Apple's next-generation products
This morning, Apple announced a collection of its next-generation music devices and products, which included a few surprises.
All of the iPods got an update, as expected. iOS 4.1 was revealed and even a brief glimpse of iOS 4.2 was shown. A new version of iTunes was released, along with a music-based social media service and a new Apple TV unit.
The nitty-gritty will undoubtedly be all over the place soon, but here's a brief outline of the new products and services. Apple NZ have updated their store.
iOS 4.1
Apple's newest mobile operating system has fixes for the proximity sensor issue that was causing people to accidentally hang up calls.
The camera firmware has been upgraded with built-in HDR photo abilities, which will have HDR app makers pulling their hair out. You can now upload HD videos to the Internet over WiFi.
A feature called Game Centre has been added, which is a place to find people to play games with, download the latest and keep scores.
iOS 4.1 is expected to be available on iTunes in the next week or so.
iOS 4.2 promises to bring wireless printing to the iOS system with something they call Airplay - a rebrand of the current streaming music system, Airtunes.
Airplay will also allow you to stream audio, video and photos over a WiFi network to other devices.
iTunes 10
iTunes 10 features a new icon - the old one has been around for years. It shows a distinct shift away from CD media, with a new, glowy, digital look to it.
The new version includes the Ping social media service. It has a news feed like Facebook, but with the follow and be-followed system of Twitter. You can limit who follows you if you want, and most of the major artists will have presences.
When your friends like, buy or review some music, it tells you and you can discuss or buy it yourself. It also alerts you to nearby concerts, and friends who are attending them.
New Apple TV
The new version of Apple TV takes all the micromanagement out of getting content on to your screen. It runs over WiFi, outputs to HDMI and has a power plug and a remote.
Renting shows has been simplified, and you can set favourites which appear in a group when new episodes are available. They're pretty cheap, US99c (NZ$1.40) which isn't too bad.
Everything is in HD - there is no standard-definition option anymore.
Netflix has also been integrated, so you can rent movies and have them streamed almost immediately. You have 30 days to start watching your movie, and 48 hours to finish it after you start.
The unit itself is much smaller than the last version, and it sells in NZ for $169.
iPods:
Shuffle
The shuffle is back to having buttons, after the in-cord controls of the last version weren't all that popular. It looks fairly nice, heading into a square shape and gaining a spring-loaded clip.
It looks to be really small - the flat side seems about the same surface area as one of our $2 coins, maybe a little bigger.
It supports playlists and Genius automatic mixes. It has a lock button and, of course, a 3.5mm stereo jack.
Battery life is estimated at 15 hours and seems to come in 2GB ($89) size only.
Nano
The new Nano is also square, and does away with the buttons and clickwheel, heading into touchscreen.
The interface is similar to iOS, but a much slimmer version, and supports moving the icons around. It also supports multi-touch for zooming on photos - it looks like a mini iPod Touch.
It has a dedicated power button on top, a spring clip, and dedicated volume buttons. New features include a pedometer and an FM radio.
It connects through Apple's wide 30-pin cable and the headphones go in the bottom. Well - the bottom can also be the top, because the screen will rotate if you multi-touch rotate it.
It comes in 8GB ($249) and 16GB ($299) models and battery is thought to be about 24 hours.
Touch
This is the one many were waiting for. The styling didn't go as square as many thought it would, but it is a lot thinner than its predecessor.
As expected, it gained a Retina display screen, just like the iPhone 4's, along with a 3-axis gyroscope to improve games which use that feature.
It also got Facetime with a front-facing camera, which will be a biggie for some people. The camera gets a boost, and can now record HD video.
It also got Apple's A4 processor, which will give it significant processing power for games and applications.
It comes in 8GB ($379), 32GB ($489) and 64GB($649) models and battery life is estimated at 40 hours.
Classic
Well - Classic gets nothing.
What do you think? Anything you like? Will you be upgrading or buying any of the new generation? Any conspicuous absences?
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Finally a new nano worth owning. Time to upgrade my (still going strong) nano gen 1.
Why iphone 4 cant be as slick as ipod touch? is more sexy that way!
The pedometer and FM radio aren't new features; they were present on the previous Nano model.
@ Richard: The iPhone has a more components and antennas to fit in than the iPod Touch, which is why it can't get as thin. I'd sure like an iPhone as thin as the touch!
@Sirknz: Evidenced by the fact that Apple stories consistently generate high traffic—especially when new products are launched—and that their products dominate the mindshare of every industry in which they have a relevance.
I would have liked to see them produce a larger touch or revamp the iPod classic. My library is 97gb so I rely mostly on my 160gb classic, which has been basically unchanged for 3-4 years now, and after using my iPhone it just feels a bit clunky. No real reason for me to upgrade to any of this, to be honest.
The iPod Touch looks like a worthy upgrade to me (currently have a 2nd Gen model), and would be a much cheaper alternative to an iPhone 4, which I find hard to justify, considering my limited need for a mobile phone.
The new Nano looks intriguing to me, but I think it sucks that they've removed the camera and video playback from the previous model. That being said, if I was in the market for a digital music player and didn't want to pay as much as an iPod Touch, it would probably be the front runner. I don't personally have a need for video recording/playback (although recording could be good for concerts if the quality was any good).
I also find it funny to note that the Shuffle now looks like the one prior to the previous gen one (2nd gen?). Apple conceding they made a design mistake, perhaps :-)
I think it's time they either upgraded or discontinued the Classic. I've got one of the 6G ones (160Gb) and it's pretty slow and unresponsive, but the storage space is nice...and I think lots of people feel the same way. Even a visual redesign or a quicker processor to make browsing through songs easier would be nice.
Glad that bizzare venture into buttonless Shuffles has ended. The clippy version is by far the best for its purpose (exercise attachment).
New Nano looks horrendous. My big fingers would have all kinds of problems with that little screen and I like the physical buttons of my current 5th Gen Nano so that i don't need to look at my Nano to control it. Only just upgraded from 1st Gen Nano so glad I didn't wait for 6th Gen ones.
Now updated iTouch is looking nice. My 1st Gen (Beta) version of iTouch is starting to show its age so might need to add a new one to my want list.
Re: iTunes Ping - Why oh why do we need more social media BS in everything.....please less facebook and Twitter is a good thing. More is bad....really bad!
Luke - just a correction. The Nano is available in 8 and 16GB, not 16 and 32GB as you have reported.
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