Poll: What do YOU want in the next iPod???
Hi folks
The iPod is an excellent product, but can surely be improved.
I've made a list of things, that could be included with the next version:
1. Harddrive options (5GB, 10GB, 20GB)
2. Equalizer/Bass-Treble-Control
3. Color display
4. Ability to play movies and display pictures (only makes sense with no. 3)
5. Voice recording via built-in microphone
6. Voice commands: "play"; "stop"; "next"; "porn", iPod asking "Movies or pictures?". No. Just kidding.
(only makes sense with no. 5)
7. More games (iPod development kit allowing third-party companies to write games?)
8. Remote control (perhaps with microphone included in remote control, so you can point it better and you can give voice commands without the need to take the iPod out of you pocket (just like the Siemens SL-45 mobile phone)
9. Crossfading
10. Different colors (c'mon, even the Rios have snap-on covers)
What do you think? Add your No. 11, 12, etc.!
Add your vote!
Greets
olli_g
The iPod is an excellent product, but can surely be improved.
I've made a list of things, that could be included with the next version:
1. Harddrive options (5GB, 10GB, 20GB)
2. Equalizer/Bass-Treble-Control
3. Color display
4. Ability to play movies and display pictures (only makes sense with no. 3)
5. Voice recording via built-in microphone
6. Voice commands: "play"; "stop"; "next"; "porn", iPod asking "Movies or pictures?". No. Just kidding.
(only makes sense with no. 5)7. More games (iPod development kit allowing third-party companies to write games?)
8. Remote control (perhaps with microphone included in remote control, so you can point it better and you can give voice commands without the need to take the iPod out of you pocket (just like the Siemens SL-45 mobile phone)
9. Crossfading
10. Different colors (c'mon, even the Rios have snap-on covers)
What do you think? Add your No. 11, 12, etc.!
Add your vote!
Greets
olli_g
Comments
And a bigger hard drive would be nice.
I also want it to be Windows compatible. I refuse to believe iPod is desirable enough to make people switch platforms. I think it would be a great way of getting an Apple product into more people's home, and would get Apple some more $$$.
We need to remember, to most people iPod is just a friggin MP3 player. The hard disk capabilities are lost on many. This MP3 player should be available to the maximum number of people possible, thus cheaper and Windows compatible.
- Pook
from the portal player <a href="http://www.portalplayer.com"; target="_blank">site</a>:
[quote]
General Features
*\tARM7 TDMI based core
*\tCo-processor with real time encoding acceleration
*\tSupports SDMI Portable Device Specification 1.0 Phase 1
*\tComplete firmware suite supports record/playback from various sources, user navigation of audio files, tone control and a variety of other system control functions
Â*
Â*Product Highlights
*\tDecoding of MP3, Microsoft® Windows Media Audio, and QDesign formats
*\tSupports MP3 audio encoding for direct CD recording on the player
*\tFM radio station preset storage capability
*\tDecodes sample rate bitstreams up to 256K bits per second (kbps)
*\tData encrypted/decrypted using 128-bit Safer128, Elliptic Curve (ECC) and hashing algorithms.
*\tDirectly interfaces to Sony Memory StickÂ?, SmartMedia Cards, 10megs. Pocket Zip, and DataPlayer engines.
*\tIntegrated 32KB SRAM and 8KB of cache
*\tFlashable firmware capability
<hr></blockquote>
from these specs for the ipods controler apple has the capability to add a recording feature. ( I really hope they include an audio in jack instead of forcing us to use a cheesy built in mic.)
with the addition of a radio tuner chip they could add a built in am/fm radio.
maybe they could add a larger drive but that is has more to do with toshiba than apple.
This device is interesting because it is so reliant on third party designs and products. Basically apple took portalplayers chi,p added a firewire controler for a toshiba harddrive, slapped in a lithium polymer battery, and slapped it all together in a pretty case with their logo on it. Seems like an excellent way to cut down R/D costs.
[ 12-08-2001: Message edited by: Mike D ]</p>
[quote] 1. Harddrive options (5GB, 10GB, 20GB) <hr></blockquote>
I've seen someone try to install the 20g IBM Microdrive in an iPod. It fits, if only that pesky partition of the drive were mountable/editable then it could be copied/modified.
[quote]2. Equalizer/Bass-Treble-Control
The iPod has already demonstrated it does equalize music. I copies the settings you have in iTunes to a text file. the mp3 on your iPod is the same exact one on your hard drive, unEQ'd. It does the EQing, all we need now is an interface to those settings.
[QUOTE]3. Color display<hr></blockquote>
We know it has shades of gray...
[quote]4. Ability to play movies and display pictures (only makes sense with no. 3)<hr></blockquote>
And with shades of gray: pictures and B&W vid are still possible features.
[quote]5. Voice recording via built-in microphone<hr></blockquote>
This is still possible.
[quote]6. Voice commands: "play"; "stop"; "next"; "porn", iPod asking "Movies or pictures?". No. Just kidding.
we made a loop: back to the days of wacking it to grayscale porn.
[quote]7. More games (iPod development kit allowing third-party companies to write games?)<hr></blockquote>
this is still possible, i imagine pixio already has some games from it's cellphone OSes that would work.
[quote]8. Remote control (perhaps with microphone included in remote control, so you can point it better and you can give voice commands without the need to take the iPod out of you pocket (just like the Siemens SL-45 mobile phone)<hr></blockquote>
"REMOTE" is a test the the diagnostics menu.
[quote]9. Crossfading<hr></blockquote>
if only one of the three processors is decoding a track, it's possible that one of the other two could start up the next track iTunes style.
[quote]What do you think? Add your No. 11, 12, etc.!<hr></blockquote>
My vote is that my iPod can already do 1 - 10.
That is sooo NOT what I want. Oooh, ooh, give me less storage, please, please. By the time solid state gets to 5 gigs, not only will 1.8" Hard Drives probably be at 40-80 gigs, but the 5 gig drive will be much, much cheaper.
Why would Apple want to position their product in a far more crowded arena? Granted, the fit, finish, and ergonomics would be superior, but they'd have a hard time competing price-wise, due to the overpowered chipset, large screen, and higher materials costs.
In fact, in 5 years, I fully expect my MP3 player to have no local storage other than buffer memory, and I'll be listening to my collection served over a 3G cell network off of my PC at home.
Agreed. But only if the price is no higher than $400. Actually the price should be dropping with each new HD intro. So when Apple gives it a 10 GB drive, drop the 5 GB model to $300, and sell the 10 GB model at $400, and so forth.
[quote]2. Equalizer/Bass-Treble-Control<hr></blockquote>
Hell yes! I don?t understand what Apple?s problem is with Eqs. We had to wait for ages just for Apple to implement the SoundJam EQ into iTunes, and it was already coded and everything!! I?m sure the iPod could handle this?.Apple is just being difficult for some mysterious reason. Perhaps Steve Jobs is afraid of Eqs.
[quote]3. Color display<hr></blockquote>
All the display needs to do is show song lists and information. Black on white gives good contrast and is highly readable for text. So color would be a waste?unless it would be used for something else; one could envision the iPod displaying photos sometime in the future.
[quote]4. Ability to play movies and display pictures (only makes sense with no. 3) <hr></blockquote>
Movies? Not sure if its processor is powerful enough. Maybe we need a G4 iPod for this. (he he, how cool would a G4 iPod be!)
[quote]5. Voice recording via built-in microphone<hr></blockquote>
I would rather it had a jack for plugging in a microphone?.either analog jack, or USB port, or an adaptor for the Firewire port so it could be used with a mic. Built-in mics really suck ass?by adding a port it would actually cheaper for Apple, and give consumers more choice.
[quote]6. Voice commands: "play"; "stop"; "next"; "porn", iPod asking "Movies or pictures?". No. Just kidding. (only makes sense with no. 5) <hr></blockquote>
Sounds like a total waste to me. Why would I want to talk to my iPod when I can just press ?play? and it plays? It?s easier and quieter to press a well designed button, especially on the iPod?s bitchin? control-interface. It?s the same deal with the voice recognition BS in OS 9; who actually talks to their iMac to give it commands? That?s the dumbest thing I?ve ever seen in OS design?by the time I?ve finished repeating the command 6 times I could have just pointed and clicked and done 20 different GUI commands for the one I?ve repeatedly spoken.
[quote]7. More games (iPod development kit allowing third-party companies to write games?) <hr></blockquote>
This isn?t a gameboy?and I don?t think Apple would do well to sell the iPod as a game toy. But it?s cool that there?s a hidden game on the it.
[quote]8. Remote control (perhaps with microphone included in remote control, so you can point it better and you can give voice commands without the need to take the iPod out of you pocket (just like the Siemens SL-45 mobile phone). <hr></blockquote>
Why not just stuff your hand in your pocket and press play? Or is the thought of speaking commands into a microphone and having something begin spinning and whirling in your pocket a turn on?
We might be onto something here! Apple could release an iPod with more feminine color scheme--flow power, for instance. Then, rip out the HD and sell it with only RAM (women tend to have smaller MP3 collections anyways). Replace the HD with a vibrator. This iPod would be stored deep within a woman?s pocket, and by speaking into the wireless bluetooth microphone included with each iPod, the ?iPodder? could instantly experience different states of pleasurable arousal without attracting the attention of others. In fact this iVibe would be so entirely covert that the iPodder could run compressed orgasm Applets even in the most crowded of public areas.
[quote]9. Crossfading<hr></blockquote>
Yeah, because I don?t like the beginnings or endings to the songs on any of my CDs anyways.
[quote]10. Different colors (c'mon, even the Rios have snap-on covers) <hr></blockquote>
This would be cool but I think Apple?s done with colors for now.
I'd like to see the iPod go in the direction of serving as a digital data depot. Add a USB port or a converter so that images can be dumped from a digital camera to the iPod. Take the iPod on vacation and load it up with photos, then afterwards just dump them on your HD and they're good to go.
Recording would also be a sweet use of the iPod.
I think the iPod is going to evolve into much more than an MP3 player--in fact I bet that 3 years from now, advertising only touches upon it's ability to play mp3s, and it's hyped more as an extremely versatile digital data depot. It records and plays music.
[ 12-08-2001: Message edited by: Junkyard Dawg ]</p>
<hr></blockquote>
Don't discredit things like fit, finish, and style. iPod is also tremendously intuitive. The trouble is that most people cannot afford the current offering.
I would never suggest discontinuing the high end. However, if I am to follow your logic, there should be no 733 or 867 MHz G4, no 550 MHz TiBook, and no "low end" to any product line. You suggest putting out only the best offering, regardless of pricing issues.
They should keep the high ends as high as possible, i.e 20GB drive. But they should also not forget those of us who simply don't have the money for the best. I'm a college student, I don't have $400, and I would gladly buy an iPod for $100 that could only hold 100 songs.
- Pook
<strong>Movies? Not sure if its processor is powerful enough. Maybe we need a G4 iPod for this. (he he, how cool would a G4 iPod be!)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Ask those who have watched a whole DVD with their Ti on their lab. You could propably heat up a small flat with a G4 iPod <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
The iPod already has a serviceable mic' port: The FireWire jack. There's a shortage of FW mic's right now, but if a lot of people want to record into their iPods then someone will fill that gap.
64MB of RAM, or some other way to make it so that it can handle >20 minute pieces of audio without falling down.
Price drops are good, as practicable.
Windows compatibility is coming no matter what Apple does, but I'd be curious how Apple could provide it as transparently as possible. In the worst case they could ship iPod with a CD. I can't really see them throwing in a FireWire PCI card, but you never know...
<strong>
Ask those who have watched a whole DVD with their Ti on their lab. You could propably heat up a small flat with a G4 iPod <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
If apple wanted to offer video on an ipod like device they would probably use a task specific DSP to decode the video and drive a color display. By keeping these functions on separate chips you can limit battery drain when not doing video, and with a separate screen for file nav and video you can save your power hungary color (larger) screen for when you need it.
I don't discount these things. You're just assuming that Apple, even with its emphasis on high quality materials, can compete with cheap labor plasticky knockoffs in price.
[quote]I would never suggest discontinuing the high end. However, if I am to follow your logic, there should be no 733 or 867 MHz G4, no 550 MHz TiBook, and no "low end" to any product line. You suggest putting out only the best offering, regardless of pricing issues.<hr></blockquote>
Apple is a company that is neither focused nor capable of competing in low end products with razor-thing margins.
[quote]
They should keep the high ends as high as possible, i.e 20GB drive. But they should also not forget those of us who simply don't have the money for the best. I'm a college student, I don't have $400, and I would gladly buy an iPod for $100 that could only hold 100 songs. <hr></blockquote>
I hear ya man, and I don't want to disillusion you, but you're not getting 100 songs for $100, unless you're talking about 32kilobit MP3s, and even then, it's a tough call. Taking Apple's #s, which is ~1000 songs in 5 gigabytes, you need 500 megabytes to store 100 songs. The cheapest 128megabyte compactflash cards are $60. You would need four of those to come up with that much storage. That's already $240, before decoding chipset, interface, casing, etc. At some point, limitless music for a nominal fee with proper hardware design will be a reality, however it's not in our immediate future.
The color screen is for viewing of digital photos I downloaded to the iPod from my iCam via the integrated firewire, of course
The GBA screen isnt too expensive, but I understand your point about contrast and readability.