A Recap of the September 2010 Apple Event

Here is a recap of today’s event.

iPods

• iPod shuffle has buttons added back on it similar to the second generation model, genius mixes were added and battery life improves to 24 hours. Prices start at $49 for 2 GB.

• iPod Nano gets a multitouch screen, a clip is added (like the shuffle), it’s 46% smaller and 42% lighter. The Nano no longer has a click wheel, camera or the ability to play games. The pricing remains the same as current models.
• iPod Touch has a front facing camera added that allows FaceTime to run on the iPod Touch, a retina display, A4 Chip and HD recording. Those are all the same features as the iPhone 4. Prices are 8GB $229, 32GB $299, 64GB $399. There’s no 16 GB iPod Touch.
• The iPod Classic is still available but it’s days are numbered. It wasn’t mentioned during the event but remains unchanged.

ITunes

There are a few small improvements to the iTunes UI but iTunes 10 is all about Social Networking.

The new feature called Ping, is sort of a Facebook and Twitter integrated into iTunes. You can follow friends and artist similar to the other social networking sites but this is primarily focused around music. This makes it easy to discover music, videos and concert. The feature is also available on the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad.

Apple TV

Apple TV has been completely overhauled. First off, the name remains Apple TV, it wasn’t renamed iTV and the device won’t run iOS apps.

The new Apple TV is 1/4 the size of the old Apple TV, it doesn’t have a hard drive and there is no longer a option to buy movies from the device. Apple TV relies on streaming for all of it’s content. You can stream movies from iTunes, Netflix and Youtube. You can stream photos your computer, MobileMe and Flickr. You can also stream your music from iTunes to Apple TV.

One of the coolest features is the ability to stream content from any iOS device to Apple TV. A new feature with iOS 4.2 will add the ability to stream videos straight from a iPhone, Ipod Touch or iPad to Apple TV.

The Apple TV price is $99 and will ship in about 4 weeks, it is available now to pre-order.

iPad

The only information about the iPad revealed is iOS 4.2 will be released in November and there will be a couple new features added.
iOS 4.2 for the iPad will bring wireless printing, AirPlay (allows streaming to Apple TV), a new game center, and all the other features that iOS 4 has for the iPhone.

The biggest changes are to the iPod Nano and Apple TV. What do you think about the changes, does having a Nano now make owning a Shuffle pointless? Will the new Apple TV become more than a hobby?

Let us know what you think.

Originally posted 2010-09-02 01:36:27.