[DominikHoffmann]

Having been an iPod (3G 20 GB) user for less than a month I am really not to knowledgeable about them. For example, I don't actually understand what the big deal is with the click wheel on the 4G iPods. However, I do understand that they are equipped with a shuffle capability and saw something at Macworld magazine's site today that describes what happens when the earphones are pulled out while music is playing.

These seem like pure software features, although in the latter case the 4G's revised architecture might come into play. If they are pure software features, is there a reason why Apple wouldn't put those into the older iPods, via a software update, other than seeking an incentive for people to upgrade?

Dominik Hoffmann

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by DominikHoffmann:
If they are pure software features, is there a reason why Apple wouldn't put those into the older iPods, via a software update, other than seeking an incentive for people to upgrade?

To make the new iPods look more like a generation 4 rather than a generation 3.5

[azdude]

Originally posted by DominikHoffmann:
Having been an iPod (3G 20 GB) user for less than a month I am really not to knowledgeable about them. For example, I don't actually understand what the big deal is with the click wheel on the 4G iPods. However, I do understand that they are equipped with a shuffle capability and saw something at Macworld magazine's site today that describes what happens when the earphones are pulled out while music is playing.

These seem like pure software features, although in the latter case the 4G's revised architecture might come into play. If they are pure software features, is there a reason why Apple wouldn't put those into the older iPods, via a software update, other than seeking an incentive for people to upgrade?

Dominik Hoffmann

TIME magazine has hinted that the 4G iPods are a ground-up hardware rebuild of the 3G, and that new, unannounced features may be hidden in the firmware, or are planned to be added later (much like the media reader/voice recorder functionality was with the 3G). In that case, it may be a hardware incompatibility problem between the firmware of 3G and 4G iPods.

My opinion, and much more likely? They want to sell 4G iPods. You don't do that by turning a 3G into a 4G, effectively.