A closer look at Apple’s new iPod Photo features, including 15 hours of music playback

Apple’s new iPod Photo features either a 40GB or 60GB storage capacity and promises up to 15 hours of music playback (up to 5 hours of slideshows with music). The iPod Photo weighs in at 6.4 ounces and measures 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.75 inches, regardless of hard drive size. In contrast, the iPod “Classic” 20GB and 40 GB models each feature different weights (5.6 ounces and 6.2 ounces respectively) and dimensions (4.1 x 2.4 x 0.57 inches and 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.69 inches respectively).

The iPod Photo supports the following audio formats: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF, Audible. And, because, it’s a Photo iPod, it also supports iPod-viewable photos in JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG formats. The iPod Photo’s display is a 2-inch (diagonal) transflective, 65,536-color liquid crystal display with white LED backlight with a 0.18-mm dot pitch 220 x 176 pixel resolution.

Of note for Windows users, Adobe Photoshop Album 1.0 and 2.0 SE are supported by Apple’s iPod Photo, but they import only photos to iPod Photo and do not support collections for slideshow viewing. Mac users, as usual, have it better: iPod Photo works in conjunction with iPhoto on a Mac and iTunes 4.7 lets you transfer images from your photo library to iPod Photo supporting collections for slideshow viewing. Connect iPod Photo to a projector or TV and you can give slideshows complete with your music.

iPod Photo lets you turn your television into a digital picture frame by connecting it to iPod Photo with the included composite AV cable that sends out Composite video and audio through your headphone jack or line out on the iPod Photo Dock.

Unlike all other iPods, iPod Special Edition: U2, and iPod mini which feature up to 25 minutes of skip protection, the iPod Photo specs state up to 17 minutes of skip protection.

Apple today also debuted the companion iPod Photo Dock which is the iPod Photo’s home base for charging and synching with your computer or for connecting to your home audio system. For US$39.00, it is scheduled to ship in Mid November, and features the usual Dock connector along with audio and composite video output and S-video output.

Apple’s iTunes 4.7 also released today autosyncs Album Art. The Album Art downloaded when you purchase music from the iTunes Music Store is transferred to iPod Photo along with the music. So while iPod Photo plays your tunes, you can view the Album Art on the Now Playing screen of your iPod Photo.

Not to be overlooked is that fact that everything on your iPod will now be in color: your calendars, your notes, Solitaire, etc.

More info about Apple’s new iPod Photo here.