So Apple released the new iPod Photo, a 40GB or 60GB iPod with a color screen and video-out for displaying photos. Now, if it had been video it displayed (and I’m not 100% certain why it doesn’t, unless of course it’s a limitation of the video chip they can squeeze into a 6-ounce chunk of hardware), this might be cool. You could give the finger to the MPAA and rip your DVDs, dump ’em in your pocket and plug it into your friend’s AV system for easy watching. That’d be pretty spectacular, and it’s where we’re going – but we’re definitely not there yet, and for $600 I don’t think I’m interested in this interim step.
For $600 I’d rather buy a Treo 650, then throw in some extra cash for a Bluetooth headset and a couple of gigabyte SD cards to carry around my favorite songs. It’s weird, but I seriously suspect that Palm is currently in much better standing as the keystone element in the Personal Area Network than Apple. If Apple releases a new Newton, or adds Bluetooth to the iPod, or adds a phone to the iPod, or even just frickin’ buys Palm, they’ve got a shot at the next generation of gadgetry, but if they’re going to be so conservative with their iPod capabilities, that sky-high stock price is going to come crashing back down to earth real fast.
All right, back to work…