Apple may be orchestrating video iPod

Apple computer's iPod has fueled the Cupertino company's resurgence and popularized digital portable music players.

What else can iPod do?

The MP3 world -- both providers and enthusiasts -- has been speculating for at least two years that Apple would transform its iPod into a video player. It finally may be coming into fruition, according to media reports and others sources, including a local media executive who claims he knows the Taiwanese manufacturer that is currently making an iPod with a screen for video images.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has been negotiating with large media companies to license their video content in order to sell music videos through Apple's iTunes music store, approaching Warner Music Group, EMI Group, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group and Sony BMG.

These videos would cost $1.99 each and would go on sale on iTunes around September, the Journal reported.

Apple won't discuss its plans for a video iPod. Its chief, Steve Jobs, has previously ridiculed the notion.

While iTunes version 4.9 already allows consumers to buy and view certain music videos online, Apple's negotiations could lead to a greatly expanded repertoire.

Not everyone thinks Apple needs a new device to offer new video content. Allen Weiner of Gartner Group observed that Apple already owns QuickTime, which can be relied on for transmission of images, sound and graphics.

Others wonder if Apple will design a new gizmo with a screen so that you are no longer limited to your computer to watch these video clips.

The executive of a local entertainment technology company said that a manufacturer in Taiwan, whom he would not name, told him directly that it is right now producing an iPod to support video entertainment. This product should be out in at least six months, he said. The executive did not want to be named to protect the manufacturer's contract with Apple.

Also, Parks Associates analyst Harry Wong reports that Apple's chip vendor Portal Player is the major supplier of processing chips for iPod. The video chip is different from the audio chip, as it needs a higher processing power.

Portal told Wong that its chips cannot yet offer the best quality video. "But Portal is improving them. Naturally, Apple will be their client for these chips. I'm speculating their chip processing is being improved right now," Wong said. However, the company would not say when the video-enabled chips would be released.

But a device with a screen and ability to show video clips -- do you really want to carry a terabyte in your pocket? -- will have to be portable and convenient. Whatever its shape, it is expected to have only playback capabilities.Of course, we can't know the price yet for a product that hasn't even been acknowledged. The iPod Photo retails between $299.99 and $399.99.

If Apple is planning to launch a new device, it is facing competition that has not been stellar. Sony launched such a device in Japan two years ago. It hasn't crossed the pond yet. And while its Sony PlayStation Portable is extremely popular, that device is predominantly for games.

Creative Labs and Microsoft Windows Media Center have ventured into this field without resounding results.

"The difference between Creative Labs and Microsoft is those are closed systems," meaning consumers cannot intermingle software from other sources, said Weiner of Gartner Group. "And Microsoft's Windows Media Center didn't have a device, and it's not even that widely available. And it's a closed system. And Sony is not Apple either. They can't compare to the simplicity and elegance of managing, organizing and finding content that Apple affords."

Noting that Sony and Apple have a good relationship, Joel Johnson, the creator of the site Gizmodo.com, is hoping "that because Sony's PSP has been popular, when iPod video comes out, Sony will support it."

The other providers have a different viewpoint.

Orb Networks of Emeryville offers a technology that allows users to stream all digital media through any device that's connected to the Internet. Whether television, a Web cam, stored photos or an MP3 collection, an Orb connection gives access to digital media from your computer to a device.

Orb's Chief Operating Officer Ted Shelton asks of a video iPod, "What do I do when I want something that's not on it? I was watching the (Supreme Court nominee John Roberts) announcement from my cell phone on the news as it was happening. If I had had a video iPod, the newscast would have had to have been recorded already. It will never be available after I've left the house.

"In the long term, the device has to connect up with the network. We think the network will be preeminent. The iPod can deal only with storage. Eventually, they will have to move to the network in real time. We're just waiting for that shoe to drop," Shelton said.