New Ipods, Wireless Itunes, iPhone Price Cut, Oh My

Well, Apple’s big media event just wrapped up a few minutes ago. There was a ton of new stuff revealed (although not many surprises). Here’s a quick summary of what Steve Jobs showed off during the morning’s festivities.

• Downloadable ringtones for iPhone from iTunes:
  • Choose from about 500,000 tracks
  • Ringtones just 99 cents each
  • Any segment up to 30 seconds can made into a ringtone
  • Can’t convert full songs purchased into ringtones

Entire iPod line getting “refreshed” for 2007 holiday season…

• iPod Shuffle
  • New colors: Purple, Silver, Cyan, Green and Red (benefits RED)
  • Ships: Today (9/5/2007)
  • Prices: $79 for 1GB

• iPod Nano
  • Even tinier than before (measures 2.75″ x 2.06″ x 0.26″)
  • Short, squat design with large screen and tiny scroll wheel
  • Brighter display than 2G Nano
  • Plays games and videos
  • QVGA (320×240) resolution on 2-inch screen (wow!)
  • New user interface:
    • High res album artwork
    • Cover flow view of albums
  • Includes three free games (Vortex, iQuiz and Klondike)
  • Anodized aluminum case
  • Colors: Black, Silver, Cyan, Green and Red (benefits RED)
  • Battery life: 24 hours for audio /5 hours for video
  • Ships: Today (9/5/2007)
  • Prices: $199 for 8GB / $149 for 4GB

• iPod Classic (replaces 5.5G iPod)
  • Two models: 80GB and 160GB (huge!)
  • Hard drive based
  • 160GB model can hold a whopping 40,000 tunes
  • Thinner than the previous (5.5G) iPods
    (80GB is .41″ thick / 160GB is .53″ thick)
  • Includes three free games (Vortex, iQuiz and Klondike)
  • Anodized aluminum case
  • Colors: Black, White
  • Battery life: 40 hours for audio / 7 hours for video
  • Prices: $249 for 80GB / $349 for 160GB
  • Ships: This Week (9/5/2007)

• iPod Touch
  • Literally an iPhone without the phone
  • Exactly same multi-touch screen interface as iPhone
  • Includes calendar, clock, contacts, just no phone
  • Looks like no Google Maps either
  • Still includes Wi-fi, Safari and YouTube too
  • Unlike iPhone, no speakers or microphone
  • Battery life: 22 hours for audio / 5 hours for video
  • Prices: $299 for 8GB / $399 for 16GB
  • Ships: Late September (9/28/2007)
  • Available worldwide, unlike iPhone

• and one more thing… the iTunes Wi-Fi Store
  • Purchase and download tracks directly to iPod Touch
    (and iPhone after a software update due later this month)
  • Ability to search the entire store from the iPod via Wi-Fi
    (EDGE support not revealed at this point)
  • Song previews available before purchase
  • Can reverse-sync purchases into iTunes
  • Just as fast as the desktop version thanks to Wi-Fi
  • Available in all 22 countries where there’s iTunes
  • Starbucks partnership to allow instant purchase of tracks you hear (or any of the last 10 tracks played) when you’re grabbing your coffee (yawn)

• and one more, one more thing… iPhone Price Cut
  • 8GB model cut to $399 from $599
  • 4GB model : Discontinued
    (although if you can find one quick, they’re supposedly just $299!)
  • Since there will be a 16GB iPod Touch, I’d lay odds on a 16GB iPhone by the end of the year for $499

All in all, I’m excited about the new iPod Nanos and the iPod Touch, as they have been designed around new hardware. The Shuffle is just getting color changes and the Classic, just a bit more storage and battery life. All the iPods with screens are also getting a spanking new interface, which is cool too. The iPod Touch and iPhone price cut are sure to anger those of us who just spent $600 on the iPhone. I suppose that’s the price you pay for being an early adopter.

I couldn’t care less about the ringtones and Starbucks announcements, but I’m sure some of you will at least enjoy the designer ringtones. Corporate types always get jazzed about business deals between big brand names, but I’m not convinced that there will be armies of minions lined up with their iPods downloading tunes while ordering up their double-tall-extra-hot-no-foam-half-caf-lattes. At least you won’t have to pay for Wi-fi access while downloading tracks in store.

The iTunes wireless store has been anticipated for a long time, and I’m glad that Apple finally bit the bullet and will be offering this useful feature.

[some images via Engadget]