Next-gen Ipods in a new shell

[vb86 0]

Apple ships 160GB iPod

And renames the iconic player "iPod classic"

"The iPod's got a funny name," mused Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a special media event in San Francisco today.

"It's just called 'the iPod' because it was the first one. We though, 'It's time to give it a name.' We're going to call it the iPod classic."

Despite rumours of an iPhone-like touchscreen iPod, the new iPod still features a click wheel, and it's now in a full metal design in silver and black. The low-end iPod classic (at 80GB) is now thinner than the 30GB thin model that preceded it. Jobs claims the new iPod gets 30 hours of audio playback and five hours of video plaback on a single charge.

Like the iPod nano, the new iPod classic features an enhanced user interface.

Apple is also offering a model that features 160GB of storage.

"This boggles the mind," said Jobs for emphasis. "The first iPod put 1000 songs in your pocket. This new iPod puts 40,000 songs in your pocket. It's amazing."

The new 80GB model costs $249, while the 160GB model costs $349, with availability beginning today.

iPod Shuffle Goes (RED), New Nano Appears

AS IT HAPPENS - At an event for press and analysts on Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the Shuffle would be joining the Product (RED) movement, while introducing a completely new nano.

The Shuffle would now include a Product (RED) model, as well as silver, light blue, teal, and green models. However the bigger changes came to the iPod nano, and would mark the biggest advancement for the line since its debut in September 2005.

For the first time, the nano would support video through a new 2-inch QVGA screen. The screen would be the highest pixel density that Apple has ever shipped, Jobs said. In addition, the nano would now have games capability and would be enclosed in a metal case.

Leaked photos of the device seem to not have been far off: instead of the rectangular candy bar shape that consumers have been accustomed to, the nano is more squared shaped in order to accommodate the larger screen.

Even with the additional functionality, the nano would still sport a lengthy battery life: some 24 hours for music and five hours for videos.

Apple would include three games with every nano, and has also brought the 'cover flow' feature first introduced in iTunes and later to the iPhone to help users in browsing their music libraries. Four colors would be provided, including silver, blue, green, and a Product (RED) model.

The 4GB model will sell for $149, while an 8GB model will retail for $199.

Apple unveils new iPod touch, "fat" iPod nano at special event

Observers have been expecting a significant revamp to Apple's iPod lineup, especially after the release of the iPhone in all of its touch-screen glory. So when Apple announced today's special event—as we predicted—with the tagline "The beat goes on," we knew the time for an iPod refresh had come. We weren't disappointed, as Apple announced an all-new line-up of iPods from top to bottom, including a new "fat" iPod nano at $149 and $199, a "classic" iPod at $249 and $349, and the much-anticipated iPod touch with WiFi, Safari, and a touch-screen interface—an iPhone without the phone capabilities—for $299 and $399. The iPod touch will be able to purchase music directly from the iTunes Store via WiFi.

The first major announcement was that a new version of iTunes to be released later today will support ringtones as well as the other new products Apple has on tap. Ringtones will be available for 99¢ in addition to the 99¢ song price. Users can create custom ringtones from over 500,000 songs.

iPod nano

Jobs then announced that Apple would be revamping the iPod lineup from top to bottom. At the bottom of the lineup is a new (PRODUCT) Red iPod Shuffle with 1GB of storage for $79.

Next up was the new iPod nano. The leaked pictures of the "fat" iPod nano have proven to be the real deal, as the new nano sports a 2-inch, 320x240 LCD and a doubled storage capacity of 4GB and 8GB. The nano now supports video for the first time and users will be able to browse their libraries using CoverFlow. Apple is also bringing the iPod lineup of games to the nano for the first time, with three included on the digital audio players. The nano is now made entirely of metal and will be available in black, red, silver, blue, and green. Jobs said that the new iPods are shipping today and will be in stores by this weekend. The 4GB silver model is $149 and the 8GB models, which are available in all colors, will run $199.

iPod Classic

The venerable iPod form factor will continue in the form of the "iPod Classic," which has 80GB of storage, a full-metal design that is thinner than its predecessor. For those with truly enormous music and video libraries, the iPod Classic will be available with capacities of up to 160GB. The 80GB model will retail for $249 while the new 160GB model will set you back $349.

iPod touch

Topping off the iPod announcements was a new "iPod touch." The iPhone's touch-screen interface is coming to the iPod, and the iPod touch will have the same sized screen as the iPhone, but will be 8mm thin. It, too, will have what Jobs described as the "revolutionary" multitouch interface of the iPhone.

A touch-screen and a new form factor aren't the only new features the iPod touch is bringing to the lineup. The iPod touch will be the first iPod to have WiFi support built in and will also come with a version of Safari. Jobs said that it's the "first time ever" a browser has been built into a digital audio player. The iPod touch will feature support for YouTube, like the iPhone, and users will be able to navigate around the web via the device's on-screen keyboard.

The iPod touch will use the same interface as the current iPods and will have battery life sufficient for 22 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video playback, according to Jobs. The iPod touch will come in two sizes: 8GB for $299 and 16GB for $399 and will ship later this month.

One more thing

As has become customary, Jobs concluded the event with "one more thing." In this case, it's the iTunes WiFi Music Store. The new version will give listeners free previews of any song in the store over WiFi. If they like what they hear, they can purchase it from the iPod touch for immediate gratification. It will then sync to a Mac or PC the next time the iPod is docked.

The iTunes WiFi Music Store has an interface specific to the iPod touch, and users will be able to get all of the same bells and whistles available via desktop version of iTunes, including album art and full albums. The new store will be available in all 22 countries where the iTunes Store operates, and iPhone users will be able to get in on the fun too. There's a tie-in with Starbucks, too. When iPod touch owners are near a Starbucks (and is it ever possible to be far away from one?), a Starbucks button will appear on the display, which will allow users to buy whatever song happens to be playing there with a single tap of the finger.

Edited September 5, 2007 by vb86

[Sadikk 301]

Popularity of iPod players gives Apple the chance to release new products based on the previous ones with minor changes, no doubt they will enjoy the success. iPod classic is such a product. Carrying 80 or 160 GB of memory onboard the new iPod classic can store up to 40000 music tracks or 200 hours of video.

The new iPod classic features Cover Flow function and slimmer metallic shell. It will be available in two color solutions – Grey and Black, with 80 or 160 GB HDD. Measuring 103.5x61.8x10.5 mm it weighs 140 g. Its 2.5” LCD has a LED backlight and a 320x240 pixel resolution. The new player supports all main audio and video formats.

The 80GB iPod comes with a less capacious battery than the 160GB model: 30 hours of audio and 5 hours of video against 40 and 7 hours respectively. The junior model will be available for $250, the senior will be expensive by $100.

http://sadikk.blogspot.com/2007/09/ipod-cl...-new-shell.html

Whats ur take.

[coolrajiv 1]

Source - http://www.tech2.com/india/news/video-play...n-india/15991/0

Apple Unveils Next-Gen iPods in India

Apple today introduced the all-new next generation range of iPods – Nano, Classic and Touch – in India, bringing in video playback, an enhanced interface featuring Cover Flow, and a new design.

The new iPod Nano features a 204 pixel per inch display that's 65 per cent brighter than the previous generation, and delivers 320 x 240 resolution. The iPod Nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge. The device is encased in an all-metal design made of anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel, and comes in four colors – silver, black, blue and green.

"We’ve taken the most popular music player in the world and added stunning video playback. The iPod Nano just keeps getting better and better with each new generation," said Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs. "The first iPod put 1,000 songs in your pocket; this new iPod Classic can put 40,000 songs in your pocket," he added.

Available from today, the 4 GB version of the Nano in silver costs Rs. 8,800 and the 8 GB version in silver, black, blue and green is available for Rs. 11,400. The models include earbud headphones, a USB to 30-pin cable and a Universal Dock Connector.

The 80 GB version of the iPod Classic delivers up to 30 hours of music playback and five hours of video playback on a single charge while the 160 GB version delivers up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback. "Carrying the iPod classic is as good as carrying the hard disk of your personal computer," said Yeo Eng Yiong, senior product marketing manager (portables), Apple, Asia Pacific. Available from today, the 80 GB version costs Rs. 14,500 and the 160 GB version is available for Rs. 20,400.

Coming to the iPod Touch, the 8 GB version costs Rs. 17,700 while the 16 GB version costs Rs. 23,600. The iPod Touch is scheduled to be available in India in October. Though the iPod Touch was formally announced in India, the actual product has not yet hit the stores.

The iPods come with three preloaded games: Klondike (a Solitaire card game), Vortex (a fast-paced 360 degrees brick-bashing game) and iQuiz (entertainment trivia). Additional games can be purchased from the iTunes store.

The iPods require a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.108 or later and iTunes 7.4; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home/Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.4