it is interesting, as this will becoming really popular, whereas the features are already out, but not in iPod form

this will be amazoing. The ability to just hit a slideshow anywhere... be great

Congrats to AI on getting this scoop in March. I hope it's true (and not TOO bulky) because I want one!

Think of what people already do all the time: show photos to friends on a camera's own tiny, low-quality LCD. I use my 1.6" LCD all the time for that.

Now the iPod adds:

* Easy navigation of tons of photos

* More photos than your camera alone can show

* Slideshows with music! Including NON-photo presentations like screens from Keynote!

* Output to TV. (Some cameras have that, some don't--it's great!)

* Easy synching (at least for Mac... PC users can drag photos in if nothing else)

And album art display wouldn't hurt either. Hook your iPod to your stereo AND your TV

Man no point in posting threads first if AI doesnt look to see if they have already been done !

I hope that it'll have video playback capabilleties.

It would be really nice no to have to bring along 15-20 DVD/CDs every time it's my turn to bring along movies for the movienights with my friends. Instead (if I could afford one) I'd just rip my DVDs and download the movies that I or my friends would want to see onto the iPod and bring that along. Then it just a question of connecting it to the TV, perhaps showing some quick previews on the LCD beforehand and off we go.

If they've had the sense to let you download images directly from a digital camera it'll be worhtwhile. Of course, ideally that would mean a USB and/or firewire port right on the device. Don't see that happening.

Does this mean iPhoto for windoze?

darkestbeforedawn has the best question of all the posts I've seen on any site about this.

I honestly believe that iPhoto for windows will be part of the announcement ... for these simple reasons:

1. Apple stresses that the iPod is for Mac and PC.

2. Apple is not going to split the line of iPods. This is still and iPod. Perhaps the slogan will go something like ... the best just got better.

3. Adobe just released/announced Photoshop Elements 3. They themselves call it the perfection companion to iPhoto. But elements is much more popular on the PC side because it includes Photoshop Album, which is the WIndows version of iPhoto for all practical purposes.

4. You just can't tell me that this will be a Mac only product. Even if there is no iPhoto for Windows announcement, one has to assume it's coming.

I"m a 100 percent Mac person, but Apple's foray into digital picture on both platforms is a win-win in every way.

All that's missing is my post from a year ago. Where is the Apple picture frame. This is the start of it.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: (many, but here's a few)

1. Is there a chance this will be wireless? Wifi via Airport Express type of deal?

2. Some way to get the memory card to read into the iPod. As a photographer who carries around 3 1GB cards, this is a dream.

If you are going to have iphoto support in the new iPod, then I think a natural progression after that would be iMovie support too.

Wouldnt it be cool to have your iMovies on your iPod too, but not so much to view them on your iPod, but to connect your ipod up to a Tv and use the ipod as a portable playback unit. The screen can be used like the small lcd screen is used on a vid camera, purely for reference, but for proper viewing it will just play directly on your tv, now to me that would be cool and better justify the entire product.

However photos for a start is great. I travel alot and I know it would be cool to have my photos on my ipod so that when I am missing my loved ones I can look at their pics aswell as listen to my fave music at the same time.