Secret 4G iPod Features?

[jesuscandle]

This is the one thing that annoys the heck out of me ever since the first iPod. That the thing doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. Drains the batteries needlessly (because it takes a while before it goes into standby) and also screws you over big time if your iPod crashes on the road with no Mac/PC nearby to reset it. Never heard of iPod crashing, yes it does that every once in a while, at least for me when it has problems reading a track. Locks up and doesn't react to any input from the buttons anymore, and no ON/OFF switch to reset it!
C'mon Apple, its just a simple button/switch!
Regards,

Ahmed (owner of a 1st Gen iPod)

I think it's worth noting that the ipod doesn't have an on/off switch ON PURPOSE. Yes, you can press specific keys to power the device down, but...why?

It took me a few months of using it to really get used to this idea of "not turning it off," but once I did, it made perfect sense. Assume the device is off, when you want to listen to music, press any button. Voila. It's on. When you're done listening, press play/pause and the music stops playing. Now, here's the tricky part, don't do anything else. It turns off by itself in a minute or two. There's no complicated on/off toggle switch or extraneous buttons. You really won't lose power if the display is powered for a minute or two when you're done using it.

 

[kenaustus]

There are several things that come to mind;

1. It will be a feature (or features) that wow us - to some degree at least.

2. I will need 10.4.5 (or Tiger) for it to work.

3. It will possibly be integrated only with the Mac, leaving PC users to look at Apple when buying a new computer. Pity.

4. It will require changes to iTunes and the iPod firmware, cutting Real off at the knees.

5. I'll be more than happy that I just upgraded my old 5GB to a new 40GB.

 

[bluefido]

This is the one thing that annoys the heck out of me ever since the first iPod. That the thing doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. Drains the batteries needlessly (because it takes a while before it goes into standby) and also screws you over big time if your iPod crashes on the road with no Mac/PC nearby to reset it. Never heard of iPod crashing, yes it does that every once in a while, at least for me when it has problems reading a track. Locks up and doesn't react to any input from the buttons anymore, and no ON/OFF switch to reset it!
C'mon Apple, its just a simple button/switch!
Regards,

Ahmed (owner of a 1st Gen iPod)

I was also an owner of the first iPod. To reset, hold down the the play button and the menu button for 5 seconds. To turn off, hold down the play button. Now, I am the proud owner of a 4G iPod!!

 

[babazoid]

KNOB!

This is the one thing that annoys the heck out of me ever since the first iPod. That the thing doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. Drains the batteries needlessly (because it takes a while before it goes into standby) and also screws you over big time if your iPod crashes on the road with no Mac/PC nearby to reset it. Never heard of iPod crashing, yes it does that every once in a while, at least for me when it has problems reading a track. Locks up and doesn't react to any input from the buttons anymore, and no ON/OFF switch to reset it!
C'mon Apple, its just a simple button/switch!
Regards,

Ahmed (owner of a 1st Gen iPod)

Dude, you're such a knob.

HOLD DOWN PLAY

 

[TheSkipper]

I am new to the iPod world but was wondering what this iPod at Home feature is that everyone is talking about. It would be nice if Apple released some accessory that you could just attach to the iPod to make it connect to the Airport Express. I can't wait to hear what new, innovative idea Apple has up its sleeve.

 

[Windowlicker]

This is the one thing that annoys the heck out of me ever since the first iPod. That the thing doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. Drains the batteries needlessly (because it takes a while before it goes into standby) and also screws you over big time if your iPod crashes on the road with no Mac/PC nearby to reset it. Never heard of iPod crashing, yes it does that every once in a while, at least for me when it has problems reading a track. Locks up and doesn't react to any input from the buttons anymore, and no ON/OFF switch to reset it!
C'mon Apple, its just a simple button/switch!
Regards,

Ahmed (owner of a 1st Gen iPod)

if it crashes, press the menu button for say 5 seconds --> reboot.

edit: haha seems like people took Ahmed's post personally ...well, at least we made sure he got answers to his problems. peace.

 

[JoePike]

Other thoughts

I think after seeing the 4G iPod teardown pics we'll agree that there isn't a wifi card hiding in there, so unless they release some kind of an adapter that hooks into the dock connector along with a firmware update to drive it, it's probably not going to be the wireless remote for airtunes we've all be fantasizing about.

Home-on-Pod sounds great, I guess, and I could see something like that going hand in hand with the 10.3.5 release. In fact, they seeded that to developers, didn't they? Somebody mess around with it and see if you can find any nuggets buried in there, huh?

I'm not as optimistic as some on the idea of a video-out on the iPod. Again, it would take a special adapter that would hook into the dock connector and run to a TV, and as people have mentioned that would also work on the 3G iPods since they have the dock connector. Defeats the purpose of this whole rumor, really.

Other speculations.....I'm not a GarageBand user, but I know Jobs is just infatuated with it. Sounds like it's pretty cool. Is there anything they could do to make the iPod a more integral part of that experience? Like I said I've never used it, so this is just pure guesswork on my part.

-Joe

 

[molcas&e'sdad]

I'm with some of the others posting in this thread who would like WiFi capabilities with the iPod so that I could use the iPod as a wireless remote control to play music via Airport Express and my home stereo.

I picture myself sitting on my patio, listening to Jimmy Buffett from my iPod over my outdoor speakers, Corona in hand ...

Life is good

 

[ifjake]

alright there probably have been enough posts about how to reset/"turnoff" your iPod. maybe there's some process to booting up an iPod from complete power off that would take time thus get annoying having to wait for it. something like that. (though i am curious how the process will work with the click wheel. any mini owners know?)

 

[FriarCrazy]

The problem with internal WiFi in an iPod is that it would destroy the battery life. As any laptop owner (Mac or PC) knows, having your wireless turned on makes your battery drain significantly faster. Wireless in an iPod is unfortunatly not very practical at this time. (It would be hella cool though... Airport Express with my iPod. *Drool*)

*EDIT* Also... The reason why you cannot turn off your iPod is that if it is completly powered down, powering back on would take forever. It would have to reload the entire OS, song lists, etc... The iPod was designed to be as snappy as possible, during its conception Jobs was always nagging the engineers to make the menus quick and responisve. The iPod just was not created to have down time.

 

[snowdog]

I'm not sure whether you're geniunely upset or are trolling, but why in the hell would anyone get upset about Apple blocking out someone like Real?

iTMS already has arguably the best catalog and ease-of-use of the competitors. Why in the world would people care to jump through the dumbest hoops to get content from Real, of all companies? Besides the legal argument of hijacking content, I would be scared to go near "Harmony" based on experiences with the crap they already offer.

This is akin to whining when you already have something like nice steak or halibut before you and manage to get upset with the restaurant because they don't offer White Castle sliders on the menu.

It makes little sense to care about that kind of choice.

Maybe we're getting OT here, but one thing that is pretty neat at the Real camp, is songs with higher bitrate.
iTMS is using AAC 128kbps, Real is using AAC 192kbps.
Doesn't matter anyway, I live in Sweden and can't get none...

Sorry for getting OT.

 

[netytan]

My vote, rather my wish, let programmers get there hands on the IPod API. We can already develope software for mobile phones, why not the IPod . And that would be so much fun!

Mark.

 

[PDubNYC]

main new feature is not wireless, but a wired transfer of tracks/albums/artists between pods.
apple to release accessory to facilitate this within 2 months.
.

yeah, that'll happen.

Keep dreaming

 

[requies]

alright there probably have been enough posts about how to reset/"turnoff" your iPod. maybe there's some process to booting up an iPod from complete power off that would take time thus get annoying having to wait for it. something like that. (though i am curious how the process will work with the click wheel. any mini owners know?)

menu and select buttons.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61705

 

[MongoTheGeek]

Perhaps it has a virus to install OSX over top of wintel boxes...

Text to speech.

Home on iPod

 

[tjwett]

This is the one thing that annoys the heck out of me ever since the first iPod. That the thing doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. Drains the batteries needlessly (because it takes a while before it goes into standby) and also screws you over big time if your iPod crashes on the road with no Mac/PC nearby to reset it. Never heard of iPod crashing, yes it does that every once in a while, at least for me when it has problems reading a track. Locks up and doesn't react to any input from the buttons anymore, and no ON/OFF switch to reset it!
C'mon Apple, its just a simple button/switch!
Regards,

Ahmed (owner of a 1st Gen iPod)

you're kidding right? hold down the PLAY button and the machine turns off. click the HOLD switch to make sure it won't turn back on in your pocket. lastly, RTFM.

 

[trox_355]

I am new to the iPod world but was wondering what this iPod at Home feature is that everyone is talking about. It would be nice if Apple released some accessory that you could just attach to the iPod to make it connect to the Airport Express. I can't wait to hear what new, innovative idea Apple has up its sleeve.

Think about your desktop and all of your documents--the things in your Home folder (presuming you're using a Mac). Home on iPod would let you copy all of these files and settings to your iPod so you would be able to access these on any Mac you use.

 

[Surreal]

eventually someoene with a 4g ipod will dismantel it and post pictures.. maybe then we will figure it out

you mean, eventually someone will lose all of their senses?

perhaps

 

[()verBored]

What are you guys talking about...the Ipod powers down quite frequently. I don't know what the time out is, but I believe it is 48 hours? If you don't use your device for that period...it shuts all the way down (ALL THE WAY). Not STANDBY. This is automatic, and is done to save battery life when you don't use it for extended periods. Hasn't anyone but me seen the little reboot Apple Icon pop up on the screen when you fire up your Ipod after a short hiatus of a few days? No, my Ipod didn't crash or something - it simply turned itself all the way off!

As for the super secret new capabilities of the 4G - I'm putting money on an adapter that will enable it to be a wi-fi remote control for the Airport Express. This just seems so logical. The Ipod will be a mini music server - wireless indeed! This doesn't have to mean the Ipod has a wireless communications chip inside (there's no room for it!), just that it could work with new technologies such as wi-fi.

And no, I doubt Apple will let Ipod owners swap songs with each other (via an Ipod to Ipod link cable - as cool as that would be), just won't happen with all the DRM issues!

I might put money on it being a photo storage device with video out - once again, even if it doesn't have a video decoder chip inside doesn't mean it can't communicate with one.

 

[aswitcher]

Think about your desktop and all of your documents--the things in your Home folder (presuming you're using a Mac). Home on iPod would let you copy all of these files and settings to your iPod so you would be able to access these on any Mac you use.

Home is definetly coming but it might be Tiger before we see it.

The lack of a remote with the latest release does not seem to me now so much about Apple saving money but makes me suspicious that they will release a wireless remote for your ipod that goes on your keychain, and the bit that attaches to the ipod to allow this also allows the iPod to talk to the Airport Express... dreaming...

 

[cslewis]

-New Games
-Built in iPod to go features
-iPod to iPod music transfers ( Share songs with friends on the subway, or on a plane).
-Widgets on the iPod (stickies, etc.)

Just a thought...

 

[wPod]

home on iPod would rock as well!!! but then could i format it so i could read my documents from a windows machine (i hate school and work where there are only windows machines)

 

[deepkid]

Yah, some poddies..

Actually I have a G4 iPod and the backlight does have somewhat of a blue tinge. It's not just in photographs. However, the color screen comment was a joke (I think).

I remember hearing the same thing when i got my 1st gen and my 3rd gen..that some people's screens in fact did look slightly blue. I think it depends on the type of lighting around the pod. Both my backlights are white as ice. A slight tint of blue would be cool, but oh well.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Maybe we're getting OT here, but one thing that is pretty neat at the Real camp, is songs with higher bitrate.
iTMS is using AAC 128kbps, Real is using AAC 192kbps.
Doesn't matter anyway, I live in Sweden and can't get none...

Sorry for getting OT.

I lived in Sweden in third grade ('91) and went to MalmaSkolan in Uppsala.

Anyhow for the juicy info, my friend from Woodside, California just e-mailed me a leak of an Apple press release (it is apparently a memo from Steve Jobs to someone named Bob):

CUPERTINO, California—August 5, 2004—On July 19, Apple® introduced the new iPod®, the fourth generation of the world’s number one portable digital music player, featuring Apple’s patent pending Click Wheel, which combines the smooth and continuous scrolling of a touch-sensitive wheel with five push buttons for superior one handed navigation. The new iPod also features up to 12 hours battery life and Shuffle Songs, a new command in the main menu which gives users instant access to one of the most exciting new ways to listen to their music library.

Today Apple is proud to announce that there is more than music inside the new generation of iPods. Today Apple announces the "Yes! I've Got a Golden Ticket!" promotion to coincide with Tim Burton's 2005 release of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Five iPods will be produced that contain golden tickets inside. One has already been sold, and the other four will be released randomly as the release of Charlie and the Chocolate factory nears.

Although there is actually a gold leaf ticket inside five iPods, it is possible to determine if your iPod is a winner via a key combination which will show an icon of a golden ticket if you are a winner. Any user with a golden ticket who has physically opened the iPod will be disqualified. Instructions on a key combination to determine if you are a winner will be given out at an undisclosed time, and at undisclosed event. The golden leaf ticket, with a very unique design, will be used as proof of ownership.

The five lucky winners face a fate perhaps more magical than Charlie's; they will tour the Apple Campus with Steve Jobs himself and learn about all the new technologies Apple is hard at work creating.

---Ok Bob, that's the "vision thing" idea; make it happen! I had some ideas for some of our world famous slogans:

THE MINIMIZE BUTTON TASTES LIKE A MINIMIZE BUTTON
BUT I WANT MY FOURTH GENERATION IPOD NOW, DADDY
...ahh just get chiat on it, thx....

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.

 

[Elan0204]

This is very intriguing. I don't know why they would publicize the secret. Knowing there is a secret feature is certainly not going to get me to buy an iPod more than knowing the actual feature. Whatever this secret is, I am looking forward to finding it out, regardless.