Video iPod fails to move the blogosphere

Bloggers were quick to report the news coming from Apple's highly anticipated event on Wednesday but if early reactions are any indication they may be slower to buy the new products.

For more than a year, many people have said it was only a matter of time before Apple released an iPod capable of playing video, despite the fact that CEO Steve Jobs himself claimed doing so would be a move in the "wrong direction".

But for all the speculation about when Jobs might reverse his opinion about the importance of adding a video iPod to Apple's line-up, the final product met with a relatively underwhelmed crowd.

While many Apple fans praised the new iPod's thin design and reasonable pricing, the prevailing sentiment online was that the video quality, show pricing and line-up of available shows offered on the iPod aren't good enough to move people to adopt the device as their new medium for TV consumption.

And the fact that videos can be downloaded only at a size that fits the iPod's screen means few people will be buying them to view on their PCs.

The new version of iTunes came as a surprise to most people who blogged about or mentioned it in online discussion forums, primarily because Apple just released iTunes 5 a few short weeks ago. While many thought the addition of video to iTunes was a good move, the fact that videos are shown at such a small size took away much of the excitement of this new feature.

The iMac got a warmer greeting than perhaps either of the other products Apple unveiled on Wednesday. Many blogs showed that the company's move to bring the PC to the centre of the living room piqued users' interest - especially given that many analysts presumed the Mac Mini would take that role.

But again, Apple seems to have fallen just short of making a slam dunk with the new product; more than a few bloggers who were excited about the iMac's Front Row software also lamented that they wouldn't move to an entertainment system centred on their computer until Apple offers more integration with television.

Jennifer Guevin writes for CNET News.com