New iPod Nano, iPod Touch and iTunes 8.0

Picture from mactalk.com.au

I happened to stay up late because I needed to finish up an article entitled ‘Contrast in Medical Imaging’ (which is not too exciting) and was able to read live-blog updates regarding Apple’s September Event (more exciting) which had just finished 10 minutes ago. Here are the exciting round ups:

1. New iPod Nanos! And they come in 9 different colours (3 new colours) – Similar design to the 2nd Generation iPod Nanos but with a wider screen and also significant improvement in its interface. One interesting feature is its ability to Shuffle songs when you shake it! AU$199 for 8GB and AU$279 for 16GB.They ship with a new pair of headphones, very similar to the iPhone, which have audio control functions (play/pause, volume) and a microphone that can be used for voice recording.

2. New iPod Touches – looks like the iPhone but slimmer and with a metal back. A major upgrade is that now Nike + is built in, you only need to get the shoes ;). Other new features include a built in speaker and side volume controls. 8GB for AU$329, 16GB for AU$419, and 32GB for AU$549.

3, New iTunes 8.0 – main new feature is Genius, a supposedly smart function which recommends songs to you from your playlist and also from the iTunes Store (and hence encouraging you to buy more songs ;) )

4. iPhone Software 2.1 – “Fewer dropped calls, big battery life improvements. No crashes with Apps. Backing up is faster.” according to Steve. It will be out on Friday (Saturday in Australia). Can’t wait to update!

5. The iPod Classic is now limited only to a single 120GB model. AU$339. Same thickness as the previous 80GB model. It seems like Apple is pushing towards iPod Nano being the mainstream iPods now.

6. iPod Shuffles get a colour change too. Still AUS$65 for 1GB and AUS$89 for 2GB.

Gosh it’s 4.25 a.m. now. I should sleep. Exciting day ahead :)