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Apple May Introduce New iPod on Wednesday 190

Posted by Zonk from the tiny-christmas dept.
UnHolier than ever writes "Apple may be planning to announce a 'revamp' of the iPod on Wednesday. Reporters from across Europe have been asked to view a broadcast presentation by Steve Jobs at the BBC headquarters. Theorized features for this new iPod include a full or wide-screen with touch controls, ala the ever-popular iPhone. '[An analyst with Goldman Sachs] believes that a new line of iPods will boost demand for the gadget from Goldman's present forecast of about 19.8 million units for Apple's key first quarter - the reporting period that covers Christmas. However, that still suggests that demand for iPods will be flat, at best, compared with the same period last year, when Apple sold about 21 million devices.'"
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Apple May Introduce New iPod on Wednesday More

Apple May Introduce New iPod on Wednesday

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  • Speculation isn't news. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 03, 2007 @11:21AM (#20452049)
    Speculation for Nerds. News that may matter.

    • Sure it is (Score:3, Funny)

      by catbutt ( 469582 )
      Assuming you think news should only be about provable facts....well, it is certainly a fact that some people think that Apple may introduce a new iPod on wednesday. Whether that is is important or not* is a matter of debate, but it is certainly a real fact, and therefore news.

      *it does have very tangible effects, in the form of moving markets.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by aliquis ( 678370 )
        But it's not news that people are speculating about it, the date or the features, it has been speculated for weeks now ;)
  • Let's wait wednesday and see if we have at least something to talk about, mmmkay?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ianare ( 1132971 )
      That would be nice, wouldn't it?

    • Re:My suggestion: (Score:5, Funny)

      by TheRaven64 ( 641858 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @12:35PM (#20452691) Journal
      Is this some kind of Zen riddle? If no one reads the article, does it matter that the article has no substance?

    • Re:My suggestion: (Score:5, Interesting)

      by DMoylan ( 65079 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @12:39PM (#20452711)
      perhaps.

      what i do know is that 2 of our suppliers who normally don't sell apple stock were offering cheap ipods for the past 2-3 months here in ireland. they really seem to have been off loading ipod video and ipod nano stock. i also heard from friends who had companies they dealt with offering similar deals. now it might just be the lower end but it was still a significant departure for these companies to suddenly offer stock from a company they normally had no dealings with.

      prices offered to us
      * ipod nano 4gb 165
      * ipod 30gb black 210
    • Sigh, if we did that then all the apple fanboys wouldn't tout the benefits of their i thingies twice.

      Speculation is well and good in moderation for things that probably won't happen for years. But for crying out loud is it really necessary to hear about things just because Apple or Google might be doing them in the future?

      I just wish /. could spend less time marketing Apple than Apple does.

  • You know (Score:5, Insightful)

    by phoenixwade ( 997892 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @11:23AM (#20452065)
    With 6 billion or so people on the planet, sooner or later the market will reach saturation, and ipod sale are going to become flat. I'm not really sure why flattening of iPod sales is big news.

    That said, I have a 3rd gen iPod, and it's getting close to the time to replace it, I have hopes for a widescreen color iPod in the 100 gb range, So if it's avaiable soon, I may very well bee the 19 million and first sale this year.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by suv4x4 ( 956391 )
      That said, I have a 3rd gen iPod, and it's getting close to the time to replace it, I have hopes for a widescreen color iPod in the 100 gb range, So if it's avaiable soon, I may very well bee the 19 million and first sale this year.

      You can reject the possibility of a full-screen iPod ("ala iPhone" as the summary says) right now: because well, it's expensive.

      iPhone costs $600 with 2 year AT&T contract. A $600 iPod wouldn't sell well.
      • My 2nd Gen 20GB iPod is still kicking around. And that sucker was expensive. 500 large in 2002. Fortunately I didn't buy it but it's proved its worth everytime.

      • You can reject the possibility of a full-screen iPod ("ala iPhone" as the summary says) right now: because well, it's expensive.
        iPhone costs $600 with 2 year AT&T contract. A $600 iPod wouldn't sell well.

        Well, it's a couple of days later, and guess what? Widescreen iPOD ala iPhone! not only did it not come with a $600.00 price tag, they dropped $200.00 off of the iPhone too.

        Unfortunately, I didn't get what I wanted, which is this snazzy new iPod AND 100gb of storage... it was, unfortunately, an XOR. But a 160gb iPod or a widescreen 16gb iPod.... choices, the choices......

    • I, too, have a 3G iPod (20GB) in need of replacing. I would like to replace it with an iPod Nano with the same sort of storage capabilities. It has all of the features I need, but I'd like them in a smaller package with no moving parts. Considering how cheap 16GB USB flash drives are now, that should be feasible. It's been a really long time since the iPod lines were revamped, especially considering how much flash prices have been falling recently.
    • I have had a nano since they were released and I just came into a small chunk of change. If any of the speculations are true concerning the wifi or even touchscreen.

      I will probably hold onto the cash and update my nano to something else. The only thing that would stop me is if it is hard-drive based. I love my lil flash-based ipod.
      • Unless flash has come a _long_ way while I haven't been watching, if you want an 80GB, it'll have something spinning in it. I'm not sure that's really a problem; my HD-based iPod has bounced around quite a bit while running and doesn't seem to mind.

    • Re:You know (Score:4, Insightful)

      by DurendalMac ( 736637 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @02:15PM (#20453857)
      What he doesn't take into account are people unloading their old iPods for a new one. I have an 80GB iPod Video right now, and I will put it up for sale the moment Apple announces a video iPod. If it has everything the iPhone does minus the phone, expect sales to go off the charts.
      • Why? It makes an EXCELLENT USB 2.0 storage device for general file backup. I'm like you though, I REALLY want a wide screen IPOD.

        If it has Wifi on it and an Iphone like interface....my credit card comes out in a moment.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Pojut ( 1027544 )
          Actually, it makes a horrendous USB backup tool...why? Because you need a program to access it.

          You are better off getting a 2.5" enclosure and drop a 160 gig 2.5" hard drive in it off ebay...it will cost less, and it would be powered entirely from the USB port (negating the need for an external power source like most external hard drives...not to mention you won't need a proprietary ipod cable that works ONLY with ipods...)

          • Actually, it makes a horrendous USB backup tool...why? Because you need a program to access it.

            Um, I have two opposite responses both refute your assertion.

            Going with the literal meaning, you need a program to access ANY USB device. (or, more specifically, you need a device driver that gives you the set of tools for the OS to access the device.) so the iPod makes a fine backup tool because the drivers are already there. Just like any other USB storage device.

            Going the other way, you can simply format the iPod as an external USB based HD... works fine, does not require iTunes to do it. On my mac, dis

          • Have you ever actually used an iPod? It's a plain USB 2.0 mass storage device. You need iTunes to transfer music to it because of the internal database that needs updating, but for normal file transfers it doesn't need any particular program to access it.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by DaveCBio ( 659840 )
      Because Apple gadgets are hipness indicators and if hipness is down then posers are rudderless and aren't sure what to buy to make them look cool and the economy suffers.
    • I have a 3rd-gen iPod too (the iPod Photo), and I've really been holding out for a model that supports Firewire transfers again. I'm absent-minded, and syncing my iPod is the last thing I think of on my way out the door. With Firewire, it takes like 2 minutes.

      Then again, if Apple produced an iPhone without the phone part, I'd be sorely tempted.

  • Awesome (Score:4, Funny)

    by /ASCII ( 86998 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @11:24AM (#20452081) Homepage
    I just bought a 8 GB Nano today. And in less than a week, it's going to be vintage. Yes!

    • Re:Awesome (Score:5, Informative)

      by FooAtWFU ( 699187 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @11:27AM (#20452113) Homepage
      That's what this page [macrumors.com] is for.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by nurb432 ( 527695 )
      Well, since its now useless, give it to me.

  • Rumor Roundup (Score:4, Informative)

    by necro81 ( 917438 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @11:40AM (#20452223) Journal
    Engadget has a helpful rumor roundup [engadget.com] - just to keep the /. discussion lively with speculation. Aside from the next-gen touchscreen iPod, there's the Beatles' catalogue on iTMS, direct-to-iPhone (iPod) music store downloads, and increased capacity in the Nano. "Analysis" (i.e., educated speculation and wishful thinking) available from CNet [com.com], ArsTechnica [arstechnica.com], and AppleInsider (1 [appleinsider.com], 2 [appleinsider.com], 3 [appleinsider.com]).

  • May? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Thwomp ( 773873 ) *
    Ha! Lets not err on the side of caution here, I thought it was a dead cert. Especially since those new iPod photos appeared which Apple promptly issued a take-down for.
    • I think it's pretty much a certainty also for many different reasons. But to be accurate, there have actually been no iPod photos released.

      The "photos" in question was a single snapshot of a computer screen that had a PhotoShop file displayed on it. The PhotoShop file was a crude mock up, of an advertisement for *one* of the rumoured new iPods. Apple asked for it to be taken down as it had *some* Apple IP in it. Best bet is still that it was 9to5mac.com (the site that posted the image), or their Chinese in

  • I have always wondered (Score:2, Interesting)

    by tit0.c ( 245434 )
    Why hasnt apple put AM/FM/XM/whatever radio capabilities in the iPods.
    I still listen to radio ocasionally when I want to listen to something different.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by animaal ( 183055 )
      I can only assume it's because Apple would rather you pay them for music on iTunes than listen to the radio for free.

      Shame really, radio hardware can be tony, and costs almost nothing.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by iainl ( 136759 )
      Because they'd rather charge you extra to have that as an option, still.

    • I can't say on the subject of FM or XM, but one possible reason that an AM radio isn't included with the iPod could be that the device itself could intefere with good AM radio reception (since it never actually turns off). I've noticed that many digital audio players (DAP) that include an FM radio don't include the ability to receive AM, so it could be that the nature of a DAP makes it unsuitable for use as an AM radio, possibly because its relatively small size makes it difficult to isolate the AM circuitr

    • I still listen to radio ocasionally when I want to listen to something different.
      So YOU'RE the one person still left listening to radio.
  • So, we know Apple are calling in journalists from all over Europe, we know that in the iPhone launch presentation Steve Jobs said Europe would get the iPhone in Q3 2007, and we know there are only another 27 days of Q3 2007 left. So why are people jumping to the conclusion that this is a iPod launch?

    • Re:Sounds like the European iPhone launch to me (Score:5, Informative)

      by De Lemming ( 227104 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @12:55PM (#20452837) Homepage

      we know that in the iPhone launch presentation Steve Jobs said Europe would get the iPhone in Q3 2007
      No, he said Q4: "So here we are, and we're going to be shipping it in June in the U.S. We're going to Europe hopefully by the fourth calendar quarter of this year. And in Asia in 2008." (link [myiphone.com])

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by WIAKywbfatw ( 307557 )
        Still, Q4 2007 is less than 4 weeks away. This could well be the European iPhone launch confirmation but it could just as as easily be something else.

        Knowing Apple, though, it'll probably be both. After all, if they have flown in European journalists then why fly them in twice in a matter of months when you could get everything done in one go?

        I predict the new iPods, plus confirmation of the European iPhone launch dates, service providers and sample price plans.
    • Well, let's see 1) The invite has a picture of a guy with an iPod on it 2) There's a US event too 3) The tag line for the event is "The Beat Goes On..." Yeah, it's the European iPhone launch.
    • No, Europe is just the perspective of the article summary. U.S journalists were invited to the event at the Moscone Center [appleinsider.com], while the Europeans are being webcast in.
  • it probably still won't be as good as an iPod with Rockbox installed on it...

  • may not be wireless (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Jeremy_Bee ( 1064620 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @11:58AM (#20452397)
    There is a rumour that instead of wi-fi, the new iPod will use this technology:

    http://lunchat.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/kleer .html [typepad.com]

    thus it may not have any skype/wireless capabilities.
    • While wireless headphones would be nice, it seems like just another thing to suck up more battery power. While it says it has low power usage (10x less than bluetooth), I'd much rather just have wired headphones. Plus what happens when one of those earbuds falls out of your ear when you're running? Even if it doesn't break when it hits the ground, somebody could step on it, or it could fall down a sewer grate.

      • Re:may not be wireless (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Jeremy_Bee ( 1064620 ) on Monday September 03, 2007 @02:17PM (#20453877)
        The way I understand it, the "Kleer" thing is an extra. There is nothing to stop people from using earbuds as well or instead of this.

        It would conceivably allow Apple to produce an iPod with wireless like capabilities for sharing tunes and "squirting the social" (a la Zune), but not necessarily introduce the complexity of wireless and browsers and skype and so on. With Kleer, each iPod would be a broadcasting station and multiple wireless listeners could listen to the same iPod simultaneously. This would also figure in with the rumoured iPod "kiosks" that are said to be going up at Starbucks for selling iTunes to patrons.

        I find it kind of believable because the technology is bleeding edge (typical Apple), it would instantly turn iPods into the highest quality audio devices out there (also typical Apple), and make it possible to do all those social things that were the Zune's only real innovation ("the social"), without all the DRM and legal complications. It's such a perfect solution, that if Apple doesn't use this technology or something very similar, the next Zune could run rings around them just by implementing it.

        This is all wild rumour at this point however.
  • The article is all conjecture. Why not post "Apply may not release a new IPOD on Tuesday?
  • Why go to BBC headquarters and ask European reporters to this presentation just to announce a new model of an existing product? Perhaps instead Steve will be announcing that the iPhone will soon be on sale in Europe. Unlocked, of course. AT&T's deal is only for the US, right?

  • Touchscreen seems nice at first, but after a bit of thought, it adds flashiness, but takes away from usability. I like the physical controls that allow me to use my ipod without having to look at it. The edges of the scroll-circle-thing guide my fingers where they need to be without ever having to take it out of my pocket. Having this on a screen, while nice looking, would really screw with my aim.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by argent ( 18001 )
      Touchscreen seems nice at first, but after a bit of thought, it adds flashiness, but takes away from usability. I like the physical controls that allow me to use my ipod without having to look at it

      Unfortunately that doesn't mean that Apple won't go that way. The iPod lost me because I can't use it without looking at it... I tried, but the UI just didn't become instinctive enough for me, and I ended up giving my iPod to my daughter and getting an iPod shuffle.
    • The iPod in the iPhone is far superior to every other model of iPod in usability. While I'm not a huge fan of the touch pad for other things (like typing), it is nearly perfect for the iPod. Browsing album covers and flipping it over and touching the song is nearly as good as having the physical album cover and picking the song you wanna hear.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by LKM ( 227954 )
      You would probably want to use the headphone remote to control the iPod when it's in your pocket.

    • gluechucker wrote:

      Touchscreen seems nice at first, but after a bit of thought, it adds flashiness, but takes away from usability. I like the physical controls that allow me to use my ipod without having to look at it. The edges of the scroll-circle-thing guide my fingers where they need to be without ever having to take it out of my pocket. Having this on a screen, while nice looking, would really screw with my aim.

      I, too, prefer physical buttons when using a personal audio player. One of the best thi

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by argent ( 18001 )
        But a factor that works against this with a device like the iPod is the large number of files that the user must go through. One of the reasons for the iPod's scroll wheel is to allow the user to quickly move through a large number of files to get to the specific song, something that would be more difficult to do using button-based controls.

        While I was trying to get used to the click wheel (before giving up and giving it to my daughter) I figured out that the real problem is that scrolling through a long li

  • Have analysts ever been correct... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by samdu ( 114873 ) <samdu AT ronintech DOT com> on Monday September 03, 2007 @02:51PM (#20454375) Homepage
    ...about the demand for iPods? I have a feeling that they have always underestimated the demand.
  • My money is on an iPhone type/size unit without the phone bits. I makes sense from a production and user point of view.
  • And I just bought a refurb'd 20gb HP iPod for $100 from Woot! Oh, the horror, the horr.... eh, maybe not.

    NP: the tapping of my feet as I wait for my iPod.

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