This morning, geeky yet chic gizmo maker Apple, held their annual “Everything Apple” event where plenty of new products, features and services from the company were announced including the hotly anticipated new iPods.
But it wasn’t just the new iPod Touch that made headlines, check out the brief summary of other interesting announcements.
Apple TV
Apple has completely redesigned its Apple TV service, primarily by shrinking the box to about a quarter of the size and includes HDMI, Ethernet, optical audio and 802.11n connections. It also is capable of displaying in 720P.
The system goes along with a completely retrofitted video access system allowing users to stream movies or TV directly from iTune, which also now includes access to the full Netflix library, or through their home network. The device is set to only cost $99, and rentals from popular broadcasters like ABC and Fox starting at $.99 cents. New release HD Videos will be priced at $4.99.
iTunes 10 and Ping, the Social Network for Music
iTunes 10 brings some new and interesting functionality, obviously including the previously mentioned TV features, but also a whole new world of social networking integration entirely based around music.
The new Apple service “Ping” allows users to follow or be followed and shows off the recent activity on their account, such as what media the user has downloaded recently. Along with that comes with the usual slightly egocentric abilities to post videos, photos and comments about yourself. Artists can also be followed and it showcases any of their upcoming concerts; artists you follow, you will be updated with notices about nearby events.
iPod; The Next Generation
The most anticipated news item in the lot, the next gen iPod Touch, virtually identical to the iPhone 4, just without the phone. The one interesting feature is that Apple decided to not go with the updated square design of the iPhone 4, and is instead using the same curved shell of the original.
New features include:
- Retina Display – 3.5″ IPS LCD with a resolution of 960×640. Multi-touch capability
- Front and back camera with 720P video capture and editing capability. Supports FaceTime and can converse with iPhone 4 users
- Based on the Apple A4 microprocessor
- Three-axis gyroscope
- iOS 4.1
Other improvements include an increased battery life for up to 40 hours of music playback, as well the entire device has been slimmed down from .33 inches thick to .28, and the weight has been halve, down to 3.56 ounces (101g) from 8 ounces (226g).
With iTunes 10, iPod Touch users can also access the extensive list of TV Shows and video and download them straight to the device.
Comes in 8GB, 32GB and 64GB sizes priced at $229, $299 and $399 USD respectively.
iPod Nano
Not all the talk was about the iPod Touch however, the new Nano is getting an extreme makeover to bring it up to date. On a device only a little larger than a big postage stamp, Apple has now included a 1.54″ inch capacitive multi-touch screen and the entire device has been nearly halved in size and weight, now resembling something similar to the iPod Shuffle.
The OS has also been redesigned to resemble iOS, but make no mistake, iOS it is not. While it may feel the same, the functions are limited to simply music oriented tasks and it doesn’t have access to iTunes or Apps.
Interestingly Apple has axed the video camera and video playing capabilities, though with such a size conscious device such features would be a little impractical. The new Nanno also includes hard volume buttons, 29 language voiceover , FM radio, NIke+ support, a pedometer, and clip mechanism for active individuals.
Four colours are available at a cost of $149 for 8GB and $179 for the 16GB version.
Tags: apple, appletv, ipod touch, itunes 10
