My Idea for the Flash Ipod

DJ Rep

DJ Rep

How Interesting...
Well I was thinking after reading all the info on the flash Ipod on what it would actually look like and how they would manage to achieve the infamous click wheel design of the ipod without sacrificing the size that a flash based music player should be (VERY small)
Then I thought of the Yo-Yo design where the click wheel, be it ipod mini of 4g ipod size would be the whole size of the player (so looking like a large dollar coin with a click wheel on) with the screen on the back then you would just use the click wheel from behind. Then I thought that this may not be very intuitive and a bit hard to use so why not just have the click wheel like I described, and just have a small screen on a wired remote or something.
What do you guys think
 
Could work.

Another possibility: it could fold up like a compact.

Or they could make it round and give it a twisting outer ring instead of the click wheel.
 
Touch screen click wheel.

So the whole screen 'clicks' from side to side for the buttons, and is touch sensitive for scrolling round.

That way it can be small and still have the click wheel and screen on the same side.
 
Hmmm... I sense a "fingerprint" problem with the touch-screen implementation. Also, how are you supposed to see the list of songs scrolling by if your finger is moving around on the screen?

I kind of like the twisting outer ring idea, except I'm afraid it'll be a two-handed operation (one to hold the player, one to twist the ring), and I don't think Apple would go for that. Of course you could probably do it with one hand (middle finger and thumb hold the device, index finger spins the wheel) but then again, that would probably block the screen from view.

I dunno. Anything smaller than the iPod mini may just be too small. Apple, if they are truly trying to create a smaller, flash-based iPod, will have some serious design work to do. It's tough to get that small and still retain the ease of use of the original iPod.
 
If apple produces a flash based ipod, it would need to continue to the tradition of the ipod with the same intuitive interface and simplicity of use. You shoud not need to relearn the interface or click wheel design. In otherwords, picking up any of the ipods should be the same from a user standpoint, only a size difference. If they stray from the current interaction, they will not gain users over the other flash players.
The need to make it small, and inexpensive. 512 for $149 and 1Gig for around $199.
I like the idea of making the click wheel part of the screen. You could easily avoid getting in the way of what you want to see by staying on the right side of the wheel when you get close to what you are searching for.
It can also be made to not fingerprint. There are plenty of non fingerprinting pastics out there. Besides, who out there has an ipod with no fingerprints or scratches on it that is more than 2 days old?
 
There are a couple of ways you could make the twist-ring a one-handed operation. If the player was on an arm band or wrist band that could hold it in place while you turn the dial.

Or they could put a non-skid rubber back on it, so it could sit securely in your palm while your thumb turns the ring.

Of course, the other problem is, you need a way to "click" and confirm your selections. Maybe they could make the ring 'squeeze-sensitive' or something.
 
brianleahy said:
There are a couple of ways you could make the twist-ring a one-handed operation. If the player was on an arm band or wrist band that could hold it in place while you turn the dial.
Click to expand...
...but that's still two-handed operation. Doesn't matter whether it's your opposite hand that's holding it or your opposite wrist -- still two hands. True, one-handed operation, like the current iPod has, could be defined as keeping one hand in your pocket and the other hand grasping the iPod -- can you operate it without removing your hand from your pocket? Current iPod: true. Twist-ring iPod: perhaps, if done right.

The rubber backing for palm operation may work, though -- the current iPods can be held in your hand and operated with your thumb. While a twist ring may take some getting used to, it might work.

Which brings up an interesting new market: the iPod sport. Many have complained about how the iPod and iPod mini just aren't up to rugged operation -- jogging, for instance. The current iPods tend to skip and cut out, since they rely on a hard drive that doesn't like being jarred all that much. A solid-state iPod would definitely cure that problem. Plus, when you're jogging or running, there really isn't much time to fiddle around with controls or skip around in playlists and what-not: it's usually just "start the music and start running." A 512MB player would be perfect -- who jogs for more than half the day? How much music do you really need when you jog?

Perhaps, if the rumors of the flash-based iPod are true, it could be marketed to a more active crowd.
 
I think they'll just make it an iPod mini with flash memory instead of the harddrive. Yeah, doesn't sound so innovative, but then again, this should be a 'cheap' product, right? No R&D for _that_, I guess... And also: The iPod mini already is an icon and resembles the iPod. Why change that... It's also small enough.
 
If Apple makes a flash based music player, I feverently hope they make it as a USB watch



  • Would be perfect for jogging
  • Click wheel could just go around the outside of the face/display
  • The center with the display could double as the select button
Hardly any R & D required. Others have already created USB watches, but none of them (that I know of) with an Apple like scrollwheel and user interface.

Kap
 
... and even there Steve has probably spent _hours_ on deciding with which design to go. ;)

Btw.: I just don't like the idea of having a scroll wheel _outside_ of the screen. You hide the screen with your finger(s) all the time, making selecting something incredibly counterintuitive and non-Apple. It would be "the scroll wheel gone wrong". However, you _could_ make the scroll wheel quite small, and the display wouldn't have to show more than three lines, I guess. Could still do that on a watch.

Then again, the watch would look quite geeky indeed, and I don't think people with ordinary (and good-looking, expensive) watches would switch for such an iPod watch. Even be it for the time they're jogging only... The armband idea is 'okay enough' with me.
 
fryke said:
... and even there Steve has probably spent _hours_ on deciding with which design to go. ;)

Btw.: I just don't like the idea of having a scroll wheel _outside_ of the screen. You hide the screen with your finger(s) all the time, making selecting something incredibly counterintuitive and non-Apple. It would be "the scroll wheel gone wrong". However, you _could_ make the scroll wheel quite small, and the display wouldn't have to show more than three lines, I guess. Could still do that on a watch.
Click to expand...
Or it could just look like this:

apple_watch.gif


Kap

P.S. What'd be really cool (for me) is if this watch could actually suck the contents off of USB sticks on the go, like this gadget:

http://www.engadget.com/entry/2363715381536783/
 
Wire running from wristwatchpod to earbuds could be a real tangle.

A wireless Flashpod w/remote headset would be cool...
 
What if the scroll wheel was made very small - around an inch in diameter, which could still be easy to wiggle your thumb around, and have it placed near the screen?

The buttons could be like the 3G iPod very easily, and the screen would only need to have minimal whitespace.
 
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