Apple's Sept. 9 announcements: iPod, iPhone, iTunes and more.

[Aragorn]

Anyone following Apple's announcements today or are you all too busy playing The Beatles: Rock Band?

Some updates: iTunes 9 and iPhone OS 3.1.

iPod Touch third generation prices are $199 (8 GB), $299 (16 GB) and $399 (64 GB). No major overhauls, modest price drops and the new models may use the same CPU as the iPhone 3GS. But no camera!

iPod Nano fifth generation gets a larger display, FM tuner, video camera (not a still camera), pedometer and more.

So basically I waited until today's announcement to decide on getting a new iPod... and my ideal selection would be a hybrid of what Touch and Nano will be providing individually!

 

[The Doctor]

The app organization capabilities are long overdue. Looking forward to that!

 

[Arrqh]

Really surprised at so few changes to the iPod Touch. While the Zune will never be as popular as the iPod, there aren't a whole lot of reasons at this point to go with an iPod Touch instead of the upcoming Zune HD. Not to make this into a Zune vs. iPod post, I just feel that Apple dropped the ball here... their efforts to distinguish the Touch vs. the iPhone are really keeping them from really hitting the full potential of what they could get out of the Touch.

I also found Apple's insistence that they're the best mobile gaming platform a little misguided, especially when they started denigrating the DS as a platform. That thing prints money, ya know

 

[Aragorn]

I'm wondering if I should just get the new Nano. I don't need a lot of what Touch is offering. They'd be nice to have but life wouldn't be any different without them. Any opinions from Touch owners here?

 

[Aragorn]

I decided not to wait another year and just buy a fifth generation Nano. Don't really like how thin they are, but my iPod Classic is pretty beat up.

 

[Marc]

why the big deal about the lack of camera etc on the ipods anyway? unless some-one has a iphone it will have a cell phone and those already have cameras in them.

 

[Arrqh]

The cellphone will probably have an mp3 player too. Why have the iPod at all?

It's a big deal because as a platform Apple is letting the Touch stagnate. It's being held back to keep from competing with the iPhone and if they keep it up they're going to lose, spec wise, to other platforms. The silliest part is Apple promoting it as a gaming platform... while people do play games on them, that's hardly the main thing people are doing with the Touches. And it certainly isn't the number 1 handheld gaming platform, despite Apple's disingenuous comparisons to the DS... which, by the way, has a camera.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Or, God forbid, people could just use an actual digital camera.

The trend to bundle as many functions as possible into one device does get a little crazy after a while.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I never need a camera and an iPod at the same time, so I don't particularly care if the iPod Touch ever gets a camera.

The Touch isn't big enough for my library anyway (even in its newest iteration), so I don't see a point in getting one. I'll stick with my Classic.

 

[Aragorn]

Or, God forbid, people could just use an actual digital camera.

The trend to bundle as many functions as possible into one device does get a little crazy after a while.

Hey now, I'm going to make a fortune on my rocket launcher that makes waffles, plays Blu-ray, can remote operate DVR, scan Halloween candy and downloads porn using your thoughts.

 

[Sheep]

Or, God forbid, people could just use an actual digital camera.

The trend to bundle as many functions as possible into one device does get a little crazy after a while.

Hey now, I'm going to make a fortune on my rocket launcher that makes waffles, plays Blu-ray, can remote operate DVR, scan Halloween candy and downloads porn using your thoughts.

Invent the last one by itself and you'd be filthy rich.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Apple should use that Stan Bush song to advertise:

"You've got the Touch...You've got the power...."