Apple may introduce next big-hit iPod device that plays videos

Apple sent invitations to an Oct. 12 event in San Jose, California, that read “One more thing,” a phrase Jobs uses in speeches before unveiling products. Apple wasn't more specific. AppleInsider.com and analysts including Piper Jaffray Cos.'s Gene Munster speculated the company may offer an iPod video player.

Such a device, together with the introduction of videos to Apple's iTunes music service, would underscore Jobs's efforts to expand the iPod lineup and boost profit. The Cupertino, California-based company last month added a Motorola Inc. phone that runs iTunes and a player dubbed the iPod nano that is the size of a business card.

“We would expect a video iPod to have a material `wow' factor,” Munster wrote in a note. He rates Apple “outperform.” “A first step into portable video would open the door for future product innovations as the company continues to branch out into more of a central player in digital and mobile convergence,” reports Bloomberg.

According to the AP, Bank of America analysts also are looking for Apple to launch a new video-playing iPod, saying it would help support iPod's prices and "cause investors and consumers to think about Apple's growing position in the digital home."

And the cottage industry of bloggers devoted to all things Apple seems convinced that a video iPod is on its way.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

A slew of companies are trying to entice the public to watch video on their mobile devices but so far adoption has been slow. Although Apple has introduced iPods that can show photos, CEO Steve Jobs has often dismissed the idea of a video iPod, saying consumers would be reluctant to watch movies on the go.

But analysts say it would be vintage Jobs to slam a product just before releasing it.

"All the signs point to a video iPod," said Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies. "But you've got to remember, the thing with Apple is, our guesses are almost always wrong."

P.T.