September 2008 iPod Event

I will certainly take a crack at this.

First; iPod Touch will get revised but maintain its current form factor. This is pretty obvious but one does have to consider the possibility of a revision before September. What I expect though is a doubling of Flash memory, Bluetooth and possibly more RAM. Other than that it will be the same old platform.

Second; Ipod Nano will go full screen and make use of a Touch based click wheel. Full screen will make the unit more viable for video content, at least for the young. these units will also double in Flash. It should be noted that he "Touch" interface on this device will not e the same as the "Touch" interface on the iPod Touch. The screen is simply to small.

Third; Expect iPod classic to more than double in capacity. Conventional HDD will lead in storage capacity at a reasonable price for some time. With the advent of video to go with the audio content storage demands will continue to outstrip what Flash can economically supply.

Fourth; expect something like iPod Touch Maxi. This is a device to offer up all the capability of iPods, Newtons and do so on a larger screen. This will be an all solid state device and will likely have twice the memory capacity of the current iPod Touch. Maxi will be optimized to deliver higher resolution video content instead of Audio. Of course being a Touch based device it will have access to a huge number of apps. This is another device that could easily be release prior to September.

Fifth; Expect something along the lines of an iPhone nano. Nano as in the original nano form factor. I'm not sure if this will be a Touch based phone or not. There are some marketing advantages for Apple to offer up an iPhone alternative, a dumb phone if you will. This will be a basic iPod, possibly 8GB or maybe 16.

Dave

Can one of you guys offer an opinion?
We all know the newton 2.0 is coming. All the indications are there. But how do you think Apple will treat the product? Would they treat it as a ipod like device? If so then we might see it debut in september if there is an ipod event.
Or would they treat it as a special version of the iphone? If so then they might debut the product in June along with the more than likely debut of the 3G iphone.
What do you all think?

nostalgia? deja vu?

i hope we finally see apple's answer to bluetooth in the ipod

i'm guessing some really nice small headphones that work nicely and a solution that works with other headphones also.

Then the key thing would be a bluetooth dock something that works with all our bluetooth accessories we all have. If they go one step further it could have profiles so that it can work with virtually ever accessory.

I think they might do this on the iphone in june and then with the ipod in september. Imagine how nice it would be to just walk in your car and have your music work right away and not have to take it out of your pocket. Then just put your headphones.

besides all that the standard storage increase and larger screen on the classics. possible nano update like said above but i don't know.

iPhone – Updated in June/July
iPod Touch – Minor update (more memory, more features, similar form factor)
iPod Classic – Larger HD. I'm on the fence as to any kind of wireless. What's the point of bluetooth? The only things I can think of are wireless sync, which isn't that important for most people, and car integration.
iPod Nano - Not sure that Apple's ready to give it touch. Apple doesn't want it to cannibalize Touch and iPhone sales and an "iPod Touch Nano" (if you will) would also raise the unit cost, cutting into the profit margin of their best selling iPod.

All in all, I think 2008 will be a pretty dull year for new iPods. The exciting year was clearly last year with the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Apple will be doing a lot of refining in 2008.

new iphone - nuff said

Wireless stereo headphones!

Right now, if you want to use wireless headphones with an iPod, you have to buy a 3rd party dongle that plugs into the iPod's dock connector to transmit stereo audio to your wireless Bluetooth headphones.

If Apple built Bluetooth into the whole line (and supported the proper profiles) then we'd have built-in support for wireless stereo audio. And knowing Apple, they'd create their own wireless headphones with a high price and subpar quality.

But, something like that would be great, especially in the nano. Eliminate those cable snags and tangles that people experience all the time, particularly if they work out with their iPod.

Apple is a company that is always focused on a user centric experience, bluetooth only creates hassles since

a) most bluetooth headsets are those bulky sets and not those small earbuds.
b) they are battery powered, therefore cost more in a cost of ownership chart.
c) increases manufacturing cost to satisfy a niche market.

most cell phones, even the one below $100 on a prepaid plan comes with bluetooth, but how many people actually use the feature?

So, let me get this straight. You want to take lossy iTunes music (most people don't do lossless) and then compress it even further to be sent using A2DP over Bluetooth? I mean, you are aware that sending audio over bluetooth significantly degrades quality, right? I've used a set of Bluetooth headphones (tested a pair of Etymotics), and even the impeccable quality of Etymotic headphones couldn't compensate for how bad A2DP degraded the music. Actually, using high end headphones probably made it worse.

If you want to degrade quality that badly, I have a much cheaper solution:
:

Wow, lots of negativity in response to that idea!

Yes, I am aware that A2DP degrades audio quality. As you said, most people don't do lossless anyway. Most people would never know the difference. I can't tell you how many times I notice people wearing their headphones backwards (Left earpiece on right ear). Also, most iPod users are using the cheap-as-h*ll white earbuds that come with the iPod, which sound terrible. However, for "most users" they're just fine. Most people just don't know any better.

As I said, for people who work out with their iPod, it could be a very useful feature. If you're running on a treadmill, I don't think you're going to be too worried about havign audiophile-grade sound available while you run. You're more likely to want something to drown out most of the ambient noise of the gym and give you something to focus on.

Sure, if you're sitting at home or in a studio, you're going to want some high-quality wired cans.

But for portability, I think that a lot of users would dig some Bluetooth. It's already been establsihed that the average iPod user doesn't know squat about the quality loss of compressing their files and using crappy headphones.

Do you honestly think that the guy who's using the iPod earbuds while listening to his 128kbps MP3s is going to complain that his Bluetooth headphones don't sound good enough? Doubtful.

And as for size, yeah, there are still some bulky ones, but manufacturers are certainly learning how to slim them down, as you can see here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Wireless.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Wireless.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...eadphones.html

I certainly wouldn't call any of those bulky. Sure, most Bluetooth earbuds have some kind of ridiculous design, but a lot of the on-ears seem like they'd suit a lot of people.

Also, if you don't like a feature - Don't use it!

Personally, I wouldn't ever really use Bluetooth, but I've heard a lot of people say that they'd like the feature. If it's built in to future iPods, it's there for the people who want it. If you don't want it, just plug in your normal headphones and listen away. No harm no foul.

What about wi-fi? What if the music got sent to headphones over wi-fi? Would that work better?

Here's my take:

The fact remains and historical data supports that they will have to continue to make the iPod touch desirable so as to not let the iphone hurt its sales. They always offer a little something to boost holiday sales. Apple does this by adding value and they also like to be consistent with product materials and pricing gaps. So plastic backing for sure, maybe even offer a white version. lowering price or adding RAM or both is how they add value. Get 64GB for $499, 32GB for $399 and 16 GB for $299

That's it.

Bluetooth built in-Possible but not very likely, BT and GPS may be available but as an add on dongle. I know you can buy BT dongles for headphones for the ipod touch but i mean adding support for perhaps a keyboard or data transfer. A voice recorder dongle may also be made available but that might be on hold until they resolve their VOIP fears.


Next year perhaps after MacWorld they will

- Offer a $50 price reduction across the board

- Add Bluetooth, if they get over their VOIP issues or maybe offer it as a dongle if they don't already in September 2008. Yes i now they are okay with VOIP but their fear it will cannibalize their iPhone sales may prevent them from offering this. If they do they might just allow headphones and maybe keyboard pairing but not headsets or anything else. Not sure if they can do that but if they can they probably will.

-May add the GPS chip

Also predict that by Holidays 2009 we will see a U2 touch 16 or 32Gb edition that will come with band wall paper and signatures on the back.


By holidays 2009 i bet we will see them make us buy new docks and/or peripherals as they like doing that. May be a hi definition dock with HDMI out.

Radio remote - NADA not until we make enough noise and demand it. But very few people care.. i do, i think it is one of the best accessories ever made for it.


Personally i think what we want our ipods to do will be reserved for their ultra portable tablet. Probably be offered for $699-$999 depending on hardware configuration.

Since 16 million people are jumping on the iPhone bandwagon, Apple needs to make iPod ownership desirable again.

The Personal Fitness/Exercise software that was leaked awhile back should be about ready for the October event.

Minor spec bumps plus new killer software. That is all it will take.

You answer was really good but -do you no if they will be launching any new colours for the ipod classic? Because i would really like he classic but if they might be lauching colours then i will wait!

Sep 9, 2008.
As they evolve the platform for mobile applications, Apple have announced a breakthrough device - the iMobile - a true mobile platform. Sharing its development profile with the iPhone and the erstwhile iPod Touch, the iMobile device comes in three form factors - 3.5" portrait form iMobile, 4.5" photoframe form iMobile handle and 6.5" tablet form iMobile Pad.
.. Guys, some help filling up the rest please ...
(Please include bluetooth profile support - no matter what).

Thinner!!

Not bad.

Oh yeah and what ireland said.....thinner.

And quoting myself earlier in this thread............

Well June has come and gone and the tablet did not debut. So that leaves this upcoming September 9th event. But now that I think about it, if they debut this tablet on the 9th then that doesn't mean they had to treat the device as a ipod variant. Because its looking like the iphone itself will be appearing on the 9th as in an announcement that the iphone firmware 2.1 will finally debut.

IMO I think the tablet is going to be saved for the january macworld event so as to make a big splash.
iMobile huh? You guys do realize that has giant implications to how Apple will have to strongarm AT&T into offering a data only plan right?

For me, if it was just one announcement that Apple is going to make I would like it to be that Steve Jobs announces that Apple has just initiated (in partnership with a few other key companies) a hostile takeover bid of AT&T.
Even with strongarming AT&T into doing stuff that in the long run is good for AT&T. The company is still a backward thinking cell carrier and is frankly slowing down and even standing in the way of Apple's long term plans.
Its time for Steveo to eliminiate that threat!

Well much like everyone I kept hearing about the upgrade or whatever. So I just traded my old ipod in at a site called Venjuvo.com for money. So now i have a great easy way of getting the new updated ipod.