You're viewing an article in iPO's historic archive vault. Here, we've preserved the comments and how the site looked along with the article. Use this link to view the article on our current site: Don't Count on a Separate Video iPod, Says BusinessWeek

News

Don't Count on a Separate Video iPod, Says BusinessWeek

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005 at 3:35 PM - by Staff

BusinessWeek's Peter Burrows has posted a column in which he posits the idea that Apple will likely add video capabilities to the iPod, but he doesn't think the computer company will introduce such functionality as a wholly separate device. While he cites Steve Jobs' early 2004 quote in which the Apple CEO said "We have to stay focused on the fact that people are buying these devices because they want to listen to music," Mr. Burrows points to recent reports of Apple looking to sell music videos as evidence that the company will indeed head in that direction.

However, Mr. Burrows thinks Apple will "simply fold some video capabilities into all future iPods. That means no separate product name -- and no big advertising blitz." Reviewing Apple's iPod photo, which was introduced as a separate device at a high price point and then eliminated when such functionality was made standard across the iPod line, Mr. Burrows observes: "If consumers had been willing to pay a premium for this capability, I'm sure Apple would have gladly maintained iPod photo as a separate, higher-priced model.

"I'm betting Apple learned from that experience and will use video to fortify its current iPod empire -- not build a new one," he continues. "That mans no bigger, business-card-size color screen or the clunky battery that would be necessary to drive one, and no reworked interface." Rather than adding the video capability as a way to watch feature films, Mr. Burrows sees Apple going in that direction so it can sell music videos as well as possibly a subscription service for news clips and other TV content.

In the long run, though, Mr. Burrows thinks Apple is looking beyond simply adding video playback to the iPod. "Maybe Jobs just wants to control the flow of media so that he can build new kinds of profitable hardware to bring some of Apple's trademark simplicity to tomorrow's digital homes," he writes. He quotes technology analyst Mark Anderson, who asks: "What if you could walk into your local Apple store and come home with a 60-inch TV that's ready with 10,000 movies for you to choose from?"

3 comments from the community.

You can post your own below.

+ show options

Your current settings, click to change: Sort Oldest First, Show Guest Posts, Hide Community Stats

Tiger said:

member since 17 Jun 2003 with 1018 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:39 pm

Why would Apple get into the arena that's already been done to death? You can buy portable DVD players just about anywhere now, including university bookstores. WHY would they get into a saturated market?

This speculation should end. Apple does things that they can do well, get the lead on everybody else, and continue to innovate. There's NOTHING to innovate here except maybe a download store. Well, you can do that to your computer. No need for a separate device.

So, in essence, this person is probably right.

Of course, they could always find a way to allow you to download a movie to your iPod and then just plug in the iPod to a TV. Heck, I asked several reps at Apple for a FireWire interface to my car stereo FOUR YEARS ago and was laughed at. "Who would want to use their iPod in their car?"

Well, duh. Just ask Belkin. Still no Firewire (wouldn't that be sooooo easy to plug in), but hey, there are at least a few interfaces now.

Quote this post ↓

gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:35 am

Quote:
Of course, they could always find a way to allow you to download a movie to your iPod and then just plug in the iPod to a TV. Heck, I asked several reps at Apple for a FireWire interface to my car stereo FOUR YEARS ago and was laughed at. "Who would want to use their iPod in their car?"

Well, duh. Just ask Belkin. Still no Firewire (wouldn't that be sooooo easy to plug in), but hey, there are at least a few interfaces now.

1. Why did you ask Apple? They don't build cars. Car stereos have their own (often proprietary) interfaces. Why didn't you ask the CAR MANUFACTURERS?

2. Why ask Belkin? Because they were late to the game? There have been cassette adaptors for portable CD players for years before the iPod even came out. Others had FM transmitters, as well.

3. In my 2004 Prius, there's a white cable coming out from behind the dash. On the end is an iPod dock connector. It connects directly to the car's stereo through the CD changer port. It's an add-on--the iPod2Car adaptor, but less expensive than some of the optional interfaces in other cars.

http://peripheralelectronics.com/web/ipod2car.asp

Quote this post ↓

phowson said:

member since 22 May 2003 with 2 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:46 am

Tiger wrote:
Why would Apple get into the arena that's already been done to death? You can buy portable DVD players just about anywhere now, including university bookstores. WHY would they get into a saturated market?

This speculation should end. Apple does things that they can do well, get the lead on everybody else, and continue to innovate. There's NOTHING to innovate here except maybe a download store. Well, you can do that to your computer. No need for a separate device.

Saying this market is already saturated because people can buy portable DVD players is like saying that the audio player market was already saturated because there were already portable CD players.

Why should this speculation end? Is it somehow damaging something? I think people are excited by what Apple has created in the audio market and are hoping that they can accomplish something similar for video. What do you care if they speculate about what Apple might be planning?

You should consider switching to decaf.

Quote this post ↓

Post Your Comments

  Remember Me

Not a member? Register now. You can post comments without logging in, but they'll show up as a "guest" post.


Please enter the word exactly as you see it in the image above. Registered users aren't prompted for this. Having trouble reading the image get a new one.