Beeblebrox - Oct 24, 2005 02:32pm

Fredrik - Oct 24, 2005 02:09pm

Toshiba announced a fuel cell mp3-player (prototype) that runned on pure methanol. They claim they can run it two and a half days longer than current products. The products works now and which year is it? 2005. When have they scheduled a public release? 2007.

And it begs the question why a company like Duracell, whose entire business is portable power, can’t come up with something that Toshiba has already announced.  But they will only get into this market when forced to in order to survive.

Pretty sure I said Apple, just because Toshiba was the first to announce it doesn’t mean that no one else researched it or anything.

napierzaza - Oct 24, 2005 02:43pm

Beeblebrox - Oct 24, 2005 02:37pm

napierzaza - Oct 24, 2005 02:15pm

So clearly sitting on the product will make them more money than releasing it!

In Toshiba’s case, they already have products in the pipeline that were in development before the fuel cell mp3 player.  You can’t just skip over those products to release something new. You lose too much R&D;.

So yes, they make more money sitting on the product than by releasing it.  There is a release strategy involved to maximize profits from old or existing technology.  I’m not sure why that’s such a hard concept for you to grasp.

So how much of a pipeline do you think there is? Do you think that companies who want to keep nimble will have 10 years worth of a stockpile? You’re joking.

Although they have to wait some years before releasing the product (in order to make profit from the old products), they can’t wait too long. Sooner or later another company brings the idea to a product that’s not good.

Beeblebrox - Oct 24, 2005 04:32pm

napierzaza - Oct 24, 2005 02:43pm

So how much of a pipeline do you think there is? Do you think that companies who want to keep nimble will have 10 years worth of a stockpile? You’re joking.

For a “nimble” company, the pipeline is at least 2 years, probably more like 5. Hell, the average production cycle for a movie is 2 years, and that industry is about as nimble as it gets.

For bigger industries, it’s 5-10+ years.  Look how long the hybrids have been in development.  HD was around for at least that long before its introduction to the consumer market.

Do you have ANY experience whatsover in the business world? This is all VERY common knowledge.

I have some business experience, don’t we all have a little business experience? Speeking of experience, I have a little experience with fuel cells, and think that a fuel cell in an ipod could give you 40 hours of music playback.

Beeblebrox - Oct 24, 2005 05:22pm

Frozonecold - Oct 24, 2005 05:10pm

I have some business experience, don’t we all have a little business experience?

There is a sizable contengent of the internet who are still in high school/college.

Speeking of experience, I have a little experience with fuel cells, and think that a fuel cell in an ipod could give you 40 hours of music playback.

What I heard was 2 1/2 times as much juice on a single charge.  That’s about 6-8 hours of total video playback on the iPod.  Not great, but a step in the right direction.

I see your point about the age make up of the internet. I think 8 hours of video playback would be enough for me.

Beeblebrox - Oct 24, 2005 06:51pm

Frozonecold - Oct 24, 2005 06:44pm

I think 8 hours of video playback would be enough for me.

Considering I’m going to buy one with a measly 3 hours, I guess I can live with 8.  But I really want the same 15-20 (granted, in theory) you get for music.

I am going to get an external battery pack anyway, so it doesn’t effect me much, also I will use it more for music.

Beeblebrox - Oct 23, 2005 05:10pm

napierzaza - Oct 23, 2005 05:00pm

Well that’s a conspiracy theory that is partly true and can’t be fully substantiated.

That’s like saying that evolution “can’t be fully substantiated” in order to critique a known fact that you simply don’t want to believe.

This isn’t a conspiracy theory.  It’s the way corporations are.  It’s the way they’ve alwasy been.  In fact, it’s a VERY common criticism around sites like this one about companies like Microsoft and its lack of innovation.  So don’t pretend like it’s suddenly nutty to accuse an industry of purposely not innovating in order to capitalize on the status quo.

just imagine if AMD hadn’t come out w/ the athlon. Jobs wold have been promising 2Ghz G4s that never would have seen the light of day from IBM!

But how many people really buy aftermarket products anyways? IF people were willing to pay full price for iPods before, they will now, and it has more features.

My lastest MacFormat magazine has a brief review of the Nyko iBoost battery pack. It slips onto the back of the iPod and connects to the Dock on the bottom. It gives 16 extra hours for the iPod version (3G, 4G, and Photo) or 10 extra hours for the iPod Mini version. It’s small and can be left on the iPod even when using the Dock (recharging both the bateery pack and the iPod’s battery). Since it fits the iPod Photo it should also fit the iPod Video. The magazine gave the iBoost 4 out of 5 stars.

There’s also evidently external battery packs by other makers that give up to 80 hours!! I don’t know who makes them, but the magazine says they are more bulky.