Motorola phones only from AT&T
Margin note: Shaping the next iDevice
by Ralph Risch, CEO TechTracker
It appears to me that Apple has tweaked their computer hardware line sufficiently to deliver solid sales in the near term, having released significant upgrades/price adjustments to most every component of the line. Given that, I think it is time for some news on the iDevice front. (I should note that I have no more access to Apple secrets than anyone else outside 1 Infinite Loop. But like most Mac users I tend to daydream too much about hardware. :-)
As amazing as it is to hold a 20GB drive in your hand, the current iPod design is already getting old. I am an iPod fan--I bought one of the original 5GB models and I still use it regularly, while my Palm VII and my Palm III gather dust. But as anyone who attended the International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) knows, the rest of the industry has caught on to Apple's innovations and even added a few of their own. Albeit still a top contender, Apple's quantum leap device is about to become part of the pack.
Obviously, audio is only one spoke of Steve Jobs' Digital Hub. The others appear to be still images, digital video, cellular phones and digital assistants. But having ventured into audio as their first consumer electronics market, Apple needs to continue innovation in that sector. So my suggestion for the next iDevice is an updated iPod, with continued emphasis on audio.
What I'd like to see:
1. AM/FM Receiver. I think this takes no explanation. In a mobile audio device it's a must-have.
2. Audio capture. Personally, I'd like to use the iPod as a way to manage voice notes. I may be unique in this (I leave myself voice mail daily), but I am certain the ability to record snippets of sound on the road will find plenty of other uses. And if you add in #1, you have the ability to record radio broadcasts, for which there are plenty of legitimate uses.
3. AM/FM Transmitter. If you are an iPod user and have not tried the iRock wireless FM transmitter, you should. Until there is a better way to connect your iPod to your car stereo or boom box, I think this is another no-brainer.
4. Smaller form-factor, bigger display. Apple might strive for something more ergonomic than a deck of cards this time.
5. Images. What iPod is to iTunes, it should also be for iPhoto: a device that syncs with your Mac and lets you take an interesting portion of your image library on the road. It should also provide a way-station for digital cameras to drop off images (saving us hundreds of $ on flash cards), and enable you to display those images on a TV, as an iPhoto presentation with sound.
If Apple does the above, they will not only solidify leadership in the MP3 market, they will have a breakthrough device for photos. While advanced cell phones have made forays into imaging, Apple's root system in the photo industry (iPhoto, etc.) should help establish firm footing for such functionality in the iPod.
Later Apple can tackle DVD players, video capture, Tivo capabilities, etc. Or better yet, find world class partners for the other spokes, and spend their energies making sure Mac is always the best digital hub.
What are your thoughts? Let us know at late-breakers@macfixit.com or post a comment below.
Resources
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I'd add:
<ol>
<li><b>Real-time video in</b> -- You should be able to plug your FireWire-equipped MiniDV camera directly into your iPod to off-load video for later importing into iMovie. Same with future FireWire-equipped still cameras.
<li><b>Open APIs</b> -- It's not currently possible to write software for the iPod. I'd love to load little games, screensavers, etc. into it.
<li><b>Local sharing</b> -- I should be able to use the little guy to IM locally, and to send files back and forth if desired. Just the non-copyrighted ones, of course. :-)
</ol>
However, this is not revolutionary enough for Steve Jobs. The next Digital Lifestyle Device (DLD) we see will absolutely blow us away. Two days before the iPod was announced, I didn't have a clue what was going on, and neither did anyone else. Apple needs to surprise us all again. And I'm sure they will...
If the new IPod has these functions built-in or just have
the ability to be expended to incorporate these functions, then I think the price is better justified.
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Currently, we have
1. Palm: its OS is not keeping up with the audio/video demand for a portable device. It is good 3 years go. It is out of date now.
2. Packet PC: typical of Microsoft, it is bloated with "Windows". Why we need to see another Windows "thing" when we are trying to enjoy music, video or play a game? Many of us just could not associate Windows with anything that is enjoyable :-)
3. Ipod: nice to hold and nice to use, just if it can do a bit more. If Ipod won't get to where it could be, then some other devices will.
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American report on the "Symphony Digital Radio" chips from
Motorola:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&
articleID=00003A22-EBB2-1DAE-94E2809EC5880108
(If you paste the URL, then look for and delete any embedded
space character.)
For audio capture, there's a big demand for an iPod that will do at least stereo recording with an external mic -- mostly for recording live shows & so forth. Apple could mostly kill Sony's MiniDisc by doing that.
Transmitters are already covered by third parties quite well, so I doubt we'll see that.
I don't think they can go much smaller. It might be possible to get a bigger display, possibly color, but it would affect battery life.
As for images, if they get the color display, this is pretty likely. If this happens, it would probably be on a 40 gig version with FireWire 800.
Since Apple's working on networking over Firewire, Rendevous-enabled jukeboxing would be interesting, and possible.
I like the features Ralph suggested, and many of the
subsequent comments as well.
With AM and FM radio, I could spend my money on an
iPod to replace my aging boombox. And at the iPod's
price, one more reason to buy is a good thing. XM or
Sirius could also be cool, if you can fit that satellite
reception hardware inside the iPod. Maybe that's a
year or two away?
Don't know how you could significantly alter the iPod's
form factor, given the hard drives that it is built around.
I look forward to 40+GB, and wouldn't want to sacrifice
capacity for form.
But a bigger, color screen would make the suggested
photo capabilities possible. As long as improved
battery technology keeps up and counteracts the extra
power draw. There's lotsa folks out there with digital
cameras who then become potential customers.
Hmmm. But most of those existing still cameras have
a USB port, not FireWire. Add a USB 2.0 port to the
iPod? That would also help sell iPods to all those
Windoze users that don't have a FireWire port on their
machine. (USB 2.0 is backwards compatible to 1.0,
isn't it?)
Not sure how you could usefully IM with an iPod, in the
absense of a keyboard.
I think build-it FM transmitting would be a real plus; one
less gadget to keep track off; everyone could listen on
their car stereo speakers or home stereo. I think that
would sell more iPods.
If the range could be more than a couple feet -- maybe
a couple rooms -- there'd be a real coolness factor as
folks start DJing their own ultra-local radio broadcasts
on the FM band. Yeah, the FCC would probably object
to that (interference with licensed FM spectrum).
I doubt Apple will move the iPod to FireWire 800, since
they have not moved their consumer computers to it.
Maybe next year.
Yeah, I expect to see cool Rendezvous functionality in
the iPod.
I'm surprised we haven't seen more third party options
for plugging the iPod (or other MP3 players) into easily
portable, battery-powered speakers. Sometimes I want
my music library in my pocket. And sometimes I want
to blast it out of a boombox so my friends can join the
party.
I like the idea of BlueTooth/FireWire-enabled Rendezvous jukeboxing.
On the external speaker note, I'm wiring a waterproof shower radio with an earphone cable to plug into my iPod.
If they come out with an iPhoto-style device, it would be nice if it had an iBook-style video port with the VGA adapter so you can put your Keynote presentation on the device (possibly in QuickTime format) and plug it into a projector for a handheld presentation device.
away from the house, it acts like the iPod we all know and love.
I've seen one of the video "innovations" and looked at several on the net. Does anyone really want to watch Steinfeld reruns on a 3" TV screen?
"Emphasis on audio" is the key to your interesting commentary. Personally I like the form factor of something like a deck of cards. Fits in the pocket nicely, like the smaller digital cameras (Nikon Coolpix 4300 for example; although the better ones from Sony, Canon and Nikon are a bit bulky at present and will be improved while retaining their advanced feature sets over the point and shoots with limited usefulness).
Clearly the usefulness of a device which plays music, manages basic PDA functions better, serves as a boot drive for the Mac, temporary host for files like digital 2D (as suggested), temporary backup, etc. would be useful and presently requires a bit too much work. Apple isn't going to get into PDAs, but the simple functions of calendar, etc. could be expanded.
As the leader in Rendezvous it's logical they would explore the possibilities ranging from communications to other functions. The "Year of the Notebook" and its mobility and convenience in all circumstances, built in Bluetooth, et al suggests many possibilities in areas where Apple still has the lead.
But it will never be a PDA.
And a 3" t.v. screen? Has anyone else actually looked at one of these things? A few TV addicts, mostly teens, still haul their "miniature" TVs to the mountains or the beach, but some of their friends seem to be laughing at them more than interested in watching.
Check out the weight of some of these miniature 3" t.v. marvels before getting too excited. I say take advantage of Rendezvous and the bigger hard drives that are coming and stick to audio innovations.
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Have you guys seen the latest Sony Clie? I think Sony is the only company that comes out with stuff as cool as Apple. I think they complement each other rather well. I love the fact that the iPod is so specialized... I'd rather see the size go down than added features...
I would be happy with some high quality stereo FireWire Microphone add-on to do field recordings directly to AIFF, a remote control less stylish but more practical, and would LOVE to see jack for the headphones that doesn't stick out so much... ;)
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Don't anthropomorphize computers.
They hate that.
I agree that feature-creep will increase size and cost, and reduce battery life. Similarly, I think that the speed of the iPod HD does not warrant high-speed FireWire 800. Using a faster HD would reduce battery life, which is probably one of the main reasons we don't have faster drives in our PowerBooks.
the best for me would be ipod storage for photos or audio etc, maybe a built in smartdisk or pcmcia card slot, that would be such an easy solution with real added value and add a spoke to digital cameras and video. I have had the 5gb since early on and I love the added calendar and address feature - it would be great to extend that with radio, (but I tried and returned the irock transmitter- too much interference - maybe LA is bad for that) and storage for minidv or something like that.
Don't mess much with the audio focus, but adding recording capability to the iPod would be oh so sweet.
Smaller form-factor: This is limited by current hard drives which do not come smaller than 1.8" (apart from IBM's microdrive or Lexar's media cards where 512 MB cost more than a 20 GB iPod).
some form:
iPod optimized as a clean storage medium for digital cameras.
I don't know if this is possible, as I don't HAVE an iPod at this time -
Its too expensive for just music.
The idea is to reliably offload the images on a compactflash or
smartmedia card directly from the camera in the field onto an iPod.
Thereby freeing up the card for reuse.
If you are a decent photographer, digital cameras don't REDUCE
the number of photos you take.
On vacation alone I can fill up 3-256MB cards in less than 2 weeks
& this is being selective using only a 4mp camera, as well as a
35mm SLR to get those special depth of field shots nearly
impossible on most digital cameras.
The reality of digital photography allows me to pull usable shots
out of marginal exposures, as I can optimize them later in
Photoshop.
The tiny screen on today's cameras makes it difficult to ascertain
the sharpness & usability of the shots. So you shoot more for a
variety of reasons.
I can't see lugging even that new small G4 laptop if some of the
vacation trip involves backpacking or hiking. It comes close, but is
more than I need for photographs. Though it is tempting as an
alternate.
Or perhaps Apple could create that iPod mentioned earlier on the
MacFixit website - with a screen, larger than those of cameras in
order to review the shots. Something like the insanely overpriced
8mm movie players that Sony came out with almost a decade ago.
Viewing the camera images on a hotel TV screen which some
cameras allow is too cheesy.
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I would love a tablet: a return of the MessagePad - the last
incarnation of Newton, but improved & at a competitive price.
I've held off on PDAs for the hopes that some rumors of Apple
realizing they got out just as the PDA came into public
consciousness, might be true.
That last MesaagePad/Newton was a bit bulky to be a shirtpocket
PDA, but a bit small for the next broader use. Betwixt & Between &
outrageously priced when we all needed new desktops at the
same underpowered time. Apple once again arrived almost too
soon & left at the wrong time.
A pad with a drawing package. I've proposed this since before the
demise of that messagepad. A stylus input device that can handle
creation of rough engineering sketches made on a manufacturing
floor.
(Most engineers can't draw as well as they misspell, so it needs
some helper functions).
Perhaps with software which even allows layering over digital
photos, so that you can sketch over the top of a captured image,
similar to the trace & onionskin functions in something like Painter.
Or a tablet which is good enough to be a portable sketchbook/
journal for those who CAN draw.
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That proposed voice recorder function is a killer.
Digital memo recorders are neat, but I looked for one that would let
me pull the recording into my Mac digitally. -- Nada.
As such, I might as well use the cheaper tape memo recorders
instead of digital.
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Well, another that has to happen - isn't actually a NEW iProduct:
iDVD has to become available as an add-on (it has, right?) & work
with add-on DVD burners. $50 for iLife package is acceptable.
My understanding is that iDVD requires the factory-installed DVD
burner to function.
As DVD players are becoming a hot ticket for winDoze, the
competitive edge will be lost.
Several times in the 15 yrs I've owned Macs - there has come a
time when I almost switched to a winDoze machine based on price
points, despite loathing winDoze. The biggest thing keeping me on
Apple's bandwagon - is the exorbitant cost of converting a fortune
in software to winDoze versions.
Even more so than my preference for the platform, as both
platforms achieve some sort of convergence, winDoze bugs aside.
OS X came around to a usable version barely in time. As it is, by
switching to OS X-boot only machines, it negates use of some of
the software I don't want to pay the OS X-compatible upgrade costs
on just yet. If I upgraded all my software, I figure I am looking at
about $500-$700 or more.
Relating it to myself & extrapolating that it applies to enough other
people:
I am currently exploring software alternatives to iDVD, at a far
better price than DVD Studio Pro.
Personally, I can't justify the replacement cost to supplant my older
& slower tower Mac with a mid-level desktop in order to get that
burner I crave.
I have SCSI, additional firewire & USB2 cards that can be migrated
to a new tower, and a CRT, so I don't want to lose them by settling
for an iMac as my upgrade.
A $200 add-on cost to get the Superdrive instead of a CD-RW in
that lower end machine is a little high as far as price vs
performance points.
A big part of this - is the perception that the machine will be worth
$500-$1200 less in 6-12 months. Adds insult to injury to settle for a
machine that isn't the G5 we've been anxiously awaiting AND pay
to pay a premium price - even if it is a Mac.
Excuse the tangental dalliances in stating my case, I think most of
it is on topic.
- by pcptn February 10, 2003 6:33 AM PST
- Sony still sees a big market in MiniDisc. This year only (2003!) they announced 8 new models.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(19 Comments)The only thing that the iPod lacks in order to compete against the MD is an analog audio input. Even a line level one would be nice. With such an iPod the MD will be dust.
What refrains Apple to achieve this?