Well the big day has finally arrived, and Apple didn't disappoint, revamping many of it's products and confirming many rumors that have been floating around the internets lately. If you've recently gotten a credit card and were looking for an excuse to use it, Apple looks to be more than happy to oblige you. Here are some highlights from the day.
New iPods
Come on, you knew this was coming, right? Apple updated it's (almost) entire lineup of iPods, introducing a redesigned Shuffle and Nano, and adding the cameras to the iPod touch that you've no doubt heard about. The shuffle actually goes back a generation design-wise, regaining the buttons and form factor of the previous generation, but keeping the VoiceOver feature from the current generation. The Nano is completely redesigned, losing the clickwheel and getting a 1.54' multitouch display. It should also be noted that the Nano loses it's video camera, we're guessing Apple figured people would go for the camera in the new iPod touch instead. Speaking of the touch, it got the same front and back cameras that the iPhone has, and the retina display, plus the same A4 processor as the iPhone and iPad. With the new iPod touch, you'll be able to make FaceTime calls to iPod Touch and iPhone 4 users over Wi-Fi.
New iTunes
Apple introduced a new version of iTunes, the tenth version to be exact, along with a brand new logo. The biggest new feature of iTunes is Ping, a social network for music. Looking at screenshots from the keynote, it looks very similar to Facebook, but you can follow users and see what they're listening to, what concerts they're going to, and reviews of albums they write.
New Apple TV
It appears the rumors were true. The new Apple TV (iTV didn't make the cut apparently) is one-fourth the size of the old one, mainly because it loses the ability to store content, and will focus on streaming instead. The new box is all black, very small, and is also powered by the A4 chip (These chips are pretty much getting into everything Apple makes now. Look for them in bumper cases pretty soon). With the new Apple TV, Apple is hoping to make renting tv shows and movies the new way of life. New movies will run $4.99, while TV shows will be a much more attractive $.99. Also, Netflix subscribers can stream movies through Apple TV, along with YouTube videos and Flickr photos. You can also stream content from your computer, and probably the coolest thing is that you can stream content from your iPhone or iPad straight to the Apple TV.
It was quite a big keynote, with a lot of changes to the Apple product lineup. Apple's definitely hoping to cash in this holiday quarter.
No comments:
Post a Comment