No that’s not a cheesy allusion to an altered saying in the V for Vendetta movie, alright well maybe it is, but today will be the day that Apple releases its first touch-screen iPod. That is, assuming you take Think Secret’s latest post verbatim. Apple scheduled a media event to be held later today (10AM PDT) and they will without a doubt be announcing some changes in the iPod product line.
The rumors paint a pretty picture of the new iPod as having an iPhone-like physique with a 1.8-inch hard drive offering capacities up to 120GB with the possibility of some new-fangled wireless capabilities. As long as the potential wireless feature in the new iPod trumps the Microsoft Zune’s amazing wireless feature dubbed “share a song with a friend and they can only play it three times because DRM is great!”, I don’t think Apple will receive any consumer backlash.
However, I have always been a Nano person (4GB 1G, 4GB 2G) as have others in my family (sisters: 2GB 1G white, 2GB 1G black) so the thought of a hi-res display with CoverFlow and much larger capacities for the new Nano strikes my fancy:
Apple’s new iPod nano, meanwhile, will gain much of the same functionality as Apple’s current 5.5G iPod, including video playback and a higher resolution 320×240 pixel display. The nano will remain Flash-based, with capacities expected to top out at 12GB or 16GB, in keeping with rival product offerings.
Stay tuned to this post as I will be updating it as news comes from Cupertino.
Update: Wow, the media event earlier today was more impressive than I could have ever imagined, here are the highlights from it.
First off, the iPod Shuffle sports new colors. The iPod Nano sports a wider yet shorter body (hence the nickname “fatty”) and has a larger 2-inch screen with the ability to use CoverFlow and play videos. Wrapping up, Steve Jobs stated that the new iPod Nano has a 24 hour audio playback and 5 hours video playback battery life. The 4GB Nano has a price point of $149 while the 8GB version goes for $199.
The regular iPod is now called the iPod classic to help differentiate it from the others. The iPod classic looks like the last generation but with a full metal body with a thinner model boasting an 80GB hard drive for $249 and a slightly thicker model for $349 toting a whopping 160GB hard drive. Battery life for the iPod classic tips the scales at 40 hours for audio and 7 hours for video.
Next up, the iPod touch! It’s just 8mm thin and looks the same as the iPhone minus a chrome ring on the exterior. It has all the same iPod features of the iPhone and it even includes Wi-Fi support, mobile Safari and the YouTube application. This is huge. The iPod touch comes in 8GB ($299) and 16GB ($399) versions, with battery life around 22 hours for audio playback and 5 hours for video playback.
The “one more thing” feature is the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, an application on the iPod touch and now available on the iPhone.
You can search for anything in the entire iTunes store. You can search for any artist, any song name, any album name, preview it, and if you love it go buy it. This is the new itunes WiFi music store.
Wrapping up the media event, Steve Jobs announced that the 8GB iPhone now retails for $399 and talked about a special Starbucks partnership. iPod touch and iPhone users receive free access to Starbucks Wi-Fi to access the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, where they can browse through currently or recently played songs in the physical Starbucks store, purchasing them on the fly if they so please. No word on whether this free Starbucks Wi-Fi can also be used for mobile Safari and not just the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store.
Pictures from Engadget below:
What are your thoughts? Which iPod will you be buying next?
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Looking forward to it as well, however I have a feeling I’ll be asleep while it’s going on at this rate (3:30AM).
A growing number of iTunes are now available in their special higher-bitrate non-DRM version, which is promising in competing with the Zune (as if it’s even remotely a race).
“No that’s not a cheesy allusion to an altered saying in the V for Vendetta movie”
Actually, the character in V for Vendetta is disguising himself as Guy Fawkes and that’s where the saying ‘Remember, remember the fifth of November’ comes from(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night).
But yeah, new iPods, nice.
Not really excited about touchscreen iPods. I just feel like it wouldn’t make iPod use easier, just harder. In fact, I hate using the iPhone iPod in my car, b/c every time I need to go to the next song, I have to:
- look down,
- unlock it by sliding the thingie
- hit next
While on any other iPod, you don’t have to even look down. Just feel your way to the next button on the clickwheel. Magic.
That being said, I always like Apple events, so looking forward to it!
Awesome title as well haha
I, too, will be anxiously awaiting the news from Apple.
I’ve drank their koolaid and have owned an iPod Video, an ipod nano (gave the video to my brother), and I now own the iPhone. While I love the touchscreen interface on the iPhone, I love the clickwheel on the iPod. While I probably won’t be buying whatever they announce today, I can’t wait to hear about the new addition to the Apple line-up.
Cant wait for this! And can’t wait to get my hands on a new nano preferably 8gb!
Looks like Think Secret came though… iPod Touch. Few things that come to my mind:
- Awesome 8mm thickness (thin-ness)
- Ugly gap on top of the screen where iPhone has the speaker
- Will the headphone jack be recessed just like the iPhone. If so, two thumbs down.
- Ugly antenna, could have been masked better
Summary: Basically its what people that didn’t want AT&T were already doing with the iPhone: only using it as a WiFi product. iPod Touch fills in that gap and actually offers them a real product (without messing around w/ AT&T, etc.) and cheaper too.
I guess that’s good, but I still would never buy it (even if I didn’t have the iPhone), b/c of how much I’d miss the clickwheel.
P.S. Kids in schools will use this to cheat for sure! haha
@Craig – yeah I knew it was November, which is why I said “altered saying” and the whole question mark thing. :-)
Ok so… “iPod Classic?”
I don’t know, I can’t get into that name.
@Paul – Yeah, it was more to do with me questioning the V for Vendetta reference… but that’s just me being picky.
Slightly underwhelmed by the iPod Touch. It’s good, but why include YouTube and not Mail. I really don’t understand why I’d want to view YouTube on my iPod (or my computer for that matter, but n/m).
I need a new phone, and without any sign of an iPhone in the UK, let alone a 3G iPhone, an iPod Touch with Mail and Safari would have been nice. VERY nice. That’s two opportunities to sell me something that have gone begging.
IMO the biggest news in the $200 price drop on the iPhone.
I wouldn’t mind upgrading to the 80gb iPod video, excellent battery life and moderately priced too. But if the iPhone comes to Canada at a reasonable price (less than 450$USD) I might consider that.
I just placed my order for the iPod Touch. It was a bit of a decision for me – between the newly price reduced iPhone or the 16GB iPod Touch. I ended up going with the Touch because I wanted more space for music. I already have a BB Curve and rarely carry my iPod with me unless I’m going on a long trip. Since that’s the case, I figured the space would be more important than having the phone attached to it.
It also ships a couple of days before my birthday, so happy birthday to me! :)
Ipod touch for me. I only have 2000 songs, and that is plenty of space. I’m really looking forward to browsing the web on this device when I have wifi.
Ill keep my nano for the gym, keep the 4th generation in my car for the clickwheel touch response (so I dont have to look away from the road) and use the iPod touch for traveling/day to day activities!
The iPod Touch is an iPhone which doesn’t call. I don’t understand the reasons of this new iPod: wasn’t it being better to update the iPhone to 16 GB?
I checked the Apple Store and there seems to be no educational discount on any of the new iPods. I hope Apple is not doing away with those discounts….
what iPod will I be buying? I know what I will be doing: going to my campus apple store and trying to buy the old model at a reduced price. :) Because I’m an impoverished student, etc etc.
:\ @ $399 iPhone, $100 less than my 4gb, twice the space.
Awesome.
I know the $200 price drop on the 8GB iPhone sounds good, but for owners like myself, that’s major hurt since I’ve never seen any gadget depreciate in the speed of just two months. To me new iPods are nice, but the initial iPhone pricing was poor business planning on Apple’s part. I feel suckered. :(
The Apple Store doesn’t provide student discounts on iPods/AppleTV. They haven’t for at least a year or two now. Discounts are there for everything else though.
I too am torn between the 16GB Touch and the 8GB (maybe the 4GB?) iPhone. And before someone says the 4 isn’t avialable any more it’s 300 bucks “while supplies last”
@ Kevin – Actually it’s an excellent business plan. You sell your product for $$$$$ while there is lots of hype, then when sales start to tail off, you slash the price to build more hype! It’s just how it’s done. Early adopters always get screwed.
@ Craig – Yes, but not with Apple. They don’t really price skim all that often (if at all?). In fact, by doing that, they just shit on a TON of their most loyal customers. Check out Macrumor forums, there’s lots of negative talk about that. Im interested in seeing how this will impact the sales of their next rockstar product.
Is it me or is the iPod touch sort of resembling a PDA?
For one of those unfortunates that lacks a suitable discretionary budget line item, I’ll have to say I would be game for the shuffle, myself, but won’t be buying any time soon.
I did find it funny, though, that they chose Derek Zoolander as an image for the presentation. Quite a bit could be read into that…
I think I’m going to hold off until gen2 of the iphone / ipod touch. My friend works at cingular and he told me the next generation of the iphone basically done and they are just holding off to make more money from the first one. How true that is, I have no idea. But I don’t mind.
Well it looks like my wife wants the new Nano, which is kinda OK, except for all the Nike+ running gear that she has which no doubt will need replacing :-( Maybe I siuld convince her to keep the current Nano just for running and the money that I save on her new gear I could easily buy a iPod Touch with :-)