Search function on 5G iPods discussion (lets get to the bottom of this!)

[ctdewberry]

After reading a bunch of threads, it seems that most people with 5G ipods do NOT have the ability to search that the newer 5.5G ipods have. I am not talking about the letters that show up as you scroll through your music collection. While reading up on this topic, some people have reported that their 5G iPod does indeed have the ability to search, but most people dont believe them. Im hoping that this thread will clarify the issue and get to the bottom of the search feature. Last Thursday I went to the local Apple store here in Tampa (I dont live here, just on vacation) and i was playing around with their video iPods. All of the ones that I checked had the ability to search!!! Im fairly sure that the iPods there were not the 5.5G iPods released on Tuesday. The Apple store still had the old nanos and shuffles on display and absolutely no mention of the newer ipods, nanos, and shuffles. So it seems unlikely that they got a shipment of the 5.5G ipods and only set them up for display. Also, one of the ipods that had the search feature were 60Gb, which means it had to have been a 5G. I only checked like 3 iPods but they all had the search feature. So heres the question for discussion: Why do some 5G (NOT 5.5G!!) iPods have the ability to search, while others dont? What do you guys think? Maybe people could post here whether or not their 5G ipods will search and some specs, when they bought it, etc and maybe theres some kind pattern that we could figure out.



I (hopefully) get a 5G ipod next wednesday. Best Buy is replacing mine (60gb 4G) because I brought it in for repairs 4 times, and under my warranty that means they have to replace it with a new iPod. Theres a chance that I will get a refurbished iPod, but they said that is unlikely. They will most likely give me a 60gb which means I may or may not have the search feature. Once i get mine, I'll let you know if i have the search feature.

 

[ipodking12]

I have updated my old 5g that I bought last January to 1.2 and still have no search feature. I do have brightness, the big letters, and gapless playback but no search.

 

[skippy2420]

i live in tampa. i am assuming you went to apple store at international mall. It is interesting to know that the 60gb models in the store had the search feature. I got an email from apple today about new knowledge base articles. one of them is on using the search feature<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304338>. here is the first couple of lines, "iPod nano (Second Generation) and Fifth Generation iPod (Late 2006), both announced 2006-09-12, allow you to search iPod for songs, album titles, artist names, podcasts, and audio books" im not sure what it means by late 2006. did you by chance go up and ask someone at the genius bar about the search feature?

 

[countach747]

Mine is one of the earliest 5Gs and no search after firmware upgrade.

Apple already said that some of the late 5.0Gs have the brighter screen. It is starting to look like some of these may also have some other unspecified hardware changes too. What kind of change would be needed for search feature is hard to imagine.

 

[ctdewberry]

Skippy: Yeah i did go to the international mall. I asked one of the guys there if the 5Gs will have the search feature, and he said he wasnt sure. I didnt ask about why the 60gb had it though. >_<

 

[-♥-]

On my 5.5 gen 30 or just plain 5G 30 gig, There is no search, from what I can tell that is, possibly apple is just trying to get everyone to buy the newest biggest thing, hell, I say I aint leaving my 30, If I need 20k songs, Ill resort to my computer server.... :dodgy:

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Well, as somebody else mentioned, the vagaries of marketing departments may be such that this is considered a significant enough feature for it to be held to the enhanced models (you never know with marketing folks), but at the same time, I think that's unlikely.

So far, the reports have indicated that the firmware that ships on the 5G+ units is also v1.2, yet these units do have the search feature. No older 5G unit upgraded to v1.2 gets the search feature. Whether or not it is the same v1.2 as the 5G units, I have not been able to determine, as I do not yet have my new 5G+ unit in hand (it's still on order).

As for hardware differences, it could be that the 5G+ units have a faster processor or some other hardware that assists with search performance.

I plan to do some comprehensive testing as soon as I can get my hands on a 5G+ unit and I will report back my findings at that time.

 

[ctdewberry]

So far, the reports have indicated that the firmware that ships on the 5G+ units is also v1.2, yet these units do have the search feature. No older 5G unit upgraded to v1.2 gets the search feature. Whether or not it is the same v1.2 as the 5G units, I have not been able to determine, as I do not yet have my new 5G+ unit in hand (it's still on order).

You say that no older 5G units upgraded to v1.2 gets the search feature, but thats untrue! There was a 60GB 5G at the Apple store that had the search feature as well as some other ipods that had it too. If you remember, the latest iPods are only in 30gb and 80gb capacities. So a 60gb is not a 5G+! heh thats why i created this thread....why do some of the original 5G ipods have the search feature, while others dont? In any case, i eagerly await your findings. Thanks ^^

I agree with Countach, i think that the newer screens have something to do with it. I dont think its the screen itself, i think there were some other hardware changes along with the new screen.

 

[skippy2420]

You say that no older 5G units upgraded to v1.2 gets the search feature, but thats untrue! There was a 60GB 5G at the Apple store that had the search feature as well as some other ipods that had it too. If you remember, the latest iPods are only in 30gb and 80gb capacities. So a 60gb is not a 5G+! heh thats why i created this thread....why do some of the original 5G ipods have the search feature, while others dont? In any case, i eagerly await your findings. Thanks ^^

I agree with Countach, i think that the newer screens have something to do with it. I dont think its the screen itself, i think there were some other hardware changes along with the new screen.

Whatever it is, it is f****ed up. Apple always pulls some crap like this. As if it isnt bad enough how long it takes them to fix their buggy firmware. We all should have expected this out of apple.

 

[crazydog115]

You should have checked the about section on the iPods at the mall. See if it says firmware version 1.2 or some other number, because they could have made new firmware only for iPods bought since the 5.5 was released.

I've been trying to call apple, but I guess they're pretty busy, cause I keep getting "sorry, you have (recieved?) a bad fetch error. Exiting." *Hangs Up*

I'll post the transcript here...

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Are you absolutely certain it was a 60Gb unit? (ie, did you check the "about" screen for the capacity). I was at the Apple Store today, and they had a new 2Gb Nano on display under a sign that showed the pricing and models for the old 4Gb Nanos.

As for the firmware, at this point what people have indicated is that v1.2 is the firmware that is shipping on the new iPods, and they do have the search feature. As I said, all we cannot be certain of yet is whether this is the same v1.2 firmware that was provided as an upgrade.

I should also point out that I did a complete erase-and-restore on my 60Gb yesterday just to ensure that it wasn't some feature that only showed up on a new, fresh firmware install.

 

[crazydog115]

Apple says and I quote:

"We have no plans for that [adding the search feature to older 5gs]"

and

"He did not see that [a 60 gig with search feature]"

and

"We have no plans for it now, but check back in the future"

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Apple says and I quote:

Who at Apple stated this? (ie, where are you quoting it from).

I'm not challenging that it was said, but I am wondering how authoritative the source is.

The guys at the Genius Bar here in Toronto are still fairly confused about the situation with the search feature, although they too have conclusively stated that it is not on the existing 5G models, and is on the 5G+ models. They just don't know exactly why (ie, what the difference is), or if it's going to come to the older 5G models in the future.

 

[crazydog115]

I just called Apple, and that's what the guy said (although you cant trust everything they say 100%)

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Sure, and it's consistent with what I've heard from the local guys here, and what I've observed myself from other reports on this forum and elsewhere.

The bottom line is that I have been completely convinced since the initial reports that the 5G+ has the search feature and the 5G does not. I'm just still wondering why that is the case.

If the 5G and 5G+ units are both running identical firmware (as opposed to different firmwares with the same version number), then the feature might actually be in the v1.2 firmware that is on the 5G iPods, but is set to not appear if it doesn't detect that it's running on a 5G+ model.

What I intend to do when I get my hands on a 5G+ unit is to do some comparisons of the firmware (easy enough to restore both models and see what iTunes downloads as firmware for them, since each package is now stored separately on the hard drive -- under "~/Library/iTunes/iPod Software Updates" for Mac users), as well as to use Disk Utility to take an image of one and lay it down on the other device to see if the search feature appears.

Right now my present suspicion is that the firmware is the same, but it just doesn't actually enable it in the older models. In that case, I suspect there is some hardware difference in the 5G+ models such as a faster processor that allows the search feature to operate effectively.

 

[cheeba23]

You can add my Oct 2005 60GB iPod to the "Doesn't-Have-Search-Function" pile. Not that I mind really.

 

[Pons]

(...)

If the 5G and 5G+ units are both running identical firmware (as opposed to different firmwares with the same version number), then the feature might actually be in the v1.2 firmware that is on the 5G iPods, but is set to not appear if it doesn't detect that it's running on a 5G+ model.

(...)

Right now my present suspicion is that the firmware is the same, but it just doesn't actually enable it in the older models. In that case, I suspect there is some hardware difference in the 5G+ models such as a faster processor that allows the search feature to operate effectively.

Or maybe it discriminates between iPod's by using its serial number?
That is what I thought the first time I knew that I haven't the search function (Refurb 5G 30gb White).
Has anyone made a disection to the 5.5G?
Pons

 

[Eric Lewis]

I want the search feature on old 5gs

 

[crazydog115]

I JUST walked out of the apple store in irvine california, and the sixtys had no search, and they said the 80's arent gonna be in for a bit.The staff didnt know about if the old 5gs would be updated. The new 30's said they were ver. 1.2. I guess what the guy i called was right. not now, but check back in the future.

 

[ctdewberry]

When i went to the apple store, i looked at the back of the ipod. it said 60gb. They did NOT have the new ipods! I looked for them! They only had the old nanos, shuffles, and ipods. I went on the thursday after the press conference. That was only 2 days after the press conference. I think it has to do with the newer screens that apple has been slipping into the old 5G ipods, but i dont see how a screen could enable the search function. So maybe theyve also been slipping in other new hardware....which raises the thought: aside from the higher capacity, it seems that they may have been releasing 5.5G ipods for a while now... heh anyways, i think if we discuss any ideas that we have, we can figure this out. i KNOW for a fact that there are ipods released before the press conference that have the search feature