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Apple May Introduce New iPod on Wednesday

Posted by Zonk on Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:13 AM
from the tiny-christmas dept.
UnHolier than ever writes "Apple may be planning to announce a 'revamp' of the iPod on Wednesday. Reporters from across Europe have been asked to view a broadcast presentation by Steve Jobs at the BBC headquarters. Theorized features for this new iPod include a full or wide-screen with touch controls, ala the ever-popular iPhone. '[An analyst with Goldman Sachs] believes that a new line of iPods will boost demand for the gadget from Goldman's present forecast of about 19.8 million units for Apple's key first quarter - the reporting period that covers Christmas. However, that still suggests that demand for iPods will be flat, at best, compared with the same period last year, when Apple sold about 21 million devices.'"

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  • Speculation isn't news. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 03, @10:21AM (#20452049)
    Speculation for Nerds. News that may matter.

    • Sure it is by catbutt (Score:3) Monday September 03, @11:40AM
      • Re:Sure it is by aliquis (Score:2) Monday September 03, @12:48PM
      • Re:Sure it is by tehcyder (Score:1) Tuesday September 04, @07:51AM
    • 3 replies beneath your current threshold.
  • My suggestion: (Score:1, Informative)

    by A beautiful mind (821714) on Monday September 03, @10:22AM (#20452061)
    Let's wait wednesday and see if we have at least something to talk about, mmmkay?
    • Re:My suggestion: by ianare (Score:2) Monday September 03, @10:43AM
    • Re:My suggestion: (Score:5, Funny)

      by TheRaven64 (641858) on Monday September 03, @11:35AM (#20452691)
      (http://theravensnest.org/ | Last Journal: Sunday October 07, @07:05AM)
      Is this some kind of Zen riddle? If no one reads the article, does it matter that the article has no substance?
      [ Parent ]
    • Re:My suggestion: (Score:5, Interesting)

      by DMoylan (65079) on Monday September 03, @11:39AM (#20452711)
      perhaps.

      what i do know is that 2 of our suppliers who normally don't sell apple stock were offering cheap ipods for the past 2-3 months here in ireland. they really seem to have been off loading ipod video and ipod nano stock. i also heard from friends who had companies they dealt with offering similar deals. now it might just be the lower end but it was still a significant departure for these companies to suddenly offer stock from a company they normally had no dealings with.

      prices offered to us
      * ipod nano 4gb 165
      * ipod 30gb black 210
      [ Parent ]
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    • Re:My suggestion: by hedwards (Score:2) Monday September 03, @01:16PM
  • You know (Score:5, Insightful)

    by phoenixwade (997892) on Monday September 03, @10:23AM (#20452065)
    (http://phoenixfestivals.com/)
    With 6 billion or so people on the planet, sooner or later the market will reach saturation, and ipod sale are going to become flat. I'm not really sure why flattening of iPod sales is big news.

    That said, I have a 3rd gen iPod, and it's getting close to the time to replace it, I have hopes for a widescreen color iPod in the 100 gb range, So if it's avaiable soon, I may very well bee the 19 million and first sale this year.
    • Re:You know by suv4x4 (Score:2) Monday September 03, @11:02AM
    • Re:You know by TheRaven64 (Score:2) Monday September 03, @11:41AM
    • Re:You know by LinuxIdiot (Score:1) Monday September 03, @11:58AM
      • Re:You know by djh101010 (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @10:57AM
    • Re:You know by larry bagina (Score:1) Monday September 03, @12:53PM
    • Re:You know (Score:4, Insightful)

      by DurendalMac (736637) on Monday September 03, @01:15PM (#20453857)
      What he doesn't take into account are people unloading their old iPods for a new one. I have an 80GB iPod Video right now, and I will put it up for sale the moment Apple announces a video iPod. If it has everything the iPhone does minus the phone, expect sales to go off the charts.
      [ Parent ]
      • Re:You know by RealGrouchy (Score:1) Tuesday September 04, @01:23AM
      • Re:You know by Danathar (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @08:25AM
        • Re:You know by Pojut (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @02:51PM
          • Re:You know by phoenixwade (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @04:56PM
          • Re:You know by IntergalacticWalrus (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @10:56PM
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      • Re:You know by scolbert (Score:1) Tuesday September 04, @01:50PM
    • Re:You know by DaveCBio (Score:2) Monday September 03, @03:45PM
      • Re:You know by DaveCBio (Score:2) Wednesday September 05, @03:44PM
    • Re:You know by Rocketship Underpant (Score:2) Monday September 03, @09:21PM
    • Re:You know by IndieKid (Score:1) Tuesday September 04, @06:42AM
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  • Awesome (Score:4, Funny)

    by /ASCII (86998) on Monday September 03, @10:24AM (#20452081)
    (http://roo.no-ip.org/fish/)
    I just bought a 8 GB Nano today. And in less than a week, it's going to be vintage. Yes!
    • Re:Awesome (Score:5, Informative)

      by FooAtWFU (699187) on Monday September 03, @10:27AM (#20452113)
      (http://fennecfoxen.org/)
      That's what this page [macrumors.com] is for.
      [ Parent ]
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    • Re:Awesome by nurb432 (Score:3) Monday September 03, @10:53AM
    • Re:Awesome by the unbeliever (Score:2) Monday September 03, @11:31AM
      • Re:Awesome by lekikui (Score:1) Monday September 03, @12:13PM
        • Re:Awesome by Applekid (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @09:18AM
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    • Re:Awesome (Score:5, Informative)

      by Bemopolis (698691) on Monday September 03, @11:45AM (#20452773)
      You made a good choice in posting as Anonymous Coward. Still, it's too bad for you that /. doesn't have the option of posting as Stupid Drooling Fucking Moron.

      Once again, for the newbies:

      - AAC (ADVANCED Audio Codec) has NOTHING to do with Apple, beyond being their compression scheme of choice. Posting the Wikipedia link would insult us both.
      - The iTunes STORE sells tracks that only play on iPods; taking Steve Jobs at his word, this is only due to DRM required by the record companies.
      - Most "mp3 players" will play AAC-encoded tracks. It's just a codec for mp4s, after all. If you really can't find one, go to your local community college and take a class on Google.
      - If you're really that paranoid about AAC, set iTunes to encode in mp3 before your first rip. Then you will be able to survive in a world where only iPods can play tracks ripped in iTunes. Whatever world that is, because it ain't this one.

      Now PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE shut the fuck up.
      [ Parent ]
      • Re:Awesome by supertsaar (Score:1) Monday September 03, @02:05PM
      • Re:Awesome (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Darth (29071) on Monday September 03, @09:52PM (#20459115)
        (http://slashdot.org/)
        Here you go :

        Creative Zen supports AAC.

        Also, the Zune supports AAC (although it doesn't support having any market share, so i figured you wouldn't accept it as an example.)

        The PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Sansa e200R all support AAC as well.
        (the sansa apparently requires a firmware update)

        As far as your search criteria for your google example goes, you really do need to go take that class if you thought that was a good way to search for portable hardware devices that support AAC.
        [ Parent ]
      • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:Awesome by TheRaven64 (Score:2) Monday September 03, @11:50AM
      • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:Awesome by thedbp (Score:3) Monday September 03, @12:43PM
      • Re:Awesome by Dogtanian (Score:2) Monday September 03, @02:07PM
      • Re:Awesome by DDLKermit007 (Score:2) Monday September 03, @03:23PM
        • Re:Awesome by skeevy (Score:1) Tuesday September 04, @11:56AM
          • Re:Awesome by Dogtanian (Score:2) Tuesday September 04, @01:45PM
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    • Re:Awesome by DrXym (Score:2) Monday September 03, @12:43PM
      • Re:Awesome by Yaztromo (Score:2) Monday September 03, @08:09PM
    • Re: Flamebait by Jeremy_Bee (Score:2) Monday September 03, @12:44PM
    • Re:Awesome by DDLKermit007 (Score:2) Monday September 03, @03:14PM
    • Re:Awesome by RealSurreal (Score:2) Monday September 03, @05:46PM
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  • Rumor Roundup (Score:4, Informative)

    by necro81 (917438) on Monday September 03, @10:40AM (#20452223)
    (Last Journal: Wednesday March 07 2007, @05:30PM)
    Engadget has a helpful rumor roundup [engadget.com] - just to keep the /. discussion lively with speculation. Aside from the next-gen touchscreen iPod, there's the Beatles' catalogue on iTMS, direct-to-iPhone (iPod) music store downloads, and increased capacity in the Nano. "Analysis" (i.e., educated speculation and wishful thinking) available from CNet [com.com], ArsTechnica [arstechnica.com], and AppleInsider (1 [appleinsider.com], 2 [appleinsider.com], 3 [appleinsider.com]).
  • May? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Thwomp (773873) * on Monday September 03, @10:41AM (#20452235)
    (Last Journal: Wednesday October 17, @07:57AM)
    Ha! Lets not err on the side of caution here, I thought it was a dead cert. Especially since those new iPod photos appeared which Apple promptly issued a take-down for.
    • Re:May? by Jeremy_Bee (Score:2) Monday September 03, @12:55PM
      • Re:May? by Thwomp (Score:1) Monday September 03, @01:19PM
  • I have always wondered (Score:2, Interesting)

    by tit0.c (245434) on Monday September 03, @10:44AM (#20452273)
    Why hasnt apple put AM/FM/XM/whatever radio capabilities in the iPods.
    I still listen to radio ocasionally when I want to listen to something different.
  • by Andy_R (114137) on Monday September 03, @10:47AM (#20452291)
    (http://slashdot.org/ | Last Journal: Friday October 01 2004, @07:19AM)
    So, we know Apple are calling in journalists from all over Europe, we know that in the iPhone launch presentation Steve Jobs said Europe would get the iPhone in Q3 2007, and we know there are only another 27 days of Q3 2007 left. So why are people jumping to the conclusion that this is a iPod launch?
  • Unfortunately (Score:2)

    by Rik Sweeney (471717) on Monday September 03, @10:49AM (#20452311)
    (http://www.parallelrealities.co.uk/)
    it probably still won't be as good as an iPod with Rockbox installed on it...
  • may not be wireless (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Jeremy_Bee (1064620) on Monday September 03, @10:58AM (#20452397)
    There is a rumour that instead of wi-fi, the new iPod will use this technology:

    http://lunchat.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/kleer .html [typepad.com]

    thus it may not have any skype/wireless capabilities.
    • Re:may not be wireless by CastrTroy (Score:2) Monday September 03, @12:43PM
      • Re:may not be wireless (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Jeremy_Bee (1064620) on Monday September 03, @01:17PM (#20453877)
        The way I understand it, the "Kleer" thing is an extra. There is nothing to stop people from using earbuds as well or instead of this.

        It would conceivably allow Apple to produce an iPod with wireless like capabilities for sharing tunes and "squirting the social" (a la Zune), but not necessarily introduce the complexity of wireless and browsers and skype and so on. With Kleer, each iPod would be a broadcasting station and multiple wireless listeners could listen to the same iPod simultaneously. This would also figure in with the rumoured iPod "kiosks" that are said to be going up at Starbucks for selling iTunes to patrons.

        I find it kind of believable because the technology is bleeding edge (typical Apple), it would instantly turn iPods into the highest quality audio devices out there (also typical Apple), and make it possible to do all those social things that were the Zune's only real innovation ("the social"), without all the DRM and legal complications. It's such a perfect solution, that if Apple doesn't use this technology or something very similar, the next Zune could run rings around them just by implementing it.

        This is all wild rumour at this point however.
        [ Parent ]
  • Conjecture (Score:1)

    by harris s newman (714436) on Monday September 03, @10:59AM (#20452403)
    The article is all conjecture. Why not post "Apply may not release a new IPOD on Tuesday?
    • Re:Conjecture by GPL Apostate (Score:1) Monday September 03, @02:30PM
  • European iPhone? (Score:1)

    by Wormholio (729552) on Monday September 03, @11:06AM (#20452467)
    Why go to BBC headquarters and ask European reporters to this presentation just to announce a new model of an existing product? Perhaps instead Steve will be announcing that the iPhone will soon be on sale in Europe. Unlocked, of course. AT&T's deal is only for the US, right?

  • by gluechucker (976140) on Monday September 03, @11:59AM (#20452859)
    Touchscreen seems nice at first, but after a bit of thought, it adds flashiness, but takes away from usability. I like the physical controls that allow me to use my ipod without having to look at it. The edges of the scroll-circle-thing guide my fingers where they need to be without ever having to take it out of my pocket. Having this on a screen, while nice looking, would really screw with my aim.
  • Have analysts ever been correct... (Score:3, Interesting)

    ...about the demand for iPods? I have a feeling that they have always underestimated the demand.
  • Is FLAC support. I know, I could use rockbox and all of that shit..but i'd rather not.
  • Of Course... (Score:1)

    by GuitarKat (1150077) on Monday September 03, @04:18PM (#20456171)
    (http://www.katdesigns.ca/)
    It claims it will have some specs that the iPhone had (the touch screen), but does this mean the price is also going to be compared to the iPhone also? New iPod... at least $400 - $500... Might as well pick up the iPhone for another $100 and ditch the old cell phone anyways! What makes me worry the most is the price... right around the Christmas season they are speculating. Which is only going to drive the price even higher. Can you imagine what would have happened if the iPhone was released around the holidays... it's like the Cabbage Patch Kids/Tickle Me Elmo/Ferby all over again, too. Really, what the question here is if I will risk my life to get one of these... Very unlikely at the moment. Sorry Apple.
  • Isn't this the launch of the reshaped 'Fat Nano?' Link [clockskew.com]

    And if it is...quit crying if you don't like it. Form factor isn't everything and i'd damn sure rather have a wider screen, especially if the HDD space is larger than 8GB. Look at the pictures, the screen is like 2x bigger. It's not like the entire nano is ALL BIGGER, its shorter lengthwise.

    Oh, 2.3 inches is just so wide... (sarcasm)
  • iPhone sans Phone (Score:2)

    by pbjones (315127) on Monday September 03, @05:45PM (#20457017)
    My money is on an iPhone type/size unit without the phone bits. I makes sense from a production and user point of view.
  • by WithLove (1150737) on Monday September 03, @11:54PM (#20460123)
    So the real question is, can they invent enough new features to encourage people with aging 2/3G's (like myself) to buy the new one, or will it just be a "New iPod" (tm). I think I'll be in line for a Video if a new one doesn't change enough.
  • Doh! (Score:2)

    by mbourgon (186257) on Tuesday September 04, @09:24AM (#20463871)
    (http://slashdot.org/)
    And I just bought a refurb'd 20gb HP iPod for $100 from Woot! Oh, the horror, the horr.... eh, maybe not.

    NP: the tapping of my feet as I wait for my iPod.
  • by lordmage (124376) on Tuesday September 04, @10:41AM (#20464847)
    (http://www.tmlogs.com/)
    Yesterday my father wanted to get a Video IPOD after seeing how well I used mine. So me, my family, and my father trucked through a Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Circuit City and lo and behold ... NO Ipods to be found. An employee informed me that they could not order anymore until the "new" version comes out.

    So in the meantime, they lost a sale.
  • My current PC has a huge LCD, keyboard, mouse etc...
    A mac-mini is too low range, and the power mac is too big. An iMac would be fine, but it comes with LCD.
    Dear Apple, please build a simple "Mac", not a power-, mini- or i-Mac, just a Mac. The cube was cool btw.
  • wpa2 (Score:1)

    by scolbert (1122737) on Monday September 10, @12:52PM (#20541823)
    does the iPod Touch [personafile.com] wi-fi support WPA2 security?
  • by heinousjay (683506) on Monday September 03, @10:20AM (#20452045)
    (Last Journal: Sunday October 07, @01:01AM)
    Reading your posts is practically orgasmic for me. So much work, so barely comprehensible, and really, your points would almost be reasonable if not for the veneer of insanity you seem to try so hard to add.

    You, sir, rock.
    [ Parent ]
  • Re:Based on iPhone? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by phoenixwade (997892) on Monday September 03, @10:29AM (#20452131)
    (http://phoenixfestivals.com/)

    Not that unlocking hasn't done that already though...
    Do you really think that unlocking the iPhone has caused damage to the business model? An unlocking hack made the iPhone available to consumers who didn't want to be locked into AT&T, and Apple still gets whatever the benefits of contract exclusivity provided them.

    Sounds to me like everyones business model except AT&T's wins here. I can live with that....

    [ Parent ]
  • Re:oh my (Score:2)

    by MichaelKaiserProScri (691448) on Monday September 03, @10:33AM (#20452159)
    Ok, so it's an iPhone without the phone?
    [ Parent ]
  • by ianare (1132971) on Monday September 03, @10:48AM (#20452303)
    Could this post be related to this [arstechnica.com]? The link to the bogus google video especially ...
    [ Parent ]
  • by nano2nd (205661) on Monday September 03, @10:59AM (#20452405)
    (http://handmademac.googlepages.com/)
    Dude, I know - that was just an experiment. You know, for nerds.

    I own two other real Macs already - G4 eMac and a Powermac G4 dual 1GHz with 23" Cinema display. I'm just in the process of working out which to retire/sell and what to replace with - once Leopard is out, that is.

    Hackintosh is a cool experiment but the scene seems to consist of a handful of very talented hackers, some very shady types, and a lot of what we in the 80's would have called Lamers.

    Whoah there, this is now both off-topic and flamebait. LOL.
    [ Parent ]
  • Re:iPods (Score:1)

    by sharrestom (531929) on Monday September 03, @11:12AM (#20452523)
    I have never heard that comment about the miss rate. Ever. You would think after the years and tens of millions of iPods delivered that this would be well known. Further, you would expect that persons such as myself that primarily use a separate charger would have noticed. I think your friend is passing on some bad data.
    [ Parent ]
    • Re:iPods by kimble3 (Score:1) Monday September 03, @11:15AM
  • Re:iPods (Score:2)

    by e4g4 (533831) on Monday September 03, @11:18AM (#20452579)
    Can you provide some non-anecdotal evidence to back this up? I can boot any number of machines off an OS installed on my iPod (handy to have one for diagnostic purposes), and it runs just as reliably as it does off an internal drive. With a 1 in 100 miss rate, that sure as hell would not be the case.
    [ Parent ]
  • Re:iPods (Score:1)

    by asc99c (938635) on Monday September 03, @11:25AM (#20452619)
    (http://andyc.ac/)
    That's a load of rubbish. Because of the compression (MP3 or AAC) the bits being wrong lead very quickly to extremely noticeable defects (clicking and popping noises) in the tracks. MP3 is quite robust and remains playable, but AVI files tend to get completely unplayable with a few bits changed in the wrong places. I've never had this problem or any data-loss problems on my iPod - I've had it once when burning a backup CD on a rewritable disc which must have been used too many times.

    If you've got those problems with your iPod it's a defective unit. I can believe that iPod units may have a failure rate of 1 in 100 (which is actually very low compared to most modern gadgets), but on a properly functioning iPod, this memory miss rate isn't true.
    [ Parent ]
  • Re:iPods (Score:3, Interesting)

    by stevo3232 (794498) on Monday September 03, @11:26AM (#20452625)
    That's complete bullshit. I regularly copy gigs upon gigs of data on and off my 80 gig ipod and I've /never/ had it corrupt anything. Ever. In fact, I just md5summed a DVD ISO that I shoved on there a few months ago and it's exactly the same as the one on my drive. With a "1 in 100" miss rate, there's no way that'd be possible.
    [ Parent ]
    • Re:iPods by hobbesmaster (Score:1) Monday September 03, @12:57PM
      • Re:iPods by hobbit (Score:1) Monday September 03, @01:21PM
        • Re:iPods by hobbesmaster (Score:2) Monday September 03, @01:26PM
  • by jaypaulw (889877) on Monday September 03, @11:29AM (#20452645)
    I'll never understand the obsession with using a portable device as a VOIP phone. Don't you have enough regular minutes? Is it really worth the hassle of switching back and forth between the two services? Don't you just have a cell phone that works fine?

    [ Parent ]
  • Still lame (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 03, @11:59AM (#20452865)
    Wireless. More space than a Nomad. Still lame.
    [ Parent ]
  • by Toby_Tyke (797359) on Monday September 03, @12:51PM (#20453535)
    (Last Journal: Thursday August 10 2006, @12:20PM)
    you must be new here.
    [ Parent ]
  • Re:oh my (Score:1)

    by ThePengwin (934031) on Monday September 03, @05:55PM (#20457097)
    (http://www.pengwin.net/)
    I dont think anyone really wants creamed pants......
    [ Parent ]
  • Re:iPods (Score:4, Funny)

    by GaryPatterson (852699) on Monday September 03, @06:08PM (#20457207)
    Ah, numbers from the PDOOMA methodology.

    What? You've not heard of PDOOMA? It's sweeping the Internet, the TV and the newspapers of the world! It's the latest in business analysis and information.

    PDOOMA = Pulled Directly Out Of My Arse.

    Just like the 1/100 memory miss rate. Nice work. You may have a career in punditry waiting for you somewhere.
    [ Parent ]
  • If there really is a wi-fi-touch-screen-OSX based iPod coming out that may or may not be based on the iPhone, they better make sure there is no mic. This could make a fantastic Skype handset. And damage the iPhone business model. Not that unlocking hasn't done that already though...

    The iPod is available in practically every country in the world. The iPhone is available in one.

    So while it might damage their iPhone business model in one country, I imagine any losses in that one country would be offset by the gains in every other country in the world.

    Yaz.

    [ Parent ]
  • by fngl51 (1042446) on Monday September 03, @09:50PM (#20459105)
    But stop and tink about it for a moment. There are already thord party microphones out there for iPods. What it really could be, if we're lucky, is a Nokia N800, done right.
    [ Parent ]
  • by luxman226 (1151709) on Tuesday September 04, @05:54AM (#20462127)
    (http://www.searchtwice.com/)
    Ya its a old model type with same old bouring features , whats new about this new ipod going to be released , how much would be the cost of it.
    [ Parent ]
  • by Pojut (1027544) on Tuesday September 04, @07:50AM (#20463011)
    People like you frighten me...you know what they say about people that blindly lead others with nothing but horseshit?

    That's right. They call them "cult leaders".
    [ Parent ]
  • they better make sure there is no mic. This could make a fantastic Skype handset.

    It seems to me that being tethered by Wifi would eventually convince users that they should upgrade to an iPhone so they can make calls anywhere at any time.
    [ Parent ]
  • by otherniceman (180671) on Wednesday September 05, @01:25PM (#20482945)

    The BBC rakes in TONNES of cash with sales of their programmes worldwide and I'm getting sick and tired of being taxed twice to watch television. They seem to be actively fighting a decent distribution scheme in an effort to prop up Microsoft's DRM-take-over-the-world-mania.

    Well as the iPlayer downloads are free (OK, with the MS DRM baggage), selling them on iTunes would be annoying.
    [ Parent ]
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