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More Rumblings on Apple Video iPod
Chris Holland writes "Beyond the WSJ Story, Om Malik gives us inside information obtained by Business 2.0 Magazine about the Apple Video iPod. 'Steve Jobs has spoken with Disney President and soon-to-be CEO Bob Iger about ways to license various Disney content for a video iPod, according to an internal Disney email I have obtained. That could include anything from clips from ESPN and ABC News to short cartoons.' "
While I wouldn't want to watch feature films on a 45 minute bus ride to work, it would be great to have a podcast of the hilights of last night's games to watch...
-JMP
Especially when MTV and VH1 already pump out the same drek day in, day out.
Ofcourse this is a double edged sword, if the ipod plays itunes clips only that severely limits the appeal (i sure as hell won't pay for videoclips) of the vPod. Then again if the vPod is as open as the iPod is (calm down, ogg users) then Apple stands to gain almost nothing in the way of being a new contect provider.
And i don't think videoclips will be the new iTunes hot item. People want to pay for music because they've been doing it for decades and they are inherently lazy. Clicking together a few songs to listen on the commute to work is a whole different ballgame than downloading videoclips at an even higher pricepoint, especially when this is a "new" type of content. A type of content which has a too narrow appeal of the same techno hipster show-offs who insist they keep their iPod mini's in their hands so they can show it off to the world.
Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
Does nobody remember the video googles? I know Sony made a pair and there were a couple other versions that were available at places like Sharper Image. They had some that you could wear and walk around, but there was a 60" tv projected in front of you. These were terribly expensive and they came out before portable DVD players.
I think that this is the time for that technology to make another attempt at the marketplace.
The comment has already been made. Let's move it along people. Nothing to see here.
There are too many companies who get really famous because of the fact that they looked at the market, saw the need, and filled it. There was a need for the iPod. Apple filled it. Joy of joys. People used to take their CD-players and tape players around, but many couldn't get the full use out of them because they could only hold one CD. Radio was too restrictive because you couldn't choose the content. Enter the iPod. Nice stuff!
:-)
Enter the knockoffs. The companies that can't read the market, because they're too big to have real risk-taking guts.
Then the iPod gets big and Apple somehow loses touch with the market. It's a rarity (except for long trips and sharing with friends) that people say, "Man, I wish I could watch a video clip right now." Or at least wanting it to the point that they would pay money for each clip that they put on it. Full Movies, yes, but ESPN recaps, no (though, a few bucks for all ESPN recaps this month would be very impressive).
Step 1: Read the market
Step 2: Find what the market needs
Step 3: Do it
Step 4: Profit
Step 5: Lose the market view
Step 6: Make a new product to ride on your popularity, with a market that doesn't exist yet
Step 7: Cross your fingers
But then again, if they weren't willing to fail, they'd be in the ranks with the big dogs that we tend to not like because they don't take risks (they just copy others). So, uh, even though I won't buy one, best of luck to them. If the market isn't there, at least their operating system rocks
Luke
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Help your boss understand you: Send them to ChristianNerds.com (The Free Online Computer Encyclopedia)
Amen. I travel on Airplanes - A lot. What I like about the iPod (or any portable media device, but my weapon of choice is iPod), recline my seat the whoppin 3 or so inches you get and tilt my head back.
With current implementation of video devices I'd have to hunch over and squint through my contacts at a little screen, or, a big screen that lasts 30 min without a power cord.
What i'm hoping the Video iPod will be is a mini-DVR. Preview capability maybe on the tiny screen but mainly ment as a DVR for the masses to attach to computers or TV screens like the iPod Photo/New iPod do today.
We'll see, Apple has always managed to surprise me recently (I was a 'no way they'll go Intel as a CPU camp') and I'd like to see what they come up with. Steve J. has said repatedly that he has no intention of doing a video pod.
As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.
I don't think video is the killer app for these things, but photos are with video as a useful secondary function.
I know they have a iPod photo already, but it is essentially a iPod which happens to be able to display photos in a small screen, there photos are clearly the secondary app to music. Yet digital photography is clearly dominating the photo market but most people still struggle to find the right way to carry and display these photos. Printing them out is time consuming and expensive, either at home or the photo lab.
The ideal solution is a device with a screen of a similar size to a standard print which you can pass around friends and family to show off your collection. The interface should be so simple grandparents can use it, and Apple have a clear lead in this area. Add in an interface to iPhoto which rivals the iTunes interface and I think you have a winner.
If you can then watch movies on it then I think this will be a useful secondary app, but not what the real selling point will be for most users.
Will Apple want to sell movies via "itunes" to just any drm 'box' that can do h.264? All that we know about owning video will change with better broadband. Adsl2 and better cable will allow any .com to put a h.264 chip in a drm box and connect it to the end of their fat pipe. A quick download and you have your new or classic movie. The trick will be how to deal with the h.264 data when it moves to the end user. That is where Apple will come in. Do you want to rent it for a day or a week in a .com black box or 'own' it on your Mac for a few $?
End users want to be able to find and click on any past download and play it - just like a dvd or cd you own now. No waiting for 5 -15 min for your 'next' rental.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
... or playing pacman
Depending on the implementation, the images have varying degrees of opacity, and with most of them, you could theoretically walk down the street while watching Futurama.
Studies have shown that driving while talking on a cell phone is four time more dangerous, I can only imagine the problems involved with watching TV.
Most people can't multitask media consumption and other activities. I know that when I'm on the phone, I have to turn off the TV, other wise the person I'm talking to doesn't get a very interesting converstion ('uh huh.. uh huh.. yeah... right....')