Miles ahead of the true video iPod

commentary I wonder how many iPod Nanos are being sold these days.

With SanDisk's 8GB Sansa e280 just hitting the market, the ever-so-slim Nano (4GB, $359) sounds like a downright rip-off. Of course, Apple will most definitely release an equaliser within the next couple of months. (Rumour sites: Restart your engines! We predict an 8GB or a 10GB aluminum Nano.) Just don't buy a current Nano unless you're getting a tremendous deal.

Meanwhile, the entire galaxy (minus Pluto) awaits the arrival of the "true video iPod," though the recent iPod lull is putting us to sleep. Don't fret, the iPod PVP and its trusty sidekick, the iTunes Movie Store, are coming soon to a billboard near you.

The current iPod may be much sleeker and benefit from living in an intuitive but closed ecosystem, but it's no match for players like the Cowon A2 when it comes to playing video (both players actually sound better than the iPod, too).

Being late to the game isn't a big deal for Apple
The 6G iPod will be sleeker than the rest, and it might even have a cool touchscreen and maybe even Wi-Fi. It already has a built-in and oft-visited content store; movies will just be the next step. And don't forget mass marketing -- nobody knows about Cowon except gadget nerds. But to gain some respect in the world of high-end PVPs, the iPod must do the following:

• Be natively compatible with more than just MOV
  Needless to say, playing back video is much more complicated than playing back audio, especially if you expect to play back a file that you picked up off P2P. You have to deal with a number of formats, resolutions, bit rates; it's much more complicated, though jukeboxes such as Windows Media Player automatically convert most files as you transfer them onto a device. The Cowon A2 can play nearly every file you throw at it, including AVI (DivX, XviD) and WMV. The next iPod is likely to play only QuickTime files and will require lots of conversion of other formats in a retooled iTunes. Otherwise things could get too complicated for the mass market.
   
• Include more advanced video features
  This includes slow-motion and frame-by-frame features, responsive and granular scrubbing, skipping in 10- or 30-second increments, advanced bookmarking. Built-in speakers are a neat extra, too.
   
• Have a nice display
  Archos's 4.3 inch 16:9 screen may not have the pixel density of the Creative Zen Vision's, but overall it's the best screen I've seen on a portable. It pops. It's smooth. It's durable. It has great viewing angles. The iPod's screen must not be easily scratched, and it must not attract mad fingerprints -- extra credit for a kickstand for hands-free viewing. Cowon's display is hidden under plastic, so it's safe from harm. The screen is only 4 inches, but it's also bright and beautiful. We've heard rumours of a 3.5-inch video iPod screen -- we hope it's bigger than that.
   


One of the dozens of faked video iPod renderings that have emerged on the Internet.
• Don't complicate the interface
  A simple interface is your strength; don't let video and other features complicate matters. The Cowon A2 has a really nice folder tree-based interface, but it's still a bit tricky to use (maybe it's the tiny joystick). I'm excited to see what Apple can do with a video-centric interface.
   
• Have good battery life
  It needs four hours of video playback, minimum. Cowon's A2 has a 10-hour life for video. Why would you take anything else on a long trip? A removable battery like from Apple would impress the dickens out of me.
   
• Be a great MP3 player
  Apple, this is your chance to include better EQs and gapless playback. If you add support for open-source OGG or FLAC and Cowon-like BBE effects, you'll get some serious respect. The A2 is a bit big to be toting along everywhere, so a sleek big-screen design would make it feel like both an MP3 player and a PVP.
   
• Include recording features
  This won't happen (at least not without a third-party accessory), but without the ability to record TV shows or DVDs, you're missing out on a huge source of free content. Without recording, you have a Creative Zen Vision, a solid PVP with a sharp screen (but poor viewing angles) and a removable battery (the wide-screen Zen Vision:W should be out soon; it won't have video recording features). At the very least, the iPod should be able to download shows recorded on a DVR; you shouldn't have to buy every show on iTunes.
   
• Have high-quality movie downloads in iTunes
  Cowon can get away with it for now. You can record content onto both devices, plus all the early adopters who own these things not only tend to have large video collections on their computers, they also know where to get video, how to rip it, and how to convert it if necessary. Movies purchased from iTunes will work. We just hope that you'll be able to download a version for your computer and one for your iPod (and maybe even a version for the 320x240 5G iPod).
   
• Be priced right
  By today's standards, the current iPod Nano is overpriced, but the iPod has generally been a great value in the last couple of years. The 30GB 5G iPod was one of the better values out there with a $449 launch price. But remember the first iPod Photos? The 40GB and 60GB models launched at $799 and $949 respectively. The true video iPod had better not cost more than $600. And speaking of capacity, since music, photos, and video take up a bit of space, we're hoping for a 60GB-plus version. The Cowon A2 currently maxes out at a paltry 30GB.
   

Have you tuned in, Apple? We all hope so, because no matter how impressed we will be by the next iPod, it will be joining a tough league.