Keep in mind what I said earlier: there are going to be "iPhone only" features in order to make the iPhone look more appealing to consumers. The iPhone is more expensive, meaning more money for Apple and AT&T. Because of this, DO NOT expect to see a 3rd gen Touch that is everything the 3GS has minus the radio. I wouldn't expect a microphone, a video recorder, a vibrator or any other significant hardware change besides MAYBE a camera.
Apple will not include a mic for two reasons: they sell iPod touch microphones separately for jacked-up prices at their stores, and they only have a need for it on the iPhone. And, as CDubby was saying, they want to keep some features iPhone-exclusive.
Oh my God.... If that turns out to be real I'll go nuts haha I do like the back to be that material, not the chrome material.
Well the most obvious upgrade is the CPU, GPU and RAM, to bring it in line with the 3gs. Maybe they'll be able to ramp up the clock speed like with the 2g touch? I'm pretty sure that they'll up the storage capacity including a 64GB version, maybe dropping the 8GB altogether, or pricing that a bit lower - that may affect nano sales - but maybe Apple wants nano users to upgrade to Touch anyway? Other than that, i'm sure the new touch will get a speaker upgrade and the 3gs' new oleophobic screen coating. A mic is pointless - they sale the earphones with mic+remote, which will most likely be included. If thats the case maybe voice control will be included too? The camera is a possiblilty - there were rumors of the nano + touch getting 1, so I guess that might happen. Not sure about the GPS/compass - maybe they'll stay a iphone features for now...
microphone is not a bad idea, but a camera? That would just make it more expensive, but then again if it was like 2mp whatever...
wow and i was thinking of getting a 2nd gen iPod Touch at the end of July but if it turns out that Apple are bringing out a new Touch with better stuff before then, then i guess i can wait abit longer
I wrote something really long but just scrapped it. It can carry all the same features, maybe add a few toboot, and still Apple would be happy under 1 of 2 scenarios. Incredible market penetration and/or a heaftier price tag. Why would anyone pay more? Um, because they would still market it as a phone, but without the service contract and hefty fees, you'd need to live in a hotspot, but you could live off of Skype and other next-gen social networking to stay in the loop rather than the old social norms of the phone. You could even go to a 3rd party for a data package, maybe 30 bucks a month including tethering. I don't think this will happen, but if sales of the 3GS are below expectations Apple will be pointing the finger at AT&T and their service prices/upgrade policy. So, this possibility rests entirely on AT&T and Apple not renewing their ending **3 year** exclusivity contract and Apple seeing themselves re-inventing the smartphone, again. This would mean great things for the consumer and for people that want more wireless access in general, unless Apple found a way to lock your phone into a data carrier so they could milk that. Anyway, without better data coverage it's a long shot, but if we had a better system in place you could see Apple doing this and people breaking contracts in mass since a $200 termination fee would pay for itself after 1-4 months of service (assuming no cost for new data). The bigger win would be outside the US in countries like South Korea that don't have access. Just thinking in a different corner of the box, as I'd prefer this over tea, but don't think either will come for at least 15 months. ;-) **edit** I had read the deal was 3 years earlier this week from an article I thought was poorly written defending AT&T's economics, I should've known that the idiot didn't have the fact that the deal lasted for 3 years. I think the time period is still just a rumor with most people thinking between 3-5 years.
I would imagine for the sake of the app store, and keeping all iDevices on the same page spec wise apple would want to make the iPod touch as close to the 3gs as possible. You can say that apple would want to keep the two devices seperate, with iPhone being the premium item, well it already is. Internet text messaging and phone, everywhere thanks to the 3G radio. That is enough to keep a clear division between the two product lines. Adding features like a camera, gps and a microphone, would only help boost sales of the iPod touch. The people who want a iPhone are already getting one. You have to sell people on the iPod touch. Hell the iPod touch 2nd gen was in a way superior to the iPhone 3G.
People are wishing for stuff that even the iPhone doesn't have. If the more expensive unit doesn't have it then the cheaper option won't either. About all that we could get it a 64gb iPod. All I want is the power of the 3GS to make this an incredible gaming device for those who can't afford the hefty iPhone fees and hopefully put the prices down or stay the same but with 16/32/64 instead of 8/16/32 in size
Erm, I made that mockup which you can all see here. I called it iPod touch S because it wouldn't be right if Apple went ahead and called it iPod touch 3G. It would confuse a lot of people thinking it's some new phone with 3G. To the people who like the mockup, thanks
Wow! That's exactly where I got it! I didn't know you where on TouchArcade! That's crazy. Great Mockup though!
oooh, oooh, I thought of something whilst doing a little late spring cleaning of my iPod just now. I would love to see a feature that tidies up your apps, much like on a mac, where you can 'arrange' all your files by either name, kind, most recent etc. I just ditched a fair few apps, and rearranged what was left, and it took me about half an hour twiddling around with my finger!
all i know is, the new touch needs to beat this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNu4CluFOcw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epmptoday%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded
I would think there would be alot of money to be made for Apple if they added GPS. I mean the camera is nice, but GPS and some TomTom mapsets on the Appstore would open the iPod touch to all sorts of people on the go, the people it's aimed at. Outdoors enthusiasts, runners, teen girls who don't know directions, Dads who think they know all the directions.
I dunno, firstly it'd require a network, and iPods run on WiFi. The way I see it, the iPod is mainly an entertainment device. Games, social networking, online web, music, videos. And some utilities. If it does come out, it better have good processing. I'm beginning to hate my iPod 1G.
