Apple Expands iPod Trademark to Include Video

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif

Despite historic comments that a Video iPod was not felt to be a desirable product, Apple appears to have expanded the iPod trademark to include Video support as well as other features and functionality which the iPod line has encompassed. The most recent character mark was filed on June 18, 2005 and provides the following description:

full line of electronic and mechanical accessories and computer software for portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, audio, image, and video files;
....
all for use with portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, audio, image, and video files in Class 9

The original iPod trademark from October 2001 limited to text, data and audio files:

Portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, and audio files

The expanded trademark coverage may simply be pro-active protection for Apple, but is difficult to ignore the rumors/speculation about potential video-capable iPods.

[sleepypants]

Sounds like a definite move towards 'the year of HD' for Apple! Video is the definite next step, no matter what kind of denials are coming out of Cupertino...

[Mac_Freak]

Cool, videoPod would so cool, not something that I would buy but it would be nice.

[iMeowbot]

Originally Posted by sleepypants

Sounds like a definite move towards 'the year of HD' for Apple!

You betcha, HD, hats and dresses!

[im_to_hyper]

Well, I'm thinking a video iPod would need to have a PSP-style screen to be successful. No one would wanna watch a video on a current iPod, well, maybe if I was bored I would.

Video out would need to be a must, along with being able to copy DVDs to it... I wonder if Apple is striking up deals with the movie honchos... hmmm...

[vd0t]

cant wait.. hopefully the minis will have video support too (and of course a colour screen to match!)

[aswitcher]

Is there any chance the current 4th gen ipods will be able to support video...?

[berkleeboy210]

Originally Posted by im_to_hyper

Well, I'm thinking a video iPod would need to have a PSP-style screen to be successful. No one would wanna watch a video on a current iPod, well, maybe if I was bored I would.

Video out would need to be a must, along with being able to copy DVDs to it... I wonder if Apple is striking up deals with the movie honchos... hmmm...

Well A previous rumor indicated that Apple was hiring Sony Vaio engineers, maybe they are hiring PSP engineers also for this videopod thing.

[w_parietti22]

Originally Posted by aswitcher

Is there any chance the current 4th gen ipods will be able to support video...?

maybe...they might be able to they just might need a software update.

[ebunton]

Oh great news.

iPod = the swiss army knife of the digital age.

[nate13]

i agree a video ipod would be neat, but i would think apple wouldnt start as big as full blown movies, more like music videos and such, some imovie integration, and lil stuff. just because you could fit a movie in doesnt mean ud want to watch it on that lil of a screen. but then of course, you can hook it up to a tv, so there ya go.

[dongmin]

Originally Posted by aswitcher

Is there any chance the current 4th gen ipods will be able to support video...?

probably not. i think the portalplayer chipset can handle audio decoding, still images, etc. but i don't remember anything about video. there were rumors recently of Apple moving to a Sharp chipset that handles video decoding. so a video ipod would most likely entail a redesign of the internals.

[quackattack]

All signs are starting to point to a Video iPod. Not really a surprise. I just hope it doesn't disappoint.

I do find the word "transmitting" interesting in the description. I know it has been their since 2001, but lets hope we may see Wi-Fi sooner or later.

Either way keep up the good work Apple, I want to see a new iPod soon!

[seriypshick]

I don't think that we will see a video iPod that will play videos on a 2 inch screen.

What they're probably designing, is something like an adapter or an iPod video player.

For example: you transfer the movies to your iPod, connect iPod to the device/tv, then, device plays the video (iPod is only for storage) and displays it on tv. Personally, I think this is much better idea than putting a processor inside the iPod.

Or maybe Apple is designing a TV with a dock connector?

[gekko513]

Would it be possible for an iPod sized device to play back full resolution 1080i HD through an external HD TV? As far as I know it requires a dual G5 to play back 1080i on a Mac, so it sounds impossible, unless a dedicated HD decoder chip could be made cheaper and much more efficient than a general purpose processor.

[miketcool]

Don't go bouncing all over the walls just yet, remember this includes peripheral functions. Remember the Nyko video player for iPod?

"http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=36"

We may see something to mate with the iPod and bring forth these glorious new features.

[.Andy]

Woohooo! I can't wait to watch a movie while I go for a jog around the block .

[beatle888]

Originally Posted by im_to_hyper

Well, I'm thinking a video iPod would need to have a PSP-style screen to be successful.

this is sort of a no brainer.

[Nermal]

Originally Posted by gekko513

unless a dedicated HD decoder chip could be made cheaper and much more efficient than a general purpose processor.

Well, an HDTV doesn't have dual G5s in it, so it's definitely possible to have dedicated decoders. On the other hand, they probably wouldn't fit in an iPod and would give you 5 minutes of battery life.

[gekko513]

Originally Posted by Nermal

Well, an HDTV doesn't have dual G5s in it, so it's definitely possible to have dedicated decoders. On the other hand, they probably wouldn't fit in an iPod and would give you 5 minutes of battery life.

Good point. For the battery issue, when playing back through a TV one can assume a power outlet is available. That leaves the problem of fitting such a decoder including a way of cooling it in an iPod.

Edit: And price

[MacFan26]

Would they really release a video iPod with a screen that size? I know you can hook it up to a tv, but still. It should just be an added feature that it'll hook up to a tv, not specifically be a "video iPod" unless the screen is larger.

[GFLPraxis]

Awesome.

Remember, H.264 is scalable. No problem with screen resolution.

A PSP-sized screen (heck, even a DS-sized screen) would be plenty. I know that if you rip a movie into .gba format with the Crystal Engine, you can fit a full length movie in 200 MB, in the resolution of the GBA screen. In fact, companies are going to be selling movies (notably, Shrek 2 and Shark Tale will be the first) in the GBA format so people can watch them on GameBoys.

An iPod Video COULD work well. Imagine it being the same size as the current iPod, except a little thicker, and it flips open, one side being a large widescreen the size of an iPod, the other having the traditional iPod controls...

[ham_man]

I think that Apple is just doing some forward thinking. I doubt we will be seeing a video pod in the near future, but give it a year or two, and it would be possible...

[swissmann]

This was inevitable. What form the current video iPod is in is questionable. I think it will still primarily be a music player. I don't think they will implement H.264 though I wish they would - I think it will me MPEG 4. And I don't think we will see movies on these but rather things like music videos. I don't think the iPod has enough battery, screen resolution, or processing power for it to be what I wish it would be. Nor do I think broadband connections are fast enough and widespread enough to drive the idea of downloading full movies. I read an article suggesting speeds of 100 MB per second download speeds over Cable lines. What I would like to see is with those speeds would be a store just like the iTunes Music store but for movies. Each movie would be in an H.264 HD quality encoding and be downloaded in a matter of minutes with the option to sync to the video iPod or burn an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc. However, we are far from that at this point. It is a starting point though.

[Have.a.nice.Day]

Originally Posted by beatle888

this is sort of a no brainer.

Yeah,and so was a LCD on a flash ipod.

And,you'd think a AM tuner on a mp3 player would be a no-brainer too seeing as with 5000 songs (likely everything you'd ever care to hear on FM is already on your ipod) you'd most want AM for talk or sports yet nobodys done that yet.

I'll take AM-FM radio and line-in recording before video.

I had a PSP for a week and 45 minutes into Spider-Man I got a headache. So,full length movies excite me not at all. Where would you really watch them? Not at home with that tv and dvd player sitting there.

Yeah,it was neat to take my PSP to bed and watch South Park before going to sleep but even that wore off fast. I don't pay $60 a month for cable to watch shows on a portable for free. Maybe if a site offered downloads of tv shows like SP,CSI,etc I'd enjoy that but my guess is most of that kind of content you'll have to search fan sites for.

What else is there? Movie trailers? Ok,other then Star Wars I only need to see a movie teaser 2 times. Plus,I can watch those on my laptop.

Music videos? I can't see sitting at a bus stop watching a Coldplay or Ludacris video on my ipod. I can maybe see watching vids in the backseat on a long drive but even that would get old fast. I think 9 times outta 10 I'd still rather listen to the songs and read a newspaper. Plus,I like a lot of 80's metal-rock bands and you know Apple aint gonna be offering any Def Leppard or Motley Crue vids...its gonna be U2 and Coldplay and all the modern crap.

I think you will see a video ipod be a special device. Like 80GB's with a 4" screen for like $500. Then you will still have regular ipods. I could see a 1GB shuffle @ $99, 2GB flash photo mini @ $179,a 15GB 'budget' ipod for like $250 and then a 20GB and a 60GB color ipod and then a video ipod at the top. I can't see a $300 20GB video ipod. Not right away.


There are maybe 3 times a year where I would really 'need' a portable video device. Otherwise it's a cool novelty that loses it's luster after a month.

But I'm sure apple has thought out all of these things and will somehow wow us into thinking we've needed video all along.

I am not anti-video ipod. I just feel there are other more pressing features Apple could focus on now and I love the ipod as a music device and I just hope the video thing is a spin-off ipod and not the 'new' way of doing things.