[Eug]

I'm selling my iPod. I want more. (I'll use my iPod mini for the time being.)

However, I don't want the current iPhone. It's moot anyway, since I'm not in the US (and don't want a 2-year contract either).

I wish Apple would release a widescreen video iPod already. It's been a long time coming. It'd be cool with the WiFi and PDA-like features utilizing a touch screen, but not a requirement, especially if I could get one for US$249.

And don't tell me the iPhone IS the widescreen video iPod, cuz it isn't. Not when it costs $600 or 8 GB anyway.

Here's hoping for an August release. BTW, it's been 39 weeks since the last significant iPod update.

[L'enfanTerrible]

Releasing a device competitive to the iPhone would be risky for Apple, as it may slow their sales of the phone.

But how could they go any other way? the iPhone breaks the mold for personal device. It makes everything else, including the iPods seem archaic. IMO, the widescreen form-factor, while great for movies, is all about the user-interface.

The movies are an added bonus, but I would never buy a widescreen iPod-video unless it had WiFi and e-mail. I might have before I'd heard of the iPhone, but not now. And I haven't even seen one yet!

I'm really excited to see what Apple is working on during the next 6 months to a year, and I wish they would hurry up.

[Bunit]

Steve Jobs recently has said two things that allows me to think it's coming. First he said they were working on OS X iPods. Second he said that he'd rather it be another Apple product taking sales away from another Apple product.

[vertigociel]

Originally Posted by L'enfanTerrible 

Releasing a device competitive to the iPhone would be risky for Apple, as it may slow their sales of the phone.

A widescreen iPod would not cannibalize iPhone sales.

The iPhone is a $500-$600 dollar convergence device aimed at that person who already has a smartphone/PDA and an iPod. It's designed to allow you to connect with friends, colleagues, etc, while providing some media entertainment as well.

A true widescreen iPod (i.e. iPhone - phone - internet + hard drive) would be a $300-$400 chiefly multimedia device, aimed at people who want a device for music and media explicitly. The iPhone is not a serious music device - it can't hold most people's music collection (especially if you want to store movies and e-mail on there as well), and requires another several hundred dollars for a service plan.

Most iPod owners (especially in the high school and college demographics, where iPod ownership is at saturation levels) don't have a real need for the phone and internet features. Sure, they'd all like an iPhone, but most of them won't splurge for it.

A true widescreen iPod is the logical next step, especially given the iPhone's rather meager storage capacity. Also, Steve tantalizingly mentioned that the OS X team is developing OS X for "some iPods we're working on" in the internal SteveNote on Thursday. I'll be surprised if there isn't one by holiday shopping season. Bring it on, I say!

[Parky]

I would just like the exact same form factor and features except without the phone.

So :- iPod, Wireless Internet (via WiFi), Calendar, Email (Via WiFi), Google Maps (Via WiFi), etc, etc.

Just remove the phone bit, it will save battery power, and perhaps leave enough space for an 80GB drive.

Ian

[Andhee]

I'm thinking theyll make something which makes you want both the iphone and the ipod haha. They wont simply have the same as the iphone but with no phone, because that would be completely pointless. Okay wifi is okay but what is the point on an mp3 player? Unless theyre going to step it up a bit so you can download music off itunes or whatever from it. camera not needed either.

I'm all for a widescreen iPod though!!

[sanford]

Originally Posted by Parky 

I would just like the exact same form factor and features except without the phone.

So :- iPod, Wireless Internet (via WiFi), Calendar, Email (Via WiFi), Google Maps (Via WiFi), etc, etc.

Just remove the phone bit, it will save battery power, and perhaps leave enough space for an 80GB drive.

Ian

Yes. And I think there's a huge market for this, greater than the iPhone market. A full-featured iPod in a couple of large storage capacities with some Wi-Fi handheld datebook/computer features. 8 GB is actually plenty for a lot of people's music, but when you throw movies and television programs in there even the modest music collector needs 20 GB to comfortably what they want.

Someone mentioned cannibalizing iPhone sales. Sure you wouldn't want to release these two devices the same month, but otherwise, you already have a lot of people in phone contracts with other carriers who will never pay $200 to cancel their contract -- or keep paying the old phone contract -- to buy an iPhone. You could sell them that iPod, but by the time their phone contracts expires the iPhone hype will have died down enough they probably won't run out and buy an iPhone even if they wanted one in the first place; they'll consider all options, once of which will to be contract-free, which is a nice feeling.

You also have a large group who will tie a *phone* to a single carrier on a contract, but not an entire iPod and mobile computer and all its features to maintenance of that contract. A $500 or $600 multi-function device that gets bricked if you legitimately cancel the phone service? Please.

And then there are people who will buy every new model of iPod but choose not to carry a mobile phone, or because they have children or other responsibility to be in touch in emergencies only they'll carry the cheapest possible phone on a rock-bottom rate plan.

Finally, convergence is not all it's cracked up to be, and it's sort of founded on a false concept. Convergence seems to be based on the idea, I used to never have to carry all this stuff around, now I have to carry an iPod, a phone, a mobile computer or datebook, maybe a laptop for more robust work; I want to go back to carrying maybe one device that meets all my contemporary needs. Go back? When did we carry one thing? Ever look in a woman's purse? Photographers carry many pounds of equipment. Artists, complete kits. Even writers, notebooks, reference books, tape recorders, pens, perhaps a portable typewriter then, a laptop now. We've always towed around a dozen bits. What's wrong with carrying several things that each of them do one or two things well? From what I've read and seen the iPhone is a great iPod, a very nice handheld computer with a great interface, and a so-so phone. How much you want bet you're going to see a bunch of iPhone owners carrying around their large capacity iPods to have access to more music, their Mac laptops to have full-fledged computers *and* their iPhones. You haven't converged anything, you've just replaced your existing mobile phone. Convergence is a myth. Humans drag around junk. I think we we like to. I think we like to pick and choose between what we think is best or most suitable and haul that around with us along without our other favorites.

I'm not really into mobile phones, but carry one because of our kids. I'd gladly carry a small phone that makes phone calls well and about which I have service choice, a great full capacity iPod, and an Apple mobile (Wi-Fi based) Internet device/handheld computer, all separate, if I need those things. Sure you could combine the iPod and the mobile computer, but I wouldn't insist on it. Frankly, I think a full-featured iPod and a full-featured MacBook is a better deal than an iPhone, as you aren't making concessions on either device. Really, how big is a MacBook if you really need a mobile computer? There's a niche that needs mobile e-mail, certainly. But *need*, that's a small niche. Certainly nobody *needs* pocket YouTube. Cute, but hardly necessary, especially if you have an iPod full of movies and TV shows -- and on the iPod you can even output those to a TV. The iPhone screen may beat the video iPod screen by a bit, but my PSP screen beats them all and I wouldn't want to a movie on it. These things are too small for watching movies. There are just some things about humans that will not change because of our physiology and one of these is being able to watch a film on a large enough screen to enjoy it.

So if I know all this I'm sure Apple knows all this. They'll soon release an iPod with a lot of the iPhone features for people who don't want an iPhone or the concessions, like contracts, for which it asks. You'll have iPod owners and iPhone owners, and gadget junkies who own both. Sales on both devices will be good or great.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Bunit 

Steve Jobs recently has said two things that allows me to think it's coming. First he said they were working on OS X iPods. Second he said that he'd rather it be another Apple product taking sales away from another Apple product.

Source?

I'm betting that if there is an OS X iPod in the works, we won't see it for at least a year.

[ajprice]

If they do make the next iPod an iPhone without the phone, a good option would be something like a Blueye bluetooth remote - Link. Not sure if this would need a new version or firmware update to work with an OS X iPod, but it should be possible to make something like it work.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally Posted by Parky 

I would just like the exact same form factor and features except without the phone.

So :- iPod, Wireless Internet (via WiFi), Calendar, Email (Via WiFi), Google Maps (Via WiFi), etc, etc.

Just remove the phone bit, it will save battery power, and perhaps leave enough space for an 80GB drive.

Ian

Doubtful IMO.

A wide-screen, touch-screen iPod (i.e. iPhone without the "phone") will likely NOT have wireless internet, calendar, email, Google maps, etc. Expect the same or similar form factor as the iPhone with just the iPod functionality and larger hard drives. There's no reason for an iPod to have email, Safari, Google Maps, etc. and such a device would cannibalize iPhone sales too much.

[Big Mac]

I agree Mrjingles. Apple has a very clear definition of what the iPod is and isn't. It's an AV player. The iPhone also defines it narrowly as such, and that's just not going to change.

[Eug]

Yeah, I agree that a new widescreen iPod wouldn't necessarily have WiFi or Safari. It'd be nice, but it'd be a definite added cost for that, and probably too difficult to make for maximum profit $249-299 (esp. with the state of the US dollar these days).

I don't know how it'd be controlled though. Would it still require that touch screen? If it did, then I'd like to see expanded Address Book and iCal functionality. That, with 30-40 GB, would be the perfect iPod for me.

[hojo]

Yeah...that would be a tricky marketing plan. I don't want an iPhone. I need a business phone. OTOH, I do need a music player and video device, and it it were also a PDA with wifi capability, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

I suspect, however, that that will be a while in coming. At least until they're done rolling out the iPhone worldwide. Such an expanded-capability iPod with wifi would certainly cannabalize iPhone sales. OTOH, it definitely would also open a big market segment - those who can't or won't get involved with AT&T. And in the US, that is a BIG market segment.

[Atheist]

One point that hasn't been made here is the fact that a new iPod will immediately be available worldwide whereas it's going to take YEARS for the iPhone to be available everywhere. Here in the Caribbean we probably won't see the iPhone until 2009 if we're lucky. I think the iPhone and iPod are distinct enough products as to not cannibalize each others sales.

I certainly hope we get a new iPhone-like iPod by the end of the year!

[Eug]

August/September would be perfect timing for a new iPod. The current iPod is already 39 weeks old, and a new iPod soon would capture the back-to-school crowd.

Sure, some iPhone sales would be lost, but the market for an under $300 iPod way larger than a $600 iPhone crippled (in some ways) with regards with iPod features.

Furthermore, an August/September release would give Apple/AT&T ample time to lock a whole bunch of people down to AT&T's 2-year contracts. I suspect if Apple's manufacturing is in full swing, there will be enough iPhones sold by the end of July to satisfy the initial pent up demand.

Originally Posted by Atheist 

One point that hasn't been made here is the fact that a new iPod will immediately be available worldwide whereas it's going to take YEARS for the iPhone to be available everywhere. Here in the Caribbean we probably won't see the iPhone until 2009 if we're lucky.

Good point. Rogers in Canada has stated that they have not moved very far in terms of iPhone negotiations with Apple. Thus, we KNOW it will be a very long time before we get it here. BTW, one interesting thing to note is that Rogers has a big push for UMTS and HSPDA right now. The iPhone has neither, and I'm not sure how much they want to upgrade EDGE, considering that they are already rolling out its replacement. However, even if they're perfectly happy to further upgrade their EDGE service dramatically (in terms of data speeds), that's besides the point. As you said, it will be some time before the iPhone comes here (in whatever form it may be, whether it'd be 2.5G EDGE or 3G UMTS/HSPDA), whereas a new iPod would be worldwide immediately. HUGE HUGE MARKET, esp. at the <$300 price point.

[sanford]

Originally Posted by Eug 

August/September would be perfect timing for a new iPod. The current iPod is already 39 weeks old, and a new iPod soon would capture the back-to-school crowd.

Sure, some iPhone sales would be lost, but the market for an under $300 iPod way larger than a $600 iPhone crippled (in some ways) with regards with iPod features.

I think an iPhone-like iPod would do all the current iPod stuff and the iPhone stuff -- multi-touch interface, larger screen, cover-flow, photo viewing features, etc. -- with the iPhone's calendar and address book or very similar, with much higher capacity storage but with no camera and no Internet or network features at all whatsoever. That I could see by autumn, and that would be a clear line between product categories. iPhone = communication; iPod = no communication. Pick your preference or buy both if you need both.

[icruise]

Originally Posted by sanford 

A $500 or $600 multi-function device that gets bricked if you legitimately cancel the phone service? Please..

I think you're referring to the reports that you can't use the iPhone even as an iPod without activating it first, but I don't think we have any indication that the device will be useless if you cancel later on.

[liquidsilver6840]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

One point that hasn't been made here is the fact that a new iPod will immediately be available worldwide whereas it's going to take YEARS for the iPhone to be available everywhere. Here in the Caribbean we probably won't see the iPhone until 2009 if we're lucky. I think the iPhone and iPod are distinct enough products as to not cannibalize each others sales.

I certainly hope we get a new iPhone-like iPod by the end of the year!

I think that if Apple releases a carrier-free iPhone, people could activate it worldwide, including the Caribbean. Although, I dunno how carriers down here would handle the data plans and all that. Here in Dominican Republic, data plans suck!

[Dakarʒ]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

I agree Mrjingles. Apple has a very clear definition of what the iPod is and isn't. It's an AV player. The iPhone also defines it narrowly as such, and that's just not going to change.

So what is an OS X iPod going to do that a regular iPod doesn't? It's bound to have a few iPhone like features.