At Apple’s MacWorld keynote, Steve Jobs announced almost everything they were expected to announce…

They started off by announcing what is now called the AppleTV (formerly ‘iTV’), the media hub that links media on your computers (up to 5 systems) with your television. I was certainly impressed with it – especially the 720p resolution, and local hard drive for optimized delivery of high bandwidth content. That said, I would still would like to see some type of DVR capability in Apple’s media-ecosystem. This device should give a big boost to video bloggers and other types of internet based video content producers. They now can take equal billing on people’s televisions with more traditional video sources. I can watch Wallstrip and DL.TV – two of my favorite video blogs – the same way I watch CNN.

This is an area I am really jazzed about, and I will be doing something with video on this blog very shortly…

The rest of the keynote was taken up by the introduction of iPhone. If everything works the way it seemed to in the demo, this device will be awesome. It is not just an incredibly sophisticated phone, but a full fledged internet device and a wide screen video iPod. It has a relatively small footprint, but runs a version of Apple’s unix based OS X. I can’t do it justice by trying to describe it here, so I would recommend visiting Apple’s site later today to view the stream they will put up of the keynote. (It’s avaiable now at apple’s website)

And that would be something else I could watch on my television using AppleTV…

There are a couple of interesting side notes here as well. For the first time since it was released, there was no mention of an update for Apple’s iLife software suite. I am not sure if this will come at another event, or simply be quietly rolled into the lineup at a later time. There was also no discussion of the next generation of OS X – Leopard, not even a quick update.

The other interesting thing is that Apple has officially dropped the ‘Computer’ from their name – they are now simply Apple, Inc. They recognize that a shrinking part of their business is based directly on the sale of computers. They have morphed into a consumer electronics company.

Like I said in my prior post, the game has changed…

It seems that almost every major car manufacturer has announced some form of “in-dash” integration with Apple’s iPod…

Though clearly a cool feature, it simply isn’t that radical or game changing. It really sells the entire iPod+Car thing short. The real hot spot for in-car entertainment isn’t on the dash board – it’s in the back seat.

Ask any parent with young children…

Today, that slot is ruled by in-car DVD players. They typically have the flip down screens above the center console, and wireless headphones for the kids to listen with. They also have some big disadvantages. You need to keep the physical media (DVD’s) in the car, limiting selection and inviting damage. You also need a relatively large footprint in an accessible location to install the player.

Why not replace that player with a video enable iPod?…

That’s what I ended up doing in our family car. I removed the DVD player and wired up a docking station to the AV inputs. When my 10 year old son gets in the car, he only needs to dock the iPod. The flip down video screen lets him watch videos with his friends just like before, and he can thumb through programs easily using the clickwheel. Since he carries whatever content he wants around with him, there is no need for storing any media in the car. Even better, a lot of the content he likes is free – he has discovered video podcasts, and also syncs up with Tivo. The short form program format common with most podcasts is ideal for quick trips. (His current favorite is a video game hints show called ‘Cheat!’). The Tivo synced shows, mostly cartoons or anime, work great on longer trips. After having this setup, it would be hard to go back to just a DVD player.

If Apple worked with auto manufacturers to actually retool the back seat entertainment around the iPod instead of just focusing on in-dash integrations for music, they could really do something awesome here. They might even be able to figure out a way to integrate their ipod games into the mix. Imagine a system with music, video, and gaming all together under one elegant interface.

That approach could redefine this market…