San Francisco, Calif. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has introduced a veritable smorgasbord of technological goodies, including an upgraded iPod Nano, iTunes 9 and OS 3.1. According to Jobs, the latest version of iTunes features an improved UI, along with an automated DJ known as “Genius Mixes” which selects and plays tracks from a user’s music library.
Jobs explained that Tunes 9 now supports Facebook and Twitter updates, while allowing users to copy songs, movies and TV shows among up to five authorized computers. In addition, the redesigned iTunes offers classic LP memorabilia, including music, photography, liner notes and essays.
After describing the benefits of iTunes 9, Jobs yielded the stage to Phillip Schiller who tirelessly touted the iPod Touch’s popularity. According to Schiller, Club Cupertino has sold 20 million iPod touch units. He noted that the PSP and DS didn’t match up to the iPod Touch, because Apple’s device was a “great” iPod and portable computer, as well as an “unbelievable” gaming device.
To illustrate his point, Schiller showcased a number of iPod Touch games, including Riddim Ribbon, Madden ’10 and Nova (FPS). According to Schiller, Apple was proud to support OpenGL ES 2.0 for next-generation games.
Schiller also announced new price points for the iPod and iPod Touch: the 8GB iPod Touch will retail for $200, the 32GB version at $300 and 64GB for $400. Meanwhile, the iPod classic has been upgraded to 160GB, although the price remains unchanged at $250.
In addition, the iPod Shuffle has undergone a comprehensive makeover with a new line of colors and revised price of $59 for 2GB models.
Steve Jobs then returned to the stage to announce that the next-generation of iPod Nanos will be fitted with a camera, speaker, microphone, FM radio, voice recorder app and pedometer.
The 8GB Nano will be priced at $149, while the 16GB is expected to retail for $179.
