New iPods unveiled at special Apple event
12th September 2008
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As with any Apple-hosted event, the event last Tuesday saw the arrival of several new music-focused products in time for the peak Christmas season. But not before Steve was able to make a quick crack at the erroneously published article in the Times which reported that Steve had passed away.
The new Nano took centre stage with a complete refresh of the entire line. Now available in nine colours that Apple call ‘nano-chromatic’, you can choose from 8 or 16GB versions. The new design features a curved all-aluminium body with a taller screen made from glass. Flip the unit on its side and you activate Cover Flow view courtesy of the built-in accelerometer. The accelerometer is also utilised for gaming and a first for the iPod, a shuffle feature that is activated by lightly shaking the Nano. For those that use their iPod for voice recording, the new Nano headphone jack now doubles up as a line-in port for direct 3.5mm voice recording from microphones. Expect the Nano to be a best seller this Christmas.
The new iPod Touch features a new sleeker design similar to the 2nd gen iPhone with a metal back. Volume controls and a built-in speaker are also included as part of the new design. The Touch also features Nike Plus built-in for connecting to the external adapter that fits in your shoe.
The new iPod Nano ad:
Phil Schiller, Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing took the stage to showcase the Touch as a credible gaming platform for consumers. further reinforcing the tag-line of the new Touch as the ‘funnest’ iPod. Spore Origins was demoed alongside Real Soccer 2009 and Need for Speed Undercover demonstrating the Touch’s 3D ability.
Steve Jobs was keen to emphasise to the audience that the new iPod Nano was the greenest iPod they have ever made, which was later applauded by the often-critical Greenpeace organisation.
The new iPod Touch ad:
Also announced was the release of iTunes 8, with new features, Genius, grid view and high definition TV shows as well as the return of NBC.
Genius allows iTunes to scan and upload the names of the tracks that you have in your iTunes library which is then matched up with other tracks that fit in the same genre from your collection as well as those that you’ve not yet bought. Genius works on both iTunes, Nano, Touch and iPhone.
On a less exciting note, the entry level iPod Classic gets a storage bump to 120GB with the discontinuation of the 160GB model. Whilst the Shuffle doesn’t get a mention, new colours were revealed on their online store shortly after the event. A software update for the iPhone was also announced with promise of fixing bugs such as the reception issue.
Steve not wanting to miss and opportunity to up-sell, the event also saw the announcement of new premium headphones with in-line volume and playback control, microphone and integration of a tweeter and subwoofer in each ear for just $79.
The event closed with a performance from Jack Johnson, who according to Steve is the number one selling artist in the history of iTunes…
Watch the full keynote in HD at http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/0809dt4bs89/event/index.html or download from iTunes (search for: Apple Keynotes)
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