iPod gets hi-tech update
2005-10-13 07:47
California - After a week of intense speculation, Apple on Wednesday launched an iPod portable video player that can screen music videos and hit television shows for fans on the move.
The much-anticipated video-capable iPod was one of three new products unveiled by the US tech giant, which also sealed a content deal with entertainment behemoth Walt Disney to allow fans to watch their favourite programmes such as Desperate Housewives and Lost while on the go.
Apple founder and chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the video iPod, a new iMac G5 computer with a built-in video camera, and an updated version of Apple's iTunes online music store that allows users to download music videos and TV shows as well as songs.
The hi-tech update of the company's famed iPod crams more storage and a bigger screen into a thinner package and will hit store shelves in the United States next week, Jobs said.
"It's a stunner and yes, it does video," Jobs said at a glittering launch celebration.
The new gadget, which boasts a 6.35 centimetre colour screen, is 30% thinner and has 50% more storage than its predecessor.
It can store up to 15 000 songs, 25 000 photos or over 150 hours of video and is available in a 30 gigabyte model with a 14-hour battery and in 60 gigabytes with a 20-hour battery.
'Great content, great technology'
"Because millions of people around the world will buy this new iPod to play music, it will quickly become the most popular portable video player in history," Jobs said.
Apple also announced the next generation of its online music store - iTunes 6 - that will allow fans to download and buy 2 000 music videos and six short films from Pixar Animation Studios.
While full-length movies will not be available to download on the new iPods, 2 000 music videos, six Pixar Animation short animated films and five Disney-owned television shows will be.
"We are really excited by the intersection between great content and great technology," Disney chief executive Robert Iger said.
Every episode of ABC television's Desperate Housewives, Lost and Night Stalker will be available online the day after they air in America under what Jobs called a "landmark deal".
Analyst Stephen Baker of NPD Techworld said the video-capable iPod would jumpstart the portable video player market. "This will put video capable products in people's hands," he said.
Apple also revealed the next generation of its iMac computer, the G5, which has a host of new features, including a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing and its brand new Front Row media system, Jobs said.
Front Row features a sleek six-button remote control that effectively turns a computer into a home entertainment system, allowing a user to activate content from iMacs, including iTunes songs, photo albums, videos, Podcasts and DVDs, from up to 6.6 metres away.
Apple has already sold 28 million iPods since 2001 and has a 75% share of the market.