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Apple Announces New Nanos and iPod Classics



As you may have already heard, Apple announced a host of iPod updates at today's "The Beat Goes On" event in San Francisco. Besides wowing us with the totally new iPhone-like iPod Touch (more on that here) and Wi-Fi iTunes, Apple also announced refreshes for the iPod Nano, the iPod classic and the Shuffle. Details are below.

The Nano 'Fatty'
Well, those widely circulated images of the iPod Nano 'Fatty' turned out to be pretty much spot on. Apple (well, Steve Jobs) unveiled the completely overhauled version of the Nano, which gets a whole battery of updates that basically turn it into a mini version of the iPod Video we all know an love. Besides doing -- yes -- video, the new Nano has a fancy new on-screen user interface (UI) that includes Cover Flow for browsing your tunes and a few other cosmetic improvements. But what fun would the pretty new UI or watching a video be on that thumbnail-sized screen? Well, of course the engineers at Apple thought of this issue, too, so they made the Nano wider and added a two-inch QVGA screen, which is the same resolution as the full sized iPod video.

iPod Classic
Speaking of the iPod Video, don't worry -- it's still around. The iPod has a new name though, the iPod Classic. It's the same iPod we've all come to know and love and has received the same UI updates as the Nano received (Cover Flow, etc.), as well as a new metal casing. The big story, though, is you can get can get a huge 80-gigabyte or ridiculously massive 160 Gigabytes for the same price points, $249 and $349, respectively. (That's 40,000 songs and 200 hours of video on the 160GB model).

Both the Nano and the Classic also get a boost in battery life -- the Classic supposedly lasts 40 hours for music and 7 hours for video, while the Nano will now get an equally impressive 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video.

The (RED) Headed Step Child
Last... and, well, least is the refreshed Shuffle. This little guy gets treated to some new colors, including a PRODUCT (RED) version that will use profits to purchase anti-retroviral drugs for those suffering with AIDS and HIV in Africa.

At a Glance:

New iPod Nanos
  • Bigger Screen
  • Video Playback
  • New UI
  • Coverflow
  • Wider body
  • Increased battery life
New iPod Classic
  • Larger capacities at same price point
  • 80 Gigabyte and 160 Gigabyte
  • New UI
  • Coverflow
  • Increased battery life
  • New all metal casing
Same iPod Shuffle
  • New colors, including PRODUCT (RED)

Also announced today was the eagerly anticipated iPod Touch... but that's another post all together.

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