[craiger77]

This site gives a good review of what might be expected in the next generation iPod by going over the capabilities of the next generation of the chip used in the current iPod. No guarantee that Apple would implement everything the chip is capable of, but seems reasonable to expect a future iPod that will go beyond a music player. I refer to it as a multimedia iPod rather than a video iPod because I think people keep focusing too much on the ability to play videos in a future iPod whereas I agree with Jobs that this isn't a good fit. What I want is one that will handle digital photos so I can leave my laptop at home when I need to offload lots of photos and for showing slide shows on friends and families TVs when I visit.

[DMBand0026]

Dude...your linkaroo is busted.
Just thought I'd give you the heads up.

[Ebby]

It's their server that is broken. The main page has a blurb.

[SonOfSylvanus]

Fixed now

[Messiahtosh]

It actually is not that interesting. I want an iPod that plays music better than any other portable digital music player, that's it. By better, I want it to be able to excede it's current battery life. I want more storage in something the size of the iPod mini, and I want it to have new color options (Red, Orange, or Black please). Give me firewireless connections and I am in heaven...how about a pair of nicely fitting headphones too, instead of those cheap, uncomfortable earbuds. A better belt clip too!

Anything like the color screen and the capability to play movies or display pictures with I/O to the TV or stereo is just an added bonus, in addition to the music playing experience.

In list form, all that is needed in a new iPod...

¥Better battery life

¥Slimmer, more iPod mini like design

¥New colors (Red, Orange, Black)

¥Firewire Wireless?

¥A nice pair of headphones to go with it

¥A more protective belt-clip

[InactionMan]

You want a better belt clip more than you want an iPod that could display movies/pics on a TV?!!? I thought you were some sort of DV junkie. You'd be able to tote all those movies you make and show anywhere. But you'd rather a better belt clip. Odd.

Christ, if I could throw a bunch of slide shows on my iPod and play them on a TV I'd have no choice but to upgrade. I don't even care if I can display on the iPod, just give it A/V connector thingy.

Battery life is just fine if you ask me.

[ZO]

I want:
* much better battery life

Then the rest is a bonus.

- a black iPod
- video playback abilities (with DiVX as well... not just AAC (yeah right) on external video source
- FM tuner
- recording

[Messiahtosh]

Originally Posted by InactionMan You want a better belt clip more than you want an iPod that could display movies/pics on a TV?!!? I thought you were some sort of DV junkie. You'd be able to tote all those movies you make and show anywhere. But you'd rather a better belt clip. Odd. Christ, if I could throw a bunch of slide shows on my iPod and play them on a TV I'd have no choice but to upgrade. I don't even care if I can display on the iPod, just give it A/V connector thingy. Battery life is just fine if you ask me.

I have a PowerBook already. I am not going to buy a new iPod when I have a mini and a brand new 1.5 GHz G4 PowerBook, just to display movies or pictures off of an iPod. For some people it might make sense, but for me, when I have all of the equipment already, it would just be a waste of money.

I guess the thing is that once you get past the basic capabilities, then everyone has something that they personally want, but which is meaningless to the majority.

Everyone wants a good music player. Everyone wants to be able to throw some files on it from time to time. Beyond that... it's often diminishing returns in usefulness for most people, at the expense of cost and complexity.

Even the PDA functions are useless for me, for example. I have a PalmOS cellphone. Why would i want a contact list that i can't edit on the road? I guess adding that functionality was fairly easy, and helped hype iCal and iSync, so Apple did it, but consider the other functions that are being suggested:

-color screen: gee whiz cool for 5 minutes, then 5% of users actually use their iPods for video and photo viewing, and the other 95% suffer with increased cost and lower battery life.

-FM tuner: some people like to listen to FM radio. Many don't. If Apple adds this, everyone will have to deal with a bulkier and more expensive iPod.

-Recording (real recording, at 44.1/16): well, this one i have to support, because it's something that _i_ want But also, it's something that should not require any additional hardware tradeoffs (unlike a color screen or FM tuner).

-Digital camera transfer (active USB host ability): this one is interesting. It's a neat idea, even though the increasing capacity of flash media is almost but not quite keeping up with people's needs. Indeed, iRiver's just announced iPod competitor has this capability. The only problem with this is that for the capability to be truly useful, it needs to be paired with a color screen for the ability to view photos. The ability to crop and do basic edits would be gravy, but not really practical with the current interface. Direct printing would not work - printer companies would have to write iPod drivers for their printers, an unlikely thing in the near future (though the HP deal makes this a faint possibility).


So basically.. unless Apple wants to make a special 'gee-whiz' iPod line, separate from the regular iPods, it won't go for a color screen or FM tuner. Recording capability and built in USB host capability are possibilities, however.

Just my thoughts

-robo

[dglow]

If Apple builds the iPod.next with a color screen and video out, why not take the final step and add a simple camera?

My day job is spent programming mobile phones, and the CMOS video sensors they use are power efficient, very small, and relatively inexpensive. Apple could easily pull this off, IMHO.

robo: this would address your concern about the color screen being of little use to most customers.

[Mac+]

I'm all for a colour screen - with iCal sync, a colour screen should be a given!

As for storing photos, but not being able to display them - what is that?

I'd also like to have an A/V out port as well. It would be a heck of a lot easier to tote around an iPod to display a slide show of your most recent holiday than porting your laptop with you everywhere you go. Sometimes, it's just more convenient to pull the iPod out of your pocket than it is to unlock your bag, slide the laptop out, clear some space on a table - or wedge the PowerBook between you and the seat in front of you - find a power outlet to plug the power adapter in (if need be) and then adjust the angle of the screen so that others can view your work.

I'm all for plugging the iPod into a TV and saying: "Hey, check out this iPhoto slide show from our recent trip!" (complete with an iTunes (or GB) song to accompany it)

I love new technology - but I'm not a "technolust" guy... I'm more of a late adopter. I can wait until the iPod offers more functionality and better integration with the whole iLife suite.

... although I hope that this wait is not in vain!

[sCreeD]

Originally Posted by dglow If Apple builds the iPod.next with a color screen and video out, why not take the final step and add a simple camera? My day job is spent programming mobile phones, and the CMOS video sensors they use are power efficient, very small, and relatively inexpensive. Apple could easily pull this off, IMHO. robo: this would address your concern about the color screen being of little use to most customers.

And did we not read a few weeks back that the new PortalPlayer chip supports the Motion-JPEG format?

However, apparently not until September at the earliest...

Screed

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by Mac+ I'm all for a colour screen - with iCal sync, a colour screen should be a given! ... ... although I hope that this wait is not in vain!

I'm the exact opposite. I'd actually pay more for an iPod without all those features.

If I wanted more features and a shorter battery life, I'd buy a PDA. There is definately a market for both, multipurpose-toys and dedicated-use toys?

[dglow]

Conventional Wisdom says if Apple chooses OLED for its color display tech the battery hit may not be severe. For a camera sensor it'll be even more negligible.

Photo flash? Now you're talking battery drain.

[dfiler]

My wallet is also large enough to house a clock and various other gadgets. Heck, it's big enough to house most modern PDAs. Thing is, I prefer to not overload userful objects with gimmicks.

I suppose one man's gimmick is another's livelyhood. Yet I stick by the premise that 99% of iPod owners use their iPod purely as a music player. Otherwise, they would have bought a PDA.

[dglow]

iPod mini is the pure, dedicated music player. iPod will evolve!

Apple can have its cake and eat it, too. iPod = product family encompassing numerous device types, each focussed on different audiences and price points.

Some day an iPod will include a cellular radio, which will mean (among other things) that it's possibly your mobile phone. Mark my words...

[dfiler]

Wow. A civil debate on this age old subject. I'm impressed.

I'm of the opinion that cell phones will keep gaining features and that they will eventually become the sole pocket gadget.

For now, I think the vast majority of iPod users would have their experience tainted by addtional features while only us techo-weenie gadget-geeks would actually use the features.

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by dglow iPod mini is the pure, dedicated music player. iPod will evolve!

Amen to that!

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by dfiler I'm the exact opposite. I'd actually pay more for an iPod without all those features. If I wanted more features and a shorter battery life, I'd buy a PDA. There is definately a market for both, multipurpose-toys and dedicated-use toys?

I don't get how Apple can create software such as iCal with its colour calendars and then sing and dance about how the iPod can integrate with it - but in b&w only... what is that?

I have said it before and I think dglow thinks similarly. The iPod is an iPersonal Organisational Device. Although it is unlikely that it will develop to include fully fledged data entry capabilities, it will (and does) have data syncing capabilities which will enable many users to see at a glance their schedules, contacts, TO DO lists and memos at the same time as being able to transport their digital lifestyle with them: iTunes songs, GB compositions, iPhoto slideshows and albums and perhaps someday Keynote presentations and iMovies. Not that I'm advocating watching such things off the colour screen whilst you jog... more that you have the convenience of being able to present them to family and friends without the need for lugging your laptop about with you.

Also, think about how these advanced capabilites might appear to first time Apple users. With such proliferation in the Windows community the iPod is a perfect trojan horse device to try and woo users of that platform to the sheer elegance and simplicity of OS X as it begins to integrate more holistically with the digital lifestyle.

dfiler - I can understand not wanting to corrupt the purity of an elegantly designed product. "Featuritis" can sometimes suck - but Apple has a knack of producing innovative and well conceived products lately and I think the iPod is capable of evolving without suffering a compromised UI or adolescent ugliness.

You can have your battery life and simplicity of "just the music" with the iPod mini... I'm sure (well, I certainly hope) the iPod brand can and will evolve to better things in years to come - especially now that they have their own division too don't forget!

(phew ... got me on a rant there - I love this topic!)

[sCreeD]

In regards to purity, what must be preserved is the interface. Fortunately, music, photos, and yes video* are suited to the scrollwheel/buttons on the iPod. There are some that fervently wanted the iPod to become a phone. Think about that. Unless Steve is a big fan of the rotary dial, to preserve the iPod's UI, a phone is not going to happen (thankfully).

*Mmmm, shuttlejog.

Screed