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The End of the iPod Clickwheel

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the if-it-ain't-broke-fix-it dept.

Rockgod quotes a Mercury News article saying "If a recent patent filing is any indication, Apple Computer may abandon the iconic wheel that has become virtually synonymous with its popular iPod music players. The company had previously explored replacing the click wheel with a virtual one as part of a touch-sensitive display. But now Apple appears to be looking at a third option: a touch-sensitive frame surrounding the display. Rather than click a physical button or press a virtual one on the screen, users would touch an area on the frame to operate their iPod."

2 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. "If a recent patent filing is any indication..." by Wingsy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "If a recent patent filing is any indication..." Well, it isn't an indication of any such thing. Apple patents stuff alla time and some things make it and some don't. Just because you see Apple filing a patent doesn't mean they will do anything with it. More likely in this case it is to prevent others from marketing the idea.

    --
    If I didn't have absolutely NOTHING to do, I wouldn't be here.
  2. Re:if it ain't broke... by Garabito · · Score: 4, Interesting
    you know the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

    Apple is known for not following that rule. For instance, when the iPod nano was introduced, it replaced the iPod mini, which was doing very well on the market. Hardly any other company would have done that because of the conservative "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset of the corporate world.