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'True' Video iPod Coming Soon
Moby Cock writes "Think Secret is reporting that the true video iPod is slated for announcement soon. It will have a 3.5 inch display and will eschew the mechanical click wheel in favour of a touch screen version. The 5th generation iPod released prior to the holiday season last year is described as a souped up 4G iPod with video capabilities. This new iPod will be the 'true' video iPod. It looks like there is not going to be wireless support. The article hints that the release date could be April 1 which is the 30th anniversary of Apple."
Previous slashdot stories covered rumours about a possible upcoming Apple tablet (see here and here). However, perhaps what was really going on was that Apple was putting in place patents related to this device.
Look at the patents in question. US Design Patent No. D504,899, filed on May 10, 2005, looks like a patent for the design of an Apple tablet. Yet, perhaps they refrained from calling it a tablet in the patent (they call it "an electronic device") because they actually want it to cover the (much smaller) design of the video iPod. US Patent Application No. 20060026536, filed Jan 30, 2005, is called "Gestures for touch sensitive input devices," and the images very clearly show a device that looks like a full-screen ipod with overlayed "touchwheel" (check out this news item for commentary and images.
What I'm getting at is this: ThinkSecret may very well be right (again!). The fact that these patents were filed shows that they are working on this kind of device. I think these patent applications strongly support the notion that Apple is going to try to release a next-gen device with touch-screen based input. Sounds like a cool device.
a touch screen would keep changing tracks when you walked around. Not good.
o to_30gb/bap101i/main.jpg
I have an iPod Photo and I think the other iPods are similar as far as having a switch that disables all the inputs. I am pretty sure this new iPod would have a similar switch to disable the touchscreen. A touchscreen would most definitely not be useless, just different then the current way to control the iPod.
What I would be worried about is scratching the screen. I have a case for my iPod that is a solid enclosure with clear, hard plastic over the screen and a hole cut out where the buttons are. With the new touchscreen I am curious if you can have a similar protective cover over the screen, yet still be able to have the touchscreen functionality. One last comment is I would not recommend shoving an iPod into a pocket full of keys, coins etc. Buying a case is relatively cheap and a lot of the cases either come with clips or quick releases. Here is a picture of the model of case I have and I love it http://www.vajacases.com/images/mp3/apple/ipod_ph
Hey, there is only one Return and it's not of the King, it's of the Jedi.
and customers aren't getting "burned". when a new product comes out, your existing one doesn't drop features, doesn't stop working, doesn't become any less useful or enjoyable than it was before the new launch. it's arguably not as "cool", because it's not the latest and greatest thing, but that's more an artifact of being a fashonista who buys technology for bragging rights or to compensate for certain anatomical traits than the actual technology in question.
stop buying technology as fashion.
i speak for myself and those who like what i say.
If you had RTFA, you would know the "true" reference means.
"Readers will recall that during the brouhaha leading up to the October release of the 5G iPod last year, Think Secret maintained that the video iPod would not be released at the time and, following the roll-out of the 5G iPod, that that iPod was "not the video iPod" but rather a souped up 4G iPod with video capabilities. This forthcoming iPod revision is what sources have said for some time will be the incarnation of a complete video iPod solution."
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.