Apple's been known to cover all its bases in the patent department, meaning this is certainly no guarantee we'll be seeing light-up
iPods in the near future, but all the same we can't ignore the fact that a patent just popped up that has Apple postulating on backlit click wheels. While having a comet of light following your finger around the wheel is certainly interesting -- if potentially annoying -- things get more intriguing with the possibility of multitouch, but the patent isn't clear enough to tell if that's exactly what Apple is driving at. It's all well and good, but in these heady touchscreen days, are clickwheels slowly going the way of the
dinosaur button?
posted Jan 24th 2008 7:10PM
Follow the finger, now...Pretty, pretty...
Pretty pretty with color-changing, rainbow color cycling trails... Love that... Mmm hmm...
You should CLEAN that finger first
Apple's click wheel is done. It looks hideous on the new nano and it probably won't be on the next generation of ipods.
". Microsoft's profits were up a huge 79 percent against last year to hit $6.48 billion (on record revenues of $16.37 billion),"
http://gizmodo.com/348731/earnings-report-go-ahead-call-microsoft-m
Yet after 3 hours, Engadget still hasn't got around to posting it.
Oh my God shut up. This website is free, you have NO right to complain for it's contents. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Anyways, I find it funny how they have to patent incredibly simple ideas.
Oh please, do you know by fact that they are not posting because they don't want to?
SHUT YOUR PEE HOLE!!
You tell me.
Apple's numbers were posted the minute they were released.
Microsoft's are being suppressed until late tonight like they did during the last quarter.
If you want to pretend that this is just by chance, then you are nuts.
The site may be free, but it does not mean they are free from criticism.
Look's like fred here's got it figured out. Be careful at night, buddy, now that you know the secret blog-tech company mafia deals that go around here.
/sarcasm
If by free you mean that I have to download adverts from AOL's server that take some of my erm, "download credit away" in order to pay for the content I'm presently viewing, yeah sure it's free.
It gets even better when we claim that the site is biased because it generates a shovel-load of hits, filling Warner's pockets.
But as Fred cleverly pointed out: nobody's free (I feel redundant) from criticism.
maybe because no one really cares about microsoft and you fanboys??
@ eddie
um,... I dunno if someone could shut their pee hole easily especially if you were a boy...
@gfunk "Anyways, I find it funny how they have to patent incredibly simple ideas."
Because even if Apple doesn't use it, the company that comes along and does will owe Apple money, duh :P
Patent *APPLICATION*.
I hope it gets denied!
This is Engadget, not Software-Salez-LOLERCAKEZ2000
who needs that when you have a big screen on your zune 80.
kill yourself fanboy
Sorry I have things to live for. I think you are taking the apple vs Ms too seriously, telling someone to take their life, sad, besides I’m waiting on my red zune80 to show up.
... I’ll post a pic with my own custom design on the back.
www.zunecards.net
I'm the last person at the gym who is still using a walkman. But this isn't enough to get me to buy an ipod. If apple hires some half decent customer service I'll bite. I'm an idiot when it comes to computers so I need all the help I can get.
you might be the last person on the PLANET using a walkman.. you mean actual tapes?
lol, your old school
Are you serious? You mean you actually still rewind?
Do you actually still find things to play on it?
do u want some of my mix tapes?
Apple has some really good customer support, i would say one of the best.
I could care less about customer support.
I am glad I am not a complete idiot. I don't EVER call customer support. If something goes wrong and I don't know how to fix it, I look it up on the internet-tubes and figure it out. If it's mechanical, all I have to do is return it or replace it (depending on warranty).
It's not difficult.
An idiot when it comes to computers yet you still manage to post to Engadget! Props to the luddite I say!
Apple actually has one of the best ranked customer service available. The only thing they wont do is appease people who demand insane or irresponsible requests. You throw your laptop/ipod/first-born-child from a moving train and want it replaced sans restocking fee? Sorry buddy. They do what they can as long as it is both reasonable. [br][br]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHbrQqrgVgg
already done,
http://www.ces-show.com/2006/review/sandisk/sandisk_sansa_e260_mp3_player.jpg
um ya... not exactly touch sensitive
I had an E270 once, but it broke in four charges. Returned it, got a new one and it also broke again, but this time on the 'Refresh Database' screen. Returned that and reluctantly bought a 30GB iPod Video.
Alright, I think this is a way to control the volume for the iPod Touch since it doesn't have any real buttons. I've always wished they could do this, and hope it's true.
Finally. Now LSD users won't need another item to experience full-fledged psychedelia, just use the click wheel.
News Flash: Apple patents another idea anyone could have came up with!
You're complaining because they're patenting an idea nobody has tried yet, which has the potential to become a selling point of a new iPod, thus making the patent-holder money over its competition.
Congratulations! You've discovered the purpose of a patent!
Do I care if my Creative Zen Vision:M has a light up scroll pad? No it ads no useful function!
you know, someone was right about you on another news thread. You complain about every Apple posting here on Engadget.
I take it your an anti-Apple fanboy. So the question is are you jealous because you don't have one and want to lash out on Apple?
Forgot: I don't WANT anything Apple makes.
When are we going to have an edit button?
Can't you just ignore the Apple posts??
Mike. Get out. Now.
All you do is complain on the Apple topics, "OHHHH, WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A MICROSOFT POST, WHY DOESN'T ENGADGET LOVE MICROSOFT,". Engadget is a blog and hence has not obligation to fulfill the needs of everybody, especially a person like you who does nothing but kill the day of other readers.
So didnt they then?....Probably because no one else has thought of it. So many haters!
There are seemingly endless posts about Apple on this site if that is all one looks for.
As for me, I come here for the pretty pictures.
On a side note, why are there so damn pictures...
From the Engadget FAQ:
"That said, please keep the discussions civil, polite, and on-topic. Any comment that is off-topic, rude, offensive, or that could be construed as spam will most certainly be deleted. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason."
Just for reference *Cough*
@ your second comment about the Zen Vision M,
I don't like them. They're even fatter than Zunes for the 30GB model.
I'd love a return to the click-wheen on the Touch. It's a nightmare trying to fast forward or rewind podcasts / audiobooks by just a few short minutes. It either takes AGES to find the spot you want witht he >> and
I'd love a return to the click-wheen on the Touch. It's a nightmare trying to fast forward or rewind podcasts / audiobooks by just a few short minutes. It either takes AGES to find the spot you want witht he FF and REW buttons, or it takes huge leaps as I drag the little green dot along the tiny 1 inch bar with my fat half-inch finger.
The click-wheel motion was so much more accurate.
maybe someone will make an app to emulate the regular iPod interface on the touchscreen.
I can see this iPod featured in a revamped E.T. film.
I own a Touch, my daughter has a Nano.
When I use the Nano, I sometimes touch the menus on the screen. The wheel thingie is so indirect an interface now.
Even if future Nanos don't get the full Touch UI, simple menus on a touchable screen is the way to go.
I know eh? it's weird
Some of us like being able to operate a device without having to look at it though.
Nipples?
I take it you've never... "Toyed" with any.
I would be surprised if Apple doesn't move to different variations on the Touch in the next generation. I would more expect to see a Touch Nano and a HD or large SSD Touch over a clickwheel (except for the shuffle maybe).
i think apple first cooked this idea up a while back as a possible dialing interface for the iphone, or at least, the original Purple-1 prototype which was more ipod than phone. look back into news archives before the iphone was officially announced and you'll see this mentioned back then.
personally i would welcome it, i always liked how the buttons on the 3G ipod lit up. i was sad to see them go on the 4Gs.
I have not read the PGPUB but from the figures it looks like Apple should take a look at the original chocolate from LG. The chocolate had lights around the circular touch pad and the lights would light up corresponding to where the user touches. For instance, if the user's finger was at "12-o-clock" then the light on the top of the circular touch pad would light up. While this may not anticipate the content of this patent, it may be relevant to obviousness.
* This is not legal advice.
* I may not know what I am talking about.
* My cat, dog, or other animal walked across the keyboard typing a random series of characters shown above.
PS: It would be sweet if there was a way to change my username.
Click your name. Obvious from there.
How about your email address?
[This comment has been removed by the Church of Scientology] Lulz =P
I have a feeling this is going to be the most "innovative" thing at MacWorld 2009.
This is one of those safe-for-work pictures that looks oh so NSFW.
I don't see the point of this. I can see my finger there. Why do I need a light?
For some reason this patent reminds me of the third generation iPods with the four auxilary buttons.
Those were backlit.
I hope iPods don't go all touch screen. You know how hard it is to flip through songs on a touch screen device while your driving? Impossible without looking at it. Even to just skip to the next song.
Just goes to show you how screwed up our patent system is. Not only are backlit buttons nothing new (Nearly all Creative players), neither is the touch part (I saw some phone that could do it). I don't know what's worse, the fact that software is patentable or the fact that companies roll out patents like this out of fear of patent trolls.
Thousands of years ago, rocks weren't new and the concept of round wasn't new but someone put them together and came up with a wheel. Does every single aspect of an invention really have to be new?
No, but this is in now way deserving of a patent. It's not only obvious, but it's been done before. Our patent system is in dire need of reform. Stupid stuff like this can be patented, and the worst offense, software patents, are so vauge and overreaching you can have twenty different patents on one idea.
what you people are failing to understand, is the wheel is basically a touch pad, and that light isnt a "backlight" its software based, and i have a feeling it just appears for asthetic, like it trails after your finger when you move or go though menus, its not an actual light like everyone is making it out to be
Sort of offtopic, but am I the only one who does not want a touchscreen? I wouldn't want to have to take out my mp3 player every time I wanted to change a track ... Tactility rulesssssss!
I've had almost every iPod there was:
1G, 4G, 5G, Mini, the new shuffle and the iPhone.
I have to admit that the one I love the most just for music is the damned little shuffle. Nothing beats the comfort of simplicity.
The next step is obviously tactile touch screens!
horrible reference to a dinosaur button.
j
http://www.frattoys.com
To me that looks like the song progress indicator on the iPod Touch/iPhone iTunes Music Store.
i think that the click wheel is dead.
i'm 90% sure it'll be in the next gen of ipods, not everyone wants a touch screen.
maybe this is an implementation of the clickwheel into a new touch screen ipod.
going from the Iphone and ipod touch ui to a virtual click wheel would be a step backwards.
maybe this is a virtual clickwheel for a new nano/classic?
remember the early ipod touch mockups? (example)
http://www.bolicious.com/misc/6th_iPod_by_Bo.jpg
something like this virtual clickwheel could fit better on an ipod nano size body and would allow for a larger screen for video playback. it would also show you where you finger has been and which direction it is going.
this is my idea apple!!! (if they haven't come up with it already)
ps- microsoft/vista fanboys: GET A FRIGGIN LIFE! OR, GO START YOUR OWN BLOG, HAVE 4 MEMBERS, AND REFUSE TO POST APPLE REVENUES!
wow- some people have no life
"ps- microsoft/vista fanboys: GET A FRIGGIN LIFE! OR, GO START YOUR OWN BLOG, HAVE 4 MEMBERS, AND REFUSE TO POST APPLE REVENUES!"
Have 4 members, haha.
maybe because no one really cares about microsoft and you fanboys??
This looks cool but will probably reduce battery life. Hope Apple adds an option to disable this light.
I don't want a touchscreen iPod, either. I don't mind a touchscreen on my phone because, for me, a phone is a device that requires visual reference 90% of the time, tactile buttons or not. I use an iPod classic because I'm often listening to my iPod with my hands full and it's a lot easier to click >> by simply feeling my way to the button in my pocket. Unless Apple compromises and mucks up the iPod touch's design with a few tactile buttons, I'll always be using a click-wheel.
Personally, I think the light-up click-wheel is a nice touch. It's a natural aesthetic update for a device that's starting to seem a little dated.
FIG. 116B is this a real picture?
i still do not understand why apple is messing around with all these material features...how about offering me a little voice operation? the ability to just say any letter of the alphabet would be a lot easier then using a scroll wheel (if you have a lot of songs...and i know it has a quick roll feature) AND think about when driving...its hard enough to sift through to your favorite song, why not give me the ability to talk my way through
SILLINESS
Ahhh. So my theory IS correct! There are actually less Apple bashers then you think! They just log on to different accounts!
i still do not understand why apple is messing around with all these material features...how about offering me a little voice operation? the ability to just say any letter of the alphabet would be a lot easier then using a scroll wheel (if you have a lot of songs...and i know it has a quick roll feature) AND think about when driving...its hard enough to sift through to your favorite song, why not give me the ability to talk my way through
SILLINESS
Interesting, it looks like the Classic could be around a little longer. I would think there's still a massive market for the super-massive memory devices like the Classic, even with the touch making it's appearance. Solid memory is going to be more than two steps behind the 1.8 drives for a few years yet.
Think about it: 204ppi screen, maybe a bigger screen by reducing the click wheel's overall size and stretching the screen. Backlit tactile click wheel as in this article, with all the woooshing finger action. Full glass front. Super-massive memory 320gig+.
I think this would revive the wheel for sure, I can see the Keynote now: Introducing the new iPod Classic –Steve takes iPod out of pocket, lights dim to darkness, just see the shape of the iPod on the big screen, the iPods screen ignites with glorious 204ppi clarity , and then, BOOM, the comet like trail of light can be seen tearing round the click wheel, suddenly the finger stops and the light pulsates under it’s position, the finger presses play the light intensifies for a second as the music starts to play, now two fingers touch the wheel and there are two pulsating areas of light, double finger gesture click as the lights join/fade and full track details appear, etc, etc. Nice.
damn I just got one last night, well I guess its going back to the store
the real question is..
how long until rave software comes out for this?
ipod disco
sounds like a waste of battery life, and a waste of company resources to me.
"instead of innovating, lets put lights on it."