“Apple Computer has begun production of a new version of its iPod digital music player that will be capable of playing videos… Reliable sources believe the iPod could be introduced as early as next week, possibly around the time Apple releases results from its fourth fiscal quarter of 2005,” Kasper Jade reports for Apple Insider. “…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 [and features] 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.”
Jade reports, “The release of the iPod video is expected to be accompanied by a ‘major update’ to Apple’s iTunes music store that will include a significant number of music videos and other short video content.”
More details in the full article here.
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As early as next week? Like at 10 am PT on October 12th maybe?
Related articles:
Apple invites media to ‘One More Thing’ special event on October 12 – October 04, 2005
Jefferies & Co. analyst: checks indicate Apple started video iPod production last month – October 04, 2005
UBS: Mac momentum continues building, Apple could sell 10 million iPods in holiday quarter – October 03, 2005
RUMOR: Apple to deliver new iPod, Power Mac, PowerBook models this month – October 03, 2005
Apple adds video to iPod trademark – August 03, 2005
Video iPod? Does The Wall Street Journal have a ‘Deep Throat’ inside Apple Computer? – July 25, 2005
Disney CEO Iger meets with Apple, Pixar CEO Steve Jobs to discuss distribution deal, video iPod – July 22, 2005
NY Post: signs point to Apple’s iTunes+iPod video plans – July 19, 2005
Report: Disney considers teaming with Apple to deliver iPod video content – July 19, 2005
More info about Apple’s reported iPod+iTunes video talks – July 18, 2005
WSJ: Apple in video iTunes talks, may unveil video iPod by September – July 18, 2005
Cringely: Apple working on HD movie download service and Video iPod – July 15, 2005
Report: Apple Computer to launch ‘Video iPod’ by 2006 – April 11, 2005
Paul, I would like to agree with you, but if the device is as small as the regular iPod, I’d be willing to watch on a 3.5″ screen while waiting in an airport or other station, or in an airplane, bus, train, subway, or car (passenger of course). Note that several UMD movies are selling pretty well for the PSP – a development that has taken me by surprise.
And if Apple releases an SDK for apps and especially games, well, the iPod with its hi-res color screen begins to become a GameBoy/PSP competitor but no cartridges; everything sold via Internet download and stored on the device. I say this only because Apple was hiring SDK and game development engineers for the iPod several months ago.
A video iPod introduction does not merit a special event in my opinion. This is something much bigger.
The addition of video to the iPod is a small evolution of the iPod photo’s capability and would only achieve parity with other devices already out there. Hopefully the red curtains suggest home theater, but not a movie store. Even the best bandwidth today is much too small for downloadable HD movies.
a video ipod is useless without a content delivery system. iMedia, anyone?
Maybe music vids will be included with the 99 cent song?
I want it to have two features. Video out so you can watch it on a TV. And video goggles so you can watch it full screen anywhere.
This event will likely have nothing to do with any new iPod device. Instead, I get the feeling it will be mainly about a new way of purchasing movies and videos. Everyone knows that the real downside, even with H.264’s amazing ability to shrink file sizes (while maintaining great quality), is the file size for a full-length movie. It would take forever for the average Joe to download.
So, what I think is going on here is a new way to share and distribute snippets of movies, video segments, etc. I’m also willing to bet that most new iPods and the new iPod nano will already be able to play this new motion content.
The best examples I can come up with would be Disney/Pixar short animations, sports highlights and obviously music videos. These would all be available at very reasonable download sizes. And can you imagine the explosion in video content if people were able to play videos of their friends, loved ones, etc. that could be transferred from their computers to their iPods to watch at their leisure. These types of activities all represent small downloadable files – which is the only way video will ever work on an iPod.
A SD movie would take 2hrs. to download using H.264 and 6hrs. to download a HD movie. Frank Casanova (Apple Senior Director of Product Marketing for QuickTime) said at 6 Mb/s the same rate as todays DVDs, you can create a HD image using H.264. I wonder why Frank would say that? Frank also said: “This (H.264) changes EVERYTHING.” Everything? You mean the way people buy and/or rent video?
Whatever Apple is going to intro it is going to be HUGE. Will this announcement confirm Steve’s pronouncement of 2005 as the “Year of HD?” and will it be awesome enough to take the wind out of MSs XBOX360 introduction in Nov. ? Certainly not a regular iPod announcement I hope!
This theater will host the event because there will be a “performance” of some kind. My guess is that Steve will reach into his pocket again, but this time he will pull out a remote control… push a button and the screen will open up as the lights go down. Get ready folks!!!
I think video from ITMS combined with Airport Express A/V makes more sense at this time … to get the infrastructure in place for people to download video content to their computer which they can easily route to their TV’s. A video iPod only would work if you could hook it to your TV as well.
This makes more sense to me than a ‘media centre’ that many have speculated on … it would be cheaper and not replicate the computer you already have. I also think an ITMS video/Airport Express A/V combination would be a pre-emptive strike against M$ for living room control (which they are trying to make happen with the Xbox 360).
see picture here:
http://www.elesson.com.cn/modules/ipboard/index.php?s=&showtopic=19369
oops..
try this one
whatever it is apples gonna release it will be something that we never thought of in a form facotr that we previously thought was impossible (just look at the mac mini or ipod nano)…if there is an ipod video i bet that it will not look anything like what people are thinking it will look like so theres no use in speculating…we’ll just have to wait