Apple Releases New Touch Screen iPod

JSM writes to tell us that Apple released a new version of their popular iPod music player today that boasts, among other things, an iPhone-like touch screen and Wi-Fi capabilities. "The iPod Touch will feature the Safari Internet browser and, like the iPhone, play YouTube videos. Apple also announced a new version of its iTunes music store that will allow users to buy songs wirelessly. iTunes will also sell customizable 99-cent ringtones for the iPhone."

Comments

4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[elysian1]

For those that are interested, the 4GB iPhone is on sale for $299 while supplies last: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/A ppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=BC784DCD&nplm=MA501LL/A The price of the 8GB iPhone dropped as well to $399.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[Edgewize]

Given that one has to sign a contract with AT&T, I don't see the point of the hack if you have to pay double line fees to use on TMobile. I can wait a few years for a real one

Not true. You can walk into an Apple store, pay, and walk out with an iPhone in under two minutes. No paperwork.

You are presented with the AT&T contract when you first try to sync/activate the phone. The whole point of the hack is that it bypasses the activation process, thus cutting AT&T out of the picture.

Re:Take That

[toQDuj]

But really, this looks like a little more than "just" an ipod. I mean, which ipod comes with a (fully functional) web browser? I assume it also runs on this iphone lean OS X. So it's like an UMPC. No microphone though, not yet (although some ipods have them as acc.), I'm thinking skype here...

B.

current round-up

[chriss]

iPod shuttle
just new colors
1GB, $US79

iPod nano
all new with 320*240 2" screen, can play video, coverflow, brighter display
4GB $149, 8GB $US 199
slighly wider, but much shorter, 20% heavier than previous model

iPod classic
like the old iPod, now with 80GB/160GB instead of 30GB/80GB, coverflow
80GB $249, 160GB $US 349

iPod touch
like the iPhone without the phone
slightly smaller and slimmer: iPhone is 45% thicker
8mm thin
WiFi, Safari
8GB $US 299, 16GB $US 399

iPhone
killed the 4GB version
reduced 8GB version from $US599 to $US 399
11.6mm thin

Re:current round-up

[chriss]

Did apply screw me with a whole new form factor/docking connector layout?

Probably not. Apple's universal dock came in one size with adapters for the smaller iPod nano. That adapter is just a piece of plastic, so the actual connector works with any iPod/iPhone. Should be the same with the Audi, you might need that piece of plastic to make it fit tightly, but it should work without.

Re:current round-up

[justme8800]

Um, yeah... of course the files have to go through iTunes, there's not any other way to get them on the iPod short of hacking the firmware. The article isn't in error, iTunes can add the tag, but it can also add the tag to any audio file it plays, not just the ones it encodes. All it takes is a select all > gapless action. And according to a quick google, iTunes does use the LAME-gapless tag, not that it matters.

Complaints about iTunes' open OGG, FLAC, and Linux incompatibility are perfectly legitimate. No one is forcing you to buy an iPod. But don't go around parading that it doesn't have features it's had for years. We've got enough FUD blowing around as it is.

Re:AAPL down 3.5%

[AKAImBatman]

http://www.thestreet.com/s/iphone-shift-bruises-ap ple/newsanalysis/techtelecom/10378004.html?cm_ven= CBSM&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

"The iPhone buzz is wearing off.

"AT&T (T - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) shares dropped 2% Wednesday after Apple (AAPL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) made two moves that took a little more sparkle off this summer's heavily hyped smartphone debut. "

Re:meh.

[Constantine XVI]

According to the WP, the original NOMAD Jukebox had 6GB of memory, and the Jukebox 2 had 10GB.

The iPod is no longer lame.

Re:Boned and cool

[chriss]

Phatpod iPod Nano - Like your sleek device for workouts? Too bad, go get a Shuffle - BONED

Don't get fooled: The new nano isn't that much wider: 52mm vs 40mm for the old version, but it's much shorter: 70mm instead of 90mm. Thickness remains the same with 6.5mm, weight goes up to 49g from 40g. So it looks much fatter, but actually it isn't, it's just slightly bigger.

Re:Not impressed with the new Fat Nano

[Wesley Felter]

Hacked Ipodtouch + Skype = Goodness?

What good is Skype if you have no microphone?

Re:argh

[djh101010]

weren't there still issues with the iphone and gmail? Dunno, been using it since week 2 (didn't want to wait in line), haven't seen a problem - what's the nature of the issues that I should be seeing?

reports of the iPhone death are exaggerated

[objekt]

An iPod Touch, with almost the same feature set as the iPhone, without the stupid Phone part, at a much cheaper price. Tough choice there... Feel sorry for the people who actually bought the iPhone now :/

Not so much cheaper. The iPhone 8Gig is now just $399. The 4Gig is $299 while supplies last.

Re:AAPL down 3.5%

[Mononoke]

Due to pre-anouncement speculation, Apple stock always rises, then fall immediately after the event. Jobs could announce a cure for cancer, and the stock would still fall.

Re:Have they started with the subsidizing?

[Lally Singh]

It's always costed them ~$250 to make.

Re:AAPL down 3.5%

[Mattintosh]

Just some (attempted) profit-taking. Everybody buys AAPL right before an announcement, then sells shortly afterward to get some fast cash. Only the ones that buy several days in advance make anything, but the effect is tried-and-true. It's been happening around every Apple product announcement for the last couple of decades, with varying share prices of course.

Re:Keyboard display?

[furball]

There will be a keyboard display. You'll need it to fill out web forms and your iTunes Music Store password.

Depends on the control config

[SuperKendall]

The iPhone has physical volume controls on the side of the case, so that's easy enough to do...

The iPhone headphones also allow you to pause music or skip tracks with a small device attached to the headphone wires, and I'm thinking the iPod touch will probably be able to use the same headphones.

Re:argh

[timster]

Er, well, there are two ways to use gmail on an iPhone; through the Web browser and through the built-in email app via POP3. The POP3 support is not always so great, partly since POP3 sucks, but it does work right most of the time as long as you don't use POP3 from any other device.

On the other hand, using the Web page is not always so great, since the gmail interface is all over the place and not exactly well-optimized for the iPhone's smaller display. It did work last I checked but the built-in email client works better for me.

The iPod Touch doesn't seem to have the email client, so you'd be stuck with the Web interface. Maybe Google will come out with a lighter version of the page to make things easier on those people. For all I know they have one already.

Re:AAPL down 3.5%

[ajs]

Interesting that Apple shares are down 3.5% with this news. Was there a financial disclosure, or were investors expecting something different? Apple has been up all week. This is a loss of yesterday's gains only. I think there was some speculative buying around the idea that Apple would announce some large content deal or something else big. Most investors knew that this would be a "big, but not earth-shattering," announcement about the line and that nothing big has yet happened on the content front, so there's not that much change overall.

Re:Skype that!

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess you didn't read the article. This one comes with wi-fi and the safari browser.

Revenue maximization

[AHumbleOpinion]

Dropping the price 1/3 in two months, and killing the cheap version translates to: "We're not selling the numbers we need".

Not for those who have studied business and economics, they may see revenue maximization. To avoid a redundant thread see: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=289019&cid=204 84913.

Re:argh

[jdray]

http://docs.google.com/

Re:argh

[UnanimousCoward]

Actually, there are three. You can set up your own GMail POP client instead of using the built-in GMail one--I chose Door #3 so that I could use my permanent email address, not my gmail.com one.

Yes, there are shortcomings using either the Safari or POP version of GMail, but (and maybe I'm fanboi rationalizing), POP works for me for my mobile email needs...

One more thing. I think the iPod Touch is very cool, but I'm not complaining about shelling out more for the iPhone--email (yeah, yeah, they could put the email client on the Touch), camera, sms, and...phone make it worth the extra bucks...

Re:This is exactly what I've been waiting for.

[venicebeach]

My only question is will there be third-party apps to enhance it?

iPhone hacking has come a long way. I am currently running several native apps on mine, including a terminal with ssh, AIM, voice recording, IRC (needs some work), text editor, preview app, some games, etc., all through a nice little package management utility (http://iphone.nullriver.com/beta/).

I image it won't be long before people get things like Mail.app, google maps, and the other iPhone apps working on the iPhone Touch. I don't know of any reason it can't do everything the iPhone does with the exception of making phone calls and EDGE.

Re:argh

[AvitarX]

like m.gmail.com ?

Re:Okay, on the count of three...

[Experiment 626]

Whenever Apple announces an iPod with a capacity larger than previously available, Slashdot always gets these "N GB ought to be enough for anybody" posts. This ignores the considerations that A) you can never have too much storage space, and B) not everybody uses their iPod the same way you do.

Suppose someone is into classical music. They take the complete works of Bach and Mozart, make lossless rips of them (compression artifacts are particularly bad for classical), put them on their iPod. That fills up an 80GB iPod right there, just for the works of two guys. Now suppose this user wants to listen to other composers, or have performances of symphonies by multiple orchestras, or have music of other genres on there as well, or have room for some video... they go with a 160GB iPod, not because it's "O-VER-KILL", but because there isn't a Terabyte iPod available.

double click

[just someone]

double click

Re:Direct competitor to the nokia N800

[feijai]

The N800 has an 800x480 screen: the "Touch" has less precisely one third that: 400x320. The N800 has bluetooth. The N800 has two SD card slots. (which, combined, have less than the total space on the IPod, but hey, they're removable). The N800 is, of course, hackable. The N800 supports flash. The N800 is typically cheaper. But I predict the iPod Touch will blow the N800 into little pieces. The N800's interface is primitive and backwards, the product of lazy engineering and inept design. The iPod works with iTunes, an excellent piece of engineering. The N800 is compatible with no external software in particular. The N800 can't do H.264, can't retain sound sync in movie playback of the few formats it does support, and has awful use of its own hardware features (it has a video camera but can do nothing with it except video chat with *other* N800's). And of course, Nokia is completely incompetent in this arena compared to Apple. They're going to get their clocks cleaned.

Re:Will it be able to run the same 3rd party apps.

[AndrewStephens]

I don't know why this was modded funny, the iPhone OS has been cracked wide open to run 3rd party apps without hardware modifications, with a complete development toolchain available. Its not even that different from normal OSX programming, from what I have seen. I would love to be able to a nice looking portable device that could run MAME or a terminal emulator at a pinch.

Re:Slightly better

[LooseIsNotLose]

I have a feeling that part of the issue (at least) with ringtone pricing was the record labels wanting a cut--why else would the ringtone feature not be enabled for EVERY track in the iTunes store, rather than just 500K of them?

Besides, if you want free ringtones from any audio source, you can already install them, without jailbreaking your iPhone:

http://www.cocoadex.com/Ringtones_1.1.dmg

Re:One key feature missing...

[Rebelgecko]

The left earbud on regular iPods can be used as a microphone

Re:Let me get this straight

[LooseIsNotLose]

So do it.

http://www.cocoadex.com/Ringtones_1.1.dmg

Re:Take That

[prockcore]

An 8gb SD card is about $75 on average.
An 8gb iPod Nano is $199.

That's 2 and a half times more expensive.

Re:All I want for Christmas, or any day before tha

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

Make them into "compilations" and turn on "group compilations"

Learn things.

Re:This is exactly what I've been waiting for.

[hab136]

You mentioned text editing, quick question: can you also use the iPhone together with a bluetooth keyboard, say with a Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard? Thanks!

The only Bluetooth device supported on the iPhone is headsets. Someone might make keyboards work in the future, but it doesn't today.

Re:One key feature missing...

[skinfitz]

No bluetooth on iPod.