by Earl Moore on September 7, 2007
With Apple’s recent announcement of new and redesigned iPods Apple also released a new version of iTunes, 7.4.
It’s a 38.5Mb download on an Intel Mac:
With iTunes 7.4, sync your favorite music and more with the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch, plus create custom ringtones exclusively for iPhone with many of your favorite songs purchased from the iTunes Store. You can now also play purchased videos with closed captioning (when available), easily rate your favorite albums from one to five stars, and watch videos at a larger size inside the iTunes window.
Technorati Tags: apple, itunes
by Earl Moore on September 7, 2007
I’m running very late on the Apple music announcements of September 5th, but I’ve bulleted the main items below followed by my own commentary.:
- iTunes status update and new iTunes version release;
- Custom ringtones in iTunes for 99 cents;
- iPod Shuffle refreshed colors with a product red version (donate to aids research);
- iPod Nano totally redesigned for video playback with larger (2in), brighter display, cover flow, games, more storage, and metal design. Also product red version.;
- iPod “Classic” is the new name for the original iPod. They are now thinner with more storage (80-160Gb) and increased battery life. They also have the new interface that the iPod Nano has. Prices per Gb have also dropped.
- iPod Touch is the new iPod based upon the iPhone. It’s the iPhone without the phone. Thinner (8mm) then the iPhone and retains the multi-touch interface. The iPod touch has Wifi (802.11b/g), Internet browser (Safari), calendar, etc. Models will include 8 and 16Gb versions.
- iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is a new application that allows purchase of digital music via Wi-Fi using the new iPod Touch. Same selection and prices as the iTunes store. When syncing the purchased/downloaded music syncs back up with iTunes on your computer. This feature will be added to iPhone later this month.
- Starbucks Coffee and Apple have struck a deal where you’ll be able to view the current song playing and purchase it via Wi-Fi when you visit Starbucks. This should be completed for all Starbucks Wi-Fi stores during ‘09.
- iPhone 8Gb price reduced by $200 to $399. (Apple has since offered $100 credit to prevous purchasers) The iPhone 4Gb will be sold while stock last.
Most of us have felt for some time that the Apple iPod product line needed refreshing. I think that Apple did a exceptional job of redesigning the old and introducing the new.
The iPod Touch was the model everyone was hoping for, and we we’re disappointed. It retained Wi-Fi, perhaps the most hoped for feature. The Wi-Fi Music Store is also a bonus to utilize Wi-Fi.
There doesn’t appear to be any major gaps within Apple’s their line-up.
I believe the Starbucks deal is good for both for Starbucks and Apple and should help both brands. Their brand images are very compatible and target many of the same demographics.
Usability, including storage and battery life, has been enhanced while maintaining a reasonable price point.
The $200 price cut on the iPhone is a hard hit for those who paid $599 but with Apple’s $100 credit it’s a little easier to swallow. It’s a case of new user/adopters tax I guess.
With this new iPod line-up I would hate to be a competitor trying to market a music/video player.
Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, itunes, starbucks
by Earl Moore on September 6, 2007
Posts may be few and far between for a short while due to dealing with a family emergency.
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by Earl Moore on September 4, 2007
Many thanks to John Paczkowski of Digital Daily for using part of a Meandering Passages “Pictoon” in the post titled “By ‘iPhone’ you meant ‘Zune’ Right Steve?”
As John describes, Apple seems to be well on it’s way of exceeding it’s original iPhone markets goals.Â
Seems Apple is well on its way to exceeding its goal of 10 million iPhones shipped during calendar year 2008–roughly 1% of global cellphone shipments.
Meanwhile, Ballmer is believed to be continuing his trend of being wrong about almost everything.Â
Technorati Tags: apple, iphone
by Earl Moore on September 3, 2007
Digitimes via MacRumors has mentioned that Apple is expected to release an iPod video with touch-control interface on Sept. 5th.
The new iPod video will also come with a wide-screen panel, high storage capacity and Wi-Fi connectivity, the sources indicated. In addition, the new iPod video is expected to be powered by NAND flash, instead of a hard disk drive (HDD).
In addition, Vnunet claims that Apple’s new iPods will be able to receive digital radio.
It’s also being reported via MacNN that iPhoneSIMfree.com will begin sales of an unlocking service tomorrow, Sept. 4th.
Instead of selling directly to iPhone owners however, the company will only interact with resellers, charing $36 per phone for 50 licenses, or as far as $25 per phone for 5,000 or more licenses. The service will require resellers or end users to install a .APP file on an iPhone, at which point the reseller must connect to iPhoneSIMfree’s back office to enter information. The .APP can then be launched via the iPhone’s Wi-Fi, finally executing the unlock.
Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, ipod
