Beyond the iPod 5G (video)

lol and what your askin for is gonna make the battery a whole lot more efficient:p , that would be pretty awesome though, the voice activation, mouse may make it a lil too complicated though.

the folding keyboard seemed overdone.

1. gapless playback
2. touch screen (could do without clickwheel and thus bigger screen for vid)
3. Wifi
4. AVI playback
5. custom eq

and the usual like battery life and sound quality

i don;t think bluetooth would be viable, too slow for transfer of songs and sound quality through bluetooth headphones are crap, unless they improve it. WiFi is definitely the way to go, we could have wireless earphones, wireless to sonos, wireless for transfering music.

maybe add an IR to it and it can function as a remote control for numerous devices like the goddamn TV

I agree with you there ou8thisSN... Apple will never make a PDA out of an iPod. They might make a Newton 2 or Apple PDA or equivalent... but never from the iPod line.

What I would like from Apple is a VIDEO iPod. Not the 5G.

They can change the name... do what they want with it, but I think Apple must make an MEC (Multimedia Entertainment Center) or equivalent, which focuses primarily on video.

The iPod is first and foremost a DAP (Digital Audio Player), now with photo and video features... and turning it into a primarily video-based device would ruin its success.

Although not as many people feel the need to watch a movie on-the-go as listening to music on the go, that doesn't mean that there isn't a demand. So basically... this wont be an iPod.. it will be a vPod... or something like that... just so you wont be infringing on ipod colour screen territory.

I think that this device (lets call it X) should follow in the footsteps of it's big brother... the plasma screen. Plasma screens (generally) have a 16:9 aspect ratio, and crystal quality.
Instead of being 42" (diagonal), I think that X should be 1 tenth of that size... around 4.2" corner to corner.
LCD seems to be the most popular screen type, and a nice LED backlight would go well with that.

So now that we have a 4.2" 16:9 LCD screen with an LED backlight, X needs a Hard Drive. The latest Toshiba Hard Drives... the PMR ones are 0.85" (diagonal) and have a capacity of 40GB and 80GB (2 platters).

Since X isn't necessarily an iPod. We dont have to put on a click wheel... but its better than buttons, so we might as well put one on. Here we run into our first bit of trouble - there are right and left-handed people that will be wanting to buy this... so the screen will have to be able to orientate both horizontally, vertically and reverse horizontally, i.e. the click wheel can be on either side... kinda like my impression below.

Try to imagine that the vertical lines are the screen and the stars make up the click wheel.
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Processors and circuitry isnt my strong suit, but trust Apple to come up with something to bring all the components together and to make the thing work.

Ok... now we have the circuitry, processor, Hard Drive, screen size and type, and it's orientation.

Now, last but not least, X needs to be able to play certain types of files. The file types and formats that I think X should play are:
- mov
- m4v
- mpg (MPEG 1 - 4)
- avi
- vob (while you're at it... you might as well put it on the list)
- h.264
- wma and wmv (that's gonna be a tricky one with the licensing)
- aac
- DivX and XviD
- All the traditional photo formats... jpg, bmp... the usual

And of course... you need a battery to run this thing... so you might as well just put in a replaceable one... everyone wants one and everyone gives into demand some time.

Now that you're done with that Apple... all you need is colour. First come out with a nice anodized aluminium casing in black and white (traditional iPod style) and then if they decide to make a mini-version of X, make that one available in silver, gold, red, green and blue.

And the very very last thing that you need to put in the box is an AV cable and a battery charger... it sucks that you have to pay for something that ALL other mp3/mp4 players come with anyway.

Oh well... that's all I can fathom for the mean time... Ill check back in the morning and see if any of this stuff makes sense. Im tired and shall retire (its 1:30am)... snore.

Foof

Originally posted by Fooof
Try to imagine that the vertical lines are the screen and the stars make up the click wheel.
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Processors and circuitry isnt my strong suit, but trust Apple to come up with something to bring all the components together and to make the thing work.

Ok... now we have the circuitry, processor, Hard Drive, screen size and type, and it's orientation.

Now, last but not least, X needs to be able to play certain types of files. The file types and formats that I think X should play are:
- mov
- m4v
- mpg (MPEG 1 - 4)
- avi
- vob (while you're at it... you might as well put it on the list)
- h.264
- wma and wmv (that's gonna be a tricky one with the licensing)
- aac
- DivX and XviD
- All the traditional photo formats... jpg, bmp... the usual

And of course... you need a battery to run this thing... so you might as well just put in a replaceable one... everyone wants one and everyone gives into demand some time.

Now that you're done with that Apple... all you need is colour. First come out with a nice anodized aluminium casing in black and white (traditional iPod style) and then if they decide to make a mini-version of X, make that one available in silver, gold, red, green and blue.

Sounds like this:
The Zen Vision
Screen: 3.7" TFT LCD (640x480 pixels)
Size: 4.8 X 2.9 X 0.78
Capacity: 30GB
Casing: Magnesium Alloy in White or Black
Battery Life: Up to 13 hours continuous audio playback, Up to 4.5 hours continuous video playback, Removable Rechargeable Li-ion battery.
*Extended Life Battery: 26 house of audio, 9 hours of video (optional)
Features: Composite TV-Out
Compact Flash Card Type I & II,
Built-in FM radio and Recorder
Built-in Speaker
Multi format card reader through compact flash card slot (optional)
Docking Station (optional)
Wireless remote (optional)
Video Formats: AVI. MPEG-1/2/4-SP, Windows Media Video (WMV) 9, Motion-JPEG. DivX2 4 and 5 and XviD3
Audio: MP3, WMA (Up to 320 kbps), WAV (Linear PCM)
Photos: JPEG

Originally posted by Fooof
Yeah it does sound like it... but the zen has a 30GB hard drive... hardly enough for me (or at least for holding 10000 songs AND a couple movies).

Also its just under 2cm thick. No thank you.

If Apple can get something in between the Zen Vision and my proposal right... I reckon they will have the portable video market in their pockets (excuse the pun) like they have the portable audio market.

Ah well... we'll just have to wait until march or whenever Apple decides to launch their portable video line.
Zen Vision is: 4.8 X 2.9 X 0.78
Video iPod is: 4.1 X 2.4 X 0.43

Not much of a difference, I mean if the Zen it too thick for you how can you honestly say one is ok and the other isnt, or are you saying that neither is acceptable? Somewhere in between? Talk about splitting hairs.

What I really dont understand is why people are so concerned about the size and then they go and buy some big bulky case for it LOL!!

I like the fact that the Vision has a card reader and an FM Radio. It can also record audio and it has a built-in speaker and an IR remote censor so you can use a wireless remote in the car. Thats very useful. I read that a 60+GB version will be out soon after the 30GB.
It also has a larger battery (optional) that, although makes the overall size thicker, extends the usage to 26 hours of audio and 9 hours of video, but its the 26 hours of audio that I think is so great. My darn iPod only lasts about 5 hours, not even really. My buddy has the Zen Touch which again, is a bit thicker then my iPod but has a battery life of well over 20 hours!

Lastly, the Zen Vision can output to a TV (via analog RCAs) at full DV quality so you can actually use it to watch recorded video on regular TVs. The iPod is DV and is way to low resolution to watch on a TV, Ive seen that quality on TVs before and it worse then a bad VHS tape.

Id be more interested in a smaller non-video iPod that has a 100+ GB hard drive.

Originally posted by bhaalspawn
Hang on 0.78" vs 0.43". The Zen is nearly twice as thick. It's not exactly pockatable is it? Plus you're going to need a case for the zen unless you want to get that screen scratched so that adds a bit more.

Plus I would wager it's significantly heavier than the ipod and it's even heavier and thicker with a case and even more so with that extra battery case. Plus when on earth are you going to have the time to watch 4 and a half hours of video let alone nine hours? I mean come on- I don't know about you but I've barely got time in the day to listen to music with work and going out with friends so sitting down somewhere when I wouldn't be able to get to my computer to watch DVDs on for more than half an hour and not having something actually important to do just isn't going to happen.

I would imagine the majority of people with a busy work and social life are in a similar situation so the zen is impractical because it's too heavy, too bulky and offers features that most non-geek people simply don't want or need. However this has been a hallmark of Creative's products since day one so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Apple at least understands what the average consumer wants (and more importantly doesn't want) out of a product.

What was your other point- oh yes outputting to a TV to watch a movie on. Chances are if you're going to be doing that then you can figure out how to rip your own DVD to MP4 in which case just set it at a higher resolution and plug your ipod into the mains then play it off the ipod. In case you hadn't figured it out the TV output idea is for short home movie video clips not to fufill some techie deam of being able to play full length movies when any other person would just bring the DVD.
Yeah, I believe you basically made my point. That there is NO use for a video enabled iPod. People are asking for and wondering what the real video iPod will be like. I think if you are going to actually use the video part of a player like this, right now, the Zen Creative is the clearly better. Sure its a inch thicker, inch taller, of an inch wider and about 3 oz heavier but its got a much larger screen with higher resolution and some options for video usage that again makes it clearly more usable. The question is who is going to want a video player?
If I traveled on a train each day like so many people in big cities do then it may be usable. Most commuters in NYC spend at least an two hours on a train each day. If I was going to watch some TV each day or so then its a NO brainer to me, my eyes would be shot in no time if I tried watching on a 2.5 screen for a couple of hours a day. The Creative screen is three times larger and closer to being reasonable. For Plane traveling, the 4+ hours of video is key. There are millions of public transportation commuters in the New York/Tri State area alone, then include cities like Chicago and Boston, the potential buying audience for a video portable like these are large. The Video iPod just falls too short to be useful and if they fix it, itll just be larger and suffer from all the problems you just described.
There is NO in-between. Either do it right or dont bother at all. The good thing for this ViPod is that they didnt compromise the non-video usage, they just added to what was already there. The Creative Zen is an entirely different product which is why its a better video player.

This is why I said Id be more interested in a smaller non-video iPod that has a 100+ GB hard drive. My only interest is in audio and I am happy with my 3G iPod. I dont need a color screen, hell its not even visible 90% of the time its being used so who cares what the screen looks like.

BTW: I didnt think it was possible for the ViPod to play back anything larger then 320 X 240. Is it?

Regarding Boead's post:

I'm sorry I just don't accept the fact that the zen is a better machine for watching on public transport or is more convenient to take with you for a number of reasons. Firstly and perhaps most crucially the ipod fits in your pocket unlike the zen and is lighter, the point is it's definely easier to carry around. Thsi was quite clearly Apple's highest priority for designing it and this is because this is what the average commuter will value the most. They don't care particuarly about the screen size as long as it's big enough to see something or the battery life because they're not going to be using it for that long to play video (because they don't have the time or inclination to learn how to convert their own DVDs and they can't buy it online). They care about how easy it is to carry with them. Now on this point the ipod clearly wins.

Additionally you could argue that by the very nature of video it's no good for public transport- because you have to look at the device you look odd watching it and it particuarly makes you an obvious and easy target for thieves unlike the ipod which you can have in your inside jacket pocket and still be listening to. So to echo your argument in one regard if you are going to do video (accepting that some people might want to watch it) make it quite small and inconspicuous and don't have movies for it because most people won't watch it. The zen is overkill.

However I'd argue that quite apart from all the above argument any busy commuter isn't going to have the time to sit in the same place and watch video. You say that the average NY commuter spends two hours a day on trains. So for a start that's only an hour each way. Then you've got considerations of the time it will take to change trains if you need to. Finding a seat on the train. Moving for other people who's stop it is. Plus IMO the whole time could be spent doing something much more productive than watching a video on a tiny screen, namely preparing for/reviewing the day's work. Especially as you can do this while listening to music as your entire attention isn't drawn by it unlike video. Surely most people are going to want to leave video behind at home where the screen and sound are better anyway and those that do watch video on the move aren't going to use it primarily for playing video so having an ipod with video as a bonus feature (like the 5G) is a much better proposition than a device that's plainly built around playing video like the zen.

So there is nothing to make me think that video even on public transport where you (apparently) have time to watch it will ever be anything more than a niche market. Plane trips are slightly different but as most frequent flyers are buisness flyers they want the time to do some work therefore their primary focus is music and therefore the ipod is the better device.