Jobs on Portable Video Players

Damn you Steve!

I bet he is just sitting back in his chair right now, laughing at all of use trying to figure out what "Now, I’m not saying we’re not working on something like that, Who knows what we’ve got in our labs?” means.

I'm sure Apple is working on all kinds of goodies, some which we may see in a few years, and some of which we'll never see. An Apple video player will appear when they can find a way to make such a product appeal to the masses.

I'm as big a tech geek as the next guy, but watching movies on a tiny screen has zero appeal to me. SJ made a good point -- with a good pair of headphones, you can have a pretty darn good listening experience. There simply isn't any equivalent in the video realm. Yet.

I agree that portable video is a very different beast than music. A friend of mine has a bunch of episodes of Star Trek on his pocket pc, and when he tries to show me how cool it is, I can't help but think that it's almost too gimicky. I just can't get into watching video on a tiny screen like that.

He makes sense, at least he isn't seeking the dollars in every possible way, he justifies his companies actions.

"Now, I’m not saying we’re not working on something like that, Who knows what we’ve got in our labs?

Uh.......? Is it just me, or does Steve sound more and more like Wille Wonka??

A portable video player wouldn't work just because if you are watching a movie you can not do anything else like walking on a side walk in the way to the subway. With an iPod you can.

BTW, I saw 5 iPods in NY the other day, every body has one, and I saw 2 or 3 the next day.

This is why I am happy Steve is running Apple. He, unlike many of his peers, "gets it". He understands what people want (iPods/iTMS) and what they don't (to watch 2 hour movies on a 2" screen).

I have a nice new Palm T3 and the idea of throwing a couple of Simpson's episodes on it is cool... but just for the gimick of it.

BZ

Steve just had to throw that last little comment in there, didn't he?

Hint hint.... I would love to see an Apple branded video player. It would be awesome if the Newton was resurrected along with it. Think of an Apple iPlayer with mobile versions of iLife apps + PDA Functions (i.e. Address Book, iCal etc.) + Music functions as seen in the iPod with movie viewing. Think of an iPod but a tad bit bigger and then put it horizontally. Rearrange the buttons and boom! iPlayer, new from Apple. It would be amazing! I am a bit skeptical as to how bad watching a movie on that would be. The screen would just need to take up the iPlayer's width with the buttons below the screen and a wheel on the right side of the screen. Imagine that plus (I know this is getting long) Bluetooth and AirPort. There will never be a dull moment ever again.

Emagin makes some tiny displays that are used in some head mounted displays. In fact at the CES a couple companies have announced consumer versions. Check Antelope and Leadtek. The monocular version would allow you to watch and walk.