What is a True Video iPod?

I keep seeing everywhere that Apple hasn't yet released their true video iPod, but they have had iPods that play videos for several years. An iPod that plays videos, doesn't that make it a video iPod? What's all this about?

 

you can't really say anything about apple. they release a new ipod every 6-8 months.

 

Presumably "true video" would be a screen that's big enough to actually be worth bothering to watch?

Personally I'm still going to stick with my PSP for videos until the screen of the IPOD is much more reasonably sized for watching videos.

 

Essentially, Apple has been pretty adament in saying that the current iPod is still primarily a music playing device that also has the capability to play video. The basic idea is that although the iPod can play video, it isn't really designed with that as its primary purpose (fairly small screen, not much battery life when playing videos, etc.).

The "true video iPod" is apparently a device that Apple is working on. The main idea is that it would be a widescreen device, and most speculation centers on the idea of the entire face of the iPod being one large screen. There are a few patents that have been filed relating to the concept of a virtual screen that would allow controls, scrollwheels, etc. to appear when you touched the screen, and then disappear. This is seen as a way around the problem of creating a widescreen iPod that is still a relatively compact form factor and would still allow for the signature "scrollwheel" navigation method. Presumably when this device was not in "movie mode", it might resemble something more like the traditional iPod with a scrollwheel always present.

But this is something Apple has seemingly been working on for quite a while now, and it seems like they are working very hard to get these concepts down right, and also to presumably deal with some of the more obvious problems (i.e. what to do about fingerprints if you have this "virtual scrollwheel" concept, as they would interfere with enjoying watching a video).

So anyway, yeah, when people talk about the "true video iPod", this is essentially what they have in mind.

-Zadillo

 

There is no way to deal with the finger print problem, why don't they give up on the disappearing scroll wheel and just put it on the back of the true video Ipod? Or be inventive and come up with a new scrolling device that could be put around the edges?

 

Controls on the back would be problematic, because in at least some cases it would basically require flipping the unit around to change something, which means you would not be able to see the screen while doing it. It would really require the user memorizing the scrollwheel, but also having to think of it backwards somehow. I just can't imagine a scenario where that could work.

Scrolling device around the edges might be tough too.

I think at this point at least Apple is pretty focused on finding a way to make this work, since the scrollwheel is such a fundamental aspect of the iPod control scheme....... I'm not totally sure what they'll come up with exactly.

-Zadillo