B. Mann Consulting

Everyone loves a good Apple rumours post, and since tomorrow is a "special Apple event", we've got only hours to wait until we know the real answer...hence the perfect time to predict.

What I'd *like* to see is my own long-predicted Mac Tablet. But really, with the iPhone, isn't that product already here? So....what I would like to see is an iPhone without the "phone" part -- a touch screen iPod with Wifi that runs OS X. It really is an iPhone, just without the cellular connection (or contract). But with WiFi, that could mean GoogleTalk / Skype / whatever for voice communications (with my bet on GoogleTalk). Yes, sort of like Nokia's N800.

OK, so back from dream land to something that's more likely. The iPod Nano becomes the "classic" iPod for audio, and a new touchscreen, wide aspect iPod is the "Video iPod". No WiFi, that'll come in later revs.

AppleTV revs? Well, it fits in the general video category, and there's been noise around TV downloads recently. Aside: so NBC is high as a kite. Regardless, I just want the licensing figured out so I can buy stuff in Canada! Actual details? No idea...probably just software, maybe some gaming support.

What are your predictions? Any purchasing plans? What are you waiting for?

Update: so, we now have an iPod Touch. Sweet. And it comes with Wifi already. Yep, the tablet is here...

The short answer: you can't. Actually, you can't even listen/view an enhanced podcast without iTunes or an iPod.*

What do I mean by an enhanced podcast? Check out such podcasts as the CBC Radio 3 show, Podguides.net, or the fabulous Montreal-based Vu d'ici for some examples of integrating music, time markers, pictures, descriptions, and even web links. Apple enables this with its crazy ChapterTool, but your best source of information on creating enhanced podcasts is the Voxmedia Wiki Podcast Chapter Tool page.

So...what's the big deal? Well, we need an alternate, open format, and we need alternate players. Microsoft is, in all likelihood, going to come up with something based around RSS and Simple List Extensions. Hmmm...wait...except for the part where all the data is actually bundled inside the audio file format itself. So, some sort of Windows Media strangeness? Or follow Apple's lead and use the MPEG-4 packaging format. Will this be open enough? Somehow, I suspect not.

Maybe Yahoo will come to the rescue; Bryan Rieger points to a brand new initiative called XIPF, or eXtensible Interactive Packaging Format. Actually, following that train of thought, XSPF, the XML Shareable Playlist Format might be trivial to use directly as the basis for an enhanced podcast standard, since it supports images, links, etc. already. Imagine every Webjay playlist as an enhanced podcast.

So, I was completely wrong about Airport Express Video (but wouldn't be surprised to see it at some time in the future).

Thanks to the UK magazine Stuff, I was getting real time updates about the big Apple event today. The three announcements were:

• new iMacs, with built in iSight and Front Row app including remote: a 10ft UI for Macs; yes, I do want to get this for my home machine
• The video iPod: 30GB for $299, $60GB $399, comes with a video out port to connect directly to your TV; score one for my long-ago predictions
• iTunes 6, which includes for-pay video downloads: today this is only music videos and some short Pixar ones for $1.99; I expect licensing to be a real PITA for Apple, but I also expect them to announce other licensed video content over time. Would I pay $1.99 per TV show? Well, since I don't have cable, yes I would -- that would be 2 hours per week of only the shows *I* want to watch. And this makes easy, legal

Am I going to get a video iPod? Well, I'll be consuming video on my computer at home, with its big LCD TV screen. And, as Graham said, I actually don't find mobile video on the iPod compelling. Now, if they did a deal with Sony to have it on the PSP...

Troy posts some predictions for Apple's October 12 event. He figures Intel-based Powerbooks and iPod Minis that have no hard drives. He also says "I really doubt all this nonsense about video iPods. I just can't see it. Video is not that useful to people".

Well, I've already speculated that an Airport Express Video might be more likely than a video iPod (I would buy a Sony PSP over a video iPod...but that would mean Apple would need to allow Fairplay DRM to be built into the PSP, which seems unlikely).

I've been writing about iTunes Movies since October 2004...when the iPod Photo came out. I really do think video is "useful" to people. At least, in the small world of anecdotal stories.

Apple has stopped posting new music video content for the past couple of weeks. This seems to be one indication that *something* with video is coming. What if they did offer video content? Movies? TV Shows? I mean, Google Video is already going to be offering UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris".

The iTunes support for mobile phones begins today, with Apple's partenership with Motorola's ROKR E1 and the US cell company Cingular.

The big question is of course...can we use it in Canada? Well, the Motorola ROKR is a GSM phone that also supports international networks. Being a GSM phone, it means it also uses SIM cards to activate the phone -- meaning you could use the card from any network provider. Cingular may be distributing the phones as locked, but it probably won't be more than a couple of weeks before a firmware upgrade will unlock it, making it capable of being used on any GSM network. Here in Canada, that's only the Rogers/Fido network.

Update: Mark Evans says the ROKR will be available through Rogers by mid-September, although he doesn't name a source.

Elsewhere, Michael Gartenburg covers the iPod Nano -- for us Mac folks, the Windows announcement might get lost in the shuffle: "With the integration with Outlook with iTunes 5.0 and the small size, I can even see folks using this as a personal information manager."