Apple “Showtime” Event Recap
Today Apple (the creators of all things good in computing) had a special event in which they covered some new things they’ve got coming out. Ranging from new ipod models to home media hardware, Apple finally unveiled that at least some of the rumors floating around were true. The only thing missing from todays presentation was the announcement of the much rumored Apple iPhone.
Up first were the iPod upgrades which included the following:
- New 80GB Model. This is an insane amount of space for something as small as the iPod, but with the annoucnement of movies (covered below) it was a neccesary step up for them to make.
- iPod nanos (Image) recieved a makeover and are now incased in aluminum, and available in 5 colors (black, pink, green, blue, silver) with a increased battery life of now up to 24 hours. The screens also recieved a 40% increase in brightness.
- iPod Shuffle (Image) got a complete make over. The size has been cut way down, and it also is incased in the same aluminum inclosure as the iPod Nanos. A clip has also been added to the back for easy wearability.
iTunes was next on the list. Version 7.0 brings some pretty nice visual upgardes as well as functionality.
- Movie downloads was the biggest feature addition. Apple now not only offers Music, TV Shows, and Podcasts, they have completed the media sector and now offer Movie downloads. New releases will be 12.99 for the first week, and library titles will be 9.99-14.99.
- Cover flow is just a little eye candy that they love to add in wherever possible. It allows you to browse through your media collection using album art from cd covers or movie covers, as well as images from tv shows and podcasts.
- Upgraded features for syncing the iPod with iTunes has been added.
- Gapless playback is another feature that has been added. iTunes will scan your library and find the tracks that should be played seamlessly such Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon, or classical songs.
- Automatic Album art is a feature that will allow iTunes to connect to the music database and download any missing album art that you dont have for any of your songs. This is a nice feature if you really like cover flow, but other than that, theres no point really as it just uses up unneccessary space on your hard drive and ipod.
The announcement of movies seemed to be the biggest announcement of the presentation, which really didnt do much for me because I dont have a video iPod nor do I want to sit at my computer and watch a movie. Sure I could probably burn the movie to a DVD and watch it on the tv but thats extra work.
Steve Jobs then gave his famous “Oh, and there’s one more thing…” line. He then confirmed one of the biggest rumors that have been going around that Apple is working on a media player to connect your computer to your TV and stream your media over to it.
Currently codenamed iTV, the new device looks just like a mac mini but is shorter and connects to your tv via analog or HDMI connection and has optical audio ports as well as usb and ethernet. The ethernet port is there incase you like running wires across the floor from your computer to your tv. Most people dont want to do that though, so Apple was kind enough to include wireless capabilities to stream Movies, Music, Podcasts, and Pictures directly from your computer to your TV with no messy wires. iTV will also connect to the internet and allow you to watch movie trailers directly from the apple website, and comes with a remote control so you dont have to get up and go to the computer to select what you want to play.
iTV (Image) will be available in the first quarter of 2007 and cost 299. Which is a pretty good price I think considering all that it is capable of doing.
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Whoa, did you change your template?
Nope, your just imagining things.
i like the new gadgets the kids are playing with but please keep me posted too on what’s new for my casetee tape too.