[Jawbone54]

New iPod...but not what people were hoping for, evidently...

From http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09...time/index.php

Without further ado, Jobs introduced Apple's new and improved video-capable iPod, with a screen that's 60 percent brighter. Battery life has been increased from 2 hours while playing video to 3.5 hours, Jobs says.

Also new is a new earphone design that took Apple 18 months to develop, said Jobs. Superficially, they look similar to the odl design -- they're still white.

The new iPod provides gapless playback, according to Jobs, which works with MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless and uncompressed music files. New software features have been added such as instant searching that uses the wheel to input letters and does a live search of iPod content.

As rumors has speculated in recent months, Apple's been hard at work on new games for the iPod -- while it still may not be a substitute for a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP, the new iPod features versions of popular casual games including Bejeweled, Mahjong, mini-golf, Pac-Man, Tetris, Cubis, Texas Hold 'Em, Vortex and Zuma -- all designed to work with the click wheel interfacem which has been retained.

More to come...

[Dakar]

I wanted real video.

[Nodnarb]

Still not out of the question yet dakar, he's only talkin about the nanons right now.

[Jawbone54]

Same here. But look...nano colors!!!

Apple is offering two iPod video models: a 30GB and 80GB version, both in white and black. The 30GB model is available for $249, the 80GB model for $349 -- less expensive that previous versions.

iPod nano, take 2

Jobs also unveiled the second generation of the slim iPod nano, Apple's color screen-equipped flash-based iPod that made its debut a year ago. "The iPod nano is the most popular MP3 player in the world," Jobs said.

Critics of the first iPod nano complained that the glossy front of the unit could be scratched too easily -- Apple has addressed that problem by making it out of aluminum, much as it does its MacBook Pro laptops.

"And we're bringing back colors," said Jobs -- harkening back to the iPod nano's predecessor, the venerable iPod mini. The iPod nano will be available in anodized blue, pink, green, silver and black.

[Brien]

Still, the new shuffles and $250 for 60 gigs is nice. I'm betting on true video after xmas.

[Jawbone54]

At least they're not going to scratch so easily. Thumbs up, in my book. I'm updating every minute or so.

The second-generation iPod nano also features a battery with better charge capacity than the first -- up to 24 hours of play, versus 14 for the first-generation nano.

The iPod nano debuts in three different models -- 2GB, 4GB and 8GB versions, priced at $149, $199 and $249.

What's more, the iPod nano ships in a smaller box than before -- it's barely bigger than the nano itself. Apple has similarly shrunk accessories like the battery charger. And accessories will be available including an armband and lanyard headphones with the new earbud design. And it works with the much vaunted Nike+iPod Sport Kit.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

Still not out of the question yet dakar, he's only talkin about the nanons right now.

You may be right. Perhaps it will be announced with the Movies.

[Goldfinger]

iPod Nano all models are 52% smaller in volume than previous nano. new charger, new armband, new lanyard.

iPod Invisa, anyone ?

[Dakar]

BTW, could the thread titles in the lounge get any worse, really.

[Brien]

Shuffle is anodized aluminum too. Who's willing to bet they're ditching the glossy plastic for good?

[Jawbone54]

Pod shuffle Rev 2

Also on stage today is the new iPod shuffle, a diminuitve flash-based digital music player that's even smaller than before. While the first-generation shuffle resembled a pack of stick gum, the new iPod shuffle takes it styling cues from the Apple Remote.

"Wearability" was of key importance to first-generation iPod shuffle owners, said Jobs. So Apple designed the new iPod shuffle in an aluminum case with a built-in clip. The headphone jack is also where the device charges and connects to the computer. Apple bills the new shuffle as the world's smalled MP3 player.

Available for pre-order and shipping in October, the 1GB iPod shuffle will cost $79.

Minor adjustments, it seems. Cool that it's shrinking even more though.

[Brien]

iTunes 7. Version number bloat since 5. :/

[Nodnarb]

That would make sense if the announced the video iPod with the video purchases (rentals???) but for some odd reason, I think that today's not the day. Hope to be proven wrong!

[Jawbone54]

iTunes 7

Apple on Tuesday released iTunes 7, a new version of its popular music jukebox and online music download store. The new software has been organized into sections -- separate libraries for music, movies, TV shows, podcast and radio.

Here we go...

Sorry about the thread title, Dakar. You're probably right, but inspiration was loooow...

[Jawbone54]

A three-position switch alternates between different views, and a new view has been added called Album View, which puts album art and all tracks from the album so you can scroll by album now, if you wish.

What's more, iTunes will now populate your music collection with album cover art if the cover art is missing, and if you have an iTunes Music Store account.

Very nice feature with the cover art. Small but I like it.

[EDIT]MORE

"We may not have everything, but we have 3.5 million songs of album artwork," Jobs remarked. "If you've got an iTunes account, iTunes will automatically download it for free."

A third view is called Cover Flow View. It enables you to find songs more quickly by album cover -- it's a window that shows a 3D representation of album covers above your music list.

[Landos Mustache]

Who wants that iPod video? Nobody cares it is brighter with new games and headphones... the screen is still too damn small!

Also everyone already has an iPod, making a small iPod smaller isn't going to get people to upgrade.

[Nodnarb]

10:26 am iLounge: 3 different views of iTunes, list view, album view (with art and tracks), then "cover flow view" lets you rapidly find what you want by album cover
10:25 am iLounge: iTunes will give you cover art for free if you are missing cover art (thanks Steve)


Wow! Time machine like! Impressive

[zwiebel_]

Any pics of the new pod at the stage, or just talk and charts??

[Jawbone54]

mprovements to video

"We announced TV shows less than a year ago," Jobs said. "Since then over 45 million TV shows have been downloaded."

The iTunes Music Store has expanded from five shows to more than 220 and from one network to more than 40, including ever major network, said Jobs.

Shows downloaded from the iTunes Music Store are encoded at 320 x 240 pixel resolution. "Today we are taking [resolution] up a notch," said Jobs. "We are going to increase that resolution four times, and all video will be at 640 x 480."

Video improvements.

[mitchell_pgh]

Many of these things sound great. iTunes 7 is a nice bump IMHO. The cover artwork always bothered me. I hope they have good artwork... not stuff worse than Amazon.

[Landos Mustache]

"correction: it appears as though the nano's packaging is 52% smaller, not the nano itself."

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

Many of these things sound great. iTunes 7 is a nice bump IMHO. The cover artwork always bothered me. I hope they have good artwork... not stuff worse than Amazon.

I do have one piece of legenderily bad artwork from iTMS, but the rest has been large and good.

[waxcrash]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

iPod Nano all models are 52% smaller in volume than previous nano. new charger, new armband, new lanyard.

iPod Invisa, anyone ?

The Nano packaging is 53% smaller, not the Nano itself.

[Dakar]

How is 640x 4 times? Isn't it only twice?

[Jawbone54]

iTunes 7 features gapless playback, of course, and also lets users manage the iPod from right inside of iTunes -- no more having to fiddle with iTunes' preferences to get your iPod configured. iTunes can search for music library for albums that are meant to be played in gapless fashion, and sets them to work that way.

A frequent complaint of iPod users is that the iPod only synchronizes content on one computer at a time, even if both computers are authorized with the iTunes Music Store. Now you can take your iPod, sync it with a computer, move it to a different authoried computer, and content will "flow back" to the new computer, so you can transfer purchased music between authorized computers using an iPod.

iTunes 7 also shows the games you've downloaded from the iTunes Music Store in your library, so you can see instructions and other information.

Blah, blah, blah...I don't even have time to read it all yet.

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by Dakar

How is 640x 4 times? Isn't it only twice?

320x240 = 76900
640x480 = 307200

While technically true, it's still just marketing BS. The image is twice as large.

[Gossamer]

One more thing...video.

What, no iphone?

[Dakar]

Twas what I thought.

[Goldfinger]

Movies.

iLounge: Today, films from Walt Disney, Pixar, Touchstone, Miramax. (all Disney owned)

[waxcrash]

Come on Apple, update the website. I want to see what the new Nanos look like.

[Nodnarb]

Only Disney :/

[mabaker]

I'm sensing MANY disappointed friends of mac. LOL

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Dakar

How is 640x 4 times? Isn't it only twice?

2 x 2 = 4

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by Dakar

How is 640x 4 times? Isn't it only twice?

320 x 240 = 76800 pixels
640 x 480 = 307200 pixels

76800 pixels x 4 = 307200 pixels

Regarding the movie service:
Color me unimpressed.

[Goldfinger]

iLounge: U.S. now, International in 2007.

hah !

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

320x240 = 76900
640x480 = 307200

While technically true, it's still just marketing BS. The image is twice as large.

The width and height are twice as large, the image is four times as large. This is a huge jump in resolution: quadruple, not double.

[Jawbone54]

iTunes 7 is available today

One more thing ... movies

"But there is one more thing," said Jobs. "And that is movies. Today I want to talk about adding movies to the iTunes Store and the whole IT-IP experience. Today we're starting out with films from Disney, Pixar, Touchstone and Miramax -- four studios owned by Walt Disney Co."

The service launches with more than 75 films online, starting today. Apple is adding more, including Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and Cars. New releases are priced at $12.99 for pre-orders and during their first week of release. After that they increase to $14.99, though older "library titles" will be priced at $9.99 every day.

Movies available for download from the iTunes Store are shown at 640 x 480 resolution in "near-DVD quality," according to Jobs. Jobs said that if you have 5 Megabit per second broadband service -- not uncommon for cable modem users -- you can expect to download a full-length movie in roughly a half an hour. What's more, you can start watching the movie in as little as a minute, while it's still downloading.

To ease that process, iTunes now has a Download Manager that lets you watch items you're downloading from the store, and you can switch priorities if you're downloading multiple files.

Jobs described the audio quality as "Dolby Surround." Usage rights for movies purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store are the same as the TV shows -- so you can't burn them to disc, though you can share them among multiple authorized computers and video iPods. And parental controls have been updated with MPAA ratings.

"We hope to take this international in 2007," added Jobs.

I was hoping for a different "one more thing."

[Landos Mustache]

that isn't even DVD quality. Shame considering the iMac 24" would be good for hi-def.

[Jawbone54]

Definitely need the other studios to sign on. If Disney, Pixar, Touchstone, and Miramax is all they get for a while, then Amazon's service might take off with it.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

Regarding the movie service:
Color me unimpressed.

Why? If (and/or when) Apple offers a subscription service, it would be better than Netflix. 30 minutes and it's there.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by Stradlater

2 x 2 = 4

Yes, they got all technical and said resolution. The window is only twice as big.

[dale]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

320x240 = 76900
640x480 = 307200

While technically true, it's still just marketing BS. The image is twice as large.

images ocupy areas. The image is twice as large, in two directions so it is 4 times as large. This is not marketing BS as you put it, it is correct.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

that isn't even DVD quality. Shame considering the iMac 24" would be good for hi-def.

It's close to DVD quality, just not HD-DVD.

[Landos Mustache]

Originally Posted by Stradlater

Why? If (and/or when) Apple offers a subscription service, it would be better than Netflix. 30 minutes and it's there.

The problem is the don't, that is why a $15 movie at less then DVD quality isn't that impressive.

[Dork.]

The new iPod provides gapless playback, according to Jobs, which works with MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless and uncompressed music files.

Yay! This means that all of my E-mails, phone calls, and stalking of Apple employees to get this feature added (and the restraining orders that they resulted in) have paid off!

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Dakar

Yes, they got all technical and said resolution. The window is only twice as big.

Twice as long, twice as high, yes. Twice as big? No. (Sorry for being a technical stickler, here, but really, it's quite a bit more; there's a reason televisions aren't measured by width or height, but diagonal.)

[Jawbone54]

Jobs then introduced Disney President and CEO Bob Iger. He called Disney and Apple's first partnership to bring TV shows to the iTunes Store last year "a breakthrough," and added that "the marriage of great content and great technology -- and of great user interface -- is truly a killer application."

This type really gets on my nerves. If Roz Ho, for God knows what reason, comes in...

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by Stradlater

Twice as long, twice as high, yes. Twice as big? No. (Sorry for being a technical stickler, here, but really, it's quite a bit more; there's a reason televisions aren't measured by width or height, but diagonal.)

Stradlater, what does it say when I right click a movie widow in iTunes and go from 320x to 640x?

[ort888]

Underwhelming.

[Kerrigan]

I'm happy with these updates. First off, I would never watch a video on the go, so the idea of a "true video iPod" has never been very appealing. If people really wanted such a thing, then wouldn't portable video have taken off with the PSP? Or any of the other similar devices?

I'm just happy that the scratchy Nano has been ditched in favour of a metallic casing, and that there are new shuffles. Call me crazy but I've always liked the shuffle.

Also, thumbs up for the movie store.