Apple “Let’s Rock” Event Update
As expected, Apple announced their new line of iPod Nanos and iPod Touch, iTunes and new firmware for the iPod and iPhone and even a bunch of new accesories. And it looks like Kevin Rose is correct 100% on his predictions, from the new iPod to the slight changes in the iPod touch, the iTunes 8.0 and the new firmwares for the iPhone. Listed below is the recap of some of the updates and new products announced in Apple’s “Let’s Rock” event.
iPod Nano
The new iPod Nanos matches up with the recent rumors circulating around it.
- Considered the thinnest iPod ever
- Enhanced UI (user interface)
- Accelerometer to detect tilt
- Shake iPod to shuffle
- Genius playlist built in
- Aluminum with curved glass
- Battery: 24 hours for music. 4 hours for video.
- $149 for 8GB. $199 for 16GB.
- 9 Colors: silver, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, black
The 8GB will be available today, while the 16GB should be available by next week.
Apple also updated the iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle:
- The iPod classic would now only come in a 120GB model, replacing the 160GB and 80GB models that are currently available.
- The iPod shuffles have been revamped with new colors but the same price and storage.
iPod Touch
The new iPod Touch is now sporting a curved back, just like the iPhone, but retaining the same storage capacities. Some of its features include:
- 2.1 Firmware
- Built-in speaker, volume controls
- Genius playlist
- Nike+iPod support
- Battery: 36 hours for music, 6 hours for video.
- $229 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB, $399 for 32GB
The 2.1 upgrade will be available for free for current iPod Touch owners with Firmware 2.0. The new iPod Touch will be available later today.
iTunes 8.0
The new iTunes 8.0 is now available with a number of new features including:
- Support for High Definition TV shows
- $1.99 for Standard Definition episodes
- $2.99 for High Definition episodes
- Genius playlists: automatically find similar songs in your collection
- Available today
Apple also announced that NBC has returned to iTunes, so popular shows such as Heroes and The Office will be available.
iTunes 8.0 is now available at Apple. Clicking on the download link will download iTunes 8.0 (though it’s still labeled as iTunes 7.7). iTunes 8.0 requires QuickTime 7.5.5 which was also released today.
iPhone 2.1 Firmware
Along with the other announcements, the iPhone 2.1 firmware will be released this Friday as a free update. The much anticipated version of the new firmware upgrade will address many of the issues that have been plaguing iPhone users. Some of the changes include:
- Better battery life
- Fewer call drops
- Bug fixes
- Faster backups to iTunes
- No App crashes
The iPhone 2.1 firmware will presumably support the same Genius playlist features described in the new iPod Touches.
New Accesories
Along with the new iPods and software updates. Apple also annonuced new accesories and so far the one which is currently making an impression is the new In-Ear Headphones
-Dual drivers (woofer + tweeter)
-Remote
-Mic
-Only $79
Wow, I think this will be the first iPod earbuds that won’t suck. The only setback is that the remote and mic are supported only by iPod Nano (4th generation), iPod Classic (120GB), and iPod Touch (2nd generation).
