News
Analyst: New shuffle coming, RF interference, EMI playing nice
American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu has released a new research note that touches upon three topics of interest to iPod owners. Wu discusses the the possibility of a new iPod shuffle in January, the presence of minor RF interference with GSM cell phones and new iPods, and EMI making iTunes-friendly copy-protected CDs.
Wu said the iPod shuffle is due for a refresh as early as January, possibly at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. “We believe this is a key reason why Apple is adding Hynix as a third NAND flash provider in addition to Samsung and Toshiba,” Wu wrote in the report obtained by iLounge. “We are hearing of an even smaller form factor (smaller than a stick of gum) and the potential for the re-introduction of multiple colors, particularly popular among women, including black. We believe price points ($99 and $129) and storage capacities (512 MB and 1 GB) will be similar to the current offerings to minimize overlap with the iPod nano.”
The analyst also explained the RF issue that some iPod users have experienced. “We believe there may be a minor RF (radio frequency) interference problem with the new iPods in isolated cases when they are placed very near a ringing GSM cell phone,” Wu wrote. “From our checks, it appears to impact GSM and not CDMA phones and only on nanos and vPods. When a ringing GSM phone is directly in front of the click wheel, the iPod could go ‘crazy’ and its volume could fluctuate uncontrollably (reminds us of R2D2 when shot by a laser gun). We do not believe this impacts most users in everyday use. We believe this problem could be easily fixed by applying better or more foil tape inside the iPod similar to cell phones and other devices in shielding interference.”
Finally, Wu notes that EMI is planning to ship new copy-protected CDs that are compatible with iTunes. “This is a significant change from its previous stance of shipping Windows PlaysForSure DRM CDs that do not work with iTunes,” the analyst said. “We view this as a positive development and believe other labels could follow.”
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1
EMI’d better do SOMETHING to cover it’s arse after the whole Copy Control fiasco.
But then again, those of us with Macs never felt a thing.
Copy Control had no effect on the Mac platform.
Posted by Ben on November 17, 2005 at 11:11 AM (PDT)
2
my GSM phone causes pretty much anything with a speaker to go haywire whenever it rings. I kind of like it because I can always tell when I’m getting a call in the car because the stereo makes inappropriate buzzing noises. But it’s annoying when it happens when trying to watch a movie, only to have the soundtrack replaced with inexplicable disturbance followed closely by my ringtone.
Posted by dethbrakr on November 17, 2005 at 1:21 PM (PDT)
3
dethbrakr
It’s not that sort of RF interference. This makes the click wheel think it’s being touched and moved about.
The speaker thing happens to most devices.
Posted by Daveoc64 on November 17, 2005 at 1:39 PM (PDT)
4
It’s crazy how cellphones get into everything. They need to fix those pesky things. And at about 300mW its kinda crazy that they DO in fact interfear with other devices. But I suppose its only because of the “mode” their using.
But….I digress.
Posted by Andy on November 17, 2005 at 4:33 PM (PDT)
5
Cell phones interfear with everything, not only iPod.
I don’t have problems with my Nokia and my iPod 5G, it certainly depends on the phone brand and model. Some are badly shielded.
Posted by Steph on November 18, 2005 at 3:47 AM (PDT)
6
I can attest to this phenomenon, I was driving the other day when I heard the usual “Morse code-like tones loudly on my car stereo speakers, and suddenly the volume on my new iPod video dropped to zero. I have never experienced this before on my old iPod, just heard the tones. Interesting.
Posted by ggore on November 18, 2005 at 6:38 AM (PDT)
7
No mention at all of an LCD….:-(
Posted by Mike on December 19, 2005 at 5:52 AM (PDT)