iPod Camera Connector revealed at Apple briefing

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  • Reply 21 of 44
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by k squared

    I wonder if we can just use a usb card reader attached to the iPod connecter? If iPhoto recognizes the card reader, then hopefully an iPod will.



    i would think it would work if you connected it to Apple's attachment, but not connecting it directly to the dock connector from the reader. There's something going on in apple's attachment.



    BTW, its not just a simple port converter (because if it was, couldn't you get a 'square' USB to 'flat' USB port converter, hook it up to the camera, and hook the other side directly to the iPod. I don't think others, like Belkin, would come up with something, because they need apple's approval to use the connector, and if apple has something, they might not let others in.



    I would also think there's something in the attachment that talks to the iPod photo's software which isn't on the other iPods (so I don't think it'll work with your 4G iPod, whoever asked).
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  • Reply 22 of 44
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by wilco

    Is USB sufficient for the people who would have a real use for this?



    Not much choice. Almost all digital cameras connect via a USB port. Kinda hard to come out and say "But it only works with those three Firewire cameras out there"
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  • Reply 23 of 44
    Everybody is missing the point here....this isn't a gimmick, but a Godsend for pro photographers who shoot in RAW format and want to offload those big files.



    Go Apple!
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  • Reply 24 of 44
    why not just make a cable with dock connector on one end, USB on the other.
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  • Reply 25 of 44
    Obviously there's something going on in that connector or this would have been a "Been there, done that"



    Why isn't the cable white?
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  • Reply 26 of 44
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by aplnub

    I have that camera in the photo. It has a nice color screen for reviewing the photographs.



    Why would I need the iPod photo again? Looks like a bunch of hassle to carry around to snap pictures.



    A simple card reader would be sufficient. I hate to say it but that looks like a gimic.



    Eric




    An iPod is far easier to carry if you're traveling around overseas that a dozen memory cards and I know quite a few people doing that exact think at the moment.

    Quote:

    Originally posted by aplnub

    Do they not make a card reader already for the ipod? I guess this would be a big deal for those who have wierd cards I guess.



    Eric




    The ones out there now cost $90 - $100, this costs $30. What's not to prefer about it?
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  • Reply 27 of 44
    Quote:

    Originally posted by artse

    Obviously there's something going on in that connector or this would have been a "Been there, done that"



    Why isn't the cable white?




    Beacause the cable isn't by Apple - it's the cable that comes with your camera!
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  • Reply 28 of 44
    Oh......, I forgot, they don't include cables, that's another $19...I'm still going to buy one.8) (Gosh, I love these smilies)
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  • Reply 29 of 44
    Quote:

    Originally posted by spylaw4

    Beacause the cable isn't by Apple - it's the cable that comes with your camera!



    Exactly, and the reason why Apple shouldn't include one is that there are several different kinds of USB ports that cameras use, and almost every camera will come with a cable already.



    By the way, I do believe this will probably work with most card readers. This makes it even more useful because you could be offloading from a card reader while shooting on another card, and for when you're with friends/family and want to grab their pictures instead of having them send them to you when they get home.
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  • Reply 30 of 44
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rok

    it's such a simpel port converter, i am surprised griffin or someone didn't already think fo this and beat apple to the punch. couldn't other vendors do the same thing and undercut apple by a few bucks? or is there something i am missing here?



    the software is needed, when Apple (well Portal Player) create the software other companies will make similar devices.
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  • Reply 31 of 44
    Quote:

    Originally posted by reykjavik

    great,....so the three people that bought an iPod photo now have an extra device to buy.



    i think that's already begun to change. i had to spend an hour or so in an apple store this weekend waiting for my appt with a genius. no less than 10 ipod photos were sold in that time! they've effectively increased the price of the ipod to $349 because pretty much everyone was saying 10gb + color + photos for only $50 more? sure why not, i'd have to be crazy not to!
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  • Reply 32 of 44
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider

    The device, which was previously described by Apple vice president Greg Joswiak...





    Hmm. The Japanese product photo doesn't look at all like what was described by Greg Joswiak. Greg described a "mini dock" device with a cable that attaches to the iPod and a receptacle for a cable from the camera. More like a dongle.



    Jp
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  • Reply 33 of 44
    Quote:

    it's such a simpel port converter, i am surprised griffin or someone didn't already think fo this and beat apple to the punch. couldn't other vendors do the same thing and undercut apple by a few bucks? or is there something i am missing here?



    There are already card readers and such out there. There are two problems, though. 1) They're big and clunky. 2) The photos they import can't be viewed on the iPod photo until you copy them over to your Mac, and then re-sync them onto your iPod photo. Apple's attachment lets images be viewed right away.



    And for people who are saying "what's the point", have any of you noticed how many people (on these forums and on other sites) were screaming "I can't import pictures directly from my camera to my iPod. It sucks. Apple's gonna go out of business!"? Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit with that last thing there, but people were tearing the iPod photo apart for not being able to connect it to a camera or memory card. Apple's just responding to the obvious customer demand.
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  • Reply 34 of 44
    I updated my iPod 3rd Gen, 30GB yesterday... they finally came out with a software update for it (2.3)



    Anyways, it has an option for the menu called 'Photo Import', i don't recall seeing this there before. I'm wondering if the new camera adaptor would allow me to transfer images from my camera to my ipod, for the sole purpose of clearing off / backing up my card. I realize that this would be of little use to some, but i think it would be great if Apple finally thought of something new for all the iPod users who had them before they became super popular.



    (unfortunatly, the iPod's without dock connector don't have many expandible options for even earlier adopters )



    Why else would they have waited a year, and then updated the software for my ipod???
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  • Reply 35 of 44
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by epsilon

    I updated my iPod 3rd Gen, 30GB yesterday... they finally came out with a software update for it (2.3)



    Anyways, it has an option for the menu called 'Photo Import', i don't recall seeing this there before. I'm wondering if the new camera adaptor would allow me to transfer images from my camera to my ipod, for the sole purpose of clearing off / backing up my card. I realize that this would be of little use to some, but i think it would be great if Apple finally thought of something new for all the iPod users who had them before they became super popular.



    (unfortunatly, the iPod's without dock connector don't have many expandible options for even earlier adopters )



    Why else would they have waited a year, and then updated the software for my ipod???




    They updated the software due to complaints, there was nothing the 4th gen iPods could do that was not possible on the 3rd gen. They updated the iPods to improve stability etc, maybe even security and allow new file formats to play?! That photo import menu you think off is the current way of transferring photos using an adaptor.
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  • Reply 36 of 44
    minimalminimal Posts: 4member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacCrazy

    the software is needed, when Apple (well Portal Player) create the software other companies will make similar devices.



    Why don't you think Apple is capable of developing the software? Its not like they haven't done it several times before.
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  • Reply 37 of 44
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by minimal

    Why don't you think Apple is capable of developing the software? Its not like they haven't done it several times before.



    Apple don't and never have made the iPod software. It's made by Portal Player; Apple probably design it. For more proof click on Legal in the Settings menu.
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  • Reply 38 of 44
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bouba

    Well, the software inside the ipod is already present, and was functional on before the ipod photo with the belkin media reader.



    There was no evidence that iPods have previously had any USB host capability. Being a USB host is considerably more complicated than just being a USB device. The software for the belkin media reader would not display the photos on the iPod, its was just a way of transferring photos from the card to your Mac via the iPod.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Louzer

    BTW, its not just a simple port converter (because if it was, couldn't you get a 'square' USB to 'flat' USB port converter, hook it up to the camera, and hook the other side directly to the iPod.



    You're right, USB is a lot different depending on which end of the cable you're on. The device end is quite simple. The host end is a lot more complex.
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  • Reply 39 of 44
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacCrazy

    Apple don't and never have made the iPod software. It's made by Portal Player; Apple probably design it.



    Wow! All those Apple employees slaving away over the iPod software are a figment of my imagination then? I never realised that. I'm sure theirr signifcant others will be releived, or should they be worried about what they have been doing with their weekends.



    I've seen the portal player software in action. Its not a patch on the iPod software. The PPI referenece code can't even cope with a mass storage transaction of greater than 128M. You can't even use a PPI reference design with Panther, Panther started using larger disk transactions (like greater than 128M).
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  • Reply 40 of 44
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by minimal

    There was no evidence that iPods have previously had any USB host capability. Being a USB host is considerably more complicated than just being a USB device. The software for the belkin media reader would not display the photos on the iPod, its was just a way of transferring photos from the card to your Mac via the iPod.



    You're right, USB is a lot different depending on which end of the cable you're on. The device end is quite simple. The host end is a lot more complex.




    Let's get this straight!



    For those people with the 3rd Generation iPod: The Photo import is the feature that was enabled with the 2.1 (I think) software and enables you to copy a memory card onto the iPod. It is not the new feature for the iPod photos - which hasn't been finished yet. You will not be able to view the photos on your 3rd Gen iPods (Apple may make the new adaptor available to you for transferring, but that';s not the point). In previous updates the menu has been hidden until the belkin device was plugged in. Apple obviously disabled this hidden feature - However it looks like the voice feature is still hidden. I cannot check this as I have not got my 3rd Gen iPod at the moment.



    For those people with an iPod photo: Apple/Portal Player are working on the difficult part which is the firmware update for the iPod. The hardware needed is simple - a little white box with a female USB and a dock connector. The difficult thing is the software for all the cameras being made and getting the iPod to display these straight away. Remember the iPod only displays low res versions of the files so it will be converting your photos as well as storing the high res versions. Once Apple have made the software other companies, like Belkin (I assume) will make these adaptors for less money. At the moment there would be no point doing this as the cameras wouldn't work as the iPod wouldn't be able to recognise them.
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