Today’s iPod announcement could be Apple returning fire after a dismal sales period for their iconic MP3 player. Apple sold 9 million iPods in the quarter ending in June, the lowest quarterly number since 2006, the Guardian reports. Will this makeover help Apple’s iPod division rebound this quarter?
The iPod touch got a major overhaul, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said. Some features seem to be inspired by the iPhone 4: the new touch has both a front-facing camera (for FaceTime conversations) and a rear-facing camera that shoots high-definition video. It also sports a Retina display, which isn’t as sci-fi as it sounds, but merely employs the technology in iPhone 4’s lauded screen.
A press release states: “The Retina display has 960 x 640 pixels—four times as many pixels than before. The resulting 326 pixels per inch is so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when iPod touch is held at a normal distance…”
The touch will also include a new A4 chip which boosts power in the iPhone 4 and iPad, ideal for iPod fans who play video games. Battery life is modestly increased, now clocking at 7 hours instead of its predecessor’s 6 hours.
The new iPod touch comes with iOS 4.1 and retails for $229 (all prices US) for the 8GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model.
The iPod nano has been completed redesigned, now featuring a multi-touch interface that lets you navigate music collections by tapping or swiping the display. “Replacing the click wheel with our Multi-Touch interface has enabled us to shrink the iPod nano into an amazingly small design that is instantly wearable with its built-in clip,” said Jobs in a press release.
The release also explains how holding down a finger returns you to the Home screen, and you can “easily use two fingers to rotate the screen if it is clipped onto clothing upside down.” The nano also lets you shake the unit to shuffle to a new song in your music library.
The new iPod nano will be available next week for $149 for the 8GB model and $179 for the 16GB model. It comes in various colours such as silver, graphite, blue, green, orange and pink.
Finally, Apple tweaked the world’s smallest iPod, its shuffle line. Clickable “ring” buttons have been added to the iPod shuffle — press the center button to play and pause, tap the outer buttons to skip forward and back or adjust the volume up and down.
A press release also outlines the VoiceOver feature: “The new VoiceOver button on top of iPod shuffle allows users to hear the name of the currently playing song and to switch between songs, playlists or Genius Mixes. VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages and even alerts users when their battery needs charging.”
The fourth generation iPod shuffle will cost $49 for the 2GB model and comes in in silver, blue, green, orange and pink.
