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» Apple “Let’s Rock” Special Event Wrap-up!

So it’s come to the time when wrapping up the Apple Special Event is in place. I had a really fun time metaliveblogging even though I switched to a better system in the middle which in the end worked really well and much better then before for me. I’ll definitly do it again. So here are the releases summed up

iTunes 8, Genius, HDTV Shows, NBC is back!

Apple released as predicted, iTunes 8 today which features some pretty cool new things. First off we have the new display mode called grid which lets you view your albums and artists in a grid view. In the artist view you can also flick between the albums by the artist like in iPhoto. Then we also have the new genius sidebar that will make playlists with music that "go well" with the music you are listening to. It’ll also show you music from the iTunes store. All this if you opt in.

NBC is now back in the iTunes Store and that with TV series like The Office, Monk and Battlestar Galactica. Also new, HD TV Shows will run you $2.99 and the standard ones $1.99.

iTunes 8 will be avilable on the Apple website today!

New iPod Nano

The new iPod Nano was released and it’s looking pretty slick. Apple has gone back to the old look and streamlined it a little more in the looks. It’s not just in the outside looks they’ve streamlined a lot. The menu system has gotten partially redesigned and also looks quite a bit better. It’s available in a wide range of colours in both 8gb and 16gb. The 8gb runs for $149 and is available now while the 16gb will be available later this week for $199.

iPod Classic updates

Apple did a little update to the iPod Classic as well. Upgrading the old 80gb model to 120gb and dropping the 160gb was the change in store for the classic this time. It’s going to run for $249.

2G iPod Touch

They refreshed the iPod Touch a bit as well. It now features a little sleeker case. It’s the same screen but with some new additions like on the side volume controls and a speaker. It’s also got built in Nike + receiver so you don’t need to have an external one. All these seems to be some really great updates and of course they have been focusing on environmentally friendly casing and parts. Prices: 8GB for $229, 16GB for $299, and 32GB for $399. Available today as well!

Two new headphones!

Apple also introduced two brand new headphones. Both a new in-ear version and an normal, the in ear runs for $79 and the other for $29. They both feature on-band player controls like volume up and down, play, pause and also a little microphone.

iPhone Software 2.1

Among all the other news they practically had to announce the 2.1 firmware, which they also did. According to Steve Jobs it will be fixing a lot of bugs such as fewer dropped calls, big battery improvement, and faster backups to iTunes. We’ll see if this is going to work out on Friday when it will be released. Sadly no mention of copy-paste but perhaps they’ve snuck that in? It’s a free update.

» Apple releases some new stuff, MacBook Air among them!

 

Hot off the Apple keynote we have seen some pretty cool releases and some that is far from that cool as well. Lets get to the main news first doing it the other way around than Jobs

 MacBook Air

Yep, we got it, the highly rumored MacBook Air did indeed release and here are the specs. It features a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Due processor, 80 GB HDD (optional 64GB SSD), 2 GB RAM, Full-sized backlighted keyboard, one USB port as well as one headphone jack and a micro-DVI port. Of course there is a MagSafe adapter that looks a little bit different now, so updated It’s quite a nifty computer but I don’t know if it lived up to my expectations. Now also, the lack of optical drive is replaced with an external, custom made SuperDrive for $99 for the MacBook Air. Starting at $1799.

Updated AppleTV

I never thought I’d hear “El Jobso” admit that an Apple product were not good, well I doubt he had unless he had a new version of it for display so here is revealed a new version of the Apple TV, which now can surf the iTunes Music store, .Mac and more without the need for a computer, which is basically the main news. However, if you had the old Apple TV, don’t feel left out as it is a free software upgrade! Also they have reduced the price to $229!

Updated iPod Touch!

The iPod Touch got a slight upgrade as well with some applications now available for the iPod Touch as well and all new iPod Touch’s will be shipping with it. Downside on the upgrade is that of course, you can upgrade the software but they are charging you $20 for it! Bad! I’m still waiting for the iPhone release here in Sweden.

 Movie Rentals in iTunes!

Yes! We all saw it coming and it is here, movie rentals in iTunes is reality, at least it will be when the new version of iTunes ships very very soon. Well so far only US folks will be able to rent movies although Jobs did say that they “look forward to get it out to International folks as well” so I hope that will be very soon as well since I actually can see myself using the feature because I have a long way sometimes to a movie rental store and we don’t have any net rental places here around really.

Time Capsule, wireless Time Machine!

We’ve been waiting on this since Leopard and well frankly it just seems like another way for Apple to earn some more money. Time Capsule is basically a hard drive with wireless network connection (500GB or 1TB available in sizes). Perfect if you have a network with many computers to back up or if you want to use as a network disc (which you can), of course it is a perfect match for the MacBook Air as well

Frankly I think it was a little disappointing. I’d been hoping for some more stuff to be released and I had certainly hoped that if there were to be movie rentals, why couldn’t Apple release it in the whole world… Now I want to hear your opinions on it!