Time for an iPod update?

[B@SS_SHOCK]

Ok so there's a new iPod update at last. But it could be time for a much bigger update. With all this colour screen phenomenon with PDA's, mobiles and the like, isn't it time for the iPod to sport one?

After all, the Zire 71 has a big high resolution colour screen for $299 so I can't understand why the iPod can't have one and use it for viewing photos from a camera module or somethin. If mobiles and PDA's can be snapshotter or movie recorders etc, why can't the iPod? But i'd do expect Apple if it did had something grand like this that it have a barebones for people who just want a music player. Anyways, what do people think, leave it a jukebox or much more......?

 

[Chimaera]

no thanks - I like my battery life the way it is

 

[Foxer]

Why can't people like the iPod for what it is - the best portable MP3/AAC player on the market. I do not want a camera, colour screen, note pad or any other functionality that would dilute the product, lower performance, drain battery or increase costs. I've never once used the contact or game functions that do exist.

I've got a camera to take pictures, a game boy to play games, VTR to film movies, and a phone to make calls. None of these devices do the work of another device. If my life gets so awful that I need a Palm, then I'll buy a Palm. I don't want some device that does everything. but in a half-assed way.

What I would like is an iPod wireless remote, that I can plug it into speakers and listen to it around the house and not have to get up to change tracks/volume.

 

[pyrotoaster]

Here are my thoughts:
Even though I think the new iPods are great, I'm not going to buy one.
Think Secret says that we'll see an OLED-sporting iPod sometime early next year. Considering Think Secret's stellar accuracy, I'm inclined to believe them.

That said, I'm betting it won't be just a color screen iPod. The iPod is an mp3/AAC player. I love my iPod because it's a great music player. Something sporting an OLED sounds like a different breed of DLD to me.

Can you say iNewton...?

 

[medea]

I think people go crazy for accessories , but I don't understand why. I have a digital camera thank you so I don't need one hooked up to my cell my pda and my damn mp3 player or should I say AAC player, how about my digital music player.....heh.
who needs a color screen to read the names of a few albums, it would only drain the battery even more.

 

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by medea
I think people go crazy for accessories , but I don't understand why. I have a digital camera thank you so I don't need one hooked up to my cell my pda and my damn mp3 player or should I say AAC player, how about my digital music player.....heh.
who needs a color screen to read the names of a few albums, it would only drain the battery even more.

Apple isn't just going to stick an OLED on an iPod (although I hear they're pretty good with power). They're going to "innovate" with some new DLD.

 

[mangoman]

Overall, I fall on the side of Keep It Monochrome, as color wouldn't *really* enhance the listening experience. But... (oh lord here i go again), being able to Inkwell onto that screen would seal the deal for me to step up and buy a new one.

Steve, is that so much to ask?

PDA hungry but holding back,

mangoman

 

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by mangoman
Overall, I fall on the side of Keep It Monochrome, as color wouldn't *really* enhance the listening experience. But... (oh lord here i go again), being able to Inkwell onto that screen would seal the deal for me to step up and buy a new one.

Steve, is that so much to ask?

PDA hungry but holding back,

mangoman

Right, an mp3 doesn't need a color screen. That's excessive.

What ever this next-generation OLED iPod-like device is, it'll make much better use of color, I'm sure (maybe it'll finally put Inkwell to use, too...).

 

[jxyama]

i have to disagree and say that one of the greatest things about ipod is its simplicity. adding too much will destroy its core functionality as a portable digital music player.

waiting for an OLED is like waiting for a 10 GHz CPU. it will happen. sometime in the future. OLED is still under heavy R&D phase and i would not make any purchasing decisions today based on the availability (or lack thereof) of that technology. if it was consumer-ready, it would have been used in other applications already, at a heavy price premium, i'd bet. ipod will probably not be the first adapter of OLED. i can't personally think of any concrete examples, but i am sure there are other appliances/applications where properties of OLED would be absolutely essential and those would be the first to adopt the technology.

 

[toughboy]

Originally posted by Foxer
Why can't people like the iPod for what it is - the best portable MP3/AAC player on the market. I do not want a camera, colour screen, note pad or any other functionality that would dilute the product, lower performance, drain battery or increase costs. I've never once used the contact or game functions that do exist.

...

What I would like is an iPod wireless remote, that I can plug it into speakers and listen to it around the house and not have to get up to change tracks/volume.

I certrainly agree with the wireless remote.. I would even want wireless headphones... bluetooth could be used with, wouldnt it???

I use the contact function, but never wanted the iPod to be color screened.. maybe after I'll buy a digital camera, I may want it to, but not yet...

In opinion Apple should release their own Palms, instead of upgrading the iPod to a Palm...

 

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by jxyama
i have to disagree and say that one of the greatest things about ipod is its simplicity. adding too much will destroy its core functionality as a portable digital music player.

waiting for an OLED is like waiting for a 10 GHz CPU. it will happen. sometime in the future. OLED is still under heavy R&D phase and i would not make any purchasing decisions today based on the availability (or lack thereof) of that technology. if it was consumer-ready, it would have been used in other applications already, at a heavy price premium, i'd bet. ipod will probably not be the first adapter of OLED. i can't personally think of any concrete examples, but i am sure there are other appliances/applications where properties of OLED would be absolutely essential and those would be the first to adopt the technology.

I agree when you say that the iPod's simplicity is part of what makes it so great.

But, I'm going to trust Think Secret on the OLED issue. They've got a laundry list of reasons for the OLED, and they seem believeable enough. The key there however, is that the iPod TS talks about is "radically different." That basically means it's not an iPod at all, it just vaguely resembles one.

 

[Wardofsky]

If it gets a colour* screen and the ability to store things like a PDA, it becomes a PDA.
SJ said clearly that anything like that would not suit them.
Apple doesn't tend drop off their word.

 

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by Foxer
I've got a camera to take pictures, a game boy to play games, VTR to film movies, and a phone to make calls. None of these devices do the work of another device. If my life gets so awful that I need a Palm, then I'll buy a Palm. I don't want some device that does everything. but in a half-assed way.

Well, a lot of people do want these features. And since people aren't going to carry 5 or 6 devices around with them, it makes sense to integrate some of the features. That's why my phone has quite good gaming ability (Gameboy emulator, plus several 'native' games including a excellent version of Doom!), a calendar/scheduler (which integrates simply with iCal), a camera for casual shots or short video clips (since I don't want to carry a camera everywhere, but it's handy to have) etc...etc...

There's enormous potential for development in portable devices, and Apple needs to be in that game. Whether they bring out a device to accompany the iPod, or integrate the functionality into it (as they're currently doing..).

I just believe Apple can't afford not to tackle Palm/Symbian/SmartPhone.

Mike.

 

[mangoman]

What phone are you using? I'm looking to get one soon.

 

[gopher]

Re: Time for an iPod update already?

Originally posted by B@SS_SHOCK
Ok so there's a new iPod update at last. But it could be time for a much bigger update. With all this colour screen phenomenon with PDA's, mobiles and the like, isn't it time for the iPod to sport one?

After all, the Zire 71 has a big high resolution colour screen for $299 so I can't understand why the iPod can't have one and use it for viewing photos from a camera module or somethin. If mobiles and PDA's can be snapshotter or movie recorders etc, why can't the iPod? But i'd do expect Apple if it did had something grand like this that it have a barebones for people who just want a music player. Anyways, what do people think, leave it a jukebox or much more......?

Umm...an iPod update only 2 months after the last one? I don't think so. Apple has updated iPods:

Nov 2001, August 2002, April 2003. Don't expect another one till 2004.

 

[jxyama]

for every feature in addition to the digital music playback one puts on an ipod, one pays a price: added cost, weight, size and reduced battery performance. in a market where some people can't ever have enough battery life or capacity, i can't see how adding pseudo-useful features to ipod will make it better.

right now, cameras on pda/phone are at best 1 mpx. that is fine for web and "just for fun" pictures but to say those are a "real" camera is absurd. similarly, mp3 playback on pda/phone are either expansion card based or very small ram based. neither of those options address the market ipod succeeds in - very high capacity music players. ipod is not in a competition against pda/phones and vice versa.

changes in the interface and inputting method required to make ipod useful as a pda will practically destroy its core music playback capability. other non-ipod high capacity music players haven't received the same acclaim ipod has partially because of clumsy UI. imagine navigating 4000+ songs using treo's thumb keyboard or palm's stylus input method.

until there's a way to integrate genuine camera replacement (3+ mpx), i think ipod should stick to doing what it does best.

[edit] i forgot to mention... i personally believe pda is on its way out. carrying both pda and cell phone simply doesn't make sense. they will probably be fused together and we should see more phones with pda capabilities. so i don't see why apple should develop pdas - that market's already over the hill. steve jobs already said apple won't be making any phones. the competition is already tight in that market and i don't see how apple has any advantage over others. if there was a killer app requiring a very close integration between computers and phones, then apple will have an advantage over nokias and sony ericcsons. until then, no point in apple getting into phones either. [/edit]