ipod with wifi

[refman900]

i would really like to see an ipod with wifi connections so my podcasts get updated on the go:D

[iceeis]

I agree. I'd rather have wi-fi than video...

[Code Monkey]

I doubt we're there yet due to power consumption issues, but an iPod that automatically synced itself when idle and within range of its home computer network would be sweet.

[Galley]

I doubt we're there yet due to power consumption issues, but an iPod that automatically synced itself when idle and within range of its home computer network would be sweet.

That's why I'd like to install an Apple TV in my car. :D

[Eric Lewis]

oh man an apple tv would be the best! in the world! in a car that would be sweet! and amazing

[mjmoonwalker]

I'd like to see it with Wi-Fi so I can surf the net for free and without carrying around a laptop! It'd be like a PSP...but just for music and videos.

[Tommy Tuckerbox]

I like the idea of being able to play the videos I download without having to process them into Apple's proprietary (inferior) format.

[jhollington]

Actually, there's nothing at all proprietary about the video format used by the iPod. The iPod supports MPEG-4 and H.264 codecs, both of which are completely open standards, and happen to be the same codecs supported by other devices like the PSP. Further, H.264 is actually a much better codec, so it is not inferior by any means. The only real issue that many have is that the availability of pre-encoded H.264 content is obviously much more limited. That may change over time, however.

As for wifi and web browsing, I suspect the iPhone will probably be the only device to provide full web-browsing capabilities, as if those features start showing up on the iPod itself the lines are going to get blurred.

I think that WiFi on an iPod specific device is eventually inevitable, as the iPhone has it already, and it's a relatively short step from there. iTunes 7.1 has also paved the way for network-based syncing of content (due to the Apple TV), so all of the pieces are starting to fall into place. At this point, though, the iPhone as it stands today has no obvious wireless sync capabilities - rather the WiFi is only used for surfing and browsing. This of course could change between now and June, and certainly shouldn't be that difficult to accomplish.

On the other hand, the only justifiable reason for an iPod to even have WiFi would be to provide wireless sync capabilities. I don't expect that Apple is going to go in for the whole Zune-esque music sharing concept.

[Tommy Tuckerbox]

Well it depends whether Apple wants to continue with the Ipod as a front end to its Itunes music store or a general purpose, or even better leading edge, music player.

If the former, then by all means continue with the obscure video format, rather than support Divx/Xvid like countless DVD players and as distributed by 999 out of 1000 file sharers.

As for Wi-fi, look at devices like Roku Soundbridge etc (there are loads of them) that pipe Internet radio via Wi-Fi. Apple is way way way behind the ball on this one, and the only reason being is it could threaten to erode its Itunes store profits.

Personally, I would find it refreshing to find just one device, as well constructed as the Ipod, but aimed at those of us who have seen the outside world and already know the Apple world domination plan is as doomed as Atrac and WMV. It's just a pity we have to wait for Apple to get through the experiment.

Still, we know how belligerent and arrogant Apple can be. We saw them popularise the mouse GUI, and then rest on its laurels as the rest of the computer industry moved the mouse forward, with wheels and such.

Apple's saving grace is that its main competitor in Sony appears even more intent on not following the obvious path of least resistance. IE giving the customer what it already knows it wants.

[jhollington]

I don't disagree that Apple is trying to "wag the dog" here with their choice of formats, but at least they're doing so on the basis of open and industry-standard formats. Sony and even Microsoft were far more concerned in promoting their own standard, whereas Apple, with the obvious exception of the FairPlay wrapper for their DRMed content, is pushing an actual industry standard that people can encode their content with just as easily as DivX.

DivX may be commonly used, but it is by no means an actual ratified standard. It has grown in in fits and spurts into something that is respectable today, but is still a mess for any portable device to reliably support with the wide variety of content out there.

On the other hand, H.264 is a ratified standard, which is why it may make some more sense to incorporate that. Even with H.264 encoders, there has been a lot of hit-and-miss in compatibility with various encoders on both the iPod and the PSP.

But the iPod is far from merely a front-end to the iTunes Store. I've been of the opinion for quite some time that the opposite is true. The iTunes Store is there to provide content for the iPod for the average users out there, and thereby sell more iPods. Note that I'm not saying that one approach is any better or more altruistic than the other, since they're both just a matter of leveraging one product to sell another. However at least in this case it's more about providing a complete content solution than it is about trying to start a music distribution business. Apple doesn't make enough money from the iTunes Store to even begin to justify it as a core business, and in fact have shunned many opportunities where they could have raised their prices and made more money because they wanted to keep things simple and straightforward (again, thereby providing a conduit where they provide a simple experience to the end consumer).

If Apple truly wanted to lock people in to using the iTunes Store, they would have made a much stronger effort to do so. Rather, there are many folks out there with huge music and video libraries who have never downloaded a single thing from the iTunes Store, and quite possibly never will.

Butt getting back to the iPod itself, I'm in full agreement that WiFi is inevitable, but I strongly believe that it's going to remain in the context of a portable media player. This means that while wireless sync and possibly wireless audio streaming may come eventually, things like web browsing will probably never come to an iPod and will rather be the exclusive domain of the iPhone and devices in that particular branch of Apple's lineup.

[Tommy Tuckerbox]

But really, who are we trying to kid here? The standard for distributing video is currently DiVX/XVID.

Fine, throw H.264 into the mix. Throw QT into the mix.

But until the Ipod supports the other standards, really, it's just wasting our time.