Miles ahead of the true video iPod

I wonder how many iPod Nanos are being sold these days. With SanDisk's $250 8GB Sansa e280 just hitting the market, the ever-so-slim Nano (4GB, $250) sounds like a downright rip-off. Of course, Apple will most definitely release an equalizer within the next couple of months. (Rumor sites: Restart your engines! We predict an 8GB or a 10GB aluminum Nano.) Just don't buy a current Nano unless you're getting a tremendous deal.

Meanwhile, the entire galaxy (minus Pluto) awaits the arrival of the "true video iPod," though the recent iPod lull is putting us to sleep. Don't fret, the iPod PVP and its trusty sidekick, the iTunes Movie Store, are coming soon to a billboard near you. We only hope that Apple has been taking notes on the current PVP battle royale between the two "true" video players that have already set the bar high.

Generally considered the best of PVP breed, the Cowon A2 and the new Archos 604 do portable video really well. Both feature mammoth (by MP3 player standards) 16:9 wide screens and pack all sorts of media features into pocket-size units. Both are consistently measured against one another--the Cowon and its open format compatibility, excellent sound, and long-lasting battery, and Archos (including the older AV500 and the new 04 series) and its thoughtful design, slick interface, and amazing screen. While they are an inch bigger and a few ounces heavier than the typical MP3 player, these PVPs (or PMPs) are tomorrow's MP3 player.

I have crushes on both gadgets, which by the way are not mainstream at all (at least not in the States; Cowon's home market is Korea, Archos's is Europe).

First off, they do everything. They are MP3 players at heart, only juiced up. Both the 30GB A2 and the 30GB 604 can play back video files on 4-inch-plus screens (many without conversion), display photos (the Archos is a splendid photo viewer), and act as text readers and voice recorders, and both are superb audio- and video-recording platforms. In essence they are portable DVRs--and they can be integrated with home entertainment systems and scheduled to record TV shows and even DVDs.

The A2 has an FM tuner, even a DMB tuner; puzzlingly, the 604 lacks a tuner. The 604 can play subscription music and videos, while the A2 is a DRM-free champion with support for OGG and FLAC. The expansive screens allow for easy navigation, browsing, and features such as renaming tracks and playlist creation. The Archos family actually includes seven models--with the intriguingly small 404 and the Wi-Fi, touch screen-enabled 604 Wi-Fi.

Secondly, they are both sleeker and more durable than you think. The soft and curvy A2 measures 5.2 by 3 by 0.9 inches and weighs 10.5 ounces, while the boxy 604 with a bigger screen is much thinner and lighter at 5.1 by 3 by 0.6 inches and 9 ounces. The A2 can record video and line-in audio out of the box, while the 604 requires an optional adapter--though the 604's base price ($350) is lower than the A2's ($420).

The A2 has a minimal control set aided by GUI-based soft keys. The 604 has quirky but tactile controllers and a sophisticated Euro-style GUI. The A2 has crisp built-in stereo speakers; the 604 has a built-in kickstand for hands-free viewing and, refreshingly, a removable battery.

Finally, both the Cowon and the Archos are serious performers with serious processing power and top-notch sound quality. Both devices can multitask, both possess razor-sharp precision when scrubbing through video or audio tracks, and both boast good battery life (the Cowon has a 10-hour rated battery life for video). Also, Archos just added true gapless playback in the latest 604 firmware.

The current iPod may be much sleeker and benefit from living in an intuitive but closed ecosystem, but it's no match for the A2 and the 604 when it comes to playing video (both players actually sound better than the iPod, too).

Being late to the game isn't a big deal for Apple

The 6G iPod will be sleeker than the rest, and it might even have a cool touch screen and maybe even Wi-Fi. It already has a built-in and oft-visited content store; movies will just be the next step. And don't forget mass marketing--nobody knows about Cowon and Archos except gadget nerds. But to gain some respect in the world of high-end PVPs, the iPod must do the following:

• Be natively compatible with more than just MOV
  Needless to say, playing back video is much more complicated than playing back audio, especially if you expect to play back a file that you picked up off P2P. You have to deal with a number of formats, resolutions, bit rates; it's much more complicated, though jukeboxes such as Windows Media Player automatically convert most files as you transfer them onto a device. The Cowon A2 can play nearly every file you throw at it, including AVI (DivX, XviD) and WMV; the 604 is nearly as compatible and can play back protected WMV. The next iPod is likely to play only QuickTime files and will require lots of conversion of other formats in a retooled iTunes. Otherwise things could get too complicated for the mass market.
   
• Include more advanced video features
  This includes slow-motion and frame-by-frame features, responsive and granular scrubbing, skipping in 10- or 30-second increments, advanced bookmarking (the Toshiba Gigabeat S does this well). The Archos 604 has a wicked video playback interface and precise controllers--it reminds me of good video-editing software (you can actually chop up files). Built-in speakers are a neat extra, too.
   
• Have a nice display
  Archos's 4.3 inch 16:9 screen may not have the pixel density of the Creative Zen Vision's, but overall it's the best screen I've seen on a portable. It pops. It's smooth. It's durable. It has great viewing angles. The iPod's screen must not be easily scratched, and it must not attract mad fingerprints--extra credit for a kickstand for hands-free viewing. Cowon's display is hidden under plastic, so it's safe from harm. The screen is only 4 inches, but it's also bright and beautiful. We've heard rumors of a 3.5-inch video iPod screen--we hope it's bigger than that.
   


One of the dozens of faked video iPod renderings that have emerged on the Internet.
• Don't complicate the interface
  A simple interface is your strength; don't let video and other features complicate matters. The Cowon A2 has a really nice folder tree-based interface, but it's still a bit tricky to use (maybe it's the tiny joystick). The Archos 604 has a logical interface, but moving between features can be a tad zany since the OK button is located so far away. I'm excited to see what Apple can do with a video-centric interface.
   
• Have good battery life
  It needs four hours of video playback, minimum. Cowon's A2 has a 10-hour life for video. Why would you take anything else on a long trip? A removable battery like the 604's (extras cost $30) from Apple would impress the dickens out of me.
   
• Be a great MP3 player
  Apple, this is your chance to include better EQs and gapless playback. If you add support for open-source OGG or FLAC and Cowon-like BBE effects, you'll get some serious respect. The A2 and the 604 are a bit big to be toting along everywhere (the 404 is very totable), so a sleek big-screen design would make it feel like both an MP3 player and a PVP.
   
• Include recording features
  This won't happen (at least not without a third-party accessory), but without the ability to record TV shows or DVDs, you're missing out on a huge source of free content. Without recording, you have a Creative Zen Vision, a solid PVP with a sharp screen (but poor viewing angles) and a removable battery (the wide-screen Zen Vision:W should be out soon; it won't have video recording features). Dock your Archos every night, start or schedule a recording, and you have content the next morning. At least the nonrecording Toshiba Gigabeat S works seamlessly with Windows Media Center. At the very least, the iPod should be able to download shows recorded on a DVR; you shouldn't have to buy every show on iTunes for $2.
   
• Have high-quality movie downloads in iTunes
  Cowon and Archos can get away with it for now. You can record content onto both devices, plus all the early adopters who own these things not only tend to have large video collections on their computers, they also know where to get video, how to rip it, and how to convert it if necessary. While the Toshiba Gigabeat S has Vongo.com for movies, there needs to be a better source for legally downloaded movies for Windows portables. Movies purchased from iTunes will work. We just hope that you'll be able to download a version for your computer and one for your iPod (and maybe even a version for the 320x240 5G iPod).
   
• Be priced right
  By today's standards, the current iPod Nano is overpriced, but the iPod has generally been a great value in the last couple of years. The 30GB 5G iPod was one of the better values out there with a $299 launch price. But remember the first iPod Photos? The 40GB and 60GB models launched at $499 and $599 respectively. The true video iPod had better not cost more than $400. And speaking of capacity, since music, photos, and video take up a bit of space, we're hoping for a 60GB-plus version. The Archos 604 and Cowon A2 currently max out at a paltry 30GB (though the Archos 504 can go all the way up to 160GB).
   

Have you tuned in, Apple? We all hope so, because no matter how impressed we will be by the next iPod, it will be joining a tough league.