Third-gen iPod touch observed in testing
updated 03:30 pm EDT, Wed July 8, 2009
Third-gen iPod testing
Apple is already testing a third-generation iPod touch, information from Pinch Media indicates. The analytics group has tracked a device using the "iPod 3,1" moniker online, which is in keeping with Apple's standard hardware versioning. The second-generation Touch, for example, is designated iPod 2,1, while the iPhone 3G is iPhone 1,2.
Pinch says it has encountered "a few dozen" instances of iPod 3,1 devices going online, in all cases running apps from a collection of approximately two dozen major, third-party titles. The activity mirrors the kind that preceded the announcement of the iPhone 3GS, and may therefore point to Apple having complete or near-complete hardware undergoing practical evaluation. Apple is most likely to reveal the device in September, when it has taken to announcing iPods for the past several years.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
WiFi-N
I wonder if other things can be gleaned about these stealthy visitors. It'd be particularly helpful to know if the new iPods wil support WiFi-N. Last year, Steve Jobs complained that battery consumption was too high on mobile N chips. Has that changed?
This matters. The iPod touch is almost completely dependent on WiFi and the B/G versions are dated and doomed, particularly in office environments. No one wants to drag an office network down just to accommodate a few iPods.