Apple To Introduce Video iPod?

xombo writes "iPoding and Mac Rumors as well as eWeek newsletter and Reuters seem to think that Apple will be introducing either a video-capable iPod -or- even better a Tablet Mac which may run into direct competition with Microsoft's similar product. "The one thing you can say for sure is that they do have a lot of product out there right now and they're going to be hesitant to draw too much attention away from their existing products" by introducing new ones now, said Roger Kay, an analyst at market research firm International Data Corp. Instead, Apple may unveil the long-anticipated video-enabled iPod, which will likely work initially only on Macintosh computers, Enderle said. Apple's existing inkwell and Newton technologies seem to make them in the perfect position to take on Microsoft in what could be the biggest battle for the most worthless market sector (Tablet PCs), however as a Newton owner I think that the some-what-larger-than-Palm device size that the Newton line sported is much more user friendly and usable. Read the Reuters article at reuters.." It'd be nice, but I'm skeptical on it actually being that.

Comments

Just not right

[IAmATuringMachine!]

Apple is about giving a good experience. Watching movies on an iPod is not really a good experience - massive storage requirements, pressure to have a large display on a small device, the need for battery life. Why make a video device that you can only watch one video on? I would rather them foray into consumer electronics, selling a Tivo-like device that if you subscribe to .mac you get the channel listings, or something like that. Not a video iPod....

No Way

[joel8x]

I really can't see a video iPod being successfull. It would make it so expensive and for what? Who puts on the visualizations and stares at them? I unfortunatley don't have time to get stoned and look at my computer screen, let alone shell out $500 to stare at my screen while listening to Wilco on the train. I am also not going to shell out $500 to watch a DIVX movie on a screen the size of a matchbook. Do you forget that this kind of activity would kill the battery in far less than the 13 hours I get out of mine? I can see them opting for a color screen just for the hell of it and putting an FM tuner in the mix. But as for video, it would have to be a new device altogether to be any good.

Re:I agree with this post

[Anonymous Coward]

the archos is a little chunky

It is an enormous, ugly piece of shit compared to the iPod.

has a warranty longer than 90 days.

The iPod has a year warranty.

The USB2 is as fast as firewire

Under certain ideal conditions.

and it works without drivers on XP - comes up just like another hard drive.

Wow, like the iPod always has.

Re:iTunes-iPod ... so ... *iPhoto*-???

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Hmm. What just about everybody here seems to be forgetting is the "do people want this" test. How many times have you been sitting on your train or in an airport or whatever and said to yourself, "Gee, I wish I could look at my own collection of photographs right now?" Zero.

If Apple releases a new product-- I don't imagine they will, myself-- it will not be a device that people look at and say, "Oh, neat." It will be a device that people will look at and say, "I want one now. Take my money, Apple. Gimme gimme gimme."

Re:Have faith

[Oculus Habent]

All the bits Apple's been putting into the OS would go wuite nicely into a tablet or PDA. I think a "sub-tablet" would be good.

Bluetooth - sync Address Book, iCal, etc. or use your Bluetooth enabled cellphone to connect to the internet.

802.11 - Communicate with devices that have removable media and access the internet.

iSync - easily update your tablet/PDA to your mac. .Mac - online storage/addresses/calendar for a web-enabled PDA/tablet with limited internal storage.

Inkwell - why the hell else would they put handwriting recognition on desktops? So grpahic designers don't have to switch away from the tablet when they take down project details? Right.

Quartz Extreme - this makes desktops faster but also frees up processing power on portables, making them zippier.

Sherlock 3 - a simple interface for all sorts of web-based information is a great addition to the desktop, but think how convenient it is to have stocks, movies, flight info, phone numbers, eBay, a dictionary and translation services in a single application that requires very little typing

QuickTime 6 - support for MPEG-4; perfect for moderate-to-low bandwidth video applications.

Universal Access - All sorts of access functions for disabled individuals translate well to tablets... Modifier key lock is a great example.

All right, I'll stop. I'm not saying that we will see a tablet or PDA tomorrow, but the Magic 8-ball says: Outlook Promising.