The calm after the storm: After the “Showtime” event
Shhhhh, can you hear it? It is the sound of Apple’s servers MELTING! Unless you have been living in a cave, you knew Apple was having some little event to showcase the supposedly new “video” iPods and a movie store.
Those who we betting on a new video iPod must be sorely disappointed. All you got were brighter screens(I can barely contain myslef! j/k). Apple, this was a HUGE PR blunder, you need to learn how to manage your fanbois expectations.
In exchange for weeks of free publicity, and instead of the long rumored and much fabled iPod video, we did get:
5G iPod:
- 60% brighter screen.
- 3.5 hours of video playback.
- Gapless playback.
- New earphones.
- New quick scrolling feature using letters.
- Games added – Bejewled, Cubis 2, Mahjong, Mini golf, Pac Man, Tetris, Texas Hold Em, Vortex and Zuma.v
- Games will work on all 5G iPods, will cost $4.99 each from iTMS.
- White and black available.
- 30GB – $249
- 80GB – $349
Second-generation iPod nano (Commercial above):
- Aluminum, thinner – looks like thin iPod mini.
- Green, silver, black, blue, pink available.
- 24 hour battery life.
- New charger, armband, lanyard headphones.
- Available today.
- 2GB – $149
- 4GB – $199
- 8GB – $249
and a REALLY HOT LOOKING iPod shuffle:
- 10 million shuffles sold.
- Second-generation today.
- Metal body with white click wheel.
- 12-hour battery
- Size of iPod radio remote.
- World’s smallest mp3 player.
- Available October.
- 1GB – $79
Apple also gave us a peak into their secret laboratory, to showcase a future media device. Apple will releasing a wireless box for the TV, tenatively called iTV.
- Box is like 1/2 the size of Mac mini.
- USB, ethernet, 802.11 wireless, component video, optical audio, HDMI ports.
- Works with Apple Remote.
- Jobs demoing on stage.
- Interface is like next-generation Front Row software.
- Hi-res artwork, movie text.
- Video access is instantaneous.
- Looks like watching a DVD.
- Same videos play on iTunes, iPod and TV now.
- iTV works with iTunes on PC or Mac – available Q1 2007
- $299
