Brand new iPod, iTunes 4, Quicktime 6.2, MusicStore
by Volker Weber
Lots of updates @ Apple. I like the new iPod. It looks slimmer and lighter than Woodstock and seems to have much smoother edges. With iTunes 4 you can buy tracks from the MusicStore. The tracks don't come as MP3 but 128 kb/s AAC (mpeg4). With Quicktime Pro updated to 6.2 you can create your own AACs.
The software on the old iPods can be updated to 1.3 which can play those AAC files. One nice touch is that Apple moved the useless About from the main menu to the Settings and added a new Backlight item to the main menu instead.
The new iPods have a major release 2.0 of the iPod software which adds an On-the-go playlist that you can edit on the device itself, two more games and a few other gimmicks.
Quick math: 499 for the 30 gig iPod, 7500 songs @ .99 a pop, that's almost 8000 bucks. :-)
Pictures from the presentation. Apple misses one major trend: OggVorbis.
Comments
I have one on order :)
Let me know when you have it. :-)
I just noticed: with this release, Apple have also subtly changed the "transport buttons" in iTunes, so it's more iPod-like.