The iPod Photo

As promised, here are some pics and more details about the iPod Photo: Comes in two versions, a 40GB model which sells for $499 and a 60GB version that sells for $599. Both weigh 6.4 ounces, are 2.4 x 4.1 x 0.75 inches in size (slightly thicker and heavier than the regular 40GB iPod), and have a battery life of 15 hours (which is 25% better than the 4G iPod). Also comes with an AV cable for hooking up to a TV for slideshows. It's estimated to ship in 1 to 2 weeks. Click to see a couple more pics.

[Tony Paygane @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

This should eb awesome

[Nat Roth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

bt?

[Brian Hall @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

It's funny that no one else called the early shipment. I was just reading yesterday where people someone had heard from a "reliable source" that it'd be a while before we saw these. It's beautiful. *sniff*

[mike corley @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

no camera? lame!

[Kent @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

It's up on their website. Along with picts of the US iPod.

[sebastien @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

If i did'nt have my pocket pc i'de want one...

[Tony Paygane @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

This should eb awesome

[Barrett @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

is for apple to stop making higher end models take higher price points and bring the cost down on the lower models instead and fill the already existing price points! i just want to be able to afford an ipod dammit!

[gimme bt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

bt part duex?

[sebastien @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

no body mentionnend that! well i dont have an ipod color and i cant afford it now but can sure affortd to upgrade to 4.7!! :)

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I'd consider this if it did video. I'm sure they'd need some sort of decoding chip, but seriously, how hard could it be?

[Tony Paygane @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I think its just going to be a big hard drive for pictures. Since there is no camera on it, and the screen is so small to view. My does just fine.

[Tony Paygane @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I think its just going to be a big hard drive for pictures. Since there is no camera on it, and the screen is so small to view. My does just fine.

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Unfortunately, for the killer app of using your iPod to offload from your digicam while on vacation, you're still stuck using one of the clunky, battery-draining adapters from Belkin.

And it seems like even with the adapter, you won't be able to see your pictures on the iPod until you import them into iPhoto and then sync them back.

Say what you want about missing video, bluetooth, wifi, whatever. Having an "iPod Photo" that doesn't easily connect to a digital camera is lame.

[Sebhelyesfarku @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Still doesn't? Then it's still for just lemmings.

[bertram @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

dropping the iphoto part, and keeping the easier to read color gui? the hard to read blue lcd has always been pretty ghetto for such a high price point product. and will 4.7 carry as many hidden restrictions as 4.6 did?

[tpp @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

And that's all Apple needs to sell these by the buttload. I won't buying one, though, features are, as usual, lacking, and the price is not competitive, as usual.

[threesquare @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Syncs iPod-viewable photos in JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG formats

4.1 x 2.4 x 0.75 inches
*thicker*

Photo slideshow settings
Music from iPhoto (Mac) or iTunes playlists
Time per slide manual, 2-, 3-, 5-, 10- or 20-seconds
Repeat on or off
Shuffle photos on or off
Transitions on or off
TV out on, off or ask
TV signal PAL or NTSC

[James Stevens @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

what a joke Come on apple you can do better than this...Add something that matters

[threesquare @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Display
2-inch (diagonal) **transflective**, 65,536-color liquid crystal display with white LED backlight


iPod Photo Dock
Dock connector
Audio and composite video output
S-video output

[Guttrhead @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I agree that apple could have made this a whole lot better with a cam. even a .3 megapixel. it would have cost an extra 10 bucks or so per unit. they are so ridiculously overpriced anyway, who'd care?

[JP @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

It'll be interesting to see if they fixed the headphone static problem.

JP

[threesquare @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Display
2-inch (diagonal) **transflective**, 65,536-color liquid crystal display with white LED backlight


iPod Photo Dock
Dock connector
Audio and composite video output
S-video output

[threesquare @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

pix of the av cable
http://images.apple.com/ipodphoto/images/syncphotoscable10262004.jpg

[Permanent4 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Unlike the iPod Photo, the Archos Gmini 400 *does* have a CF slot for offloading photos from a digital camera on the go. It's only a 20GB model, but it's also selling for only $335. (according to Pricewatch.com) Oh, and it also plays DivX files and Mophun games and records uncompressed WAV audio, too.

If Archos had any sense -- and sadly, they don't -- they would announce a 40GB Gmini 440 tomorrow.

[cw @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I could buy a brand new PC and have enough money left over for a TiVO...

I can't believe you can't use this thing to store and view your digital camera files on when away from your Mac. Seems like a no-brainer feature to add.

[Alex @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

One thing we have to give Apple props for is the battery life. I was sure that there was no way they could put in a 60,000+ color backlit screen and not take a hit on battery life. But somehow you can still play music for 15 hours, and even with slideshows and music on, you can still get 5 horus straight. That's impressive.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I would prefer this more if it played videos. If there was a way to transfer files off a CompactFlash Card, then I would definately get one. Would be useful as a portable harddrive when i go on trips and stuff.

[JH @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

They just added Album Art, but I want to see the entire Album insert, lyrics, artist facts and news. How hard would that be to add for songs purchased from Itunes. Think of the Value-add. It would be nice to have a FM transmitter was well.

I love my 30 gig Ipod, but I wanted more than they just delivered.

[jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

but it will sell - after this has been announced i wouldnt want a "mere" music ipod. That said im not sure i'd want a version that doesnt play .mov or read XD cards

[Matt R. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

When have you been like, oh man, if I only had my entire photo collection with me?

I am a self proclaimed gadget whore, I had the first iPod, the mini and now... well, I'm sticking with the mini because I see no need for this. Normally I want every product apple makes even if I don't need it because they tend to be useful at one point... but this is just garbage. The only cool thing is the battery life and the album cover showing when you play a song. Other than that its pointless.

-For all you people that want a camera on here, get real, they wouldn't just throw a crappy camera on the ipod, it isn't there style and it isn't necessary.

-I do agree that you should be able to rip photos FROM a camera to an iPod.

- I think its stupid that they have taken a step back and made it even a little bigger.

-No video playback is retarded.

Verdict: Something that isn't useful (aside from a screen that you can read easier and longer battery life) isn't worth making. Maybe there is a certain niche that would like to have all their pictures in there. But i mean how many people actually keep their photos even 1% as organized as their music? Exactly.

[threesquare @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

i think apple only want to concentrate on the music aspect and be the best in that area.
and not juggling video, music, and photo at once.
if they add CF slot loading/storing, that would drain the battery life significantly. 15 hrs playtime is due to a larger capacity and larger size obviously. 0.75 inch thicker.

i think the only reason they put out a photo ipod is to please the public. and to show that they can.

man i wonder how does the new 4gen owner feel when they just bought their 4gen last week. or even yesterday?! =D

[Pedro2point0 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

and color is sooo much better too.

[Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

What is with all of the mp3 players having pictures, you just tuck them away in your pocket when you are finished selecting your song anyway, this is a completely uneeded expense

[J-Rod @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

My 40gig 4g model gets about 10hrs of battery life off of a full charge now. How much battery life is a backlit color screen going to eat? And condisering the low prices of palm and pocketpc's these days, do we need this feature? I think i would be great to be able to view the album art when picking tunes to play, but would it be practical on the tiny ipod screen?

[junesix @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I'm curious about the s-video output connector on the dock - is this really necessary or even useful for photos? I'm not too knowledgeable about the photo specs on the iPod Photo.

Maybe video at some point?

[Newton @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

To be honest, the killer feature would have been the ability to suck jpeg etc down usb from an attached camera. Then I can take photos with either my point and shoot/digital slr and not have to lug my laptop around.

[jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

well i literly bought my ipod mini last week, and now they start showing off this hunk of crap.....i really dont know of any one that really would use this. sombody may take a few important pfotos with them while they travel, (ie kids, sig. other, dog) but if theyre traveling with an ipod, 10 to 1 says that they will have a laptop.....

as far as me buying my mini last week, i couldnt be happier with it. its stupid easy to use. the only thing i want is a program to mount the ipod like a USB drive, rather then using itunes.....this ipod photo is junk.

[jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

what about a flash mem. reader that connect through the dock port.....that would give you tons of more options, and make transfering foles a lot eaiser.

[kyle veatch @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Apple has announced two new versions of their ipod being released. The first one (unpictured) is a special edition U2 ipod that is basically the same as the old one except is black, has a red (ugly) scroll wheel, and has their signatures eched on the back. The big deal is the new ipodiphoto that is being released....now get this everyone...its the same thing as the old ipod.....but you can view pictures! Isn't that amazing!? If you heard me talking about the last ipod release you can tell how sarcastic I am being. While having an awesome color screen on the ipod would be nice. I just can see anyone paying that much money to look at a small image of a picture on a nice screen. Granted it can do slideshows with music and you can now view albulm art, but other than that its the same ol' ipod but with images. Seems lame to me. I mean if I did not have an ipod I would probebly spend the extra cash to get this new one, but by now everyone in there mother already has an ipod....so who wants to spend $500 (the cheapest ipodiphoto) for just color and images. Now throw in some playable movie formats and then you will have me thinking. As much as I love my ipod, I think just like the release of the 4th generation ipods this is a lame move for Apple. While I am sure it will make them tons of money I think it is a cheap move. I mean you make 90% of the digital music market buy your product, but then keep releasing new models every couple of months. This is not a $20 toy here people. To "upgrade" to the .5 higher version of the ipod you have to dish out serious cash. Maybe if instead of the 4th generation ipod (which was nothing more than a better battery and moving "shuffle" to the first page) they went straight to this version I would be praising Apple, but as it is all I must say is "lame".

[JM @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

How about a simple FM Radio? That would have been nice. And if this thing is to be a photo storage device then not having WiFi is almost criminal as is thier price.

All style and NEVER any function that is why I and so many others hate Apple and the sheep that they cater too.

[kmart @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

This thread sounds just like the one after the iPod mini was announced!

4GB! - piece of junk!
Photos - piece of junk!

[Jon Rubin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

This is the video iPod. Apple's just being cautious. They're making sure their tv interface is easy to use and beautiful to look at. They're getting people used to the idea of an iPod that hooks up to a tv, and getting the av docks out there in the market. They're perfecting a color display, and all the little 'extras' you'd expect from an Apple portable media player, like album covers.

The important thing to note is that Apple's now got a portable device with RCA and SVIDEO out. Then connect the dots.

Think about what Apple always says: their marketing doesn't show that people want to watch video on a small screen for an extended period of time. Well, that's not saying "we'll never produce a video iPod," just that "if we make a video iPod, we're not going to expect people to actually watch video on its tiny screen."

Now all they're waiting for is hard drive prices to go down. As soon as that happens, I bet they'll slap in another DSP to decode a quicktime variant.

Apple's creating a market segment for a video iPod before they actually put it out there. The color screen and 60gig hd will filter down to the regular iPod eventually, and the AV port will be what differentiates the high-end pricepoint. When there's an 80gig or 100gig hard drive out there, Apple will roll out an iPod Movie.

Apple is building an extremely powerful mobile device by accretion. I do not think the name 'iPod' was chosen at random--Apple never intended it to just be about music. It's about carrying all the information that matters to you in your pocket.

[Logich @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

I believe that this will be a killer portable presentation tool for some sales people, that is if you can figure out exporting your slides to jepg and syncing the audio track. I am sure that people will find far more creative uses for this tahn just showing baby pictures to grandma.

[ken fager @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

My 3g 20gb iPod was insured (thank God). So I got a monetary replacement and ordered the 4g 40gb iPod. Just got it today and now I check engadget and walla, a color iPod. Now I'm torn. I loved my itty bitty 3g with remote and case, now I have a 4g sans remote and case, and I know Apple will release a color iPod solely for music soon. The more I think about it... the important thing is the music. I tip my hat to you Apple for pushing the market in crucial steps and not in wild leaps.

[kmart @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Maybe you can see another point of view:

Apple is trying to reach a larger market, not the upgrade market. If you already have a 4G iPod or iPod mini, great, you don't need this. But if you're not completely sold on just music, and you're one of the 39% of US households that already own a digital camera or one of the 14 million households who are buying a digital camera for the first time this year (stats from Consumer Electronics Association), then this iPod is for you. Because you will have thousands of photos, but you no longer want to print copies. Yes you can email them, but isn't it much nicer when we can share photos together on a large-screen TV, and with music?

Apple has sold only 5.7 million iPods worldwide, so not "everyone and their mother" has one. Even though Apple has dominated among those who have purchased, the market is way bigger � there are over 110 million households in the US alone.

What's wrong with new differentiated products? You don't have to buy it if you have something that meets your needs already. But a new product could attract someone who wasn't considering it before. It's exactly what I as a shareholder would want Apple to do.

Maybe the next version will have video for the 18% of households that have a camcorder and who know how to use iMovie but don't want to use iDVD. Or by then, Hollywood will have gotten their act together and movies will actually be available.

[Brackdurf @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

The problem with your logic is the price. This is not a price to expand the device into new markets. It's hard to imagine who might have been able to afford an iPod, held off for whatever reason, and then is bumped to purchase by photo storage costing $100 extra. Those who have $500 for a luxury gadget have surely heard of the iPod, and those that haven't bought one are unlikely to be swayed by this. The only real buyers I can imagine are the top-end replacing-their-old-iPod crowd. Apple is disappearing off into rich-man's-land.

[Kmart @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

Right on.

Also read Joe Wilcox at www.microsoftmonitor.com. He's a Jupiter analyst who is slightly pro-MS (MCE, WMP), but he has good insight about Apple. He also has a ton of customer research data at his disposal (which Apple probably has to).

Here's an excerpt:
"Apple also has done a remarkable job identifying and capitalizing on consumer interest in digital content. With the original iPod, Apple identified the digital media type with highest consumer interest: Music. The iPod Photo catches another digital media type, the digital image, just as its popularity is starting to peak. In the U.S., more than half of households now have a digital camera. The color screen would let users view album art, which is another nicety.

But there are differences. Apple released iPod into a market where there was no real competition for hard disk-based portable music players. In that early market, Apple could risk higher pricing--and so higher margins--on a $499 music player. The market today is more crowded, with Apple perhaps its own biggest competitor. Given the breadth of music player choices and wide range of prices and the greater popularity of music over digital images, I see iPod Photo more likely as a niche product, appropriately positioned to augment and extend the music player line."

So what's the next digital media type: video!

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

My ipod is only about a month old and i saved up forever for it!!! it is 4g and if i knew this, i wouldnt of bought my ipod... now im pissed so im gonna go fart... pfffft! ahhhhh that gives me a headache.

[Mark Pitman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:05AM]

[quote] man i wonder how does the new 4gen owner feel when they just bought their 4gen last week. or even yesterday?! [quote]

Well, I just got my 40GB iPod last week as a birthday gift, and I feel GREAT! I wanted a good MP3 player and I got it. I would not spend the extra $100 for the photo iPod. I just don't think it is worth it. I don't sit around looking at photos too much, so it isn't much of a feature for me. As for seeing album art on the iPod display, it is cool, but not worth $100!