iTunes 7 and Movie Downloads:
The biggest, and most anticipated, news item from Apple’s announcements was the iTunes movie download service. Now, in addition to hundreds of hours of television shows available for a fee, over 75 movies will initially be available through the iTunes Store (no longer called the iTunes Music Store). Movies will become available on the iTunes Store “the same day they are released on DVD, with new releases priced at $12.99 when pre-ordered and during their first week of availability, and $14.99 thereafter, and library titles available for just $9.99 every day.” Films available include new releases and library titles such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Shakespeare in Love, The Princess Diaries, The Incredibles, National Treasure, Toy Story, The Rock and The Rookie.Through iTunes 7 all videos purchased from the iTunes Store will be downloaded in near-DVD quality at a resolution of 640 x 480. Downloaded videos can be played on computers and iPods. In addition to the movie downloads, iTunes 7 offers other new features such as Cover Flow (flipping through artwork of digital music and videos just as you would browse CD covers), a source list for better management of your iTunes media choices, dowloadable iPod games for $4.99 each and better at-a-glance information about everything on your iPod.
New iPod nanos:
With regards to the new second generation iPod nano, Apple unveiled multi colors, memory formats and new features. A 2GB iPod nano model in silver is now available for $149, new 4GB models in silver, pink, green and blue are available for $199, and a new 8GB model in black is available for $249. The nanos have a new aluminum body which is smaller, thinner and lighter than the previous nano. Other new features include a brighter, more vibrant display; 24 hours of rechargeable battery life; new search and scroll functions for more quickly finding music selections; gapless music playback; and redesigned earbud headphones.New nano accessories announced by Apple include lanyard headphones ($39), an armband ($29), a dock ($29) and a new compact USB power adapter ($29) which is at about half the size of the previous USB power adapter.
New iPod shuffle:
Moving on to the iPod shuffle, Apple threw the baby out with the bath water in their redesign. The new shuffle is half the size of the original, measuring in at just half a cubic inch in volume, half an ounce in weight and sporting an all-new aluminum design and a built-in clip to make it wearable. It comes in a 1GB capacity (up to 240 songs) and costs $79. It features up to 12 hours of rechargeable battery life, comes with a dock and will be available in October.
New iPod 5G (video):
Not to be left out of the loop, the iPod 5G (video) got some love from Apple as well. It is available in a 30GB model for $249 and an 80GB model, which holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, for $349. Like the nano, it offers gapless music playback and new search and scroll functions for more quickly finding music selections. It can also support playback of popular video games downloaded from the iTunes Store for a fee such as Bejeweled, Cubis 2, Mahjong, Mini Golf, Pac-Man, Tetris, Texas Hold’em, Vortex and Zuma.Other features of the new iPod 5G (video) include up to 14 hours of battery life for music playback and up to three and a half hours of video playback on the 30GB model; up to 20 hours of battery life for music playback and five and a half hours of video playback on the 80GB model; body color choices of black or white; a brighter 2.5-inch display with brightness control; and redesigned earbud headphones.
