Well, it seemed promising at first, but I think, now that I've looked at (1) the size, (2) the black markings, (3) the stupid angle and blurriness, and (4) this new picture which obviously has something to do with the first, that this is a sham and has nothing to do with the next iPod.
It was fun for about 2 minutes. Moving on.
I concluded that after the first picture. Buttons were too strange.
I'm surprised this thread got that much attention. People comparing hand sizes and speculating about some OBVIOUS crap plastic some guy found probably part of an old, cheap Radio Shack toy.
Why is it always easier for people to pass something off as a fake than to believe. The same thing happened when Worker Bee was on here, people were screaming "fraud" left and right and even when he posted pics of the new Pro Mouse people still thought it was fake. Same thing with the quicksilver pics. This is a messege board for speculating future hardware and when someone posts pics of what appears to be the next iPod everyone blows it off. It's like you're trying to not have fun...would you rather no one post?
Of course it's fun to talk about future hardware but that still looks like part of an old Radio Shack toy. Even if it were just a prototype... wait, damnit you get the idea.
Why is it always easier for people to pass something off as a fake than to believe.
No-one wants to be one who got suckered. And you can always look more intelligent, or at least more skeptical, by saying "no" than you can by saying "yes."
Also, prototypes don't usually have all the slickness of Apple ID, or there's some other thing that makes them difficult to verify. worker bee's Pro Mouse pics really did look like a cockroach, since it was solid black and covered with greasy handprints. The first leak of the "Life Saver" iMacs was dismissed as an obvious Photoshop job. Well, it was a Photoshop job — by Apple's marketing department. The leaked MDD case shots were so dark and fraught with compression artifacts that everything looked like a sloppy editing job.
That said, if these are actual shots of Apple prototypes, they don't look to me to be in anything like their final packaging. Jon Ives has so far preferred cleaner, more spartan designs, with an almost liquid look to the plastic. And this is another problem: A case that a junior member of Apple's ID department whipped up for internal testing is more or less indistinguishable from a mockup whipped up by an ID student for notoriety.
Maybe he's not showing the top part of the product because that will give him away, who knows, maybe there's a sticker or something over the screen that he could be identified by. Also maybe he has some respect for the company and doesn't wanna give too much away.
By the way, is there any way to get my old AI account back (PB G3)?
I vote for "non-Apple device" UNLESS those black pads are pure prototype, planned to be white. Having softer grip pads, and that rear groove to make it easier to hold for small hands, are thoughtful touches worthy of Apple--but not in black! Too big to be the primary iPod product, but it could be something else from Apple in theory.
The controls are laid out similar to Googie--maybe it's a new Googie! But it's not the current one: the controls are similar, but not the same. The scroll-"wheel" is more Apple-like. And the front of this image is flat like an iPod, not curved like a Googie. A pic of the back of the Googie would clear things up maybe.
One thing that is very Apple (and of course popssible to be ripped off--like Googie might do): the clear front painted white underneath. You can see the edges of it in the first pic, looking like it was made in a similar way to iPod-fases. And in the back view, you can see a corresponding dark edge that could be the side of a clear layer.
Look at it this way--if this is a prototype, and were finally built with white grips and better markings on the buttons... it would look VERY much like an Apple product. Think how much the quicksilver PowerMacs changed from the first spy photos that nobody believed to the final design. The design was real, but some materials and colors changed.
(By the way, it takes but a few moments to speculate on an upcoming Apple design and ponder a mystery image--about the same amount of time it takes to criticize people who speculate. Both activities require the additional commitment of a few minutes reading a few previous posts. And one of those two activities seems particularly appropriate to this site.)
That IS that Googie Go woth some mods to fool people.
look
Remove the black from the front, prize off the big directional button, apply some transfers, Bingo! half the net discusing your pic.
That Googie Go (what a shite name) thing is quite good, its a bit big though. The mock ipod pic's have actually given it scale, with nothing to compare it to on the site, you imagine it being about ipod size.
That IS that Googie Go woth some mods to fool people.
Thanks for the Googie image. But look at the Googie and the supposed Apple device side by side--they aren't that closely related.
There is some layout similarity, but nothing more--that Googie can't be the source of the image we've seen--although it could be the creative insipration of a fake, in some ways. Look at the edges of the case, the size and placement of the buttons, the shapes of the buttons, the space between the outer buttons and the side edges... it would be much easier to start from scratch than turn that Googie into what we've seen.
I'm still inclined to doubt it's an Apple product... just pointing out that the Googie is not the evidence to close the case.
everybody seems to plan vaporware to compete with the iPod....wasn't there a device with FM and a mic and large HD that looked like a silver iPod about a year ago that was never made??
I remember when the leaked Photos of the quicksilver came out and no one believe them. This could be the real thing, and it could not be. However, since apple has not yet had them removed it leads me to believe that they are not real. Apple has always issued cease and desist notices to the site or sites with the images. Also, why does everyone assume that this is a picture of an iPod? Why coud it not be something different, like a iPad? Just food for thought...
Comments
Move along.
MSKR
Originally posted by bradbower
Well, it seemed promising at first, but I think, now that I've looked at (1) the size, (2) the black markings, (3) the stupid angle and blurriness, and (4) this new picture which obviously has something to do with the first, that this is a sham and has nothing to do with the next iPod.
It was fun for about 2 minutes. Moving on.
I concluded that after the first picture. Buttons were too strange.
Just someone who wanted to have fun!
Any decent Industrial Design student with half-decent tools and materials could make something like this.
Why doesn't he show the screen?
Because it would be the hardest thing to mock up.
Look at the ridges on the under side
looks like it was badly molded, or sanded down.
If something like that was really leaked - it would look like all of the other real leak pics we've seen.
ie: the full body shots of the MDD PowerMac
No reason to hide any of it unless it's fake.
Originally posted by The_Squeege
Why is it always easier for people to pass something off as a fake than to believe.
No-one wants to be one who got suckered. And you can always look more intelligent, or at least more skeptical, by saying "no" than you can by saying "yes."
Also, prototypes don't usually have all the slickness of Apple ID, or there's some other thing that makes them difficult to verify. worker bee's Pro Mouse pics really did look like a cockroach, since it was solid black and covered with greasy handprints. The first leak of the "Life Saver" iMacs was dismissed as an obvious Photoshop job. Well, it was a Photoshop job — by Apple's marketing department. The leaked MDD case shots were so dark and fraught with compression artifacts that everything looked like a sloppy editing job.
That said, if these are actual shots of Apple prototypes, they don't look to me to be in anything like their final packaging. Jon Ives has so far preferred cleaner, more spartan designs, with an almost liquid look to the plastic. And this is another problem: A case that a junior member of Apple's ID department whipped up for internal testing is more or less indistinguishable from a mockup whipped up by an ID student for notoriety.
By the way, is there any way to get my old AI account back (PB G3)?
The controls are laid out similar to Googie--maybe it's a new Googie! But it's not the current one: the controls are similar, but not the same. The scroll-"wheel" is more Apple-like. And the front of this image is flat like an iPod, not curved like a Googie. A pic of the back of the Googie would clear things up maybe.
One thing that is very Apple (and of course popssible to be ripped off--like Googie might do): the clear front painted white underneath. You can see the edges of it in the first pic, looking like it was made in a similar way to iPod-fases. And in the back view, you can see a corresponding dark edge that could be the side of a clear layer.
Look at it this way--if this is a prototype, and were finally built with white grips and better markings on the buttons... it would look VERY much like an Apple product. Think how much the quicksilver PowerMacs changed from the first spy photos that nobody believed to the final design. The design was real, but some materials and colors changed.
(By the way, it takes but a few moments to speculate on an upcoming Apple design and ponder a mystery image--about the same amount of time it takes to criticize people who speculate. Both activities require the additional commitment of a few minutes reading a few previous posts. And one of those two activities seems particularly appropriate to this site.)
Originally posted by The_Squeege
By the way, is there any way to get my old AI account back (PB G3)?
Check your PM's.
look
Remove the black from the front, prize off the big directional button, apply some transfers, Bingo! half the net discusing your pic.
That Googie Go (what a shite name) thing is quite good, its a bit big though. The mock ipod pic's have actually given it scale, with nothing to compare it to on the site, you imagine it being about ipod size.
Originally posted by Mediaman
That IS that Googie Go woth some mods to fool people.
Thanks for the Googie image. But look at the Googie and the supposed Apple device side by side--they aren't that closely related.
There is some layout similarity, but nothing more--that Googie can't be the source of the image we've seen--although it could be the creative insipration of a fake, in some ways. Look at the edges of the case, the size and placement of the buttons, the shapes of the buttons, the space between the outer buttons and the side edges... it would be much easier to start from scratch than turn that Googie into what we've seen.
I'm still inclined to doubt it's an Apple product... just pointing out that the Googie is not the evidence to close the case.
click on the link that asks "is this the next googie product" just under the description.
http://www.googiedrives.com/competition/
as far as the purported ipod goes, eh, maybe yes, maybe no. We'll all know in two weeks anyway.
ciao,
Originally posted by michael
Also, the goodie doesn't yet exist. As it says on the website, they "could" build it if enough people are interested in it, but they haven't yet.
very true. this googie thing has yet to be built.
It?s not easy to decide which products to market. Right now we are thinking about marketing a new MP3 player with FM Radio and a 2.5? hard drive.
Should this be the next Googie product? We will let you decide. Place your vote, and maybe comment on the new product and win great prizes.
The competition ends April 21st. 2003.
g