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New iPod Touch Has an 802.11n Chip
eggboard writes "iFixIt has discovered a Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n chip in the just-announced iPod touch (32 GB and 64 GB) models that uses single-stream 802.11n. Single-stream doesn't get the full power of N, but it boosts speed enough that — along with space-time block encoding, a feature coming soon to Wi-Fi access points with two or more radios — the iPod touch could be an effective networked media server, for streaming and transfer, possibly through the new iTunes Home Sharing feature."
Wireless! More space than a Nomad! I finally have a reason to get an iPod!
now that the spec is final, Apple will write a driver and make sure to enable n only via their WiFi access points
WTF is this link-less entry supposed to be?
Here's the story mentioned above:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPod-touch-3rd-Generation/1158/2
Home sharing is just a way of automatically keeping multiple iTunes libraries up to date with new purchases when they are all tied to the same iTunes store account. It's not any kind of actual sharing service, just a synchronization service.
This is silly. There would be so many other bottlenecks on a mobile device of this nature that the speed of the connectivity isn't an issue. I bet the iPod can't even consume (let alone serve) data at 802.11g speeds.
Better known as 318230.
Why didn't they tell us earlier? Seems odd to me.
It's part of their marketing. Now, when fanboys say that Apple products are NOT more expensive when you compare them feature to feature with others, the fanboys can also point out that you're also buying features that you don't know about! See how superior Apple products are?!
It's NOT me! It's the meds! I'm on 1000mg of Fukitol.
All this means is that Apple decided to use a chip that happened to support wireless 802.11N communication. Maybe it was a planned feature, but it got cut. Maybe it was just cheaper or easier to work with than other offerings. Apple will not enable this at some point down the road, just as they won't activate the bluetooth chip inside older Ipod Touches. What _will_ happen is next year, they will sell a new model with the same chips, but this time with the necessary software support and bill it as a new compelling feature.
What I'm more curious about is any of the hardware there for it. Multiple antennas for MIMO? Any 5GHz hardware? The biggest advantage to wireless-N IMO is it moves the wireless out of the stupidly crowded 2.4GHz ISM band. The 5GHz band is (at least for now) far less crowded and this unlicensed band has quite a few more channels to spread the devices out a bit more spectrum wise.
The chip is one thing but without any other supporting hardware, it doesn't make much difference. The chip could have been chosen for better power characteristics or a few other reasons. Time will tell if apple enables any N style features but I am not holding my breath.
It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
iPods output to televisions.
Because the iPod Touch doesn't support 802.11n networking, only b and g. What purpose would it serve to say "Hey, the device is 802.11n capable, but the software won't let you use it". They probably used that particular chip for cost reasons. The chip is perfectly capable of doing b and g and probably costs less in volumes than the b/g only chips now that technology has gone forward.
"Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
No because you don't need a dock, just a cable.
"Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
Try a better search term?
Here's a third party example http://www.bestofferbuy.com/AVout-TV-IDChip-Cable-for-iPod-Nano-3ClassicTouchiPhone-1-p-9946.html?currency=GBP&utm_source=gbase&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=gbase
And apple's official KB article http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1454
HDMI is only one way to connect to a TV. How bout you try to get informed before spouting nonsense : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1454.
"Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
They aren't allowed to rewrite the drivers. Sawbones-Oxleaf act or something.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
It's possible they may sell another $5 upgrade for N as they did when N first came out, for the macbooks that shipped juuust before N was announced on them.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
This is not surprising, and now that it's confirmed, we can expect Apple to release an 802.11n enabler for iPod touch in the future and charge $.9.95 for it. They're so predictable these days...
What's more interesting than this is that the new iPod touch, while almost identicial to the old one aside from a faster processor and some other things, is almost the exact same inside except for one small change: a space big enough to fit the same camera found on the iPod nano (in previous generations there was an antenna cable socket, which has been moved and, in its absence is now just plastic spacer).
There were rumors of an iPod touch camera before it came out, even rumors that pinpointed the camera to this exact location in the device, and there was also a recent rumor that they pulled it due to some problems at the last minute. Looks like this confirms that, and I'm sure we can expect an updated iPod touch in the future with a camera. That, in my opinion, is far more interesting.
R.Mo
Maybe because this chip really does not support N?
Just because it is from that family of chips doesn't mean it has N.
Look at the designator on the end of the chipset full designation: BCM4329FKUBG That BG at the end may be telling.
I'm sure when Apple calls, Broadcom pays attention, and will burn custom chip sets, omitting any feature Apple does not want.
the full BCM4329FKUBG designation does not appear in Broadcom's catalog. Its a custom chip.
Besides, N requires special antennas. They were not found.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
And for $10 it will enable the camera.
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
I wonder if it's a coincidence that the near-last digits are FKU....
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
FKUBG... hmmm. Fuck You Bill Gates?