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UK Retailer Claims September iPod Touch Refresh to Bring 5-MP Camera, HD Video Recording, FaceTime, and More
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Ahh , that stuff is cool , but i dont think to upgrade my Touch 
I just dont use it , i`d better get an iP4
but maybe someone needs a good phone and an mp3 player?
i dont think , apple fanboys will use iP4 32gb and iPod4 64gb(?) in everyday life , better go with phone and player than only a player(imho)
waiting for iP4 White<333
I just dont use it , i`d better get an iP4
but maybe someone needs a good phone and an mp3 player?
i dont think , apple fanboys will use iP4 32gb and iPod4 64gb(?) in everyday life , better go with phone and player than only a player(imho)
waiting for iP4 White<333
Well, it sort of makes sense. Right now you can only "call" other members of the exclusive iPhone 4 club but only over WiFi. If they expand that to include the iPod Touch, FaceTime "might" become more relevant / popular? I'd say prepare to become upset.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
This. Facetime for iPod, iPad, iMac, Macbook, other phones, televisions, mirrors, windows, Car GPS systems... bring it on!!
Since I own an iPad 3G, I would really like to see an iPod Touch with the camera/video features of the iPhone 4 with the retina display. I'd pay $299 for 16GB if it had those features, let alone $299 for 32GB. I simply don't need an iPhone since I have the 3G iPad with unlimited data. My regular Sprint phone works great and I have no desire to change carriers. My Sprint contract is up in October, so if the iPod Touch disappoints, I'll probably get an iPhone 4, but I hope it doesn't come to that.
Absolutely agree. I believe Steve said at the keynote that Facetime is open to all, wants it to be the standard. So we should not only see this in all Apple products but many others as well.
Personally, I don't think Apple would revamp the 4th gen iPod touch to reflect the changes in the iPhone 4. I most certainly can be wrong, though.
I can see the iPod touch getting a camera & better hardware, but I can't see it getting the new iPhone 4 look or the front camera + FaceTime. If people want that, they should just get an iPhone. The line has to be drawn somewhere, right? Or else everyone will own the "iPod touch 3G; now with 3G data, microphone, cameras, etc." Just my opinion. I know my cousin would be happy if the iPod touch 4 got all those features, as he plans to buy his first iPod this September.
I know how you feel. I've bought my first iPhone (3GS) last August. I love it to death, but Rogers sure likes to charge you a lot. The base plan is $60/month without unlimited texting and such. My bill totals around $99 every month. I've go the $60 plan + $20 value pack (texting, caller ID, etc.). Canada (and many other countries) need way more competition so the prices can go down a bit.
I can see the iPod touch getting a camera & better hardware, but I can't see it getting the new iPhone 4 look or the front camera + FaceTime. If people want that, they should just get an iPhone. The line has to be drawn somewhere, right? Or else everyone will own the "iPod touch 3G; now with 3G data, microphone, cameras, etc." Just my opinion. I know my cousin would be happy if the iPod touch 4 got all those features, as he plans to buy his first iPod this September.
I know how you feel. I've bought my first iPhone (3GS) last August. I love it to death, but Rogers sure likes to charge you a lot. The base plan is $60/month without unlimited texting and such. My bill totals around $99 every month. I've go the $60 plan + $20 value pack (texting, caller ID, etc.). Canada (and many other countries) need way more competition so the prices can go down a bit.
Just a bunch of wishful thinking. Not gonna happen.
Reasons:
- already mentioned: iPod is too thin and they are not gonna make it thicker
- even tho iPod touch is still selling pretty well, the iPod is on the decline, they are not gonna invest too much into this product
- two cameras + microphone are costly. flash prices have not come down, so that would decrease their margin quite a lot
- I never got the idea of having a camera in it. Most people with iPods also carry a phone with a camera around. So they are not gonna buy the iPod for the camera.
- they never bothered integrating the camera feature of the Nano into iTunes properly, right? So much love for this feature...
- for Facetime you need a microphone. That would also enable VoIP calls and I have hunch that Apple doesn't want that. That would move the iPod too close to the iPhone.
- gyroscope is pretty likely, doesn't cost much and extends the appeal of the iPod as gaming device
Reasons:
- already mentioned: iPod is too thin and they are not gonna make it thicker
- even tho iPod touch is still selling pretty well, the iPod is on the decline, they are not gonna invest too much into this product
- two cameras + microphone are costly. flash prices have not come down, so that would decrease their margin quite a lot
- I never got the idea of having a camera in it. Most people with iPods also carry a phone with a camera around. So they are not gonna buy the iPod for the camera.
- they never bothered integrating the camera feature of the Nano into iTunes properly, right? So much love for this feature...
- for Facetime you need a microphone. That would also enable VoIP calls and I have hunch that Apple doesn't want that. That would move the iPod too close to the iPhone.
- gyroscope is pretty likely, doesn't cost much and extends the appeal of the iPod as gaming device
It seems to me that if they planned on adding FaceTime to the iPod Touch, they would need to implement two other features that the Touch currently lacks as well: a microphone and a speaker.
That is, unless they plan on making people use the ear buds with mic.
That is, unless they plan on making people use the ear buds with mic.
I for one will only buy the new Touch if it has the iPhone 4 5MP camera and HD video recording. The camera in my cheap cell phone is useless. It would be nice to always have a good camera/video camera on me for unpredictable moments with the kids.
The current Touch has a speaker. It also allows voice memos somehow. Maybe that's only through the mic on the earbuds, though.
Exactly. They have to draw a line somewhere to differentiate the two devices. Making the Touch virtually identical to the iPhone is about the dumbest thing that Apple could do, from a financial standpoint.
Yes, you need the earbuds with the mic, or another kind of mic, like the Thumbtack.
Why?
Seriously, is it that difficult to work out that Facetime is Apple's first serious attempt at getting away from the carriers? Devices with the capability to make video calls are rapidly becoming the norm in consumer electronics. Almost all laptops have webcams and most desktops can have them added for just a few pounds. More smartphones are starting to offer front facing cameras as standard and that number will surely increase over the next few years. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 have existing camera attachments and new add-ons coming out this year which will also include that functionality.
The problem is everything works on their own standard. Skype and other VoIP services are out there yet somehow it's not tying together (and video call quality can be... dodgy). With Facetime Apple's looking to not only present an open standard for this sort of thing going forward but also provide such a large pool of devices that use it it makes little sense for anyone to compete. All the existing providers of video calling services are being offered the incentive of having access to all those iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad users (as and when the devices get updated). And Apple themselves will more-than-likely integrate Facetime into iChat at some point (10.7?)
Yes, it's wi-fi only for the time being but that's just fine. 3G networks are already over-capacity in many areas and 4G is on the horizon. In a couple of years 4G networks will start full blown rollouts and provide enough bandwidth to support this properly. At that point I'm sure Facetime will be extended to support it (or, if you prefer, the restriction on Apple's devices will be lifted, not sure if that's in the spec for the standard or not). At that point Facetime has the potential to be positioned in such a way as to make voice minutes almost an afterthought for a lot of users.
THAT'S the angle Apple's looking at with Facetime, breaking carrier dominance over voice and finally turning them into basically one big data pipe and nothing else or, at the very least, radically reducing the reliance on their voice network. Why wouldn't you want that option on every device you have (at least, where it makes sense to have it)?
No worries, I have several and will get many more next week since we roll them out in our company.
*on topic*
if Facetime comes to ipod it has to come to the iPad as well, would become a nice cheap video conferencing unit even when just over Wifi
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Add these features (FaceTime , camera, retina display) to the next iPad and I'll be a happy camper and buy one!
Add these features (FaceTime , camera, retina display) to the next iPad and I'll be a happy camper and buy one!
very cool...
Of course since I have the phone there is no need...but still very cool. Im always amazed when people complain about something gaining a new feature.
Of course since I have the phone there is no need...but still very cool. Im always amazed when people complain about something gaining a new feature.
This is an excellent guess. I am with you on it.
What I am wondering about is if the iPod Nano will step down far into the $99 category soon for a small, stripped down version. The iPod shuffle should fade back into the $29 sales rank as a trinket to push the iTunes drug to the kids.
Not saying that apple can't find another way to make this work but.... even though you can only use it on wifi, facetime uses the SMS system to initiate the facetime calls. So I'm thinking that the touch will not see this feature.
I'm not complaining. It just makes no business sense to make them identical devices, minus the phone. None whatsoever.
Most people in your position would buy an iPhone instead
Probably, but I like Sprint and had a bad Cingular experience about 5 years ago that I never got over. But it might come to buying an iPhone if the iPod Touch doesn't deliver this year.