Apple investigating clip-on iPod nano, shuffle with integrated speaker
Apple has shown interest in building a clip-on iPod with the same wearable form factor as the current iPod nano or iPod shuffle, but with a new integrated speaker built directly into the rear clip.
The interesting concept was revealed this week in a new patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Discovered by AppleInsider, the filing is simply entitled, "Speaker Clip."
The text of the proposed invention makes no specific mention of the iPod nano, or even the similarly shaped iPod shuffle. In fact, it doesn't even include Apple's iPod brand name. But the accompanying images show a device that looks like the current clip-on iPod nano and iPod shuffle, only with the new inclusion of an integrated speaker.
The new iPod would feature the same clip on the back that is found on the current wearable models, but that new clip would have a cavity in the middle. Filling that hole would be an "acoustical device," or speaker.
That speaker could simply be used for user-interface feedback, providing simple sounds such as clicks to create a more intuitive experience for users when utilizing the multi-touch screen on the front of an iPod nano. Or it could also be used as a more full-featured -- albeit tiny -- speaker to listen to music tracks, or perhaps even do something new, like play games.
The speaker located on the attachment clip would be wired back to the main housing of the device through a "conduit" in the spring-loaded hinge that attaches the clip to the device. The speaker could also be protected by a cover that could shield the speaker from the elements, but also allow sound to pass through.
The filing notes that any kind of acoustic speaker could be used in this device, but one example given is a piezoelectric speaker. The conduit that connects the speaker to the main housing and processor could be a coaxial cable, flex microstrip, or fine gauge wire.
The protective cover layer could be a solid surface with numerous perforations, allowing sound to pass through. A mesh layer atop the speaker, woven from either plastic, metal or natural fibers, could be attached with an adhesive to the protective cover layer.
The iPod nano gained its touchscreen-driven design in September 2010 with its sixth-generation hardware revision. The small, wearable device is 46 percent smaller and 42 percent lighter than its predecessor, yet it still manages to include up to 16GB of storage, a 30-pin dock connector, hardware volume buttons and a lock button, an FM radio, and even Nike+ integration with a pedometer.
There has been some previous evidence that Apple plans to expand the functionality of its diminutive iPod nano even further while retaining its current form factor. One alleged prototype reveled in a picture this May claimed to show a rear-facing camera placed on the device. But this week's filing is the first suggestion of an integrated speaker.
The proposed invention, made public this week, was first filed with the USPTO in May of 2010. It is credited to John Benjamin Filson, Eugene Whang, and Matthew Rohrbach.
The interesting concept was revealed this week in a new patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Discovered by AppleInsider, the filing is simply entitled, "Speaker Clip."
The text of the proposed invention makes no specific mention of the iPod nano, or even the similarly shaped iPod shuffle. In fact, it doesn't even include Apple's iPod brand name. But the accompanying images show a device that looks like the current clip-on iPod nano and iPod shuffle, only with the new inclusion of an integrated speaker.
The new iPod would feature the same clip on the back that is found on the current wearable models, but that new clip would have a cavity in the middle. Filling that hole would be an "acoustical device," or speaker.
That speaker could simply be used for user-interface feedback, providing simple sounds such as clicks to create a more intuitive experience for users when utilizing the multi-touch screen on the front of an iPod nano. Or it could also be used as a more full-featured -- albeit tiny -- speaker to listen to music tracks, or perhaps even do something new, like play games.
The speaker located on the attachment clip would be wired back to the main housing of the device through a "conduit" in the spring-loaded hinge that attaches the clip to the device. The speaker could also be protected by a cover that could shield the speaker from the elements, but also allow sound to pass through.
The filing notes that any kind of acoustic speaker could be used in this device, but one example given is a piezoelectric speaker. The conduit that connects the speaker to the main housing and processor could be a coaxial cable, flex microstrip, or fine gauge wire.
The protective cover layer could be a solid surface with numerous perforations, allowing sound to pass through. A mesh layer atop the speaker, woven from either plastic, metal or natural fibers, could be attached with an adhesive to the protective cover layer.
The iPod nano gained its touchscreen-driven design in September 2010 with its sixth-generation hardware revision. The small, wearable device is 46 percent smaller and 42 percent lighter than its predecessor, yet it still manages to include up to 16GB of storage, a 30-pin dock connector, hardware volume buttons and a lock button, an FM radio, and even Nike+ integration with a pedometer.
There has been some previous evidence that Apple plans to expand the functionality of its diminutive iPod nano even further while retaining its current form factor. One alleged prototype reveled in a picture this May claimed to show a rear-facing camera placed on the device. But this week's filing is the first suggestion of an integrated speaker.
The proposed invention, made public this week, was first filed with the USPTO in May of 2010. It is credited to John Benjamin Filson, Eugene Whang, and Matthew Rohrbach.
Comments
Oh! But a speaker in the nano on your wrist would allow it to serve as a Bluetooth notification center for the iPhone in your pocket.
I'm all for this now.
Talk about "causal listening". With devices that small, that speaker had better be for UI sounds only…
Oh! But a speaker in the nano on your wrist would allow it to serve as a Bluetooth notification center for the iPhone in your pocket.
I'm all for this now.
I find it interesting in the engineering sense, that's very slim.
I don't like UI sounds, I always turn them off. But even tiny speakers can be good for alerts and such, so I agree with you there.
#140 on the patent. Looks like the camera hole rumored before. Thoughts? Why is it there?
It was filed in May 2010. They've changed their minds since then.
Talk about "causal listening". With devices that small, that speaker had better be for UI sounds only?
Oh! But a speaker in the nano on your wrist would allow it to serve as a Bluetooth notification center for the iPhone in your pocket.
I'm all for this now.
With this having a clip- you couldn't wear it as a watch. This is an idea that will likely not see the light of day on a nano- but for the shuffle....
With this having a clip- you couldn't wear it as a watch.
The? clip doesn't prevent the current one from begin worn as a watch?
Siri. It could be a hybrid microphone/speaker.
I agree. The speaker sounds like it'll be too small for music, but it might work nicely for Siri output in a minimalist device.
Siri. It could be a hybrid microphone/speaker.
This is the new iPhone Nano. It'll have a cell radio, microphone and front facing camera and little lightning bolts will come out of it when you talk on it.
Siri. It could be a hybrid microphone/speaker.
You are forgetting Siri needs an internet connection to work and an A5 processor (per Apple). No way the Nano sees that type of hardware integrated into that tiny body unless Apple makes the Nano much bigger in size. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Unfortunately, I don't think iPods have a long life ahead of them anyway. Almost all the phones you can buy these days can play music and act as iPods, so I think the dedicated portable personal music player will soon be a thing of the past.
Please let the 'speakered iPod' remain where it belongs: in nightmares!
The iPod touch has had a speaker for a while? And as much as you (probably we, really) hate that music, the music of your youth was regarded the same at one time. Remember that.
#140 on the patent. Looks like the camera hole rumored before. Thoughts? Why is it there?
I hope it's a hole for a camera lens. A wearable camera will be a big deal in the future. The last-but-one nano video camera was great, 1 1/2 hours of nonstop recording, good quality image when displayed on the touch or the iPhone, but it was an awkward shape for holding or attaching to anything. A square version with an updated camera would be a boon for many purposes, not all of them sinister.
This is the new iPhone Nano. It'll have a cell radio, microphone and front facing camera and little lightning bolts will come out of it when you talk on it.
Very funny. The little lightning bolts could be yellow pulsing LEDs, visible in fog, thus justifying the raincoat once in a while.
I hope it's a hole for a camera lens.
It is and was. There were some pictures of a prototype of the current model iPod nano (a green one) with the camera hole cut (and maybe installed? I don't remember) floating around.
Apple obviously cut that feature, and I'd bet it was because the most common use–a wristwatch–doesn't lend itself well to a back camera.