“The Beat Goes On” indeed! Apple’s recent slew of announcements drew cheers and jeers, as they always do, but this time the cheers were actually based on the products and the jeers on a gaffe that Apple quickly tried to correct. Either way, it was a good day for Apple and a good day for the iPod.
Shown above is the new iPod Touch, the gadget that analysts had been hoping for since the iPhone was released: an iPhone without the phone. Since you can’t use the iPhone as a media player alone, Apple unveiled the iPod Touch, which uses the same touch-sensitive screen, looks and feels the same, and uses the same interface. The iPod Touch also sports wifi and runs Safari, the same as the iPhone does, so when you’re at a coffee shop or library listening to your iPod, you can open Safari and surf the web or check your email while you’re at it.
Zune fans will complain that their device has wifi and widescreen video already, but the iPod Touch takes both of those a step further. The accelerometer allows you to browse your media collection in coverflow view and switch between widescreen video and regular video just by turning the iPod Touch sideways, and here’s the killer that gave me a hate-on for the Zune: the iPod Touch can use Wifi to download tracks from iTunes.
The iPod touch currently comes in 8GB and 16GB versions. Not terribly much for a price point of $299 and $399 respectively, but let’s remember the iPod of old: Apple’s iPod mantra has always been to keep the overhead low (no sense in taking a hit on a device with massive storage when you can creep into the market without taking a huge financial hit) until the product takes off, and then take risks on things like more storage. If the current iPod Touch takes off, and I’m sure it will (hell, I want one), then you can expect to find new versions with more storage in the very near future.
So happened to the original iPod, you say? Well, it’s been renamed the iPod Classic, and it’s still there in all of it’s razor-thin glory. On the up side, the iPod Classic got a hefty storage boost to the tune of up to 160GB. That’s right, you can essentially carry a portable hard drive in your pocket now. Apple’s always been keen on letting you open up the iPod has a media player and a storage device, and now it’s set in stone – there’s no way Apple would give you a 160GB hard drive under the hood of such a tiny device if it weren’t meant for mobile storage as well as all of your tunes.
The iPod Classic still comes in silver and black, to the tune of $249 for 80GB and $349 for 160GB. See a trend? Different devices for different audiences. Some folks want an iPod but don’t necessarily find themselves turned on by the whole touch-screen iPod Touch/iPhone thing, so the good old iPod is still there for them.
Finally, the iPod Nano got a redesign; it’s shorter and fatter now, with a wider, 320×240 resolution display and the ability to play video. The Nano is tiny, and still comes in all of its beautiful colors, but I’m most concerned about this one. It’s good and cheap still, coming in at $149 for 4GB and $199 for 8GB. The trouble is the tiny tiny screen. I’m worried not a lot of people will want to watch video on something so small, but then again, people said the same thing about the original iPod with Video. Even so, I wonder if the new Nano will appeal to more people looking for a cheap player to watch video on, or whether it’ll continue raking in the folks who would have gotten a Nano anyway. Either way, it’ll still be a success.
Even the iPod Shuffle got a refresh, with some tweaked colors. No size or price changes there, but the colors are different and a bit more metallic. Personally? I dig it.
In the same event, Steve Jobs announced an update to iTunes that allows you to make ringtones from songs you’ve purchased, even editing them down so you only get your favorite part or the chorus when you transfer it to your phone. Apple also cut the price of the iPhone from $599 to $399, much to the delight of people who were holding out for one, and much to the riotous anger of the early adopters. Frankly, Apple’s always done things like this – price drops, new versions, updated devices – it’s the price you pay for going Apple, and expecting them to change is kind of silly. Even so, the hatemail started flowing, and Steve relented, offering a $100 credit to anyone who bought an iPhone at the original price. That’s a lot of free iPod Shuffles, Steve.
Additionally, Apple killed the 4GB iPhone, either because of lackluster sales or the fact that a phone with only 4GB of storage probably doesn’t make much sense. I’m expecting a new iPhone to match the iPod Touch’s storage capacity in the near future- expect a 16GB iPhone any day now, perhaps in time for the holidays. Even if it’s not in time, Apple’s announced enough new revisions to its product lineup and new products that this upcoming holiday season should be a good one for them.
In the meantime, I’m all about the new iPod Touch. I wanted an iPhone, but I’m one of those people who doesn’t want to switch carriers just to get it, and now I don’t have to.
[ Apple :: iPod ]