Recently the Internet has been buzzing with rumors about a video version of Apple Computer's immensely popular, pocket-sized jukebox, the iPod. After photo capability and a color screen were added last year, industry analysts predicted that video was the next logical development But Apple CEO Steve Jobs had expressed doubts about the need for portable video.
Regardless of whether he truly had changed his mind or previously had been engaging in a bit of subterfuge, on October 12 Jobs announced the video iPod. These new full-sized iPods can store up to 150 hours of video and play it back on a larger and brighter 2.5-inch color display or on a TV by way of a cable. The smaller iPod Nano, introduced last month to replace the iPod Mini, and the even-tinier iPod Shuffle do not have this new capability.
Apple learned a lesson from its experience with photo iPods. When that feature was first introduced, only special, higher-priced models were equipped with it, and sales were disappointing. This time Apple incorporated video into the regular iPod models from the beginning, with prices remaining the same and one model having increased storage capacity. The $299 version now has 30 GB instead of 20 GB and holds 7500 songs or 75 hours of video. The $399 edition still has 60 GB, with room for 15,000 songs or 150 hours of video.
Apple is not the first company to offer miniature video players, though other brands haven't enjoyed much success. But as Jobs told Fortune, "This is the best iPod for music ever, and customers basically get the video for free. And because the iPod is the most popular portable audio player on the planet, the new iPods automatically become the world's most popular portable video players, too." Therefore, neither Apple nor its customers are taking much of a risk.
One reason previous video players haven't been successful is the lack of video content for them to play. Jobs also addressed this problem on October 12. He announced that the Apple iTunes Music Store would now sell music videos, short films from Jobs' other company, Pixar, and episodes of five popular TV series on the Disney and ABC channels, each of which costs $1.99. The day after episodes of "Desperate Housewives" or "Lost" are aired on ABC, they will be available for downloading from the iTunes Store. Here again, Apple is not creating something new but is adding video capability to an already existing audio service.
What the rumor mills had not expected on October 12 were new versions of the iMac G5, Apple's top consumer desktop computer. The latest iMacs still look like big iPods on a stand, while continuing to be much more compact than most other desktop brands. The entire computer and its flat panel display are housed in a case about two-inches thick. But now it includes features making it a home entertainment center. As Apple's website says, the new iMacs allow users to "command an entire world of music, photos, movies, and DVDs'all from your sofa'" This was accomplished by building in an iSight camera above the screen, adding remote control, and enhancing the computer's software.
Macintosh software for creating, storing and playing movies, photos, music and DVDs has long been noted for its effectiveness and ease of use. The new Front Row application, exclusive to these iMacs, allows easy browsing through all the movies, photos and music on the computer, and does this with a simple remote control. The new video programming available from the iTunes store can be downloaded and played on the iMac and transferred to an iPod.
The remote control is a good an example of Apple's genius for simplifying computer software and hardware. While remotes used by other manufacturers' home media centers have more than 40 controls, the Apple version has only six.
The iSight is a webcam-style camera for both still and moving pictures. It can be used in conjunction with the iChat application for video conferencing with up to three other people. The new Phone Booth application captures photos with iSight and then shares them through emails and stores them in the iPhoto application.
The new 17-inch model costs the same as the previous version, $1299, and has a 1.9GHz processor and a 160GB hard drive. The 20-inch model, at $1699, is now $100 less than before, has a 2.1GHz processor and stores 250GB. Both include built-in Airport Extreme and Bluetooth for wireless connections, 512MB of memory, a SuperDrive that burns double-sided CDs and DVDs and an Apple Keyboard. The iMac is the first of Apple's computers to include the new two-button Mighty Mouse, with its scrolling capabilities.
Apple's ventures into portable video and home media centers raise many questions: Will customers want to watch video programming on a tiny screen, even though it also can be fed by cable to a TV? Will they be willing to pay two dollars for a music video, a short film or a TV episode? Will other content producers besides Pixar and Disney/ABC be willing to release their programming for sale at the iTunes Store? Should Apple have enabled its media center iMac to directly receive TV programs, which could be watched immediately or stored for future viewing?
Jobs has acknowledged his new ventures are experiments. His forays into these fields have been undertaken with the least possible risk. He's added new functions to products and services that are already successful. And just as iPod and iTunes transformed and continue to dominate the portable and download music businesses, Apple may prove to be just as successful at doing the same for portable and download video, as well as for home entertainment centers.
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© 2005 Lowell J. Erickson. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Date Revised: 21 November 2005
