Apple “Let’s Rock” event round up!
Mr. Jobs has just left the stage down in San Francisco, and in recognition of Apple’s big event today we thought it was appropriate to bring you a round-up of all of the relevant bits of new product news and information. Cupertino dropped a lot of tidbits on us today, so grab a cup of coffee, light up that mid-day cigarette, and get ready to dive in:
- New iPod Nano. The new device is thinner than ever before, sports a completely revamped OS with cover flow, shake-to-shuffle feature, built-in Genius playlist, and a curved glass screen. It has a built-in accelerometer, and comes in a dizzying array of colors. Expect to pay $149 for the 8GB and $199 for the 16GB. The 8GB should be available right now, with the 16GB following sometime next week
- New iPod Touch. The new Touch features a completely redesigned case, integrated Nike+iPod functionality, external volume controls and speaker, and more. Available immediately, you should expect to pay $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 16GB, and $399 for the 32GB. Apple is billing this one as the “Funnest iPod Ever”, and seems to be trying to position it as a mobile gaming device.
- iPhone firmware 2.1. As expected, Apple announced the new 2.1 firmware update for the iPhone. The new software promises greatly improved battery life, fewer crashes, fewer dropped calls, and faster backups. Can anyone say “Hell yeah?” We’ll see how well it delivers on these promises, with an expected delivery this Friday.
- iPod Classic 120 GB. Nothing much to say about this one, except that it has replaced both the 80GB and 160GB models. Expect to pay $249 for this baby, available immediately.
- iTunes 8. The command center behind all of this, Apple introduced the new version of their omnipresent media software. iTunes 8 delivers a news Genius playlist function, new Hi-Def TV show support, the return of NBC shows to the TV Store, and more. The software is expected to launch today, though as of this writing it had yet to appear on Apple’s site.
- Minor bits: iPod Shuffle now comes in 4 new colors, Apple is now offering in-ear headphones with an in-line volume control and improved speakers for $79.
Excited? Disappointed? Indifferent? Sound off!
cool! i like the colors
I CANNOT believe nobody has mentioned the voice recorder thing on the new Nano! It cuts out all of the third party devices and opens up the education market in a massive way! Sansa doesn’t have a one up anymore….
Very dissapointed,wished the touch came in a 80 gb version. A thumbs down for me.
Meh.
my ipod video from 2005 still rules. F the nano and its pretty colors.
Warning: do not masturbate while operating your nano as it will cause your music to continually change at random order.
I would have liked to see the iPhone 2.1 come out today, but i guess I can wait another few days. I already am using iTunes 8, and waiting to try each of the new pieces to see if I like it, but so far so good.
Damn, I REALLY wanted a 32 GB nano. Oh well, the 16 GB will do.
WHEN ARE WE GONG TO SEE A 60GB TOUCH?
What a let down.. still the same capacity for the iPod Touch and still no True GPS?
2.1 sounds like TOTAL CRAP. I would prefer to have kept poor battery life, regular crashes, many dropped calls, and slow backups in exchange for copy/paste, tethering, and/or synchronization of Notes via MobileMe.
It really should be called 2.0.3
The news wasn’t anything earth shattering to say the least.
Boooorring. I couldn’t believe what they said about the iPod Touch – best gaming handheld ever or somesuch nonsense. Get real.
I was hoping for more details on what is included in the iPhone 2.1 update. Rumors of turn by turn GPS directions …
I am disappointed that they didn’t bump the capacity on the Touch to at least 60GB or something. I wanted to get one at Christmas time this year, but 32 will not do at all. I guess I’ll be sticking with my 80GB Classic for a while longer…
Well that decides it. I have been anxiously awaiting a new Touch with higher capacity. With nothing down the line for a while, I guess I am gonna bit the bullet and buy the 120G classic. At least it is slimmer than the 160 was. Katherine
where are the trolls? come Galvatron and minions you know you want to bash bash.
As much as I hate the Apple bandwagonists, I was expecting something groundbreaking that would get me to at least consider their MP3 players but again, nothing special…Guess I have to get the Archos 605 or the Zune 120.
The changes were:
- Needed; and
- Evolutionary, not Revolutionary
That said, the only thing Steve could have said that would have interested me would have been 80 and/or 120 GB iPod Touch. Since he won’t, and never will, I don’t care that much about any of his keynote addresses.
Still a solid showing though. A refresh of the entire iPod lineup, plus some new higher-end headphones, is a good showing.
I guess all you Apple haters will be through shortly, but seriously: fuck you all. This is a company. You’re embarrassing yourselves by showing such irrational hatred towards the company.
At least, have the good sense to hate the people who kiss the company’s ass.
+1 to older iPod Video models, mine is 5G. The screen is dead but who cares? Its iPod Shuffle 30gb xD
Not interested in new models. I have more than 16gb of music, and certainly not interested in Touch. Nano looks nice. But previous nano looks better to me. I guess I’ll just use my cell as mp3 player…
So basically with the new ipod Touch, besides the speaker, volume controls, & genius playlists, you don’t really get much. I wonder if the old Ipod Touch can be upgraded to get genius playlists. If it can, you can buy a 32GB refurb online at apple.com for $319. That’s $80 cheaper than the new one and woohoo, all you lose is the speaker & volume controls. Oh and the Nike app which 99% of the world doesn’t use.
HAHA, I love that, “but seriously, F U”
I was thinking the same thing…2.1 firmware should really be called 2.0.3 if that’s all the updating they’re going to do. Wasn’t 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 also to do with bug fixes? How many more bugs do they want to fix!? And where is the push feature that they were supposed to be rolling out in September? Flash would be nice, copy and paste would be nice but this doesn’t seem like a major update at all. Come on apple keep good on your word!
itunes 8 is up for download already
So long story short, lots of useless if that upgrades, new nano with some useless and some cool upgrades and a much more…”interesting” (ugly) design, dump a classic model, give the iPhone some upgrades that should’ve been there from the start (wonder where that’s happened before?), and a new iTunes that actually gets rid of the useful ministore and put in a music monitor to tell which tuneage you’ve pirated. Way to go apple!! You’ve thusly hurt the last bit of intelligence that businesses thought consumers had.