Video iPod Oct 12? 471
Petey_Alchemist writes "Apple Insider is reporting that Apple will release a video iPod on October 12th, possibly in conjunction with the announcement of Apple's fourth quarter results.
From the article 'Although details are scarce, sources who claim to have seen the new iPod describe it as being similar to Apple's 60GB iPod photo player, but several millimeters thinner.
The device reportedly sports a smaller click-wheel akin to that of the iPod nano's, making way for a larger, higher-resolution color display that extends further down the face of the device.' "
The screen! (Score:4, Insightful)
Where's the market? (Score:3, Insightful)
Music videos? Does MTV even play them anymore? Who watches videos?
My impression is that Apple is trying to make the market viable, yet the iPod's popularity rode on years of MP3 success from Napster-on. Who trades videos over P2P or buys video DVDs from Borders, Wal-Mart or Amazon?
Is it a workaround from the RIAA? Doubtful. Is it attempting to fill up the hole in a dwindling music video market? Unlikely. Is it a feature that will get a huge initial "ooh toy" interest that will never get used after the first few weeks?
I can't see why this is needed unless Apple foresees video Podcasts from independent video "bloggers" or DIY TV show sites, but even that is a stretch.
The iPod coasted on the coattails of a huge market without a user friendly portable player. Video iPod is trying to invent a market boom.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:2, Insightful)
The latest version of iTunes to come out added support for video podcasting, and with storage and bandwidth becoming less of a factor, I think we are going to see more and more people taking their blogs to the next step.. from text, to podcasts, to video podcasts.
Just because its an iPod doesn't mean it has to be music related.
Still not sure it's a good idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Say you make it taller than it is wide and rotate it ninety degrees to view video. Then you're 2" tall, but still only about 2.7" wide, giving you a whopping 3.3" diagonal, up from 2.5" on the current iPod.
Video out support is good, but you're pushing that tiny hard drive pretty hard whether you're driving the iPod's screen or not. Apple would have to do some very impressive tricks with the battery life to make a video iPod practical.
From everything I've been reading, video support on the current iPod is just a firmware upgrade away. But I'm not convinced it's something users are going to be able to use well, even if it is just restricted to music videos.
Hopefully AppleInsider's barking up the wrong tree.
it better play more video formats and codecs... (Score:2, Insightful)
Bound to happen. (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt that Apple will support divx, using H.264 instead. My question, who has compared these formats in a 500 MB size limit? Will Apple give you a utility to convert your DVDs? (probably not). Also, the question of battery life is important. An SD card doesn't spin inside. That hard drive on the iPod is going to burn a lot of battery power, and get hot to the touch.
The video iPod is inevitable. My questions are mainly to how we will fill them without an Apple Movie Store. I would expect the release of this iPod to coincide with the release of a movie store.
This has to have some sort of VIDEO OUT (Score:2, Insightful)
but,
if it did have vdeo out of some sort, it would be really attractive. I would buy a show through apple (h264 would be awsome), load it onto an ipod and play it on a tv at my convience, hd output of some sort would be a plus.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:5, Insightful)
The "AirPort Express" device is probably not for the iPod, but rather like the Express, a video-out system for Macs, allowing you to play your movies to your TV without having them near each other... Hasn't this constantly been the intention of Apple - the "digital hub" without all the wires?
I wonder if/hope it will support a remote control, so you can control your on-computer content in the other room from the TV.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:5, Insightful)
If Apple can match the PSP's screen quality and beat its ease of use (by making movies downloadable, perhaps) they might have something.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh, so... since cell phone providers can't get people interested in their crappy, poorly designed, expensive portable video, no one else should attempt such a thing, even if it becomes technologically trivial?
Why not allow video playback on the iPod? They already have a color screen, and enough hard drive space to store several movies. It's not like it'd take much to allow video playback.
Of course, if they add a good video decoding chip, a bigger screen, and a longer lasting battery, it'd make it more practical to play video, but it isn't as though playing a movie requires Apple to design a completely new device.
Thinksecret is contradicting itself... (Score:3, Insightful)
Quote:
No PowerBook revision?
Sources are also reporting that the pending Power Mac revision will be the last Mac upgrade of the calendar year. Contrary to other reports, Apple's PowerBook line, last revised in February with only incremental upgrades, will likely not see an upgrade before Macworld Expo San Francisco in January 2006, at the earliest.
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:5, Insightful)
personally, i think it's going to be the rebranding of the itms from 'itunes music store' to the new media store.
they'll sell movies, etc. no new device for watching on tv yet. no new video ipod yet. you need a base of people who use the service that really WANT a remote way to move their media around first. how many people (outside the slashdot community) would even HAVE movies to put on an vipod now?
Re:Where's the market? (Score:2, Insightful)
dada21, you luddite, go check out torrentspy.com. The video trading scene mostly uses BitTorrent and eMule, and it is VERY vibrant. The only thing holding it back is that you need obscure codecs to play the files (not a problem on PCs but a real problem on devices). The situation with video today is EXACTLY like the situation after Napster went under.
As for who buys DVDs from Amazon etc -- lots of people do. And boxset sales have made sure that the portable DVD player has become a serious vacation accessory.
As for TV: 2006 is going to be the year of digital on-demand tv (streamed or streamed+cached). ADSL2 is getting more common, even in bandwidth backwaters like the UK (see previous BBC/digital TV story). Yahoo, Microsoft and Google are all getting into the game and more and more TV studios are seeing the writing on the wall -- their libraries of old programs can be endlessly monetized by streaming them over the internet. In a world where customers connect at 10Mbps+, it'd be stupid not to do it.
Video blogs and DIY video is probably the least important of the applications of a portable video player.
> Video iPod is trying to invent a market boom.
There was no 'boom' for MP3 players before the iPod either, unless you count geeks. iPod+iTMS made the MP3 player chic enough for Joe Public to want one. If Apple doesn't do the same for video, someone else will.
The only valid problem about portable video is that watching video takes up your full attention. But lots of people who play games on their cellphones on the subway -- I'm sure they wouldn't mind watching video.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:5, Insightful)
It was, [archos.com], but it doesn't say Apple on it. Hence, no bananas.
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:I hope its a new PowerBook (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Where's the market? (Score:3, Insightful)
Not to mention that they already have a video out too. Talk about Tivo-To-Go.
Processor upgrades more likely (Score:2, Insightful)
I wrote yesterday that processor upgrades [andwest.com] are also very likely for this event for two reasons:
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Not a video iPod, but iFlicks. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Where's the market? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Where's the market? (Score:3, Insightful)
They're not. You swallowed a marketing pitch disguised as news.
Go stand in the corner until you get your "silly corporate hype" detector working.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:2, Insightful)
As a soldier who will be mobilized in less than a month (according to the current "best guess"), I wouldn't take an iPod with me to watch video for a few reasons:
1. I have a limited capacity to carry anything, if I want to take a personal device for watching movies I'm going to take a laptop. This way I can potentially check email when Internet access is available, read eBooks and listen to music.
2. A device the size of an iPod could get broken or lost a lot easier than a laptop.
3. If I had an iPod that played video, how would I update the videos? I'd need a computer, which means I should just have the computer.
4. When I watch a movie I would want the option to allow other soldiers that don't have a laptop or video iPod to watch as well. On a video iPod, if the sizes are approximately the same, only one person could realisticly watch the video.
5. If necessary it would be easier to find a replacement laptop charger or battery than a video iPod (unless the charger was identical to existing iPod chargers). The last thing I'd want is a video iPod that has no juice because my charger broke or was lost.
Re:My sources tell me (Score:5, Insightful)
No way. Apple would not release a higher capacity Nano only weeks after releasing the existing versions. It would piss everyone with a 2 or 4 gig version off so bad they'd be ripping the metal off the front of their local Apple Stores demanding free upgrades!
pocket video (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Obviously.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Isn't invention great. And you fail to mention the real reason it makes so many people feeling a little jealous... it's the fact that Apple has been doing this for many years. They will upgrade their line when they feel it's right, while keeping the price of the relative product the same. They've been doing this on the computer side for a very long time.
Seeing an upgrade to your product (upgrades are good, trust me, my original 5 GB iPod wouldn't cut it today, sorry) that is exactly the same price as the one you just bought a month ago is what get's ya. But, Apple knows the balance tips towards keeping the prices constantly in certain ranges while not being afraid of investigating upgrades due to new technology. We as consumers tend to like that much more than don't like the jealousy thing... you picked the time to buy, and the purchase should have been an accepted agreement. Meaning, it was worth it to you to pay what you did for that device at that time, so go with that, or you will never own an xxxxxx.
Why??? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Where's the market? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's but uggly, and doesn't support h.264
Sony PSP doesn't say Apple, yet is a fine portable video player.
I think you're flaming a bit.
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:5, Insightful)
And ThinkSecret seems to think there's a large margin on the iPod Nano, which there is not.
ThinkSecret seems to think that an iPod Video model would rob sales of the iPod Nano despite the fact that the Video model would be at the high price range ($500+) of all iPods, whereas the Nano is not.
This event is a media special event. It makes no sense to invite the media if it is merely an annoucement and last hurrah of the PowerBooks and PowerMacs before the Intel switch.
Most likely, the event will start with a speed bump/dual core announcement for the PowerBooks and PowerMacs. The "one last thing" - and the main event of the presentation - would be the iPod Video, along with the iMovie/iVideo/iWhatever Video store debut. You gotta think about it like the last presentation; the rather mundane Motorola ROKR shown off (well, actually, iTunes 5.0 first), and then the major announcement of the iPod Nano saved for last.
We must all remember that we are in the final stretches before the holiday season. Apple needs to remind consumers that Apple is still hot this holiday season, and thus an iPod Video would serve this well.
Then again, same goes for a G5 powered and HD capable Mac Mini, while they are at it. But I doubt that is meant to be for now.
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:5, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:DivX is a pile of shit (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:5, Insightful)
I think a previous post I've made still applies to this situation, and I'll reiterate the key points: Every time Apple hints they are about to make an announcement, the media always tells the public that it is undoubtedly going to be a video iPod.. And every single time they have been wrong. Does this mean that this announcement is not a video iPod? No. I merely point out that screaming "OMG TEH VIDEO IPOD IS HERE!" every time apple prepares for an announcement is stupid.
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I bought a Nano for jogging. It's very light and much less likely to have vibration related issues than a hard drive based mp3 player. I had almost bought a shuffle for the same reason instead, but luckily waited until the Nano came out. I generally jog in sweat pants, with an old t-shirt and a heavily worn cap on, so fashion is not exactly high on my list.
Time for thinking (Score:2, Insightful)