Thinking about what iPod 2 might bring...

chris cuilla

Fromt the day iPod was introduced, I imagined it to be something more than a simple MP3 player. So far this appears to be true.



My thoughts also considered that iPod 1 was simply the FIRST step (of many) in a new product or product family.



I wanted to get other thoughts on where iPod 2 (or 3 or 4) might go.



Immediately, I presume iPod 2 to evolve something like this:



- color display

- iPhoto and QuickTime synchronization and QT movie playing

- Bluetooth and/or Airport w/Rendevous capability

- same prices / same battery life / same size (slightly smaller lighter?)



This would carry iPod for a another full year (or two).



comments?

applenut

no. Apple seems to be into creating very specific products that do a single task and do it extremely well and elegantly. Thy do this with all their iApps and I believe they will do it with digital hub devices.



The iPod plays MP3s. That is its purpose and it does it better than anything else. Apple can't extend it too much, it'll lose focus and price will be ridiculous. The fact that it is also a hd is only because of the technology behind it.



So I think in the future we can expect more devices but ones that only do a single thing and do it better or more eleganty than the rest.

capnpyro

is there ANY word of when an ipod 2 might be around? i'm saving up some cash for an ipod and i dont want to drop $400 if theres a new one around the corner.. apple makes me so wary of buying things, them and their giant unannounced expos. i wish they'd release things at a regular interval with like.. announcements beforehand.. gaw

stunned

i hope the ipod have a radio function though.

tat would be perfect!!

ensign pulver

[quote]Originally posted by applenut:

<strong>no. Apple seems to be into creating very specific products that do a single task and do it extremely well and elegantly. Thy do this with all their iApps and I believe they will do it with digital hub devices.



The iPod plays MP3s. That is its purpose and it does it better than anything else. Apple can't extend it too much, it'll lose focus and price will be ridiculous. The fact that it is also a hd is only because of the technology behind it.



So I think in the future we can expect more devices but ones that only do a single thing and do it better or more eleganty than the rest.</strong><hr></blockquote>



I couldn't disagree more. The iPod is revolutionary because it performs the tasks of multiple dedicated devices more elegantly than the dedicated devices themselves. It is the best MP3 player in the world and also the best portable FireWire hard drive in the world. Two boxes literally fused into one with an increase in functionality.



I read somewhere that something like 80% of PDA users do nothing more than manage contacts, calendars and to do lists with their PDA's (provided they can hack their way through the syncing process, especially under Windows). When iCal and iSync come out this month, the iPod will do for PDA's what it has already done for MP3 players and portable hard drives. Think about this for a second. In less than a year, the iPod will have obviated three entire categories of computer peripherals.



So what's next? IMHO, the iPod will gain a larger, color screen and an iBook style composite video/audio out jack that will let it sync with your Movies and Pictures folders with the same ease it now syncs with iTunes. All your QuickTime content and iPhoto library available 24/7 on the iPod itself or outputted to any TV. Hard copy photos of your kids in your wallet? How 20th century. PowerPoint presentations served up from a bulky laptop? Just save your file out as QuickTime and plug your iPod into the conference room's AV equipment. Control slide advancement via the iPod scroll wheel.



What won't happen is a proliferation of Apple digital hub devices. Apple won't release a dedicated device when the needed functionality can just be rolled into the iPod. Remember that original iMac ad with the snarl of wires coming out of the PC accompanied by the sound of a traffic jam? The camera panned over to the serene little Bondi with just its power and keyboard cables to the gentle sounds of nature. The iPod will soon do the same for the bag full of hard drives, MP3 players, PDA's and cell phones we carry around now. Two or three years from now the fact that the iPod was originally marketed as an MP3 player will be the answer to a trivia question.

willoughby

I agree with applenut. There's going to be seperate products. Think about digital video for a second. If you wanted to store your iMovies on your iPod so you could show them on any TV you wouldn't have enough room left for your Mp3s.



So I think we'd see a 20 gig iPod like device geared towards video. That would give you an hour and a half of DV. I would love to have something like this. However, I want a seperate device for my Mp3s.



Now imagine a 5 gig iPod like device with a color LCD screen to show your iPhoto library. Imagine how many pictures you could have in that little baby without any Mp3s or DV taking up all the room.



I hope Apple doesn't intend on making the iPod the swiss army knife of the digital hub.



Seperate products for seperate uses

fryke

you'll find quite some information, actually, about an iPod II. Both on older editions of powerpage.org and <a href="http://macnews.net.tc"; target="_blank">http://macnews.net.tc</a>; ...

starland

Something from Woz! I believe he is giving iPod GPS funtion.

@homenow

I would hope that if/when Apple decides to get back into the PDA funtional market they do it right. I agree that most people use PDA's as stated above. However it is the PDA's ability to do more that is their main selling point. Case in point, one of the Main reasons that I bought a Palm was to ballance my checkbook. I first downlaoded a shareware program, then later bought Quicken for my Mac. I'm not using the PDA much right now, I want anew one with a USB hook-up, slightly smaller, and color screen. However one of the main features that I will be looking for is the ability to sync with my Quicken database. This has saved me more than the cost of the PDA itself over the pase 3-4 years. Yes I use the PDA as a calander (rarely) and a phone book, but I would never spend $150+ on a device just for this.



The same goes with a phone. I just got ride of my cell phone contract. I would like to get another soon, but $40/month is a little steep for my use monthly usage. It was also a pain to cary a PDA and Cell phone around. It would be nice to have these two combined, and I would view it as a natural evolution of the two devices. However, a cell phone screen is a little too small for use as a PDA, and with the exception of the Palm smart phones, they are more or less limited to internal programing. I think that to do the PIM device right it would need to expand on what the Palm brings to the table on the OS side, a rich development commuity, all wrapped up in a speaker phone package, add in a bluetooth headset and you have a winner, as long as you can sell in in all major world markets, and it comes with a low enough price tag to make it affordable for the masses.

vinney57

Got to go with Applenut here..."iFrame" will be a separate product, but exactly as described. I'm sure the philosophy is constantly evolving at apple since these 'hub devices' are a still a new thing but I am absolutely sure Steve does NOT want want to build a multipurpose handheld. I would say the philosophy is much more Japanese style, 'jewel like' objects with a single clear purpose. The functionality muddies a little as it develops, simply because it can, but the focus for new hub device 'jewels' will remain. Oh and no f*cking camera or phone (why?!!!)

producer

the iPod will without a dougt eventually contain bluetooth/and some form of 802.11. This would allow a wireless a cam to remain ligh and funtional but have enormous storeage capability by wireless storing photos/vid on the iPod instead of expensive flash cards...so far some cams are appearing with bluetooth...if Apple made a high speed wireless cam and wireless ipod this would be a unique combination...



[ 09-08-2002: Message edited by: Producer ]</p>

chris cuilla

I would only agree with applenut here if that other device is something like "iCam" which makes more sense being oriented around iPhoto and QuickTime.



However, if they do not, iPod 2 w/color display and iPhoto synch makes MUCH sense.



I DON'T want five different devices to carry around.



A (single) device I can carry my music, photo (video?) collection to play, listen to, show off pics of my kids, etc. would be great.



I DO agree that Apple's single, well-defined device (application) vs. the "swiss army knife" approach is wise.



However, as always, this must be always balanced with have too many devices, all so specialized that I am carrying twenty of them around. Yuck!



I see how iPod's basic UI can adopt nicely to browsing my iPhoto collection, etc. Note also that I do not imagine adding much beyond this to iPod.

mandricard

[quote]Originally posted by Producer:

the iPod will without a dougt eventually contain bluetooth/and some form of 802.11. This would allow a wireless a cam to remain ligh and funtional but have enormous storeage capability by wireless storing photos/vid on the iPod instead of expensive flash cards.<hr></blockquote>



A nice thought, but can bluetooth carry this much data?



Mandricard

AppleOutsider

keda

In the year or so that iPod has been out, it has grown from a 'simple' MP3 player to a mp3, contact manager, scheduling(soon)device, and more(pong rulez). I say it has already left the 'single-purpose' realm. The coolest part is that Apple didn't try to introduce an mp3 player that could organize and schedule. The name 'iPod' doesn't even allude to any purpose (eg iTunes, iCal, iMovie). They gave us a pod and began to fill it with features.



I think that a natural progression would be some improved input (Ink?) and color. Because the the features are ROM upgradeable, this device has alot of room to grow.



I dont think Apple is going to make a bunch of single purpose gadgets. Each of these would be on a dead-end track as technology and public interest changes. I think Apple is aiming at PDAs and tablets through a back door. They are defining themselves through function instead of market segment. It is a bold yet subtle move which is paying off so far.

othello

i like the fact that i can carry contacts and calendar information with me on an ipod (along with music of course). so i can look up information away from ym computer, but what about putting it in?



on my mopbile phone at least i can input data, even if it is dog slow. my phone will allow voice recording (which i never use), or i just add someones phone number into my phone book.



but i can't do that on an ipod so that sort of makes it half empty to me, rather than being half full... <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />

torifile

What is this obsession with carrying around a little 2" color screen? I've never understood WHY anyone would want to watch movies on a tiny screen like that. For Pete's sake, I just wish the "I want the next iPod to have a color screen so I can watch home movies on it" people would get a clue. The iPod is small so it can fit in your pocket "A thousand songs in your pocket" was it's original tag line. You can't watch videos if the thing is in your pocket. That would be what I call a waste of money.



Maybe if the next iPod device were a camera, a color screen would make sense, but not for the reasons people have been talking about.

engpjp

The battery capacity is a deciding factor here. It rules out a built-in AirPort but not Bluetooth. Both also have too limited transfer rates for wireless video transfer, and 20 GB is not much if you want to carry around quality videos.



Given Steve Jobs' preference for Bluetooth-enabled phones rather than PDAs, it seems unlikely that the iPod form factor will change much over the next couple of years. Text data output will be extended (viz the upcoming enabling of iPod to display address-, calendar- and to-do data) because it is doable in software; displaying pictures/photos would demand a larger (color) screen and a major hardware revision and is therefore not on the horizon.



Any kind of input will be via the FireWire port for the foreseeable future; the most probable direct input method to come to iPod will be dictation and voice control, which demands "only" software, an a/d converter and a microphone. The processor power and the memory is there already.



engpjp