So, iLounge has a hot tip on dimensions for the
hotly-rumored, upcoming iPod nano and iPod touch refreshes. The diagrams appear to the
type of thing provided to case manufacturers so they launch their player-hugging wares on day one, but could just as easily be faked, so we'll take 'em with a grain of salt. Of note, the new fourth-gen iPod nano has supposedly slimmed down to a mere 6.08mm thick, compared to the 2nd gen's 6.5mm, while the second-gen iPod touch got all curvy on us like big brother 3G, and similarly adds thickness: 8.4mm thick, instead of 8mm on the original. More exciting than the design tweak is the addition of volume control buttons to the side of the iPod touch, though the headphone port has stuck to the base of the device. Hopefully we'll know more soon, the mock-suspense is just killing us.
Update: A couple have people have pointed out that
XSKN has also made a nano 4G case to these dimensions. Hooray for them!
posted Sep 3rd 2008 12:01PM
Any reason why they went back to the tall nano?
Because the current one sucks.
No I would like to know too. Currently I like the "fattie" much better. The new nano is nearly as tall as iPod touch, which isn't cool, but it has a much begger screen, which indeed is cool.
BTW I miss the days where an Apple event was a surprise.
I would guess that people like things to be more pocket friendly (maybe? I actually like the current one better...), and because this way they might be able to implement an accelerometer similar to the iPod Touch and iPhone's (probably just for iPod games though).
A lot of people have suggested that there will not be an iPod Nano refresh, and instead they will announce a low-end "iPhone Nano", which is what this might be (I hope not). This would seem to be an even more likely possibility because of the fact that it is long enough to be used while held up to your face (I really hope it isn't true...).
the wheel is past it's prime ... they should ditch it and leave more room for the screen. it looks ugly now anyways.
@Jakob:
Solution: Stay of teh internets. You'll be surprised =)
This new iPod nano is long to match its upcoming sibling, the iPhone nano.
Am I the only one here who thinks the Nano has an internal wifi antenna?
The only way I could see this working with video is if the scroll wheel were also a screen and it had an accelerometer. That way, when rotated, the controls would rotate so the "menu" option were still on the new top side and the arrows still pointed to the user's left and right.
That would be great because it could conceivably be just as usable by left-handers as by right-handers.
To get everyone to keep purchasing new accessories, silly :-)
Apple has added an iR to the 4G Nano so iT can be used as a remote for iTunes and what not.
-sent from my iPhone
_____________________
iGet enough exercise just pushin' my luck!
because they wanted to make a widescreen. This new one has a 16:9 widescreen if you haven't noticed.
for a bigger screen, i guess
I owned a 1st gen nano (until it fell out of a loose pocket during an auto show from sitting in so many different cars-doh) and I didn't like the form factor of the fatty nano at all.
I'm actually tempted by the 4th gen-a nice screen upgrade and it's in the form factor I loved.
The slim form factor is definitely more pocketable (although I suggest not putting it in a loose pocket if you're going to be sitting in cars other than your own).
holy cow, I can see iPod touch with, possible, camera!
Or maybe a speaker.
for the bajillionith time,
No, its not a camera hole, its for the light sensor
The light sensor is at the front (top-left), the larger opening is at the back. And this case for the iPod Touch 2G clearly shows an opening at the back - most likely for the camera: tinyurl dot com / 6s5t5l
IT'S NOT A TUMOR
Look at the bottom left shot of the iPod Touch... it looks like there's a hole there for where there should be a camera like on the iPhone...
Maybe so they won't cover up the WiFi-antenna?
Maybe, it's a hologram projector!
@Saad Rabia:
I want to believe.
Nintend-er, I mean, Apple On.
It's a freakin' lazzer pointer!!
it's a torch
Why stop at torch? It's a flamethrower so iPod fanboys can torch Zune fanboys.
I fairly positive that by 'torch' he meant flashlight...
So that means the new ipod touch will have the curved backing like the iphone. Plus the reason they are going back to the tall nano is because many people prefer the old v the phatty.
Why revise the Touch? All it is, is one big screen
You can't sell new docks to the same person if the shape stays the same!
I think there's a high likelihood of some kind of audio i/o (speaker/microphone) and maybe a camera. One reason to update the Touch is so that it can benefit from as many of the software apps in the App Store as possible. It's better for the App store, it's better for 3rd party developers, and it's simpler and better for consumers.
Does anyone know if you can install the same app you purchased on the iPhone on multiple devices without purchasing another copy?
Please, please tell me there is now a speaker on the touch and that that's one of the reasons for the extra thickness. Also a user-replaceable battery would be a huge improvement, particulalry given the change in usage patterns that the AppStore has created. I've been charging my iPod touch at least once a day ever since 2.0, and often twice a day, due to heavy usage - that's got to change the expected battery life. We need user replaceable (and upgradable) batteries, thank you very much.
Please please...any speaker they can possibly fit into the iPod touch will at best be on par with an average cellphone speakerphone...which is to say it will suck. It's un-Apple to fit something imperfect into their product, so this is highly unlikely. (dodges anti-Apple-fanboy...er...rotten apples)
That said, Apple, please please don't include any speakers on the iPods...EVER...or else we will have a new generation of kids who think it's a wannabe ghettoblaster and walk down the street "blasting" mainstream hip hop music on their 3.5W speakers thinking they are "cool".
You wont have it cuz Lord Steve Jobs doesn't want you to have it
You will bow to him, BOW!
How will Apple force you to buy a new version of their product ever year, if they let you change your battery so easily. ;)
What about the camera in the iphone, that sucks
Shouldn't this post have 164 comments already? Something seems off about today.
Well this is good... i was worried that the nano was going to need a tapered screen but from these blue(black?)prints is just the edges are tapered and the area over the screen is flat
Apple want to cut costs and streamline supply and production, I suspecs that the same plastic case on the iPhone 3G will find its way onto the back of the iPod touch.
I just hope Apple has addressed the cracked white plastic back shell this time around...
I just hope that for the sake of those fanboys that will eat this up, that Apple has included a speaker in the design refresh... (1% chance) Stereo BT (0.5% chance) and sort sort of mic to allow phone calls over WiFi (0.000001% chance)
A speaker is my mumber 1 wishlist for me. If it will have it i wll buy one ASAP !!!
Unless this is just one of many plates, there's nowhere near the sufficient number of dimensions here to engineer the cases.
The current Touch uses two memory chips side by side, so why increase thickness?
*cough* hard drive *cough*
As much as I like the idea of a hard drive 80gb+ iPod Touch, I highly doubt it. A hard drive + a big screen + the processor would result in crap battery life.
The thickness is probably due to a larger battery. The iPod touch has always suffered from a short battery life compared to the iPhone.
Speaking as someone who designs, creates, and reviews technical drawings for a living, I'd just like to point out that this drawing looks like the kinda crap that a sophomore engineering student would produce. Oh yeah, and that CAD model that showed up a few weeks ago really was terrible. There is NO WAY that those are actual models/drawings created by someone who knows what they are doing. They are just plain terrible.
I hope those are faked, or else someone needs a lesson in proper dimensioning...
Huh, the Nano looks like the Zune now...
Actually, the Nano looks like the Nano from two generations ago, pre-Zune. FYI.
Silly. Zune is not new nor innovative, its a "me too" product. How quick of you to forget about the iPod Nano. The screen is bigger now, but the form factor is very similar on the 2005 model.
Jubie, shut up about the Zune. You talk more about the Zune than anyone else.
Please please...any speaker they can possibly fit into the iPod touch will at best be on par with an average cellphone speakerphone...which is to say it will suck. It's un-Apple to fit something imperfect into their product, so this is highly unlikely. (dodges anti-Apple-fanboy...er...rotten apples)
That said, Apple, please please don't include any speakers on the iPods...EVER...or else we will have a new generation of kids who think it's a wannabe ghettoblaster and walk down the street "blasting" mainstream hip hop music on their 3.5W speakers thinking they are "cool".
Oops...this was supposed to be a reply to SteveJ above....who ironically does not know anything about his own upcoming iPods....
Darn engadget for not being able to edit/delete comments!!!
same ol' shit.
I think Apple are making us believe that it's that tall nano and then they suddenly surprise us with a better one.
I don't care about the mic and the camera, but just give me stereo speakers (on top would be better) and I'll buy it.
What good is stereo if the sound will be delivered from virtually the same source? 1 decent mono speaker will sound better than 2 not so decent smaller speakers.
Why did people low rank him? he's only speaking the truth =P
I hope they dont put a black $hiet like in the old iphone touch...
Week after week Ipod Nano and Ipod touch rumors, and about the Ipod Classic? Will it stop production?
My belief is that Apple is updating iTunes, the Touch, and the Nano to operate together on any wifi network. There is still a market for a tiny DAP (e.g., at the gym) and a PMP with an enormous amount of storage (e.g., in outer space), so I think they'll just leave those alone for now. But small amounts of flash memory combined with wifi access to your iTunes network is a powerful combination, for three groups of people: people who have a multi-room iTunes network; people who travel a lot and spend time in hotels with free network access; and people who live in a wifi community (specifically, at colleges and universities).
Thank you for filling the bitch about the comment system post quota.
Perhaps you should look at the comment area...see where it says "Returning" try clicking that.
It's amazing what reading does for you.
"A couple have people have pointed..."
Have some have sleep
No stereo speakers.
Not untill Apple discovers a rig on the Sea filled with free 32GB flash mems.
Assuming the price of those mems, and that increase in storage is a MUST-DO, also that price cut is a MUST-DO-ALSO, they won't spend additional money on rubbish speakers or muddy camera.
THE END.
Maybe Apple leaked those 16:9 nano pics intentionally, so that a few shitty case designers would make them only to fool us, while the real rock is iPhone Nano-clamshell-slider-qwerty-touch sensitive-laptop-palmtop-smartphone all in one piece.
Hard drive would be sooo greaat.... Nmph..
Talk about spoiling the surprise.
Do you know why Apple products sell? Because as P.T Barnum said: "There's a sucker born every minute."
Looks like we are indeed getting a tall-slim 4th gen nano very soon..
I wonder why they ain't no rumors on the classic or the shuffle..
NO WAY Apple would go back to the "old" Nano shape. This is an obvious fake. Any engineering schmuck could easily draw that crap in AutoCad in about 3 minutes.
We'll need to wait for Steve-O next week to really know what's going on...
I can't wait till you look like a fool
The only reason to make the Nano larger than it was is to put a new piece of hardware in it. That's in part why I keep saying it has a wifi antenna inside. The orientation of the screen puts it more in line with the iPhone and Touch, as someone else kind of pointed out already: you get one view holding it one way, and get ther other view (coverflow and video playback) looking at it sideways in either direction.
But the new Nano also happens to be a size and shape that screams "internal wifi antenna" to me. If you go back to the post with the picture of that terrible Nano 4G case next to the iPhone, and just stare at it, and think about how it reportedly bulges in the middle, and you tell me what they put inside the Nano.
I hate the new shape, but if it can wirelessly connect to your iTunes library from any wifi network, I'd say it's a winner regardless.
"September 3/2008
A real iPod Nano 4th gen was on display at the IFA show in Berlin. A major electronic company had the actual model on display but only for a short time, a representative from Apple asked them to remove it. Hundreds of people saw and touched it before it was removed."
Source: http://www.idealschina.com/Insider/NewsDetail.aspx?ArticleID=28
¿Fake or not?
u said that the ipod touch will become thicker and curved like the iphone... but the iphone became thicker coz it had all these new features(gps)....wht new functionality will the touch have that requires it to become fat ?
"but the iphone became thicker coz it had all these new features(gps)....wht new functionality will the touch have that requires it to become fat ?"
GPS
The Nano looks like a Zune knock off to me.. Well that's what my first thought was when I seen it.. "Zune?".. Tisk tisk Apple.. SHAME ON YOU..
Any moron that wasn't expecting the new touch to look identical to the 3G iPhone is well a MORON!..
Enough said.
@Ixon
Wrong. As I have mentioned earlier.
"Zune is not new nor innovative, its a "me too" product. How quick of you to forget about the iPod Nano. The screen is bigger now, but the form factor is very similar on the 2005 model."
No, I would say Apple is trying to copy the Zune's style at this point. True, the form factor of the Zune 4, 8, and soon to be 16 are similar to the original Nano, but Apple is now resorting back to that because they know that form sold better and the fact that they're trying to put a bigger screen in to compete with the Zune. Another "me too" product from the biggest "me too" company of them all.
And the Zune copied the iPod to begin with, in fact the Zune is Microsoft's answer to the iPod. Remember the iPod, how it did that "rectangular screen with a circular control device below it" thing a long time before the Zune even existed? So it makes a lot more sense to say that the new Nano is based on previous iPods rather than the Zune.
Honestly, to say the Nano is copying the Zune is just flat out stupid when you consider that MS had to copy Apple to get that form factor for the Zune in the first place. But we all know how logic and common sense don't apply to the Apple haters, right?
@Zeus.:God
"No, I would say Apple is trying to copy the Zune's style at this point."
Your delusion is much more severe than I thought. LOL
No, the new Nano redesign (less than a year after the original was released) is an answer to the Zune's superior screen size. Therefore, your own way of thinking could work here. The new Nano is being designed to compete with the Zune's screen size, therefore it must be a copy, right? Much like the Zune 30 and 80 (120) being a copy of the iPod with it's rectangular screen and circular "click wheel". I guess iPod owns shapes, too? Well damn, the next Zune had better be in the shape of a trapezoid and have a circular screen with a triangular button layout... No, really that's absurd. Look at the Zune and look at the iPod Classic... Notice a difference? Well, let me explain, the screen on the Zune takes up most of the face of the product whereas on the iPod Classic, it takes up less than half, and the buttons? Well, the iPod has a touch sensitive "click wheel" where the main form of use is sliding your finger on said click wheel, and has buttons at four quadrants and a button in the middle. The Zune 30 has 2 buttons on either side of a central, circular d-pad with a button in the middle, while the 80 has 3 "buttons" with one of them being touch sensitive in the shape of a squircle. If that's a copy, then the iPod and Zune are copies of tons of players out there.
@ Jubei
LOL I just owned you and Zak with one comment.
@Ixon and Zeus.:God.
0. Apple introduces the iPod. (Vertical Screen, touch sensitive navigation) (October 23, 2001)
1. Apple introduces the iPod Nano 1st Gen (Vertical screen, touch sensitive navigation) (February 7, 2006)
2. Apple stopped the 1st Gen and introduced the 2nd Gen (Vertical screen, touch sensitive navigation) (September 12, 2006)
3. Apple Introduces the iPod Nano VIDEO 3rd Gen (Fat Nano) (September 5, 2007)
4. Microsoft introduces Zune 2nd Gen including the 4/8GB models (Vertical screen, touch sensitive navigation*) (October 2, 2007)
5. *RUMORED* Apple iPod Nano 4th Gen (Vertical Screen)
Hmmn...
So who copied who ? I guess it's pretty easy to tell right ?
A speak on the IPod Touch won't happen. Here's why.
1. Vendors that license official Ipod (and touch) accessories would get pissed off. Why do you think the sell such shity headphones, so people will by better ones.
2. A small speaker would never put out the sound quality Apple’s standards expect.
3. Violence on mass public transit systems threw-out the world would increase because the damn little punks would use the speaker instead of headphones.
One other note Apple already has a product for gps, and a camera it's called an Iphone. The Ipod Touch is Media Player not an Iphone. And who cares if MSFT copied Apple or Apple copied MSFT. If you like the Zune buy a Zune, if you like the Nano buy a Nano.
The iPod Touch is different from other iPods and is more than a media player. With all the apps, a speaker is definitely a good idea for sounds from the apps, not just for music or video. The volume buttons are definitely need as well for apps that don't include volume control.
*yawn*
4x3 or 16x9?
WILL THE NEW TOUCH HAVE BUTTONS ALLOWING THE USER TO SWITCH SONGS WITHOUT HAVING TO LOOK AT THE SCREEN?
I hope Apple didn't drop the ball again. Half the convenience of an iPod is the ability to switch songs without pulling the stupid thing out of your pocket to fiddle with it.
This is the first time i've felt like the rumors are true. Before every rumor has such shallow facts and I can't help feeling tricked. I think people have to be more careful about what they post as "rumors". Anyway i think that this particular iPod Nano seems to look less stylish than the last one because of the plagiat chinese versions. I gladly hope that apple will have some major modifications in feel when it comes to the new iPod Nano. Anyways, can't thank the engadget.com team enough for all the great news.
Have a great day!
/
Anton
Bigger screen?
The screen on the Nano 3G is 30x40 mm. The drawing of the new Nano says the "window" is 33.8mm and likely the screen itself is a little smaller. It looks like 4:3 so say it's about 32x43 mm... not exactly a world of difference.
At least it is better then the current generation.
if it has stereo bluetooth ill buy it. if not, ill have to think about it.
Anyone noticed that long streched button on the side of the iTouch? Looks like we're getting something like external volume controls there...
Something odd strikes me...
Before the iPod nano we had the iPod mini, in a alu casing. The 1G iPod nano appeared in a similar size, just a lot thinner, with plastic front and metal back. Then the 2G iPod nano had the same shape, but full alu casing like the iPod mini. The 3G iPod nano changed shape, but kept and alu front, much like the 2G but grabbed back to the glossy alu back from the 1G. Now the 4G iPod nano seems to go back to it's original shape. It wouldn't be that improbable, given that Apple always seems to recycle previously used designs and solutions in new generations of it's iPod nano's. Is it a coincidence or am I on to something? No idea really... just something to think about...
I'm wondering what kind of cover they will use this time: glossy alu, brushed alu, plastic?
I won't be happy until I get an iPod I can cut a cake with. You know, something more portable than my MacBook Air.
The Touch blueprint has a flat rectangle in the middle of the back and curves toward the edges. Doesn't the iPhone 3G curve all the way across?
Someone with an iPhone 3G confirm this for me, please.
If they are coming out with a new iTouch with a speaker, I am going to jailbreak mine, and sell it on eBay ASAP, no matter what it takes.
Thing is , which to get Hey? iPod Touch or Nano?