The MP4 iPod

[Sol]

If the iPod was to play video it would cost either Apple or the users the fees involved with MP4. QuickTime 6 was ready a long time before it was posted and the reason was the negotiation between Apple & the MPEG Consortium.

Now that Apple & the Consortium have come to an agreement over the technology, Apple would be having a field day in its research & development. Unfortunately now is not the best time to sell more consumer products. Even a good keynote speech by Steve Jobs will not be enough to stop history repeating and as far as we know he may be on his way out. You know how corporate politics are over there.

I wonder what content would be most popular in iPod video collections. Low-resolution trailers would be cool but personal messages would be cooler.

 

[melchior]

low resolution trailers? personal messages?

you don't actually think these are comppelling reasons to go out and buy something that would aproaching the ibook in cost?

 

[Sol]

Price of an iBook?!

Why would it cost close to the price of an iBook? I think you made a wrong assumption there. The current iPods cost close to a third of an iBook.

As for the content, low resolution trailers are small enough to be downloaded off the Net without too much waiting and several of them can be a good way to pass the time on a bus, train, etc. As for personal messages, they would be the only content that is copyright free.

 

[FlamDrag]

or...

I still think that an iPod with video output (svideo is nice and compact) is much more likely than an iPod with a screen. I can't imagine the battery drain with the screen.

 

[melchior]

just to clarify my point, a 20gb ipod costs US$499 an ibook costs US$999 - we know, that publically the Toshiba 1.8" drives cost just about the same as their respective ipod's. (obviously apple would have significant bulk discounts, but it shows where the majority of the money is in the unit)

an ipod with say a 40gb as MR recently noted on it's front page with a screen would be quite a bit more ekpensive than the current offering. i didn't the same as an ibook, but aproaching that of the ibook.

as for content, to each his own. if trailers do it for you, you're already sold. i am sure the uses would be wide and varied. porn would be especially popular here.

At any rate, i find FlamDrag's idea far more plausible, that is to say it's still highly unlikely.

 

[Sol]

the S-Video output idea

The idea about video output will actually require more space than a video screen. If the video iPod is 100% digital it would not need a digital to analogue converter (except for audio). On television, low-rez video would not look better than a Video CD does now and MP4 video is optimal on digital displays anyway.