Apple unveils iPod Touch
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Device has similar features to iPhone
By Ned Randolph -- Video Business, 9/5/2007
SEPT. 5 | Apple CEO Steve Jobs ended a week of speculation today by unveiling a new iPod Nano that features the same wireless technology, touch-screen and style as the popular iPhone.
Speaking to a roomful of reporters and analysts in San Francisco, Jobs said the new iPod Touch features the same software interface, including the Safari browser, Google and Yahoo search and YouTube.
It looks exactly like the iPhone except its thinner at 8mm, Jobs said.
The iPod Touch also features a wi-fi connection to iTunes. Its advertised battery life is 22 hours for audio and five hours for video playback.
The 8GB iPod Touch starts at $299, with a 16GB version priced at $399, Jobs said.
The move also was accompanied by a $200 price cut on the 8GB iPhone.
Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, wasn’t surprised by Apple’s announcements.
"It's not surprising they wanted to bring that level of technology, their most advanced portable user interface, to a much broader audience," he said. "It looks like there is going to be a two-pronged initiative both in significantly reducing the price of the 8GB iPhone a few months after launch -- shaving $200 off the price is a dramatic price reduction -- and offering a lot of the core user experience on the Web browsing and music/media playing side with the iPod Touch."
Jobs also unveiled a new version of the Nano, which has a metal design and is wider to accommodate a 2-inch video screen. The 4GB Nano will be $149, while the 8GB version will be $199.
The video iPod has been renamed iPod Classic and will come with double the memory. The low-end Shuffle, meanwhile, will be released with additional colors. They are all listed on Apple's Web site.
"They've provided a very nice upgrade path both for consumers who wanted relatively big-screen video experience on the go as well as consumers who wanted even more storage for a large library," Rubin said. "Video has really expanded throughout the line as well. They've altered the Nano product, which has been their flagship, to accommodate video and games."
Apple also unveiled tweaks to its popular iTunes digital music store. Customers pay 99¢ for a song from iTunes and will be able to create a custom 30-second ring tone clip for their iPhone for an additional 99¢. The feature will launch next week.
Apple's iTunes is the nation's No. 3 music retailer behind Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
The new iPod is the first in about two years. Some analysts believe Apple will update its Apple TV digital media center next.
Rubin said that might include a download service that lets consumers order songs and video directly to their TV rather than streaming it through their computer.
