New iTunes, iPod Nano and Accessories

[Steve]

Three new press releases from Apple have landed in the HEXUS inbox. As promised, there's a new iTunes mobile and iTunes has now reached version 5.

iTunes 5 includes a new Search Bar to make it even easier for users to find what they’re searching for; the ability to organise playlists into folders; Smart Shuffle, which lets the user change the “randomness” of shuffled songs; and the ability for Windows users to automatically sync contacts and calendars from Outlook onto their iPods.

There are now over 1,000 iPod accessories now, according to this press release.

Apple also announced that there are more than 700 products bearing the Made for iPod logo on the market or in development, assuring customers that an electronic accessory has been designed specifically to connect to iPod and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards.

Finally we have the new iPod Nano, which sits somewhere between the Shuffle and the Mini in terms of size, and it's very, very thin.

iPod nano is the perfect combination of innovative design, storage capacity and ease of use. Thinner than a standard #2 pencil and weighing only 1.5 ounces, iPod nano comes in two models—the 4GB iPod nano holds up to 1,000 songs and the 2GB iPod nano holds up to 500 songs.

iTastic!

[csl]

goodness me that is tiny. that has to be bordering on the difficult to use.

[lost eden]

And expensive. For the price of the 2GB model you could buy a 5GB Creative Zen micro & a coffee & still have some change left over. Sure it isn't as thin but it isn't exactly massive!

[krazy_olie]

I wouldn't want something so small, I'd just break or lose it.

[fathazza]

well i think its rather tasty especially in black....

and it so isnt too small...

[menthel]

I don't understand the step back in capacity from the mini. A mini with a colour screen and say 8-10gb would have been more sensible perhaps. The nano seems awkwardly placed too close to the memory size of the shuffle and replacijng the 6gb mini? Stupid imo.

[fathazza]

there was a rumour of a mini with 8gb on two combined flash drives a while back, don't know what happened to that...

[iMc]

I bet those nanos snap easily.

[atifds9]

battery expectancy is only 400 cycles according to apple's website, thats terrible otherwise i'd love one looks amazing

[alterion]

400 cycles.. that is APPALING... i can;t find that anywhere on apple's webie all it says is that old pod batteries may only operate at 80% after 400 charge cycles.. could you give me a link to that figure.. its not that i don;t trust you just the black one looks so arn sexxeh and i reaaly don;t want to beleive it (

[DR]

battery expectancy is only 400 cycles according to apple's website, thats terrible otherwise i'd love one looks amazing

Yes, please can you post defacto proof of your above statement

[MD]

The statement is totally incorrect David.

Charge Cycles
A properly maintained iPod battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles.

As taken from the Charge Cycles section on the right on this page. Apple.com iPod battery information

Matt

[alterion]

yeh that is waht i thought.. in other words nothing to worry about.. so my plans for a 4 gig one can continue.. although at the same price i could get an iriver h10.. so maybe a 2gb will have to do cause it is more competitivley priced.. after all that's still loads

[Norky]

Anyone got any other pics of the Nano other than the Apple promo one? Even supposed 'reviews' of the Nano only have that pic

[DR]

As soon as it is avaliable I am sure pics will be up everywhere

[Decemoto]

I don't understand the step back in capacity from the mini. A mini with a colour screen and say 8-10gb would have been more sensible perhaps. The nano seems awkwardly placed too close to the memory size of the shuffle and replacijng the 6gb mini? Stupid imo.

The size change is a technical thing more than anything else if I remember. As far as I know (feel free to correct me) the Nano uses two 2gb flash memory units for the 4gb version. Anything above this is probably too prohibitive price wise at the moment, but I'm sure in time we'll see those capacities go up. I believe that the flash memory is much faster access than a micro hard drive also, so we'll probably see much faster boot up and access times on the Nano.