The New iPod

Of course I'm posting about this. I think you'd be more surprised if I didn't post.

Ok, so first off, it's not fat! It's an optical illusion. Check for yourself, the new iPod is the same length and width as the previous generations. You can get the old specs from my over-the-top comparison I did before and then compare that to the new specs. 4.1 x 2.4 is the magic ratio. It looks different because the screen is bigger and the scroll wheel appears smaller.

Now, how did Apple fare in my wishlist?

60gig - check
Under $500 - check
Color screen and photo features - check
A depth less than .5 inches - yes on the 30gig, reeeeeeeeal close on the 60gig (.55)
Video capability - bonus

I'm a man of my word, so I ordered the 60gig white one earlier tonight. I expect my 3G to start giving my the cold shoulder now.

Now, video playback. I'm glad it's there. I'm glad the focus is still music. I'm jumping up and down with joy now that I can buy shows. I really hope that expands the way the music store has. It might get to the point where I could run the numbers and ditch expanded cable and just buy the shows that I'd normally watch on those channels higher up the dial. Battery life - ugg. 2 hours when playing video? That's just crap. Good thing it will get 20 hours playing music.

I downloaded a Lost episode. It looks ok on my 19" LCD. Not fantastic, but it will look good on the 2.5" screen on the iPod. I'm curious to see how long it takes for tonight's Lost episode to become available for download. Somehow I didn't have the ReplayTV set and we didn't get it recorded. I was ready to spend the $2 right then and there. I won't pay for every show, but there are cases where I will. I'm hoping that 1/4 VGA isn't the end all. I'll pay for high quality video delivered over the web.