“It’s good to wait in front of Moscone Center, here in San Francisco, two days before Steve Jobs’ keynote. [Sometimes one can] obtain a true scoop… Some of the crew that are in charge to put the billboards inside the windows of Moscone Center (where Steve Jobs’ opening keynote will take place on Tuesday) didn’t take the same attention and let our staff to have a short peek of some mega-posters… [So what did we see? How about a] new adverstising photo that show[s] the brand new iPod. A special one, because it will be narrower and probably without a large display,” Fabio M. Zambelli reports for MacityNet, an Italian Mac site.
MacityNet’s website shows the photos of the large billboards with “Life is Random” written in large black letters that they’ve taken from outside the Moscone Center. “The others we have taken, from inside, are not available because of an explicit request from the staff working on the site,” Zambelli reports. “In the past weeks many sources talked about a flash based iPod. We have something more real to offer: a slogan that came with the billboard: ‘240 songs,’ that means around 1 GB of memory. Flash or disk based? Probably flash, solid state, of course. We cannot show the images of the new iPod because we were forced to delete them from our cameras, but we can describe it. It is without any screen (that’s maybe because the slogan is ‘Life is random!’), small, with a shape more vertical than the other iPod. The color is white, and it seems like a small remote control that fits confortably in a single hand.
Full article, with the billboard photos, here.
MacDailyNews Take: iPod micro? That name sounds familiar for some reason.
Remember that bits and snippets do not make the full story. The word “Life” in “Life is random” could refer to iLife or something else completely, after all, the only thing accompanying that slogan on those billboards where arrows, not pictures of any product. As for the ‘iPod micro,’ if that’s what its name will be, if it exists at all, we’re sure that SteveJack will want credit for getting the name right first, but remember that there are RUMORED to be TWO versions (a 1GB and a 2GB) of ‘iPod micros’ at debut, so more surprises are in store for tomorrow’s keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
RUMOR: Apple ‘iPod flash’ to come in $149 1GB and $199 2GB versions – January 06, 2005
Apple Computer’s rumored ‘iPod micro’ could be used to boost Mac market share – October 01, 2004
Can’t get to the site to read the article. Troppo trafico, forse?
Got it. Looks like we may finally get a two-button device from Apple. Does it double as a mouse?
maybe i’ll finally be able to afford an MP3 player now. woohoo.
“forced to delete the photos”?
Someone needs to be reminded that’s illegal. As soon as you take a photo, it is your property and protected by copyright (yes, even if it’s a picture of someone else’s copyrighted poster). What you do with it, however (i.e. profiting from it as opposed to editorial use) may make a difference.
pictures of a guy trying to hang a banner is confirmation?
and they were forced to delete the images from their camera? who by?
if im outdoors taking pictures of a building and i’m told to delete pictures from my camera i dont think i would at all! – unless i was under threat of imprisonment or such like!
has everybody gone mad?! wait one more day and we’ll all know for sure!
“if im outdoors taking pictures of a building and i’m told to delete pictures from my camera i dont think i would at all! – unless i was under threat of imprisonment or such like!”
The picture that they were asked to delete were taken inside. id you read the article at all?
never been to walmart? manager told me to give up the film or he’d call the police. happy thanksgiving!
Being “forced” to remove a file isn’t necessarily a physical thing. Apple reps could easily have said, “Erase the images or hand over your Expo badges!” Just as the photographer has the right to keep the photos, Apple has the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. All Apple has to do is refund any fees. Does the photographer and his employer want to be black-listed by Apple and be banned from all future Mac events and announcements? Probably not, so Apple “forced” them (via threats) to remove the images.
Also, any images taken within the Center can be restricted being that it is private property, just as you are not allowed (and can be arrested for) taking images of a store’s displays. Other such similar restrictions apply such as no photography in art museums, so this really isn’t new or unconstitutional.
I support Apple 100% for this. Apple has long been seen as a technology leader with industry-shaking announcements. No serious supporter of Apple would steal their thunder. In a world of sudden tragic events, it is nice to have a sudden blast of good news every now and then. Helping Apple create a huge bang is much more admirable than being a lame prick that ruins a party.
quoted from macitynet:
“Those are the photos we have taken from outside the Moscone Center. The others we have taken, from inside, are not available because of an explicit request from the staff working on the site.”
the guy says the photos are “not available”, maybe he’s not posting them. What would you have done if you were working there? Just opened the door and let anyone in?
Also the guy took some pictures while he was inside the hall (for whatever reason), so it is my understanding that he should have behaved as a “guest” should, shouldn’t he?
I can’t believe Chiat Day/Apple would use the slogan “Life Is Random!” in conjunction with the word iLife such as “iLife – Life is random!” Poor copy writing to say the least. If is true, then look for a priced of $129.
We’ll know soon enough what this is all about.
“some of the “billboard” crew let our staff have a short peek of some mega-posters.”
I wonder if the staff of MacityNet let the “billboard” crew have a short peek of their mega…to get the photos.
It seems obvious that the “life is random” thing may be having to do with the player not having a screen. Maybe it only plays in random mode too. If so it would be a funky idea but I wonder if it will sell.
We’ll all find out in a little over 24 hours anyway. But a flash player with no display would be a bit quirky to say the least. I have my doubts that’s what this is going to be, but like I said, we’ll find out soon enough anyway…
Look at the ‘arrows’ in the banner. They look the same as the ones in the shuffle button in itunes.
Regardless of what it is, tomorrow is going to be a good day. This will be the first January ever to feel like Christmas.
Life is random. Your music shouldn’t be.
“life is random” doesn’t fit with “the computer for the rest of us”. Nobody wan’t to think that their life is just a bunch of random events.
Sounds like an insurance slogan to me.
I sure hope everybody is not disappointed tomorrow.
This sounds like a profit driven product. No screen, and no control, but a fancy slogan.
Great idea! Next we’ll have random word processor. Microsoft already has a random computer that starts whenever it feels like it.
putting the phototakers logo all over the photos does not help the viewing one bit…
This post is random.
“Life is random” refers to the random play feature of the iPod.
Thanks to smart playlists.. of course, this is a perfectly designed product.. good job apple. I can go forward and back, and of course all you have to do is set your favorite playlists to (max 200) or sth and you’re good to go
That “vertical” shape just under the slogan is CLEARLY a reflection of one of the white vertical pillars outside the building…
The slogan for the iPod flash (aka Shuffle) is: “240 songs a million ways”.
If you were asked to delete the images, just go to versiontracker.com and download one of the many image recovery programs and just post the images, what a scoop that would be.
Or perhaps the truth. Either the images don’t exist or fear prevents their posting.