Touch Screen Video iPod Coming Soon?

[boncellis]

Front Row on iPod

remote capabilities? you mean to walk up to your couch, take out your vpod and point it at your imac to do some front rowing?

I'm glad to see I'm not insane (or at least on a similar plane of sanity) for thinking the iPod could be used as a remote for Front Row. Front Row is typical Apple: beautiful interface; elegant interaction; and a long wait for it to be further implemented.

Not only could I imagine an iPod remotely controlling Front Row, but perhaps even an interface similar to Front Row on the iPod screen itself. I'm speaking purely from a design point of view, I don't presume to know what the hardware specifications would have to be.

 

[chicagdan]

Yeah, you can not rip a DVD burn it to say 30 DVDs and stand outside your house and sell 'em. If the DVD rip is for your own use and you already own it, there is no problem.

The law is actually fairly murky on this issue ... the movie studios contend that any ripping is illegal, but the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has never been applied to individual users, so we don't know how the court would weigh the new law vs. established fair use doctrine. Most legal scholars in the field assume that fair use would hold up and people would have the right to use their content as they see fit, but there are others who argue that DMCA was passed with the intention of overriding fair use. Unless and until Hollywood takes individuals to court, we can't know for sure.

 

[balamw]

Yeah, you can not rip a DVD burn it to say 30 DVDs and stand outside your house and sell 'em. If the DVD rip is for your own use and you already own it, there is no problem.

While I agree that there is very little chance that you will be prosecuted for simply ripping DVDs you have purchased, that doesn't make it legal. The difference between CD ripping and DVD ripping, is that DVDs include CSS as a technological means of copy protection. By ripping a DVD, even for personal use, you have to circumvent CSS and thus may be performing an illegal act under the DMCA.

Sing it with me D. M. C. A. it's fun to live with the D. M. C. A....

EDIT: Beat me to it chicagdan.

B

 

[jer2eydevil88]

First off

I have a 4G iPod and I love it.

That said I also feel that I am not being left behind, I felt a bit lucky to have bought this a few months before the release of the current gen iPod. Most of the accessories that were available to iPod's up until October '05 were made obsolete with the 5G iPod's release.

Also I am very interested in more developments on this particular product. I would buy one regardless of it being smudged up by fingerprints, people please if you want perfection live in a bubble!

I love apple owning the digital music market, it makes my forthcoming Macbook the center of the mobile digital entertainment world. I also can't wait to boot Windows on it ;-) hah I want to use Office 2k3 and Half Life 2 on that sucka.

 

[eXan]

I get enough finger prints on my screen as is. No thank you.

Right! If they are going to make a "real" video iPod, they should not call it iPod, because iPod is a music player first of all

 

[Platform]

I quickly made up an image of what I'd like the iPod to look like.

It would have an orientation sensor, like the Powerbooks have, so it can instantly change the position and orientation of the click wheel based on the iPod's orientation.

The click-wheel "picture" of course only shows, when you actually touch the face of the iPod (except when it's in the vertical music-mode).

The advantage of basically keeping the way you use an iPod unchanged is that nobody has to relearn anything and people that just want to use it the way they've used an old iPod could continue to do so.

Additionally by leaving the form factor alone you don't run into any compatibility issues and keep the trademark-look of the iPod.

This is a very nice design

 

[chicagdan]

By ripping a DVD, even for personal use, you have to circumvent CSS and thus may be performing an illegal act under the DMCA.

The operative word here is *may*. Studios will probably never push this issue. After they lost the Betamax case in the early 80s (the one that established fair use case law), the MPAA declared that they made a mistake taking this issue to the Supreme Court because they ended up losing even more ground than they had when they started. They don't want to risk this happening again, so they won't prosecute individuals or look for further clarification of DMCA, they'd rather just keep the fear out there for individuals, bring the hammer down on those who provide ripping software and look for technological means to stop piracy. Once either BluRay or HD-DVD becomes the standard, it's going to be much tougher to rip DVD (although nothing's impossible.)

 

[kupua]

THink Secret reported on a guy who said there would be a Apple branded Plasma

Same difference. You know what I mean.

 

[aswitcher]

In April I am hoping to see a Video iPod (6G?) and new iBook 13.3", celebrating both of Apple's lines. I would love to see wireless in the Video iPod but figure that the Music iPod will get that in the second half of the year from what people are rumouring. To me this means that the Video iPod with wireless wont appear until the 2nd rev in say October for Christmas sales.

A tablet thought is still my dream for a carry everywhere device.

 

[sartinsauce]

A tablet thought is still my dream for a carry everywhere device.

Agreed.

An Apple tablet is my dream for a carry everywhere device.

 

[dsglaser]

provide subscription services

The best ipod upgrade at this point (in my humble opinion) would be the ability to utilize subscription services. I suspect the Rhapsody and Vongo to-go paradigms will be the most prominent mechanism to access digital content in the future. Buying everything you want to watch is too expensive! Afforddable content is more important than screensize or even wireless capabilities.

P.S
I suspect Apple might impliment a finger print resistant screen for the vpod. Or hopefully some sort of navigation wheel on the back.

 

[Stella]

Right! If they are going to make a "real" video iPod, they should not call it iPod, because iPod is a music player first of all

And that would be a mistake... it would lose its brand name "iPod". Apple absolutely should keep the name - iPod.

I'm very sure a video iPod will still play music... Apple aren't stupid enough to not do this.

Apple call 5G iPod - "iPod with Video". There isn't any reason why apple can't call any video iPod, "Video iPod".

Still a music player, just another evolution.

 

[B-Dog]

click wheel

I think that all this talk about having to look at the screen to use the click wheel is off base. First of all you have to look at the screen anyway to navigate through playlists and what not so that is non-issue. As for volume control and skipping songs I would think that Apple would come up with a genius solution to these problems. Maybe sliding your finger verticly for volume control and horisontal for skipping?

P.S. First post!

 

[bloogersnigen]

Then you have to carry around two iPods, One for music one for movies? that seems stupid to me.

No one for just music (something new), One for just movies (this ipod, vpod whatever), and if you want both at the same time, one for both (5g)

 

[lazyrighteye]

Correlation?

I saw this yesterday and couldn't help but grin.

http://mrl.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch

 

[zap2]

Doubt it will be replaceing the 5G but more of an high end player new line thing

 

[FaasNat]

Two words: Invisible Shield

The next one is, "I get enough finger prints on my Invisible Shield as is."


j/k

 

[Loge]

They don't want to risk this happening again, so they won't prosecute individuals or look for further clarification of DMCA, they'd rather just keep the fear out there for individuals, bring the hammer down on those who provide ripping software and look for technological means to stop piracy. Once either BluRay or HD-DVD becomes the standard, it's going to be much tougher to rip DVD (although nothing's impossible.)

There doesn't seem to be much action taken against ripping software (say Handbrake, for example), and I don't expect anyone using that software is shaking with fear either.

 

[BWhaler]

Well, I bought the 5G iPod at the end of December, but as long as the finger prints are not a problem, I'll buy this iPod.

Especially if it comes with the 80 gig drive since I have already filled the 60gig. Man, ripping dvd's takes up a lot of space...

 

[tkermit]

thanks for your comments, guys.

I changed the layout just a little bit.

The more I think about it the more I love it. Now, everytime I look at the "video"-iPod I can't stop thinking about how much better it could be (or hopefully: will be)

With the included orientation-sensor you could actually hold the iPod whichever way you want and it would always instantly change the orientation of whatever you're looking at (at least in 90° steps).

If any of you guys actually have a clickwheel-iPod, try holding it sideways - using the clickwheel feels as natural as it does normally.
Try to use the screen as a clickwheel and actually press down on it, imagining there to be some reaction and audible feedback.
I don't think a completely virtual clickwheel will feel weird at all. You'll probably feel right at home, provided the sensitivity of it is just right and you get some kind of feedback (probably just clicking or whatever).

I can't wait

 

[amateurmacfreak]

Somehow this seems highly unlikely. The iPod is still fore and foremost a music player, and a video playback device where you constantly touch the screen will look crappy as anything.

Agreed. Maybe Apple can make it cool.... but a mainly video playback device sounds like crap to me.

 

[maya]

Is the iPod becoming a PDA all of a sudden with touch screen capabilities. This is only the start.

Finally, "Ink Well" will have a purpose for mobility.

 

[Oblivious]

thanks for your comments, guys.

I changed the layout just a little bit.

The more I think about it the more I love it. Now, everytime I look at the "video"-iPod I can't stop thinking about how much better it could be (or hopefully: will be)

With the included orientation-sensor you could actually hold the iPod whichever way you want and it would always instantly change the orientation of whatever you're looking at (at least in 90° steps).

If any of you guys actually have a clickwheel-iPod, try holding it sideways - using the clickwheel feels as natural as it does normally.
Try to use the screen as a clickwheel and actually press down on it, imagining there to be some reaction and audible feedback.
I don't think a completely virtual clickwheel will feel weird at all. You'll probably feel right at home, provided the sensitivity of it is just right and you get some kind of feedback (probably just clicking or whatever).

I can't wait

Now that... that looks amazing. If Apple can just put a 80 gig hard drive and battery capable of 4 hours of video playback in there, and preferably a price tag of $400 or less, I'd be thrilled. I truly hope an iPod Video like that comes out soon. It's just what I've been waiting for.

 

[FaasNat]

It wouldn't be very hard to have a setting to switch what side the wheel is on.

Well, if the text on the clickwheel is silkscreened on, if you switch the side, it'll be upsidedown for somebody. Heh.

 

[syklee26]

How About Slider?

personally I smell massive amount of complaints from virtual wheel users on this one....although Apple's patent on tablet tech as well as recent hiring of tablet technicians suggest virtual wheel.

I personally think following the slider models of some Asian cell phones would be a better move to make.

or maybe Apple will use one of those smudge-proof screens. I highly doubt it though as I heard they are expensive.