In case one was unaware, there was a ipod event this morning at 10 am (-8 GMT)

Major points...

iPod classic has been reduced to a single size (120 gig) for $250 USD

iPod touch adds an integrated volume controls on its side (F**kin finally),
a built-in speaker, ("casual listening, not for audiophiles" - jobs)
Genius playlist integration
genius is a sort of smart playlist, like last.fm or pandora, only it uses the music already in your library and creates a smart playlist from the current track you are listening to. Theyve had it in itunes since version 8
A few games were also introduced for it, Spore Origins, Real Soccer 2009, and Need for Speed Undercover

The Touch is available in 8, 16, and 32GB, for $229, $299, and $399, respectively


the big thing was for the nano, however
returns to a second gen style, a long rectangle, now with a longer screen for video playback
now comes with built in voice recorder
accelerometer for switching between views
shake-to-shuffle - shake the **** out of your nano and randomly shuffle to a new song (via accelerometer and genius)

all products are now arsenic-free glass and materials that are BFR, Mecrury, and PVC-free.

Both the Nano and Touch are getting software updates (v2.1 is free to those who already downloaded 2.0.)
Everyone else pays $9.95

The company also used the event to announce the release of new headphones that feature built-in volume controls and a devoted woofer and tweeter in each ear. The headphones won't come bundled with any of the players, rather they'll be available separately for $79.

all in all, its getting harder and harder to beat ipods price per feature




google is amast with blog reviews of the event if you have any questions
otherwise...flame-on

Don't get me wrong, I like my n810, but the iPod touch is a really nice upgrade. Not just for casual listening the speaker is also a huge boon for things like IM clients and YouTube sharing with the crowd.

Sure it's missing BT, camera, and GPS... but seriously the latter two are hardly even worth mentioning with how craptastic they are.

That combined with a growing population of apps which are nice makes it a compelling device.

One outstanding question I had. The Nano is getting a voice recorder application... will the touch be getting that too? and more to the point will the 4 wire headphones work ( and allow mic in ) on the Touch for what could be a very nice VoIP device.

Well that answers that...

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/09/09/new-i...speakers-nike/

True, true, $79 comes out to $38.50/frequency range, and there are few entry-level earphones that have higher price per feature.

Honestly, who wants their playlist shaken (not stirred)? It's a nifty trick, but in actual use, I'd want it off; what if I'm listening to an audiobook and hit a double rail crossing on my bike? Or, worse, what if I've carefully queued up music for the night, taking advantage of that external speaker...


Edit: Ok, I know I mixed the features of the two units up, but it was just too funny this way; if you must, suppose it's in a speaker dock on the head of the bed or something.

the no bt is a BIG thing, there will always be more apps for mac stuff than for any linux distro...but as a point of comparison look @ palm os and the treo- more apps longer history (cut and paste as well) where is it today? it did not evolve...maemo appears to be evolving ipod touch is still a baby and is growing up who knows if it will evolve or stay sexy for the masses

Hmmm... you just say the masses are pedophiles?

'lets just say the attraction is not healthy and leave it at that

@prk60091

are you implying that the ipod will stop evolving?
taht just seems silly to me
look at where it started at
its not a growing technology, it is the bleeding edge there of (atelast of pmps)
I mean, there are other platforms with larger screens, more features and so forth, but none with half of the marketing of the ipod

one point jobs made that I found very interesting, and in my opinion sort of nullifies your tero argument, over 90% of the cars in teh united states can now interface directly with the ipod
manufacturers are copying the ipod, not the n800, not the irivier or anythign else
it is the top dog, and it is what pushes technology forward, as far as mass acceptance

maemo will grow andI love the commuity, but short of them stopping the manufacturing of the touch, it will sell, and sell alot no matter what
if it gets too weird, they will stop that generation and come up with a new weirder one

Car Manufacturers are using the iPod dock interface because it's what the masses have (the iPod). It's the same reason why you see so much stuff that supports iPod docking. Because since Apple's marketing appeals to so much people that alot of the masses have some iPod device (and I think all of them except the iPhone 3G) all share the same connector dock.

I just avoid it all and buy stuff that isn't limited to just the iPod. (for example if a stereo has a line in option). Which is why when I'm buying a car, it won't matter if it has an iPod interface (heck I might negotiate not to have it included to lower the price). What I want is an input for audio. (right now I'm using this old tape plugin since my 94 camry does not have a modern stereo).

Edit: I find the speaker interesting though. I wonder how loud it is in comparasion to the IPhone's speaker. (cause I've compared that to the n800's speaker).

I'm not much of a video gamer, so the new touch just makes me yawn.
For me, it's the built in keyboard that makes the N810 so useful. I don't see the touch ever having one, so I'll never pay for one.