Yesterday Apple announced the first major overhaul of its digital music player, the iPod. This is the first big change to the range in almost two years. Steve Jobs, Apples Chief Executive, detailed the iPhone changes and other developments at an invitation-only press conference held in San Francisco yesterday.
The new version of the iPod is dubbed the iPod Touch, which is more similar to Apples iPhone product. The iPod Touch is available in an 8gb or 16gb model and is slimmer than the iPhone, but does feature a similar multitouch interface. It also features built in Wi-Fi and the Safari Internet Browser. It can play YouTube videos just like the iPhone can. Apple should begin shipping the iPod Touch this month.
An updated version of the Classic is now thinner than its predecessor and has a full metal design. A $249 version has 80 gigabytes of storage and 30 hours of audio. A slightly thicker model features 160 gigabytes of storage (yes, 160 gigs!!) and will be on sale at $349. The original iPod could hold up to 1,000 songs, but todays new version of the iPod Classic can store 40,000 songs.
The new iPod Nano will feature two memory sizes; a 4gb model and an 8gb model. It is available in 5 colours: black, red, silver, blue and green. It has a larger, brighter screen and an interface similar to the iPhone. They have also included three games in the Nano, including the very popular Sudoku.
Steve Jobs also announced a new venture with Starbucks. iPod Touch users who visit a Starbucks outlet can download any song playing directly to their music player. They can also obtain a list of the last 10 songs that the Starbucks store played. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said the new service will begin rolling out in early October and will be available in 25 percent of Starbucks WiFi-enabled stores by next Spring.
In addition to the announcement of the new iPod, Apple also cut the cost of the new iPhone by almost $200. This has rather annoyed not only customers who already own an iPhone (who are complaining that the price reduction came far too soon), but also investors. Apple shares closed down 5.1% last night.
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