Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Looprumors has a diagram of the 'Communication Device'
- Thread starter HasanDaddy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yeh, ok. I just edited my post in regards to this.
While I've no idea if it's true, I would guess that the 'pod processor and board could do the job of iPod >and< phone. The bluetooth module is probably the biggest space hog, but I'm sure lith-ion batteries have improved in space since the original 'pod design.
So the 'pods wouldn't get smaller, just stay a similar size and have added functions.
hmmm...it's pretty damn tight in there.
Anyway, I was just speculating. And although I think multi-use items are pretty lame (i'm still dubious of the whole camera-phone thing - anyone got one?), mixing up two audio devices that have almost exactly the same physical and useage requirements is a pretty sensible step.
So, I'm not waiting for it....just saying it shouldn't come as a suprise if it does happen.
Anyway, I was just speculating. And although I think multi-use items are pretty lame (i'm still dubious of the whole camera-phone thing - anyone got one?), mixing up two audio devices that have almost exactly the same physical and useage requirements is a pretty sensible step.
So, I'm not waiting for it....just saying it shouldn't come as a suprise if it does happen.
it's all about the underside, baby
there are many reasons why this is not going to happen... but the one i thought of first:
i want everyone to stop what they're doing right now. pick up your mouse and look at the bottom. unless you're a crazy neat freak there's gonna be some gunk there. now imagine that's what you put up against your face to use it as a phone.
there are many reasons why this is not going to happen... but the one i thought of first:
i want everyone to stop what they're doing right now. pick up your mouse and look at the bottom. unless you're a crazy neat freak there's gonna be some gunk there. now imagine that's what you put up against your face to use it as a phone.
you've got it!
the cellular underside in the drawing is actually a scouring pad.
It's an iPod - Kitchen Scrub - Phone
And it's great for kids. If they swear on the phone, it washes their mouth out with soap.
the cellular underside in the drawing is actually a scouring pad.
It's an iPod - Kitchen Scrub - Phone
And it's great for kids. If they swear on the phone, it washes their mouth out with soap.
How about a clamshell flipphone-iPod-HD-mouse?
I see the point of this gizmo as being, "Hey, as long as we're talking about an enhanced iPod w/ real PDA+phone functionality, why not allow it to function as a bluetooth mouse, as well?" Think of the portable mouse+HD angle as "bonus" uses for an iPod-PDA-phone, since the size is about right for all of the above anyway.
That said, LoopRumors' rendering seems to take some artistic license in illustrating the concept. However, I got to thinking about the issue with nasty desktop debris building up on the phone side of the gizmo as rendered, as well as wondering how they'd manage to work in the "mouse {body} is the button" approach, and I came to this:
How about a clamshell (flip-open) iPodPhoneMouse (damn, need a catchy name for this gizmo -- PowerPod, anyone? %^), such that pressing the closed clamshells together acts as a "click". Think of adding iPod-HD, PDA, and mouse functions to something more along these lines:
http://www.applele.com/hiphone_r03b.html
I see the point of this gizmo as being, "Hey, as long as we're talking about an enhanced iPod w/ real PDA+phone functionality, why not allow it to function as a bluetooth mouse, as well?" Think of the portable mouse+HD angle as "bonus" uses for an iPod-PDA-phone, since the size is about right for all of the above anyway.
That said, LoopRumors' rendering seems to take some artistic license in illustrating the concept. However, I got to thinking about the issue with nasty desktop debris building up on the phone side of the gizmo as rendered, as well as wondering how they'd manage to work in the "mouse {body} is the button" approach, and I came to this:
How about a clamshell (flip-open) iPodPhoneMouse (damn, need a catchy name for this gizmo -- PowerPod, anyone? %^), such that pressing the closed clamshells together acts as a "click". Think of adding iPod-HD, PDA, and mouse functions to something more along these lines:
http://www.applele.com/hiphone_r03b.html
"Howbout this? Howbout that?"
Howzabout a picture of my ass! That'd be more useful at this point.
Howzabout a picture of my ass! That'd be more useful at this point.
I wouldn't say so.
Ok, so I have to hold a mouse that is 1.5 times bigger than my hand? and imagine holding that "cell phone" and talk to your boy/girl friend for half an hour. Ouch.
Okay, I'm beggine to be the Odd man out here, but this is an absolutley great idea. People have been bee-yotching for a bluetooth mouse for a long time. So here's a bluetooh mouse. But then everyone and their grandma has to have a cell phone. So you have that. Then EVERYONE has GOT to have an iPod, so we carry that arround as well. Then there are pretentious/busy people out there that make good use of a PDA, so they lug that around.
That means, if I want to be el Mac Ninja with my PowerBook, I am not only carrying the book itself, but FOUR OTHER ITEMS, that are small and easy to drop and loose.
Here's Apple. First, we take a mouse. It has a board in it, with some optical technology, and that's all well and good, but it certainly dosent take up all the space. So let's add a transciever, and a keypad at the bottom, and make it a cell phone. Hmm...add a second board, but that's about all we can fit so far...
Enter Motorolla. Apple brings in a suprise mystery guest. We've all heard it said or commented on before - they dont concentrate on clock speed. They concentrate on imbedded systems and low power usage. Which is PERFECT for this. Now, we can intergrate all this stuff onto ONE circiut board! If we add enough memory and a decent processor (like the Motorola Dragonball proc, perhaps?) , then we can have some REAL PDA functionality on that board, too. Motorolla even has the TESTED and PROVEN technology to make a good cell phone, not to mention cell phones that do other stuff. Slap a nice, but not extravagant display (maybe like the iPod's, maybe a bit more in color, who knows?), and you have a lot of goodies in a mouse body.
Then there's the hard drive. That COULD be a problem, but seeing as how I would have NO problem putting my hands around something as big as my powerbooks harddrive, it'll work. Thay can get these things smaller than THAT, which was fine anyway.
Add some companies that make nifty holsters, and now you're just carrying your notebook computer. The mouse is in a holster and takes care of the rest. You are now free to shake hands, open doors, and flip people off.
Not to mention , that, if you like connecting to the internet with your bluetooth enable phone, now you can do it with your MOUSE. EVERYTHING uses ONE bluetooth connection.
As for charging, just add a firewire port. It would need this to even be part iPod anyway. Give charging it no more thought than your iPod. Add a headphone port, and you're set! That's two little holes at the front and embedded buttons at the bottom. A scroll whell on the back/top , near the mouse buttons (you might think that's strangs, but grab your mouse and pretend....it would actually be kinda comfortable.) rounds out the deal.
As for the gunk.....there are ways to fix that......sometimes reallly simple ways. I dont even see how this is an argument, as the phone would be a NUBB (opposite of a flip phone). Whenever I use a nubb, the mouthpeice never gets NEAR my mouth...that's what flip-phones are for. That, and also you fools must have some really dirty surfaces in your homes....
Ahhh..that was a nice rant. I wouldn't rain down upon this you guys. I remember you all speculating over a white plastic enclosure a few weeks back saying it was a small mac tablet. How do you like your iPod dock? HAHAHAHA!
I'm not saying this thing is going to get made but it SHOULD.
P.S. What the heck happened to thinking different?
That means, if I want to be el Mac Ninja with my PowerBook, I am not only carrying the book itself, but FOUR OTHER ITEMS, that are small and easy to drop and loose.
Here's Apple. First, we take a mouse. It has a board in it, with some optical technology, and that's all well and good, but it certainly dosent take up all the space. So let's add a transciever, and a keypad at the bottom, and make it a cell phone. Hmm...add a second board, but that's about all we can fit so far...
Enter Motorolla. Apple brings in a suprise mystery guest. We've all heard it said or commented on before - they dont concentrate on clock speed. They concentrate on imbedded systems and low power usage. Which is PERFECT for this. Now, we can intergrate all this stuff onto ONE circiut board! If we add enough memory and a decent processor (like the Motorola Dragonball proc, perhaps?) , then we can have some REAL PDA functionality on that board, too. Motorolla even has the TESTED and PROVEN technology to make a good cell phone, not to mention cell phones that do other stuff. Slap a nice, but not extravagant display (maybe like the iPod's, maybe a bit more in color, who knows?), and you have a lot of goodies in a mouse body.
Then there's the hard drive. That COULD be a problem, but seeing as how I would have NO problem putting my hands around something as big as my powerbooks harddrive, it'll work. Thay can get these things smaller than THAT, which was fine anyway.
Add some companies that make nifty holsters, and now you're just carrying your notebook computer. The mouse is in a holster and takes care of the rest. You are now free to shake hands, open doors, and flip people off.
Not to mention , that, if you like connecting to the internet with your bluetooth enable phone, now you can do it with your MOUSE. EVERYTHING uses ONE bluetooth connection.
As for charging, just add a firewire port. It would need this to even be part iPod anyway. Give charging it no more thought than your iPod. Add a headphone port, and you're set! That's two little holes at the front and embedded buttons at the bottom. A scroll whell on the back/top , near the mouse buttons (you might think that's strangs, but grab your mouse and pretend....it would actually be kinda comfortable.) rounds out the deal.
As for the gunk.....there are ways to fix that......sometimes reallly simple ways. I dont even see how this is an argument, as the phone would be a NUBB (opposite of a flip phone). Whenever I use a nubb, the mouthpeice never gets NEAR my mouth...that's what flip-phones are for. That, and also you fools must have some really dirty surfaces in your homes....
Ahhh..that was a nice rant. I wouldn't rain down upon this you guys. I remember you all speculating over a white plastic enclosure a few weeks back saying it was a small mac tablet. How do you like your iPod dock? HAHAHAHA!
I'm not saying this thing is going to get made but it SHOULD.
P.S. What the heck happened to thinking different?
I don't think it's a phone...
I think people are jumping to conclusions about what this is. I think it's just a revamped optical mouse.
While people might mistake the grid for cell phone buttons, the little diamonds between them looks way more like a plastic optical diffuser, like car taillight housings - or maybe it's a multi-lens element like a fly's eye. Obviously this is an optical mouse - that might be for better illumination or mousing precision.
As to what the 'screen' is - if it's a cordless mouse, the battery door has to go somewhere, doesn't it?
Alternatively, IIRC, Apple usually puts a nice big label on the bottom of their mice with part numbers, bar codes and whatnot; that has to go somewhere, and Apple usually puts a slight recess on the surface for thaat.
There *is* a cellphone that kinda looks like that, though - Xelibri, a sub-brand of Nokia, is doing designer cell phones for the European market. (http://www.xelibri.com).
I think people are jumping to conclusions about what this is. I think it's just a revamped optical mouse.
While people might mistake the grid for cell phone buttons, the little diamonds between them looks way more like a plastic optical diffuser, like car taillight housings - or maybe it's a multi-lens element like a fly's eye. Obviously this is an optical mouse - that might be for better illumination or mousing precision.
As to what the 'screen' is - if it's a cordless mouse, the battery door has to go somewhere, doesn't it?
Alternatively, IIRC, Apple usually puts a nice big label on the bottom of their mice with part numbers, bar codes and whatnot; that has to go somewhere, and Apple usually puts a slight recess on the surface for thaat.
There *is* a cellphone that kinda looks like that, though - Xelibri, a sub-brand of Nokia, is doing designer cell phones for the European market. (http://www.xelibri.com).
