Today's iPod rumor: designed using a "none-touch" concept
By Ryan Block 
posted June 15th 2006 7:18AM
posted June 15th 2006 7:18AM
What can we say -- iPod rumors are a hot commodity, and we find it quite tantalizing when the Chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. -- one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world and an Apple contractor on iPod manufacturing -- starts talking about Apple's next player. According to a Bloomberg report, Chairman Terry Gou said, "Apple is about to unveil the next generation of iPod, the best-selling music player in the U.S., using a 'none-touch' concept." Ok, well, how much of that is paraphrased and lost in translation is yet to be seen, but before we take that "none-touch" concept business away and start dissecting it (obviously we're totally hoping it's a brain-interface that doesn't require touching the precious, easily-scratched surface), we'd like to at least hone in on that bit about Apple getting ready to unveil the next iPod shortly. Enjoy, fanboys and haters.
An iSight can lead to gestures and voice command but what is he talking about?
woohoo!
i've been hoping for this news for a month now - my 4th gen ipod broke for the 2nd time - this time out of warranty, and i knew if i bought the current ipod video, a new one would come out a week later!
None touch? - voice activated? whatever it is i hope it's worth waiting for!
None-touch could simply mean that the wheel is mechanical like the early generation iPods.
Yeah, I go with the button theory. Voice activation is to fidly for most consumers and I don't see any other viable input methods that'll run on an iPod processor.
Maybe "non-touch" actually means "touch screen"? Cross fingers! Also I want Engadget Swag Bag (tm) if I'm right!
I'd have to agree with henrik. It could've been lost in translation.
Ryan did say something could have been lost in translation, so maybe non-touch has nothing to do with human-computer interfaces, but rather the synching method... In other words, maybe non-touch means wireless...
maybe it could sense your movements over the ipod, without having to touch the ipod
The screen is not touch sensitive, however as you move you fingers across the LCD a small pop up menu will appear. Small capacitators inbedded behind the screen can detect your fingers direction. So, it's just a non touch/touch screen. Scroll wheel is virtual but you never have to touch the screen if you don't want to. The interface is also changing big time.
Maybe it's motion controlled, like that ps3 controller. You navigate through menus by tilting the device.. that would be rad. And nearly impossible :-P
Touch screen would rock. Me loves my dslite.
A touch screen? Not too smart if you ask me... Unless they get a non-smudging screen, that'll just annoy me. I'll run my finger across it to execute commands, then wipe it off with my shirt to clean off the smudge, which will probably undo my execution... and a vicious cycle starts.
I, for one, am hoping that updates to the next ipod will be more than just gimicky... I can navigate just fine via the click-wheel, I don't need a touch screen, give me something useful.
I agree with Volton... it may have SMS like Apple's portables... and be able to navigate the interface by sudden moves...
we'll never know until Apple comes up with it, though!
It's about time there is an update, i have been on the market for one of these for about a month now. I can't wait to see what they come up with (It better be better battery life because two hours for video is quite frankly a joke). A touch screen sounds excellent.
The problem is you guys always think "inside" the box. Touch screens and optical sensors? Psssh. The next iPod will feature nano-Bluetooth™ receivers injected directly into your cerebrospinal fluid.
Imagine...
No headphones. No physical interface. Instead of silly Nike/Apple technology that syncronizes music to your running, the next iPod will syncronize YOU to the music. White boys everywhere will be able to dance to the beat of music. "Visualizations" will take on a whole new meaning...
Someone's gonna lose a contract now...
you wont even have to hold the new ipod. they will inject the ipod into your brain and enable wireless connection to devices. It runs off a small amount of your energy, so in effect, it never runs out of battery! you just think about the song you want to listen to, and it starts! it automatically connects to wireless devices and hotspots to update your library. Evry song ever created is stored in ur brain.
Maybe its just a new coating....that doesnt get scratched or dirty and is easily cleaned....so they can say you dont touch the ipod, just the coating...
I think everyone has it wrong. The big deal on the top of the front page of the Wall Street Journal was the fact that the Ipod is a big loser for not having WiFi like the new play, the Gremlin (or whatever it is). Non-Touch could simply mean that now you'll be able to control it from a computer on your network, or vice-versa. See, I'm controling my Ipod without touching it. Touch screen is still touching.
It probably was translated wrong and really means that there will be no touchpad -- just the touchscreen that we've all been hearing about.
Someone suggested on another forum that the ipod would not have a headphone jack(bluetooth only) no scroll wheel, virtual scroll functions(non touch screen) No dock connector(would use something called magnetic coil induction through the plastic or metal, like those fancy toothbrushes and razors) finally wireless, but not using bluetooth, but Wireless USB(doesn't this need a built in receiver though?)
>Small capacitators inbedded behind the screen can detect >your fingers direction.
WTF!! Capacitor behind the screen! You don't use capacitor to "detect" fingers! LOL
Morton Salty is pretty much right. It's going to be "like" a touch screen that responds to discrete motions.
If you'll recall, back in April, there were rumors about Apple's troubles in combining a touchscreen display to control the digital clickwheel while overlayed atop high-quality video. (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0604videoipod.html)
Well, by going back to the drawing board, they have retooled the display, as the sensors that detect movement don't have to be as closely integrated within the display. As originally intended, this would have produced approximately the same result as a touchscreen (when you touch it), just with a different underlying sensory mechanism. However, Apple later decided that (with a little more engineering) it works well enough from about an inch away to make the "no-touch" concept part of the featureset.
Morton Salty: If you are right, I'm not buying one. I need a jack or dock connector to plug in my etymotics.
I agree with Morton...
If we are to believe the rumours of a video iPod with the whole front as a screen; you're either going to get a very smudgy screen, or ditch the iPod interface. Seeing as it's mostly the interface that makes an iPod, I'm guessing the virtual scroll wheel on the screen will allow you to 'hover' above it. Much the same way as you can with a Wacom graphic tablet.
Sounds pretty cool, but I think I still prefer a Gigabeat!
Sony's been selling the PS3 in a "none touch" model for months now. Hasn't been doing too well.
No-touch, No-smudge.
Seems pretty apparent to me that Apple would never release that 'everyone-is-talking-about-for-the-last-year wide-screen with virtual scrollwheel on the built-in touchscreen surface iPod', when one would have to actually touch the screen surface, therefor resulting in smudge stains (and other nasty marks) on top of the screen content.
While this sounds intriguing, why oh why can't they put in a fm radio?
Sounds pretty wild!!!
Neal Saferstein
Volton, far from impossible, Samsung have has players on the market for nearly a year with this functionality.
None-touch... Apple and their stupid catch phrases.
I personally have lived without an iPod and have not even the slightest interest in getting one. Im still using a first gen Rio and have simply upgraded my CF cards as time goes on. I dont have to worry about someone stealing it, it's rock solid, and CF is cheap.
So feel free to keep paying a lot of money for a cheap piece of platic (I hear nothing but reports about broken or non-functional iPods). I'll keep sticking with my not-so-trendy MP3 players. Keep upgrading though, I'm sure one of these days I'll find a first or second gen iPod on Ebay for $30 thanks to you guys!
If I had to take a guess, I'd say that it may be something related to theme of the Nike/iPod partnership.
For example, I can change the modes on my polar HRM by moving my wrist swiftly towards the chest strap containing the HR sensor. I assume the watch detects the rapid change in signal strenght from the sensor.
The same type of motion feedback would work great to chanke tracks on an ipod I think. And such a remote sensor already exist with the nike-pod thing, even though being worn in a shoe, it is not well suited for these purposes. And its "no-touch".
Although bluetooth headphones and no jack would seem great, I can't see apple dropping all the current headphone accessories for it. They would lose a lot of cash and no amount of testing would prove it a success until it was released. Maybe they would included bluetooth capability so that it was possible, but also include a headphone jack. If they include bluetooth, i could also see them including multiheadphone support. Perhaps they will also add wifi with an adapter for video. A wifi AV jack that would allow someone to stream from the ipod to a television and use their ipod as a remote. I think the hard drives may also be vastly improved in capacity. There has been enough development of small but large storage capacity harddrives recently that apple could be working on the ultimate one for their player. As for touchscreen, while it seems fun, there would seem to be too many problems for that on even a 5 inch screen. Fingertip sizes obviously vary and there has almost never been a touch screen device that matched the actual area you touched to the on screen area. I would not be surprised if they introduced an upgrade to the ipod line with the similar features to the current generation, and a higher end model that acts more like an origami multimedia.
it's a touch screen covered by a nano-polymer that resists scratches and smudges. that's my guess anyway :-)
Are there any indications about how soon the new iPod will be released?
Is it possible that someone misheard Gou at that shareholder meeting?
I'm guessing he actually said, "Apple is about to unveil the next generation of iPod, the best-selling music player in the U.S., using a 'nunchucks' concept", which would show that Apple has responded to all of those recent iPod-related muggings by developing an all-new device that combines self-defense with bleeding-edge PMP capabilities.
Well... That's one way of solving the scratching problem... albeit expensive.
Maybe it should have been translated Nun-touch. It changes tracks when you pray to the almighty Jobs in the sky.
F that! Its bad enough that my "new" ipod is out dated but now what. I implant this thing in my head and 2 weeks later they tell be i need an upgrade.
PK I hate it when I start reading a comment thinking it's for real, and then it turns into a pathetic attempt at laughs from the Engadget 'cool kids'. I rarely ever read funny jokes in the Engadget comments, however I don't promise to make them either.
They could easily do bluetooth. Seeing as they are already obsessed with using practically the same headphone design for FIVE STINKING YEARS I doubt they're planning on releasing new headphones. However, it's likely that they would include a mini bluetooth adapter with a headphone jack. adapter stays in your shirt pocket without being noticeable, while the 'Pod sits in your back pack or pocket.
Wow, Geordan - didn't mean to upset your comment-reading session with my attempt at levity. Sorry about that - I'll make sure to be more considerate of your humor preferences in the future.
Personally, I consistently find pretty clever and funny comments here at Engadget (and I'm not including mine in that group). If you're looking for serious comments written by 'cool kids' only, might I suggest that you regularly peruse another site or blog?
Or it could refer to a new manufacturing methodology.
Interesting! Tablet PC digitizers do this already -- you can move the mouse pointer/cursor on a Tablet PC by merely "hovering" the pen an inch or so from the screen. (The Microsoft implementation doesn't start "inking" until the pen nib touches the screen, though.) If Apple does this on an iPod, they can make the screen fill up the whole surface, and you never need smudge it with fingerprints.
This is also a natural evolution of the iPod touch-sensitive scrollwheels and button which rely on capacitance. And yet, it's revolutionary.
I'm sure Apple will say a lot about "world's first" this and that when it ships, but keep in mind that the first "non-touch" interface was patented in the year 1928. This device, like the iPod, relied on capacitance, and like the iPod, it played music.
It's called the Theremin.
Apple did buy out a touch Screen technology company a few years ago and have been keeping it secret.
Geordan, PK, this is a gadget blog; no one's cool.
The one thing I hope is improved on the iPod is the scratchability of the screen. I don't care about touchin the screen.
i think he meant numchucks.
Ryan Block said:
"obviously we're totally hoping it's a brain-interface that doesn't require touching the precious, easily-scratched surface"
Couldn't resist making a dig, could you?
as far as I know Hon Hai is the chinese name for Foxconn which would explain a lot
http://www.foxconn.com/about/introduction.asp
engagdget should know that :P
So its not gonna be the touch screen!? Hope they keep the same design if it is gonna be voice activated!! The original design for the touch screen was pretty sweet even if the picture was a fake!!!!!!