iPod Movie

AppleInsider is reporting (as some others are) that Apple Computer has begun production of a new version of its iPod digital music player that will be capable of playing videos, AppleInsider has learned.

Reliable sources believe the iPod could be introduced as early as next week, possibly around the time Apple releases results from its fourth fiscal quarter of 2005.

Although details are scarce, sources who claim to have seen the new iPod describe it as being similar to Apple’s 60GB iPod photo player, but several millimeters thinner.

The device reportedly sports a smaller click-wheel akin to that of the iPod nano’s, making way for a larger, higher-resolution color display that extends further down the face of the device.

The release of the iPod video is expected to be accompanied by a “major update” to Apple’s iTunes music store that will include a significant number of music videos and other short video content.

Apple, which had been updating the “Music Video” segment of its iTunes download service on a regular basis, stopped posting new music video content last month, leading to speculation that a major content update was brewing.