireless, that's OK. But I don't think this speculation will turn into much.

I've never thought much of the wireless iPod idea.

There are TWO main reasons to plug in your iPod: to charge it, and to get your newest music transferred over.

You generally need a recharge much more often than you add new music. So you'll plug your iPod in anyway. Probably every night by habit. And when you do, you automatically get the new music (and play data synched). Which happens much faster than the charging

So for all intents and purposes there's ALREADY no need to plug the iPod in for anything but charging.

UNLESS you have a low-end iPod (Shuffle) and like to manually change what's on it often. But low-end models seem the least likely to gain wireless: they're the smallest and cheapest.

Browsing/buying at iTMS from an iPod (or phone!) makes little sense because the process of SEARCHING calls for a keyboard and a bigger screen. A scrollwheel (or numpad) for doing searches is just awkward. People would try it once and then just go to their computer instead. I don't think people don't mind not being able to shop in line at the BMV. They LIKE shopping from home.

the 30GB video ipod has only 2 hours of batterey life according to apple.

14 hours of music/audio playback. 3 hours of photo slideshows plus audio. 2 hours of video plus audio playback.

 

[Counterfit]

for example: the 30GB video ipod has only 2 hours of batterey life according to apple. so that means that volume is at its lowest, no backlight...

No, it means you can play video for up to two hours before the battery is kaput.

30GB: Up to 14 hours of music playback; up to 3 hours of slideshows with music; up to 2 hours of video playback

Edit: blast my reading of other threads!

 

[maya]

I really think someone should just build the whole MP3 player into the headphones. A flash player can be pretty darn small, so it wouldn't really add to much bulk to the headphones, and you wouldn't have to recharge two things. Throw in a small remote to control them and you have a player I would buy.

Similar to this :

 

[~Shard~]

What is this transitioning to Intel of which you speak? j/k

You're right, you're right. I just feel bombarded with iPod this and iPod that. I personally want a remote detonating iPod that takes out whomever attempts to steal it.

"Think C4"

Yeah, I know, the iPod stuff can get a bit overwhelming at times. Just keep in mind Apple is indeed still working on many other goodies for us as well....

 

[Seasought]

Yeah, I know, the iPod stuff can get a bit overwhelming at times. Just keep in mind Apple is indeed still working on many other goodies for us as well....

You bet!

 

[fpnc]

Missing remote control connector/plug

We are very careful about what features we add because we can't take them away

Never mind Firewire, how about the remote control connector that use to be on every full-sized iPod? The removal of this feature obsoleted over half of all add-ons to the iPod (FM transmitters, microphones/voice recorders, radio receivers, third-party IR remotes, small speakers, etc...).

 

[Hattig]

Wireless ... how do you charge over that again? Maybe with those charging mats that someone is developing, great. Wireless would be nice for streaming from the iPod to an Airport Express. That's about it.

Hey, I bought a Firewire hard drive for use with my iBook (currently) and in the future a Mac Mini. If the iBook is dropping Firewire, then the Mac Mini probably is as well ... this isn't good. USB2 is okay for some things, but Firewire is the best for anything data transfer intensive. It's also great for booting a system up in Firewire target disk mode, but with the move to Intel I expect Apple will utilise Intel's EFI rather than OpenFirmware. More's the shame.

I think the story is just speculation based upon Apple dropping Firewire support from devices that really aren't that data intensive, given their slow hard drives or slow flash memory. I'd like Firewire in my nano or in next year's iPod, but it isn't essential. As long as there are enough USB ports.

 

[cornfedgrowth]

Wireless

Personally, i think, if implemented right, this could be an awesome addition to the iPod. give it 801.11g capabilities, let it stream music through your airport express (and maybe someday video) to your stereo and, here's the best part, LET IT ACT AS A REMOTE FOR FRONTROW, which can wirelessly stream Audio and Video from your mac in another room to your TV.

i've been wanting a setup like this for sometime now. i know there are crazy thrid party ways of doing most of it, but i want something simple and elegent, like something apple would make...

Heres me hoping for something great in the next iPod.

 

[Marx55]

A wireless iPod could be fantastic if it allowed wireless presentations.

For that a Mac OS X booting iPod with Firewire is required.

Make your presentation on your computer, save it to the iPod and use the iPod to make the presentation. No cables involved. No computer involved. No PDA involved.

Imagine the halo efect on all corporate, educational and eomestic markets.

Universities alone would buy tons of them!

 

[nagromme]

A wireless iPod could be fantastic if it allowed wireless presentations.

For that a Mac OS X booting iPod with Firewire is required.

Make your presentation on your computer, save it to the iPod and use the iPod to make the presentation. No cables involved. No computer involved. No PDA involved.

Wireless video would be cool, but you'd still need to carry a wireless video receiver to hook up to the presentation system. And you wouldn't need Firewire or booting: you can transfer the presentation over USB. (Current iPods already allow you to make presentations--you just have to have a cord going to the TV/projector.)

But in general I think it's "other" uses like that which make more sense that replacing the iPod's usual cable with wireless. Wireless for remotes, or audio, or some new purpose, could make more sense than for music synching.

 

[iEric]

Wooo I would love an iPod with the ability to transfer songs through 802.11g. I think Bluetooth would be too slow though, but yea 802.11g.
Don't know how they'll figure that one out but Team iPod at Apple can do it! Aww but maybe it'd be a little thicker again. Darn. I dont know then.


Okay my final is in 5 hours! and I still don't know half of the stuff. GOtta go study

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Wireless ipod's an inevitability, plain and simple. After they go to full screen video, wireless is the next part of the evolution to keep building value into the product.

Question is, how much digital rights denial will they build into it and how long is it going to take for me to circumvent it?

 

[2nyRiggz]

I'll never take what mr. Jobs say......its always "we would never do this and that because of this and that" and in the end it comes to light like he was behind it all the time.......i see a wireless ipod on the way....Jobs trying to pull the sheets over us again.

Bless

 

[zang]

As for firewire, we all know the reason: Windows users.

It didn't make sense for Apple to continue to ship iPods with FW when 80% of iPod buyers (windows users) don't have FireWire on their systems. Even if a FW cable costs 50 cents to produce and include, when you're selling millions (like the projected 9 million iPods to be sold this Xmas season alone), that's $4.5million dollars saved. That's not including the FireWire control chips required, the additional R&D and costs associated with continued software reports. For most users, they won't be transferring gigs upon gigs everytime they sync their ipod because once most of their library is on it, it'll stay on it, with a few minor changes here and there. For this reason USB2 won't seem like much of a difference at all from FW. What's the point in including something if it's redundant for the most part and continues costing millions of dollars to support? It's like selling a car with a gas tank for Supreme and a gas tank for Regular. What's the point?

As for wireless, I doubt we'll see it soon. As much as it may sound weird, I think it would go against Apple's design philosophy. If it's wireless, then how do you charge it up? Means you'll need an adaptor or separate batteries. Both mean additional clutter, and if you're plugging your ipod into something anyways, why not have it be the means of file transfer?

 

[bousozoku]

It's not about wireless headphones, it's about wireless content delivery.

Apple has already experimented with it but they need a small, low power solution similar to what the Palm T|X includes.

 

[zang]

i think that the most important thing for apple to do right now is catch up. i mean catch up in terms of improving the ipod in the features it already has. for example: the 30GB video ipod has only 2 hours of batterey life according to apple. so that means that volume is at its lowest, no backlight... another is firewire.. duh.. i know it must be hard for apple to bounce back to old features that they dropped, it in a way shows signs of weakness. but, sometimes thier image is worth a slap or two if thier product is better.

That's two hours playing video, with the backlight continually on. Even then, I have yet to have my 30Gig drop below 1/2 charge, even when I was showing it off to friends and family the first week I got it (and everyone of course, wanted to watch video).

 

[FoxyKaye]

I'd be soooo much happier with an AM/FM tuner in the next generation iPod - I'd actually consider replacing my 2G at that point. If this is the kind of wireless we're talking about, I'm all on board - otherwise, BT and WiFi seem like a fast way to a drained battery.

 

[lcde]

Personally I think the biggest draw for WIFI in the iPod is music downloads on the go.

Briliant! With the Rokr as the test bed to see if people actually want this feature.

 

[EricNau]

I don't think the iPod should go wireless...The world just isn't ready for it...yet.

 

[wattage]

Well crap, guess I'll put off buying the 5G iPod b/c, afterall, something better might come out sometime soon.

Whatever, I am sick of hearing a new 'rumor' and thinking damn maybe I'll wait for one more iPod release then pull the trigger. If I don't get one for Chirstmas (highly unlikely) then I'll just go buy MY first iPod!

 

[maestro55]

Wi-fi for the ipod would be a really nice addition, so rather than jobs saying that it would use too much battery life, and that it would not be a good idea, Apple needs to work on the battery life issue, and then find a way to implement the wi-fi. Like others said, we need innovation.

 

[pubwvj]

Apple's going to add wireless, but it won't be an iPod in the existing sense. Rather the new handheld will be an iPal with support for MacOSX so you can access your documents, web, email, VOIP, etc. The PDA market has been tanking but Apple knows how to bring it out of the doldrums with a Real World rugged device that keeps your data with you all of your iLife.

 

[Fender2112]

I really think someone should just build the whole MP3 player into the headphones. A flash player can be pretty darn small, so it wouldn't really add to much bulk to the headphones, and you wouldn't have to recharge two things. Throw in a small remote to control them and you have a player I would buy.

But then you are stuck with whatever crappy speaker it comes with.

 

[-Jeff]

Video Streaming

I bet they could get reasonable battery life for streaming video wirelessly by turning off the iPod's display when it is streaming to the TV.

 

[strydr]

LET IT ACT AS A REMOTE FOR FRONTROW, which can wirelessly stream Audio and Video from your mac in another room to your TV.

Heres me hoping for something great in the next iPod.

I second that..