Nobody interested in an open hardware iPod Nano?

> So, why is nobody interested in recreating an iPod nano like device? It should be doable with modern tech, but Phones have completely taken over the market...

My guess is that an iPod Nano can’t replace your iPhone so you’re going to have one anyway. If you already have one, why buy something else that doesn’t offer any extra features? Same goes for things like battery life, I’m already charging my phone every night, listening to audio is a very small additional battery drain so my daily habits don’t change.

Combine that with the fact that a lot of people listen to music via streaming services, the Apple Watch exists (works well for runners that don’t want to carry a phone) and you can start to see why the market for an iPod nano is pretty niche these days.

I don’t mean to discourage you, love the research you’ve done and your passion for the concept! Just know that if you build it out it’s going to be a niche product. Nothing wrong with that.

Well, I think it's as simple as you say. Phones have completely taken over the market. The majority of people don't find any value in having another device that's only differentiating factor is that it isn't their phone. (You didn't mention headphone jacks).

It's just like portable GPS devices, electronic organizers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdeE_kiG5Co), electronic translators/dictionaries, calculators, alarm clocks, ...

I host a Navidrome music server at home. I can access my personal music collection from anywhere in the world, privately and self-sovereignly and I don't have to decide what music to take with me anymore.

I'm very nostalgic for the iPod days but it's just a bygone era. Us music-lovers and audiophiles have upgraded our game.

I realised you've already ruled out the full-size ipods as too bulky - but a thought that crosses my mind once in a while, is that given the number of aftermarket parts for 5G/6G iPods - I'm surprised no-one's come up with an aftermarket logic board.

My desired feature set otherwise doesn't differ too much from yours. Flac, BT for headphones, wifi to sync (from something that isn't itunes), support for larger sdcards, and maybe charging over anything but the 30pin. And then that one annoying bug - it'd be nice if 'shuffle all' didn't internally create a playlist that contained every song, creating an artificial limit on how many tracks can be used because that playlist fills the ram.

But what the full-size ipod really benefits from at the moment is aftermarket parts - chassis, shell, screen, touchwheel, batteries, etc. The logic board is really the only supply-constrained part left, and just addressing that one part cuts down the manufacturing dramatically.

Unfortunately the Nano doesn't garner the same aftermarket. Largely because it's dangerous & near-impossible to remove the innards once the battery starts swelling - so the biggest driver to rebuild it comes hand-in-hand with the inability to do so.

There are still people who like the idea of a dedicated mp3 playing device (vs always using their phone for that), but I'm not sure those same people are the ones that care about having an open source version of that device. Old mp3 players are readily available and cheap. That said, start a project and document it well and I'm sure you'll find others that are interested.

People are very interested. I'm not an apple person, but I'd very much like device that is dedicated to music, works well, and the iPod with the wheel has got to be the best UX for an mp3 player I've ever seen.

"Like" is very different from "want to buy". It just so happens, I've got a device in my pocket (well right now, my hands) that does that job adequately enough. And it does video. And it does interpersonal communication. And I can read documents on it.

I remember before smartphones that the market was so saturated with cell phones that companies were basically just throwing out strange form factors to set themselves apart. The entire market was hype. People bought phones based on what their carrier had available, and they picked their carrier based on the plans available, and they picked a plan based on their needs. 10 free ringtones, unlimited email for $30 a month. All the manufacturers knew what people wanted, one device to rule them all, a general purpose computer in their pocket, but none of them could either pull it off or bring themselves to destroy the rest of their consumer electronics business. As soon as apple did it, the demand for everything else evaporated. You buy one device and you no longer need a TomTom, a DVD player in your car headrest, an mp3 player, you name it, its gone. The only things that survived are things that hook up to a big screen in front of your couch, and the screen itself. Gaming computers are a thing, but besides that they're workstations. There's only one personal media device now, and everyone has one.

So yes, there's interest in this stuff. I'm personally pretty interested in a little device that just plays sound through a 3.5mm jack that takes a micro SD card and doesn't need daily charging. I'd also be interested in such a device for books (that runs koreader and absolutely nothing else). No networking, no multipurpose, nothing, just that. But admittedly, what I'd pay for those things is low, because I already have something adequate for those purposes, and it's a niche market, there aren't a lot of people that see the benefit to an eBook reader that at least can't google something real quick over WiFi.

An open source Ipod Nano is a great idea. It could be useful for many years, much longer than a phone. I’m interested in the idea of making one that is modular too - made from little interconnected open source PCBs that you can get from say Lilygo, Seeed, DFRobot, Adafruit, Sparkfun.

I think open source and modular hardware could be a way to make electronics repairable and user-upgradeable, and also prevent future e-waste. Modularity = repair & reuse. [1] And this means you don’t have to be good at PCB design to get started.

For example I think you can make an MVP Ipod entirely out of existing adafruit modules. And sell the MVP for 2-3x BOM / distribute the design as a production model, not just a prototype.

If you get any traction, you can make a better product by designing better modules, and make them high quality, open source, and documented, so that manufacturers will pick them up and start supplying them to the community. If the modules aren't picked up by a manufacturer (with no money exchanging hands) that means the module isn't general purpose enough and would lead to future e-waste.

1. https://www.hackster.io/buildingpulse/modular-lorawan-end-no...

Because more people are interested in a modded 7th gen ipod classic[0][1]. Give me the wheel any day.

[0]: https://www.wired.com/story/ipod-modders/

[1]: https://player-mods.com/products/bluetooth-modded-ipod-class...

I used an iPod nano 6g for years. I loved the tiny size, the clip, and the fact that it didn't have speakers (no accidental noise in the office).

I use my phone for mp3s and podcasts now, but I'd prefer the iPod if it weren't dead (and I could update it from Linux). I find myself going into shops with my family staying in the car, and it would be nice to take my phone without having to turn off the music for them.

Tangara is crowdfunding right now, and seems to fit the description to some extent.

https://www.crowdsupply.com/cool-tech-zone/tangara

Why recreate device that died because less and less people wanted or needed it? There’s no demand for it in the market. We have “supercomputers” in our pockets or on our wrists, we don’t need another device to carry in our pockets.

In my experience, smartwatches are the replacement for iPods -- they play all the media you may want and are highly portable/convenient.

You may be interested in Tangara. https://www.crowdsupply.com/cool-tech-zone/tangara

> The music player you wish you had in the early 2000s

> 100% open hardware running open-source software

Although, Tangara looks quite a bit bulkier than the Nano.

I’m not, but I’d love to see open source components that outperform the alternatives (e.g., ESS).

an ipod nano was only half its hardware

it gave non-technical users a pathway to legally put the audio needed to make that hardware do anything easily (using their credit card)

that's why most newer products have some sort of digital integration

i use a SanDisk Sansa Clip+

iPods are a relic from when a time before everybody carried around a cell phone that could also stream any music they would care to hear. What do I gain from this device that I don't get from using an iPhone?