iPod Hi-Fi

Well don't buy a new iPod since they didn't follow their own "suggestion" and used 12V charging, it will not charge any of the new iPod/iPhones with 5V only charging. I think quite a few ended up on fleaBay because of that.

Or could it be a new Mac Pro?

Gulftown Xeon

iPod Hi-Fi charging

Actually, it's fine with the latest Classic - just bought one to replace my old 5G and it charges from the Hi-Fi, though I suspect that you're right about the rest of the current iPod range. It certainly won't charge my iPhone. Though any iPod with a dock connector can play through it even if it's not charging. And it has a combined analog/digital auxiliary input too so you can connect just about any sort of audio source to it with the right cable.

And I agree with the first poster: the Hi-Fi is much maligned. I did pay full whack for it and haven't regretted it at all. All the hype about "audiophile" quality etc when it was launched was total bollocks, though. Talk of replacing your top-flight system with it was just stupid. But if you can get past that it's a very nice sounding one-box system none the less, can pump out scary levels of volume without audible distortion or damage and is built like a tank (and weighs similarly!). When I got mine the main competition was the Bose SoundDock, and trying them both out at a local store the Hi-Fi was a clear winner to my ears, even managing occasional stereo separation which is always tough for a one-box.

If you have a Classic or an older iPod which it'll charge, and don't want to cart it about much, I'd seriously consider a second hand one if it's in good nick.

I'll be dissapointed ...

... if it doesn't say 'bingledy-bingledy-beep' in a cheerful voice.

Well,,,,

"One industry magazine web site speculated that, ".....

Then you go on to slate Apple, and indulge in an orgy of schadenfreude:- except NONE OF IT AIN'T HAPPENED YET!!

What part of "speculated" don't you understand?

I "speculate" that you are the unacknowledged love-child of Michael Dell & Steve Ballmer.

It's surely an "intermediate possibility"

Jeez. No wonder you aren't an Apple fan....

"Bring it on"

An overgrown iPhone will suit me just fine. At the moment the superb GUI is let down by usability issues. The iPhone shows the way, but it's a long way from the last word in convergence. I'd love to run iPhone apps* on a larger screen and I'd pay for the opportunity. Ultra reliable typing on the move; the full width of webpages; on-line banking without the heart stopping moments and so on, all in a package that could still fit a coat, jacket or cargo trouser pocket! If I could also get a shell in a terminal without jailbreaking it, I'd be ecstatic. If it runs an X Window server, I'll weep with joy. It might even have the space for an efficient WiFi aerial!

*Star Walk to name just one.

Paris, because she knows what to do with a large form factor.

lol

Yeah, just like you laughed the iPhone out of the industry.

*rolls eyes*

Prepare for mobile computing to be redefined.

Dual-OS?

Everyone seems to think that the tablet will not run full OS X or OS X mobile, but a slightly modified version of OS X mobile suited to the tablet form factor.

However, what if it could run both? For example, when you connect a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, it can run (touch enhanced) regular OS X, but without them it just runs the tablet version of OS X. Ideally, the transition would be seamless.

Yes / No / Don't be silly ?

Or not

Would that be the same laughter and criticism that followed the announcement of the iPhone?

Do we all recall the "It'll never work", "they've list the plot" type critiques?

Sometimes it's smarter to watch and learn. It might be rubbish, but given Apple's rise to success, the odds are in their favour.

Haha good one!!

You should do stand up mate, seriously! That was the best imitation of total and utter blinkered ignorance that I have heard for YEARS!! Thank you!!!

Re: Redefine mobile computing?

"RIM models by far dominate new smart phone sales (more than double iPhones, which are currently selling at the same rate as Windows based smartphones)"

Riiiiiiiiggggghhhhhhttttttttt

That's why Windows 'smartphones' equal the number of iPhones on the London Tube!

How did you get those figures? Read a MicroSoft publication?

Prat!

Calm down dears....

it's only a computer.

It is not as though it will be capable of preventing any more UN and US dignataries from flying in to the Haiti airport to get that all important PR shot, whilst children die in their hundreds in the local hospital for the lack of an anaesthetic.

Now if Jobs could do something about that with his new tablet thingy he would get my money.

Redefine mobile computing?

And I suppose you'd prefer to drive a horse and cart over a Porsche? A wheel's a wheel, after all.

Funnily enough, the iPhone isn't the shiniest case on the market, but it has a level of presentation, support and follow-through that nobody else has been able to come up with.

Re-invention or reboot, if you can stand there and say that Apple is a failure, you're living in your own weird little fantasy world. For once Apple have got something right: It's about the products, the consumers, the developers, and the relationships between them. They're looking at the big picture.

I've said it before, I'm not an Apple fan, but Apple have filled a huge gap left by everyone else and they're reaping the rewards. Anyone that claims otherwise is as bad as the Nokias of the world; they have no imagination.

Anyway, relax. No need to lose sleep over it; it's just another product you won't have to buy if you don't want to.

"Prepare for mobile computing to be redefined...."

by more lock in and control.

@uhuznaa

That's true, and it's probably the reason why the TabletPC market never really took off. But the problem for Apple's rumoured tablet is this: "What will distinguish it from the existing products on the market?"

- If it runs the iPhone OS, then it is no more use to me than an iPhone, since it will run the same apps, just in a bigger form factor, that can't be used as a phone. Which means I get no added functionality, and I have to carry a bag around with me. If I am going to carry a bag, then I want it to do everything that a "full" computer can do. To me, that means Photoshop, Dreamweaver, a *real* browser (that runs Flash natively), etc. but you can insert you own favourite desktop software into the last sentence and the point would remain the same.

- If it runs OSX, it'll be way above the component price range of the Macbook Air (given the need for a touchscreen, proper processor, etc), which places it well into Macbook territory in terms of what it costs Apple to make. At which point, it's essentially a competitor to the Tablet PC, which will almost certainly cost way less. There are already TabletPCs that offer both multitouch and pressure-sensitive-stylus input in the same package (e.g. the HP TM2) so the appeal of this rumoured Apple tablet is hard to see, if it's going to cost more and do either the same stuff, or less stuff.

- If Apple take the iPhone OS and add stuff to it (e.g. the ability to multitask), then that will be interesting. The Fanbois will go nuts because there's no technical reason why they can't do that on an iPhone... But at the end of the day, if it doesn't run full desktop apps, then it won't replace anyone's main computer. Which means you'll still need a phone, and a computer, and then you can buy this tablet thingy as well, if you want to... which sort of begs the question, "Why bother?"

Oh dear.

That's a terrible iSlating you've handed out to Mr Jobs' latest and greatest there.

Oh!

That's why it's called the iProd!

or..

more content control and requirement to keep paying apple every time your limited battery dies.

Skeletor will be happy with your money.