Will 'the beat go on' with a new iPod?

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The key to these new iPods, besides the expanded screen real estate, will the addition of the stripped-down version of Mac OS X found on the iPhone, said Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray.

"Currently, Macs, the phone and Apple TV run on (Mac OS), and with these OS-based (iPods), Apple would have an entire line of consumer electronics products based on (Mac OS)," Munster wrote.

Using Mac OS on these new iPods would allow Apple to use the touch-screen interface on the iPhone on the new iPods as well, according to a report from AppleInsider. The idea here would be to mimic the iPhone and maximize the area of the device dedicated to the screen by using a virtual click-wheel, instead of the physical one currently found on the iPod and the iPod Nano.

The fifth-generation iPod and the iPod Nano are getting long in the tooth, with no major updates since 2005. Last year's announcements were mostly cosmetic, with new colors and more capacity. And while iPods still dominate the landscape, new designs that could feature more storage, better screens or even wireless capabilities a la Microsoft's Zune could prompt upgrades and increased sales of television shows and movies through the iTunes Store.

But, of course, there's usually one more thing at an Apple event. The buzz is building that this time, Apple's finally ready to announce the availability of the entire catalog of The Beatles on the iTunes Store.

Hints have been building for months, since Apple and Apple Corps, The Beatles' record label, settled their trademark dispute. Jobs has used Beatles songs and albums in his keynotes, Paul McCartney and the estate of John Lennon have signed deals for their solo works, and conspiracy theorists were busy at work noting the message on Apple's invitation, "the beat goes on," was the last phrase in the 1970 press release that signaled the end of The Beatles as a group.

Of course, that was also a huge hit by Sonny and Cher. And one report is already debunking Beatles-to-iTunes rumors. In any event, there's a decent chance that Apple could use Wednesday's event to announce enhancements to iTunes that could include ringtones for iPhones, more movies available for purchase, or the ability to purchase songs or shows directly from an iPhone or wireless iPod.

It's been a busy year for Apple, with the launch of the iPhone and the push to get Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X, out on time. With all the new hardware launches this year, Apple must be careful to remember that much of its success comes from Mac OS X, Munster said.

"Instead of diversifying its business too dramatically, as some have argued, we believe Apple is focusing its business," if it follows through on putting Mac OS X inside the new iPods, Munster wrote.

[J.G.]

Zune what? who? when? where? how?

The line in this piece about the Zune sticks out like a sore thumb. It reads as if you think you had to make an obligatory positive mention of the also ran. The Zune's wireless feature has done it no good whatsoever. So, if Apple decides to add a wireless feature, it will not be to mimic the Zune. Heck. Larry Craig probably owns a Zune.

[daveworld]

Larry Craig owns a Zune

I am sure he does, blends perfectly well with Minnesota's Airport Bathroom. ;-)

[MaLvaDo39]

Wireless a la Zune lol

Zune's wireless is crippled...so you can squirt a song that plays
for a very limited time and then turns into an ad on your player...
uh no thanks.

If Apple where to do wireless, it would not be "a la Zune" it would
be a real wireless option that would possibly download songs
directly from an iTunes client based on the iPod itself.

[ben::zen]

Download via iTMS

That's exactly the way I would design something
like that... heck, with wireless, you could have
a simple SMS service run directly from the iPod,
if it were OSX based...

[tgrenier]

video

To create my digital media collection, I ripped my CD collection and added some stuff from the good old days of Napster. Even now I'll still buy a CD and rip it then put on the shelf as a backup. Movies on the other hand are ahuge PIA. I have ripped DVD's but it takes several programs. I know apple would not want to add easy functionality for this as it would take away $ from itunes. Easy DVD ripping would be the only feature that would push me to switch from Zen Vision W. Granted it is mostly a music player but the big video screen does come in handy. The kids love it in the car.

[basraw]

Archos 604/605 does wifi with widescreen

Archos is first with all the features.

the 605 is 4.3" TFT touch screen, 800x480. plays music/photos/videos, can record videos with camera, can record from tv/dvd's with additioal dvr station.

[hitekalex]

Archos? lol

Come on now. Archos is gross.. at least their industrial design part. 605 is bulky, plasticy, large unsightly navigation buttons.. Looks like something that was designed in 2001. Really doesn't come close to elegant iPod.

People want something more from their PMP than just the ability to playback 400 file formats.

[thedreaming]

Reality Distortion Field Generator

Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field Generator is 100% operational, so when he announces the new ipods we will all drool at something we've already seen and already own, but we'll gladly buy an ipod (again) just to have the latest model. You got alot of people that bought an iphone, just because they thought it was the coolest ipod they've ever seen. Question: Other than a widescreen with multi-touch, and mac osx, what else can they cram into an ipod?

[ben::zen]

LASERS!!!!

We can have iPods with Lasers on their heads!

[Steve Bryan]

What have the Romans done for us?

Other than the roads, aquaduct, wine, peace, prosperity and so forth what have the Romans done for us? (See "Life of Brian" for the reference).

[drfrost]

What more can they add....

How about a calendar with a to-do list.... etc. All sync'd to your desktop of course (since the ipod isn't really designed for such input).

I think a voice recorder/microphone would also be a feature some would be interested in. Some sort of integrated "Voice Notes" software/organizer....

What else.... what else....

I'd like it to automatically download my favorite webcasts every day at some time (assuming it's docked) so I can listen to them going to work...

Nothing else comes to mind atm....

[blueshore]

How about a user replaceable battery?

Let's face it, the only complain about all the iGizmos that runs with build-in batteries is that you got to send it back to factory (or service) to have the battery replaced, and be deprived for a long time (or worst, but that's another story). Now, a user replaceable battery, that will be a nice development (after all, laptops and some PDA are made that way).

[Nodack]

Buy again?

I bought the iPhone because I knew it would work and play well
with my Mac and I knew it would be the coolest phone ever. I
was right.

I keep hearing from anti Mac people that people only buy Mac
products because they look cool, but don't do anything else.
What a crock of horse manure. Talk to anybody that actually
uses a Mac and they will tell you something else.

Before the iPhone I had to buy the Treo 650. I was told it doesn't
even work with a Mac. I had to purchase third party software to
get it to even sync up. When I did I ended up with two events for
every one in my calendar that had to be deleted. I was excited
that I was going to be able to play MP3s in it, but of course I
could never get that to work. The internet sucked on it and I quit
using that function altogether. I was alright with it because it
was the best I could get.

I got the iPhone, plugged it into my Mac at home and iTunes
sucked all of my info off my Mac automatically. When I turned it
on for the first time everything worked. My calendar was synced.
My contacts were in there. My Safari bookmarks from my
computer were in there. My iPod was filled with my music and
videos. My email was up and running and I didn't have to type in
any info to get it to work. The internet was the real internet and
not the stripped down version. It saw my wifi and connected
making the internet on the iPhone as fast as my computer. I
have over 5000 of my photos on the iPhone that loaded right in
and it views them fast and sleek. All of the things I wanted to
have worked flawlessly from the get go and that isn't fluff that is
function.

The fluff part came when you start using the iPhone and interact
with it. The touch screen is very cool and ahead of it's time. The
typing on the small keyboard takes a little to get used to, but I
can type about 2Xs faster now than I did with the Treo. Pushing
the hard to push Treo keys is hard and I ended up using my
fingernail to get it to work best. Lightly touching the vitual
keyboard of the iPhone takes the lightest touch. It reminds me
of Data of Star Trek Next Generation when he is typing on his
computer screen. Even when I miss a button it usually knows
what I was trying to type and spells it correctly for me giving me
the option to continue on without having to fix my error.

Those of you considering buying an iPhone I suggest you blow
off all of the pro and con hype and just go to the Apple store
and check one out for yourself. They have fully functioning ones
there. Play around with it for five minutes.

Make up your own mind.

[QuetzalcoatlUSA]

more fuel to the fire...

...in re: the Beatles catalog: they just added Ringo's back catalog to iTunes this week, too. One has to wonder if the Fab Four will finally join the rest of us in the 21st century (remember they were some of the last holdout's in the transition from analog tape to CD).

[badasscat]

The iPod Mini

The article says that Apple wasn't afraid to ditch the design of its most popular player, the iPod mini, but what it doesn't say is that the current iPod nano basically *is* the iPod mini with a different name. While Apple may not have been afraid to ditch the mini at the time, they were forced to go back to the tougher mini design, ditching what made the nano so distinctive. All the current nano is is a flash-based iPod mini.

What that says to me is that it's just as likely that the lesson Apple took from the experience is not to mess with success. They could have just updated the mini line with flash and not had to deal with all the PR headaches they got from the first-gen nano, which now looks like a bastard child in the iPod timeline.

An iPhone-style iPod seems probable to me, but I doubt they're going to mess much with the rest of the line (other than adding features and streamlining).

[Lara Jass]

iPod wish list

None of the options listed in the above survey appealed to me, except of course for BETTER BATTERY LIFE! Not surprisingly that was not listed.

[hitekalex]

Archos? lol

Come on now. Archos is gross.. at least their industrial design part. 605 is bulky, plasticy, large unsightly navigation buttons.. Looks like something that was designed in 2001. Really doesn't come close to elegant iPod.

People want something more from their PMP than just the ability to playback 400 file formats.

[HeyFriends]

Here's Another Clue for You All?

Remember back in January when Steve Jobs introduced the
iPhone? The first album art on the iPod he displayed was Sgt.
Pepper's. He played a little of "A little Help from My Friends" and
a little of "Lovely Rita". He continued on with the various features
of the iPhone and ends with the cover art for "Abbey Road".
None of it is sold on iTunes.

He makes a couple statements like, "this is the iPod" and "this is
the best iPod we have ever made". He also calls it a "Wide-Screen
iPod".

When he has almost completed introducing all of the iPhone
features, the three icons of the three devices appear on the big
screen with the caption. "All Together Now".

Since then Paul, John and Ringo's work has become available on
iTunes. The Beatle's catalog can't be far behind along with
George's.

Back to the "Wide-Screen iPod", is it possible that they will add a
Wide-Screen iPod fashioned after the iPhone and continue to sell
the exsisting line or at least part of it?

I have used Macs and, when forced to, Windows for 17 years and
from music to photography to design, Apple has made my life
richer and work easier. I don't doubt that their next
announcement will be a continuation of the same. Fanboy?
Maybe. But a happy fanboy just the same. And as far as this
whole Mac-Windows thing, just Let It Be. Bill Gates is a good
man doing good things in the world with the wealth he has
accumulated and he should be recognized for that.

Seeing "the best iPod ever" and then looking at my 30 GB iPod
photo is like "How ya gonna keep'em down on the farm after
they've seen Pariee".

[xxxmaxximusxxx]

will the beat go on, hope so.

Isn't "the beat goes on" from a Sonny and Cher song, so maybe it
isn't a Beatles announcement at all but I've been expecting a
complete Beatles catalog since the iPhone, especially if the new
iPod copies the iPhone appearance, and Apple is also wrapping up
a carrier in the E.U. Together it all ought to be worth about a
Billion Dollars in sales by XMas.

[Seaspray0]

Ipod will compete with... Ipod

Selling a new ipod to someone who is happy with their old one will be the primary competition. Apple will have to convince those people that their old ipod is no longer cool. Can it be done? I don't know. Just the simple mention that ipod isn't cool can cause a frenzied retort from many hardliners. Wait, I know... a commercial of an old ipod with a thermometer stuck in it..."Yep, it's reached room temperature. Time to replace it."

[Troll Hard]

Send in the Clones

We will already have an iPhone clone at the end of 2007 called the mini One:

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/08/emgeton_mini_one_windows_powered_iphone_clone.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/08/emgeton_mini_one_windows_powered_iphone_clone.html</a>

How soon before the iPod clones come out?

[DrtyDogg]

Clones

We've already had several "clones" released prior to the iPhone.

[gubbord]

the Standalone MP3 player is almost extinct

in favor of cell phone based media players

[nicmart]

Sales?

The sales certainly bear that out. iPods are an endangered species.

[Mister Winky]

Faster sync/transfer times for Nano, please

I recently picked up an 8GB Nano. It works well, sounds pretty good and the form factor is unbeatable. My only complaint: the transfer times for syncing music are *very* slow.

I have a 4GB high speed SD card that I use to play music from my Treo. Transferring music to this card over a USB 2.0 card reader takes 1/3 the time it does to sync music to the iPod Nano over the same USB 2.0 connection. It seems clear that Apple used slow SD memory in the Nano to keep costs down, but I would have paid a $20 premium to have faster memory.

Maybe they can offer a "redline" model with fast memory?

-Mister Winky