Apple Unveils The Video iPod

Yesterday, October 12th, 2005, will definitely go down in the digital media history books as Steve Jobs and company officially unveiled a new video-enabled iPod, which can reportedly hold 150 hours of video footage, featuring a broad range of paid video content. The move is significant because Apple has already sold more than 28 million iPods since their introduction in October 2001 and now has a commanding 75 percent marketshare of the portable music player market. A new version of iTunes was also announced (6.0) that offers 2,000 music videos and television programs like “Desperate Housewives” and "Lost", which are conveniently available for download the day after airing. "I think this is really pretty big and I think it's just the beginning," Jobs said in an interview. So, is this the new portable Tivo then that many of us have been waiting for?

The unit features a small 2.5 inch color screen and is available in a black or white casing. The 30GB model is available for $299 and the 60GB model retails for just a hundred dollars more at $399. However, what's really interesting and perhaps monumental is that these new releases will test the appetite for legitimate downloadable music videos (i.e. $1.99 each) and could actually become a brand new market for record labels - a market that only Apple could single-handedly create using its technology trendsetting abilities...That all sounds good on the surface, but how much of that pie does the artist actually get and does the video license and content travel with me if I upgrade and get a new iPod next year??

Related:
- Apple iPod sets sights on video