New iTunes, New iPods & New iPhone Updates
A couple of weeks ago Steve Jobs took to the stage to unveil the new iPods, as well as a brand new version of iTunes, version 8. Now that I have finished watching the keynote presentation for myself, here’s my thoughts on the new iPods and iTunes 8.
The new iPod Nano is sure to make a hit this Christmas among music lovers. While I personally don’t want one (or any iPod for that matter, I’m saving my money for a 32GB iPhone when that day arrives), the iPod Nano is truly better than ever, boasting more colors, an easier-to-view display, a sleeker design, and features such as the accelerometer, shake to shuffle, and Genius playlists simply make it an impressive portable media device. And the new in-ear buds signals in what I believe will be Apple’s next transition, finally dumping the earbuds they’ve been shipping for years.
The iPod Touch also got some delightful updates, such as a brand new stainless steel backing, the integration of the Nike+iPod sensor, new volume controls, integrated speaker, and, of course, Genius. I truly believe some of these hardware additions to the iPod Nano and iPod Touch will make it in the next round of iPhones as well (as well as the 32GB model).
And I also believe the iPod Classic’s life is coming to a close. With only one capacity level in the device, I think it’s safe to say that the iPod Nano will be replacing the iPod Classic entirely in the near future.
But the iPod’s weren’t the only things that were updated at the keynote. Two other updates also happened, iTunes 8 & iPhone 2.1. iTunes 8 now delivers some enhanced viewing modes such as Grid view and skimming, as well as better universal access support. Also added to iTunes 8 was Genius, the ability to automatically make playlists of songs that go great together. In addition, new visualizers, HDTV shows, the return of NBC to the iTunes store, and a few performance enhancements top off iTunes 8. Is it revolutionary? Not really. Is it worth the update? Definitely. And I think it’s also safe to say that the next version of iLife and OS X Snow Leopard will include features such as Genius in some form or fashion. How about Genius photo albums? Genius movie events? Or Genius folders on your Mac? I definitely believe Apple will find creative ways to use the enhancements in iTunes 8 in other areas on the Mac.
iPhone users should also rejoice from the keynote with the new iPhone 2.1 update. The update fixes issues with dropped cell phone calls on the AT&T network (interesting, what happened to the “network with the fewest dropped calls”? Exactly.), better battery life, reduced backup time to iTunes, improved email reliability, faster app installation, fixed some application bugs, improved text messaging performance, improved contact loading performance, improved 3G signal strength display, added a repeat alert option for text messages, added the option to wipe the phone clean after ten passcode attempts, as well as added Genius to the iPhone. This free update should keep iPhone users happy until Apple adds Cut/Copy/Paste and voice dialing in another iPhone update (whenever that will be).
Speaking of the iPhone, let me bring to your attention three other happenings in the iPhone world. First of all, for developers, the NDA policy put out by Apple, (what I generally refer to as the “Cone of Silence”), is officially dead. Apple dropped the NDA policy and ditched the Cone of Silence October 1st. So if you’ve been having slower iPhone development due to the fact that you could not share your ideas with other iPhone developers, you are now free from the bonds of NDA. This is especially good news for my company, since we are a company based on partnerships, the only way we can become an effective iPhone developer is to partner with other iPhone developer companies to deliver you the finest applications. Now Apple just needs to document better iPhone Application development policies, on which I am working on submitting my feedback to Apple on this matter.
In addition, the iPhone has just become easier to purchase. You can now visit Apple’s Website to choose your iPhone and AT&T Rate Plan, then just visit your nearest Apple Store to pick up your phone and begin enjoying it. While this new service does make the iPhone purchasing process faster, I wish they’d extend the service to AT&T Stores so the service would truly be convenient for everyone.
Also, do you have one of Apple’s new Ultra Compact USB Power Adapters? If so, yours may be one of the ones Apple has recently recalled due to the fact that under certain conditions the prongs can break off when plugged in, causing electric shock. Apple is offering a free exchange program for those with affected adapters. More details are available at Apple’s website.
Well folks I’m getting all ready for my trip. I’ll be leaving soon so I won’t be doing too much posting until I get back unless I discover some great new tech news that I just have to post. During this time I’ll be doing most of my posting on the WeatherBug Backyard Blog since this is a WeatherBug Road Trip. Who knows? I might be able to stop in and say hi though & tell you how I’m enjoying the beautiful North Georgia Mountains. When I return I’ll resume all my regular blogging here as well as try to setup a new “Nathan’s Tech Tip” column where I’ll make screencasts of how to make the most out of your computing experience!
That’s it for now! Take care everyone!
Nathan Parker
Hmm… The newest iPhone OS provides Genius support - and the 3G also has a Stainless Steel back.
I dont think the Classsic is on it’s way out. Currently, the iPod Touch comes at 32GB max capacity - five times less than the 160GB iPod Classic. I know plenty of people that have 50GB Of music, and for that reason, an iPod Classic would PROBERBLY suit them.
What I think will happen is that Apple will adapt to some higher capacity flash drives in the Nano and Touch, therefore rendering the Classic nonessential. With the way higher capacity flash drives are becoming less expensive to manufacture (Toshiba and Intel are working on some really great high capacity flash drives at lower costs), the use of a hard drive in a portable audio player is starting to become irrelevant. I don’t think the Classic will die overnight, but since Apple isn’t doing too much to update it, I can already since Apple’s almost ready for it to retire.