The ‘Real’ Video iPod on the way!

Apple is all set to announce their full fledged video iPod by the end of March, in tandem with full-feature movies on the iTunes Music Store, and there is plenty of evidence to support this.

Apple has acquired an impressively equipped but never-used data center in Newark for an estimated $45 million to $50 million. The 107,000-square-foot facility, originally conceived for communications company MCI WorldCom before getting mothballed after its 2001 completion, is along Eureka Drive on Newark’s western fringe. Data centers generally house computing, data-storage and networking equipment assisting in Web-based services and transactions. This could only be for an infrastructure upgrade for the iTunes Music Store or .Mac. Also, ThinkSecret reports that negotiations with major studios have entered the 11th hour.

The time for the move seems reasonable because of Steve Jobs’ excellent placement in Disney will give him access to their entire catalog, while he can negotiate with other studios too.

According to a highly placed industry executive, talks between potential partners from movie distributors and Apple have been in “the fast mode” for the past three months on how to sell full-length feature films through Apple’s iTunes service. Major obstacles remain to a finished deal, however.

“[A deal with Apple] is much closer than it ever has been, but is not a done deal by any means,” the executive told Think Secret. “There’s been a lot of progress, but big issues remain unresolved. It could happen fast or it could happen slow. It’s all up to Steve Jobs.”

Source : ThinkSecret

We also know that Apple has filed patents for a virtual clickwheel which I do not see being of use in anything but a portable media player. So, the only question that remains is - When? My guess is that the new iPod will be part of Apple’s 30th birthday celebrations on 1st April, so watch out, and if you’re going to buy a new iPod, I suggest you wait.