Apple showcased its revamped iPod lineup this afternoon at the iPhone 5 launch event in San Francisco, California.
First off is the new uber-thin Nano, which features a 2.5-inch multitouch display, an FM tuner with DVR functionality, an integrated pedometer, Bluetooth, a home button, 30 hours of music playback and a Lightning connector.
Next is the fifth-generation iPod touch which measures 6.1mm thick, weighs in at just 88 grams and sports an aluminum design. Additional specs include a dual-core A5 processor, bottom speaker, Lightning connector, headphone jack, a 4-inch Retina display, a 5-megapixel iSight camera (1080p), 720p (front) camera for FaceTime, Siri support and 7x faster graphics than its predecessor.
Software enhancements? Built-in Facebook integration with ability to post directly from Siri; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and other key iOS features like iMessage, FaceTime, Mail and Game Center. You can also wirelessly display your iPod touch screen right on your HDTV with AirPlay Mirroring, allowing you to stream photos, videos, music, apps and play games on your big screen TV.
Battery life? Up to 40 hours of music playback and 8 hours of video.
Interestingly, the iPod Shuffle lineup was not refreshed on a hardware level, but Apple is offering some new colors, with the Shuffle now available in raw aluminum, black, blue, yellow and red.
Cupertino also introduced a revised version of Apple-branded ear-bud, now dubbed “EarPods” which are equipped with a directed speaker port that points forward into the ear canal. There are several ports for mid-tones, in the stem, back and the main port within the ear. All were designed to maximize airflow for sound quality and will be shipping with the new iPod touch, Nano and iPhone 5.
Pricing? Pre-orders for the new iPod touch in pink, yellow, blue, white & silver, black & slate begin September 14 via the Apple Online Store at $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model.
The revamped iPod touch will be available this October in black and white for $199 (16GB model) and $249 (32GB) model. The iPod Nano is slated to go live this October as well at $149 (US) for the 16GB model.
