Introducing the iPod Touch
Apple is refreshing their entire iPod line for this this upcoming holiday season, releasing new versions of the shuffle, nano, and classic iPods. They also have a new version of the iPod ready to be launched dubbed the "iPod Touch."
The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the phone. It uses the same interface with a 3.5 inch wide screen and multi-touch technologies. It will be capable of playing music, storing and viewing digital images, video playback, and browsing the internet.
The screen hass an impressive 480-by-320-pixel resolution with 163 pixels per inch.
The pocket sized device measures in at 4.3" x 2.4" x .31" and weighs a mere 4.2 ounces.
Supported audio formats include AAC , Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV.
Taking advantage of a built in accelerometer, the iPod Touch can detect whether the device is being held in portrait or landscape mode, automatically changing the contents of the display. This can allow you to instantly view the entire width of a website, or view a photo in landscape, when the iPod is turned sideways.
When held horizontally, the device can browse music using Apple's Cover Flow program, which allows the user to effortlessly flip through their music collection's album art to find a song.
The device is an astonishing 8mm thin and has a battery life of 22-hours for music playback and 5-hours for video playback.
The new iPod is also WiFi-enabled and contains a mobile version of the Safari web browser. It will also allow access to the popular iTunes music store via a WiFi connection. Once a song is downloaded to the device, it will automatically sync it to iTunes the next time it is connected to your Mac or PC.
There is also an icon that will take you directly to an iPod version of the popular video site YouTube where you can watch any of the thousands of free videos over a WiFi connection.
The iPod touch will come in
two configurations: an 8-gigabyte version that will cost $299 and a 16-gigabyte version will sell for $399.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said they will launch, "
worldwide in a few weeks."