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iPod nano, iTunes 5, iTunes Phone
adpowers writes "Lots of updates today on the Apple front. First we have the iPod nano, which is an iPod photo-esque replacement for the iPod mini. It comes in 2 and 4 gig varieties and is half the thickness of the mini it replaces. A new iTunes is release as well, which looks similar to Mail.app. I'm not sure I like the cosmetic changes. It also touts an improved search bar, but I can't find an explanation of what that means. Finally, Apple, Motorola, and Cingular announced the ROKR E1, which has the iTunes on a cellular phone. (Theorized last week.) It syncs with iTunes just like an iPod." Coverage of the Apple news extravaganza available at The NYT, Forbes, Gizmodo, Mobiledia, and Macworld.
Ah...now we know why Apple's been buying up flash memory in spades.
That iPod nano looks ridiculously slick. Heh, and although I imagine I'm going to have my geek card forcibly removed after saying this, my first thought upon seeing it was, "What happened to all the colors?" Granted, it's form over function, but judging by the amount of iPod minis that I've seen, people like the colors.
Well, fear not: iPod nano tubes: Colorful iPod nano Tubes fit like a glove and offer full Click Wheel control from the outside. (Actually, as someone whose iPod sports an impressive amount of scrapes, I think this is a good idea.)
That Apple, they think of everything. Now I'm going to go back to waiting for my Dalmation iPod nano tube.
concrete5: a cms made for marketing, but strong enough for geeks.
"ROKR E1"? Why didn't they call it an iPhone, probably the best name among all of Apple's products? Maybe they let Motorola, which usually prefers unpronouncable alphanumeric soup, pick the name.
--
make install -not war
No I am not a apple whore, I get the education discount (which they didn't ask for?). I was going to order a regular 20gig last week but knew something was coming out today so I looked, liked, liked price, and ordered.
Free engraving on back...
RIAA v OctberSky
Exhibit: A
Thick as a pencil and much more fun.1
1 Do not nervously bite iPod nano.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
With iTunes 5 also comes Quicktime 7 for Windows.
Yes, its flash. Look here http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/specs.html at the bottom Technical Specifications: iPod nano.
"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."--Howard Zinn
No video. Thicker than a human hair. Lame.
The new search is kinda snazzy, type a few letters and you get a little bar that lets you narrow it down by all, music, audiobooks,pod casts, videos, booklets, etc etc, certainly helpful for those with large catalogs
Live EVERY week... Like it's Shark Week
This thing replaces the ipod mini, no doubt, but really it's more the size/weight of a shuffle... very sweet. It's THINNER than the shuffle fer chrissakes!
.78 ounce
Size comparison:
Shuffle: 3.3 x 0.98 x 0.33
Nano: 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27
iPod: 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.63
Weight comparison:
Shuffle:
Nano: 1.5 ounces
iPod: 5.9 ounces
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
Look at the requirements on the tech specs page. Under "connectivity" it does not mention firewire. However, under Power and Battery it says: "Charging via USB or FireWire to computer system or power adapter"
So, who knows.
- Why can't you sync iTunes via BlueTooth, since the phone actually has BT? First the mini mouse, now this.
- Will this phone be a full iSync citizen, or at least as much as other Moto phones? via BT?
- Can you use this phone as a Cell modem? Via BT? And why is it not EDGE capable?
- Can you sync photos via iPhoto?
- Can you purchase ringtones via iTunes?
I wish this was more of an iPhone, with the above features, than just some phone with iTunes slapped on it. As it is, it looks pretty half-baked, and I'm sorry to see Apple endorse it. I think I'm holding out until v 2.0 at least.--
$tar -xvf
I wonder how it will compare to the ipod shuffle.
I didn't believe it until I got one (as a gift) but the shuffle has the best audio quality I've heard short of an external DAC into an spdif stream. its noisy (biased transistors in output stage?) but it has actual bass and enough drive to power headphones without distorting.
if this nano has the same audio or better, it will blow the market away for those that CARE about sound as well as the features of the player.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
If Apple wants to be really shocking they should start supporting Linux. There is a growing market out there that they are just ignoring.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't
Quicktime 7 without iTunes can be found here... http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/standalone .html
Are you seriously blaming a Windows crashing problem on something besides Windows? Step back and think about that for a moment.
I got a freeipod.com ipod, noticed how it just worked when I wanted it to, no stupidity involved. This inspired me to get a PowerBook, and guess what? It works. All the time.
Apple makes awesome hardware. Microsoft makes bad OS's. I dunno about your gtkipod problem though. Good luck with it.
when I find myself you'll be the first to know.
The fact that people continue buying these products over and over again seems to refute your argument.
If competitors are releasing music AND video players 'for cheaper', and not making money, maybe it means two things:
1) Bad product
2) No market
If the competitors make a bad product, then of course the only remainging good product (iPod) will win. Apple just has to wait, review the market, and keep designing until it has a good product, even if it's a couple years late. Would you rather have a bad product now, or a good one next year?
If there is no market, then what's the point?
GPL Deconstructed
I mean look at Nintendo, they have released how many Gameboy Advance systems (3?) all with the same exact functionality.
They only released two that I know of, but I could just be out of the loop.
The GBA SP added functionality, like a built in rechargeable battery and backlit display, all at the same price as the previous model.
The iPod nano offers flash memory, increased battery life, a color display, ability to play photos, in a much smaller package. There's tons of added functionality.
while many, many competitors have been releasing music *and* video players for almost 4 years now *for cheaper than apple's music only players*..
I can release a cell phone the size of a VCR, have it play DVDs, DivXs, run various emulators, and do my taxes, that doesn't change the fact that it's poorly designed and not very attractive. Apple is about simplicity. If you want a swiss army knife MP3 player then there's manufactures catering to you, but you're a minority in that desire.
The ROKR will be available in Canada exclusively from Rogers Wireless, according to this Motorola Canada site. Too bad there isn't more detailed information though. Rogers Wireless' site has no information on the phone or its pending availability unfortunately.
Open a console and type
I am totally disappointed with the Moto phone.
- It is substantially ugly. The basic shape is OK, but then it has the vented sides and all sorts of useless depressions, lines and curves. I would have expected Apple to demand some quality ID out of Moto (and we know Moto can do it, the RAZR and upcoming SLVR are very hot).
- The dynamics of the phone market suck for releasing new technology. Phone handsets are way overpriced for the consumer and rely on those pesky contracts. Sure the ROKR looks OK now, but how is it going to look a year from now when better stuff is available and your locked into that contract? To me, this is a major problem with the cell phone market- there are numerous technology improvements going on IRT data rates, camera quality, wireless features, design, etc... but the carrier contract lockin puts a significant strain in consumer's ability to acquire such technology at a reasonable price.
- The capacity on the ROKR sucks. 100 songs? That's less then 512mb. If your going to lock people into an MP3 playing cellphone for 2 years, give them some real capacity and/or an SD expansion slot. Hell, the slot doesn't even need to be readily accessible, throw it behind the battery (because I don't know if iTunes can manage an iPod device with removable storage) so people can upgrade as they see fit.
- It looks huge. I don't get it how they can make a tiny cellphone (again, the RAZR and it's upcoming SLVR brother) and a tiny MP3 player (the Nano and the Shuffle), but when you throw these devices together, you end up with a product that is bigger the the stand alone components tapped together even though the most space hogging portions are combined (buttons, enclosure).
Apple gets how to design a product and Motorola, while they have had some success, really needs to let Apple take the lead on ID/Product design. Moto should focus on the wireless tech, dealing with the FCC and cell carriers and manufacturing.
Volume adjustment already works in iTunes/iPod. Turn on Sound Check on both iTunes and the iPod. Wait for it to finish scanning your library (it'll say "Determining Song Volume"), then resync with the iPod.
Works great for me.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
It doesn't run x86 OS X.
English is easier said than done.
Which means:
- Transflash card. It's really tiny, the size and thickness of my pinky nail
- Tri-band
- USB 2.0, and you get to choose between it exposing the flash card as a USB disk device, or a modem. Cable included
- Stereo speakers. It's really cool to hold it just about 20-30cm from your face and hear pretty good stereo sound
- Earphones
- Bluetooth, and yes, you can copy MP3's that way too
- Groovy multi-coloured lights on both sides of the phone
- Speakerphone
- Camera with a powerful led instead of a flash. Doubles as a flashlight
And the downsides- Sluggish user interface
- Blurry 640x480 camera. Taking into account the previous point, when you press "capture," you get to wait 2 seconds for the snapshot to be taken
- Buggy. Crashes on you, especially when the battery is low
- Really bad mpeg-4 playback. The user interface stops responding when it's playing. Sound may crap out. It will only do a bitrate so low that the picture has severe compression artifacts
- Limited functionality in BlueTooth. The only decent BlueTooth phone I've ever seen is a SonyEricsson
- No voice recording (duh), but I'm under the impression that that's a hidden feature that you can enable with a hack
Of course, the specs of the ROKR may vary, and the MP3 navigation is beyond a doubt better than on the E398, but it won't be far off.In development, but coming soon...
W
-------------------
This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Along with everything else in QT 7, iTunes now allows you to encode AAC in VBR mode. FINALLY!
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Buy iPod nano.
Buy 5 cents of sticky velcro.
Attach to existing phone.
Pros:
Listening to tunes won't drain your phone battery.
Doesn't cost 250 USD (only 200).
Doesn't tie you to Cingular for 2 years.
About as thick as older phone models.
Holds 5 times the songs.
Can be undone at any time.
Cons:
Applying sticky substance to shiny new iPod.
Everyone will point and laugh.
I agree with you, but we are possibly in the (or a) minority.
I said the same thing when the iPod mini came out: you could get another model of iPod at the time which was 10GB, and $50 more than the 4GB. I pointed this out to people. The response? Either 'but it comes in colours' or 'but its so small'. Lesson learned, people put a huge premium on the size/shape/appearance of the thing. The Shuffle underscores this.
Kinda too bad, I always liked the Mini body the best, with the metal... maybe it was deemed too heavy. So yes from a stats point of view it seems a bit daft but the market reaction sure seems to bear out Apple's thinking. I was also surprised that the battery life on the Nano is a touch less than a regular iPod... I guess a smaller battery overall.. but usually flash memory gives you a big power savings (eaten up in the Nano by that colour screen no doubt).
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
I see the nano as a step backwards because the 4GB mini was $199, so I either get half the storage for the same price, or I pay $50 more for that 4G.
...and for $50 more than that you can get 20GB instead of 4GB.
This is just how smart companies price products. It's like a big fat arrow pointing up the ladder. They don't really care if you think it's a good deal: they want you to spend as much as you can convince yourself to.
Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.
.... but does the phone support music on hold? :)
1) Dock Connector: That's what Apple calls it, it's really just power, data and audio connections put into one plug (the connector also has a line-out ability) It's a multifunction port and when Apple first put it in iPods, the only thing out there for it was the DOCK. So that's what they called it but now you can hook up the camera connector, FM transmitters, all sorts of stuff. If you've bothered to ever use an iPod you'd know the cable that comes with it has USB or Firewire on one end, and the dock connector on the other end for the iPod OR Dock (the Dock is pretty much just a nice passthru that stands the iPod up)
2) Go into iTunes, then iPod options. Click "Enable Drive Usage" wow... my iPod is now a drive under Windows AND Mac, and I've seen it done with Linux. Unless you're touching the files needed for the music player, the iPod is simply a USB hard drive. Shut up troll.
3) And why should they bend over backwards for your measly $300 for their iPod when you're too stubborn and arrogant to support a popular standard. I don't bitch at Sony about where my copy of Sin City on BetaMax is.
Wait and see all you want. You won't buy one. People just like to bitch about something they can't have or can't afford.
Viva La Revolucion! Buy a Mac!
The iPod mini has never been flash, period, end of story, never will be. The iPod shuffle was the only flash iPod before the iPod nano.
People get confused about this because the microdrive in the mini speaks the CompactFlash protocol, but it is a spinning platter disk all the same.
I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.