Apple's Show-And-Tell: Redesigned iPods, Smaller $99 TV

Just In Time For Christmas....

 APPLE rolled out its new products and improvements at its SEPTEMBER showcase in SAN FRANCISCO and the biggest news concerns a near-total renovation of its iPOD line and its new, smaller, far more inexpensive APPLE TV.

JOBS began the presentation touting the renovation at retail stores around the world, then notes that its App Store has downloaded over 6.5 billion apps now -- 200 apps every second There are over 250,000 apps on the store, and of those 250,000, 25,000 are iPAD apps

He then introduced the iOS 4.1, which will be available next week in iPHONES and the iPOD Touch, which offers the ability to upload HD video over WiFi and High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos. When you turn on HDR, is actually three photos taken in rapid succession -- one under-exposed, one normal, and one over-exposed. They're then combined to produce an HDR photo, which creates better clarity. It also has a Game Center, which offers multiplayer games, and provides TV show rentals.

In NOVEMBER, the iPAD will have iOS 4.2, which will offer a printer and AirPlay, which enables you to stream music (a la AirTunes) as well as photos and video. It will also be made avaiable for iPHONE, iPAD, iPOD Touch.

Speaking of iPODS....

JOBS noted that APPLE has sold upwards of 275 million iPODS ...and all of the new models have been redesigned. The new iPOD Shuffle has regained buttons and retains the "voiceover" and playlist features of the previous generation. The square device, to retail for $49, includes a built-in clip and can hold 15 hours of music.

The iPOD Nano is now a small square device with a multitouch screen, FM radio, no click wheel, and built-in clip, but has lost the camera included in the previous version. The radically redesigned Nano can hold 24 hours' worth of audio and will retail for $149 for the 8 GB version and $179 for the 16 GB version, available in six colors.

The iPOD Touch has been redesigned as thinner but has not adopted the iPHONE 4 design. It has, however, gained the "retina display" screen of the iPHONE 4, as well as the A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, a front-facing camera with FaceTime, and a rear-facing camera that records HD video. The device is capable of holding 42 hours' worth of audio. The 8GB model will retail for $229, the 32 GB version for $299, and a new 64 GB version will retail for $399.

Name That iTUNES....

After noting that people have downloaded over 11.7 billion songs from iTUNES, JOBS asserted that the new iTunes 10 will sport a new logo that retains the musical note but drops the CD in the background. The new version adds "Ping," a social network for music that allows users to follow friends and celebrities to find out what they are listening to, plus customized "top 10" charts compiled from music being listened to by a user's friends and reviews posted by users. He also showed off a "hybrid view" that adds album artwork for any listing of more than five songs from a single album. 

The New Tiny TV

The press event's "one more thing" was the expected unveiling of the revamped APPLE TV ("one more hobby." a reference to JOBS' characterization of the previous version as a "hobby"). Admitting that the original was "not a big hit" but noting that users "love them," and saying that users want "HOLLYWOOD movies and TV shows whenever they want... They don't want amateur hour. They want HD... They don't want a computer on their TV," JOBS said,"we made something new."

He then showed off the new APPLE TV, a much smaller device than the original, slightly larger than a cell phone, that includes Wi-Fi HDMI, USB, optical audio and Ethernet ports. The device is built around rental of content, allowing rental but not purchase of movies and TV shows, and has no storage on the device and no syncing, going to a streaming model instead. Content will be available for $4.99 per movie (day and date releases with DVD) and 99 cents per TV shows, with ABC and FOX on board from the start.

The device will also offer NETFLIX streaming, YOUTUBE, FLICKR photos and access to MOBILEME accounts. In addition, the AirTunes revamp as AirPlay allows content to be streamed from any iOS device, like an iPAD, to the APPLE TV. The device will retail for $99, a large price drop from the originals $229. It will ship in four weeks, with pre-orders beginning TODAY.

The event closed with a performance from COLDPLAY's CHRIS MARTIN.

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