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September 12, 2006 ../ Apple Updates iPod LineStays Ahead Of Competitors Even Without Wi-FiApple Computer completely revamped the entire iPod line in a pre-emptive strike to the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. The new iPod features a 60 percent brighter and more vibrant 2.5-inch color display perfect for watching TV shows and now Hollywood movies right in the palm of your hand. The new iPod features seamless integration with a new version of iTunes and the iTunes Store which now includes over 75 Hollywood movies, 220 television shows and popular video games designed specifically for the fifth generation iPod. The fifth generation iPods can now play more advanced video games including Tetris, Pac-Man, Mini Golf and other titles available on the iTunes store. The new iPod is available in a 30GB model at the price of $249 and an 80GB model, which holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, for $349.
The second-generation iPod nano is even more compact than the original and has a brighter, more vibrant display perfect for viewing album art and up to 25,000 photos. Intuitive new features such as Search and Quick Scroll make it even easier for music fans to find exactly what they are looking for and enjoy their music on the go, and with seamless integration with iTunes 7 and the iTunes Store, the new iPod nano lets customers choose from over three million songs from iTunes. The new 2GB iPod nano model in silver is available for $149, the new 4GB models in silver, pink, green and blue are available for $199, and the new 8GB model in black is available for $249. All iPod nano models include redesigned earbud headphones providing superior comfort, fit and sound quality (we'll see about that... -Ed.), and a USB 2.0 cable.
With iTunes 7, all videos purchased from the iTunes Store are downloaded in near-DVD quality at a resolution of 640x480 (up to 480, depending on the aspect ratio), which is four times higher than before. Downloaded videos can be played on computers and iPods. iTunes 7 also includes new features to better organize and enjoy digital music and video, including expanded parental controls, an iTunes video playback window with on-screen controls, and the new Cover Flow view that lets you visually browse your entire video collection by cover artwork. The iTunes Store now also offers downloads of popular video games for fifth generation iPods, including Tetris, Mahjong and Mini Golf from Electronic Arts Inc.; Pac-Man from Namco Networks America Inc.; Cubis 2 from FreshGames, LLC; Bejeweled and Zuma from PopCap Games, Inc.; Texas Hold'em and Vortex developed by Apple, all available beginning today for $4.99 each.
The Future: Even without Wi-Fi connectivity, Apple sure knows how to make its portable music/video player competitors look real sissy. The new line up not only increases capacity and boosts much-needed enhanced screens, but it also fires on all design cylinders. The new aluminum nano enclosures have been in the rumor mill for a while and their debut should cause quite a sensation to all the iPod Mini owners who have not been willing to update their beloved units. However, the Shuffle is the clear-cut sales winner here and will certainly be in short supply over the holidays. It's cool innovative clip on design and magical price point makes a lot of sense for anyone aged 8 and up.
Copyright © 2006 Futuremusic® All Rights Reserved. |
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TestDrive will feature the lab results of our Audio Experiments so that everyone can get in on the action. Take the latest electronic music releases, mix vigorously
with bleeding-edge music production technology in a large beeker, and then cook the hell out of it!
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