I’ve been really faunching for the new iPod that supports video. I keep saying that I would wait until the hard drives were larger — I think 80gb or larger is a real possibility, given where the drive technology is right now. In fact, I’m a little surprised that this didn’t happen with the new announcement.

I’ve been trying to find out a little more about the box — aside from reading Apple’s spin sheet. Finally, I found something on Playlist that seems to address this little device directly.

The good news? Battery life is now about 20 hours when playing music (playing video, the battery life is about three hours). The video out reportedly looks real good when piped to a real TV. The dock connector is the same, so the dock on my iMac oughta still work, as should the dock connector in my truck. Oh yeah, and it comes in both white and black now, just like the iPod nano.

The bad news? Well, no more firewire data transfer, although you can still charge with that. That’s a bummer, especially for a device that wants to play 200Mb files (TV programs). Also, no more remote control port. That means that the remote control in my truck wouldn’t work with it. That’s a crying shame too — driving along the road seems like a perfect application for remote control of the iPod.

I was also trying to find out if I can put my own movies (home video, or DVDs I own) on the little guy. The answer is an emphatic yes. Apple even provides a documented procedure to show you how. Cool! So now your favorite poker training video can accompany you on your trip to Las Vegas. 🙂

So, to upgrade, or not? Well, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. The bigger screen would be great, especially for photo viewing. I don’t see me watching video on the little screen, but ya never know. The smaller size is appealing, but the loss of remote control and firewire data transfer both seem like mistakes — although probably needed to make the device smaller, and simplify support. Of course, that means that one of the things I was also holding out for — a firewire media reader for the iPod — will probably not be realized.

On balance, I think the plusses slightly outweigh the minuses….