I think wireless is a good point and it will be interesting to see how people react to the Zune when it comes out. To make wireless ultimately worthwhile however, you would need to transmit electricity over the air, to charge up the battery. I'd say an apple-toyota partnership could figure that out in a year or two.
hey, been reading the forums for nearly a yr now, but 1st post ever neway, Apple should really hurry up w/ the 'real' video iPod especially seeing as the wireless pmp thing has been done b4, twice now, by the same company - Archos. Their 2nd-gen Wifi player is due out pretty soon now, n its been refined a lot compared to their previous offering. Dunno how to do the embedded links, but here's their first version: http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS8811342597.html
n a vid showing the 2nd version in prototype stage:
I personally think the "true video ipod", when or if released, would sell ok but I also think it will not be a blockbuster hit. The iphone (again when and if released) is a more useful product. I own both a 30gb iPod w/ video and a Sony-Ericsson W810i mobile phone and it's the phone that I take with me everywhere simply because it's more practical. I truly think most people don't want to carry around a ton of devices with them when one device would solve all of thier needs. True, the iPhone would not play video on the same scale as a "true video iPod" but we already lug around our Macbooks and Macbook Pros which can be used for video puposes.
That woulld likely result in a product that not many people would buy. Mobile phones are getting smaller and smaller and there are many out now that have MP3 capability. My SE-W810i being a prime example. I have a 4gb memory card in it so it now serves as my device of choice when I am out and about.
The best Apple could do would be to keep the same footprint as the current 5.5G iPod and I doubt many would accept that as a viable mobile/mp3/video player alternative. Battery life would have to be exceptional on it and that would be difficult to do without increasing the thickness of it at the same time. Although battery time will have to be adressed with any true video iPod and maybe Apple has an alternate battery in the works that would not increase the thickness of the unit.
If the device is anything along the scale of the mock-up unit we saw Apple apply for a patent for, it simply won't sell that many. A prime example would likely be something along the lines of the Archos AV700 which had a huge screen, up to 100gb of hd space and could obviously play mp3s. The price tag was more than most were willing to pay for a unit that was, in reality, to large to carry around everyday. It has to keep the present 5.5G footprint to be at all successful.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see one on the market and would likely even consider getting one but I simply see an iPhone using the Nano's footprint as being much more successful than any true video iPod.
But what if the iPhone and the Video iPod are one ad the same product?
The "All in One" device is the Holy Grail of consumer products. Unfortunately, no one has been able to pull it off yet. You end up with a phone that's good, but the music player sucks. Or you get a great PDA that's too bulky to be a phone, etc.
If Apple could somehow merge a widescreen video iPod with a great quality phone, then add in some basic PDA functionality (maybe even just a mail client like Google just released), that could be the device everyone has been waiting for.
I doubt that is what will really happen, but we'll see...
Comments
roll it up for the scroller if u might!... who cares about the rumor?..
I think wireless is a good point and it will be interesting to see how people react to the Zune when it comes out. To make wireless ultimately worthwhile however, you would need to transmit electricity over the air, to charge up the battery. I'd say an apple-toyota partnership could figure that out in a year or two.
n a vid showing the 2nd version in prototype stage:
http://ifa2006.net/archos-604-wifi/
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/11...reen/index.php
I personally think the "true video ipod"... will not be a blockbuster hit. The iphone (again when and if released) is a more useful product.
But what if the iPhone and the Video iPod are one ad the same product?
The best Apple could do would be to keep the same footprint as the current 5.5G iPod and I doubt many would accept that as a viable mobile/mp3/video player alternative. Battery life would have to be exceptional on it and that would be difficult to do without increasing the thickness of it at the same time. Although battery time will have to be adressed with any true video iPod and maybe Apple has an alternate battery in the works that would not increase the thickness of the unit.
If the device is anything along the scale of the mock-up unit we saw Apple apply for a patent for, it simply won't sell that many. A prime example would likely be something along the lines of the Archos AV700 which had a huge screen, up to 100gb of hd space and could obviously play mp3s. The price tag was more than most were willing to pay for a unit that was, in reality, to large to carry around everyday. It has to keep the present 5.5G footprint to be at all successful.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see one on the market and would likely even consider getting one but I simply see an iPhone using the Nano's footprint as being much more successful than any true video iPod.
But what if the iPhone and the Video iPod are one ad the same product?
The "All in One" device is the Holy Grail of consumer products. Unfortunately, no one has been able to pull it off yet. You end up with a phone that's good, but the music player sucks. Or you get a great PDA that's too bulky to be a phone, etc.
If Apple could somehow merge a widescreen video iPod with a great quality phone, then add in some basic PDA functionality (maybe even just a mail client like Google just released), that could be the device everyone has been waiting for.
I doubt that is what will really happen, but we'll see...