Ipod Video At Long Last

Another round of applause for Apple as they launched their fifth generation ipod which not only plays quality music and displays photos, they now can play videos too. The newest kid on the block, the iPod Video, is wanted by those with a high budget or who wish to watch video on their iPod. It has a slightly larger screen than the iPod Nano and play a crisp 30 fps video display. iPod video, in either black or white, has a 30GB and 60GB storage memory.

It features a 2.5-inch color screen and is thinner than the older ipod. The new video feature has long been waited for and has already been the subject of many Apple rumor in many websites for some time now. How does ipod video works? You first have to go to the iTunes store through the new iTunes 6 software and access the videos area.

iTunes 6 gives you: ? Video podcasting ? 2,000 music videos for $1.99 each ? Six Pixar short films for $1.99 each ? ABC TV shows for $1.

99 each ? DRM: No burning allowed. Play videos on up to five computers and unlimited iPods as you want. Videos are protected.

? Gifting: iTunes 6 allows you to buy a friend a song. ? Customer reviews ? "Just for you" personalized recommendations on the main page based on iTunes purchases. From there, you can choose from more than 2,000 music videos as well as ad-free episodes of selected ABC or Disney television programs.

After you make your purchases, the videos are downloaded to the iTunes software on your computer and then synced onto the iPod itself. You then access the videos by selecting the video option from the main screen on the iPod's display. That done, you can now navigate and play your video using the click wheel.

That is how simple and uncomplicated the video ipod works. If you are one of those who is already familiar with these things, then it will not pose a problem anymore. Besides videos purchased from the iTunes store, ipod video can also play home videos exported from Apple's QuickTime 7 Pro. Other features of the new ipod video are those which have been introduced in previous model of this device. This includes USB 2.0 support, calendar and contacts synchronization with Microsoft Outlook, song shuffle, photo slideshows set to music, a world clock and playlists.

Some of the fresh new improvements of ipod video include: ? 16x9 screen ? 320x340 pixels ? 260,000 colors ? Realtime decoding of MPEG4 and H.264 at 30fps ? Video out ? 30GB retails for $299 and 60GB for $399 ? The 60GB model is thinner than the current 20GB ? The 30GB holds 75 hours of video Portable media players with the capacity to play video are not new, but it looks like Apple is hoping to take is dominance of the digital audio landscape to video. This is a huge step forward in accessibility and portability of digital entertainment.

It will be very interesting to watch where things will go from here. If the ipod video device will not surpassed for some time, then for sure it will become the most in demand ipod ever made. As of now, expect a lot more accessories and features for ipod video to appear in the future.

S. Stammberger is editor of Poddies Net. This site is fully dedicated to the Apple iPod. Find out about mini speakers, skins, cases, newest innovations, and more.