"Real video iPod" delayed by display problems, studio talks

Whew. That's a relief. We were afraid for a while there that we'd have to go a whole week without any rumors about Apple's alleged plans for a "true video iPod." But ThinkSecret has come through as usual. According to the site, Apple had been on track to release the widescreen video iPod in time for the company's 30th birthday this month, but had to delay the project due to display problems and negotiations with movie studios. ThinkSecret claims that Apple is committed to a touchscreen controller including a "virtual track wheel," but actually achieving this has proven to be a challenge for Apple's display manufacturer. Meanwhile Apple is reportedly having a hard time negotiating content deals with movie studios. According to ThinkSecret, the company wants to stick with the iTunes model of selling individual flicks, while the studios are looking for a MusicNet-style subscription service. We've got an idea: as long as Apple is chatting it up with the other Apple, why not see if the rights to "Help" and "A Hard Days Night" are available? Either that or they can see if Disney's working on a sequel to "High School Musical."

[chouk @ Apr 13th 2006 2:21PM]

go apple, goo!

[joe @ Apr 13th 2006 2:30PM]

yes
i love apple there the best
but i have a windows =(
i only have it for the games
but w/e
the ipod looks real good and i want it to come out with a 50 GB+

[Ben Hobbs @ Apr 13th 2006 2:32PM]

I'm just not sure theres such a big market for mobile video, Its not a passive experience like listenig to music, it involves sitting down and staring at a screen devotedly.

Movies look crap on a small screen, whereas music from a portable mp3 player can sound excellent. Personally if I want to watch something, I can quite easily wait till I'm at home to watch it on my nice TV, in my comfy sofa, with the lights off.

why not put the click wheel underneath somehow? A smeered, fingerprinted, greasy touchscreen wont do video any favours.

Ben Hobbs

[Finished.Law.School @ Apr 13th 2006 2:32PM]

Screw the MPAA, the movie studios and all related negotiations. There is plenty to put on a video iPod as it is. Fix the display and sell it.

[ocanica @ Apr 13th 2006 2:37PM]

I love Apple and I love that they haven't applied an a la carte system to their music store but what works for music won't necessarily work for movies; they just don't have the same replay value. So I�m siding with the movie studios on this one..still hate the MPAA though.

[Menh @ Apr 13th 2006 2:43PM]

I think there's a huge market for mobile video, have you ever flown on a plane and had to watch "Runaway Bride" there *and* back? The only word for that is unfair! A recent trip to Japan taught me that a video iPod is the only way to fly...now if I could just get 20hrs battery life with video I'd be laughing!

[Mike C. @ Apr 13th 2006 2:44PM]

I for one want mobile video more than mobile music. I listen to music for almost 2 hours a day in the car, that's enough for me. What I want is video to watch in a waiting room, or on a break at work, or especially at lunch. I want to catch up on video (anime, movies, misc geeky shows I have downloaded or saved over the last few years). No, I don't want to see a blockbuster movie for the first time on a 4" screen but most of what I watch is other stuff. I hope the iPod player works well but if not, I will pick up one of the competing media players (Zen, Archos, etc). And as for not wanting an active versus passive experience, text messaging couldn't be more active and millions of people love it (I don't, but I thought I would just throw that out there). To each their own, I am just happy more and more personal media players are coming out.

[Mojo Yugen @ Apr 13th 2006 2:50PM]

I'm not sure of staring at a tiny screen as I fly to Japan would be better than watching "Runaway Bride" repeatedly. Sounds like a tossup. Give me a portable DVD player over both those options.

If Apple is making the Video iPod with the wheel built into the screen I�m dying to see how they make it fingerprint resistant. Hats off to them if they can do a decent job of it.

[Gowtham Mahalingam @ Apr 13th 2006 2:56PM]

I have to agree with commenter #3. I am not entirely sure what the demand for every day mobile video content is. I understand the novelty and technical marvel of these creations, and I grant their function on a trip, or a plane ride, where I would enjoy watching video. Even as a consultant, or other professions which require frequent elongated travel, the device may only be useful for video 2 times a week, and the average person does not travel this much.

On most days I use my mobile audio player (currently a 4gb Nano) on the metro, when I am walking around town, or doing work that doesn't need my utmost concentration. None of these tasks would allow me to watch video and perform the task at the same time.

Furthermore I am not going to sacrifice pocket space for a device that can display video, just so I can use it for novelty once in a blue moon.

[K @ Apr 13th 2006 2:56PM]

"If Apple is making the Video iPod with the wheel built into the screen I�m dying to see how they make it fingerprint resistant."

Easy: use a stylus. Works for the DS and any other "touchable" device.

[Zach @ Apr 13th 2006 3:16PM]

You guys are missing the boat. Anyone ever road the train or the bus for an hour to get to work. Anyone ever tivod a tv show and put it on a dvd. If so you are in the audience for this device. But i do agree with the scratching thing. I know a guy that has the new Zen vision: m and he keeps it in velvet bag and it still gets cratched.

[bhaalspawn @ Apr 13th 2006 3:20PM]

"I think there's a huge market for mobile video, have you ever flown on a plane and had to watch "Runaway Bride" there *and* back? The only word for that is unfair! A recent trip to Japan taught me that a video iPod is the only way to fly...now if I could just get 20hrs battery life with video I'd be laughing!"

Well getting a video ipod for something most people do four or five times a year (go on a long plane journey) is not a great reason. In fact the only business model that actually makes sense for video is a different one than Apple have going for music. It would be software driven rather than hardware driven.

For example, most people already have a music collection of some sorts which they can easily put on their computer. Insert CD and press import - that's it. However DVDs are a rather more complicated process for the average consumer. Most people don't even know bittorrent exists or that ripping DVDs is very easy and possible. Even if they did a good proportion of those would be put off by the time and effort involved - we're naturally lazy we want something now and right now, not in two or three hours of encoding time and not after having to fisgure out what 'deinterlacing', 2-pass encoding or mpeg4 is. Thats before you get to the imprenatreble language of 'demuxing', audio stream, etc

Now this is obviosuly going to seem alien to people reading this as the mere fact that you're on engadget or even using the internet means you ahve a certain amount of technical knowledge. Belive it or not there are people who just don't know about this - there are even people who don't know how to rip a CD or won't do it because they think it's illegal and they'll get caught - so they get more technically minded friends or relations to fill their ipods - obviously these people can't encode video and helpful relatins lack the time and effort required to convert a vast library of DVDs

Now this is why Apple won't launch a video ipod without content to go on it. However the greater number of these people than in the music industry (and the obvious fact Apple cannot give instructions on how to circumvent copy protection on DVDs) means that Apple should be selling far more video items with each video ipod than music items. Even those people who can rip DVDs will be faced with a choice between waiting hours to rip/encode a torrent/DVD and paying a small amount to get the video they want there and then.

So instead of the hardware very definitely driving the marginal sotftware sales on ITMS as now you'll have the video content driving people to buy a video ipod so they can take it elsewhere.

This is why Apple will ultimately go with a subscription model (or at least an option for video). There are other considerations that also point in that direction i) to placate the movie industry and ensure them they won't be in the same position as the music industry, where Apple controls the market ii) so they can offer the device at a lower price than would otherwise be the case - tech like this is proposed to be doesn't come cheap. Apple wll offer the hardware at a lower profit in order to maximise sales of video iii) the very real consideration(voiced by Jobs) that you don't watch that many films more than once and the ones that you do you're willing to pay quite a lot to own. This suits a subscription model - you pay for as much as you want or say 50 films a month then for an extra $10 you can have a copy to keep, for an extra $20 they'll mail you the DVD.

[Azhar @ Apr 13th 2006 3:27PM]

bhaalspawn! You've written tooo much and some of us are too lazy to read it all.

[ezrag @ Apr 13th 2006 3:33PM]

If you're really listening, music is active. It is not a passive experience.

[Ronak @ Apr 13th 2006 3:36PM]

They should call the 'virtual track wheel' the 'GhostWheel'

[kibets @ Apr 13th 2006 3:37PM]

Yea... christ bhaalspawn - what are you thinking??? I only have a 1 paragraph attention span.

Now... if the current video ipod is 399, the new one would probably cost 499, for just a bit more I could get a UMPC and have all the functionality plus much more... maybe steve is holding out for an apple umps.

[Ty @ Apr 13th 2006 3:43PM]

Forget video, it's too much of a pain to encode and transfer video back and forth. Small screen and low battery life kills watching a video on a device that small. Just give me an iPod the size of the Nano with 40GB of music, then I am happy.

[Technrude @ Apr 13th 2006 3:43PM]

ALOT OF WHAT I HAVE READ SO FAR IN THIS TOPIC MADE NO SENSE up until post #10
clarified the whole video ipod sceneario..

one dude here said something about traveling to japan like if thats a everyday thing for end-users. GET SERIOUS

music-put in your pocket forget about it
video-??????????????

i can see so many lawsuits and new laws passed regardig walking and your video ipod and driving...hey we have alot of people out there that like to show off at whatever cost...and some ohh yeah some very idiotic people that will not pay attention to nothing because their so concetrated on their cool ne gadget.,

[push2flush @ Apr 13th 2006 3:50PM]

I go with my Cingular 8125 (with 2GB miniSD card). I can listen to music, watch movies, make calls, play games, etc. That and my DS go with me wherever I go.

[Jeff @ Apr 13th 2006 3:50PM]

"You guys are missing the boat. Anyone ever road the train or the bus for an hour to get to work. Anyone ever tivod a tv show and put it on a dvd."

I ride the train an hour each way to and from work and I've recorded DVD's from my DVR's (formerly TiVo, now my cable box) and I don't really have much interest in portable video implemented like this. Well, beyond the pr0n possibilities, that is.

I'd take it if it came extra, as in the current iPod. And I'd probably use it occasionally.

But there's nothing really appealing to me about watching half a movie on a small screen during my commute, or watching last night's TV shows that I probably already watched or have DVR'd in high-definition at home. I mean there's really not enough good stuff on TV to fill up the time I have at home anyway; it's not like I'd even have anything left to watch on my iPod.

If I'm the market for this sort of device, then Apple's in serious trouble with this product.

I really don't think it's for nothing that PMP's of all types haven't really taken off. Obviously, Apple will have the greatest chance of success on the strength of the iPod name and reputation (and the iTunes music/video store), but I think once the novelty wears off, people will realize that small-screen, low-res video that's delayed by however long is just not all it's really cracked up to be. I mean that's already happening to the PSP, right?

As for airplanes, I have a laptop for that. No little iPod is going to beat that big screen for playing video, and the laptop can play DVD's directly. Sure, it's heavier than the iPod, and bigger, but I basically have to take it with me anyway whenever I fly - either to store, view and display the photos I take on a trip, or for business purposes, or whatever. So an iPod isn't going to replace that.

I think portable video in *general* has its place, but various companies have been trying to force this same basic implementation down our throats for a while now - relatively tiny screen, poor battery life, limited content (unless you want to roll your own, which most people aren't gonna do) - and I just don't think it's ever really going to work. Small laptops are a much better fit for portable video, even though they are bulkier. And I think that market is already a lot bigger than people think - I always see tons of people watching movies on their laptops whenever I fly. So it's not like there's nascent demand out there that's not being satisfied.

If the video iPod can also play music (as I'm sure it will), I think a lot of people will claim to buy it for dual purposes, but will eventually end up just listening to tunes on it 99% of the time.

[Yvan @ Apr 13th 2006 3:58PM]

My son has the present Ipod video. I have a Sanyo Xacti video camera that records on SD cards. Even though both are meant to work with Mpeg4 they are not compatible, and conversions take forever. Apple should design software that would make transfers easier or make an Ipod that works with every video standard. Personally I'd rather have a bigger screen about the size of Sony's Prs-500 ebook reader.

[Matt @ Apr 13th 2006 4:00PM]

Whether or not there is a long-term market for portable video is questionable, but people will buy it in the short-term just because it's a new iPod.

Personally, I watch video on the go every day on my Vision:M...one episode of Family Guy each way during my commute. Great way to kill time.

[Eric @ Apr 13th 2006 4:07PM]

"If Apple is making the Video iPod with the wheel built into the screen I�m dying to see how they make it fingerprint resistant."

Use a stylus or your finger nail.

[Rob @ Apr 13th 2006 4:13PM]

I'd be willing to bet they don't use a stylus... or at least don't ship it with one, but hey i've been wrong once.

[pimp @ Apr 13th 2006 4:19PM]

Rather than ask the question: "where is the market for personal video players?" Apple is saying, "we're making a market for personal video players".

Apple is perhaps one of the best companies at creating needs -- and creating a need, while tres capitalist, is innovation.

[Jason @ Apr 13th 2006 4:25PM]

The only thing that worries me about the true video iPod is battery life.

The 5G iPods get what, 2-3 hours of video playback with a 2.5" screen. Considering that the larger file size of movies should make the device need to access the hard drive more, and a ~3x larger 4" screen, I don't see how this thing is going to work out?

[bobby @ Apr 13th 2006 4:29PM]

I think alot of the doubters are missing the point. This is a new Ipod. That is reason enough for most people to buy it. Most people who buy ipods never even get close to filling them, but they like the idea of having all that space. By that same reasoning; Most people may not watch much video but they will like the idea of beign able to. The high end of the iPod line has always been and still is for the technicaly savy/enthusiast end of the bell curve. the mini was and the nano is the best selling ipod by far. that is what the soccer moms and teenage girls buy. the top end ipods are there for the serious user who wants the best device possible.

Another very real possibility for this ipod is that it will be a trajoan horse for apple to enter the living room. Imagine if you will a dock with an IR port you attach to your nice big TV and plug your ipod into and can easily watch your whole collection of downloaded movies on your TV or bring them to a freinds house. It will run on Front Row and instantly make your catalog of DVDs obsolete. With a 100gig HD in it a true video ipod could hold 25 FULL DVDs ripped right off the discs with zero compression. With even the slightest compression you will probably be able to fit 3 times as many DVDs at very good quality (even when viewed on a big TV). how many people own 75 DVDs? not many. This will allow you to take your entire movie and music collection with you everywhere you go. No that is a real break through.

in the end this isnt a product for the lowest common denominator buyer. but it is a product that will revolutionize how people eventualy collect and view movies jsut like the ipod did for music. Portable movies are not about viewing on the train nearly as much as moving them from computer to TV to freinds TV (while still being DRMed up, which the studios could not live without). If you think of it that way it makes a whole lot of sense.

I for one will get one the moment it comes out! movie night? sure ill jsut bring my vPod!

[Aaron @ Apr 13th 2006 4:34PM]

If this provides me with 100GB+ of storage in roughly the same form factor as my 60GB 5G iPod, with equal or better battery life, I'll buy it just to have more room for music. The only time I watch TV is on my Tivo, in bed, but my 60GB iPod is full and I need more!

[Dave @ Apr 13th 2006 4:36PM]

Everytime I see this video iPod and the anticipation that goes along with I get a little chuckle. The iPod control wheel was implemented in a touch screen about 3 years ago - on a Pocket PC. It was a pretty good control scheme for music, but would be horrible for video imo. The point of the big wheel is one handed use. So you'll be smearing your fingers all over that thing.

It looks very, very cool, but isn't terribly practical.

[willyjsimmons @ Apr 13th 2006 4:48PM]

Intel as a UMPC spec. based upon a 5" screen.

Video Ipod would lose that battle.

[heyhow @ Apr 13th 2006 4:51PM]

oh man damn that sucking ipod - i want a intel ibook !

[Silver @ Apr 13th 2006 4:54PM]

"Intel as a UMPC spec. based upon a 5" screen. Video Ipod would lose that battle."

Yeah, and we'll all start wearing overalls with those gigantic front chest pockets so we can tote our UMPC music/video players around. Good call!

[Ryan @ Apr 13th 2006 4:57PM]

"I'm just not sure theres such a big market for mobile video, Its not a passive experience like listenig to music, it involves sitting down and staring at a screen devotedly."

I have one of the current video ipods and I use the video funciton quite frequently. Like if I'm riding with someone on a long drive. Or bored waiting for a real movie to start... or basically spare time anywhere when i'm killing time. it's not like people are going to rent movies to watch specifically on their iPod. Just a thought

[Baz @ Apr 13th 2006 5:01PM]

I thought the touch screen was a good idae...but now
Just what I need finger pring smudges all over the screen while watching a movie. How useless

[jaime @ Apr 13th 2006 5:09PM]

I agree with 17, when people watch movies on airplanes they prefer their laptop because they are already married to it and any idiot can pop in a DVD. Itunes would benefit from adding classic shows and anything nostalgia from the 70's. I mean who does not want to watch episodes of the 6 million dollar man on their Video IPOD!

[Ken @ Apr 13th 2006 5:09PM]

#28 - thats for a portable PC, the step-child of the failed tabletpc. a video ipod as suggested by these stories would be far greater as it would be designed by apple and serve as a media device not a PC. if you want a PC/OS get a laptop.

[simplenuf @ Apr 13th 2006 5:10PM]

I already watch hours of TV Shows and Movies on my PSP (thank you 5 hour battery life) in my free time / line time / lunch time. So I can say a true video iPod will surely be useful...

[willyjsimmons @ Apr 13th 2006 5:12PM]

Silver, why the dumb comment?

3.5" vs. 5.0"

Oh no, that extra 1.5" will make it TOTALLY IMPRACTICAL to carry around.

Right?????

Never mind that it will support whatever format you choose, and have wi-fi allowing one to check e-mail etc.

That extra 1.5" makes that an instant 'no go'.

Right Silver??????

And when Apple comes out with a video device having a screen bigger than 3.5", you'll also refuse to buy that as well.

Cuz it's just '"TOO FRIGGIN BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!".

Right Silver??????

[guypod @ Apr 13th 2006 5:12PM]

hopefully apple can do better than that! i agree with others here that the UMPC running XP or Vista would put this device to shame... i have too many devices as it is. with umpc i could dump my ipod, laptop and cell and carry just i device. silver they will no doubt come up with accessories for easy transport.

[Permanent4 @ Apr 13th 2006 5:16PM]

Ummm... why WOULDN'T Apple want to do a subscription movie service? Not enough cash in it for them? Too difficult to implement in the cost-per-download model of iTunes? Do they think that allowing people to download a couple movies at a time for $10-15/mo. won't attract enough customers, or take away from their iTunes video sales? Or is Jobs just being his usual pigheaded self again?

BTW, you guys are missing the point on "portable video." It's not just about watching video on the 3.5" screen. It's also about watching video on *any* TV. Just dock your iPod and get near-DVD quality video on your TV. Or your friend's TV. Or your hotel room's TV. And when you're done watching the video, pocket your iPod, stick the headphones in your ear, and you've got your music on the go. Your own personal entertainment hub, right in your pocket. The only thing it's missing is the video games, but I suppose that's what your cell phone is for....

[rip @ Apr 13th 2006 5:16PM]

The video store has to be in place for this to work. As a lot of people have noted, the market for watching videos on a small screen while on the go is limited. But the market for watching videos at home is huge.

Put it this way, what if you can buy dvd quality videos online, and watch them on your tv by hooking up either your computer or iPod to the tv. Instead of thinking of iPod video as a mobile thing, think of it as a portable video library. For example, instead of paying big fees for pay per view at a hotel, just hook up your iPod and watch content that you brought with you.

And Dave, re:control wheel.

I have no idea why you think a wheel would be bad for video. Ever hear about the jog dial? If your working in video, there's a good chance you have one. And besides that, what about watching a video is any different from listening to a song, control-wise? Play, pause, forward/rewind, chapter stops, seems pretty much the same as music...

Anyway, nice plug for Pocket PC though. At least you didn't just come out and say Microsoft did it first and better and why would you want an iPod when you can buy a Microsoft product... ;)

[willyjsimmons @ Apr 13th 2006 5:23PM]

'would be far greater as it would be designed by apple'

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Wait a minute..........

ha ha ha ha ha!

'if you want a PC/OS get a laptop'

Geez. Someone else please explain to this guy the idea of device convergence. I would, but I've got to go rub feet at the old folks home. And for some strange reason I think that is going to be a lot more worthwhile.

Pass the GoldBond.

[Dave @ Apr 13th 2006 5:34PM]

"And Dave, re:control wheel.

I have no idea why you think a wheel would be bad for video. Ever hear about the jog dial? If your working in video, there's a good chance you have one. And besides that, what about watching a video is any different from listening to a song, control-wise? Play, pause, forward/rewind, chapter stops, seems pretty much the same as music...

Anyway, nice plug for Pocket PC though. At least you didn't just come out and say Microsoft did it first and better and why would you want an iPod when you can buy a Microsoft product... ;)"

You missed my point. First, the touch-screen wheel interface on the PPC wasn't done by MS, it was done by an independant developer, mimicking the iPod functionality on the PPC. Apple actually forced the guy to stop distributing the software. So I wasn't saying anything about MS doing it first or better, just that it had been done and I've used this type of interface. In my experience, it was decent enough for music, making one-handed control easier than previous attempts - but iPod owners know that. The point is that, using a touch control in the middle of the screen causes all kinds of smears and smudges that would be infuriating in a video device. This is a case where side mounted hardware controls certainly aren't as sexy, but they are definetly more practical.

[Chaalz @ Apr 13th 2006 5:34PM]

I've loaded every CD I own onto my iPod (even the ones I hate). I can plug this into any computer or radio (iTrip) anywhere. If one can store many videos on an iPod, (how many DVD's can fit on an ipod..lol), then you could go anywhere and "plug in" to a TV, DVD player, etc and see the video. For me, watching videos ON the iPod is not my real selling point, its STORING them and having EASY ACCESS to them. Its like video on demand, but you are not downloading in realtime.

Imagine 2 years from now, when the iPod has the ability to download stuff FROM the iPod itself...oh wait isnt that a cellphone? or is it a camera? or is it a PDA?

...just some ramblings

[Ben Hobbs @ Apr 13th 2006 5:46PM]

#25

I can do just about all of those things with a portable hard disk drive, for about 15% of the cost of what the apple will be. No way is it going to have 100Gb hard drive, and I'm guessing that most people who are so into video/movies that they are going to wan this will have more than 75 movies, stored on DVD, Hard Disk etc...

What your basically saying is that you think the market for this is as a portable storage and watching medium for films, I doubt it - it would be easier to carry around a HD with all your films on - and hooked up to a Proper Media Centre PC through a DVI cable it would trounce any portable player.

Now, add a Web Browser and Wireless Internet Access and I'd be VERY interested.

Ben Hobbs

[Silver @ Apr 13th 2006 5:55PM]

Well Willy, have you actually seen any of the UMPCs that have been shown so far? I'm guessing not. They're not "pocket sized." At all. Perhaps you can peruse the last month or two of Engadget stories and you'll see what I mean.

Put a 5" screen on an iPod-sized device and it would be killer. Which is probably exactly what Apple will do (like, um, the mockup photo at the beginning of this article perhaps?). But until UMPCs get a lot smaller than the ones I've seen demonstrated so far, they'll not compete with iPods for most buyers for their music/video/basic data storage needs.

Sorry to set you off on a sputtering tirade...

[idude135 @ Apr 13th 2006 5:57PM]

What most of you have missed to point out is the allegedly Bluetooth capabilities that the next gen iPod will have. If you add to that the prospect of wireless earbuds to the already promising widescreen (I wonder how opaque the screen might turn out to be)display, I think Apple has the chance of giving millions of older iPod users a reason to upgrade.

As far as the content is concerned, Apple would really need to address the resolution issue for all of their videos sold through iTMS. And the fact that their latest advert is available in an HD version kinda tells us they're planning on doing just that.

Another thing to discuss is he pricing. On the last iPod, Steve Jobs had to slash the ac adapter/charger to compensate for hdd upgrade and video decoding components. An iPod envisioned for full feature films playback is gonna have an 80gb+ hdd capacity and a battery life of about 5 hours for video playback. At the bottom line, will Apple sacrifice their 50% hardware profit margin on the iPod in exchange for a $1-2 fee for every movie download? This new iPod should be more expensive if it's also to include a set of Bluetooth earbuds.

Based on the prices companies CinamaNow are asking, Apple's really gonna have to break a sweetheart deal with the studios to make movie downloads feasible and reasonable. Who would want to purchase a movie for $20 so swamped with drm you can't even backup on physical media?!!!

[nojok3 @ Apr 13th 2006 6:04PM]

If they had a pay by month service for unlimited downloads, you could have one account and put content on for friends easily.

I want a widescreen iPod but don't want one that takes away from the click wheel (I like having something physical there). I think Apple really needs to work on the battery life

[Silver @ Apr 13th 2006 6:08PM]

"As far as the content is concerned, Apple would really need to address the resolution issue for all of their videos sold through iTMS."

Amen to that, brother. I gave up 320x240 video when I tossed my last VCR and all my tapes like 5 years ago. I don't use iTunes because I want to stroll down Nostalgia Lane. I use it because it's the present and the future. Double the video quality (at least), Apple. Until then, I ain't buying.

Lossless songs in iTMS would also be a nice touch (OK, now I'm really off in Fantasyland...).

[Andreas @ Apr 13th 2006 6:10PM]

Just a new iPod that does EXACTLY what the current iPod just does, but with a big touch screen.... would that be enough? A large input device like that just screams "USE MEEE". I would like to:
- Take notes (handwriting or clever on screen keyboard)
- Edit photos
- Draw sketches and notes
- Edit photo slideshows
- Edit playlists
- Edit movies, basic cutting and titling (movies from camera)
- Send e-mail through wlan, or mms through blueooth connection to phone.
- Manage and display files like:
- - Keynote presentations
- - PDF files (and hrmf doc-files..)
- - html files, on wlan?

And if hooked up to a power supply it could also sport some power demanding things like:
- Recording SD TV signal.
- blablablabla...

Or perhaps this widescreen iPod will just mark the end of the current iPod series. And after that, Apple will introduce a next generation communication/media device with intel hardware.