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The Future of the iPod

Posted by Zonk on from the stay-the-course dept.

sebFlyte writes "Those of you waiting for a video iPod, an iPod with a radio in, an iPod with Bluetooth in...or in fact an iPod that does anything except play music and have a pretty-but-basic interface, you're likely to be disappointed. According to silicon.com, Steve Jobs and the Apple crew insist that the iPod will remain simple for the time being." From the article: "Whether people want to buy a device just to watch video is not clear - so far the answer's been no. Devices that do video... have not been successful yet. No-one's figured out the right formula."

12 of 396 comments (clear)

  1. The more he says no... by fembots · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Gizmodo found a hidden video button in iTunes 5 and Mac Rumors discovered iPod's trademark expanded to include video support.

    --
    Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
  2. More features != Needed by dada21 · · Score: 4, Interesting


    Why is portable mini-video in demand at all? The iPod's greatest feature is how little attention it needs. I don't want it bogged down (bigger, worse battery life, more harassment from confused relatives) with more features.

    The article notes that the market currently has decided video is unnecessary. I'm sure Apple has dozens of features ready to release IF their test markets rate those features as "amazing" not just "useful."

  3. Device that does video by ampathee · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How about a device that 'does video' via tv-out, rather than on a tiny little lcd screen? It could even have tv-IN as well - a mobile tivo kinda thing. That'd be real useful.

    Now go ahead and post links to the already existing devices that do this, but that I am unaware of :)

  4. A 100GB is all I want. by MrArmyAnt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I love the iPod, but won't buy one till they reach 100GB, the size of my music collection. I think iPod is going in the right direction right now, releasing too many new products at once seems to stun the market, and then you get those pople sitting around wiating for the latest and greatest. Subtle changes everys often is fine, but that would be a bit too major, just after the Nano replaced the mini.

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    ModLife.Net - If it ain't modded, what's the point?
    1. Re:A 100GB is all I want. by grrr223 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Ever hear of a little thing called Apple Lossless? I have over 200 GB of music, and while I obviously don't listen to all of it, most of it is from the 800 or so CDs I have bought and ripped. I listen to it through my stereo using my Airport Express. I can now get rid of my CDs. And while my 60 GB iPod isn't big enough for my entire collection, it'll have to do for now. Either way, it's not that hard to acquire a large collection of music that is not crap.

  5. WiFi would be nice by tkrotchko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Syncing without plugging in cables would be appreciated. That's my prediction for the next incremental improvement in the full-sized iPod.

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    You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
  6. Re:THANK YOU APPLE!!! by Bastian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Quite honestly, I'd love for Apple to still have a non-photo, black-and-white screened iPod. Mine is starting to age, and I've finally acquired enough music that it won't all fit on the thing at once. I'd much rather not spend the extra $50 (or $100, whatever) for the color screen and photos. I don't need colors to be able to read the name of a song, and I don't think I'll be looking at photos while I'm driving, walking down the street, reading in the park, whatever.

    All I want is a nice simple device that Just Plays Music, and Does It Well(tm).

  7. Bring back the Newton by Fished · · Score: 4, Interesting
    What I really want is an ipod with a touch screen and some PDA software. I tend to think it would be possible (perhaps even easy) to implement the ipod's trademark jog-wheel on a touch screen, and having a 60GB hard drive in a PDA would rock. Plus, it would actually work WELL with Macs, unlike most of the other PDAs on the market.

    Bring back the Newton, Steve!

    --
    "He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
  8. Re:The "right formula" by moviepig.com · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Devices that do video... have not been successful yet. No-one's figured out the right formula.

    Audio devices let you multitask your listening... say, with walking, driving, or reading. So, the "right formula" for a video device may be awaiting an evolutionary step that, e.g., equips us with a second head...

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    Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
  9. GPS? Music. by lullabud · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Man, GPS is something I wish Apple WOULD do, since no other vendors have a solution. Not one single vendor has a software that runs on OSX which will let you load maps into a consumer GPS device. I've e-mailed Magellan and Garmin and they both pretty much said "use windows." Ridiculous. I would really love to see a GPS with Apple quality integration...

    Digression aside, I do agree with you. I'm glad the iPod is a music device. That's all I want, music from my personal collection. No radio, no video. And that's what I have. :)

  10. Re:Bluetooth would be better by ciroknight · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But, shipping with Bluetooth would be really awesome for cellphone compatibility and wireless headphones. I don't mind plugging in my iPod to sync it, but I hate having to carry around a cable tying my arms up. Yes, I know logitech has a set of wireless headphones, but I'm not paying 150 dollars for them (they're ugly and clunky).

    With Bluetooth, you could make a small program so that you can search for music on your iPod. You could make it so that when the phone rings the iPod's volume dims. Simple conviencences like this would be nice to have.

    --
    "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
  11. No Video iPod coming, but close? by Lying+Superbastard · · Score: 3, Interesting

    1. iTunes has a "hidden" component for handling video. 2. The Sony PSP can connect to and use a local network. 3. About a year ago, Jobs talked about Apple & Sony working together on the future of video. The Sony PSP as the "video iPod"? How big of a stretch would it be to load video from a computer running iTunes to a memory stick in a PSP if the capability was more obvious? My PSP will play content from QT 7 and AAC files, but I haven't moved anything to it wirelessly yet. Sony released a ceramic-white PSP in Japan about a week ago. It won't play UMD movies from Region 1, but if you need an idea about how a "video iPod" with a decent screen would look like, you could do worse. If it was an Apple-branded build with no UMD drive & replaced it with a 20G hard drive, I'd consider buying one. http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000997051360/ Just saying, is all...