video through iPod app?

[SnowDX]

I put my first video from my computer onto my iPhone 4. Also put it on my kid's Touch. We both went to review the video and she clicks the Video icon to get there, me? Well I couldn't find the Video icon. I stumble around a while and decide to open the iPod app and there's a spot for video there. Thought maybe this was an iOS 4.x thing, but then realized my kid has iOS 4.2.1 on her Touch as well. Then I thought it was a think only for multi-tasking devices since her Touch is a 2G, but I checked my multi-tasking iPad on 4.2.1 and I still have a Videos icon there and there is no videos tab in the iPod there.

My iPhone had iOS 4.1 from the factory, has it always been set up like this? I've only had it for about a month and normally have all my video on my iPad so haven't ever looked for the Video icon.

I'm curious why Apple would make the iPod have different functionality on the iPhone. It can be a little confusing behaving differently between devices.

 

[JoelTGM]

I went from having an iPod Touch for a long time to getting an iPhone some days ago, so I think I know what you're talking about. I think this is done because Apple knows iPod Touch users want the device to play their music, videos, and games on it. Whereas iPhone users are usually older, and a lot of these people don't know or care much about getting video onto their computer or iphone, and they just want to use it as a phone mainly. It also makes sense because on the bottom bar of an ipod touch, people will probably have music, videos, photos, and then itunes or something, but on an iphone you right away have the phone app there taking up space, and then the camera and whatever else, so it makes sense to keep the media stuff inside what they call the ipod app.

 

[Ivan P]

I put my first video from my computer onto my iPhone 4. Also put it on my kid's Touch. We both went to review the video and she clicks the Video icon to get there, me? Well I couldn't find the Video icon. I stumble around a while and decide to open the iPod app and there's a spot for video there. Thought maybe this was an iOS 4.x thing, but then realized my kid has iOS 4.2.1 on her Touch as well. Then I thought it was a think only for multi-tasking devices since her Touch is a 2G, but I checked my multi-tasking iPad on 4.2.1 and I still have a Videos icon there and there is no videos tab in the iPod there.

My iPhone had iOS 4.1 from the factory, has it always been set up like this? I've only had it for about a month and normally have all my video on my iPad so haven't ever looked for the Video icon.

I'm curious why Apple would make the iPod have different functionality on the iPhone. It can be a little confusing behaving differently between devices.

The difference is that the touch is an iPod, and video-compatible iPods have always had a separate section for videos, just like there is a dedicated Music app. The iPhone, however, does not even have a Music app - as you have pointed out it is an entire iPod app (and it even has a totally different icon to the touch's Music app to further distinguish this). It's not that it's something Apple has overlooked, it's just that the iPod touch is just that - an iPod. Initially designed as a music player. The iPhone however, was designed as a communications device, hence why it has it's own actual iPod app with all the iPod features in the one location instead of being broken up into the two and taking up more space on the home screen. Even the iPad has the iPod app, not separate Music and Video apps, so the touch is the odd one out in this scenario, and it does just come back to the fact that it already is an iPod so including an 'iPod' app wouldn't make much sense. When you actually think about it, it does make sense.

 

[SnowDX]

Even the iPad has the iPod app, not separate Music and Video apps, so the touch is the odd one out in this scenario

This is not correct. I said in my post that I checked my iPad and it *does* have a separate video app. And that the iPod app on the iPad does *not* play video, only music.

So, all 3 devices are different.

1. iPod Touch has Video app and Music app
2. iPhone has iPod app that plays music and video
3. iPad has video app and an iPod app but iPod app doesn't play video like iPhone does