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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."
Its coming out April 1st? Oh, it's no joke then.
>It looks like there is not going to be wireless support.
I bet it has less space than a Nomad, too!
Great, now on Apr. 1st we won't know if it's a joke or not!
OTOH, they could call it the foolPod or iFool something
"goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
I have a 3G iPod myself. A video iPod with a bigger screen and a touch screen would be very nice indeed. But it has been 30 years! There has to be more than just this. C'mon. Thoughts? Ideas?
Personally, I'm hoping for an Intel based Cube. Yea, I know it would compete with the mini. Just spin it as a super-mini or something. How much would you pay for a cube looking Intel based mac that is around the same size as a mini, but runs like an iMac without the screen?
I'm very responsible, when ever something goes wrong they always say I'm responsible.
How do they plan on keeping fingerprints off the screen?
Reminder: Apple owns 1/255th of the internet.
Looks like I'll have to sell my G5 after one month of ownership:-(
This is just getting out of hand. Every few months they are coming out with new ipods just to make people think that the ipod they have now is suddenly obsolete and should be replaced.
the real question is: will it have more than 3 hours playback time so we can actually watch films on it, unlike almost every other portable video player
But I could get stuff off my DirecTiVo onto it I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
If anyone can make a great portable media player, I trust Apple would be the one to do it.
Or we will just get the MacBook, Mac Mini Solo, and a new gizmo that isn't the iPod.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
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.
Here's a trick:
Every time you have a video playing in a window on your monitor, rub your finger across your forehead, then trace a circle on top of the video.
See how long you last without having to clean it.
They should stick with the wheel.
Wait, so you mean Apple has bigger plans for the video store on iTunes? Come on, why is this even news? I mean it's a no brainer that Apple wants you to buy videos from them, and if you're buying their videos you must be using their player right?
Apple is taking advantage of their monopoly position disallowing the playing of itunes purchased music on non iPod players.
.. you have to stick to iPod or lose the ability to transport your music? Plus when your HDD dies .. you cant regain your music.
.. if you are a band and want to sell your music (with DRM) .. you have to do it on the iTunes store .. or your music will not have the protection of DRM if it's to be put on iPods
.. but then you lose the ability to protect your music. I hate DRM as much as the next guy .. but this isnt helping the situation to have Apple doing this.
They're not taking advantage of a monopoly; this has been the case since the Music Store's introduction. As for "abusive monopoly" claims, get back to me when Apple is making deals that punish stores for selling alternatives to iPods, the way Microsoft did with Windows OEMs int he 90s. Consumers can choose any player and any format they want.
This means if you bought music for your iPod
Yes, you can regain your music. Back it up (as iTunes prompts you to) or copy it from the iPod using a third-party utility. Obviously, if you buy music from Apple, it will play on Apple's player. Don't like it? Don't use an iPod or iTunes. You have a choice.
Furthermore, because Fairplay DRM is closed
So don't do it. Just because those are the options doesn't make Apple abusive. Life's tough.
The alternative is DRM free mp3
You don't explain how it's detrimental to the situation or what is so bad about Fairplay DRM to begin with (I forget it's even there, it's so lax in its "restrictions").
"Sufferin' succotash."
But I'm still waiting for the eight pound, 10-inch screen iPod that Steve Jobs announced during his podcast demo at MacWorld last month. :P
And given ThinkSecret's track record over the past 6 months, you should take all this "News" with a truckload of salt.
When the video-capable iPod was released, Apple was very clear to position it as the latest and greatest iPod music player, with the added ability to play video. It's an excellent iPod. It plays video very well. If you buy a product and it meets or exceeds your expectations, why should you care if a better version comes out six months later? Welcome to the Computer Age.
Besides, the rumor sites and press pushed it as the "video iPod." Apple never represented video as its primary function. Look at the iPod site. It's an iPod first, and a video player second.
If you're Apple, you're gonna get bashed if you sit on your laurels and don't keep coming out with newer, better, less expensive versions of the iPod. It seems Apple also gets bashed for continually improving their product lineup. Which makes sense, I suppose. I mean, Apple should really take a breather, because nobody wants the option of buying improved iPods, and Apple's competitors certainly need somet time to catch up.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
It's a rumor on an inconsistent website about a proposed product launch on April 1st.
WTF.
"MY APOCALYPTIC TENOR HAS NOT BEEN DISPELLED!" - T-Rex, qwantz.com
I've got 5 PDAs here (I develop for them). But the iPod SOUNDS better, doesn't require an app taking up a bunch of RAM to constantly run, syncs with iTunes seamlessly and quickly, is far easier to use for playing music, doesn't require super expensive memory cards to hold any good amount of music, is far more durable for its purpose, and comes with thousands of accessories I can use it with including playing and controlling directly from my car.
WTF do they mean by the ,i>true video iPod? Is this thing on a higher plane of existence or something? iPod 6D?
"MY APOCALYPTIC TENOR HAS NOT BEEN DISPELLED!" - T-Rex, qwantz.com
Given how grotty the current ipods become just from handling, I wonder how are they going to handle a screen where you are forced to touch it?
"Screw them over"? Get real. Who, exactly, is forcing anyone to buy these new products?
Now, something where the whole face of an iPod sized box was a 16:9 HDTV display would be neat.
Interestingly, flash memory SanDisk is now #2 in MP3 players. There's an advantage in being the biggest maker of flash memory in this business.
Since the entire screen is the control(s), I don't see how you could possibly use this iPod inside of a protective case. I hope Apple is going to use something like this. Otherwise, the screen would be quickly ruined.
Since the entire screen is the control(s), I don't see how you could possibly use this iPod inside of a protective case.
I hope Apple would use something like this. Otherwise, the screen will be quickly ruined and make the iPod Nano look indestructible in comparison.
First and foremost I am a huge Apple fan but there is a trend starting to develop that is one of the reasons the stock is dropping like a rock. They are bringing out item after item and quickly replacing it with something better. Why don't they just wait a few months and make it perfect. The video ipod was not released that long ago. For the first time I am starting to hear of people saying they are going to wait to see if something better is coming out because they heard a rumor of a better one coming out soon. This video rumor is a perfect example. I was thinking of buying a video ipod but I will certainly wait. Apple's Intel computers have had rumors of problems but hasn't even come out. Many people are waiting to let others test drive it. I love new products but lets keep some space between improvement releases. I am tired of buying something only to learn at the end of the week there is a better one coming out Monday.
Yeah, America is, only Americans produce and consume products, Europe is a bastion of iPod-free territory. The iPod is the bane of humanity because it's a toy they don't need, even though it's actually a personal music player, and music is arguably a necessity for many people.
Who mods up this kind of crap? Bashing America for no reason doesn't make you enlightened or witty, and neither does bashing "capitalist and consumerist society"...which is the same society that produced that computer you're typing on and the servers Slashdot is running on. Slashdot, by the way, is owned by one of those evil American companies.
1) Apple really was incorporated on April 1st (people don't seem to know that) and it will be the actual 30th birthday to the day.... though Steve Jobs was not at Apple for the 20th anniversary, there was a special Mac released.
2) the current iPod is referred to as "iPod with video" and not "video iPod" on Apple.com. that specific wording is why people think Apple is reserving "video iPod" for something new. i guess technically the iPod with Video is considered a modified version of the latest iPod, and not a flat out video playback device. it also may explain those patents that surfaced recently about a touchscreen-like thing that made the rumor site go bananas thinking an Apple tablet was coming. (here is one example). add the reoccurring "Apple to buy Palm" rumor and you could write a book full of speculation wrapping up all these rumors into one crazy device if you want.
anyway, that's the background on those two bits.....
Book it. Imagine all the glory and price of the 20th Anniversary Mac... times ten!
Good luck cleaning your mind off the wall.
well, europe is a bit ahead with DVB-H ... but this still follows the paradigm of network (in the sense of tv-station) provided programs. this will work out, and very successfully for DVB-H.
but the point is, that apple is not interested in this market. they enable a "new" concept large-scale: user-selected, on-demand media. and i like it, and won't wait for a show/song/news again. and i don't consume too much of it, but i get what i want, when i want, and pay then. well, i personally couldn't care less about real-time news (e.g. sports) ...
as happened with the ipod radio remote, apple even may offer old-time interfaces - but mostly will let 3rd parties do that. but they definitely won't build a DVB-H receiver in an ipod.
Cause this is the proper place for a Newton or Newton emulator to live!
i own an ipod shuffle. i bought it right when the shuffles first went on sale. i bought the shuffle instead of a big ipod because i wanted to save a little money, i was waiting for one single solitary feature: AUDIO THAT DOESN'T SKIP BETWEEN TRACKS.
name the one thing that a record player, an 8-track player, a tape player, and a CD player can all do, but that an iPod can not. that feature is to not have a half a second of silence between tracks. yes, yes, i know that "the MP3 format isn't easily made to fade one track seamlessly into another track" but i don't care if it's easy, it's obviously *possible*, so that fact that it hasn't been done is a travesty.
look: i listen to albums, not songs; and my favorite album is Tool's "Lateralus"; and until i can go from 'Parabol' to 'Parabola' without a moment of silence inbetween, or (worse) having to fade the last half a second of one track into the first half a second of the next track, i won't buy that damn contraption. so you don't like Tool? maybe you like Queen's "News of the World", where 'We Will Rock You' refuses to match up with 'We Are The Champions'.
bah. is this really a ridiculous thing to request? is it really THAT hard? i mean, i figure there is some kind of input stream for the MP3 data; can't that stream be buffered for two seconds, and when the read-ahead algorithm finds the end of the stream, can't it append the stream for the next MP3? here let me answer my own question: yes, it could.
i'd love to have an ipod that does video, and i'd pay five bills to get one, but if it can't even play music right, what good is it?
end rant.
At first it was a mere capacity war, but they've shifted the playing field with the mini, nano, and now video iPods. I know people are often wishing they held out for the next big iPod evolution, but these days these evolutions are occuring so often that waiting simply isn't an option. Competitors are trying to copy the iPod, but by the time they finally make it to the market, their target has morphed from a clunky 20gig iPod to a tiny, polished flash player with a color screen, completely changing the focus for what the market values in a player.
And this is why Apple is so secretive about what it's working on. This element of surprise is what allows it to keep its lead over its competitors. It continues to innovate its product in logical, evolutionary steps while fighting feature bloat. And of course each revision looks even more attractive than the last. Its compeitors are too busy trying to out-do yesterday's news.
The technical answer is "no". You can still transport your music to various Apple-blessed devices (like the Motorola ROKR), or to any system that runs iTunes. It doesn't have to be on an iPod.
Of course, you can always burn your iTMS purchased music to a standard audio CD, and then do whatever you want with it. The music will play on any CD player, and can be re-ripped in whatever format you like (although I would suggest a lossless format).
The music will still exist on your iPod, and can be retrieved. You can't retrieve it through iTunes itself, but the music is there in a hidden directory tree.
Of course, data loss is data loss, and isn't unique to music. Backups are important. Apple's Backup software has a built-in backup plan specifically to backup your purchased iTunes Music.
Uh, no. While I've never seen the contract artists have with iTMS, from what I understand it is not exclusive. Artists are still allowed to license their music to other services, which use other DRM schemes. So no, it's not Fairplay or the highway -- if you're the copyright holder of the music, you can use whatever additional DRM schemes with other providers for other players if you want.
Yaz.
Apple has a few screws loose if they think coming out with a new iPod product every 6 months is a good thing.
While I am all for innovation, there is also a question of blowing the wad too soon.
With every new Apple release there is always going to be a large percentage of customers that get burned. Because Apple is so secretive you can't make a wise decision on purchasing Apple's products. Buy a product at full price one day (Apple rarely discounts), and the next day Apple comes out with something 4 times faster, or more capacity, or more features, or whatever. Anybody buying the so called 5th gen Video iPod will be sour when Apple releases a better version only 6 months later.
This is going to hurt Apple in the long run because they are developing a reputation of being deceptive, not secretive, forcing customers to pay full price for a product that becomes obsolete the next day. At least if Apple practices slowly discouting product until their next release (like the REST of the technology market does), then it wouldn't be so bad when someone bought what was the state of the art iPod one day for $200 and then it is replaced with a new version at $500. Apple frequently releases new better products CHEAPER then the previous generations that we sold only the day before.
If Apple releases a revamped iPod in April, then I think they have lost touch with their customers and reputation for being a considerate company, instead churning out incremental upgrades on a regular basis, screwing early adopter all for the almighty dollar.
Apple has become Microsoft.
If Apple can't wait until next holiday season to hype up a new Video iPod then I will have lost all respect for them.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Knowing some musicians they told me an interesting observation: They do not care if their stuff is copied, because they tend not to make too much money with it anyways. They rather concentrate on licensing their songs to companies who, for example, want to use them in commercials.
So who helps DRM? It seems it helps the companies who peddle in music, not neccessarily the artist, they rather win by more people listening (or so they tell me).
If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.
You sound like a cheapskate fashion elitist who doesn't have a clue as to how the system works.
"What? Saks updates its collection every few months? So I can't buy one outfit today and be able to brag to my friends that I am on top of the fashion world for the next few years? Oh, the horror. I have lost all respect for Saks, that evil inconsiderate Microsoft of a company."
Either accept paying the bill every few months to have the latest fashion, or quit buying fashion in your technology.
What foppery you present us with. Grow up.
"if you are a band and want to sell your music (with DRM) .. you have to do it on the iTunes store"
Well, duh. And how fucking difficult is that? Not, is how difficult. Plus, iTMS is very supportive - my brother's (unsigned) band has been on the front-page of the 'Alternative' section and got themselves a plug as single of the week without too much hassle.
As I type, the number one album on the UK iTMS is by Arctic Monkeys, who until recently were still trying to get themselves noticed on MySpace, and then signed to the independant Domino.
So try harder. Or try not sucking. Because iTMS is doing all it can to help independant bands.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
My complaint is that if you walk into a shop right now and drop $400 on an ipod, in a couple of months it'll have been superceded.
If you walk into a shop and buy a PS2, PSP, XBOX or any other 'pricey toy', you will get years from it.
Y'know, that's funny, 'cause my 3G iPod, which is 2 1/2 years old now, and (by your logic of counting all iPod lines as the same) probably a dozen generations out of date...and yet, it still works, it still plays all my songs—tell me just how it's been "superseded"?
If you have to have the latest and greatest, then yeah, you're going to have a frustrating time keeping up (especially if you automatically assume that the most recently released iPod is the Best Ever, even if it's the Nano, which is a completely different product line than the full-sized iPod...). On the other hand, if you can hold your manly ego in check for a while, you might realize that if the iPod Nano was good enough for you then, it just might still be good enough for you now...it's not like Apple has magically taken away its features, or activated some kind of failsafe that corrodes away the insides and ages it all 20 years overnight...
Just chill. Unless you're very unlucky, your Nano will not need to be "superseded" for another few years, and for the same money you would be spending on the iPod Video, you can buy the 10G iPod Holo, that plays holographic movies and is controllable by brainwaves ;-)
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Darn tootin' it ain't rocket science.
There shouldn't even be an issue.
There's no technical reason, given a tiny bit of buffering, why a player can't have the beginning of the next track ready to play the instant the last track ends - especially when the unit has a "fade" feature. Default should be a 0-second "fade", not a gap interrupting the music.
We're paying hundreds of $$$ for gizmos that are entirely capable of uninterrupted playback, yet track transitions are disturbingly discernable silent gaps.
The whole point is to make it EASY, even TRIVIAL to load music on a player and play in a manner the listener expects. There's no friggin' reason why someone should have to dork around with merging tracks, setting bookmarks, etc. Yes, those duct-tape fixes can be done without much difficulty, but the whole point is fixing something that shouldn't be broken in the first place.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
So basically, you are telling me that if I spend hundreds of dollars on music for my iPod .. and then it dies in 4 or 5 years or whatever (flash or HD failure) I should buy an iPod again if I want to carry that music around??
.. people are going to have to THROW AWAY/re-buy their HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS in music investment in order to switch to it?
.. a better mp3 player will be locked out of the market. It would be illegal for the new mp3 player to "break" the format so that customers can use the iTunes music.
.. it's cool and fun now .. until 10 years from now.
Uh, how else will you carry that music around if you don't buy another music player?
Or, eat my investment in all the songs I'd bought. That's ridiculous.
God, you're being idiotic. If your iPod dies, you don't lose your music. Are you even aware of how the iTunes-iPod sync relationship works? Your music would still be on your computer.
You are telling me this isn't as bad as giving OEM's a discount for being an exclusive MSFT shop? Tell me, in 5 years, if someone else comes out with an mp3 player that's vastly superior in features and design
Yes. That's true for anything. If you don't like that idea, don't buy iTunes music. Anything else you'd like to whine about today that's easily solvable by personal choice?
And no, it's not as bad as punishing stores for selling alternatives, thereby preventing others from being able to compete. Apple has won fair and square.
In other words, because of Apple's propreitery file format lock in
It won't be locked out of the free market. It will be locked out of Apple's iTunes market, yes. You and anyone else has the right to make a product and then sell stuff that only runs on that product.
Apple isn't being clear about the fact that when you buy music from iTunes your portable music player is going to be iPod forever unless you plan on re-purchasing your music. It's like getting a tattoo
It's not Apple's responsibility to tell people "Yeah, the Apple branded content you're buying in Apple's store will only run on Apple's player." Besides, you don't need an iPod to use iTunes, and you can rip the music to CD or WAV and re-encode it for your player of choice.
Basically, all your complaints are just made-up.
"Sufferin' succotash."