[psmith2.0]

I know Apple typically avoids any sort of anniversary or markings like the plague (they let all these anniversaries of the Mac, 1984, etc. pass without a word).

But I find myself thinking, 10 years on, how that little white deck-of-cards-sized device kick-started so much of what we take for granted today...how it brought so many people around to Apple, and how so many of them eventually wound up with a Mac (I know quite a few who fit that description).

You almost can't overstate the iPod and what it did (or represents) for the company. So, at this year's September iPod/music event, do you think it'll get anything beyond a quick mention at the start of the show, via a slide (a first-generation iPod sitting on top of a birthday cake with 10 candles would be my guess ).

Spurred on by my utter disdain for the current iPod nano (it's a big iPod shuffle with a screen, even though they kept the small iPod shuffle around and now it doesn't shoot video or any other damn thing and it just got mangled this last go-around, IMO I still hate everything about it), I'm currently doodling out what would, to me, be the ultimate iPod nano (and, frankly, the one I expected them to unveil last September).

You take a hacksaw to the fifth-generation nano, you toss the remains into a blender along with the iPod touch and a certain feature from the current shuffle or nano...

It would be a perfect little nano, and you do a couple of little things to make it stand out from all the others in recent years (think what color would most make sense for something marking the 10th anniversary of the iPod...exactly).



Working hard...

[joveblue]

"10 years ago we introduced the iPod, which looked similar to the iPod classic of today. Get with the program people, it's time to get an iPod touch, not this 10-year old technology! We're finally canning the classic!"

[psmith2.0]

I can almost imagine that, yeah.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by joveblue "We're finally canning the classic!"

Farewell, usability.

I know. It's bound to happen eventually.

[Yontsey]

I hope they keep the classic. It provides large capacity with reasonable prices. I like to have my whole library in my truck.

[Chinney]

As another notable 10-year anniversary, this coming March 24th is the 10th since the release of OS X v.10.0. The year 2001 was an important one for Apple, looking at it in retrospect.

This year, incidentally, is also the 10th anniversary since I bought my first Apple product, a white Jellybean iMac, for which I took delivery on Sept. 11, 2001. The very first thing I saw on the web after I fired it up was the image of the towers, with smoke pouring out, just before they came down, but I have posted about that before.

[joveblue]

Oh wow, nearly 10 years since...

[psmith2.0]

Okay, here's my fun little mockup of the 10th anniversary nano. .

A blast to draw (34 layers in Illustrator, exported as such to Photoshop for shadows, reflections, etc.). Everything except app icons drawn from scratch, starting in Illustrator.

Drawn to "real life" scale, then enlarged 200% before exporting for easier viewing. If you print it at 50% you'll see it in real size. Gonna put together a "all sides connected" cut-out file at actual size tomorrow evening and snap a few pics with the usual Chap-Stik, iPhone, etc. props present for scale.



Basically it's a shuffle (clip), nano (general size) and touch (iOS) blended together. And to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPod, A nice white finish and a shiny metal clip, calling to mind the classic white iPods and their metal, reflective backs.

Note: the Audiobooks icon is iBooks, but I could not find a usable iPod icon for Audiobooks.

No wifi, just a basic 12-app music/media player with camera. No additional pages, no store access, etc. You can rearrange the icons to your liking, of course.

The spacing is that of an iPhone, if you simply covered up all but 12 icons (three across, four down...try it).

Home button? Top button on right. Two circular iPhone 4 volume buttons on top left. Earbuds plug into bottom, next to 30-pin dock port.

Originally imagined a dual-throw clip with two tension settings. Pull it a little and it's a standard clip for your jacket, purse, etc. (like the shuffles and current nano). Pull it out farther and it snaps open and becomes a little built-in stand/easel. If so, headphone should probably get moved to top.

Anyway, I'd have one. Nicest aspects of all four iPod models (clip, size, multi-touch and white/steel), in one small player marking 10 years of the device that helped get things where they are today.

Felt good to draw again. It's been a long time...

[Maciej]

I'll take one in 64 gig. Is that a camera on the back?

[psmith2.0]

Sure, why not? Figured if they stuck one in the fourth- and fifth-generation nanos, they could here.

[Maciej]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Sure, why not? Figured if they stuck one in the fourth- and fifth-generation nanos, they could here.

Props for the nice mockup, "A" grade level work as usual. Winning!

I apologize for the Sheen reference in advance.

[dmegatool]

Does it have a GPS ? it would be nice for running... Like with built in nike+

[bassplayinMacFiend]

I saw 2011---10th anniver.. on the home page and thought this would be about OS X since it was released 10 years ago this month! OS X & the Titanium PBG4 was what got me to buy my first Mac 10 years ago (2/17/01, at CompUSA).

Wasn't the iPod Jon Rubinstein's idea? Maybe Jobs wouldn't want to tout it too much if so.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend Wasn't the iPod Jon Rubinstein's idea? Maybe Jobs wouldn't want to tout it too much if so.

Rubinstein was one of the iPod's principal engineers, yes, but Rubinstein came from NeXT. He was one of the guys whom Jobs had advised then-CEO Amelio to ask Rubinstein on board in the first place.

[Robo]

I wrote a super long post explaining all this but it was just getting ridiculous. So here's the lightning-round version:

iPod classic: Done for!

iPod shuffle: Capacity bump? (What else can they do? It's an odd regression that two years ago you could buy a 4GB shuffle for $79 but now you can't buy one at any price.) No more colors!

iPod nano: Price drop! (I think the iPod nano would have been much more warmly received if it was $99. There's a market for a music player that isn't a pocket computer, but not at $150-180.) No capacity bump! No white model!

iPod 2: "touch" no more! ("iPod touch (fifth generation)" is geeky and awkward. In the iOS era, normal people need to know what model they own.) Bigger screen! Smaller bezels! No capacity bump! Yes white model! Hooray beer!

One more thing: iPod mini! iOS! $199! Same size screen as current iPod touch! Colors! Possible 16GB version at $249?

iPod shuffle: $49
iPod nano: $99+
iPod mini: $199+
iPod 2: $299+

Number of SKUs kscherer will have to stock: 29 (assuming two sizes of both iPod mini and iPod nano in six colors, two sizes of iPod 2 in two colors, and one iPod shuffle). That's the same number as in 2009! Only instead of having to stock ten iPod shuffles and two iPod classics, he gets to stock twelve iPod minis and white iPods, which should sell faster and make him more money! Yay!

[Maciej]

There's a market for a music player that isn't a pocket computer, but has enough space to hold someone's entire library. Hypothetical someone being me - and others (I think).

[psmith2.0]

Apple could go all Cadillac and release a 256 or 512GB flash iPod like my mockup above. For only $999 (or would it be more?)

If I was going to have something that held my entire collection (currently at 4,011 songs, 9.9 days and 15.96GB), I'd like it to be skip-proof and able to be thrown down some stairs from time to time with no real damage.



As it stands, I'll just keep doing my little iPhone playlist, where I keep 100-200 favorite songs rotating in and out as the mood hits. I've always got something to listen to, but I'm not having to scroll through a bunch of weird, offbeat stuff that I only listen to 1-2 times a year, tops. Plus, it's fun to play "program for a roadtrip" or whatever. I love corralling the perfect bunch of songs for any given activity or event, so I don't mind this approach.

Some day I'll have a 32 or 64GB iPhone and I'll just throw everything on when I don't have to be choosy with space...

[Luca]

Dedicated MP3 players have been on the way out for a while now; everyone just uses their phone. I don't even go that far. I just use Pandora or Slacker Radio and listen that way because maintaining a collection of music that I've already listened to isn't worth the trouble.

The Classic seems like it fills about the same size niche as the Mac Pro. Meanwhile I'm not sure both the Shuffle and the Nano need to exist.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Luca Meanwhile I'm not sure both the Shuffle and the Nano need to exist.

Right now there's a $100 gap in between them, and right in the middle of that gap is what's typically one of the more important price points to hit ($99, of course). It's kind of weird. Unless Apple wants the sole purpose of the iPod nano to be making the iPod touch look like a better deal, they should probably drop the price.

With the elimination of the $79 and $99 4GB shuffles, a price drop on the 2GB shuffle, and a streamlining of the shuffle offerings from 11 SKUs to 5, it almost seemed like Apple was getting the shuffle ready for a reduced presence in the iPod line-up alongside a cheaper iPod nano last year. That didn't happen, obviously — maybe Apple just couldn't build the touchscreen nano cheap enough to be profitable at $99. In any case, I hope they can hit that mark this year.

Apple will always be able to sell a shuffle for less than a nano. But does that shuffle need to be available in five colors? Probably not (and I happen to think the colored shuffles with white click wheels look sort of awkward and mismatched, anyway). People who want a candy-colored iPod will just have to scrounge up $99 for the nano. (Colors have always been more associated with the iPod mini and nano, anyway — the fourth-gen shuffle was the first to be available in more than shades of grey at launch.)

[Luca]

I find it amazing that they're still making 2GB MP3 players. I suppose they've got to use up all their low density flash memory but companies are practically giving away 2GB memory cards in Cracker Jack boxes these days.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Luca I find it amazing that they're still making 2GB MP3 players. I suppose they've got to use up all their low density flash memory but companies are practically giving away 2GB memory cards in Cracker Jack boxes these days.

I know, right? It's hard to believe I paid $199 for a 2GB iPod nano in 2005. And that was like an unbelievable value at the time.

They'll sell a certain amount of iPod shuffles just because it's the cheapest iPod, and iPods are synonymous with digital audio players for many people.

Plus, it's not like it's really sold on the basis of capacity. They could keep it at 2GB for another year and sales wouldn't really slow.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Okay, here's my fun little mockup of the 10th anniversary nano.

Yep. That's why we keep you around!

Nice mockup. Bottom three icons should be docked, though.

[psmith2.0]

Why? There are no additional screens, so no need to keep anything "pinned" in place like you would on the other iOS devices as you swipe to other screens. Would just be there for no real reason, serving no purpose. Just eye candy, and a forced element.

[joveblue]

Originally Posted by Robo iPod 2: "touch" no more! ("iPod touch (fifth generation)" is geeky and awkward. In the iOS era, normal people need to know what model they own.) Bigger screen! Smaller bezels! No capacity bump! Yes white model! Hooray beer!

I'm confused, where did you pull the '2' from? Is that supposed to be a 12 or something?

Originally Posted by Luca Meanwhile I'm not sure both the Shuffle and the Nano need to exist.

The Shuffle is an absolutely fantastic workout music player. At the price, you don't have to think too hard about it (as opposed to the Nano), while the physical controls are great for using without looking and with sweaty fingers (I've found the touchscreen on my iPhone was pretty unresponsive once I'd worked up a sweat). It's be sad to see it go, for that reason alone.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by joveblue I'm confused, where did you pull the '2' from? Is that supposed to be a 12 or something?

I think the idea is that the iPod touch, in Roboman's eyes, now fully supersedes the original iPod and represents the first major new generation.

[torifile]

The shuffle plus a subscription music service == win. I'm an album listener but for those who aren't, having a shuffle play a random collection of music would be perfect. New music, randomly selected. Your own radio station without an annoying dj.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Why? There are no additional screens, so no need to keep anything "pinned" in place like you would on the other iOS devices as you swipe to other screens. Would just be there for no real reason, serving no purpose. Just eye candy, and a forced element.

Because I said so, that's why! Mr. grouchy pants…

Actually, it would depend greatly on whether or not this thing is running "iPod OS" or "iOS". If "iPod OS", then there are no apps and, thus, no need for a fancy dock or any other such business. I guess that would mirror the current iPod Nano, which has a screen that is just too small for touch. However, if "iOS" is running, then apps would be available and, as you scroll through screen after screen after screen after…well, you might want to have your little "music" button handy.

Just saying.

[psmith2.0]

Can it be iOS (so it just uses those core, pre-installed iOS apps), but no more? It just needs to stay a music/photo/video device, and doesn't have to run Facebook, Angry Birds, etc.

In fact, there's no WiFi so there are a ton of apps that wouldn't even do anything if they were installed (Facebook, Fandango, etc.).

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Can it be iOS (so it just uses those core, pre-installed iOS apps), but no more? It just needs to stay a music/photo/video device, and doesn't have to run Facebook, Angry Birds, etc.

Hell's yes! It can be, but will Apple think that far ahead? Keep it simple, and such? The current Nano is pretty darn simple, so I guess that it could happen. One screen for a Nano would be a lot better than 4…or 7.

P.S. Funny that I joked about you being grouchy, and then read your puke thread!

[Robo]

Originally Posted by chucker I think the idea is that the iPod touch, in Roboman's eyes, now fully supersedes the original iPod and represents the first major new generation.

This. Instead of iPod classic and iPod touch, they'll have only one full-size iPod. The iPod.

Now that people are installing apps — with their own system requirements — onto their iPods, it's more important than before to know which iPod you have. Building the generation number into he name is the simplest way of conveying this. We've seen them do this with the iPhone and now the iPad 2. They could have just called it "iPad (second generation)," but they chose not to.

They'll start with 2 because starting with 5 or 11 or whatever would just confuse people who'd wonder where iPods 2 through 10 were. Also, if they go with 2 they can keep the equivalent iPad and iPod "generations" roughly in sync — the "2s" have a dual-core A5 and 512MB RAM, the "3s" have a quad-core A6 and 1GB RAM, or whatever, &c.

Everything we're talking about in this thread — the tenth anniversary of the iPod, the retiring of the classic, a possible rebranding of the touch, even the return of white to the iPod line — creates what identity geeks call a change event. Launching the iPod 2 sends a uniquely powerful signal to both Apple's customers (upgrade!) and their competitors (watch out!). Apple would be able to spin the iPod 2 as the biggest revision to the iPod ever, even including the introduction of the iPod touch. "The first ten years were just the beginning," that sort of thing. That's an opportunity they would never have with "iPod touch (fifth generation)."