Apple iPod with Video and WiFi Capabilities? 225
An anonymous reader writes "Apple is currently seeking an engineer for its iPod hardware division. However, they are not looking for just any engineer. They are seeking an engineer with WiFi and Video integration experience. 'The iPod group is looking for a Hardware Engineer. Experience in the following areas is important: system integration, digital logic, SDRAM, Flash, ASIC's, processor selection, ATAPI, various communication protocols (ie: GSM, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, Firewire, and USB), display types and video and analog integration.'"
What??? (Score:4, Insightful)
My head is going to explode....
Ok, we know /. is anti-M$ (Score:1, Insightful)
Expanded iPod (Score:5, Insightful)
However the amount of battery consumption for such a beast would be epic.
Hopefully They will... (Score:3, Insightful)
Disinformation? (Score:4, Insightful)
2 things (Score:4, Insightful)
1) Why do they feel the need to complicate the iPod? People love the fact that it does one primary thing, and does it brilliantly. The iPod is expensive enough without any more frills.
2) If they are just looking for an engineer now, just think how long before any product sees the light of day.
Sigh... (Score:2, Insightful)
Everytime Apple hires someone, people want to think it has to do something with the iPod.
They make pretty good computers too, you know?
Re:Slashdot's posting help wanted ads now? (Score:5, Insightful)
I know slashdot isn't "the press" but something to suggest that this is something more than randomly created news would be interesting.
New profit model:
1. Write interest, speculative quote
2. Make guesses about the quote
3. Get slashdot to bump your article
4. Google ads on make-up article
5. Profit!
Logical Next Step (Score:4, Insightful)
The only thing I wonder about is how the MPAA and its member companies will take this. Hopefully Apple's talked to them already or is in the process or they could find themselves with a wonderful videoPod without any way to get movies for it legally. Given their success with iTunes and the iTunes store I'm inclined to believe they have this worked out already though.
I wasn't as excited about the iPod since I have a portable CD/Mp3 player and it works fine for me. I would be quite excited and interested in a video device though.
Re:Disinformation? (Score:1, Insightful)
Don't you list necessary skills relevant to the job, not disinformation to distract over zealous rumor mongers?
Re: engineer (Score:2, Insightful)
I've been wondering when this would be announced. (Score:3, Insightful)
No mention of ultra wide band in there. It would be interesting if they tried it though. The iPod might have enough buy-in with consumers to make this technology finally take off.
Re:Archos functionality + Apple design = the a nsw (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:2 things (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:2 things (Score:2, Insightful)
how could this not be true? (Score:3, Insightful)
This particular story may be a hoax, as others have pointed out, but how could Apple not be looking to add wireless to the iPod?
Wireless means:
With mp3 functionality being integrated into all-in-one cellphones, Apple could also being looking into this market, which may be critical for the survival of the iPod. And who better than Apple to give a simple interface that controls all these functions? BTW, I'm willing to give out gmail invites in exchange for completed referrals at freeipods.com.
Re:Disinformation? (Score:5, Insightful)
I love my iPod, but really.... (Score:3, Insightful)
That being said, do we really care about an Apple job posting? I think bluetooth or Wifi integration would be very cool in the iPod. But this story just seems down right silly. If Sony posted an ad in their Walkman division for the same skills would it be noticed? What about Rio? We don't even know what this means, and speculation before they have even gotten going on the hiring process just seems like a waste of time.
This is pre-vaporware, if there is such a thing.
Battery drain is the Achilles heel (Score:2, Insightful)
Ninety percent of the time, an iPod does nothing more than decode MP3's from a RAM cache and drive a pair of headphones.
If you add to that a backlit color LCD, a WiFi transceiver and video decoding, you'd be lucky to get an hour's worth of play time. For that reason, I don't expect to see a video iPod any time soon.
Jebus... (Score:3, Insightful)
"OK, we need to find someone that can take our flagship, multi-million dollar product and add a layer of function and complexity onto it not yet realized in the electronics field anywhere."
I mean, unless the designers of the Walkman or Gameboy come strolling in, what kind of candidate is it going to take to fill this position?
Re:2 things (Score:3, Insightful)
a.) Complication? Eventually the market will be saturated. There is competition out there. They need to distinguish themselves to keep getting new sales. Besides, how much more complicated would it really be? It's all passive entertainment.
b.) The iPod's not being sold at cost. They have some wiggle room on the price. Chances are, they'd provide an iTunes like service for video. In that event, they could sell the hardware at a loss.
"2) If they are just looking for an engineer now, just think how long before any product sees the light of day."
Need input. Maybe somebody left and theyw ant a replacement. That could mean we'd see something in 2-3 months. Maybe they need somebody just to get started, that could mean as much as 18 months. Maybe they're just testing the market. Sorry, really can't help ya here.
Re:Ok, we know /. is anti-M$ (Score:5, Insightful)
Plus the
It would take... (Score:1, Insightful)
Of course, Apple is not known for slick advertising, media savvy, and tight control of their message. The iPod group probably posted the job offer without thinking about the implications.
Yea right. Look, people. If the job were legit, it would just say "Apple is looking for..." instead of the "iPod group is looking for...". Apple is not stupid; they like to restrict knowledge of their products. This is a red herring.
Just to point out the obvious (Score:3, Insightful)
My guess? They'll make an ipod with a color screen, but it probably still won't do video.
Speculating on Vaporware... (Score:3, Insightful)
I think that Sig I saw was correct after all: The earth's intelligence if finite yet the population is growing.
BTM
Re:job description continues: (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Slashdot's posting help wanted ads now? (Score:3, Insightful)
Still no radio? (Score:3, Insightful)
Important distinction (Score:3, Insightful)
iPod group, not necessarily iPod product. It's possible that this group will evolve into a multi-faceted consumer electronics effort, but there's no point in Apple publicly acknowledging as much now. So for now, they call it the "iPod" group, after its one product.
Or, maybe someone actually wants to watch videos on a twinkie little 2" screen.
--realinvalidname
Re:Disinformation? (Score:2, Insightful)
Skillset requirements list = What we want you to do plus some buzzwords some manager read in a magazine that are supposed to be "hot" right now. Example: "Must have 3+ years experience with ASP, J2EE, MSSQL, Oracle, IIS, Apache and Photoshop."
Position title = What we're willing to pay you. Example: "Seeking intern with the following skills..."
Re:2 things (Score:3, Insightful)
Meh. I own one, and while I think it's the best MP3 player on the market, I wouldn't call it "brilliant". The fact that I've had to restore on 2 different generations is reason enough to call it "great, but not perfect".
Re:Disinformation? (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, it could also be written by a complete idiot.
Re:Disinformation? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:2 things (Score:3, Insightful)
A Wi-Fi iPod will allow you to stream internet broadcasts. It will be the beginning of a terrestrial competitor to what we now know as radio.
Worth doing.