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The Mystery of iPod Nano Spy Photos
Posted by Jesus Diaz at 3:46 AM on September 7, 2008
Yesterday we said that the leaked iPod nano shot looked real to us. After all, Apple seems to be going through its curved surfaces and tapered edges period. This new shot of this old-green-lime coloured one however is a completely different beast.
• First, the proportions in the green one are all wrong compared to the orange one. Even counting the perspective, the first unit seems to have a much smaller wheel, with a bigger middle button. It's also farther away from the bottom of the iPod. Finally, the screen doesn't seem so elongated as the green unit.
• The surfaces are also different. The orange nano is clearly curved, while the green one is clearly flat. The button in the orange one follows the curve of the surface, while the button in the green one is clearly receded, like in the old nanos. With that side lighting, a curved surface would be obvious in the image. This one is clearly flat.
• The rounded corners on the orange iPod screen are bigger and more obvious than in the old one.
• Finally, the faker of the green iPod forgot to put a short ended iPod cable in the shot, using the old style one.
Our theory is that:
a) The original MacNN shot, which they obtained, may very well be the real McCoy.
b) The J.R. guy removed the MacNN watermark and reposted it in some forums, looking for some kind attention.
c) The same J.R. guy tried to keep the attention by faking this shot, but failed to realise the obvious physical differences between the two iPods.
d) J.R. is a loser.
Update: This just in. We just got a higher resolution image of the iPod without any water marks:
At the end, however, remember our basic rule about rumours: don't trust any of them. We all will have to wait for September 9 to see what's really rocking in Cupertino. [Engadget]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
markooos
Posted September 9, 2008 12:55 AM
you've been able to buy this style of nano in chine for the past year. i was actually going to send you in a pic of one of them.
Jagged Toaster
Posted 4:33 AM 7/9/08
@mstolfe: I didn't realize it was a typo. I thought the date had been pushed back. I'm glad to hear it wasn't though, I'm excited for Tuesday!
Jagged Toaster
Kharnellius
Posted 4:23 AM 7/9/08
Of course the green one is a fake. It's the old green nano with a superimposed large screen (see bad pixelation compared to rest of image) and it has the wrong USB cable. Also, it is easy to tell it is not curved as the lighting gradient is not accurate if it were anything like the orange one.
Orange looks authentic.
Kharnellius
thechansen
Posted 4:20 AM 7/9/08
I've seen some really convincing iPod knock offs in my day. Maybe the Chinese have been making cases with their new "Made for iPod Knockoffs" program?
thechansen
takashimiike 7
Posted 4:19 AM 7/9/08
Yeah the photos have been pretty inconsistent.
takashimiike 7
mferrari
Posted 4:16 AM 7/9/08
I'm getting the new touch. I really don't care if it has any new features at this point. Either a lot of new stuff, or a $50+ dollar drop is fine.
mferrari
hillaryh8tr
Posted 4:16 AM 7/9/08
the green ipod just looks like one of the older nanos not the latest generation but the generation before that with a stretched out screnn, not a very difficult photoshop job
hillaryh8tr
Leonard Nimrod
Posted 4:12 AM 7/9/08
@daftrok: Go for it. While I prefer my iPhone for the web browser and my Shuffle for the gym/running, that is a fine device by a fine company.
@kylenalepa: It look legits, but two things are bothering me. One minor, one major.
The original claim of a curved screen is bad for durability and viewing reasons, but this curve looks to be the cover, not the display itself and seems to be very minor at the edge where the display may not even go to.
My real problem is the static display on the clickwheel. If we are supposed to turn it 90° when viewing videos (no accelerometer, this is only for videos) are we supposed to use the clickwheel in a wonky way or use it the right way but with the labels not being representative. This was an issue with the Zune Flash player and goes against Apple's typical MO.
Leonard Nimrod
Jesus Diaz
Posted 4:09 AM 7/9/08
@Noobs-R-Us: You are right. I was thinking about the Large Hadron Collider ignition. We will probably have a liveblog of that too.
Jesus Diaz
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Posted 4:08 AM 7/9/08
copper is convincing.
BiZarRroBALlmeR
dorkboy
Posted 4:08 AM 7/9/08
look at the manual on the right. If you look at the reflection you see the apple symbol but on the paper its halfway down.
dorkboy
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 4:01 AM 7/9/08
Jesus, That would be Sept. 9th!!!!
Noobs-R-Us
mstolfe
Posted 4:00 AM 7/9/08
@Jagged Toaster: not sure if your joking or not, but it is the 9th. its a typo...
mstolfe
Mike918
Posted 4:00 AM 7/9/08
The green one looks completely china made...just look at the sync cable it's all ugly, the orange one looks more real but i still think the design is very bad.
Mike918
Mayor McRib
Posted 3:59 AM 7/9/08
Nice call on the USB cable. That is what I used to debunk it. Apple isn't even using the plastic piece that goes over the dock connector anymore.
Mayor McRib
Yeraze
Posted 3:59 AM 7/9/08
Is it just me, or does the edges of the Green nano's LCD screen look very pixellated? Like it's a plain Square made in Photoshop and then rotated into alignment, aliasing artifacts and such.
Looks fake to me.
Yeraze
klaybc
Posted 3:58 AM 7/9/08
One need only walk through the electronics district of Taipei to see both of these knock-offs as well as many more. Chinese manufacturers have been "re-imagining" the iPod for years.
klaybc
LazyPanda
Posted 3:58 AM 7/9/08
I'm not usually one to call "shopped!" but the green one looks totally fake. I cold believe the orange one.
let's see - on the green one the central button looks like a simple gradient. and the aliasing on the screen looks like what you'd get from a shape object in photoshop (damn photoshop and its wonky anti aliasing!) examples here: [www.viget.com]
LazyPanda
kylenalepa
Posted 3:56 AM 7/9/08
I'm going with the orange one being the real deal. It jives up with all we've heard about the new Nano, and even though I'm far from a Photoshop connoisseur, it looks like a legitimate shot.
kylenalepa
daftrok
Posted 3:53 AM 7/9/08
I'd rather get this:
[us.creative.com]
daftrok
Jagged Toaster
Posted 3:52 AM 7/9/08
We have to wait until September 10th? Aw man, I was ready for the 9th..
Jagged Toaster
DukeOliver
Posted 3:49 AM 7/9/08
Mystery of the GODS!
DukeOliver
PH
Posted 4:55 AM 7/9/08
JR is a looser!
We will have to wait till 9/9 to see how its going to look...
PH
willyolio
Posted 4:54 AM 7/9/08
my vote goes to chinese knockoff.
willyolio
acekrn
Posted 4:51 AM 7/9/08
lol with josh, tru that man. honestly, who cares though, WHY is there hype building up for this? when the news is released , it will be released, why is everyone getting so tip toed about it? it's not like it's something revolutionary
acekrn
Josh_Geyer
Posted 4:47 AM 7/9/08
I think these are both chinese knock offs in an ipod box... Go on ebay, they have a bunch on ebay that look exactly like the green one...
Josh_Geyer
Boots_Mcoy
Posted 4:42 AM 7/9/08
@dorkboy: not only that but the USB cable is from the older ipods the new one is thinner with no lock buttons on the side. this might be either faked by some looser with to much time or a clever plot by apple to throw people off
Boots_Mcoy
hu_hu_cool
Posted 4:39 AM 7/9/08
the JR one is a fake.
hu_hu_cool
Josh_Geyer
Posted 5:14 AM 7/9/08
Plus anyone with decent photoshop skills (myself included) could make the orange one look curvy.
Josh_Geyer
dannydutton
Posted 5:07 AM 7/9/08
I didn't read all the comments so I don't know if this has been said, but i think the green one kinda looks like a elongated iPod Mini with a black screen instead of the mini's grayish screen.
dannydutton
Jesus Diaz
Posted 5:06 AM 7/9/08
@Noobs-R-Us: Yeah, in a way it would be the best way to go, if I can cover it here first. Biggest scoop in history: World Ends at 11.
Jesus Diaz
wbemus
Posted 5:06 AM 7/9/08
I call fake on the green. I can detail the steps that were used to photoshop the green one. If anybody from engadget is reading this kindly suggest that JR gets a taste of their bannhammer. it's idiots like that that start these rumors in the first place.
also think that the orange could very well be legit.
Ps: I'm not going to post that he should be banned on engadget because I don't want to defile my browser with their logo.
wbemus
Jesus Diaz
Posted 5:05 AM 7/9/08
@PlayerX: Curviness will be obvious with that lighting. Proportions don't match up.
Jesus Diaz
PlayerX
Posted 5:04 AM 7/9/08
@PlayerX: Then again, yeah, the screens are different. OOOH, isn't new stuff exciting? I can't wait for the presentation!
PlayerX
PlayerX
Posted 5:02 AM 7/9/08
I think the comparison between the orange and green nanos' proportions was hastily done... the photos are taken from different perspectives.
The green one was taken from directly above it, so its curviness wouldn't show up as much as the straightness of the actual edge's lines, whereas the orange one was taken on an angle, so its cross-sectional curves would be more apparent. They match up, imo.
PlayerX
rudeadly
Posted 5:01 AM 7/9/08
very obviously fake otherwise apple would have C&D'd already. sorry to break your hearts.
rudeadly
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 5:00 AM 7/9/08
@Jesus Diaz: You want to be upfront and personal when the world explodes right? LOL.
Noobs-R-Us
Tsumi91
Posted 5:36 AM 7/9/08
you guys are tools. cowon D2 all day, every day. a bit over 2 days actually ;)(rated at 52 hours for audio). and it IS way better than the nano or iTouch IMO.
Tsumi91
ichi1
Posted 5:31 AM 7/9/08
why oh why oh why would you fake a picture of a phone. I bet the guy has not had a woman touch his penis since that time at school when the nurse does the penis inspection.
ichi1
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 5:29 AM 7/9/08
The real questioni in my mind is how are they going to make the dual screen menu system work in this format? The wide screen of the Fat and Classic was already too narrow to fit the preview screen. Are they going to come out with a new menu system?
Noobs-R-Us
seamustry
Posted 5:57 AM 7/9/08
man let's just wait a couple more days, huh?
seamustry
vgart
Posted 5:53 AM 7/9/08
I think Apple make spy shots on purpose to see the small reaction. They clearly stopped pulling stuff off the web, because they kinda hint that it is real stuff. =)
vgart
Julio Allison
Posted 5:45 AM 7/9/08
Oh my god, people. Get lives. STAT.
Julio Allison
nightsky
Posted 5:59 AM 7/9/08
@daftrok: Love my Zen, The only crazy thing is having to convert videos, bu you have to do that with an iPod as well.
nightsky
the.schimmi
Posted 6:38 AM 7/9/08
i find it lulz worthy that apple is copying zune
not to say i'm a microsoft fanboy, on the contrary, i hate apple and m$
viva la linux
the.schimmi
fuzzylollipop
Posted 6:35 AM 7/9/08
I am still rocking a Silver mini! I think it is still the best form factor they ever made. The classic is too bulky and the nano is too small. I think this is the step back in the right direction of the old style mini!
fuzzylollipop
Mannyatic
Posted 6:32 AM 7/9/08
Guys, haven`t you seen those fake ipod cheap mp4 players ? The green looks exactly to those. So FAKE.
The orange one looks quite good if its true, but so sorry apple no FM radio, no ipod on my gadgets list.
Mannyatic
Zomb
Posted 6:28 AM 7/9/08
You people realize with the orange that plastic and the angle will refract light causing the dimensions to appear distorted.
Zomb
Eruanno
Posted 6:50 AM 7/9/08
This might be interesting:
My brothers best friend is studying economics-something and was in China for her studies for a couple of weeks during the summer, where she saw fake-iPod nanos and bought one. (More because of the fun-factor rather than the "Do want!"-one. It kinda sucks.)
Turns out they don't work so well and all.
However - And this did not strike me until I read this post... the package it came in (which was very cheap-looking) looks EXACTLY like the one in the picture with the orange iPod Nano above!
Chinese fake? xD
Eruanno
Ginsu
Posted 7:36 AM 7/9/08
I read Gizmodo to get away from the now-owned-by-the-unholy Engadget.
I call absolute shenanigans on the green one. Whoever made the call on the reflection off the box...good call.
The screen was iffy enough as it was, but the reflection of the wrong document kinda just sealed it. Well, that and the wrong cable, and the...
I still don't know what to make of the orange one, though.
Truth be told, I've never owned a Nano, as the size, shape, and capacity have never done it for me, but I might be interested if one of these generations they weren't in some way hideous (too tall, too skinny, then too short, too fat, now too tall, too skinny with a disproportionately long screen? meh), and had a decent capacity. Somewhere around the 60GB mark would get me looking, if not buying.
@the.schimmi: Every time the Giz posts a linux-related story, I'm gunna make sure to hop in and point out the fact that I'm in now way interested in the product, and that I'm an Apple Cultist. Just for you, you tool.
Ginsu
Branden.Tang
Posted 7:33 AM 7/9/08
Another thing, the screen on the green one should at least have reflections on it, take a look at the packaging versus the screen.
Branden.Tang
Branden.Tang
Posted 7:31 AM 7/9/08
[img389.imageshack.us]
Branden.Tang
Branden.Tang
Posted 7:31 AM 7/9/08
1. The screen is all matte looking and lines are screwed and choppy.
2. The middle button is an unmatching shadow, a simply gradient effect.
3. Where did this random shadow come from? It's pretty inconsistent with the shadow on the middle button.
4. Angles are proportionate, lines are smooth, realistic reflections. Either a genious photoshop, or the real thing.
Branden.Tang
LightAce
Posted 7:24 AM 7/9/08
I gave up on apple a long time ago and they keep giving me reasons on why I made a good decision.
LightAce
andthepickles
Posted 7:21 AM 7/9/08
The green is fake. The guy made the screen in photoshop. It's obvious. Look at it! Not only that but I think it IS the 2nd gen and he just moved the wheel down [not that hard].
The orange one is so ugly too. Lol. Just had to say that.
andthepickles
Bodie1550
Posted 8:15 AM 7/9/08
@LazyPanda:
It's photoshopped. The green one is fake. Look at the dark lines on the screen. I'll call them stretch marks.
Bodie1550
D.E.P.C.
Posted 8:13 AM 7/9/08
@rudeadly: So not true. We(the public) had images of the 3G iPhone like 2 months in advance and we dismissed them for that same reason.
D.E.P.C.
richard8a
Posted 8:30 AM 7/9/08
Why are these "high resolution" shots always out of focus?!? It doesn't matter how many friggin' pixels your picture has if none of them are in focus on your subject...
richard8a
frigg
Posted 9:04 AM 7/9/08
The orange one looks real, although it seems to go against the trend of increasing screen real estate. It seems like an awfully large swath of non-screen just for the click wheel.
frigg
freakerz
Posted 9:30 AM 7/9/08
I stand by my "fake" of the last orange-related post.
freakerz
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 9:49 AM 7/9/08
You know, now that I'm paying more attention to this thing, I see that Apple's also going back on their all-metal design that they touted with the current nano. This new gumstick nano will once again have the plastic end pieces, which is not as good as having the entire thing be two sandwiching metal parts.
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 9:47 AM 7/9/08
@frigg: Well, there IS the Shuffle, Apple's tiny swath of no screen at all :P
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Kartune
Posted 11:14 AM 7/9/08
@daftrok: i was gonna get a creative for my mom till i read the reviews. a bunch of people complained that it freezes and shuts off at random.
Kartune
jimbowyer
Posted 11:59 AM 7/9/08
Why are 'spy shots' always low resolution or out of focus? Many camera phones have auto focus and if not how hard is it to take a quick snap of a non-moving object so that it's properly focussed- certainly doesn't help with authenticity claims
jimbowyer
MastaFalse
Posted 2:09 PM 7/9/08
Finally, someone called JR a loser. I was looking for that.
Attention grubbing winking emoticon I'm fucking cool faggot ass punk ass pussy ass bitch ass NYICCUHHHHHH!
MastaFalse
Geogeo
Posted 10:25 PM 7/9/08
green one is hax
Geogeo
VakeroRokero
Posted 3:16 AM 8/9/08
Wow, someone never showed up for perspective class.
VakeroRokero
Crim Law Geek
Posted 6:55 AM 8/9/08
Both look like the cheap knock-off "Apple MP4 Player with Camara[sic]" I saw for a Yuan a dozen in every electronic store, flea market, and street corner in every place I visited in China. They even made the same packaging as the Nano, with Apple logo and everything. I really doubt Apple is going to make its new iPod line look just like the year-old Chinese street rip-offs.
Crim Law Geek
NagChampa
Posted 11:24 AM 8/9/08
It's hard to give a crap about the nano if you have the iPhone 3G. Sorry, that's just how I feel... Cheers.
NagChampa
jaymac
Posted 4:38 PM 8/9/08
AW DANG! Sorry, reposted cause my first post didn't show up.
jaymac
jaymac
Posted 4:37 PM 8/9/08
Apple copying the Zune display? Is "copying" even in Apple's dictionary?
jaymac
jaymac
Posted 4:34 PM 8/9/08
Apple is actually copying from someone else this time.
IMO, Zune design < iPod design. Keyword: design. The Zune swipe or whatever button rocks. AND ONLY 2 MORE DAYS 'TIL THE APPLE EVENT!
jaymac
woopwooppollyoop
Posted 2:47 AM 8/9/08
The green one is an obvious fake, the orange one I could believe.
woopwooppollyoop
monogatari
Posted 5:41 PM 7/9/08
Just a couple of days now.. I can't wait to see what Apple have in store!
monogatari
dogfish67
Posted 4:47 PM 7/9/08
photo of green one sure looks photoshopped, but the photo of the orange one has me stumped.....I counted at least 6 light sources reflecting in the plastic case, but none of the shadows in the photo line up with the light sources or the angle of the camera.
what is up with that?
Authentic, my ass....I learned long ago "believe nothing you read and only half of what you see"-but that was before photoshop....
dogfish67
musicmonkey34
Posted 9:15 AM 7/9/08
heres my stab in the dark not-based-on-anything prediciton.
it'll be the same short and fat stature of the 3g nano but with a touch screen. I keep trying to scroll with the screen (just switched from iphone to nano), and think that the current nano shape would work perfectly with a full touch screen.
but thats just me :-)
musicmonkey34
SebastianMoth
Posted 6:09 AM 7/9/08
I'm very surprised that noone actually mentioned that in addition to the pixellation on the green unit's screen, It's Not Centered. The screen is to the right a millimeter or so... The Apple design team could never get away with that in this day and age (let alone the fact that black and white are the only "colours" that they have actually copied from one generation to the next.. Everything else has been in a different hue or shade to make it look shiny)
SebastianMoth
Dainis Graveris
Posted 3:58 AM 7/9/08
Looks like VIP spy mission You have made up here :D But anyway looking at those ipods..i just cannt..perfect design ;)
Dainis Graveris
prac
Posted 4:00 AM 7/9/08
"the obvious physical differences"
You obviously know nothing about perspective and lens distortion.
There's certainly no physical difference between the two models in the picture.
prac