[t6glen]

Does anyone have any information when the 3rd generation ipod touch will be introduced.

[Chris Breen]

No one but Apple knows for sure. But it's Apple's habit to announce new iPods in the fall in anticipation of the holiday shopping season.

[t6glen]

Thanks very much for the info.

[smax013]

t6glen said:

Does anyone have any information when the 3rd generation ipod touch will be introduced.

Sometime in the future.

:D

That is about the most "solid" answer you are going to get. Anything beyond that is pure speculation. Of course, "educated" speculation would suggest that it would likely be sometime in the Fall as that is typically when Apple introduces "updates" to the iPod line...just in time to rake in the big bucks from the holiday season. But, there is no guarantee that will always happen.

[Chris Breen]

smax013 said:

>But, there is no guarantee that will always happen.

Nor that the sun will come up tomorrow, but, like that sun coming up, new iPods in the fall is a pretty safe bet.

[smax013]

Chris Breen said:

Nor that the sun will come up tomorrow, but, like that sun coming up, new iPods in the fall is a pretty safe bet.

True...but the sun is not controlled by a human (or humans) that could decide something different (although some might claim that sun raises and lowers at Steve Jobs command).

I have little doubt that Apple will update the iPod line in the Fall. I have more doubt that will include the iPod Touch...Apple could update everything but the Touch.

Personally, I would love to see Apple finally get smart and do a hard drive based version of the Touch. It is has never made sense to me to have the more video "friendly" device (i.e. bigger screen) be based on flash memory resulting in lower over all capacity while the more audio "friendly" device (i.e. smaller screen) is based upon hard drive based system. Yes, my 2nd Gen iPod Touch is nice and thin and sexy...but I would not mind it being thicker in order to get 120 GB or more of space. In many ways, Apple would be smart to dump the iPod Classic and replace it with a hard drive version of the Touch. The only thing that would be bad about that is that in some aspects the "traditional" iPod interface is still superior than the touch screen interface (not all aspects or even most aspects...but there are still somethings that are easier to do with the traditional iPod interface).

The point is that I would certainly likely bet money on Apple updating the iPod Touch in the Fall...but I would DEFINITELY bet money (and WAY more of it) on the sun rising each morning between now and the end of the year. In other words, the sun rising each morning is WAY more of a safe bet than Apple updating the iPod Touch even if betting on Apple to update it is rather safe.

[Chris Breen]

smax013 said:

> I have little doubt that Apple will update the iPod line in the Fall. I have more doubt that will include the iPod Touch...Apple could update everything but the Touch.

I understand your reasons for suggesting this, but we disagree. The iPod models that are HOT, HOT, HOT are the nano and touch. Apple can't let either of them sit for a year if only for the reason that they look "old" if they do. And if it's not going to let it sit for a year, it will certainly update it before the holidays when people are going to be most tempted to purchase one. And we don't need a lot to make that "new" touch. Put a camera on it that shoots video, bump up the capacity, and you're good to go.

And I think the hard drive argument is a step backwards. The minute Apple feels like flash capacity is high enough for the right price, out goes the Classic as we know it. Since the nano, Apple has been moving toward solid state memory, not away from it. And it's shown it's not afraid to cut capacity (witness the death of the 160GB Classic) because Apple's likely determined that carrying all your media with you is not of interest to the iPod's target audience. So get the iPod touch to 64GB and I think we lose the Classic.

So, if I were a betting man, I'd put everything on a nano and iPod touch update. Maybe a little love for the shuffle but it's fairly new still. Death to the Classic? If not this year, then the next.

[smax013]

[quote name='Chris Breen']
>

smax013 said:

> I have little doubt that Apple will update the iPod line in the Fall. I have more doubt that will include the iPod Touch...Apple could update everything but the Touch.

I understand your reasons for suggesting this, but we disagree. The iPod models that are HOT, HOT, HOT are the nano and touch. Apple can't let either of them sit for a year if only for the reason that they look "old" if they do. And if it's not going to let it sit for a year, it will certainly update it before the holidays when people are going to be most tempted to purchase one. And we don't need a lot to make that "new" touch. Put a camera on it that shoots video, bump up the capacity, and you're good to go.

Oh, I fully expect them to update the Touch...more just pointing out that an iPod update does not necessarily mean an update to all models of the iPod line (including the Touch). I would be extremely surprised if they did not at least bump the Touch to 64 GB (considering that 64 GB flash drives are now "main stream" and 128 GB flash drives are just starting to come out...just got a 64 GB one myself, although it is a big honker of a flash drive, especially compared to my 8 GB).

Not sure about the camera though. I can see the demand for it, but on the other hand, Apple could view it as something that would help the iPod Touch cannibalize sales of the iPhone...the camera and the phone function are the two main differences between the iPhone and the iPod Touch in addition to GPS.

I would bet more on going to 802.11n for WiFi assuming there are chipsets that work size-wise and power-wise. Or maybe a built in microphone, but that presents its own set of "cannibalization" worries (i.e. people using a Touch with Skype or the likes...not that they cannot do that now...but they have to get something "extra" to do it). Maybe GPS...but you have some of the same worries as the camera. I supposed they could go to an OLED screen like the Zune HD. Or maybe drop in a faster processor (i.e. similar upgrade to the iPhone 3GS).

End result is that I am sure they will upgrade the Touch (at least bump the capacity)...but not nearly as I am sure that the sun will rise tomorrow. :)

Quote

And I think the hard drive argument is a step backwards. The minute Apple feels like flash capacity is high enough for the right price, out goes the Classic as we know it. Since the nano, Apple has been moving toward solid state memory, not away from it. And it's shown it's not afraid to cut capacity (witness the death of the 160GB Classic) because Apple's likely determined that carrying all your media with you is not of interest to the iPod's target audience. So get the iPod touch to 64GB and I think we lose the Classic.

Depends on which target audience you are considering. Personally, I thought the dropping of the 160 GB iPod Classic was dumb on Apple's part. While most people do not need or want that kind of capacity, there is a market segment that wants as much storage as possible. Thus, while a 64 GB iPod Touch would be a big improvement over the original 16 GB max (I did not seriously consider getting a Touch until it went to 32 GB last year), it still does not compare to the capacity of an iPod Classic, even with Apple cutting it to 120 GB. Heck, even my 80 GB 5.5 Gen iPod still WAY out does my 32 GB Touch in capacity.

And that does not even get into the issue of "disk mode" (I assume the iPod Classic can still do that while the iPhone and iPod Touch cannot). With disk mode, I can use my 80 GB iPod as more than just a media player. Yes, you can do wireless syncs through some applications to put files on a Touch and iPhone, but still not nearly as nice or as fast as disk mode with a sync cable.

Quote

So, if I were a betting man, I'd put everything on a nano and iPod touch update. Maybe a little love for the shuffle but it's fairly new still. Death to the Classic? If not this year, then the next.

Considering Apple's direction to more "form over function" in recent years, I would not be surprised to see them kill the Classic. It is not nearly as small and sexy as a Shuffle, Touch or Nano, so they likely do not like it. But, it is still a functional device that some do like...just likely not enough for Apple to worry about pissing them off (much like did not worry about pissing off the less than 10% of 15" MacBook Pro uses who used and liked the ExpressCard or the whatever percentage of people who liked matte screens over glossy screens).

[t6glen]

It would be nice too if the 3rd generation Touch would have an anti smudging screen . I believe the Iphone 3Gs has this feature now. What about a slightly larger screen?

[smax013]

t6glen said:

It would be nice too if the 3rd generation Touch would have an anti smudging screen . I believe the Iphone 3Gs has this feature now.

What?!? You do not enjoy that massive finger print/smudge right in the middle of the movie screen? ;)

Do not know if the iPhone 3GS has such a screen or not...have not "layed hands on" yet.

Quote

What about a slightly larger screen?

In some regards it would be nice, but in others not so much. It would be nice when trying to watch a movie or other video...but you make it harder to carry around in a pocket or some such.