Ups and downs for the video iPod

• As always, Apple Computer's charismatic CEO Steve Jobs caused quite a stir last week when he introduced his latest product at a big media event -- in this case, a sleek new full-sized iPod that, for the first time, can play video as well as music.
• We tested nearly every aspect of the gadget -- which works on both Windows and Macintosh computers, with Apple's iTunes software and its iTunes Music Store -- starting with its familiar music functions.
• Our verdict is that this new iPod is an excellent music player.
• Plus, it's a surprisingly decent video player, with crisp, smooth vivid playback of TV shows, music videos, short films, video podcasts and home videos.
• Still, the 2½-inch screen is smaller than on most other portable video players, and it's much smaller than the screens on the most frequently used mobile video viewers -- laptops and portable DVD players.
• In our tests, it rapidly transferred numerous songs from both a Windows and Macintosh computer, and played them back with great fidelity.
• To test the video, we downloaded two episodes of "Desperate Housewives" from the iTunes Store, including the one that ran this past Sunday night.
• Each download took a bit over 20 minutes using an average DSL connection.
• Your experience may vary, depending on the speed of your connection.
• We also downloaded a short film, Pixar's "Boundin'," and were surprised that it took more than five minutes to retrieve -- longer than the film itself.
• And we also downloaded from iTunes a free video podcast called "Rocketboom," featuring a woman reading a homemade newscast.
• This video format and conversion problem is a mess that will hold back the video iPod unless Apple fixes it by incorporating free, reliable, and easy video conversion in iTunes.