Wow. It’s been a mere five weeks since Apple announced the arrival of the iPod nano. All indications are the miniscule musical marvel is selling like “hotcakes” – over one million nanos were gobbled up in the first 17 days of its availability. The nanos looked to be the “hot ticket” for the upcoming holiday shopping season, and they still may well be. But this week, another challenger in the race to empty the pockets of tech-crazed holiday buyers was revealed – at a “Special Event” hosted by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

It’s the logical “evolution of the revolution”. In the beginning, the iPod played music. Then, a few games, and the ability to store and display your calendar and address book. Next, a color screen and the ability to store and display (both on the iPod and on your TV) your photos and slideshows with musical accompaniment. Recently, audio podcasts.

Sub-species of the classic white iPod have come and gone. The tiny iPod shuffle (still hanging in there – around your neck, I mean). The multi-colored iPod mini, having spent its “time in the sun”, is now “extinct”, replaced by the iPod nano.

“Genus iPod” has spawned its own ecosystem of accessories. Cases. Covers. Earbuds. Headphones. High-fidelity speaker systems from audio luminaries like Bose and Altec-Lansing. By next year 30% of new automobiles will offer iPod connectivity.

So, what do you do with a product that is as wildly successful as the iPod? You replace it, of course. Actually, you just make it better. This week Apple announced two new “full-size” iPod models. Size is, of course, relative, as both new models are smaller than their predecessors. The 30GB model ($299) is 30 percent thinner than the original iPod. The 60GB model ($399) is 10 percent thinner than the former 20GB model, despite the fact that the 60GB hard drive is a two-platter-drive.

Both models feature a new, bigger, 2.5-inch, 320 x 240 pixel TFT (Thin Film Transistor, the highest resolution of all the flat-panel techniques) color screen. Apple claims 14-hour battery life for the 30GB model, while the bigger battery in the 60GB model yields up to 20 hours of “juice”. And, due to popular demand, both models are available in black and white trim, a la the iPod nano.

Oh, and did I mention that the new iPods can play video? Yes, the much-anticipated, long-rumored capability is finally here. 75 hours on the 30GB model, 150 hours on the 60GB version, in high-quality H.264 format.

Now, the obvious next question: where do you get video to watch? I thought you’d never ask. iTunes 5 has, for some time now, been able to catalog and display QuickTime movies - “special feature” music videos that accompany albums purchased on the iTunes Music Store, video podcasts, etc. As many suspected, this capability was a precursor, a “test-bed”, for an iTunes-based video store.

Sure enough, to go along with the new iPod, there’s a new iTunes 6 through which you can purchase video from the iTunes Music Store. Just to “get the ball rolling” (until other deals with distributors are negotiated), you can buy all the episodes from the first and current seasons of ABC’s two hit TV shows “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” for $1.99 each. Also the new show “Night Stalker”, Disney shows “The Suite Life” and “That’s So Raven”, and a sampling of Pixar’s award-winning short films. Plus, new shows will be available the day after they air on broadcast TV. Next time we’ll get into the “nuts and bolts” of how all this stuff works.

© 2005 Peter F. Zimowski