Apple is developing a new version of its popular iPod touch device with a bigger screen to make it even easier to surf the internet and watch movies, according to reports.
TechCrunch, a popular technology industry blog, claims that Apple has developed a iPod touch with a choice of 7in and 9in touch-screen displays Prototypes of the device are already being shown to Apple's manufacturing partners in Asia, sources have told the blog. The gadget would enable users to listen to music, watch films and surf the internet on a more comfortably sized screen than the 3.5in display currently used.
A source told TechCrunch's Michael Arrington that Apple has been experimenting internally with large form tablet devices for year. "But there was concern that users wouldn't like the device," writes Arrington, who now argues the time is right for such a gadget. He says this is due in part to the success of the iTunes App Store, an online marketplace that allows people to download games and software for their iPhone or iPod touch. A larger touch-screen would make the new iPod would be "one heck of a device", says Arrington.
The prospect of a larger iPod touch has also been welcomed by analysts, who believe a more substantial gadget would allow Apple to compete directly with manufacturers of ultra-portable laptops, such as Acer. "We think the iPod touch line has huge potential for Apple," said Dan Frommer, a writer for Silicon Valley Insider. "Specifically, we think Apple should introduce a second, larger version -- the iPod touch HD -- sometime this year for $500-$600. We think it'd be a big hit and would compete very well against the cheap, small "netbook" laptops that PC makers like Dell (DELL) and HP (HPQ) are selling."
It looks as though gadget fans hoping that Apple will announce the new iPod touch at its Macworld conference in San Francisco this week could be disappointed. Mr Arrington's sources suggest that the larger iPod touch won't be officially unveiled until later this year.
Instead, Apple is expected to use the Macworld event to announce small improvements to some of its key products, such as the Mac Mini, and to unveil more details about its forthcoming operating system, Snow Leopard. The conference will also be notable for the absence of Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, who has decided not to make the keynote speech at this year's show, sparking speculation that the pancreatic cancer he fought successfully in 2004 had returned.
The keynote will be taken instead by Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, and a man widely tipped to take over at the top of Apple should Steve Jobs decide, for whatever reason, to step aside from his role with the company.
Source: Telegraph
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