Rumored iPod Flash Leaked

An anonymous reader writes "Apparently a -->detailed design of the new Flash-based iPod--> has been leaked. It doesn't have a screen and is this size of a cookie!" With size estimates ranging from 256 megs to a gig, it will have a much lower price point, and can be worn around your neck. Assuming it's not just a rumor. Update: 12/07 19:31 GMT by M : Temporary working link.

One way to find out

[macrom]

If Apple files a Cease & Desist order, then maybe there's some truth to it. I doubt they would waste that time for a simple fanboi dream.

Better place to wear your player

[MichaelCrawford]

There's a number of people who go to the same gym that I do that wear their mp3 players on armbands. It seems to work really well when working out vigorously. It's held securely and you don't need a long earphone cord.

RCA is one brand that apparently comes with the armbands, but I see some others whose brand I don't know.

What's the point?

[Quaoar]

The only thing that Apple could really bring to the table in this department is firewire, which really doesn't matter at these small sizes. There are already SO many flash players out there (some which are downright tiny), and without a screen, I don't see the point. That is of course, if this is true...

No screen?

[quinxy]

I don't see how you're supposed to navigate through 1 GB of music/etc. with no screen. I've got a little 1 GB mp3 player MPIO's FL300, and I can't imagine moving through all all the various folders and songs to try to find the one I want without a screen. I suppose you'd need listen to the first few hundredths of seconds of songs as you scroll. Sounds thoroughly unpleasant to me. Am I missing something?

iPod mini #2

[th1ckasabr1ck]

The rumor for the iPod mini was that it was going to hold fewer songs, be smaller, and be less expensive.

It certainly held fewer songs, and definitely was smaller, but it was still pretty expensive. Hopefully this one actually does have a lower price point.

No screen is a big mistake

[mepex]

I had one of the original Creative Muvo players, and it was great for how small it was, but the absence of a screen was a serious hinderance. You needed to listen to the first few seconds of each song in order to tell which it was- remembering a 30-song playlist exactly is out of the question. Plus, the flash-based mp3 player market is much more crowded, so I doubt Apple could make inroads against the Creatives and Jen of Swedens and iRivers of the world. Remember, the hard drive mp3 market was much sparser when the original iPod was introduced.

Re:No screen?

[Anonymous Coward]

It sounds suspiciously like today's product on woot.com [woot.com]

Does it have radio, FM broadcast, recording,etc..?

[Sebby]

My Muro MR-100 [muro.co.kr] has all this, in a very small form factor; these are why I bought it over an iPod (better feature/price ratio for what I wanted/needed)

Now this site is slashdotted, but does this new iPod have these??

B&O Player

[Anonymous Coward]

Size of a cookie?
Flash based?
No screen?

Sounds like the B&O MP3 Player...

http://www.beocentral.com/audio/portable/bs2.jpg [beocentral.com]

Re:What's the point?

[jellomizer]

Brand Name.
Having an Apple iPod name. There are a lot of people where brand name is everything Where having Nike Sneakers is much more important then having Rebocks. So a lot of people will buy the Cookie Ipod because it is called an iPod not a cheap ripoff of the iPod but an iPod. It is like the Sony Walkman back in the 80s people bought Walkmans because of the name Walkman and they knew that they were getting a Walkman. The name is connected to the device. When kids see a person with a MP3 player they will call it an iPod.

Just like...
Xerox for copiers
Weed Eater for Trimmers
Transformers for toys that turn into robots.

Some people get it for a Snob factor just to say they have one to be hip. Others get it because it is a name they know and dont know the difference. So if you go to your Grandma and ask for an iPod for christmas you will get something with iPod in it like iPod Mini, origional, or the Cookie iPod. There is money to be made when you got the name behind you.

So, is this how Apple Marketing Works?

[Tenebrious1]

Marketing has an idea, then they *leak* the information to some site. Then Steve and the marketing watch /. Depending on our reaction, they decide if they should proceed, what features they should or shouldn't include... and save a bundle of money on actual market research.

Bah.

[altgrr]

I won't be impressed with them until they come out with some of the ideas here [davidmccandless.com].

"iRule. Override all iPods within a given radius with your choice of music" - now we're talking.

Re:Daring Fireball covered this

[cens0r]

It's not the skipping that's the problem with jogging. The large memory buffer handles that fine. It's the extra wear and tear on the drive itself. I'd be interested to see someone do a study about the MTBF of those drives comparing them operating motionless and operating under the shock of jogging.

Re:What's the point?

[bonch]

Honestly, I've learned to completely ignore Slashdotter speculation about Apple products. :) Taco was wrong about the iPod, and everyone was wrong about the iPod Mini. Reading posts saying "What's the point?" is amusing since it's the same thing people asked last time and the time before.

Why I call Bullshit

[Dark Paladin]

Right now, the iPod and iPod mini have a lot of marketshare because of two things:

1. Look
2. Feel

Look: If you pull out either an iPod or the "white headphones" (um, like the ones I have in now attached to the iPod on my desk), you'll have people who know what it is. When I was in DC on business, I was easily able to notice the people with iPods.

Feel: The Jog Wheel (patented or copyrighted by Apple, I'll let the lawyers here complain about which) is a perfect medium for MP3 players. Up, down, find the song and fast forward or back - all in one interface.

So what would an iPod flash look light?

Here's my $0.02: it will look like an iPod mini.

Take an iPod mini. Take out the hard drive and squeeze the electronics together. With just flash RAM, you could probably have a device that looks the same, acts the same, costs $100 - $150 (256 MB - 1 GB), and looks like an iPod Mini only with the thickness of two stacked quarters, and weighs a little more. Battery could still last 12 hours (remember - no moving parts).

So, for Apple to make a "display-less device" that nobody would recognize as an iPod, I call "bullshit".

I'll use the same skills for when I was 12 and heard about a new "Star Wars Episode I" coming out "someday": until I saw a trailer, I wouldn't believe. Saved me about 10 years of unhappiness. (Granted, not seeing Episode I would have saved me more, but that's another story for another day.)

Re:Didn't last long.

[eyeye]

A computer noise announces the track name at the press of a button.

Thats what i'd do anyway ;)

Re:Daring Fireball covered this

[TheRaven64]

When I first got my iPod I had a problem with it skipping as I walked into work every day. Eventually I tracked down the problem:

The wallet in my coat pocket was periodically hitting one of the (very sensitive) buttons on the corded remote control. Putting it into hold mode fixed that (and had the added bonus of making me feel really stupid).

Re:Daring Fireball covered this

[rbrunner]

Although I would agree that your definition of the term "skipping" is probably the original derivation in this context, I also use it to refer to missing some of the audio, as in "to skip lunch" means to miss lunch.