Finally an iPod that I might like ...

During the last days some new images have emerged on the net of something that might be the newest iPod video ... or maybe just another fake :)
Just in case it is the 'real thing' I have to go on record and say that based on those pictures it's the first iPod that I really like - here is a picture from engadget and you can click on it to see the corresponding article:


Now before people might start believing that I 'have seen the light and I was converted' there might still be MANY problems even if it is NOT a fake image:
a) screen coating (without it the screen will become messy or will be quickly scratched);
b) battery life (anything under 4 hours of video and 12 of audio is pretty useless);
c) capacity - anything under 40 GB will also be rather useless;
d) hardware and software interface - if it is not a an USB mass storage device the usability will be greatly reduced; and if you MUST use iTunes to add files on it then it's a dead end for most power users;
f) price - normally I would say 300$ is the top limit for the 40GB but since we speak about highly overpriced Apple products it will probably be over 400 US$, maybe over 500$ for the 60/80GB version, and at that price point I will certainly think twice :(

However the 'form factor' of the device from those pictures is IDEAL and I can only hope that some smart and decent company (and that excludes Apple :) ) will make something like that that covers all the points from above and also has:
a) a small pen and some PDA features - ideally a 'user-mode micro-Linux' - I don't think that it might be realistic to expect an open-source kernel in a DRM product but adding something 'user-mode' and that is easy to access without making the interface more complex for dumb users might keep everybody reasonably happy!
b) eventually a cell-phone module!!!