http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/09/apple-still-at-work-on-true-video-ipod/


(photoshop job, obviously)

Quote :

"It's essentially what everyone's expected and speculated by this point (us included), but ThinkSecret's latest iPod rumor plays into everyone's hopes that Apple's got a proper video iPod in development. According to TS, they can confirm that Apple's next device will have a 3.5-inch display (the current 5G iPod has a 2.5-incher) and will shed the clickwheel entirely for a virtual UI with input via a touchscreen. We know they've got their Mac tablet patents together on this kind of tech and have presumably been doing the dev work to make it happen (their last patent specifically showed an iPod-like virtual clickwheel touch interface in spec). Will this strange new device support Portal Player's new all singing all dancing WiFi / Bluetooth A2DP chipset for the killer 6G video iPod everyone's been hoping for? We can't say, sonny, but the rumor mill's tilt is that we could find out in late March or early April, when Apple celebrates its 30th birthday."

I don't doubt the touchscreen (though I hope you can just make circles anywhere on the screen, not have to keep on a wheel that you can't actually feel), and I bet that wifi/bluetooth happens at the end of the year.

2/9/2006 4:50:20 PM

nice. i say they expand the wheel functionality and do a bunch of mouse gesture style interface capabilities

2/9/2006 4:55:07 PM

would be really cool if they develop/implement some sort of technology like Alpine's PulseTouch to give the feel of moving the wheel on the screen, otherwise it could piss a lot of people off

2/9/2006 5:13:15 PM

olympus has a 10gb model at tigerdirect that's just like that...i didn't care for the interface, though

2/9/2006 5:35:48 PM

I don't like touch controls. I'll stick with my 2G.

2/9/2006 5:52:42 PM

so now you can watch your movies from a tiny, greasy, finger smuged screen

2/9/2006 6:05:39 PM

Not to mention the ring of circular scratches in the middle of the screen, if they continue to use such crappy materials.

2/9/2006 6:17:50 PM

n/m


[Edited on February 9, 2006 at 8:07 PM. Reason : i was wrong]

2/9/2006 8:06:34 PM

^

Quote :

"the new archos av700 is but they've also been way ahead of everyone else for a long long time. "

probably proof that its a dumb idea


[Edited on February 9, 2006 at 8:09 PM. Reason : fdg]

2/9/2006 8:07:57 PM

it would have to have a (hold feature)


and i don't know what you're getting at every product of theirs i've had has been way better than anyone else's save apple but i've also had everything way before apple introduced it.

2/9/2006 8:10:00 PM

Why not just use a cord remote? Probably be a lot cheaper

2/9/2006 9:14:31 PM

i personally don't think the touchscreen is a good idea, btw. i said the same thing that was said above - fingerprints all over that thing. i think a jog wheel on the side or something makes more sense

2/10/2006 9:01:49 AM

more (likely fake) shots

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/10/so-this-is-the-video-ipod-eh/

may be fake, but it sure is purty




http://ipod-fullscreen.blogspot.com/

2/10/2006 3:33:17 PM

why dont they put the wheel on the back and the screen on the front?

2/10/2006 4:38:05 PM

^a bit harder to see what you're doing I guess

2/10/2006 4:46:49 PM

^^Maybe because they'd like to put out a product that people could...oh I dunno...ACTUALLY USE.

2/10/2006 5:16:13 PM

I wonder what the battery life will be on this thing..

2/10/2006 5:21:07 PM

better be longer than the video ipod

2/10/2006 5:25:33 PM

why not instead of a wheel, they have a straight lined sensor on the side of the damn thing. same function, just different shape. certain sections of it can be designated as the separate buttons. those guys gotta start thinking outside of the box.

2/10/2006 8:40:07 PM

Quote :

"^^Maybe because they'd like to put out a product that people could...oh I dunno...ACTUALLY USE."

what does that even mean?

you wouldn't be able TO SPIN YOUR FINGER IN EITHER A CLOCKWISE OR COUNTER CLOCKWISE MOTION just because it was on the back of the ipod???

wtf b

2/10/2006 9:20:34 PM

Quote :

"^^Maybe because they'd like to put out a product that people could...oh I dunno...ACTUALLY USE."

Quote :

"so now you can watch your movies from a tiny, greasy, finger smuged screen"

2/10/2006 9:26:50 PM

^^Think of the way you would have to grip it to do that. Looking at the screen, you would have to operate a wheel on the back with your index finger. In order to have room for finger motion, the iPod would need to be elevated from the surface of the hand, leading to instability. Finally, the directions of rotation would be reversed, which would lead to a lot of confusion.

2/10/2006 9:37:34 PM

^it would be like playing Resident Evil

2/11/2006 12:31:33 AM

^^um... it really wouldnt be hard to move your finger around a circle on the back of the thing. in fact to check i held my phone between my thumb and three fingers and drew circles on the back with my pointer finger... it was really easy to do. i mean, instability? please

and wtf difference does the direction of rotation have to do with anything, please explain how that would cause confusion

2/11/2006 1:42:45 AM

Does your phone cost $500? Is is completely smooth on all surfaces? Rather than having it lay flat in your hand and effectively holding it in place by jogging the wheel with your thumb, you would be holding it away from your palm on your fingertips and pushing outward with the index finger. It's not a huge logical jump to expect more drops as a result. I know you dislike anything iPod, but this is a silly discussion. Apple would never make a user interface decision that dumb (putting the wheel on the reverse).

As for the direction of rotation, if the jog wheel is on the reverse surface of the image being manipulated (i.e. the screen), then something is going to have to be done counterintuitively (at least relative to current models). Either the finger will have to rotate in the opposite direction to accomplish the same task as on current models, or the wheel would have to be programmed to reverse input. Either way, I think about half of the people would be confused. Do you understand what I'm talking about?

[Edited on February 11, 2006 at 2:11 AM. Reason : ]

2/11/2006 2:05:11 AM

i'm just sayin....my idea would be perfect. any apple reps watching these forums???

2/11/2006 6:14:48 AM

^the wheel is the best mode of navigation primarily because there is no end to it. You can scroll your entire collection without picking up your finger. A line would require you to pick up and start again

2/11/2006 9:34:47 AM

^ there it is

2/11/2006 11:23:42 AM

^^^and you say that apple needs to think outside the box like the click wheel wasn't/isn't a massive improvement over most other interface devices

2/11/2006 11:48:50 AM

the click wheel...that's outside the box? i had a tdk mp3 player before the ipod existed that had the same thing...you apple dorks are idiots

2/11/2006 1:33:10 PM

i'm saying...what would be a better solution for this type of ipod? oh noes!! i gotsa pick up my finger once every 4 equivalent revolutions around the wheel!!! its practical, its functional, its ergonomic, and eliminates smudging / scratching of the viewing surface. if you make it sensitive enough (variable sensitivity adjustment feature possibly?) you can make one full slide the equivalent of 20 revolutions. plus, you could add the feature of choosing which side you want to make your designated slide side. that is outside of the box. the click wheel just isn't going to work with every application.

2/11/2006 3:35:55 PM

Quote :

"they have a straight lined sensor on the side of the damn thing"

because i'd probably like to hold the side of the damn thing without it going insane

2/11/2006 3:38:14 PM

the reality is though that you'd buy a case just like 90% of people already do for their iPods, and the case would prevent the fingerprint issue

2/11/2006 4:03:42 PM

a case would interfere with the touchscreen sensitivity...unless it's pressure-sensitive, which would be retarded

2/11/2006 4:12:36 PM

i think a case could have the sides exposed. think about the corners being where the attachments are. also, scud...thats where a lock switch could come into play. cmon man...think outside the box.

[Edited on February 11, 2006 at 10:18 PM. Reason : anybody else have rebuttals?]

2/11/2006 10:16:52 PM

hmmm...i like the possibility of having to use the hold switch just to touch my iPod.

your basic argument is "think outside the box". I'm pretty sure that Apple has been and will continue to think outside the box in regards to their popular product. i still don't see the sides of the unit being a wonderful place to put anysort of main control.

its a damn good thing you aren't a damn industrial design student or ergonomist or else our world will be in trouble.

2/12/2006 12:05:08 AM

"think outside the box" is a cliche used meaning to think of other alternatives beside what you've already used. apparently they are sticking with the click wheel (same design), but it is flawed in this application. that is my basic argument. do you think you'd actually like the click wheel on your viewing surface? as stated by quagmire02, a case would interfere with the touchscreen sensitivity...so they would have a harder time moving their best selling accessories. i don't have to be an industrial design student or an ergonomist to know what i like in a product. try this exercise....hold a small calculator (approximately the size of a small ipod) or even a small ipod. and think of where you can put the controls and NOT touch the front surface. do you have any better suggestions? i'm not fixed on my idea because it is by no means perfect, but you can stop sucking Apple designers' dicks just because they invented the click-wheel. everybody knows it was a good idea. but what i'm trying to tell you is that it wont work with this type of ipod.

2/12/2006 1:20:06 PM

and yet your entire argument assumes that they are going to make the screen take up the front of the case

i really don't see this happening. it would be way too big of a change for the form. Jobs has seemed pretty intent on leaving the iPod being a music player first and not involving it too much in video. the new one was always, a music player that could play videos, not the other way around. video is more of an additional feature rather than a point of emphasis.

[Edited on February 12, 2006 at 1:44 PM. Reason : .]

2/12/2006 1:35:25 PM

it doesnt look cool and that is why people buy these things, so i dont think they will make it

2/12/2006 2:06:20 PM

my argument was built on assumptions that are the based on this thread. you saw the picture up top right? i was just coming up with a better solution than the one presented for this application. i hope they don't decide to run with that model.

2/12/2006 3:27:30 PM

a case wouldn't be a problem. there are plenty of palm pilot / treo cases out there, and palms are touch sensitive. you just don't cover the screen with the case - you use a plastic screencover that still allows you to interact with the touch screen.

either way, I really think a jog wheel would be the best application for this device. I don't like the idea of having to use the touch screen to do ALL navigation, especially not a wheel with no tactile feedback.

2/12/2006 3:51:20 PM

ok, i'm just spitballing here, but what about some kind of fexible OLED screent that can offer tactile feedback. The 4G wheels don't give feedback when you scroll them, just for clicking. I think and OLED screen would allow for clicking with feedback directly on the screen?

2/12/2006 4:10:08 PM

[Edited on February 12, 2006 at 9:16 PM. Reason : .]

2/12/2006 9:16:25 PM

Quote :

"The 4G wheels don't give feedback when you scroll them, just for clicking. I think and OLED screen would allow for clicking with feedback directly on the screen?"

There's still a level for tactile feedback in the fact that the wheel is a physical device and thus has borders, and the material the wheel is made of provides a level of resistance to your finger.

2/12/2006 9:40:59 PM

^what he said

2/12/2006 10:03:23 PM

http://hrmpf.com/wordpress/54/touch-sensitive-ipod/

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=4&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=%22apple+computer%22.AS.&OS=AN/%22apple+computer%22&RS=AN/%22apple+computer%22

2/13/2006 12:02:25 PM

WTF, touch screen iTunes, too?

2/13/2006 12:36:24 PM

haha i was searching uspto but couldnt find it

2/13/2006 12:38:59 PM