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Media (Apple) Media Businesses Apple

'True' Video iPod Coming Soon 398

Posted by CowboyNeal from the possible-april-fool's-jokes dept.
Moby Cock writes "Think Secret is reporting that the true video iPod is slated for announcement soon. It will have a 3.5 inch display and will eschew the mechanical click wheel in favour of a touch screen version. The 5th generation iPod released prior to the holiday season last year is described as a souped up 4G iPod with video capabilities. This new iPod will be the 'true' video iPod. It looks like there is not going to be wireless support. The article hints that the release date could be April 1 which is the 30th anniversary of Apple."
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'True' Video iPod Coming Soon More

'True' Video iPod Coming Soon

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  • April 1st? (Score:5, Funny)

    by AOL-CD-Man ( 920944 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:19PM (#14684086) Homepage
    Its coming out April 1st? Oh, it's no joke then.

    • Re:April 1st? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:35PM (#14684206)
      Not to say it isn't true, but beware of Thinksecret's predictions. They've had a long string of incorrect predictions lately. Either they have bad sources, or their sources are too good--purposely placed by Apple to misdirect the rumor sites.

      In all honesty, it's kind of a bummer that these sites are so obsessed with breaking Apple secrets all the time. Imagine how cool it would have been if nobody knew this was coming out, and bam, suddenly it's announced...or if nobody knew Intel machines were going to be at MacWorld (we knew months ahead of time thanks to "sources"). It really ruins the amazing announcement to have all these months of speculative hype leading up to it.

      • So to sum up... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by RedNovember ( 887384 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:46PM (#14684272)
        It's a rumor on an inconsistent website about a proposed product launch on April 1st.

        WTF.

        • Oh, and (Score:5, Funny)

          by RedNovember ( 887384 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:49PM (#14684287)
          WTF do they mean by the ,i>true video iPod? Is this thing on a higher plane of existence or something? iPod 6D?

          • Re:Oh, and (Score:4, Informative)

            by That's Unpossible! ( 722232 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @12:21PM (#14687954)
            If you had RTFA, you would know the "true" reference means.

            "Readers will recall that during the brouhaha leading up to the October release of the 5G iPod last year, Think Secret maintained that the video iPod would not be released at the time and, following the roll-out of the 5G iPod, that that iPod was "not the video iPod" but rather a souped up 4G iPod with video capabilities. This forthcoming iPod revision is what sources have said for some time will be the incarnation of a complete video iPod solution."
      • I honestly would not be surprised to find out that thinksecret is owned and operated by Apple

      • Re:April 1st? (Score:5, Funny)

        by sbma44 ( 694130 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @12:59AM (#14685089)
        It really ruins the amazing announcement

        Oh please. Steve Jobs != Santa.

      • Re:April 1st? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by ShyGuy91284 ( 701108 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @02:52AM (#14685510)
        II prefer to know a companies plans when I am buying from them. Prevents me from getting i* v1.0 when i* v.2.0 will be released a month later (happened to me w/ the iPod Photo/iPod Video).

      • Re:April 1st? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by dr.badass ( 25287 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @04:21AM (#14685753) Homepage
        Either they have bad sources, or their sources are too good--purposely placed by Apple to misdirect the rumor sites.

        You'll note that they have been consistently wrong about everything that wasn't glaringly obvious since they were sued by Apple in effort to ferret out the internal leaker. In short, they lost the one actual source they ever had.

        They (rumor sites in general) make shit up, plain and simple.

        Usually, when rumors don't pan out they say things like "it was delayed at the last minute", or "it was suddenly cancelled". No matter how many times they get it wrong, they claim "reliable sources". No matter how many things actually happen that they didn't know about, they always report them as if they were predictions come true. That they've managed to get people to believe that Apple deliberately sends them misinformation is all part of the calculated chicanery that keeps such sites popular and profitable.
    • Its coming out April 1st? Oh, it's no joke then.

      No, Steve Jobs is just going to announce that it runs WinCE. That is one appropriately named OS.

        -Charles

    • Apple Computer was founded in Los Gatos, California on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, to sell the Apple I personal computer kit at $666.66. Apple Computer, Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]

      Something is coming out that day, may as well be something people have been asking for. I'm hoping Apple finally figured out how to make tablets better somehow, and will release one for their 30th. Failing that, the 30th anniversary Apple I would be great too.

    • yes, April 1st! why a "true" video iPod (Score:5, Interesting)

      by johnpaul191 ( 240105 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @11:21PM (#14684477) Homepage
      1) Apple really was incorporated on April 1st (people don't seem to know that) and it will be the actual 30th birthday to the day.... though Steve Jobs was not at Apple for the 20th anniversary, there was a special Mac released [everymac.com].

      2) the current iPod is referred to as "iPod with video" and not "video iPod" on Apple.com. that specific wording is why people think Apple is reserving "video iPod" for something new. i guess technically the iPod with Video is considered a modified version of the latest iPod, and not a flat out video playback device. it also may explain those patents that surfaced recently about a touchscreen-like thing that made the rumor site go bananas thinking an Apple tablet was coming. (here is one example [macrumors.com]). add the reoccurring "Apple to buy Palm" rumor and you could write a book full of speculation wrapping up all these rumors into one crazy device if you want.

      anyway, that's the background on those two bits.....
    • Glad to see that they're coming out with "true video".

      I was getting really tired of the old "faux video".

  • No wireless... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mobby_6kl ( 668092 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:19PM (#14684089)
    >It looks like there is not going to be wireless support.

    I bet it has less space than a Nomad, too!

  • Great (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anubis350 ( 772791 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:20PM (#14684093)
    Great, now on Apr. 1st we won't know if it's a joke or not!
    OTOH, they could call it the foolPod or iFool something

  • What Else? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by nathanmace ( 839928 )
    I have a 3G iPod myself. A video iPod with a bigger screen and a touch screen would be very nice indeed. But it has been 30 years! There has to be more than just this. C'mon. Thoughts? Ideas?

    Personally, I'm hoping for an Intel based Cube. Yea, I know it would compete with the mini. Just spin it as a super-mini or something. How much would you pay for a cube looking Intel based mac that is around the same size as a mini, but runs like an iMac without the screen?

    • Re:What Else? (Score:5, Funny)

      by damsa ( 840364 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:25PM (#14684131)
      How about a 15,000 dollar aniversary iPod stereo system complete with B&O speakers, solid gold monster cables and a sticker that says 30th aniversary iPod.
    • Touch screen would be pretty useless in an ipod if you think about it.

      For most of their life they live in pockets, along with your keys and change... a touch screen would keep changing tracks when you walked around. Not good.

      • Re:What Else? (Score:3, Informative)

        by Danga ( 307709 )
        a touch screen would keep changing tracks when you walked around. Not good.

        I have an iPod Photo and I think the other iPods are similar as far as having a switch that disables all the inputs. I am pretty sure this new iPod would have a similar switch to disable the touchscreen. A touchscreen would most definitely not be useless, just different then the current way to control the iPod.

        What I would be worried about is scratching the screen. I have a case for my iPod that is a solid enclosure with clear, ha

    • 10th Anniversary of the 20th Anniversay PowerMac (Score:4, Funny)

      by mattbot 5000 ( 645961 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @11:27PM (#14684515) Homepage

      Book it. Imagine all the glory and price of the 20th Anniversary Mac... times ten!

      Good luck cleaning your mind off the wall.

    • really the G4 Cube was intended as a bridge between the G3 iMac and the G4 tower..... so a Mini-like machine with Pro-level processors would be nice. it may be a small niche, but there are people (like many graphics, or design people) that need all the horsepower but not the expandability of the full blown G5 towers. i know a LOT of people with towers that never did more than upgrade their memory. they wanted the fastest Mac they could afford, but have no need for multiple drives and expansion cards.

      all sal

  • Fingerprints (Score:3, Insightful)

    by pwnage ( 856708 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:21PM (#14684101)
    How do they plan on keeping fingerprints off the screen?

    • Re:Fingerprints (Score:5, Funny)

      by sponga ( 739683 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:27PM (#14684142)
      They will place a sticker on the bottom with an arrow pointing at you saying "Warning: See that shirt you're wearing, use it to wipe me off!"
    • What about a Blackberry-esque scroll wheel? Elegant, keeps fingers off, still allows for the same filesystem...Makes sense to me.

      • Re:Fingerprints (Score:4, Insightful)

        by emandres ( 857332 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @01:59AM (#14685349)
        They wouldn't do a scroll wheel on the side. For one, that just isn't an ipod. It would be just like any other mp3 player out there. Secondly, the scroll wheel is one of the most ergonomic and natural feeling controls on the market. Instead of pushing down a button and waiting for the hardware to start scrolling, it's moving and soon as you are, and stops as soon as you stop. Plus, there's no awkward move it down, move your finger back up, move it down... etc. Apple would be stupid to give up something so ingenious as the click wheel. As for the wheel being digitized, I'm not too hot on the idea. The reason that the 3G didn't really fly as well as it should have was because there was no tactile feedback. You get the 'click' when you press the button on all of the other models, but 3G you didn't get that. In addition, you had to move your thumb to get to the menu buttons.
    • Turning the screen 90 degrees (or 270 degrees if you prefer) and having a nano sized scroll wheel sounds more attractive to me.

      I have a 3G ipod and my beef is that I accidentally click the buttons all the time. So I'd prefer something that you actually need to push.
    • They will probably use the same method they used to prevent the iPod video's screen from succumbing to scratches.

      Oh, wait...

    • Re:Fingerprints (Score:5, Funny)

      by Zaurus ( 674150 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @11:24PM (#14684500)
      > How do they plan on keeping fingerprints off the screen?

      Easy. iRub the screen with iSleeve.

  • Depressed (Score:2, Funny)

    by pinsOFsheep ( 919554 )
    Looks like I'll have to sell my G5 after one month of ownership:-(

  • Give me a break (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fit4130 ( 858077 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:23PM (#14684113) Homepage
    This is just getting out of hand. Every few months they are coming out with new ipods just to make people think that the ipod they have now is suddenly obsolete and should be replaced.

    • Re:Give me a break (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:34PM (#14684195) Homepage
      If you go out and buy a new iPod just because a new iPod comes out, you are either rich, or an idiot. Sorry.

      I've got a 3rd gen. It works just great. I'd like the nice clear screen on the 5th gen but I don't need it at all. I'll keep mine until it dies, or they come out with something great (built-in bluetooth or wifi would probably do it). My brother used his 1st gen up until last year when it was stolen. It worked just as well as any other iPod for listening to music.

      All that said, at least they are improving their product. So many companies would be content to make a meaningless change every two years or so (and a meaningless one at that) and just rake in the cash. Apple may be raking in the cash, but they are improving their product too. Look at the storage difference between a 1st or 2nd gen and a 5th, along with the screen, battery life, and thickness and tell me they haven't made a substantially better product in many ways.

    • Well, mine was just stolen! Yahoo! Now I can upgrade!
    • You're right. How dare Apple actually innovate. We hate innovation in the technology sector!
    • What the? Who's forcing you to buy a new iPod, and how does your current iPod lose any functionality just because a new one has been released? Since when is Apple telling you to replace anything just by keeping up with technology and releasing a new version of its product?

      Sheesh, by April 1st, it will have been seven months since the last iPod. It's not like it's that recent. They haven't announced anything, and this is just a rumor from a notoriously inaccurate rumor site, and already the Apple-bashers
    • Do you think it's just Apple doing this? It's what our entire culture is based on!

    • Re:Give me a break (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Chuqmystr ( 126045 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @01:49AM (#14685311) Homepage
      Eh, quite the contrary for me. I hung onto my 1st gen old 5GB clicky wheel thing until I was little more than a 386 user in a Pentium world. Hell, it still works all but for an overbaked battery. I did have a mini for awhile and was perfectly happy with it until I bought my wife a nano and realized how crappy the sound quality was but if it wasn't for that I'd still have said mini. But needless to say I now have a nano of my own, my son has my old mini and I pro'lly won't give up the nano until, I dunno, the fucking iPod neural implant comes about?

      <curdmudgery>Now follows some of my experiences with and thoughts on gadgets on the go, video included - and why I won't be buying a video iPod anytime soon. Meh. Too many toys and too damned often. Find one that just does the job well and use it until it dies. Chances are there will be something shiny and 10 times better to replace it when your beloved device gives up the ghost and you won't be a pennyless gadget whore after waiting it out. Let the the other gadget whores support the constant onslaught for you. I mean c'mon, video on the go? I commute by train and see many folks squinting at their ipods and Archoses, er Archi, et al and it seems more a pain in the ass than anything. I even tried the whole video snarfing thing to my PSP - even had it scripted out so that other than the time consuming part of it I had to do little more than pick a show or two to suck off the Tivo, plug in the PSP to charge and download and then just dismount it grab and go in the morning. That lasted about 3 months at best. I went back to playing games on it or just reading and left the TV viewing for home. IMHO, Video-on-the-go is novel but unless you're on a long trip nothing replaces sitting down at the end of the day to a nice show or two. Why the hell do you want to spend your commute times or lunch in your cube watching more toob when you can read, (not for you drivers) have conversations, mess with your computer or go take a walk to lunch with friends? Enough with the video, put down the cellphone and socialize. As for the PSPs (and Nintendo DSes) You can make many friends on a bus/train/carpool with network gaming. Good times and much more entertaining than hunkering down over a TV show, movie or two. The video part is just a sales gimmic, play with your friends. Play with yourself! Um, wait...

      This last bit is even further off topic but this reminds me of something along similar lines of thought. Like I said before, I commute almost two hours each way daily by train and I am absolutely amazed at how many people, sitting next to one another will gab the entire trip on their mobiles and yet never even strike up conversation with those around them on the train, day in and day out. We see each other every damn day and at least a forth (or so it seems) manage more than a cursory good morning/evening to our fellow, consistent traveling companions. Weird.</curdmugery>

    • Re:Give me a break (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Nailer ( 69468 )
      Last week my iPod was a 2G with an 8 hour battery.

      Now my new 5G has a 20 hour battery, four times the capacity, video, album artwork, and charges over USB. It was cheaper than my 2G too.

      Clearly I'm deluded into thinking this was a significant difference.

  • battery (Score:5, Insightful)

    by user24 ( 854467 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:23PM (#14684117)
    the real question is: will it have more than 3 hours playback time so we can actually watch films on it, unlike almost every other portable video player
    • I don't think this would be a problem if they wanted it not to be. Take the difference between a first generation or second generation iPod and a iPod with Video (aka 5G). The 5G is like half as thick (maybe 1/3). They could easily make the "Video iPod" thicker than a current one, while still having it much thinner than all the competing Portable Media Players. And if they can get 2 hours out of the 5th Gen, imagine what they could get if they doubled or tripled the thickness and used it all for additional

    • Re:battery (Score:3, Informative)

      by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 )
      the real question is: will it have more than 3 hours playback time so we can actually watch films on it, unlike almost every other portable video player

      Keep in mind that almost every other portable video player is also significantly heavier and far less pocket friendly. It seems like Apple has been very careful to state that it is an audio player that can play video, because it is an audio player first. A good portable video player makes a very poor portable audio player and vice-versa, because of the opt
    • So I can save some power when I am looking at notes or something.
  • Anyone else worried that the touch screen is going to get worn out over time? This isn't like a PDA's touch screen that's primarily being used by a stylus; rather it's going to be constantly touched by fingers. Although now that I think about it, this seems almost like a multimedia oriented PDA with a HDD.

  • Touchscreen? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:25PM (#14684132) Homepage
    I'm still a bit dubious over the whole "Video iPod" idea. That said, I can't say that I like the idea of a full touch-screen interface. While it may be nice, it prevents you from using the device without looking at it, unless you buy a remote. I've got a 3rd generation (with the four buttons just below the screen) and it is VERY easy to operate without looking. The newer ones (with the integrated buttons on the wheel, ala the Mini) you can't do that so easily. But at least you can still feel around where the wheel is and which way is "up". When you remove that from the device... you're in trouble.

    But I could get stuff off my DirecTiVo onto it I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

    If anyone can make a great portable media player, I trust Apple would be the one to do it.

    Or we will just get the MacBook, Mac Mini Solo, and a new gizmo that isn't the iPod.

  • patents suggest this is true (Score:4, Informative)

    by kebes ( 861706 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:27PM (#14684140) Journal
    Previous slashdot stories covered rumours about a possible upcoming Apple tablet (see here [slashdot.org] and here [slashdot.org]). However, perhaps what was really going on was that Apple was putting in place patents related to this device.

    Look at the patents in question. US Design Patent No. D504,899 [uspto.gov], filed on May 10, 2005, looks like a patent for the design of an Apple tablet. Yet, perhaps they refrained from calling it a tablet in the patent (they call it "an electronic device") because they actually want it to cover the (much smaller) design of the video iPod. US Patent Application No. 20060026536 [uspto.gov], filed Jan 30, 2005, is called "Gestures for touch sensitive input devices," and the images very clearly show a device that looks like a full-screen ipod with overlayed "touchwheel" (check out this news item for commentary and images [pcmag.com].

    What I'm getting at is this: ThinkSecret may very well be right (again!). The fact that these patents were filed shows that they are working on this kind of device. I think these patent applications strongly support the notion that Apple is going to try to release a next-gen device with touch-screen based input. Sounds like a cool device.

    • Re:patents suggest this is true (Score:5, Insightful)

      by timster ( 32400 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:42PM (#14684246)
      ThinkSecret hasn't been right about much of anything lately, so it's pretty clear that their well has been poisoned. The only reason the site stays running is because they can still get ad impressions on remembered glory.

      This new story is probably fake; it's based on the notion that the video iPod isn't the "real" video iPod, which is a very strained argument. Apple has been selling videos at the resolution of the 5G iPod for some time, and the proposed device can't compete with existing portable DVD players for the purpose of watching movies. A bigger screen with the same resolution would increase watchability much less than most people think, and it would be too difficult to hold the device. These facts suggest that Apple is not about to start selling feature films, and further, that Apple is not going to start selling some kind of device massively redesigned for the purpose of video.

      If this scoop started showing up in a lot of other places, I'd believe it, but nothing exclusive to ThinkSecret has been true for about six months.
      • Don't compare this to portable DVD players. This (if it's real) could store 10 DVDs, and probably a lot more at the lower res or compressed. And it will likely fit in decent sized pockets. And also play music. So it's apples and oranges (no pun intended).
    • The fact that these patents were filed shows that they are working on this kind of device.

      History has shown that the images in Apple's utility patent filings rarely bear direct resemblance to the devices they end up in. (And before the trolls come in: Yes this is legal and normal, as the images are only "one embodiment" of the invention being patented.)

      "Gestures for touch sensitive input devices", for instance, could easily be interpreted as applying to the existing touchpads in PowerBooks and MacBooks, wh

  • Mmmm...greasy (Score:2, Funny)

    by Fishbulb ( 32296 )
    Here's a trick:
    Every time you have a video playing in a window on your monitor, rub your finger across your forehead, then trace a circle on top of the video.
    See how long you last without having to clean it.

    They should stick with the wheel.

  • Video iPod? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jmcmunn ( 307798 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:32PM (#14684187)

    Wait, so you mean Apple has bigger plans for the video store on iTunes? Come on, why is this even news? I mean it's a no brainer that Apple wants you to buy videos from them, and if you're buying their videos you must be using their player right?

  • The Video iPod for the rest of us... (Score:5, Funny)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:39PM (#14684230)
    But I'm still waiting for the eight pound, 10-inch screen iPod that Steve Jobs announced during his podcast demo at MacWorld last month. :P

  • ThinkSecret (Score:4, Interesting)

    by cejones ( 574416 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:40PM (#14684242)
    And given ThinkSecret's track record over the past 6 months, you should take all this "News" with a truckload of salt.
  • You see, I love the mechanical click-wheel. It's the thing I most like about the iPod. And why I've contemplated getting one over say the Archos or DishNetwork's variant of Archos' unit.

    Now, they're going to get rid of the click wheel, my guess, they'll go widescreen and sideways. Which is what I've always said a video unit should be.

    But using the screen, great...now you NEVER get rid of finger-prints. (This will be Apple's big boon-doggle.) Rather, they should have just moved the click-wheel to the backsid

  • Fingerprints (Score:2, Insightful)

    by jaronc ( 68205 )
    Given how grotty the current ipods become just from handling, I wonder how are they going to handle a screen where you are forced to touch it?

  • It had better be 16:9 aspect ratio (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:56PM (#14684325) Homepage
    It's a little late to be introducing a 4:3 TV in 3.5 inches.

    Now, something where the whole face of an iPod sized box was a 16:9 HDTV display would be neat.

    Interestingly, flash memory SanDisk [miami.com] is now #2 in MP3 players. There's an advantage in being the biggest maker of flash memory in this business.

    • You want HDTV in 3.5 inches?

      Even if they could make an LCD with that kind of pixel density for less than the cost of your mortgage, you wouldn't be able to percieve the difference from SD at that size anyway.

      Hell, HDTV is difficult enough to discern at 28 inches unless you put them side by side.

  • I hope it is scratchproof... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SchnauzerGuy ( 647948 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @10:57PM (#14684328)
    Since the entire screen is the control(s), I don't see how you could possibly use this iPod inside of a protective case. I hope Apple is going to use something like this [tdk-europe.com]. Otherwise, the screen would be quickly ruined.

  • Scratchproof? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SchnauzerGuy ( 647948 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @11:00PM (#14684351)
    Since the entire screen is the control(s), I don't see how you could possibly use this iPod inside of a protective case.

    I hope Apple would use something like this [tdk-europe.com]. Otherwise, the screen will be quickly ruined and make the iPod Nano look indestructible in comparison.
  • First and foremost I am a huge Apple fan but there is a trend starting to develop that is one of the reasons the stock is dropping like a rock. They are bringing out item after item and quickly replacing it with something better. Why don't they just wait a few months and make it perfect. The video ipod was not released that long ago. For the first time I am starting to hear of people saying they are going to wait to see if something better is coming out because they heard a rumor of a better one coming

  • i have a feature i prefer (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Myopic ( 18616 ) on Thursday February 09, 2006 @11:50PM (#14684692)
    i own an ipod shuffle. i bought it right when the shuffles first went on sale. i bought the shuffle instead of a big ipod because i wanted to save a little money, i was waiting for one single solitary feature: AUDIO THAT DOESN'T SKIP BETWEEN TRACKS.

    name the one thing that a record player, an 8-track player, a tape player, and a CD player can all do, but that an iPod can not. that feature is to not have a half a second of silence between tracks. yes, yes, i know that "the MP3 format isn't easily made to fade one track seamlessly into another track" but i don't care if it's easy, it's obviously *possible*, so that fact that it hasn't been done is a travesty.

    look: i listen to albums, not songs; and my favorite album is Tool's "Lateralus"; and until i can go from 'Parabol' to 'Parabola' without a moment of silence inbetween, or (worse) having to fade the last half a second of one track into the first half a second of the next track, i won't buy that damn contraption. so you don't like Tool? maybe you like Queen's "News of the World", where 'We Will Rock You' refuses to match up with 'We Are The Champions'.

    bah. is this really a ridiculous thing to request? is it really THAT hard? i mean, i figure there is some kind of input stream for the MP3 data; can't that stream be buffered for two seconds, and when the read-ahead algorithm finds the end of the stream, can't it append the stream for the next MP3? here let me answer my own question: yes, it could.

    i'd love to have an ipod that does video, and i'd pay five bills to get one, but if it can't even play music right, what good is it?

    end rant.
    • While this isn't as good as not skipping between tracks, if there are a pair of tracks that you'll only want to listen to together (e.g. Parabol/Parabola off Lateralus), you should import them into iTunes/whatever as one track (use Join CD Tracks in the advanced menu). Then you're not going to get a gap between them, and you're not going to get Parabol by itself on random play, building up to nothing.
    • It is a lot harder than you think to implement crossfade between two songs because two MP3 streams will have to be decompressed at some point in time and then mixed together. My guess is that the ipod MP3 decoder can only decode one stream at a time.

  • What? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheSkepticalOptimist ( 898384 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @01:04AM (#14685113)
    Apple has a few screws loose if they think coming out with a new iPod product every 6 months is a good thing.

    While I am all for innovation, there is also a question of blowing the wad too soon.

    With every new Apple release there is always going to be a large percentage of customers that get burned. Because Apple is so secretive you can't make a wise decision on purchasing Apple's products. Buy a product at full price one day (Apple rarely discounts), and the next day Apple comes out with something 4 times faster, or more capacity, or more features, or whatever. Anybody buying the so called 5th gen Video iPod will be sour when Apple releases a better version only 6 months later.

    This is going to hurt Apple in the long run because they are developing a reputation of being deceptive, not secretive, forcing customers to pay full price for a product that becomes obsolete the next day. At least if Apple practices slowly discouting product until their next release (like the REST of the technology market does), then it wouldn't be so bad when someone bought what was the state of the art iPod one day for $200 and then it is replaced with a new version at $500. Apple frequently releases new better products CHEAPER then the previous generations that we sold only the day before.

    If Apple releases a revamped iPod in April, then I think they have lost touch with their customers and reputation for being a considerate company, instead churning out incremental upgrades on a regular basis, screwing early adopter all for the almighty dollar.

    Apple has become Microsoft.

    If Apple can't wait until next holiday season to hype up a new Video iPod then I will have lost all respect for them.

    • Re:What? (Score:3, Funny)

      by Dhalka226 ( 559740 )
      While I am all for innovation, there is also a question of blowing the wad too soon.

      Have you been talking to my girlfriend?!





      ...fine, I don't have a girlfriend :(

    • quit whining (Score:5, Insightful)

      by insignificant1 ( 872511 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @04:09AM (#14685728)

      You sound like a cheapskate fashion elitist who doesn't have a clue as to how the system works.

      "What? Saks updates its collection every few months? So I can't buy one outfit today and be able to brag to my friends that I am on top of the fashion world for the next few years? Oh, the horror. I have lost all respect for Saks, that evil inconsiderate Microsoft of a company."

      Either accept paying the bill every few months to have the latest fashion, or quit buying fashion in your technology.

      What foppery you present us with. Grow up.

    • Re:What? (Score:4, Informative)

      by anothy ( 83176 ) on Friday February 10, 2006 @11:02AM (#14687205) Homepage
      While I am all for innovation, there is also a question of blowing the wad too soon.
      this presumes that innovation is a limited commodity; this is a false assumption. in fact, for the right people, i think it's actually quite the opposite - innovation feeds on innovation.

      and customers aren't getting "burned". when a new product comes out, your existing one doesn't drop features, doesn't stop working, doesn't become any less useful or enjoyable than it was before the new launch. it's arguably not as "cool", because it's not the latest and greatest thing, but that's more an artifact of being a fashonista who buys technology for bragging rights or to compensate for certain anatomical traits than the actual technology in question.

      stop buying technology as fashion.

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