Apple’s new releases: The full screen iPod, dubbed the iPod touch, takes its design cues and many of its features from the iPhone. The gadget, which will come in an 8-gigabyte model for $299 and a 16-gigabyte model for $399, is the first iPod model to include a WiFi antenna. With the antenna, users will be able to connect to a new wireless version of the iTunes store to preview and buy songs.
iPhone users will also be able to access the wireless iTunes store. And, as part of a new deal between Apple and Starbucks, Starbucks customers will be able to log on to iTunes for free wirelessly to buy songs and find out which songs the Starbucks store has recently played. Additionally, the iPod touch will be able to use a WiFi connection to surf the Internet via a built-in Web browser and display YouTube videos. However, the company apparently didn’t build in any communications software such as an email program or instant messaging software.
The new nano will replace a device that Jobs dubbed the “most popular music player in history.” The new model will include a two-inch screen and will be smaller, if wider, than its predecessor. In addition to playing videos, the device will also play games and include the company’s Cover Flow feature, which lets users scan through their music collection by viewing album cover art.
The other updates were more minor. The only change that Apple announced to the shuffle were color changes. The company will still only offer one capacity - one gigabyte - and the shuffle will remain at $79.
The hard-drive based iPod, renamed the iPod classic, also continues largely unchanged, except for a capacity increase. The company will offer two versions: an 80-gigabyte model for $249 and a massive 160-gigabyte model for $349. Formerly, at those same prices, the company offered 30-gigabyte and 80-gigabyte models. The announcements came as Apple’s lineup was starting to look long-in-the tooth and sales were starting to slow. Apple’s revenue from iPod fell year-over-year for the first time ever in the first quarter this year and grew less than five percent in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, a survey by research firm iSuppli released Tuesday suggested that iPhone sales had slowed markedly after their first days on store shelves and were not on pace to meet Apple’s own forecast for current quarter sales.
iPhone users will also be able to access the wireless iTunes store. And, as part of a new deal between Apple and Starbucks, Starbucks customers will be able to log on to iTunes for free wirelessly to buy songs and find out which songs the Starbucks store has recently played. Additionally, the iPod touch will be able to use a WiFi connection to surf the Internet via a built-in Web browser and display YouTube videos. However, the company apparently didn’t build in any communications software such as an email program or instant messaging software.
The new nano will replace a device that Jobs dubbed the “most popular music player in history.” The new model will include a two-inch screen and will be smaller, if wider, than its predecessor. In addition to playing videos, the device will also play games and include the company’s Cover Flow feature, which lets users scan through their music collection by viewing album cover art.
The other updates were more minor. The only change that Apple announced to the shuffle were color changes. The company will still only offer one capacity - one gigabyte - and the shuffle will remain at $79.
The hard-drive based iPod, renamed the iPod classic, also continues largely unchanged, except for a capacity increase. The company will offer two versions: an 80-gigabyte model for $249 and a massive 160-gigabyte model for $349. Formerly, at those same prices, the company offered 30-gigabyte and 80-gigabyte models. The announcements came as Apple’s lineup was starting to look long-in-the tooth and sales were starting to slow. Apple’s revenue from iPod fell year-over-year for the first time ever in the first quarter this year and grew less than five percent in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, a survey by research firm iSuppli released Tuesday suggested that iPhone sales had slowed markedly after their first days on store shelves and were not on pace to meet Apple’s own forecast for current quarter sales.