Video iPods around the corner?

More speculation about a video-enabled iPod hit the wires today. The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has been in talks with major record labels about selling music videos via the iTunes Music Store, and the top rumor running is that new iPods with video playback (possibly powered by a Broadcom video chip) will be announced in September--just in time for the back-to-school holiday season.

Our POV: If you've been using iTunes 4.9 with any gumption of late, you've been watching QuickTime videos (either downloaded from the iTunes Music Store or imported from your personal collection) within the audio jukebox's interface. Apple is obviously setting up users for the video iPod, since it's going to want users with healthy, sync-ready video libraries ready for launch. With all the news about Apple's financial success and reliance on the iPod, Apple will continue to innovate (or borrow from others, tweak, and remarket) with iTunes 5.0, a subscription-based service, cell-phone compatibility, and of course, video-enabled iPods--and who knows, an iPod Coldplay Special Edition?