With rumours flying left, right and centre that a new iPod will be announced on Wednesday, 5th September, Mac fans are getting pretty excited. For me, I have split feelings about this.
Part of me wants things to stay as they are. Not only does it give me an excuse to buy an iPhone when they hit the UK, but why fix something that isn't broken. The current iPod works flawlessly, has a good battery life, does what it was designed for very well (music) and has a few other abilities to add value (movies, games etc). If Apple launch a new device, similar to the iPhone (sans Phone) then that will disgruntle a lot of iPhone owners and will surely confuse their market. That is unless they make it a very different affair.
The other part of me really wants this new device. I do not need a new phone, so could give the iPhone a miss. What I do keep looking at is the Archos line-up. With their larger screens, sleek silver looks, touch screen and wi-fi for internet access. If Apple could update the iPod with these features and introduce some streaming ability and maybe syncing over wi-fi, then that would be real cool. One less chore for me to do (docking my iPod) is a must have, albeit a lazy one. So when Wednesday the 5th comes, let's hope we get some things off our wish list, here is mine;
- 4.5-inch widescreen touch sensitive TFT
- Different, but complimenting design to the iPhone
- Wi-fi connectivity
- Streaming from YouTube
- Syncing over wi-fi connection
- Safari internet browser
- Bluetooth (supporting A2DP) for cool heaphones
- 16GB or 32GB flash versions
- 3 Megapixel Camera (maybe, maybe not)
- OS X to retain the click wheel, albeit virtual