Every iPod got bigger and better today as Apple dropped prices and boosted capacities across the board.
Apple today announced a slew of slight changes to the iPod lineup, positioning the new devices for their place in the holiday season. Apparently, Apple thought most iPods were pretty great already, as the company hardly changed their products, mostly adding capacity, polishing up the color choices and dropping prices, but only a little. The iPod touch, which will be taking on Microsoft's new Zune HD this holiday season, is now a bit more competitively priced. The 8GB iPod touch 3G model is now $200, which is cheaper than the lower-end Microsoft Zune HD by about $20. Of course, the Zune uses a more powerful processor for its graphically intense user interface, but Apple has also improved the performance of their higher-end Apple iPod touch line.
Harder, better, faster, cheaper
The 32GB iPod touch 3G and the new 64GB capacity model (hands-on gallery) will both see a performance boost. Apple isn't getting specific about their guts, but the company does claim the new models will see up to 50% improvements in speed compared to the older model. The two top-end iPod touch models will now support OpenGL/ES for improved graphics capabilities, and gaming took center stage at the invitation-only event in San Francisco where the new proucts were introduced. Among the guests on stage, Steve Jobs welcomed representatives from Electronic Arts, who showed off the new Madden 2010 game for the iPhone OS platform. The game was not only visually impressive, it made great use of the iPod touch's multi-touch screen, with enhanced controls for touchable play. EA also announced development of their NBA Live game for the iPod touch, as well as a Command and Conquer title.
The iPod shuffle also saw some minor tweaks today. Besides appearing in some new colors, the iPod shuffle also got a price cut. The 2GB iPod shuffle is now $60, while a 4GB model will cost $79. Apple is also now offering a Special Edition iPod shuffle, a 4GB model in an exclusive polished stainless steel color, for $100. That's $20 extra for a different paint job, though in our hands-on look at the new Special Edition shuffle, it did stand out as a very classy, slick color option among the rainbow family. The iPod classic, a model some thought might disappear in this latest update, actually got a minor capacity boost. The iPod classic now comes in a single 160GB configuration, a 40GB boost from the old model for the same $250 price. Still, if the iPod classic is going to stick around, we'd rather see a serious storage boost, something above 200GB.
We checked out the iPod nano with video recording earlier today. Check out our hands-on impressions and photos here.
iTunes 9 answers one of our big requests
Before Apple even got around to making tweaks to the iPod line, Steve Jobs and friends demonstrated the newest version of the Apple iTunes sync software on the desktop. iTunes 9 brings some interface streamlining, as well as some nice new features, including one we've been calling for. You can now visually organize iPhone and iPod touch apps within the iTunes sync software. You get a virtual layout for your iPhone's screen, and you can drag and drop apps wherever you want them. You can even drag and drop groups of apps, or reorder whole pages. It makes sense, and we're glad to see Apple add this feature to the platform. As Palm's WebOS and Google's Android try desperately to shun desktop sync application in favor of synchronizing in the cloud, we think Apple needs to leverage the benefits of the desktop component.
Beyond the new app management features, the iTunes 9 update brought mostly a deeper use of the Genius feature. You can now let Genius create larger mixes, based on broad categories of music instead of just revolving around a single song choice. Genius also now works in the iPhone Application store. Based on the Apps you already own, iTunes will suggest new applications that you might find useful. We're kind of skeptical about this self-reflexive way of recommending apps. As we said in a recent editorial, we think a better route would be for Apple to reject more apps, though we'll give the new App Store Genius feature a try and see if it suggests anything new and useful.
Apple is adding bonus content to record albums and movies in the iTunes store. The new iTunes LP offerings will include a full album of music, as well as bonus content, such as liner notes, photographs, exclusive videos, lyrics and more. Apple is pushing the major labels and individual artists to create exclusive content for the iTunes LP platform, obviously feeling some heat from other, cheaper download stores like the Amazon MP3 store, or the growing popularity of streaming services. It's completely within Apple's M.O. to improve a product by adding features and value at the same price, instead of dropping prices to compete.
Finally, Apple will now sell officially edited ringtones through the iTunes store. Instead of requiring users to pay extra and cut ringtones themselves, Apple will offer a major catalog of 30,000 ringtones for $1.29 per ringtone, with all 4 major record labels represented. Sadly, the ringtones menu will overtake the podcasts menu in the iTunes Music Store on iPod touch and iPhone devices.
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