Apple files for iPod Hi-Fi, iPod Boombox trademarks

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple Computer has filed with Hong Kong's Intellectual Property Department for trademarks on two new iPod terms, which appear to reference unreleased iPod products or services, AppleInsider has learned.



In a filing made on September 20, 2005, the iPod maker requested a trademark on the term "iPod Hi-Fi," seemingly in reference to an iPod that can reproduce sound, images and video at a higher fidelity than today's models. Alternatively, it's plausible that the term was a name the company once considered for its fifth-generation iPod players that include video capabilities.



A description of iPod Hi-Fi provided by Apple in the filing describes the device broadly as "Computers, computer hardware, computer peripherals, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, electronic organizers, electronic notepads, apparatus for recording, transmission and reproduction of sounds, images, or data."



Separately, sources said that Apple is developing an iPod model with a higher-resolution display and about an inch of additional viewing area. It's unclear if, or when, the company intends to release the device, and no further details were provided.



Meanwhile, a second filing made by Apple on June 13th requested a trademark on the term "iPod Boombox." Again, Apple described the device or service broadly, using the same specification description it used in the filing for the iPod Hi-Fi trademark.



Of interest, reliable sources in December reported that Apple was preparing to introduce new consumer electronics at the recent Macworld Expo in San Francisco, including the first "iPod companion" products.



One such product described to AppleInsider was indeed an iPod Boombox, which sources said was "unlike anything seen in boombox world" and strikingly different from "anything Apple has released in the past." While the iPod Boombox failed to surface, Apple did release the iPod Radio product also referenced in the same report.



It's unclear precisely what has become of the iPod Boombox, but at least one journalist has gone on record in saying that some "much cooler" Apple products were originally planned for but later omitted from Apple chief executive Steve Jobs' opening keynote address.



There is no record of trademark filings for the terms iPod Hi-Fi and iPod Boombox at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Curiouser and curiouser!
  • Reply 2 of 38
    kmok1kmok1 Posts: 63member
    I like the thoughts of iPod Hi-Fi. That could mean sales of hi-definition multi-speakers music. I am looking forward to this.
  • Reply 3 of 38
    I would love to know and see all those unreleased products over the years. Wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a time machine lying around, but wasn't released cuz' it was a millimeter too thick, or didn't make a big enough "click" when you warped the space/time continuum.
  • Reply 4 of 38
    jonejone Posts: 102member
    Oh great, does this mean having to buy my music all over again in "hi-fi"?
  • Reply 5 of 38
    Definalty one more thing event coming soon..
  • Reply 6 of 38
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jimbo123

    Definalty one more thing event coming soon..



    Are you just blowing smoke?
  • Reply 7 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SpamSandwich

    Are you just blowing smoke?



    Sure is a good guess though!
  • Reply 8 of 38
    ishawnishawn Posts: 364member
    iPod HD (Or so I'd call it) is a little silly with such a small screen, of course it looks high def, it's so small! But higher-bit MP3's would be cool.
  • Reply 9 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iShawn

    iPod HD (Or so I'd call it) is a little silly with such a small screen, of course it looks high def, it's so small! But higher-bit MP3's would be cool.



    If they do this, the best part could be that you would have a higher quality signal going to an external monitor or Tv.
  • Reply 10 of 38
    ishawnishawn Posts: 364member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    If they do this, the best part could be that you would have a higher quality signal going to an external monitor or Tv.



    Yes, or what if they incorporated a sideways screen that would be flipped around when movies or other widescreen media were played. Might make it a little longer though...
  • Reply 11 of 38
    That sort of screen is what I have in mind. Slightly longer screen could also be useful to see more songs in a playlist. I would love to see a much smaller clickwheel-- useable and small, but the screen is like a 16:9 theater screen.
  • Reply 12 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iShawn

    Yes, or what if they incorporated a sideways screen that would be flipped around when movies or other widescreen media were played. Might make it a little longer though...



    You mean flipping the screen around mechanically, as on some new phones? I'm not sure Apple would want the complexity. Something to break.



    If you mean that the screen would be longer in the vertical position, but when you held the iPod horizontally, to watch movies, it would flip electronically, then sure.



    The problem I've had trying out the other horizontal movie players is that they simply aren't comfortable to hold that way. The iPod fits into the hand so well.
  • Reply 13 of 38
    That comfortable fit is no accident. I would bet on that form factor remaining, but the reorientation of the screen view based on how the device is held.
  • Reply 14 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ricksbrain

    That comfortable fit is no accident. I would bet on that form factor remaining, but the reorientation of the screen view based on how the device is held.



    It's not, that's for sure.



    I've been trying to figure out how they could keep some of the ergonomics with a horizontal screen, but without some mechanical way of turning the screen, so far I haven't.



    I keep coming back to the Phillips demonstration last year of a digital ink screen that rolled out from the side. But, that's delicate as well.



    Then there would be a flexible OLED screen that would open with two small flip open doors on the top front of the iPod. Press a button on the top and they swing open from the middle. There you would get a screen the full width of the iPod, plus almost 100% more.



    That could be perhaps 4" x 2.2", and the iPod would still be vertical.



    I'm working on it! I'm working on it!
  • Reply 15 of 38
    Maybe a bit complicated?



    My view is that the device itself will only have so much of a view, but a new iPod could have hiDef output in a number of different ways.



    For me, the portability issue is key-- so we may be able to see a bit more video on a small device, but it's still a small device. Now, if that small device had legs...
  • Reply 16 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ricksbrain

    Maybe a bit complicated?



    My view is that the device itself will only have so much of a view, but a new iPod could have hiDef output in a number of different ways.



    For me, the portability issue is key-- so we may be able to see a bit more video on a small device, but it's still a small device. Now, if that small device had legs...




    Complicated? Probably. But, I'll bet that we see something like that at some point in time.



    Actually, it's just two hinges, and a clasp.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    I really hope loading times become much quicker if Apple does this - though it doesn't look like it.



    My brother has an iPod 5G that he sometimes lets me use, and it's quite annoying to have to wait for a video or vidcast to load.
  • Reply 18 of 38
    i think the boombox or hi-fi will just be an apple version of such products like the Bose SoundDock. But it will be different perhas enabling us to watch our videos on the ipod 5th gen. and i think it could also have the radio function built in. so therefore a hi-fi. fm tuner and mp3 player, perhaps even video. sounds pretty kool to me!
  • Reply 19 of 38
    if you have enough time to sit there looking at ur ipod for a whole episode then surely u can wait the 2 seconds it takes to load, "thegreatluke"



    lol
  • Reply 20 of 38
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by thegreatluke

    I really hope loading times become much quicker if Apple does this - though it doesn't look like it.



    My brother has an iPod 5G that he sometimes lets me use, and it's quite annoying to have to wait for a video or vidcast to load.




    So, you have a vcr, and a dvd, and a cd player, and all of them start the program right up, the instant you put the media in?



    Is this correct?
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