iPod Tall, the iPod Grande, and the iPod Venti

I don’t know why Apple just doesn’t grab me by my ankles and shake my money out of my pocket. They really make it hard for me to resist picking up their new toys. A revived and renewed line of iPods was annouced yesterday, and there are some nice surprises:

iPod nanos have been redesigned and now plays video. This comes as a surprise as I thought Apple would stick with the more gym-friendly/pack of gum shaped player. The new players appear to be the size of an iPod cut in half, with a 2-inch screen that Apple claims has the same high quality resolution as the full-sized video iPod. They come in a 4GB ($169 CDN) and an 8GB ($219 CDN) version, with battery life estimated at 24 hours audio, 5 hours video playback. These will be in the stores this weekend.

The video iPod is slightly touched up with a new name (iPod Classic), a new metal shell, and a hell of an upgrade on the storage size: an 80GB model ($279) and a 160GB ($399) model. Holy crap, it comes in “Jason Size”. Nice to see that I can back-up all my music on the iPod and still have room for TV shows and movies. The new iPod Classics are on the shelves this weekend.

The winner though is the new iPod Touch model. Basically it’s the iPhone without the phone service, but you still get Wireless Internet! You get a touch screen iPod with a web browser, and now you can finally buy music wirelessly direct from the new WiFi iTunes store. Add in the direct link to YouTube videos and that’s good geeking right there. I wasn’t waiting for an iPhone, but I’d love to use an iPod Touch. The memory appears to be flash like the nano, so the capacity is smaller than a standard iPod. The 8Gb model runs $329 CDN and the 16GB model runs $449. This model won’t be in stores until the end of the September. It will sell well this holiday, but I hope to see a 80+ GB model soon. Now that would sell.

No changes to the iPod Shuffle aside from some new colours. It runs you $89 CDN with 1GB storage.

No announcements on the iPhone coming to Canada yet, but the price in the US dropped. The iPhone is now only available in an 8Gb model, but the price dropped down to $399 US.

Another interesting initiative: Apple and Starbucks are in partnership to sell music wirelessly in Starbucks outlets. You go into Starbucks, you hear the song playing, you break out the iPod Touch and go to the WiFi store, and it shows you what songs are playing right there in the Starbucks. A couple taps and you can buy the song right there on the iPod Touch. Holy corporate synergy. It’s not exactly a feature that fans were clamouring for, but it’s an intriguing idea. Apparently iPods and coffee go together. No idea if this is US only or when it will rollout in Canada.

Apple’s lineup for this holiday season: the iPod shuffle in 5 great new colors; the iPod nano with video; the renewed iPod classic with up to 40k songs/160GB in your pocket; and the hot item this season, the iPod Touch with WiFi. Consumers, start your spending.

Full coverage of the Apple presentation by Steve Jobs

Apple Store Canada

Apple announces iPhone sell date

click image for the rest of the strip

Apple has confirmed a U.S. on-sale date of June 29th for the new iPhones. It appears Apple has made this product their number one priority, even going so far as to delay the debut of their new Leopard O/S as the reallocated resources to the iPhone. The iPhone is the next big risk for the company that has been floating on the success of the iPod music players and renewed interest in Apple designed products, as this is their first foray into the cellular phone market.

The iPhone is a melding of cell phone and iPod, allowing you to watch videos in widescreen. Apple's website shows off the the phone's large touchscreen, and highlights it's ability to watch video, play music and display photos. Most of the design elements, like the touchscreen, are things we will likely see incorporated into the next generation of iPods. New ads can also be seen on the company's Web site.

The phone will retail for about $500 - 600 U.S. depending on how much memory is included, either 4GB or 8 GB. The memory size is comparable to the iPod Nanos, which use flash-based memory, as opposed to the heavier, bulkier iPods that use a hard drive.

No official announcement on Canadian distribution has been made yet, but speculation is that Rogers Wireless is the most likely carrier. AT&T is the exclusive wireless provider in the U.S.

Apple iPhone website

Globe & Mail: Apple set to launch iPhone

Apple unveils iPhone; sucks to be Zune

After months of speculation, Apple finally unveilled the long in development iPhone, which blends the multi-media functionality of an iPod, with wireless internet and phone. I think I just heard Motorola and Nokia passing out.

Apple already has the iPhone up on their site. No word on price or Canadian carriers, but it appears Cingular Wireless will carry the GSM phone in the US. My money is on Rogers as the initial Canadian carrier.

Update: The phones will start shipping in June. A four-gigabyte model will cost US$499, while an eight-gigabyte IPhone will be $599. Prices will be probably be lower for those buyers who sign up for cellular plans.

• The beauty part of this device is that it's a touchscreen interface, and switches to a widescreen video mode. Bye-bye click wheel on the next round of iPods?


• The memory comes in either 4GB or 8GB, which puts it in the iPod Nano range. There appears to be an expandable memory slot on it too.


• Runs on OS/X platform, and you can sync it with iTunes on your PC or Mac.


• Safari internet browser, and syncs to your bookmarks on your PC or Mac.


• 2.0 MP camera


• Very very shiny


• It says 5 hour battery life in video playback or talk mode. Probably eats battery power like a monster.

On sale date hasn't been announced yet, likely pending Federal Communication approval. But damned if it doesn't look like the wait was worthwhile.

BoingBoing.net has on the spot coverage:

Width: 11.6mm. Runs OSX. Will be iPod + mobile phone + internet communicator. No bottom keyboard, but a screen that can shift. One button on front, 3.5" screen, 160 pixels per inch display. Jobs: "Multitasking, networking, power management, graphics, security, video, graphics, animation." Ambient light sensor. Accelerometer allows it to sense whether in portrait or landscape mode. View video, listen to music with iTunes... contact management, scroll through contacts... visual voicemail... Quad-band, WiFi, bluetooth, GSM / EDGE data.

Jobs: "What's the killer app? Making calls!," promises ease of use for initiating and receiving calls.... multi-session SMS messaging... widgets... push IMAP, like Blackberry... Safari web browser...

Sucks to be a Treo or Zune today.

Apple also announced their AppleTV module, which will allow users to stream digital media from their computer to their TV sets. It's priced on the site at $299 US.