What features would you like to see on the iPod?

jove

Member
Hello,

It seems the most prevalent opinion of the iPod is "Its worth 400 bucks for size, ease, and all that stuff, BUT, its just an MP3 player."

If I wasn't going to be a new Dad on Tuesday, I would go out and buy the world's best MP3 player :) As it is I cannot justify $400 for any MP3 player.

This thread is not necessarily to debate the virtues of the iPod but to identify what features you feel would truly set it above the "But its just an MP3 player."

Here's mine:
I often use my now out-of-style graphite iBook as my household stereo system's MP3 player. Its cool to turn on the boob-tube and have full-screen visuals with the music. The DV iBooks have a three signal analog output compatible with a standard 1/8 inch stereo plug. It would be so cool to have an MP3 player output visuals as well. The iPod could be plugged into any AV system and provide both the audio and video experience of music.
 
First of all,
CONGRATULATIONS :D


Second,
karaoke all the way!

If you could plug it into a monitor or TV, karaoke would be teh thing to implement!
 
testuser:

these are exactly the things I'd like to see on the iPod. A microphone and an audio-in port. And I would consider 400$. I think one of the best features is that you can use the iPod as a firewire harddisk. So why don't think further and use it for recording as well. Would be so handy... wait for iPod2.
 
Would be nice to be able to create playlists without having to plug it in. Don't care if I can't name it - just want to queue up a number of tracks and have it play them all. (Yes, I need an iBook/Powerbook :)

Support for other codecs would be good aswell.

Jim
 
Would be nice. I doubt it has the requisite hardware though :-( (You'd probably need an MMU, and I doubt it has much of one).

Jim
 
An open system architecture. If it would have this, we would soon see nifty little tools like calendars, phone lists etc. I am not talking about a handheld OS, no way, just the ability to display different data. Just imagine if you could sync the iPod with your Outlook contacts and your Outlook calendar events. Navigation would be easy. Also, sound input would be great. This way, it would not "only be a MP3 player" but at least a very small personal data assistant. I don't want a handheld, I have a iPaq for this, but I think this would be great things for people who don't need all the functions of a true organizer but just want to carry around some information. Of course I also don't know if the hardware architecture of the iPod would be in any way able to do this...

...but I am still wondering how Apple got the iPod that cheap. Seriously, tried to buy a 1 inch Microdrive for a PDA lately? IIRC, 1gig drives are still somewhere close to 400 dollars....
 
Originally posted by ulrik
...but I am still wondering how Apple got the iPod that cheap. Seriously, tried to buy a 1 inch Microdrive for a PDA lately? IIRC, 1gig drives are still somewhere close to 400 dollars....

The reason is that it isn't a microdrive. It is a 5 gig PCMCIA hard drive. The retail price is still $499 for it, though, so I imagine Apple is selling it at a loss. Either that or they got a really great deal.
 
The microdrive is much smaller though (and thus more expensive).

Incidentally, I spoke to the people on the smartdisc (? the people who make the firefly, based on the same toshiba 1.8" HD) stand at the London MacExpo - they said 10 and 20Gb versions of the HD were due early next year...

As for PIM functions - you could always record your day's activities as MP3s and use appropriate track/album names ;-)

Jim
 
oh yeah, my day as a rap song...

yo, yo, yo, 8 o' clock get up man, yo,yo,yo time for work man, you crazy m*th*f*ck*r..yo, yo
 
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