Steve Jobs did it again. For just a brief moment, all eyes in the tech industry swung back to Cupertino to focus on what Steve Jobs was holding in his hand. This time it was the iPod Video. Apple already lined up video content with Disney including “Desperate Housewives” and with 150 hours of video, you can watch all the episodes.
The iPod has revitalized the music industry in many ways with the incredible sales of music with the 99 cent a song model. The deal with Disney will allow iPodders to pull down TV episodes from Disney’s ABC network. At $1.99 an episode, users can get either the incredibly popular “Desperate Housewives” or the incredibly popular “Lost.”
The new device comes in two sizes, a 30 GB and a 60 GB version. Both devices have 2.5-inch color display and the 60 GB will hold up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos and 150 hours of video. The batteries will run for 20 hours. These iPods are smaller, with the larger of the two being 10% thinner than the 4G 20 GB iPod. The cost per unit will be $299 for the 30 GB and $399 for the 60 GB.
“The new iPod is the best music player ever — it’s 30 percent thinner and has 50 percent more storage than its predecessor — yet it sells for the same price and plays stunning video on its 2.5-inch color screen,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “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.”
Ogling at Teri Hatcher or Eva Longoria aren’t the only benefits either. One can now watch video podcasts, go through huge quantities of photos and all the other things you did before with your iPod.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out taking the leap into the video market like this can be risky, particularly since much of the content has yet to be licensed in an online format. They say Apple is hoping to cash in on their name.
The good point is that people, in theory, could download any television show or movie for a nominal fee from pretty much anything ever done, just like the music, whether it’s “Citizen Kane”, “Lord of the Rings” or a swathe of television programs.
The tough part could be competing with DVD sales. It’s no big secret theater ticket sales are down as are DVD sales. Will this affect those markets? One must also consider Apple is having real issues battling with music companies over song prices right now anyway. The one ace in the hole for Jobs on this deal might just be his other job, Pixar. The renowned animation company could give Jobs even more leverage with Disney, especially since his first round of exclusive content came from them anyway.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
