The Beat Goes On: Nano, Touch, Beatles, Wireless?

[homeboy]

Regardless of whether or not the new iPod has Wi-Fi, I can assure you guys that the price points of the widescreen models will be $499 and $599.

Apple WILL have iPods priced in the $249/$349 range, but the 80GB/120GB widescreen iPods will be $499 and $599.

Apple has always done this when releasing a brand new revolutionary product, like the iPod Photo. That iPod was the first one with a color screen, and this one is the first one with a widescreen.

Anyone who is expecting a widescreen multi-touch iPod for $349 is dreaming!

It won't cost more than $349. Like I have said before Apple are VERY competitive with their flagship iPod. The reason the photo was expensive was because it came bundled with a whole lot of stuff. Still it was cheaper than other devices with colour screens. The G4 and the Video were also cheaper than there competitors.

Flagship iPods have during the latest 3-4 years been cheaper than the competition. DAPs with touch screen and Wifi have been on the market for a while and the one comparable to an iPod with a 3.5 inch screen is priced at $349.

Apple love under cutting their competitors which is why the iPod has been dominating.

 

[ds252]

Regardless of whether or not the new iPod has Wi-Fi, I can assure you guys that the price points of the widescreen models will be $499 and $599.

Apple WILL have iPods priced in the $249/$349 range, but the 80GB/120GB widescreen iPods will be $499 and $599.

Apple has always done this when releasing a brand new revolutionary product, like the iPod Photo. That iPod was the first one with a color screen, and this one is the first one with a widescreen.

Anyone who is expecting a widescreen multi-touch iPod for $349 is dreaming!

I have a feeling your about a hundred dollars over on both it will probably be 399 and 499 definitely not what your thinking

 

[madmaxmedia]

Exactly. The killer tech on the iPhone isn't mobile Safari or wifi, it's multi-touch. The combination of that with OS X is what makes the iPhone so exciting. If Apple were to hold back features, I'd say multi-touch is a strong candidate. It's pretty pricey and adds little functionality unless you add in the extras like wifi/Safari.

Just because most MacRumors readers want multi-touch doesn't mean Apple is going to give it to us. Lots of people are clamoring for a touch screen iMac or something. Personally, I don't see the use for it. And from the way Steve Jobs talks, he doesn't see it (in the near future), either.

Do you happen to have any info on the actual cost of their multitouch screen? Just curious, no real big deal.

The other factor here is that for years the full-sized iPods have lagged in sales compared to the Mini and Nano. Having already developed the iPhone UI, Apple has an absolutely wonderful opportunity to make the full-sized iPod sexy again. Better a sexy new product at a higher price, than a less significant revision at a lower price (given that it could use a sales boost.)

iPod sales growth in general is finally flattening after years of explosive year-over-year growth. Adding new product categories (that are actually differentiated from existing products) is a good way for them to grow sales (just as they increased sales by adding the Mini and later Nano and Shuffle.)

 

[Bimmi]

I've little doubt that a touch-screen iPod, should it come about next week, will be priced well over the current standard iPods. I'm guessing $400 if not higher.

And just because the expense of the touchscreen technology (real or assumed? just curious) means that iPhone functions should be incorporated into the iPod, it doesn't necesssarily follow that they will. Apple has intentionally crippled its products to suit its marketing agenda in the past and I see no reason why they wouldn't do so again.

The big attraction of touch-screen technology on the iPod, as far as I'm concerned, is to free up all that space for the display. Beyond this, I really doubt we are going to see anything that revolutionizes the idea of what an iPod is for. But hey, we'll see whose wild-ass guesses are more correct-than-thou on Wednesday, right?

 

[madmaxmedia]

Yeah, most of the fun is in just speculating/discussing what might or might not make sense, regardless of whether we are right or wrong.

 

[8bitrevolution]

The big attraction of touch-screen technology on the iPod, as far as I'm concerned, is to free up all that space for the display. Beyond this, I really doubt we are going to see anything that revolutionizes the idea of what an iPod is for. But hey, we'll see whose wild-ass guesses are more correct-than-thou on Wednesday, right?

Ah. I tend not to think about video much; my iPod is strictly music. I have no spare space for videos.

Has someone suggested a non multi-touch touch screen? That would free up the space for more screen real estate without the extra cost of the hardware for multi-touch. I don't know how much they run but I'm sure with the screen itself and all the horsepower to support it, it's substantial.

 

[homeboy]

Ah. I tend not to think about video much; my iPod is strictly music. I have no spare space for videos.

Has someone suggested a non multi-touch touch screen? That would free up the space for more screen real estate without the extra cost of the hardware for multi-touch. I don't know how much they run but I'm sure with the screen itself and all the horsepower to support it, it's substantial.

Apple has paid a good sun of money for patents and R&D for the multi-touch technology, and you can bet your ass that it will be implemented into future Apple products. After all Apple have planned to milk this technology to the max.

Further more it adds a heck lot of attraction to the device. Without it there are several stuff you can't do with a touch screen.

 

[gugy]

iPod widescreen touch-screen 80gig and 120gig. $299 and $399. Similar look of the iPhone but with small differences.

Wi-fi, maybe, maybe not. At this point this is the major issue so I am not going into the debate, because I think it is 50-50% chance. Sure I want wi-fi but I will not be disappointed if doesn't come with it.

Can't wait for Sept. 5!

 

[Zukum]

Anyone who is expecting a widescreen multi-touch iPod for $349 is dreaming!

Dang it!

 

[madmaxmedia]

What kind of stuff can't you do on a regular-touchscreen (single touch recognizing) display iPod that you could do with a multi-touchscreen display? (in terms of current iPod features- mainly music and movies.)

I don't really see a need to 'pinch' the display to do anything, for example, unless Apple includes more of the non-iPod features. I guess for Photos- is that alone worth the cost difference to put it in the iPod?

Apple has paid a good sun of money for patents and R&D for the multi-touch technology, and you can bet your ass that it will be implemented into future Apple products. After all Apple have planned to milk this technology to the max.

Further more it adds a heck lot of attraction to the device. Without it there are several stuff you can't do with a touch screen.

 

[72930]

What kind of stuff can't you do on a regular-touchscreen (single touch recognizing) display iPod that you could do with a multi-touchscreen display? (in terms of current iPod features- mainly music and movies.)

I don't really see a need to 'pinch' the display to do anything, for example, unless Apple includes more of the non-iPod features. I guess for Photos- is that alone worth the cost difference to put it in the iPod?

Games?

 

[Don Bagles]

What's the difference between a touch and a multi-touch screen?

 

[Bimmi]

Photos are the only thing (off the top of my head) on the iPod that I can see multi-touch being of much use for, and it hardly seems worth the added expense. Besides, I got the impression that the idea of iPod-as-photo-storage never gained all that much traction with the average user.

edit: games is a pretty good argument for it, though.

 

[Zukum]

The 2 major rumors since I recently became a member were-

1- New OSX was to have amazing suprise features like 3D look using core animation and touch interface (they only added coverflow finder).

2- New iMacs were going to be touch-screen with completely new design (They're not. Just a little thinner).

Question - is reveal day always a let down compared to the rumors, or are we ever pleasantly surprised?

 

[madmaxmedia]

What's the difference between a touch and a multi-touch screen?

Multi-touch means the screen and UI can recognize 2 or more fingers touching the screen at once. For example, pinching or expanding photos or browser pages.

A single touch system would only recognize 1 finger, or perhaps make some error trying to interpret the sensor data.

It's cool, but I don't know how many different commands are actually multi-touch in the iPhone. It could help, however, in situations where one makes overlapping presses with different fingers, and the system could recognize the separate commands.

IMO a lot of the richness in the UI is actually due to the graphical feedback you get from different commands. But multi-touch certainly contributes as well.

 

[madmaxmedia]

Question - is reveal day always a let down compared to the rumors, or are we ever pleasantly surprised?

These events are not a let down if you carefully consider what is actually plausible, and what the source of the rumor is. That elminates most of the unfounded rumors. Also, the closer to the event date, generally the more accurate the rumors.

2 recent rumors that were naysayed by almost everyone (yet turned out to be true) were the screenless, clickwheel-less iPod Shuffle, and the Intel switchover.

To be honest, I don't ever recall being flat-out disappointed by any Apple events, because many pie-in-sky rumors are quite obviously not plausible.

 

[homeboy]

What's the difference between a touch and a multi-touch screen?

Apple's multi touch screen is superior to any touch screen on the market. You can drag, whipe pinch, it recognizes several fingers at a time. The possibilities are simply endless and will in the near future allow us to control a device in a way we never thought of before.

It simply adds a new dimension of UI control. If you ask me playing solitaire on it will be fun and the same will go for all the other games Apple have planned. Memory would be a suitable game too.

 

[Marky_Mark]

You CAN just rip The Beatles collection into itunes yourself. Im not sure what the big deal is.

I'm with you. And whilst their contribution to the evolution of popular music is beyond debate, personally, I can take 'em or leave 'em.

 

[madmaxmedia]

I don't think dragging is exclusive to the multi-touch. The HTC Touch smartphone uses drags and wipes for commands IIRC.

Apple's multi touch screen is superior to any touch screen on the market. You can drag, whipe pinch, it recognizes several fingers at a time. The possibilities are simply endless and will in the near future allow us to control a device in a way we never thought of before.

It simply adds a new dimension of UI control. If you ask me playing solitaire on it will be fun and the same will go for all the other games Apple have planned. Memory would be a suitable game too.

 

[Don Bagles]

The 2 major rumors since I recently became a member were-

1- New OSX was to have amazing suprise features like 3D look using core animation and touch interface (they only added coverflow finder).

2- New iMacs were going to be touch-screen with completely new design (They're not. Just a little thinner).

Question - is reveal day always a let down compared to the rumors, or are we ever pleasantly surprised?

Yes. These past few months have been a series of let-down's, aside from the iPhone. However, there have been plenty of times when we've been pleasantly surprised. The Mac Pro is a perfect example of that. Quad Core across ALL models!! !?!?!

 

[homeboy]

I don't think dragging is exclusive to the multi-touch. The HTC Touch smartphone uses drags and wipes for commands IIRC.

Yeah some of the functions mentioned aren't mult-touch exclusive. The big deal is really how well the touch screen on the iPhone work. Apple are really about quality. I have used a few touch screens in the past and some of the devices tend to be underpowered in terms of CPU power, which tend to make the experience slow and laggy especially if you're running something in the background.

 

[Taylor C]

Apple's multi touch screen is superior to any touch screen on the market. You can drag, whipe pinch, it recognizes several fingers at a time. The possibilities are simply endless and will in the near future allow us to control a device in a way we never thought of before.

It simply adds a new dimension of UI control. If you ask me playing solitaire on it will be fun and the same will go for all the other games Apple have planned. Memory would be a suitable game too.

QFT

 

[cammo427]

Here is how wednesday

"Just recently the FCC has given up. Period. Everything is now approved by the FCC, they were tired of being caught up in the hype"-CNN

The new iPod will be as follows-
3 terabytes of flash memory.
32 gigs of ram
1080p
multi-touch screen
FULL os Leopard
iLife 08
Adobe CS3
Bluetooth
Wifi
8mp camera with flash
HD video camera
iChat with video
every song ever played, recorded, even thought of by the Beatles is preloaded on the device
and of course...
guitar hero 3.


seriously people, we can only speculate so much.

but it is so much fun thinking about what could happen!

 

[Don Bagles]

"Just recently the FCC has given up. Period. Everything is now approved by the FCC, they were tired of being caught up in the hype"-CNN

The new iPod will be as follows-
3 terabytes of flash memory.
32 gigs of ram
1080p
multi-touch screen
FULL os Leopard
iLife 08
Adobe CS3
Bluetooth
Wifi
8mp camera with flash
HD video camera
iChat with video
every song ever played, recorded, even thought of by the Beatles is preloaded on the device
and of course...
guitar hero 3.


seriously people, we can only speculate so much.

but it is so much fun thinking about what could happen!

I think anything they release will be disappointing now.

 

[J@ffa]

The new iPod will be as follows-
3 terabytes of flash memory.
32 gigs of ram
1080p
multi-touch screen
FULL os Leopard
iLife 08
Adobe CS3
Bluetooth
Wifi
8mp camera with flash
HD video camera
iChat with video
every song ever played, recorded, even thought of by the Beatles is preloaded on the device
and of course...
guitar hero 3.

No 3G support? I'll wait for the second gen.