Posted on 09/05/2007 12:16:14 PM PDT by martin_fierro
Apple unveils new wireless iPod Touch
By Ben Farmer Last Updated: 7:53pm BST 05/09/2007
A new generation of iPod player with an extra wide screen and wireless internet connection has been unveiled by Apple.
Apple boss Steve Jobs unveils the next generation iPods Steve Jobs unveils the next generation iPod
The newest incarnation of the iconic MP3 player will allow users to surf the web, store photos, watch internet videos and download music directly to the device.
The new "iPod Touch", features a 3.5-inch, touch-screen display on which light finger touches allow the user to scroll through menus, and use two fingers to resize pictures.
The wireless internet access and the Safari web browser, including the Google and Yahoo search engines, offers access to the popular YouTube video-sharing website.
The iPod touch will be available in the UK later this month. An 8GB memory version capable of holding up to 1,750 songs will cost £199 and the 16GB model holding 3,500 songs will cost £269. advertisement
It comes in bright colours and is a much squarer shape than previous generations of the gadget.
Speaking from his companys headquarters in San Francisco, California, Steve Jobs, chief executive and founder of Apple joked that his companys new iPod was "one of the seven wonders of the world".
"This is the revolution in how to enjoy your music," he said.
The device was unveiled in a launch broadcast live from California to eager Apple enthusiasts and journalists around the world. Every new announcement was met with whoops and cheers.
Mr Jobs also unveiled the new iPod Nano, which features a 2.5-inch screen for watching movies and playing built-in games. "Its incredibly tiny. Its incredibly thin," he said.
The Nano features a 320-by-240-pixel screen with 24 hours of audio playback. "We think its really, really beautiful," Mr Jobs said.
The company also plans to release the sleek iPhone in the UK before Christmas priced somewhere between £300 and £400.
The eagerly awaited launch of the new iPod touch comes a year after Apple last updated the iPod range and the latest models mark the sixth generation of the hugely popular music player.
Since it was first launched in November 2001 it has become an iconic symbol of the digital world and more than 110 million have been sold across the globe.
The portable music player transformed the fortunes of Apple and helped lead a music industry revolution which has seen a collapse in sales of tapes and CDs.
iPod sales accounted for 29 per cent of the companys £2.7billion revenue in the last quarter while its iTunes store is the worlds most popular online digital media shop and has sold more than three billion songs.
The huge sums of money at stake have seen other manufacturers and retailers including Microsoft aggressively trying to muscle in on the market but Apple is hoping the new models will help maintain its dominance.
The company controls more than two-thirds of the MP3 player market but sales have begun to slip as the market reaches saturation.
Michael Gartenberg of market research firm Gartner said: "Competitors seem to always be chasing the last generation of Apple products. It makes it very difficult for competitors to make a dent against Apple in this space."
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The 1.8” drives in 120gb+ capacity take up too much power for the touchscreen box to provide - and they get REALLY hot, so they’d distort the screen.
The new iPod touch looks good, but is approaching PDA levels. I’m waiting for the third party developers to come up with 1,500 calculators and weather gadgets (with cover-flow forecasts!). :-P
I’m most interested in the new larger screen iPod nano with video for $149. That being said, I would prefer to have a waterproof version since my workouts consist mainly of swimming.
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Apple blew it - again.
4 x 3 format screen, when the rest of the world is going 16 x 9.
The little black iPod Nano has my name all over it. I called 2 stores. Both said they do not know when they will be in stock. I’m assuming it will be a matter of days.
There are a few of those out there, but as usual they're big and clunky. Don't worry, it'll be done right when Apple decides to go to 16:9.
Blew it *again*? Yea the whole iPod thing has been one flop after another... /sarc
From apple’s description on their site - “...using multi-touch technology that lets you bring up onscreen controls and go widescreen (or back to full screen) with a tap.”
Look at their site, and they’ve got a quicktime of it in action
Yes, Again. My 30 GB Video iPod has a 4x3 Screen, yet most of the music videos and TV shows available are 16x9.
Apple failed to put a 16x9 screen on this version of the iPod, AGAIN.
They got it right on the iPhone, so they do know the difference.
I thought the iPod touch is essentially the same screen ratio as an iPhone right?
Sorry to answer my own question, but yeah it is widescreen according to their site (and the pics seem to verify it):
http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/
The iPod Nano has the 4x3 screen
Looks like the Markets weren’t impressed today. AAPL down 7.40 or 5%...
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