The rumours were spot on with this one, as Apple releases the iPod Nano 4G, the iPod Touch 2G, and to go along with that the iPhone software 2.1. The Macs were not even mentioned at the event.
The Nano departs from the fatty tag and goes back to the earlier long design, a stunning one at that. Featuring a curved body, a larger screen, and 9 different colours to choose from, the nano seems like an awesome upgrade. To add to that, it features a new spiced up UI, featuring the Genius Playlist feature introduced with iTunes 8. The nano also features an accelerometer for Coverflow mode and video. The nano comes in two sizes, 8GB and 16GB priced at $149 and $199 respectively.
Next up is the iPod Touch. Going curvy like the iPhone 3G, the Touch get some minor additions in the form of volume buttons, a built in speaker and a Nike+ receiver. The Touch also adds the Genius playlist feature, similar to the one on the Nano. A minor price drop is also effective, with the 8GB at $229, 16GB at $299, and 32GB at $399.
And to go with the iPod Touch is the 2.1 software update. A $9.99 update for previous iPod Touch users, but free for iPhone users. “iPhone owners get a 2.1 software update that “fixes lots of bugs.” Significantly improved battery life, fewer call drops, crashing problems, increased speed for iTunes backups and various other fixes.” The update is not going to be available until Friday this week.
The iPod Classic on the other hand received little attention at the event. The 80GB has been bumped to 120GB, but surprisingly they have discontinued the 160GB version. Priced at $249, this is in direct competition with Microsoft’s recently announced 120GB Zune.
Apple also silently refreshed the iPod Shuffle’s colours. They started off with silver. Leaving behind the subtle colours, the Shuffle is back with flashy red, green, blue, and you guessed it, pink!
For more pictures and information, visit the Apple Website.
Are you satisfied with the new iPod lineup? Or were you hoping for something else. Shout out in the comments.
