Proprietary iPod Headphone Jacks?

[FlamDrag]

Just to play devils advocate - I doubt that it would make things MORE expensive for Apple as they would likely (in my guess) simply eliminate the 1/8" jack and keep the current dock port at the bottom. HP's would simply plug into the existing dock technology. So in true apple form, they'd be simplifying the iPod.

Conversely, they'd have to make (although this shouldn't be difficult considering their existing part structure) headphones to do this.

What I think IS a good idea is to make FireWire headphones which would work with all Macs with a firewire port (with a software update - sure that could work )

FireWire should (maybe, I'm not a techno-nut to say for sure) provide similar benefits to USB sound. That is to say less noise and a clearer sound. It's possible that dockPhones(TM) could accomplish the same.

Although, it's likely that the addition of a firewire port would not save any space at all.

 

[neilw]

Proprietary headphone jack = horrible idea.

Originally posted by Exponent
I got a 30 GB iPod, and have connected it smartly into the interior of my car.

Pictures?

You know what I'd really like on an iPod?

2. A random button. It irks me no end that control of the random function is buried so deeply into a rarely used menu structure.

Totally agreed. Doesn't necessarily need a separate button per se; some way of turning random on or off quickly via the existing buttons would be fine.

3. A published protocol so that when my car stereo turns off, my iPod automatically pauses and turns off. But that may be a tall task....)

All they need is an option in the iPod to automatically pause and/or turn off when external power is removed, since that would already work with the Belkin adaptor. Simple. I agree it would be nice; I have to remember to manually pause my iPod whenever I turn the car off.

Option to turn off isn't really needed, actually, since it'll turn itself off once it's paused.

 

[drjekyl]

Originally posted by ELYXR
Apple should be investing in Bluetooth headphones and integrating a Bluetooth chip in the iPod for syncing contacts, transfering files, etc. I hate it when my iPod headphone wires snag on a chair or railing. The earphones rip right out of my ears.

Surely Bluetooth, being a digital connection, could provide a high fidelity signal regardless of the slow-ish transfer rate. Any thoughts?

I may be way off on this, I haven't seen the specs on Bluetooth, But I don't think that bluetooth has the ability to cary audio (music) with high quality. Not yet anyway. If you were o.k. with your music sounding muffled and crappy like a cell-phone conversation then it could work.

 

[FlamDrag]

I don't really expect the next generation of iPods to have any set button areas at all. just a smooth white surface with a backlit area that contextually changes as needed. This might allow for customizeable controls much like toolbars are now in most applications.

 

[Awimoway]

Why is Apple so hell-bent on slimming the iPod? They just sacrificed 2 hours of battery time to slim down the 2nd generation--two hours that I wouldn't trade my older iPod for. I mean, it's not like it's some kind of unwieldy brick to begin with. Even the originals are a beautifully slim package for what they offer.

I applaud Apple for always strivng to do better, but this slimming business seems to only be making it worse. Actually, I really doubt this last story is true. The remotes are awful. They feel cheap and they make your headphone cord so insanely long that it's almost unusable.

 

[rueyeet]

If a proprietary headphone jack would mean I had to use the Apple remote before I could plug in my own headphones, I wouldn't buy an iPod with that "feature". I use Sony noise-reduction headphones on the bus, and never ever use the Apple remote.

The remote just isn't THAT cool that it should be a required element of iPod usage. Period.

 

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by Awimoway
I applaud Apple for always strivng to do better, but this slimming business seems to only be making it worse. Actually, I really doubt this last story is true. The remotes are awful. They feel cheap and they make your headphone cord so insanely long that it's almost unusable.

I disagree.

I carry my iPod in a pouch on the chest strap of my TiBag, connect the remote to the pocket seam of my pants, and the headphones reach easily to my ears.

Perfect solution.

Now when the iPod is clipped to my waist, there's a little more excess wire, but that's better than not enough cable.

 

[heeeraldo]

two points, one post

headphone jacks:
the only piece of portable audio equipment with a proprietary headphone jack I've ever seen is the Sony MZ-E10 (click here for info).
Even then, it came with both an adapter for use without the remote.

the thing that I don't get is how thin Apple wants to make the iPod - the E10 is 9.9mm thick, so a 1/8th inch jack is an impossibility; certainly not the case with any foreseeable iPods. Unless there's a sudden size drop in hard drives, or a switch to high-capacity removable media.

remote issues:
being a minidisc user (for now, anyway), I'm familiar with remotes. Easiest way to get around it is to buy a pair of short-cord headphones from audiocubes, so that the remote falls just above the waist with the unit in my pocket (I'm 5'10"), and I can clip it to my shirt. Or the zipper on my fleece. Or the strap of my bag. You get the idea.

EDIT: I forgot the word "pocket"

 

[rt_brained]

Re: Proprietary iPod Headphone Jacks?

Originally posted by Macrumors
AppleInsider posts a rumor that the iPod may see a "proprietary headphone jack" to slim down the profile even further. A standard jack would be included on the remote.

Yeahriiight <laughing>. I guess the next thing you're going to tell me is that they're developing a "proprietary charging device" for the iPod.

Can you believe the things some people say for attention around here?

 

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by gopher
Yuck. I agree with many here. A proprietary jack is a BAD idea. I never listen to earbuds since they never give me enough audio. They call those earbuds fancy, and maybe they are for earbuds, but they constantly fall out of my ears.

I'm not sure what you mean by not giving you enough audio. I have a pair of Panasonic earbuds that I think are the best earphones I've ever used. They provide an incredible sense of surround sound and audio depth. Now, I'll grant that they aren't quite the same as a nice pair of professional level headphones, but no earphones will be. So, I don't quite see what you have against earbuds...

Originally posted by FlamDrag
...
What I think IS a good idea is to make FireWire headphones which would work with all Macs with a firewire port
...

Just a technical comment. From my understanding of FireWire, I don't think that this is very practically feasible. FireWire requires a controller on each end, unlike USB. This makes it a powerful standard for some things, but to try to have an integrated controller in a pair of earphones would be impractical, at best...

 

[bennetsaysargh]

a FW headphone wouldn't be good at all. almost all iPod cases have been made for the standard headphone jack. it's already bad enough they screwed case makers for a bit with the touch buttons, but if they were to do this, having a pair of your own headphones would be impossible.

 

[themadchemist]

With Apple always chiming on about standards, it would be incredibly hypocritical for this to occur. However, I think I could imagine Apple doing this to slim down the profile EVEN MORE. I think it is slim enough, perhaps too slim. I liked the original size the best. I kind of think that the current offering is too slim as it is.

 

[Phil Of Mac]

The current design is slim enough. I think that they couldn't possibly slim it down so much that a 1/8 inch headphone jack would be too big, unless they made it less than 1/8 inch thick.

 

[damax452]

no

Seems like a bad idea...I wasn't too thrilled w/ the proprietary dock connector either but I got used to it. The headphone connector is going too far. When in doubt, stick to standards Apple. Standard ports/plugs are essential to making a good and useable electronic device.

However, if they revamped the remote and made it lighter, smaller, and easier to clip to things i wouldnt mind using it inline with my headphones.

 

[zach]

While I'm pretty sure we won't see these proprietary jacks, I am guessing we will see a proprietary wireless standard from Apple.

A proprietary wireless audio standard would allow Apple to design good wireless headphones, and not have to use any headphone jack.

 

[applekid]

What if it mean we'd finally get wireless headphones?

Bluetooth is highly unlikely and wireless headphones in general is impossible (Have you ever seen a wireless headphone that doesn't connect to the RCA jacks? Have you seen one that doesn't use a charger?).

 

[timothyjoelwrig]

Think outside the pod,...

I, for one, don't think a propritary jack would be a bad idea. There are two assumptions that msot commentors seem to be making.

A: A proprietary jack would force you to use only Apple headphones. I was under the impression that the remote plugged into the new jack and you could plug whatever you wanted into the remote. Doesn't sound horrible to me.

B: Apple will always use hard drives as a storage medium. There are many reasonably priced storage mediums that are much smaller than a hard drive, and with their prices dropping as most technology does, would it be so difficult to think that maybe Apple would consider CompactFlash (already at 4GB) or something else once capacity and price allow them to use a much smaller form factor? Not to mention solid state memory mediums typically use less power.

IMHO, it would seem a minor inconvenience to plug my headphones into a remote if my iPod were the size of a matchbook. That's of course not to say that that will be happening anytime soon.

- TJW

 

[robeen]

Re: Think outside the pod,...

A: A proprietary jack would force you to use only Apple headphones. I was under the impression that the remote plugged into the new jack and you could plug whatever you wanted into the remote. Doesn't sound horrible to me.

The wires on my remote are already frayed - so I would have no sound just because of my remote - no thanks! Plus: the headphone jack is about 1/8 of an inch across - its not even limiting anything yet!!

Your other comments on using the new high capacity solid state memory are good though - and I agree. Samsung seems to be expanding their memory chips at a fast rate.

Rob