Apple unveiled its new line of iPods yesterday including a model with an iPhone-like touchscreen interface and Zune-like WiFi access. The “iPod Touch” sports a 3.5-inch widescreen and a Safari browser, creating a mobile YouTube delivery device that essentially replicates the iPhone browsing experience for non-AT&T subscribers. It’s going to run $299 for an 8 GB model and $399 for a 16 GB version, scheduled to ship later this month. You can pre-order the new iPods from Apple.
The New iPod Classic
The former Video iPod has been renamed the “iPod Classic” with a slimmer design and a bigger hard drive.
Although the new iPod Touch is very impressive with its Wi-Fi and touch-screen, the fact that it only has 16GB hard drive sucks big time. I like to keep my current iPod Video full of movies and TV shows that I ripped from DVDs for my morning commute. The new smaller hard drive is a major sticking point for me. The reason the new iPods have smaller hard drives is that they are Flash memory-based (no moving parts) and are able to withstand an occasional bump or drop better than traditional hard drives.
Apple’s New Partnership With Starbucks
Apple is also teaming with Starbucks to allow customers to browse a new WiFi iTunes store for free inside of its coffee shops. Go near a Starbucks and an icon pops up. Click on it and you can buy Starbucks’ current music selections.
iPhone Updates
Steve Jobs also announced he was phasing out the entry-level iPhone and cutting the price of the upper-end model from $599 to $399.
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