Yesterday Apple held their September Special Event. I managed to watch some of it online, and the full video is linked for your own viewing.
After the worlds longest applause and Steve Jobs telling the world how rich and successful his company is, we finally got to the substance of the event. Here’s what I found of interest.
New iPod Nano
The changes to the new nano are fairly obvious. Gone is the click-wheel and in comes the multi-touch touchscreen. The new nano is small, light and stylish, but I wonder about its practicality. It’s so small, I wonder how people with big fingers will be able to cope with the new screen, especially as some of the controls require two fingers. At first glance you’d think it would be easy to use because, hey, you own an iPod touch or an iPhone. But, there’s no home button. Apple’s had to give the nano a fully different set of controls to the iPhone, which will probably take some getting used to.
I also fear it’s going to be easy to lose with it being so small and some people like me being pretty damn messy. Luckily it is wearable, so you wont lose it in your pocket. Still, even though I admit the new nano looks nice, until I get my hands on one or see one in action I’ll remain sceptical about whether it’s a worthwhile purchase.
Apple TV
Apple might finally be taking their TV seriously. The new box is apparently 80% smaller than the original, and it’s built for the internet generation. Gone will be your Sky or Cable with a £30 a month subscription for a couple of shows a year. Apple TV will allow you to rent a wide selection of TV shows and movies for pickings. The whole system works a lot like internet streaming on your TV iTunes style. Apple TV even allows you to browse and play YouTube videos, has Netflix support, and has access to sites like Flickr. AirPlay compatibility means iDevice users can get a little more out of it too, especially with remote control from your iDevice. TV browsers won’t see the value in this, and I don’t see it going mainstream, but for people like me who watch 1-2 shows a year Apple TV will be a great way to save money while watching quality videos. Not having storage space will be a dealbreaker for many, as no one likes paying twice to watch the same episode again, but it’s a move I can understand Apple making for financial/business reasons.
When we get international is when Apple TV loses some charm. Despite it selling for $99 in the US, it sells for £99 in the UK. Combine that with UK/Europe users not having Netflix access, and us Europeans who are interested in Apple TV feel a bit like we’ve been slapped with a wet fish. Oh well. Back to net streaming.
iTunes 10
iTunes has a brand new version out. We have a brand new, almost retro, logo. And, um, Ping. In a nutshell, Ping is Apple’s attempt to become Facebook. And it could do with giving Mark Zuckerberg a call. Ping basically lets you follow people through iTunes and see what music they’re listening to. But right now it’s basic, isolated and limited in function. There isn’t even a legit iPhone app yet. Maybe in the future it will get some Apple love and become a respectable and extensive social network, but right now it seems more like a gimmick than anything else. ElectricPig has identified 10 criticisms of Ping that Apple would be wise to take note of. Still, if you do get Ping, search me under R.J. Jones and give me a lil’ ol’ follow.
(Goodbye iTunes logo. You will be missed.)
As for the rest of iTunes 10 we have minor changes. You can now rent TV shows and syncing has been claimed to be improved, but I haven’t noticed a huge difference so far. AirPlay lets you finally stream music wirelessly and there will be Apple TV support. But the main difference is in the interface. iTunes has been branded with a new monochrome look, which I’m not huge on myself. Playlists do seem a lot less cramped now, though,and I appreciate this new neat feeling. There’s also a real time capacity bar for your iDevice, which will save you time adding and removing and constantly syncing apps if you’re at all space-conscious of your device. But overall, not much else is new here.
iPod Touch
If you know the leaps iPhone 3GS took when it went to the iPhone 4, then you know what’s up with the new iPod touch. That said, for some reason I’m much more impressed with these improvements than I was with the iPhone 4. The iPod Touch now has retina display, a HD camera on with flash the back and a more standard 5MP front-facing camera for, you guessed it, FaceTime, and it’s kept the lovely chrome backing instead of trying to be an iPhone. I still prefer the 3GS design over the iPhone 4, so I like this. Overall, nothing amazing or revolutionary for iPhone owners, but all sweet features iPod users will come to love, I’m sure.
iOS 4.1 and 4.2
iOS 4.1 has bee awaited for a few weeks (months?) now, and it finally gets released this week. We will see a plethora of bug fixes, Game Center for social gaming on your iDevice, show rentals through iTunes and Ping integration through the iTunes app (though I think it could do with its own app). Game Center is obviously the big deal here. Time will tell how successful it becomes, though it initially looks quite nice. I’m most excited about HDR photography, which looks like it could greatly improve the quality of your iPhone photos. That’s always something the Twitpic generation appreciates.
We also got a sneak peak at iOS 4.2. Specifically, that it will be available for the iPad. I’m amazed how quickly Apple let the iPad fall behind the times even in terms of its own devices. With 4.2, maybe we wont be hearing as many stories of Apple fans who’ve forgotten their iPads after getting an iPhone 4.
Conclusion
So there’s my overall impressions on Apple’s Special Event. A couple of interesting changes, a few worries and overall not an awful lot that truly wowed or grabbed my attention. Maybe that’s because nothing Apple announced affected me personally, but on the other side, I haven’t been convinced that I want any of these new devices either.
Related Articles
- Apple Unveils Three New iPods and an iTunes Social Network (jsyk.com)
- Apple latest products: early reviews of iPod touch 4G, Ping, Apple TV and Nano (telegraph.co.uk)
- Recap: Apple Kicks Off Fall With iPod, Apple TV Overhauls (pcworld.com)
- Apple unveil social network Ping and new iPod range (independent.co.uk)
