[thegelding]

hey...my ringback is the clash doing this is radio clash...

and i do it cuz i is cool...damn you

g

[Paul]

“1000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again.”

How about having the whole iTMS catalogue available (to buy) through the cell phone, 2 million songs (potentially) in your pocket.

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 ... [snip] ... And if popping in your new Men at Work cassette and putting the (corded) phone near the speaker so your buddy or girlfriend could hear "Overkill", then, by gosh, that's what you did!

Awwww 'scates ... you're getting me all bleary eyed and wistful now. They were the little Aussie band that could.™

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by Paul “1000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again.” How about having the whole iTMS catalogue available (to buy) through the cell phone, 2 million songs (potentially) in your pocket.

That's a nice take on it Paul. *nods head*

I don't own a cell (mobile) phone, so I'm not up with the capabilities, but would this be the first time you could purchase songs via cell phone? I presume you can buy a can of soft drink from a vending machine with your phone already.

[Kickaha]

No, buying songs on your phone has been available for a while.

But they *STAY* on your phone. If they make the phone a syncable unit with iTunes, such that buying it on the phone means you can listen to it in iTunes or on your iPod, well... that would be new.

[psmith2.0]

Would that be a slow, tedious and unfun prospect...buying 2-5MB songs on a phone? How does that work, exactly? I can grab an iTMS download at home, on my cable modem, in about 15 or so seconds.

That sort of speed wouldn't be available over a phone line - cellular - or would it? Or am I missing the whole deal (and am not understanding cellular phones vs. landline).

Beyond all that, is there a demand for such a capability? I know some folks live on their cell phones (usually the ones driving in front of me on the freeway at 42mph and straddling the lanes), but are people going to naturally go to their cell phone to get music? Would it be marketed as an "impulse" type of thing...maybe you're on a business trip and you're leaving the local titty bar and you remember how much you liked that Whitesnake song you just heard inside, and you dial up and buy it?



I try to stay OFF my phone as much as possible...

[Kickaha]

GSM speeds are pretty quick now, not like 56k modems.

And yeah, it's all about the impulse buy.

[psmith2.0]

See, that's what I was missing and ignorant on, the transfer/speed thing.

Still though...

By the way, all this recent talk about those flash 4GB drives and everyone thinking it's a new iPod mini or whatever...I'm betting it's the storage for this phone thing instead.

[Messiahtosh]

I'm gonna throw my 2¢ in the hat...iPod video.

[VL-Tone]

I think you guys try to read too much into this hint.

I'm one of those who thinks that we should read the hint very literally.

“1000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again.”

This points to a Flash based 4 gigs iPod mini. Apple will AGAIN release the smallest, lightest on the market able to hold 1000 songs and to feature the "award winning" iPod click-wheel and interface. It will have much more battery life than the original iPod though, and will be released at a very affordable price, something like $149-$179.

I said it before and I'll say it again, 1000 songs is enough for most people, the only important things that can be improved for these people is size, weight and price. So I predict that this flash mini will sell by millions this fall and Xmas. The middle end will be covered by an updated HD iPod mini with bigger HDs and color screens, and the 20 gigs white iPod.

One last thing, I don't think Apple would associate, in a hint, the release of the original iPod and a 4 gigs shuffle with a 3 lines screen.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by thegelding hey...my ringback is the clash doing this is radio clash... and i do it cuz i is cool...damn you g

Dude, you know Lionel Ritchie is just wetting himself anticipating royalties from ringbacks...

Hello... it it me you're looking for

Or the Lennon/McCartney estates...

You say goodbye, and I say Hello... Hello Hello, I don't know why you say goodbye...

Oh man... takes me back to years of custom recording answering machine messages with carefully culled audio clips that seemed relevant or cute or topical.

custom ringbacks for MILFs... The Doors Hello, I Love You, won't you tell me your name

cha-ching

The Applenova staff lounge phone would need some Aldo...

[Satchmo]

Originally Posted by VL-Tone [/i] This points to a Flash based 4 gigs iPod mini. Apple will AGAIN release the smallest, lightest on the market able to hold 1000 songs and to feature the "award winning" iPod click-wheel and interface. It will have much more battery life than the original iPod though, and will be released at a very affordable price, something like $149-$179.

Possible. This idea has been thrown around a bit given Samsung's recent dealing with Apple. The only problem is distinguishing it from the current Mini lineup. Would be better to just axe the current one rather than calling it Mini-Flash and Mini-HD.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 By the way, all this recent talk about those flash 4GB drives and everyone thinking it's a new iPod mini or whatever...I'm betting it's the storage for this phone thing instead.

No. Apple is buying up the stuff, not Motorola. And I seriously doubt if Apple is going to make the phones. It would be so much more cost effective for them to sub it out, as I believe they have done with Motorola. The manufacturing process is something entirely different from iPods. Lots of tech that Apple has no experience with.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Mac+ Awwww 'scates ... you're getting me all bleary eyed and wistful now. They were the little Aussie band that could.™

I think if I was going to set a custom ring tone I'd have to use Men At Work's "Who Can It Be Now".

Of course I have the $0.01 special phone so I don't have any of these cool money making (for the telco) features available to me.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by Satchmo Would be better to just axe the current one rather than calling it Mini-Flash and Mini-HD.

And flash is smaller than the HD - meaning the possibility of having a smaller Mini or a similar-sized Mini with other features.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Would that be a slow, tedious and unfun prospect...buying 2-5MB songs on a phone? How does that work, exactly? I can grab an iTMS download at home, on my cable modem, in about 15 or so seconds. That sort of speed wouldn't be available over a phone line - cellular - or would it? Or am I missing the whole deal (and am not understanding cellular phones vs. landline).

It's tough to say what speeds you can get, as not only is it technology dependent, but often also depends on your mobility (slower speeds when you're on the move) and your contention with other users. Often the figures quoted by providers are best case (one user only in the cell, stood next to the base station, not moving!).

This table is a good overview of theoretical speeds:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3504_7-...3.html?tag=dir

As a guide, in the U.S., T-Mobile has GPRS, Cingular have EDGE in places, with GPRS as a fallback, Sprint PCS uses 1xRTT, and Verizon uses 1xEV-DO. Sprint is moving to 1xEV-DO in the near future, while T-Mobile and Cingular will ultimately move to UMTS.

There are already UMTS networks rolled out in Europe and Asia, and while I was back in the U.K. over the summer I bought a UMTS phone and network subscription. Set the phone up as a Bluetooth modem, went online, tried an online bandwidth checker, and got 384kbps. Which suggests a 3Mb song would take about 1 minute to download.

Shame the data plans are so shockingly expensive as to make it completely impractical....

[Artap99]

I seem to be missing something...but upon going to Google and looking up 4GB flash drives, most are coming in at a little under $300. When the Shuffle came out, most 1GB drives were selling at about $80 or so, which would leave to a $70 'iPod' markup.
With that said, I understand that there is a rumor that Apple is snatching up a load of flash drives at competitive prices, but that still doesn't mean that a 4GB flash mini would come in at $150 or even $200. That price is ridiculous. Even $250 would be pushing it, there would be a sparse profit margin. Apple already convinced something like 95% of all portable music device listeners that iPod was the way to go--why would they choose to lose money over sweeping up the remaining 5%? Apple controls less than 3% of the market share for computers, they're obviously used to not having complete domination.
And on top of this, what company would sell Apple flash drives at a price where they would be losing money or lessening their profit margin? If they sold the drives at $150 a piece, by the time would break even in a year or two Apple would have up produce larger capacity iPods or lower the prices.

And in closing to this rather lengthy first response, my thoughts on what Apple will be unveiling on the seventh are reflected in what they said. They revolutionized portable audio libraries and made it commonplace, now they are doing it with something else. Possibly making their own product better. It's common knowledge that Apple has given the iPod its own division, maybe they've come up with their own storage device or something so fantastic that its practically imperial. Or then again, maybe Apple didn't send out the invitations and it was a PR campaign settled on by Motorolla and they are overhyping their phone.

Whatever it is, I just want to say thank you Applenova. You've provided me countless hours of enlightenment/entertainment and proved useful in the eventual fruition of my Powerbook.

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by Franz Josef And flash is smaller than the HD - meaning the possibility of having a smaller Mini or a similar-sized Mini with other features.

hmmm ... a smaller-sized Mini eh? Could they further differentiate the lines with a micro instead? (and manage to hit all appropriate price points)

• shuffle - 1GB/2GB flash based HD, no display
• micro - 4GB flash based HD, small display (3 lines or whatever everyone is talking about)
• mini - 8GB/10GB HD, colour display *
• iPod - 60GB/80GB, colour display (maybe a 20GB or 30GB model too)
• iPod video - 100GB, slightly new form factor ... price premium

Not that I expect a micro for this September 7 announcement (I think it may come at the Paris Expo) ... I'll add my vote to the Motorola/iTunes phone hook-up.

* Think back to the capacity and price of the original iPod. I love the trickle down of technology and associated price dives!

[Baron Munchausen]

But I heard that Samsung was slashing prices to supply its big customer, Apple, with cheap 4GB flash so it gets its piece of the Mini pie instead of the microdrive producers.

I think the original shuffle would disappear when the display version comes out.

My gut feel says video, and I still cling to the dream of a small detachable 'iSight' camera for the iPod. Wear the iPod on your hip, but carry the lens like a pen that can be used freely or even clipped to neckband earphones.

Who knows, it may be that the 4GB Flash Mini is also a phone - guts by Moto - what else to do with all that space which is now vacated by the microdrive?

I feel I stand corrected on the order, for it may well be that this device, i.e. an Apple-Moto launch - is done separately, OUTSIDE of Paris. Paris can be for video iPods, while the separate launch can be for the phone, GPS and iPod device. Yup, Moto are forward in GPS and why not - location-based buddies/music/radio whatever. We shall see...

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by Artap99 I seem to be missing something...but upon going to Google and looking up 4GB flash drives, most are coming in at a little under $300. When the Shuffle came out, most 1GB drives were selling at about $80 or so, which would leave to a $70 'iPod' markup. With that said, I understand that there is a rumor that Apple is snatching up a load of flash drives at competitive prices, but that still doesn't mean that a 4GB flash mini would come in at $150 or even $200. That price is ridiculous. Even $250 would be pushing it, there would be a sparse profit margin. Apple already convinced something like 95% of all portable music device listeners that iPod was the way to go--why would they choose to lose money over sweeping up the remaining 5%? Apple controls less than 3% of the market share for computers, they're obviously used to not having complete domination. And on top of this, what company would sell Apple flash drives at a price where they would be losing money or lessening their profit margin? If they sold the drives at $150 a piece, by the time would break even in a year or two Apple would have up produce larger capacity iPods or lower the prices. And in closing to this rather lengthy first response, my thoughts on what Apple will be unveiling on the seventh are reflected in what they said. They revolutionized portable audio libraries and made it commonplace, now they are doing it with something else. Possibly making their own product better. It's common knowledge that Apple has given the iPod its own division, maybe they've come up with their own storage device or something so fantastic that its practically imperial. Or then again, maybe Apple didn't send out the invitations and it was a PR campaign settled on by Motorolla and they are overhyping their phone. Whatever it is, I just want to say thank you Applenova. You've provided me countless hours of enlightenment/entertainment and proved useful in the eventual fruition of my Powerbook.

Welcome to 'Nova Artap99...

Don't forget that you're probably pricing single chip shipments of flash memory at those prices...

Corporate wholesale prices are usually calculated by the 100,000 unit volume.
Certainly this is/was the standard model in the Integrated Circuit world.

Joe D.I.Y assembling his home PC with mobo and CPU whinges about the cost of AMD/intel chips but is usually paying a vast premium over the costs paid by a white box manufacturer who orders by the container load. While Apple has never really allowed for home-rolled gear (unless your name was Steve and it was a garage), the cost of after market G4 upgrade chips was similarly always higher than the cost to the fruit company.

And then there's the markup...

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by Mac+ hmmm ... a smaller-sized Mini eh? Could they further differentiate the lines with a micro instead? (and manage to hit all appropriate price points) shuffle - 1GB/2GB flash based HD, no display micro - 4GB flash based HD, small display (3 lines or whatever everyone is talking about) mini - 8GB/10GB HD, colour display * iPod - 60GB/80GB, colour display (maybe a 20GB or 30GB model too) iPod video - 100GB, slightly new form factor ... price premium Not that I expect a micro for this September 7 announcement (I think it may come at the Paris Expo) ... I'll add my vote to the Motorola/iTunes phone hook-up. * Think back to the capacity and price of the original iPod. I love the trickle down of technology and associated price dives!

You bastard... didn't I make the same prediction a page ago?

Echo... Echo...

[MacRonin]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 ...maybe you're on a business trip and you're leaving the local titty bar and you remember how much you liked that Whitesnake song you just heard inside, and you dial up and buy it...

See, now that is just funny...

...since GreatWhiteLionSnake is the only music played in decent strip joints!

Okay, maybe some old school Cruë would be okay...

[Jason]

Well, it looks like it will be a phone after all.
groan...

BBC News

[Baron Munchausen]

If there was a brandname to sink a product, it is "Rokr". "Crock'a" is my response.

Let us hope this is not Apple's big hand this Autumn, but a sideshow that relates to expanding the iTunes availability to phones. My guess is Apple may move to produce its own phones - and who wants to be imprisoned by Cingluar, anyhow? Mobile operators are the 'Robber Barons' of the 21st Century!

[Rob M]

There are two guesses as to the announcements content:

Either an iTunes/iPod mobile phone
Or a VideoPod

It could also be both these things rolled into one -

iPhone with video functionality, designed by apple, produced by Motorola.

A music player, a mobile phone and a video player - just plug it into your HDTV, and you are away....

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by curiousuburb You bastard...

bastard ... and no smilie either?

Originally Posted by curiousuburb didn't I make the same prediction a page ago?

Yeah, (well sort of - no mention of a micro) but mine's neater.

[psmith2.0]

I'm going to go on record today as saying that if all this phone really does is have iTunes on it and play some mp3s, it'll be a flop.

People have iPods...with ALL their songs on it.

I can't imagine folks turning to their cell phones for long-term music listening...even with headphones or earbuds. I just don't think that's compelling. Plus, it'll probably be ridiculously expensive for what it is/does. Why wouldn't it?



And even if it syncs up with iTunes and all (and I'm sure it will, otherwise why bother), so what? Who's going to waste time and minutes buying songs on their phone?

Unless I'm missing some huge aspect (or I'm just not as much as a gadget geek as others are), I don't see anything about this that elicits more than a casual "yeah, huh? Okay...whatever" from me.



Nothing I'm reading makes it sound excessively "Apple" (except for the iTunes component). And I just don't think folks will be doing this on their phones that much.

I smell a Cube...

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 I'm going to go on record today as saying that if all this phone really does is have iTunes on it and play some mp3s, it'll be a flop.

I would tend to agree. And after all of the tiresome hype

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 And even if it syncs up with iTunes and all (and I'm sure it will, otherwise why bother), so what? Who's going to waste time and minutes buying songs on their phone?

Well, people are spending time and minutes buying ringtones on their phone, and ringtones can cost $3.00 for not even a complete song. Getting a complete iTune for $0.99 is a 66% discount so I'm sure it'll be a hit. I watch teenage kids all the time walking down the street with some song blasting out of their cellphone in speakerphone mode so their friends can hear it too.

This won't be a hit with you & I, but it will be a hit with its intended audience.

[Messiahtosh]

I have to think that an iPod/phone would be a huge hit. Why? More people would be inclined to buy the iPod/phone than would to just buy an iPod. Since most people already have phones, when they go to get a new one they might as well get the one that also plays music (which will be done best by the Apple/Mot thing, probably).

If you think about it, the iPod's audience is limited, compared to the mobile phone market. Even if the Mot/Apple phone only sells poorly compared to other, cheaper mobile phones, it will sell (eventually) in higher numbers than even a traditional iPod...

Plus, the age old question about "how much is too much?" Do people want two gadgets that do both things really well? Yes, if you can't have one gadget that can do both of those functions well...But in the case of a mobile phone and a mobile music player, one gadget should suffice in most cases (minus active listening, where a shuffle or mini is better).

I'll tell you this, as a college student, I'd rather have one device that I can make calls with and listen to music with. I hate full pockets and I hate leaving or throwing things into backpacks. Also, I can't use an iPod when I run because I run for a period of time which makes wearing headphones and having a device attached to me an uncomfortable situation.

My ideal situation is a phone that stores thousands of songs and has the interface and design of an iPod, and then a shuffle for other uses like weight lifting.

I just don't want a phone, an iPod, a shuffle, a wallet, keys, etc..all in my pocket...it's not even possible.

This is definitely a case where two can become one and nothing will be lost in the translation......but for now there will be something lost....capacity.....but that's only because Apple isn't in a position to just make all of their iPods into phones and still retain the necessary revenue.

This probem sort of reminds me of our fuel issues. Why don't we have an alternative to gasoline? Partly because the companies in charge of gasoline sales would not be in charge of the environmentally friendly alternative. Just as Apple can't abandon the iPod model right now, because they wouldn't control the platform anymore if they did.