We expected some new iPods today, and we weren't disappointed. Steve Jobs has announced new models for every one of the iPod line, and announced a new one, the iPod Touch.
We'll start with the Touch. Essentially, it's an iPhone without the cellular radio. Almost everything else is in there: a video iPod (natch), WiFi (802.11b and g), Safari, YouTube and even a WiFi iTunes Store, where you can buy music on the go. Apple even teamed up with Starbucks so you can browse iTunes in any of its coffee shops free.
The old iPod line (now renamed the iPod Classic) was starting to show its age with a lack of features and no real change in its basic makeup since it debuted back in 2001. The Touch will change that. Apple just leapfrogged the competition. And most amazing of all, it's cheap. $300 or $400 for 8GB or 16GB (both flash based), with a battery life that tops out at 22 hours for audio and five for video. You'll have to wait a while before you can buy one: The Touch ships later this month.
So, that Classic. The newly named, original iPod is the only remaining hard drive based model, and it certainly shows its advantage. The Classic comes in 80GB and 160GB sizes, huge by any standards. The battery life is better, too, silencing one of the oldest complaints to dog Apple's MP3 player line. The new models have 40 or 30 hours for audio playback and seven or six hours for video.
The Nano lived up to the internet rumors. It's Fat. The little iPod now has video playback and Coverflow, although not the touch-screen version found on the Touch; Coverflow is browsed using the standard click wheel. Apple also managed to squeeze in a crazy-Hi-Res screen: 220ppi (against the iPhone's 160ppi), and it measures 2 inches on the diagonal.
The Nano also gets a few games. Sudoku is one, "Vortex" is another (a kind of Tempest/Arkonoid mash up). We'll have to see how good they are, but the addition of video and a bigger screen to the Nano is certainly welcome. Available in five colors, including RED, the Nano is available now for $150 for 4GB and $200 for 8GB.
The humble shuffle gets a tweak, but nothing more than a new color. The charitable (PRODUCT) RED joins the line, but otherwise it's still the same screen-less 1GB clip-on we've come to love.
ipod touch features the same revolutionary interface as iPhone. Built to take full advantage of the large 3.5-inch display, the multi-touch interface lets you control everything using only your fingers. So you can glide through albums with Cover Flow, flick through photos and enlarge them with a pinch, or zoom in and out on a section of a web page. And iPod touch features a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard perfect for browsing the web in Safari, searching for videos on YouTube, finding music on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, or adding new contacts.
Ambient Light Sensor
The iPod touch display has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness to suit the ambient light in your surroundings. The result? A better experience for you and battery-saving efficiency for iPod touch.
iPod touch ambient light sensor iPod touch accelerometer
Accelerometer
An accelerometer detects when you rotate iPod touch from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page, your music in Cover Flow, or a photo in its proper aspect ratio.
