Apple unveiled a snazzier line of its iPod on Wednesday, with new designs for every model of the popular media device in hopes of kick-starting holiday sales. The company also announced the new Apple TV.
"We've gone wild," Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said. "It's the biggest change in the iPod lineup ever."
At a presentation to reporters and investors, Jobs said that to date the company has sold 275 million iPods.
iPod Touch
The revised iPod model, the touch, will include a front camera and is thinner than the current model.
The new iPod touch is packed with new features including Apple?s Retina display, FaceTime video calling, HD video recording, Apple's A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, iOS 4.1 and Game Center?all combined in the thinnest and lightest iPod touch ever. The new iPod touch features up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge.
"We've put our most advanced technology inside the new iPod touch," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Whether you?re listening to music, playing games, making FaceTime video calls, browsing the web, capturing HD video or watching TV shows and movies, the new iPod touch with its Retina display, A4 chip and 3-axis gyro is more fun than ever."
Apple's Retina displayhas 960 x 640 pixels - four times as many pixels than before. The resulting 326 pixels per inch is so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when iPod touch is held at a normal distance.
With the new front-facing camera and mic, iPod touch users can make FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi. With just one tap of the new FaceTime app, iPod touch users can call other new iPod touch or iPhone 4 users to see what their friends are up to, share important moments and even show others what they are seeing by easily switching to the rear-facing camera.
The rear-facing camera on iPod touch is perfect for HD video recording. Users can capture HD video wherever they are and share it via email, MobileMe and YouTube. With the iMovie app, users can combine movie clips, add dynamic transitions and themes and include photos and music right on their iPod touch. Users can buy and download the app for $4.99 through the App Store right on their iPod touch.
Apple?s A4 chip provides iPod touch users with high processor and graphics performance along with long battery life.
Music and entertainment lovers can now access iTunes Ping directly from their new iPod touch. iTunes Ping lets you follow your favorite artists and friends to discover the music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. iPod touch users also have the entire iTunes Store at their fingertips.
The new iPod touch comes with iOS 4.1, the newest version of Apple's mobile operating system. iOS 4.1 enables new features like FaceTime video calling, multitasking, folders and Game Center.
The new iPod touch will be available next week for a suggested price of $229 (US) for the 8GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Existing second and third generation iPod touch users can update to iOS 4.1 free of charge on September 8.
New iPod nano With Multi-Touch Interface
The new nano now includes FM radio, 24 hours of music. It will be priced at $149 for the 8-gigabyte version or $179 for the 16-gigabyte version, Jobs said.
The completely redesigned iPod nano featuring Apple's Multi-Touch interface that lets users navigate their music collection by simply tapping or swiping a finger on the display. Nearly half the size and weight of the previous generation, the new iPod nano features a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with a built-in clip, making it instantly wearable. The new iPod nano features Genius Mixes, the ability to create and edit playlists, a built-in FM radio with live pause and up to 24 hours of music playback on a single battery charge.
Holding down a finger returns the user to the Home screen, and users can easily use two fingers to rotate the screen if it is clipped onto their clothing upside down. Users can also customize their Home screen by simply dragging icons from other screens onto the Home screen.
iPod nano also features Shake to Shuffle, giving music lovers the ability to shake their iPod nano to shuffle to a new song in their music library.
The new iPod nano will be available next week for a suggested price of $149 (US) for the 8GB model and $179 (US) for the 16GB model. Both models are available in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange and pink.
New iPod shuffle
The revised iPod shuffle has been updated to include playlists, buttons to navigate the volume and is smaller than the previous model.
The new redesigned iPod shuffle which features both clickable "ring" buttons and Apple?s VoiceOver technology, enabling users to easily navigate their music and playlists without ever looking at their iPod shuffle. The new wearable iPod shuffle has an all-aluminum enclosure with a built-in clip and comes in five colors?silver, blue, green, orange and pink. With nearly 50 percent more battery life, the new iPod shuffle features over 15 hours of music playback on a single battery charge and offers 2GB of storage for just $49.
iPod shuffle is based on Apple?s popular shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from a user's music library. The clickable buttons make the new iPod shuffle even easier to use. Press the center button to play and pause, press the outer buttons to skip forward and back or adjust the volume up and down.
The new VoiceOver button on top of iPod shuffle allows users to hear the name of the currently playing song and to switch between songs, playlists or Genius Mixes. VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages and even alerts users when their battery needs charging.
The new iPod shuffle now supports Genius Mixes, the popular iTunes feature that automatically creates mixes from songs in a user?s music library that go great together.
The fourth generation iPod shuffle will be available next week for a suggested price of $49 (US) for a 2GB model in silver, blue, green, orange and pink through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iPod shuffle comes with Apple Earphones and the iPod shuffle USB cable.
Apple Premieres New Apple TV
As it was highly expected, Apple today announced the new Apple TV which offers a simple way to watch your favorite HD movies and TV shows on your HD TV for the price of $99. Apple TV users can choose a larg online selection of HD movies to rent, including first run movies for just $4.99, and the largest online selection of HD TV show episodes to rent from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America for just 99 cents.
Apple TV also streams content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, as well as music, photos and videos from PCs and Macs to your HD TV. Enjoy gorgeous slideshows of your photos on your HD TV using Apple TV's selection of built-in slideshows. Apple TV has built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply for easy set-up, and features silent, cool, very low power operation in an enclosure that?s less than four inches square?80 percent smaller than the previous generation.
"The new Apple TV, paired with the largest selection of online HD movie and TV show rentals, lets users watch Hollywood content on their HD TV whenever they want," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "This tiny, silent box costing just $99 lets users watch thousands of HD movies and TV shows, and makes all of their music, photos and videos effortlessly available on their home entertainment system."
Apple TV users can now rent thousands of commercial free, HD TV episodes on iTunes for just 99 cents, with up to 30 days to start watching and then 48 hours to finish - or watch multiple times. Users can also rent over 7,000 movies with over 3,400 available in HD, with most new releases available the same day they are released on DVD.
Apple TV users can also enjoy millions of YouTube videos, more than 200,000 podcasts, 4,000 Internet radio stations and personal photos from MobileMe and Flickr. Music, videos and photos can also be streamed from PCs and Macs.
Apple TV set-up is quick with a single HDMI cable connection (HDMI cable sold separately). Just connect Apple TV to your HD TV, join a Wi-Fi network and with a few clicks on the seven-button aluminum Apple Remote, you have access to content. Users can also control Apple TV with their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using the Remote app, available as a free download on the App Store.
Apple TV will be available late this month for a suggested retail price of $99 (US) and can be pre-ordered beginning today on Apple?s online store (www.apple.com). Apple TV, which comes standard with an aluminum Apple Remote, will be available through the Apple?s online store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Apple TV requires an 802.11b/g/n wireless network or Ethernet network, a broadband Internet connection and a high definition TV capable of 720p. iTunes TV show rentals and Netflix are only available in the US. Netflix features require account subscription. iTunes movies rentals are only available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
iTunes 10 With Ping
Apple also today introduced iTunes 10 with Ping, a new music-oriented social network for following your favorite artists and friends to discover what music they?re talking about, listening to and downloading. iTunes Ping lets you post your thoughts and opinions, your favorite albums and songs, the music you've downloaded from iTunes, plus view concert listings and tell your friends which concerts you plan to attend. iTunes 10 also features HD TV show rentals for just 99 cents an episode and AirPlay wireless music playback.
In addition to using Ping on your desktop computer, you can take it with you on your iPhone or iPod touch, so you?re always plugged into your personal music scene.
With iTunes 10, you can rent your favorite HD TV shows commercial free from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America and watch them at home or on the go for just 99 cents an episode. Thousands of episodes are available, many the day after broadcast, to watch on your Mac or PC, iPhone, iPod touch and the all-new Apple TV, and you have 30 days from the moment you rent an episode to start watching it, and 48 hours after that to finish it.
iTunes 10 also features AirPlay wireless music playback to listen to your music on remote speakers using Apple?s AirPort Express base station. In addition, AirPlay now works without AirPort Express, using speakers, receivers and stereo systems from companies including Bowers & Wilkins, JBL, Denon and iHome, so you can enjoy your entire iTunes music library wirelessly from any room in the house with no extra gear required.
iTunes 10 is available immediately as a free download at www.itunes.com.
Jobs also announced an update to its operating system, due out next week, saying it was meant to fix bugs on some of its popular mobile devices such as the iPhone 4. He said yet another update would come out in November.