I really did think that Apple's announcement wouldn't be met with such enthusiasm – I guess it might just be a Brit thing (TechDigest weren't massively enthused either, neither was Ashleigh).
A reader by the name of Pathway posted some comments in my previous post, and I wanted to respond here in a bit more detail.
For starters, if you've never owned an iPod, don't own a PSP, or similar, and have been holding off getting a new mp3 device for some time, then this must be pretty exciting for you. In all honesty, if I didn't already own an iPod, I'd have been camping outside my local Apple shop for one of these. If I had a local Apple shop…
I still don't think the video content is that impressive for Europe. I'd love to see a day when, instead of having to wait for UK networks to buy the rights to Lost or the other "next big thing" (so that would be Fathom, Threshold, Invasion, etc) I can just nip onto the iTunes Music Store and buy them. I just don't think that's realistic in the next few years, if ever.
I also think that having the ability to download video to my iPod and then plug that into my TV and get playback of a reasonably high quality would be fantastic. My ideal future would be one where I don't need to use my PVR (Sky+) to record programs, but where I pay a monthly sub to someone (maybe Apple, maybe Sky) and am allowed to download the programs I want to watch, place them lovingly on (in?) my iPod, and watch them on my TV. That would be cool. I have a suspicion that Apple think this would be cool too; how else can you explain Front Row? Is this the start of Apple's assault on your living room? Maybe. A Mac Mini running Front Row, connected to a TV and a wireless network, and loaded with the potential to legally download episodes of the best shows on television could be where Apple is heading.
And, as Pathway says, these things will sell like delciously warmed cakes over Christmas. Consumers might actually be able to get their hands on an iPod, which is more than can be said for some "must have" items this Christmas.
If Apple’s assault on the living room is only just beginning, imagine what will happen when they start designing television sets – and furniture. An Apple sofa would be a thing of beauty, no doubt.
Surely sitting on an Apple would be uncomfortable, even painful.
If Steve Jobs had not been instrumental in the creation of the Personal Computer it seems that he would have been most rpoud to have invented the bicycle. Maybe an Apple BMX would be a good start?
Don’t get too excited about the video iPod. This iPod is just a stop-gap – apparently there’s a new, full-blown video iPod coming out next year.
Also the rumour is that a pink, Madonna iPod nano is coming out next month.
Can I plug my iPod news site: http://www.ipod.org.uk. Thanks.
[...] Pals of mine Ashleigh and Dan have both commented on the arrival of the Video iPod. Their views are to be treated with genuine insight as both of them have been iPod users for some time. Me? Well I’ve had an iPod since the 2G 20GB device that I still have (and is still in mint condition). I also have a Gold 4GB Mini. Both have served me well. However I have dversified in my time. In one stroke of mindless enthusiasm I bought an Archos Jukebox Multimedia about 3 years ago. [...]