I don't like the direction mainline iPods are headed...

[AmazingDM]

if they are to be widescreen, touchscreen, movie-oriented I don't think my next "main library" iPod will be a mainline one.. It'll probably be a larger sized blue Nano.

As it is I've realized I can't put every single album I have on any of the iPods out so I might as well get one that I can load a majority of all my favorite stuff/new stuff that I want to try out.

I'm hoping that in the future they seriously up the storage capacity of flash based iPods that don't have some humungous screens. I don't like the idea, and I don't like touchscreens.

[bobbit]

Now that Apple's hit that road with the iPhone, you can be assured that if it works out most other companies will follow.

Touchscreen technology has been around for years, it's just going to take a big push into the handheld-device (other than PDA's) market. Prices will start dropping and it'll become more and more. Why? Because it's convenient and opens the doors for more posibilities within small devices.

Nanos will of course grow in storage capacity, but flash technology is so far behind what companies like Toshiba are offering in the mini-harddrive department (180gb) now that it's going to take it a while to catch up -- and by the time flash drives are big enough to be decent, they'll be hugely overpriced. This will either mean larger Nanos for HDD storage, or leveling off at around 16gb for $50 more. ;P

[AmazingDM]

Well hopefully they have a small, regular iPod, no touchscreen/widescreen BS... that you can work out with

[bdb]

Keep in mind, its nothing more that some peoples' assumption that big touchscreen video devices are the direction Apple is taking for iPods. No one has actually posted anything from Jobs or Apple stating this as a direction.

I share your concern, but one of the big selling points for the full-size iPod is its relatively small size. I think there's a good chance that they're not going to sacrifice that for video.

[bobb-mini]

I dunn like touchscreens either, but I guess until flawless voice recognition, something gotta give.

[Jesse Hollington]

Originally Posted by bdb

I share your concern, but one of the big selling points for the full-size iPod is its relatively small size. I think there's a good chance that they're not going to sacrifice that for video.

I think when people think touchscreen/widescreen they're thinking something larger like a PSP-sized device, but keep in mind that the iPhone is only slightly larger than the 30Gb iPod (about 0.4" taller, but the same width and thickness). Presumably if Apple were going to go in that direction for a full-size iPod, it would maintain the same form factor as the iPhone, with perhaps only a difference in thickness.

The problem is that at this point the only justification for a full-size iPod other than video capabilities is the large capacity, and I don't know if that's enough of a justification for Apple to keep the product line going in that direction. The Nano provides all other music playback-related capabilities, with smaller capacity being it's only deficiency.

I'm also concerned about whether a new iPod in the iPhone's style would be a goodmusic player (compared to the current design), but at the same time I very seriously doubt that Apple is not going to leverage the iPhone's design into the next iPod. They may choose to leave the present 5G on the market for those who still want a device that is predominantly a music player, but I seriously doubt we're going to see any significant upgrades in the current form factor.

Regardless, the Nano is not going away any time soon, and will probably start to be positioned as the defacto music player in the iPod line (which it's already starting to become). As a workout device it's a much better option than the full-sized iPod anyway, and as somebody who owns both a full-size 5G and a Nano, I've found myself using the Nano far more often when I just want to listen to music.

[AmazingDM]

iPod 5G - ultimate tool for students who need to study. Or ultimate vacation driving relief.

Otherwise.. a bit impractical.

[SmackyTheFrog]

My main concern after seeing the iphone and its touch capabilities is what about the wheel?

I mean seeing from the keynote the only way to scan through music is to move your finger from the top of the screen to the bottom then pick it up and put it at the top. That is a waste of movement that traditional scroll wheel ipods dont have.

Unless the touch screen works much better than it seems why would I give up my clickwheel? For me it and itunes are the main reasons to buy this slightly overpriced mp3 player. If the next ipod ditches the wheel I may seriously consider jumping ship, and the ipods have been my only mp3 players.

tlrdr; clickwheeel = ultimate management of long lists.

[Jesse Hollington]

Well, I can say from some experience that the touchscreen actually does work quite a bit better than you might expect. It is very intuitive, and somewhat motion and velocity sensitive.... Much like the wheel, the faster you move your finger the faster it will scroll through the list. Further, there are letter shortcuts that appear on the right-hand side of the screen when dealing with longer lists of artists or albums, making it easy to scroll immediately to a given letter group.

The interface also provides for features that have been missing from traditional iPods, such as the ability to go an album or artist track listing directly from the "Now Playing" screen, which will also make music management much easier and more intuitive.

While the clickwheel is very efficient for some, there are those who don't see the point of spinning one's finger around a wheel "like a hamster on crack" if there are alternative methods provided to skip to specific positions in a list, which to be fair is what the iPod has traditionally been missing (the "Quickscroll" introduced in September is a step in the right direction in this regard, mind you, although it can still be a little bit tricky to master).

[paranoidxe]

I just think the touch screen is going to involve a lot more pulling out the iPod and looking at the screen than what the design now offers, unless they some how incorperate both designs.

[justblaize]

Originally Posted by paranoidxe

I just think the touch screen is going to involve a lot more pulling out the iPod and looking at the screen than what the design now offers, unless they some how incorperate both designs.

I came up with this mock up. Nothing amazing, i know, looks almost exactly like the iPhone. But referring to your problem, notice the strip at the bottom of my image, it could be used to move volume up or down (by sliding your finger left or right) and change tracks by clicking forward or backward just like the traditional clickwheel. Just my 2 cents.

[bobbit]

That's an interesting idea, justblaize.

However since it's a touchscreen anyway, there wouldn't be much need for a strip. Just extend the screen right to the bottom and then keep the volume control there.

To make it easier for the lazy pocketers, though, maybe put a 'Lazy Mode' setting on there, or something, that shrinks the volume bar a little, puts the back and forward buttons on either side of it and hard press anywhere along that line to pause and play?

[Jesse Hollington]

Actually, the volume control is already pretty much where it needs to be for the ability to control it mostly be feel.... It wouldn't really take much to feel to the bottom edge of the screen and just slide your finger left and right, which is much the same way you would have to manipulate the clickwheel, if you think about it.

Even the Next/Pause/Prev buttons aren't particularly inaccessible when playing a track, since they sit right above the volume control.

Ultimately, this could all be solved with a simple wired or wireless remote, however, similar to the ones that are already available. In fact, if it were that much of an issue, there's the possibility that Apple might even include a remote in the package to facilitate in-pocket control of the device.

[bobbit]

Built-in remote receiver you recon J?

[Jesse Hollington]

Wouldn't surprise me in the least, actually. In fact, since the iPhone has bluetooth and WiFi, it's very likely that the next-gen iPod will retain at least some wireless capabilities. A Bluetooth remote control would not be outside the realm of possibility.

Of course, Apple's recent history suggests that they would be more likely to sell it as an add-on rather than packaging it into the device itself, but at least it would be available for those who want the device to use primarily as a high-capacity music player.