Inside the iPod, Past and Present

We mentioned the iPod Shuffle dissection a couple of days ago. Reader UtahSaint writes "Electronic Design have got a neat little article giving non-Apple employees an insight into the makings of the original iPod and the revisions made (on a technical level) with the 2nd and 3rd generation iPods. The third-generation iPod contains two power-management chips from Royal Philips Electronics, a TEA1211 and a PCF50605. The TEA1211 is a dc-dc converter that can switch automatically between step-down and step-up operation in response to changing input voltage. The PCF50605, a single-chip power-management unit (PMU), can adjust power-supply voltages to the lowest thresholds needed for functions in a particular power domain." And finally, sammykrupa writes "PC Mag has a great review of Apple's iPod Shuffle. It covers the quality of the audio output saying that it is has dead-flat frequency response, less harmonic distortion, and most notably, better bass response than its bigger siblings. The older iPods, especially the Mini, have been rightfully criticized for being somewhat deficient in bass, and although the bigger players have flat frequency response, they have trouble sustaining big bass notes."

Comments

Let me be the first to say...

[Anonymous Coward]

iPod Shuffe, no wireless. Less space than a regular iPod. Lame.

In classrooms of the future...

[OneOfAKind]

"Eek! How gross! I'm not disecting that iPod!"

Re:Does it really matter?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure it matters, I can just imagine some kid running past *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* Older jogger, "Damn kids!"

Look ma, I'm a consultant!

[Anonymous Coward]

But part of Synaptics' contribution was to understand that less is more; that users want to get their music into the player quickly and easily, navigate smoothly from one song to another, and hear their music faithfully reproduced.

Really? Gee! You think they also want it to be less than $3,000,000? Or weigh less than, say, 2,000 pounds?

Re:i need something like the ipod

[Anonymous Coward]

are there any alternatives which hold a couple gigabytes+ for under $100usd/50gbp roughly?

No.

I don't care what anyone says

[banky]

"Loud enough to cause hearing damange" is a *feature*.

Re:Does it really matter?

[wfberg]

Good head/ear phones can do bass very well. SO if the player can't, then yes, it's a problem.

Trouble is, the subway you're riding does an even better job at producing bass.

two questions

[commodoresloat]

1. Where do you work that you need to use an iPod at work?
2. Are they hiring?

Does anyone really care what "we prefer"?

[LoadStar]

From the review of the shuffle:

Still, overall we prefer a player with a navigation window. When we use random play on our personal digital audio player, we often find that it stimulates a musical mood; we'll then switch to a specific playlist or group of albums.

Are we supposed to CARE how you use random play? How you use random play is a personal decision, and should NOT factor into the review or the score you give the product. You might play it that way - others might not.

The review should have been, not on the way they would prefer to use the device, but how well the device works within the parameters it was designed for. That is, it was designed as a small-form random-play digital music player, and it does very well within those parameters.

This would be like reviewing a Kia and mentioning "We tend to drive luxury vehicles like a BMW, and wished that this car was a luxury car instead of an econobox," and scoring it down simply because it wasn't a BMW.

Hacking the iPod Shuffle.

[PopeAlien]

Possible secret features:

solder resistor between lines 2 & 3 - Shuffle grows full color OLED touch-screen!

open Shuffle and cover circuit board with cream cheese, insert in USB slot - $500 USD springs from CD drive!

stick bent paperclip in headphone jack - Steve Jobs comes to your home and cleans your car!

..now thats insanely great!

Re:mount as usb

[Anonymous Coward]

Try a crescent wrench.

Re:iVent

[commodoresloat]

Nah, don't return it. Instead, bitch about it on slashdot. I'm sure that will fix the problem.

Re:What does this mean?

[mako1138]

I laughed at that sentence. I was reading audioXpress this morning too, so I've had enough audiophile crap for one day. "The smaller size and lack of screen of the iPod Shuffle dampen vibrations from local electrical fields, enabling full, rich bass. The soundstage was elevated and the individual instruments were amazingly crisp."

Re:It kinda cements my desire to get an iPod Shuff

[CMRichar]

don't do it, it's like a drug addiction...you start with the ipod, and it's great...you get a great buzz, and dont feel any harm...next you decide to see what the OSX experience is all about, so you grab a Mac Mini (with additional RAM, of course)... next thing you know, you're living in a shabby flat in the cheapest part of town with no utilities (save electricity and internet) to help pay for your dual g5 tower of doom. it's a slippery slope.

Re:on simplicity

[Anonymous Coward]

As simple as possible, but no simpler

- George W. Bush

;)

Low bass on purpose

[digitalgimpus]

Could it be it was done because Apple engineers are sick of hearing someone with rediculus bass driving down the road when they are trying to sleep?

Maybe they did it so they don't have to hear:

thud, thud thud..

every time someone with an iPod comes walking.

If I were a car manufacturer... that would be my motivation for better soundproofing. To stop people from being so annoying.

(it's always sounds like the same damn song too doesn't it?)

Re:on simplicity

[LakeSolon]

What the hell... Did you just attribute to GWB a quote by Albert Einstein?

~Lake

Re:Does it really matter?

[Ohreally_factor]

if you are listening to classical music on a system that includes a subwoofer, you bought the wrong system

Fuck you, you fucking tuba hater. I hope you get run over by someone carrying a Sousaphone.

=)

Re:It kinda cements my desire to get an iPod Shuff

[lsmeg]

Once you have a taste of good hardware/software intigration..you can't go back.

Didn't you read Apple's site on the iPod? It said specifically, "Do not eat iPod Shuffle."