iPod nano - No Firewire [Archive]

View Full Version : iPod nano - No Firewire

jimk

Sep 10th, 2005, 10:33 PM

podcastshuffle

Sep 11th, 2005, 01:12 AM

Is anyone else annoyed enough to no longer want to buy a nano over this? I don't get why they didn't include it since you can buy chipsets that cover both firewire and USB 2.0...so it wasn't a space issue. Plus Firewire was Apple's baby. Why dump it?

Do any PCs come standard with FireWire other than Sony's Vaios? I'm pretty sure that's Job's motivation. No Firewire on PCs. Most of the iPods are for Windows users. Its cheaper for the Chinese to make one version of the iPod rather than 2.

I love the firewire ipod the best. My 20gb version is still new so I won't be upgrading to a new one for a while. The only thing that annoyed me about the USB2.0 ipods was that they only charged when the computer was awake. The FW versions charged whennever.

The nano is pretty cool though. I really need something to stick in my 501's mini pocket other than my Zippo. :)

Jeff

joelthecomic

Sep 11th, 2005, 01:12 AM

It's probably a cost thing, really. If you enable both firewire and usb 2.0, you have to provide separate cables, etc. Even with a cable that costs like 5 cents, it really adds up to the manufacturer when you're selling millions. It also causes confusion in the marketplace - which one is better?, etc.

Having used both they seem amazingly similar and both do the job nicely. I'm sure usb 2.0 is featured on many more machines (especially PCs), anyway.

I doubt that anyone's NOT buying one because of that. It's a neat device. I'm not buying one because I've got an iRiver h320, that I'm quite happy with.

jimk

Sep 11th, 2005, 01:29 AM

Is anyone else annoyed enough to no longer want to buy a nano over this? I don't get why they didn't include it since you can buy chipsets that cover both firewire and USB 2.0...so it wasn't a space issue. Plus Firewire was Apple's baby. Why dump it?

Do any PCs come standard with FireWire other than Sony's Vaios? I'm pretty sure that's Job's motivation. No Firewire on PCs.

I haven't bought a desktop from a major maker in a long while...all my laptops have had firewire though, and the case and mobo I bought had firewire built in.

Just seems...like Jobs is being a pain in the butt again. :) Here's this sexy product with just enough "Why do that?" details to make me say screw it.

Steev

Sep 11th, 2005, 02:04 AM

I don't give a rat's *** about firewire. USB 2 is the way to go as far as I'm concerned.

I have a USB 2 hub on my desk and when I plunk my laptop down, I can connect one cable and get my external DVD burner, external hard drive, keyboard, mouse, and digital sound card. Can't beat it.

My laptop is an IBM T42 and I do not believe it has Firewire anyway.

docsnavely

Sep 11th, 2005, 02:07 AM

Just seems...like Jobs is being a pain in the butt again. :) Here's this sexy product with just enough "Why do that?" details to make me say screw it.

he's making the smart business move in my opinoin. like jeff said, it's just cheaper to make it with one format, one cable, one way....

less technical hassles, less debate, lower end price for you the consumer (or maybe fatter wallet for developers)

i think it was a smart move honestly.....

apple made an admirable effort with firewire, and may still continue it with other apple hardware, but for items that crossover into other markets, i do believe they made the wisest decision......

audiocollective

Sep 11th, 2005, 02:19 AM

the nano is so hot! even without the firewire

shellyspodcast

Sep 11th, 2005, 02:37 AM

jimk

Sep 11th, 2005, 04:17 AM

The nano most certainly does support FireWire. I verified with the Apple specs, just to be sure.

Like the current "big" iPods, the nano ships with a USB 2 cable only. There is a dock connector single port that will take either the iPod-USB 2 cable (provided) or an iPod-FireWire cable (available from Apple). If you get a PocketDock FireWire (http://www.sendstation.com/), you can use a standard FireWire cable instead.

-shelly

If you connect it via Firewire, you can charge it. You can't sync. You get this screen:

http://right-thoughts.us/images/uploads/nanoerror_200x275.jpg

Having a connector is not the same as having a firewire chipset inside the machine. If you visit the Apple site, it clearly states in the list of features:

iPod nano Features

* Holds up to 1,000 songs and full-color album art
* Only 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches and 1.5 ounces
* Bright 1.5-inch color LCD display
* Up to 14 hours of battery life(1)
* Apple Click Wheel
* Charges and syncs via USB

And here's the CNet story (http://news.com.com/2061-10793_3-5857236.html?part=rss&tag=5857236&subj=news).

MikeHz

Sep 12th, 2005, 10:56 PM

Firewire or not, it does not have an FM reciever, and so will not be on my short list of players to replace my current sucky 128 MoVo.

jimk

Sep 13th, 2005, 12:32 AM

Firewire or not, it does not have an FM reciever, and so will not be on my short list of players to replace my current sucky 128 MoVo.

You might want to look at some of the iRiver players...they have a lot of features, FM included. Prices aren't bad either depending on what model you look at.

quigles3000

Sep 15th, 2005, 03:22 AM

Bah! I'm still hooked on my PSP!

Although, if I had the money, I would totally buy an iPod, no matter what features it had or didn't have. It's not that big of a deal in my opinion.

jimk

Sep 15th, 2005, 06:06 AM

Bah! I'm still hooked on my PSP!.

Are you using it for gaming or all the other stuff? If you are playing on it...whattya playin'? I'm interested in one, but I keep hearing there aren't any really killer games yet.

docsnavely

Sep 16th, 2005, 04:22 AM

after playing with a nano extensively a day ago at the apple store in ginza, i am highly impressed!

that thing is so miniscule, but yet has full functionality!

beautiful piece of inginuity! after being released for only 3 days in Japan, I counted 27 of them on the 2 hour train ride back home from tokyo......

amazing!

i'm still holding out for the video ipod though

jimk

Sep 16th, 2005, 04:47 AM

i'm still holding out for the video ipod though

MMM...I'd love to see a 3.5 or 4" screen, 80GB hard drive, sleek design, able to be managed from iTunes for both video and music with full playlist capabilities, etc. With Firewire!

I'd pay a lot of money for that.

YOU LISTENING, JOBS? I'M READY TO SPEND LIKE SIX HUNDRED BUCKS ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM YOU. STOP TELLING US WHAT WE NEED AND START LISTENING TO WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR!

MikeHz

Sep 17th, 2005, 12:34 AM

You might want to look at some of the iRiver players...they have a lot of features, FM included. Prices aren't bad either depending on what model you look at.

Right now, the iRiver is at the top of my "to get" list.

I'm even looking into doing some casting. I have a couple novels, now out of print, that might be fun putting into audio form, if I can trick a reader into doing them.

guycochran

Sep 17th, 2005, 03:16 AM

Yeah a nano with a screen *twice* the size and video capability. Then some Tivo like functionality to take shows on the road along with a cable to hook into a full size TV...now that would be the $hizzle