Apple Announces New iPods, iTunes 10 with Ping, New Apple TV, More

At a packed media event today Apple announced some new things that were met mostly with enthusiasm by the attending crowd. Among these new things was iOS 4.1 and 4.2, new iPods and a new version of the Apple TV.

Here’s a summary of the announcements:

iOS 4.1 – iOS 4.2

• High Dynamic Range photos: Takes three photos and combines them to form one better one.

• Proximity sensor, Bluetooth and the iPhone 3G.

• High-definition video upload over Wi-Fi.

• TV show rentals and purchase

• Game Center debut

iOS 4.2

• Brings iPad up-to-date with iPhone 4 including folders, better multitasking, etc.

The iOS 4.1 update will be available next week through iTunes. iOS 4.2 will come in November.

New iPod Nano

• New square design
• Touchscreen interface
• VoiceOver
• FM radio
• Nike+ and pedometer
• 24-hour battery life
• Six colors
• $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB
• Preorder today, shipping in a week

New iPod Touch

• Slimmer
• Apple A4 chipset
• Retina Display ( same as on iPhone 4)
• FaceTime – iPod Touch to iPod Touch and iPod Touch to iPhone 4
• Front and rear facing camera
• 720p video recording
• $229 for the 8GB version, $299.00 for 32 Gig, $399.00 for 64 Gig
• Preorder today. Shipping in a week

iTunes 10

• New Logo (no more CD)
• Interface tweaks including list view cover art
• Ping – Social Network for Music – Track friends musical selections, recommend music, like “Facebook and Twitter for music.”
• Available for download today

New Apple TV

• Smaller – 1/4 the size of the previous version
• Built-in power supply
• HDMI and Ethernet connector
• Optical Audio Out
• Onboard 802.11N WiFi
• New Remote
• Movie and TV Rentals ONLY, no more purchases – All HD (when available)
• Content delivered via streaming, no more downloads
• Also will stream from Netflix
• Preorder now for $99.00, shipping within the next four weeks.

Well, there you have it. A whole bunch of new Apple stuff. The iPod Touch seems pretty cool as well as the new Apple TV. Although, I was hoping for a model where you could both rent and purchase movies and TV content because sometimes I like to buy stuff and keep it. I guess that’s what Blu-ray is for — especially as the video is 1080p where the Apple TV video caps at 720p.