iPod video

The rumours were right, an iPod video, the long-awaited enhancement to the 'daddy' iPod (i.e. not the Nano which replaced the mini iPod ... got that? right :) ) In the UK we'll pay £219 for the 30GB version (black or white) and £299 for the 60GB version (again, black or white). These prices are direct from Apple's UK store iTunes 6 is to be released though I suspect this will benefit US consumers primarily with its movie and TV download capability. There's a new iMac too, you might as well read about that on the official site. See my earlier posting for other sites with full details of the announcements today.

I'm not sure where Apple go from here. The iPod is about as functional as it could be now. Only revisions that keep it in the portable media device and not a mini personal computer are reductions in size and increases in capacity - specifically in solid-state memory. Even so, the 15,000 song capacity that the 60GB version now achieves represents most people's entire music library so capacity has an effective consumer limit if not a physical one.

I suppose the innovations now start with the Intel-chipped Macs but as rival manufacturers charge to introduce their own portable video media players Apple will have to be careful to continue with appropriate bold innovations in their flagship device in order to avoid dropping the ball that has so far seen them achieve their most impressive financial results in the company's history.