Meet the new iPods

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Apple unveiled upgrades to their iPod lines at the press event yesterday. This is the biggest refresh to their iPod line yet. You can watch the press event online here.

iPod Touch 4G:

This is a pretty major update to iPod touch. In its 4th Avatar, the iPod touch gives 40 hours of audio playback, 7 hours of video playback and now includes:

• FaceTime: Front and rear facing cameras now enable to FaceTime with other iPod touch users (using their email ids) or other iPhone 4 users.

  

• Retina Display: The gorgeous iPhone 4 screen with 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch is now also available in iPod Touch. You can compare how it differs with older models here.

  

• HD video recording: You can now record 720p video on your iPod touch and upload it to YouTube or edit it on the device itself using iMovie.

  

• Substantially thinner: The new iPod touch is very thin. Much thinner that its predecessors.

  

• Game Center: Apple’s online gaming platform will let you play multiplayer games with your friends. You can challenge them to a game and they will receive it as a push notification on their iDevice. It can also match you with equally skilled players online in case you do not have any friends to play with :D.

  

• Price:
  8GB     – $229
  32GB   – $299
  64GB   – $399

You might wonder about the absence of a 16GB model and introduction of a 8GB one. Well, this is because Apple wants to put as many FaceTime devices out their as possible. And at a price of $229, many people might be willing to purchase the 8GB model just for FaceTime. At this price, the 8GB iPod Touch 4G is the cheapest contract free FaceTime device out there. If you have an iPhone 4, you can gift one to your parents to have FaceTime calls with them.

iPod Nano 6G:

The latest iPod nano do not have a click wheel anymore. Instead, they have a shiny multi touch touchscreen to control. With 24 hours of music playback, it has:

• New form factor: The new nanos have a much smaller form factor. In fact, they are so small that they have a shuffle like clip which you can use to clip them on to your clothing during athletics. They still have the 30 pin dock connector, so you can use them with all the dock based accessories.

  

• Multi touch screen: The new nanos have multi touch screen which can be rotated in any direction. This is really helpful when you clip them to your clothing and have to look at it upside down. Just use two of your fingers to rotate the screen in the orientation you want.

  

• Price:
  8GB     – $149
  16GB   – $179

Because of the small form factor, the new nanos do not have the camera anymore and, owing to the small screen, cannot play videos anymore (well, technically they can, but it would not make sense on the small screen). If you want those, you have to get an iPod touch. Maybe this is also part of the strategy to boost sales of iPod touches and in turn increase FaceTime and iOS devices.

iPod Shuffle:

At $49, the new 2GB shuffle takes the form factor of the previous generation and gives you 15 hours of audio playback. But, this time, it has control buttons too. Yes, now there are two ways you can control your iPod shuffle – voice over and buttons.

So those are the new iPods. Notably, the good old iPod classic was not refreshed. This does not mean that Apple has discontinued it, it is still available to purchase on the Apple online store, however, this might signal an iPod era sans magnetic hard disks in the future.

Here are some pics of these beauties in their retail packaging: