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Oh please. Analysts know nothing more than we do. They only make predictions based on what they think Apple should be doing to increase sales. There's no "proof" they have that makes this an educated statement.
 
age234 said:
I still think they should make some sort of "iPod Duo", basically the shell of a PDA that you slip your iPod into, like the Powerbook Duo of old. It could include a bigger sceen and more apps, and of course, play videos. When you take the iPod out, you go back to the iPod UI, you can still access everything, but in read-only mode. Something like this.

That would be the ultimate, in my opinion.

You've executed the concept very well, nice job. For most bang-for-buck, i think it would work even better if you showed a Nano being inserted...with mods to the nano by apple that could work, right? but then the increase in screen size is proportionately much greater--thus the more bang for bucks allusion. Though i know that reflects only on screen sizes, NOT on the added functionality. I owned several Duos in the day, btw--am only now liquidating my last one, the 2300C, a remarkable machine, with both the mini dock and the "maxi" dock that sucked the duo in like your concept, with outs for keyboard, monitor, ethernet, provisions for an added HD, etc. Remarkable stuff. I love my AlPB but i'd love to see what today's apple could do with a new duo model.

terry
 
oh, that explains...

Doctor Q said:
The perfect video iPod will have to be stretchable, so you can compress it to a tiny screen or pull it out to a huge size. Because only you can decide on the proper tradeoff between compactness/portability and videoscreen size.

that explains those rubbery, elastic power books i've seen in the apple stores. I caught a staffer taking a bunch of little ones out of boxes and stretching them to the different sizes before putting them on display. 🙂

terry
 
Not really fussed by a video ipod for all the reasons given already.

And i don't get this idea of a touch sensitive scroll wheel - I'm not sure I'd want to run my fingers over a screen I used to watch video, ant more than I'd want pawprints over the laptop or tv screens.

But I might be missing something.

I still have an old sony j5 mobile phone, and love it just because of the click wheel on the side - don't know why SE dropped them, as they were excellent. Maybe something like that could be an option?

Iain
 
Piarco75 said:
Dunno about the dimensions, but I think that's pretty much what I had in mind. No idea about the controls though. On-screen scroll wheel? Located on the edges?

I still believe this will have limited appeal... but definitely don't quote me on that 😀

I would LOVE a video iPod with an interface like the iRiver U10 - you simply press on the sides of the display for the controls - extremely cool.
 
Isn't there an add on for the 5G iPod now (3rd party of course) that acts as a shell with a big screen on it?

Anyways, I think that an Airport Express AV would be much more usefull, and more likely, than a bigger widescreen iPod. I would like to see the iPod video get at least anamorphic DVD resolution support, with the iTMS sales matching appropriately. The only reason I haven't bought any TV shows from iTMS is that they are such low quality and not the widecreen HD feeds.
 
Why the NEW iPod Video will succeed where the PSP & Archos Didn't as a video player.

1. Storage Capacity - We already have 60 gigs with the current iPod, and if Apple introduce an iPod Video I'm sure they will bump up the memory to handle the bigger video files.
2. Convenience - What iTunes & ITMS did was provide a fast and easy way to organize and transfer files onto our iPods. We already see that it works just as well with T.V. shows and home movies.
3. Apple Branding - I may be an mac addict, but the Apple brand I think has become a leader in portable electronics especially when it comes to media ie. music and maybe video? Where as the PSP is still known for games, and not too many people know or trust the other makers out there.

Why the NEW iPod Video won't or might not succeed (unless they change these)
1. Battery Life - Short TV shows and music is fine for the current iPod battery, but it wont' be able to handle big 3 hour feature movies unless it has an improve battery.
2. Screen Size - The current screen size is nothing comparable to the PSP, if they do a wide screen format and increase the size and resolution then it will be perfect for video on the go.
3. Product Line Confushion - There's already an iPod Video, so they'll have to differentiate between the current iPods and the new ones.


Having said that I think Apple should make a new iPod Video. To highly succeed is not about tapping into an existing market, but creating a new one. And Apple has always been able to make me want things I didn't think I needed before.
 
Separate from iPod line?

freeny said:
Come on guys! Everyone was Bi*ching that the original iPod video would never work before its release and look at it now!😱 I cant wait for a video centric iPod!!!

Bigger screen!
More codec support!

Im sure it will be a seperate design from the existing iPods and they will still carry the regular iPods.

It will just cater to a more videocentric consumer like myself.
I don't think it'll be a separate product - they learned their lesson with the iPod Photo. Plus, if most consumers are like me, they'll want to carry one iPod around, not a separate one for video.

If anything, I think it'll just be the next gen iPod with a PSP-style screen (but a smaller scale than PSP) and a Shuffle-size scroll wheel.
 
Goggles!

Just add a set of video goggles to the current video iPod and you got yourself a kick-ass virtual 42" screen. The latest model goggles play for 8 hours on a pair of AA batteries and are very small and portable. Still a little pricey at $450.
As much as I'd like a bigger screen than the tiny iPod video's, at least it's crisp, perfectly serviceable on a plane, train or bus to watch TV shows, and even a 4" screen would only be a marginal improvement; the PSP's screen is much better, but still inadequate. Nah, VR goggles is the future 🙂
 
Manatee said:
I'm still hoping for a video iPod in the same size and shape as the current one, but where the screen covers most of the front of the device. A virtual scroll wheel would be brought up via a button on the side or something.

Nice to have:
- WVGA resolution.
- Touch-sensitive screen, allowing input via something like Graffiti.
- WiFi (802.11g or better) & Bluetooth
- Nuclear power -- change tiny "power pellet" every couple of years.

How about a video iPod in which the screen is the same size as the current iPod. No virtual scroll wheel on the device itself, but on a bluetooth enabled remote similar in size to the Front Row remote, but this one has a mini scroll wheel.
 
sw1tcher said:
How about a video iPod in which the screen is the same size as the current iPod. No virtual scroll wheel on the device itself, but on a bluetooth enabled remote similar in size to the Front Row remote, but this one has a mini scroll wheel.
A video iPod streaming video via Bluetooth would last about 30 minutes before the battery dies a cruel death. I've heard that Apple hasn't come out with Bluetooth iPods because of battery issues. I really want a wireless headset for running, but if ain't going to work well, then forget it. I like Apples approach, that if they can't make the product insanely great, they just don't do it at all. N-I-C-E! 😎
 
so, i basically do not listen to music, but i watch tons of movies. i have my 30 gig 5th gen filled with dvds to capacity, i have a cradle in my car, so that it transmits through fm, i listen to the movies when working stock at work. i use the ipod as a porable dvd player between my girlfriends house, and mine. bigger screen, 2x the battery life, i would throw my money at them. i have now encoded almost 200 of my dvds using handbrake at 480 by XXX this quality makes the movie files about 600 megs a peice. they look good ona tv. and itunes handles all of them. (itunes needs to be updated to handle movies better). so, in conclusion, i said this earlier, i imagine this (boombox) apple is supposdly making, to be a video ipod, a real one, very similar formfactor, with bigger screen, and wifi, i imagine it being like, a ipod radio, you can set your ipod to dicoverable, and anyone say on a train or something can tune into your playlists and listen to whatever your are listening to, or shared playlists. i can hope cant I?
andreas
 
Darrin Bell said:
I don't think it'll be a separate product - they learned their lesson with the iPod Photo. Plus, if most consumers are like me, they'll want to carry one iPod around, not a separate one for video.

If anything, I think it'll just be the next gen iPod with a PSP-style screen (but a smaller scale than PSP) and a Shuffle-size scroll wheel.
I didn't see the iPod photo as a seperate product. It was just an iPod that also held pictures. Just as the 5g is just an iPod with video features.

I do like your description of the "Video iPod". That is what im talking about when I say a seperate product. Not the same formfactor as the current one but one with a larger screen but perhaps the same overall size. Im sure they will also throw in the music feature too.
 
As long as there is a middle-of-the-road iPod that has a decent screen (like the 5G), a 100GB+ hard drive than can be used for backup as well as music, photos, and video, and it is all thinner than the current 60GB 5G iPod, I'll be happy.

If I want a portable DVD library, I'll buy a 12" PowerBook (MacBook) with a big hard drive. If the 'Books get Robson flash drives and can boot up instantly (or close), then it'll be a very nice alternative to a bulky vPod.

Whatever features they cram into the next iPod I won't buy unless it is smaller/lighter than my current model. I can't think of any feature (including being able to decode HD movies for HDTV output on the fly) that would make me accept the extra bulk.
 
Natron said:
I don't think I would care for another iPod with video. Ok, I probably would be interested, but I don't see how a bigger screen would do anything, especially if the resolution is different. If it is, don't all the current videos become obsolete with this new iPod.

Remind me of the last time Apple cared about making one of their products obsolete. 🙄
 
Manatee said:
I'm still hoping for a video iPod in the same size and shape as the current one, but where the screen covers most of the front of the device. A virtual scroll wheel would be brought up via a button on the side or something.

Nice to have:
- WVGA resolution.
- Touch-sensitive screen, allowing input via something like Graffiti.
- WiFi (802.11g or better) & Bluetooth
- Nuclear power -- change tiny "power pellet" every couple of years.

what if at the same time it's also the new remote for the mac mini media center???
 
SiliconAddict said:
(Premium) iPod Video - New form factor. Runs $499-60GB, $599-80GB (Do a limited run on these until its determined if the market really wants them at which point ramp up production. Also do a price break after 6 months.)

(Advanced) iPod with video - Same style as we have now. $299-30GB, $399-60GB
(Standard) iPod Nano - Same style as we have now. $199-4GB, $299-8GB
(Ultra Portable) iPod Shuffle - Slightly longer with Mini LCD. $99-1GB


Works for me...but I would like WiFi or BT in the new version with Apple wireless headephones. Also allows streaming to AX if have WiFi. Also may even allow to directly download stuff to the iPod from the net/Apple/.Mac
 
CubaTBird said:
i dunno.. with the psp out, i mean apple already has the ipod that can "handle" video as in simple tv shows and what not.. now if they are going to make a specific "video/movie" ipod, i don't think they will call it ipod.. perhaps media center or something of that nature

you know, if it was a year ago, i'd say they'd call it the 'powerpod' or p-pod for short, keeping it consistent with the computer nomenclature. now they'd probably name it something lame like the 'macpod' which is alright, i guess...

... on that note, i still think it'd be interesting for apple to team up with nintendo to produce a gameboy/ipod device to directly challenge the psp. the psp pretty much competes with both albeit slightly different dimensions. i'd shell out a few hundred for something like that
 
I always figured that the Nano would become *the* iPod as we know it. Pretty much an audio player, same form factor as the current iPod, but much smaller due to flash memory. Once we start seeing 10, 20, 30GB of flash memory readily available you will see this become true. Then the big iPod, the current one, will morph into a video playing iPod, thereby clearly dividing the two lines.

All Apple needs to do is wait for the video content to really take off then hit them with the real video iPod.
 
Taller screen, narrower, 16:9 horizontal

They could change to the 16:9 aspect ratio by making the iPod case and screen a little narrower, and the screen a little taller, moving the scroll wheel down just a tad. Then you could use the pod normally for music, with the bonus being the ability to see more lines on the display, while you could also view video holding the pod horizontally to get the wide aspect ratio - all without impacting the overall dimensions of the pod very much.
 
Video iPod in Cars

The last couple of weeks I've been seeing more and move cars with portable DVDs in them (I personally hate this, when I was a kid I could sit in a car with a TV on....) and as I drove behind one the other day I started to think about the iPod. Now that Chyrsler is making iPod connectivity available in there cars, will people be able to plug a iPod in and watch the video content on the displays. That would be interesting.

Or what if your at a gym on a treadmill, wouldn't it be cool to plug your iPod in, catch a charge (yes, I have a 3rd generation iPod which currently has about a 2 hour battery life) and watch last nights Office.

Whatever
 
I guess this is one of those analyst that doesn't get Apple. He expects them to release the products that they think would be needed althought people don't
 
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