“After three years of being synonymous with ‘digital music player,’ Apple’s iPod will widen its horizons and gain photo-viewing capabilities within the next 30 to 60 days, highly reliable sources tell Think Secret. The new iPod, which will sit at the top of Apple’s fourth-generation line-up, will pack Toshiba’s new 60GB 1.8-inch hard drive, a 2-inch color liquid crystal display, iPhoto synchronization, audio/video-out capabilities, and will sell for $499,” Ryan Katz reports for ThinkSecret.com.
“The new iPod’s form factor will be identical to the existing 4G iPods, sources report, but will be two millimeters thicker than the current 40GB iPod and marginally heavier,” Katz reports. “The 2-inch color screen is identical in size to other iPods, but will sport a higher resolution for photo viewing. However, the new device’s real shining feature will be its video-out port, which will enable users to tote their photo galleries with them, ready to be plugged into any television for big-screen viewing.”
“Sources indicate that Apple will market the new photo iPod as being capable of storing 20,000 music tracks and 25,000 photos. As an added bonus for music fans, album artwork will be displayed on screen when it’s available for a selected track,” Katz reports.
More details in the full article here.
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Ok I need that iPod.
When can I place my order?
the photos on the ipod itself seems usless. for me anyway. but i am still excited.
I’ll take one.
hope it still plays music
This is cool. It’ll get all those people that need to be early adopters, have the latest and greatest (bragging rights), and generally don’t mind spending $499 on a really cool (the coolest) mp3 player. That is not me, however…
and when are they going to start selling cameras that can directly download into said iPod
thats next =p
Darn toot’n. Sign me up!�Now!
This is just the sort of improvement that will keep the iPod on top – a useful feature for many (but not all) but not one that distracts from the main function of the device.
This is in stark contrast to the gadgets that are coming out which try to be everything in one and succeed only at being nothing in particular.
That may be more incentive for people to switch to Macs when their beloved iPods come out with Mac-only features. That is, unless they plan on coming out with iPhoto for Windoze.
everyone here seems to be dissing the PMC. the ipod gaining this seems to be good. why are people here such hypocrites?
for me, the ipod has always been music. thats what i like about it.
Great… I guess…. but what about an integral microphone so the iPod first becomes a fully functional AUDIO device before we add photos?
And… what about battery life?
Ive just bought a 40gb 4th gen ipod! -am I gutted or what!!!!
Typical APPLE – always improving things!!!
video out port, huh?
Does that mean you can now use the iPod to replace your VCR/DVD player?
Gee-whiz features aside, having an iPod with 60GB is a good thing. The flagship of digital music shouldn’t have a smaller capacity than the also-rans (i.e. the Toshiba)…
is the screen going to be an OLED? if so battery life should be improved. I dont really care about backing up my photos ill just turn that feature off. but having the album art is sorta cool, even though I know hardly anyone who takes advantage of it other than myself. Im sure thats because most of my friends still sadly use windows and aren’t used to those kinds of little features.
Nice.
That’s a worthwhile improvement. As a new father, I would love this! Apple understands what people want, Microsoft tries to force people to want what they want to sell. That’s a big difference.
Or if you don’t care about photos, you can still use your iPod as a portable 60GB HDD. I’m sure if I didn’t fill my 20GB 4G with music, I’d use it to keep my Stickies handy, among other things, and transfer large files. iPods are quite versatile already.
Now they’re talking. I’m up for one for certain sure.. Just hope the compact flash transfer speeds are good.
i definitely agree that the 60gb hdd will make this something really worth getting.. as far as storing digital photos.. thats pretty cool.. but i have a series 60 phone which can do the same thing.. and also watch videos.. the video out will be a major plus tho.. all in all i think i’ll stick with my 20 gb iPod for now and see where they go with this.. hopefully high res video soon!
It wont happen.
Thinksecret are not always right – and this time they got it very badly wrong.
You can already carry photos on your iPod anyway, just drag and drop to the HD.
40GB = 10000 songs
60GB = 20000 songs
Looks a bit strange to me…?
As long as the card reader from Belkin works with it, or it will connect directly to a USB camera, this is the device I’ve been waiting for.
Even if you already have a laptop, this means you don’t have to lug it to an amusement park, or a wedding or where ever, to DL pictures to make room on the camera.
I will be first in line when it comes out.
Portable video players on an MP3 player. BAH! Who wants to squint to watch a movie on a tiny screen? It’s a joke of a concept by Microsoft. their thinktank is obviously empty…or desperate.
“As long as the card reader from Belkin works with it, or it will connect directly to a USB camera, this is the device I’ve been waiting for.”
I hope it can connect directly to any USB digital camera…why do you need a bulky Belkin media reader or a dock?
iTunes = syncing your music
iPhoto = syncing your photos!
John says:
“It wont happen.
Thinksecret are not always right – and this time they got it very badly wrong.”
I wouldn’t bet against them Johnny Boy. Think Secret is by far the most accurate of the rumor sites. Oh and sure you can carry your photos on the iPod, but you can’t display them without a computer.