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So Cool

nope....I don't buy that

Wooohoooo! I will get it right away!
First to post too! ;o)

BS no nav feedback

what no screen? Even if it only holds 70 songs you wanna have a chance to play them in any order other than alphabetical. I like the concept posted on iPodlounge a few weeks ago. Colour and a screen.

call me skeptical....

nope.. fake.

But I think it is possible that Apple could release a flash based player. I don't think it will be hugely smaller than the Mini, because even though they could make a smaller player, that wouldn't necessarily make it easy to use. I don't hear people complaing about how hard it is to carry around the Mini. Heck, there's an armband that lets you attach it to your arm. That's not small enough?

Looks like an Apple mouse with iPod controls. Now if Apple would only add a couple buttons and a scroll wheel

No display. No way !

My thoughts on this stay the same. The capacity is all about 1,000 songs. That's the minimum I beleive Apple will allow. It's the entry point.

When Flash becomes cheap enough to fit 1,000 songs on, then Apple will make a Flash iPod. It won't be much smaller than the mini, but may well be slimmer and lighter, with greatly extended battery life.

I think that the 4GB iPod mini would not have been made by Apple without being able to get 1,000 songs on it at quality. It needed 128 k AAC. When the gen 1 iPod came out, it was pushed as 1,000 songs in your pocket rather than 5GB (or 4.6GB formatted!).

SO I think this is nonsense. Jobs has repeatedly knocked the 256MB players for not holding enough music. They're selling plenty of the premium 4GB_ iPods, so why would they enter a cheaper market with lower margins ?

Better to be more expensive and something to aspire to.

The design sucks for a small unit. The wheel is in the center which is less than optimum while holding it in one hand. The icons are too large and too high contrast. I think it's a fake.

No way!

No screen?... for a micro 64MB, or 124MB you can get away without a screen. But 512MB or 1GB... forget it.

The soap bar form looks ok, but that firewire plug needs more support.

And finally... the 'click wheel' is a certainty for any iPod.
Scroll thru the songs, select centre button, scroll for volume. This mock up just dosn't add up. No way!

It sucks ass

Looks nice to me. Maybe apples gonna compliment it with a new remote control with a screen that you can purchase seperately and will also work with existing ipods.

Looks like screen will be in the remote control, a la sony, looks cool.

This could be it. As for navigation there is no need for a screen, a simple set of spoken prompts and user feedback with the controls does it all.

This concept is ridiculous. No screen? It's antithetical to the whole iPod experience!

Rather, the concept by Isamu Sanada which was just highlighted over at Cult of Mac blog shows just how ridiculous the MacMind concept is. You have a screen. You have the patented click-wheel, which is an intrinsic part of the iPod brand. And it's still smaller than the mini.

http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/cultofmac/index.blog?entry_id=551420

It's the iPod reduced to the bare minimalist basics. That sounds right.

Quoting Hywel:

SO I think this is nonsense. Jobs has repeatedly knocked the 256MB players for not holding enough music.

I agree with your sentiments, but it's not beyond Jobs to do such things - he denounced the idea of putting the whole computer behind an LCD display during the launch of the iMac G4. Look at the iMac today.

Like any good CEO, Jobs will launch anything he believes makes sense at the time. Like you, I'm not sure a flash iPod such as this makes sense for Apple right now, but his previous comments mean little.

looks like a remote control.

Some of you who claim no way without screen or 1000 song minimum, need to wake up.

Is it just me, or is there no pause button?

whoever mentioned that it would be the smallest mp3 player is way wrong. i've seen players with smaller dimensions than that thing. but i think it would be a good idea for apple to steal another market.

Apple NEEDS an iPod Flash to get people started and in their camp. Like Dell's $499 computers, when they upgrade later they will upgrade to iPods, not WMP.
Don't know if this is real, let's hope it's something that can meet the $99 entry point.

NewType
It's the iPod reduced to the bare minimalist basics. That sounds right.

It's also ugly. Sorry, but no, I hope Apple comes up with something more elegant than this. Thanks for sharing though.

As it is the G4 iMac will always be the leaper (Lisa) in the family. It will never have a cult following like the Cube, it will never have the appeal of the original iMac, and the G5 iMac will quickly out shine it in sales. The G5's design wasn't truly possible, at a price Apple could market at when the G4 was created, that is why Apple didn't release one like it then. Only with time has the technology become available.

phoney baloney. Apple would never design anything like that.

Welcome the iPod Hockey Puck (puke). I like the iPod soap on a rope drawing better.

er.. an obvious move would be to have the clickwheel for volume..which frees up space for a pause/play button and.. well..

no interface? I totally don't get it.why not have absolutely no interface at all on the actual unit and just put all the stuff on the 'remote'...(you know .. the ones that used to come with iPods?)

Then again.. this thing has to be able to select playlists damnit

"looks like a remote control."

Where's the iPod? (Reference to the "Where's the Computer?" iMac)

You put up a fake and as soon as the hits start you shut down the site as if complying with Apple's cease and desist order. Pure showmanship. Is it April 1st?

They may very well be developing a flash based iPod, but that ain't it.

Sorry, this is a fake. Apple is the champ on creating great user interfaces. This doesn't have one.

the ipod wired remote hasn't ben updated since it's creation, this would be so cool if the iPod flash came with a remote that also worked with my other ipod, that displayed what song was playing and other stuff, then when I go jogging I could take the remote out of my other ipod, and plug it into this ipod, chose what songs to take,

OOOOOOOOOO!!!! what if you could connect it right to your other ipod???!!!?? WITH THE CABLE YOU ALLREDY HAVE!!!!!

come on apple, wow us yet again

If Apple were to make a flash widget they would have already. And besides, that's what a mini is for. This is a fake. Not up to Apple standards, anyway.

No WAY! 2.5" x 1.5" x .5"

That's HUGE for a flash player. a whole half inch thick!!! that's twice as thick AND wider than the iPod mini.

That may be an image of the remote if it was scaled down to about .5" x 1".

Nice photoshop work.... NOT!

This is crap - no one will this piece of shit.

I think i will stick with my 40gb Ipod.

That might work as a fancy pillbox that reminds you to take your medication. Obviosly the creator of this photo forgot to take his.

Apple needs a flash iPod about the size of the remote with a small screen that... SYNCS... with your HD-based iPod, no computer needed (and can be used as a remote as well). Then I can use the flash iPod when running and short trips without bringing the larger iPod. And I can sync/manage the iPod flash from my other iPod without a computer. Now that would be cool.

You can tell it's a fake for the following 3 reasons:
1) The cable has an apple on it. From what I recall, Apple only puts usage icons on their cables and ports (the power adapter being an exception). It doesn't help the interface if the user doesn't know what kind of cable they have.
2) The shape is all wrong. Apple goes by visual brand recognition. Since the flash iPod is not a new "flagship" product, basic marketing requires you shape the thing with similar key factors as the basic iPod. Hence the desire for all thos cheap iPod clones copying the look and feel.
3) Can you say BATTERY SIZE? Given the proportions of the artifacts, there is no way you could fit a decent battery in that form factor. A conventional battery wouldn't fit in the rounded portion of the casing, so the size requirement becomes smaller. Don't forget you also need space for the flash device and the ports to plug in the earphones and firewire cable. Not to mention the controllers for these.

so ugly

I'm betting that if they ever do release an iPod flash, they'll be in the same colors as the mini, not white like the big guys.

Maybe it's a remote for FF-Next Song / RW-Previous Song and Volume of iTunes through Airport Express. While the looks are okay, the functionality as a Music Jukebox/iPod by itself is pretty clumsy.

That is not it, at all, at least I strongly hope not.

I agree with Twilight, they're not making an iPod flash to be smaller, just cheaper. With out a screen how can you select songs, especially on the 1 gig models?

It may not even be smaller than a mini, just hold less and cost less.

Cost is the thing here, not size.

RE:CDN Guy

Are you referring to this:

http://gallery.ipodlounge.com/ipod/displayimage.php?album=4&pos=8

I like that concept

HIGHLY DOUBTFUL

coolkamio,

That picture has been pulled off of the website. Sorry.

** ATTENTION **

The artist of this drawing was on "The Screen Savers" tonight. He explained that this drawing is fake, but it is based on details he has received from his source as Apple.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this already, check out G4 Tech TV for more details on when this interview will repeat.

put your email, i'll send you the image..

Or you could see the image if you access to the gallery of ipod concepts at ipodlounge..
It seems that direct link does not work

You've got to be kidding? Right?

"along with some specs and a mock-up of what's going to look like." MOCK UP. Those of you who screamed "Fake!" were right. Obviously.

It looks like one of those Life Alert badges that old people use to call for help.

that thing sucks, i wipe my ass with that user interface

the reasons to adopt flash memory are to extend battery life, and to lower costs, but not to put out a crap product

ive got faith in apple not to make such a mistake