Danny Gorog10 September 2008, 5:56 AM
Apple has introduced new iPods, including the iPod Nano 4G and a refreshed iPod Touch, which recommend tracks you might like. Plus: a major iPhone bug-fix.
If you've been keeping up with the rumors on the web regarding Apple's 'Let's Rock' event then this morning's presentation might feel like old news.
Apple kicked off the event by introducing iTunes 8, with 'Genius'. The 'Genius' function automatically creates playlists from songs in your library that go together well - via a single click.
It has been integrated into the new iPod Nano, Touch and iPhone 2.1 firmware. Genius communicates with Apple anonymously to constantly improve suggestions. In iTunes, the new Genius sidebar can also present you with songs from the iTunes store that you might like. Like any networked system, the more information Apple has to crunch, the smarter and more accurate the recommendations will become.
Above: the new iPod family - Touch, Classic, Nano and Shuffle.
Before you use Genius though, you'll need to agree to Apple's terms and conditions and accept the fact that Apple will analyse your data before it makes recommendations. On my 40GB library, setting up Genius took around 15 minutes.
As has been customary, Apple used the event to trumpet how big and powerful they now are in the media industry. Despite the background noise of other music stores from Microsoft and our own BigPond (which, in case you missed it, is now selling iPod compatible MP3 files, not just the old Windows Media abominations), Apple is now the biggest show in town when it comes to music. It has over 8.5 million songs, 125,000 podcasts, 30,000 TV Shows, 2,600 movies, and over 3000 apps for iPhone and iPod Touch. The subliminal message from Steve Jobs: 'you can't touch this'. Boom tish.
Then it was on to the iPod. They've sold 160 million. iPod still retains a market share of 73.4 percent, way ahead of 'other' in position two and SanDisk in three.
The bad news: fans of the big 160GB classic model, good for carrying masses of video or being used as an external hard drive, will today be upset as Apple has killed it, re-introducing the Classic in only one flavour - 120GB for $339. Clearly, Apple is intent on killing off hard-drive based iPods sooner rather than later.
Next, the already well known 4G iPod with curved aluminum design with curved glass made its entrance. It has a new UI, comes with an accelerometer a la iPhone and Touch and is available in 8GB ($199) and 16GB ($279) versions in nine new colours.
New features include 'Genius' mode to automatically create playlists directly on the Nano 4G. To shuffle your music you just shake -- hopefully, given the Nano's popularity with joggers, this feature is fine tuned to require vigorous shaking, not just the gentle canter of a jogging salaryman. Nano 4G plays 24 hours of music and 4 hours of video on a charge.
In a further attempt to placate Greenpeace, Apple also presented an Environmental Checklist report card for the Nano which it gave itself pass marks for in all notable areas including Arsenic-free glass, Mercury-free and highly recyclable. No doubt Greenpeace will find that the hold switch is made of lead or something.
There's also a new pair of headphones for the new Nano which comes with a clicker like the iPhone - however rather than being used to hang up phone calls, you can use it to advance or rewind a track. It also has a mic for voice recording (a new feature built in to the Nano 4G).
iPod Touch was next on agenda, and as expected, it has been put on a diet from a size perspective, but has gained features - features the original iPod Touch should have had, like physical volume buttons on the side and a built-in speaker. It's also got Genius playlist creation, and, as rumored, Apple has integratde Nike+ technology to the touch.
The new iPod Touch can play 36 hours of music, 6 hours of video, also has an 'environmentally sound' design, and comes in the same three sizes, 8GB ($329), 16GB ($419) and 32GB ($549).
To close the show, Jobs also announced the much anticipated iPhone 2.1 software update, a big update which fixes lots of bugs, improves battery life and backup times. It should be available on Friday, and we'll have a full report then.