Got my grubby mitts on the new iPod, and I'm pleasantly surprised.
There's a definite "nano" feel - even the 60GB iPod is thinner than the old 20GB model - and the screen seems to cope with video better than I expected. It's ultimately the same old bauble with a few extras.
But here's the catch: right now if you are outside the US, you can't buy TV content through iTunes (as a commenter in the previous post noted) though I do expect that to change fairly quickly... there's no reason, for example, that the BBC can't make content available (it's already doing it through trials of its interactive media player).
The preferred solution would possibly be to record some TV shows onto your desktop - Mac users could look into Elgato's fantastic range of gizmos - and then sneak them onto iTunes. But will that work? I'm not sure.
I've spoken to a few analysts this evening, who are stuck between interest - clearly this is a good product - and disappointment - it could have been so much more. But they all agree on one thing: this is Apple testing whether there's a market for portable video, before it tries to dominate it.
Should be going for a one-to-one briefing with an Apple bod shortly, and will report back.
Related: other posts from the launch - Apple launches new video-capable iPod - New iPod: a chat with Apple
