A few points about a Video iPod

1. People like him (tool) and him (Microsoft fanboy) lay into Apple for not releasing a Video iPod, arguing Microsoft’s Portable Media Center devices can. Boo hoo.

2. Well, you don’t you buy one and shut the fuck up?

3. Here’s a few points I’d like to raise about the Video iPod:

  1. Does the PortalPlayer reference platform that’s at the heart of the iPod support video? Kind of. It supports MJPEG, but nothing else. What I can’t find out is how big a video file it can crunch. PortalPlayer only makes mention of the fact it can play one type of video format, and no more details on that, so I’m going to assume it only has as much capability to play video as a consumer digital camera. If you had a chip that can do everything and make coffee, wouldn’t you advertise it?

  2. Where does one find legal TV/Movie downloads?

  3. It takes me around 10min to rip a CD on my PowerBook. How long does it take me to rip a DVD? (Clue: Hours. And hours.)

  4. Battery life. The new iPod Photo (which is cool, and I’d get one if it weren’t so damned expensive) can do 5 hours of continuous photo playback. I dare say decoding video requires more processing power, so how long will the battery last on an iPod that can play video?

  5. Why do people expect an Apple video capable device to spawn from an iPod? Why not a miniaturised iBook?

  6. If Apple has already figured out the distribution channels, designed a device that can do for video what the iPod did for music, and kept the price competitive, wouldn’t they have released the bloody thing by now?

4. Don’t get me wrong, I think Apple will come out with a portable video device. Eventually. And I’m sure they’re watching the sales of Portable Media Center devices very closely. But a video iPod is not going to happen until (at the very least) PortalPlayer releases a version of it media platform that is truly video capable. And there is a demand for such a device from mainstream (or great unwashed, depending on your perspective) consumers (i.e. not geeks. Or geeky people. Or people who know any geeks.) For now, if you really want a portable Apple device that’ll let you watch videos, I recommend a 12″ iBook.

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