According to Engadget, Apple has updated its iPod trademark from "portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, and audio files" to read "portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, audio, image, and video files" (emphasis added).

Since the word "image" was also added, clearly the trademark was due for an update, and maybe they just added video as a hedge against the need to add it in the future. Regardless, this is very significant, because now, for the first time, we finally have something directly from Apple that contradicts Steve Jobs' earlier statements regarding video on the iPod. This is more than just another piece of the iPod video puzzle. This is the smoking gun.

The only question that remains is "when"? It could happen within the next month, so that Apple can claim the "back to school" and Christmas sales seasons. The "back to school" rush is already beginning however. If it doesn't happen before September, this is something to look for at the first Macworld Expo of 2006. (I'm betting it will happen soon though.)