Last minute: iPod nano with sensor, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod shuffle

[AppleInsider]

Apple will announce later today an entire refresh to its iPod family of digital media players, including an iPod nano with some form of motion sensor, AppleInsider has been told.

Longstanding sources report that a new version of the iPod shuffle will be made available in 5 colors, while an update to the iPod classic will arrive in just two colors -- black and silver as the options exist today. The iPod touch will not be offered with a color choice and look very similar to today's model.

More significantly, however, those same sources report that Apple will offer its new elongated iPod nano in 9 colors. The player will reportedly be the first non-Multi-Touch iPod to sport a motion or orientation sensor, according to two people familiar with the matter.

One of those people described a function by which the iPod's 'shuffle' function is invoked when a user physically shakes the player. Another person said the new nano would be capable of determining its orientation and provide a more natural Cover Flow view in landscape mode.

While AppleInsider's sources did not comment on specific colors or capacity, similar information passed on to MacRumors earlier this morning indicates the three new colors for the nano will include Purple, Yellow, and Orange. The nano is expected to be available in 8GB and 16GB models, while the iPod touch remains 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities. CrunchGear claims the new iPod classic will be offered in a 120GB model.

People familiar with Apple's plans for the new players say they'll be made available for sale at Apple Retail stores immediately following their introduction today.

Apple's "Let's Rock" event kicks off 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Stay tuned to AppleInsider for coverage throughout the day.

An image of the the new iPod nano published by MacNN.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[mrparet]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple will announce later today an entire refresh to its iPod family of digital media players, including an iPod nano with some form of motion sensor, AppleInsider has been told.

Longstanding sources report that a new version of the iPod shuffle will be made available in 5 colors, while an update to the iPod classic will arrive in just two colors -- black and silver as the options exist today. The iPod touch will not be offered with a color choice and look very similar to today's model.

More significantly, however, those same sources report that Apple will offer its new elongated iPod nano in 9 colors. The player will reportedly be the first non-Multi-Touch iPod to sport a motion or orientation sensor, according to two people familiar with the matter.

One of those people described a function by which the iPod's 'shuffle' function is invoked when a user physically shakes the player. Another person said the new nano would be capable of determining its orientation and provide a more natural Cover Flow view in landscape mode.

While AppleInsider's sources did not comment on specific colors or capacity, similar information passed on to MacRumors earlier this morning indicates the three new colors for the nano will include Purple, Yellow, and Orange. The nano is expected to be available in 8GB and 16GB models, while the iPod touch remains 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities. CrunchGear claims the new iPod classic will be offered in a 120GB model.

People familiar with Apple's plans for the new players say they will be made available for sale at Apple Retail stores immediately following their introduction today.

Apple's "Let's Rock" event kicks off 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 p.m. central. Stay tuned to AppleInsider for coverage throughout the day.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

It should be 12:00 p.m. central. Eastern time is 1:00 p.m.

[diskimage]

I have not heard but does anyone think the new touches will have GPS.

[UnseenLlama]

I was hoping the new nanos would have the Nike+ sensor built in. That way you don't have to worry about connecting the receiver and just by the transmitter. We shall see.

[Galley]

The motion sensor must be there for the click wheel controls to change orientation.

[urbansprawl]

Originally Posted by Galley

The motion sensor must be there for the click wheel controls to change orientation.

But what about the symbols on the click wheel? Wouldn't that be confusing unless they could change too?

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by diskimage

I have not heard but does anyone think the new touches will have GPS.

I think there may be a reasonable chance. The biggest negative to this would be the fact that the way Apple handles maps would not work on the touch if you were wandering around (loading the maps from the network), but 3rd party developers could provide downloaded maps and navigation, etc. Apple might think they have an opening in the GPS market which they could exploit. I think it would be a good idea, but then again I'm probably in the market for a touch.

The other possibilities are a camera, a microphone/earphone and speakers. Speakers would be a good idea since you could use the touch without headphones. The camera is probably a bit of a longshot. The microphone/earphone is probably the least likely as I don't see Apple seeing, much of a market in for portable VOIP.

I guess it all hinges on what Apple sees as the positioning of the touch, if it cannibalise the iPhone and how much the product would cost. If they don't up the memory sizes and keep roughly the same price, then some extra features would be called for. Apple generally doesn't like lowering prices too much so some extra is on the cards.

So my guess, in order of likeliness:

- Speakers
- GPS
- Camera
- Microphone/earphone

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by urbansprawl

But what about the symbols on the click wheel? Wouldn't that be confusing unless they could change too?

They could have two sets of symbols one of which is backlit depending on the orientation (the other ones become invisible if not backlit).

[Bergermeister]

Originally Posted by Galley

The motion sensor must be there for the click wheel controls to change orientation.

I was thinking they will be built in to the earphones... if the listener starts shaking his head, the iPod will switch quickly to the next song; if the user starts nodding in time with the music, the song will be replayed.

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

I was thinking they will be built in to the earphones... if the listener starts shaking his head, the iPod will switch quickly to the next song; if the user starts nodding in time with the music, the song will be replayed.

You forgot pause if the user has a seizure.

[teckstud]

AI ??? The classic exists today in silver not white.

[Panu]

Now we are all whipping up our hopes, dreams, and expectations so high we can only be disappointed. It happens every time.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Panu

Now we are all whipping up our hopes, dreams, and expectations so high we can only be disappointed. It happens every time.

If you think of it as "change" you won't be dissapointed.

[paxman]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

I was thinking they will be built in to the earphones... if the listener starts shaking his head, the iPod will switch quickly to the next song; if the user starts nodding in time with the music, the song will be replayed.

Just don't use your nano whilst driving in NY. or when ski-ing moguls... or when...

[Porchland]

Originally Posted by UnseenLlama

I was hoping the new nanos would have the Nike+ sensor built in. That way you don't have to worry about connecting the receiver and just by the transmitter. We shall see.

That would be a killer app for me.

Nike+ appeals to the stats nerd in me and changed my entire attitude about running. I live getting home, plugging in, and seeing my pacing, compare to previous runs, look at monthly totals, etc.

Other than a built in sensor, the biggest feature I would like to see is more sophisticated verbal cues. I would like to be able to set parameters for a run -- such as staying between a 9:00 and 9:30 pace, setting up intervals, etc.

[ajay]

Originally Posted by merdhead

You forgot pause if the user has a seizure.

[Booga]

My guess is that the motion sensor is for pedometer integration, too. The nano is used a lot for exercise, and integration of the Nike+ and/or pedometers and such would enhance that use case.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Booga

My guess is that the motion sensor is for pedometer integration, too. The nano is used a lot for exercise, and integration of the Nike+ and/or pedometers and such would enhance that use case.

Hopefully someone comes out with an add-on pincher attachment to provide us with body fat analysis on our pods.

[bboybazza]

Originally Posted by merdhead

You forgot pause if the user has a seizure.

as an epileptic i feel insulted

[Clive At Five]

Shuffles when you shake? Sorry, AI, but I'm calling your bluff on this one. If you're jogging without the hold button on, you'll shuffle your songs whether you want to or not.

It will contain a sensor to detect what direction the iPod is being held - naturally - for watching movies in landscape orientation.

Shuffles when you shake, get real...

-Clive

[aduzik]

Accelerometers are small and cheap, so I could see them adding one to the nano to determine orientation, as in the iPhone and iPod touch. When the player is in the landscape orientation, the iPod would enter Cover Flow. In Cover Flow, you really only need the scroll wheel and center select buttons to make it work. Scroll through, select an album, select a song. I suppose they could add a "back" button to the album detail view so you still only need the scroll wheel, or maybe a "shake" gesture. Turn the player back to portrait orientation, and Cover Flow disappears.

Video would, of course, play back in landscape mode only. Even on current iPods nano and classic, the labeled buttons aren't really necessary when playing video -- you can cycle through various settings by clicking the Select button and using the scroll wheel to make your adjustments.

Since everything else is done in the portrait orientation, the labeled buttons aren't really a problem. Now, what would be really cool would be if they did the same thing to the iPod classic so it could have a bigger screen, but I really doubt it.

[Shintocam]

Well since the one thing that seems a given is that the new nano screen will be taller than it is wide, it pretty much has to have a motion sensor so that when you turn the then on its side the video will also rotate to allow you to watch in wide screen - just like the touch.

I seriously dobut it will do anything other than that at all. Maybe as pointed out it will reorient the click wheel too but unless the click wheel now has some sort of back light set of icons (OLED anyone - okay sorry now I'm doing it) I'm not sure how well that is going to work.

Shaking it to activate shuffle? Blah - dumb considering that many people use nanos for working out.

Oh - how about this - an Etch-a-sketch function. Shake the iPod and it erases your library - oh wait my gen two had that - it was called a hard drive......

[emig647]

Originally Posted by UnseenLlama

I was hoping the new nanos would have the Nike+ sensor built in. That way you don't have to worry about connecting the receiver and just by the transmitter. We shall see.

Bad idea, these sensors die off. Not just the ones that go in the shoe, but the ones that connect to the iPod as well. I've gone through 3 of them. 2 were shoe sensors, 1 was the receiver.

[Slewis]

Null.

[digitalclips]

Maybe Apple have a Wi-Tricity system to unveil ... If not this year, one year soon. I predict all Apple Macs will lose the mag latch and all iPhones, iPods and MacTablets will have a built in wi-tricity receiver to pick up a charge from the new Apple multi-purpose base station.

[wbrasington]

Originally Posted by bboybazza

as an epileptic i feel insulted

If you adjust your meds, the feeling should pass.
That usually works for me.....

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by bboybazza

as an epileptic i feel insulted

Why do you feel insulted? And why do you think epileptic fits are the only kind of seizure? Also, does having a disease entitle you to complain when other make any sort of possible reference to it?

Really, get over yourself.

[8CoreWhore]

For the Touch: GPS, 3G, speaker... everything but the phone...

Nano: sensor for orientation, shake sensor (3x rapidly to differentiate from jogging) for various functions depending on what your doing, including games, skip to next playlist, etc.

MacBook/Pro: GPS, 3G

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by wbrasington

If you adjust your meds, the feeling should pass.
That usually works for me.....

Try Zyprexa.

[Denton]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

Shuffles when you shake? Sorry, AI, but I'm calling your bluff on this one. If you're jogging without the hold button on, you'll shuffle your songs whether you want to or not.

It will contain a sensor to detect what direction the iPod is being held - naturally - for watching movies in landscape orientation.

Shuffles when you shake, get real...

-Clive

Completely agree. It is conceivable that this function could be set so that you don't kick it into shuffle by accident while exercising (high threshold), but what's the point? If you want to shuffle songs, you need only press the center button three times and scroll. There is no ambiguity in that motion. Shake-to-shuffle sounds interesting, but it doesn't make life easier.

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore

For the Touch: GPS, 3G, speaker... everything but the phone...

Nano: sensor for orientation, shake sensor (3x rapidly to differentiate from jogging) for various functions depending on what your doing, including games, skip to next playlist, etc.

MacBook/Pro: GPS, 3G

3G touch... without the phone? Nice.

[wbrasington]

Originally Posted by merdhead

3G touch... without the phone? Nice.

I'm surprised we don't get a few complaining the touch shouldn't be locked to AT&T

[terrett101]

The Apple store online has gone down in preparation for the update.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by UnseenLlama

I was hoping the new nanos would have the Nike+ sensor built in. That way you don't have to worry about connecting the receiver and just by the transmitter. We shall see.

Originally Posted by emig647

Bad idea, these sensors die off. Not just the ones that go in the shoe, but the ones that connect to the iPod as well. I've gone through 3 of them. 2 were shoe sensors, 1 was the receiver.

You wouldn't need any other sensor if it was built in. The sensor you put in your show is an accelerometer, like in the Touch. What you plug into the bottom of the Nano is a proprietary Bluetooth controller to relay the data.

[thomasfxlt]

Originally Posted by wbrasington

I'm surprised we don't get a few complaining the touch shouldn't be locked to AT&T

Why would it be. I don't think Apple has a contract with ATT on non-phone devices. Wouldn't it be interesting if Apple did an end-around ATT by providing a wireless device with 3g data capability or simply a USB port that any carriers 3g modem could be plugged into.

[terrett101]

Originally Posted by solipsism

You wouldn't need any other sensor if it was built in. The sensor you put in your show is an accelerometer, like in the Touch. What you plug into the bottom of the Nano is a proprietary Bluetooth controller to relay the data.

Which begs the question, if it's that simple to be done why are we still waiting for the touch version? Surely it's simple to disable or ignore the accelerometer onboard, and just store the relayed data for upload, just like with the nano. They've said they're working on it, maybe that will be mentioned today. It can't take much longer to do.

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by solipsism

You wouldn't need any other sensor if it was built in. The sensor you put in your show is an accelerometer, like in the Touch. What you plug into the bottom of the Nano is a proprietary Bluetooth controller to relay the data.

Yes, but it's in your shoe. Unless you strap your iPod to your leg or foot it's going to be much harder for the accelerometer to differentiate between hitting the ground and other movement. The sensor in your shoe has got a much stronger and readily identifiable signal.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by merdhead

Yes, but it's in your shoe. Unless you strap your iPod to your leg or foot it's going to be much harder for the accelerometer to differentiate between hitting the ground and other movement. The sensor in your shoe has got a much stronger and readily identifiable signal.

I've wondered about this. I have used accelerometers in cars over the years to measure the actual speed. It doesn't matter where it's placed, it was always accurate. The shoe seems like an obvious place, but can it's still work on the arm or in the hand on in a pocket? After all, it's measuring force acting upon it, not the impact. I suppose it would be hard to measure the stride length, but speed and distance should be fine, plus a permanent sensor in the device could be larger and more accurate than the throwaway one in the shoe. (speculation)

edit: I just think it's odd that CoverFlow would be the only useful app for the motion sensor. Videos will play in widescreen, regardless, so I would think that there would have to be another reason to put an accelerometer in the Nano. T-minus 55 minutes.

[Serendip7]

Think about it... a bigger elongated screen.. motion detection... buttons on the bottom...

Turn it sideways and the buttons are on the left or right side (depending on if you're a lefty or righty). Add the motion detection and you can run a lot of the games already on the iphone.

I would be surprised if they can use the same binaries... but a little compiler flag that changes the build target from iphone to ipod nano wouldn't be out of the question.

Videos too of course.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by diskimage

I have not heard but does anyone think the new touches will have GPS.

What use would that be? Wouldn't one need a data contract to make use of it?