The main problem with the video iPod is that there’s no video equivalent to headphones, as Steve Jobs has pointed out before. I’ve tested goggles that let you watch movies on a virtual widescreen TV; not only can they make the viewer nauseus, but their “space age” appearance can have a nauseating effect on those around the viewer as well.
I’ve long said that the solution is the ultraportable video projector. Slap one of these on the back of a video iPod, point it towards a white wall, connect the sound to some speakers, and you could be up and running. Someone could even sell little screens to hang from the seat back in front of you on planes, or maybe even some temporary white spray paint to turn any flat surface into a viewing area.
We’re one step closer to this scenario, now that palm-sized video projectors such as the $700 Toshiba TDP-FF1AU have become available (scroll down on that page for details). According to Sean Captain,
“Using light-emitting diodes instead of a traditional bulb, the 1.1-pound projector is small enough to fit in a hand and lacks a noisy cooling fan. It also sips power so that it can run on an included battery pack for up to two hours, says Toshiba.”
That sounds like it could be just the thing to make portable video make sense.
How about no. This projector is dim, and where are you going to show it? The best bet would be a dock like with an LCD monitor. Take one of those cheap $90 portable DVD players, remove the player and build in a dock. Give it the ability to power the ipod off it’s batteries (and extend the life of the ipod) and you’ve got a winner there. Then you are watching a movie on the minimum 10″ screen verses the ipods 1.5″. Also you can view it portably… and not needing to carry around a ton of equipment. I’ve just no idea why I haven’t seen it yet.
Tags: Apple, Interesting, ipod, Technology
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