6 September, 2007 @ 9:40 am by Lioncourt
Apple refreshed their entire iPod lineup at a press event in San Francisco yesterday. Here’s a look at what was announced.
The iPod Shuffles have remained largely unchanged. The major difference in this lineup is the wider array of colours now being offered, and the "Red" model, proceeds from which will go to help fight AIDS in Africa. Accessibility on this model remains the same…which is, of course, quite good.
The iPod Nanos now offer video capability at the same resolution as the 5th generation standard iPods. Access to these devices is probably unchanged, though we cannot be certain at this point. They sport larger displays and a more squat shape.
The original iPod has been renamed the iPod Classic, and now comes in 80GB and 160GB varieties. It is available in both black and silver. Presumably, accessibility on these models will be as it was on the previous 5G models, which is not perfect but still extremely usable by blind music lovers. The Classics are $249 and $349 respectively.
The newest addition to the iPod family is the iPod Touch. The Touch looks remarkably like the iPhone and sports many of the same features except the mobile phone related ones. It has Wi-Fi capability, and the mobile version of Apple’s Safari web browser is included. The device is touch-screen operated and comes in 8 and 16GB varieties for $299 and $399 respectively. While no official word has come from Apple has yet, we can safely assume that the iPod Touch’s accessibility features will extend to about the same level as the iPhone, which is significantly limited.
Apple slashed the price on its 8GB iPhone to $399 and has discontinued the 4GB model, noting that everyone wants the additional storage. The remaining stock of 4GB models are being sold out from the Apple Store at $299.
Apple released version 7.4 of iTunes yesterday to support the new iPod models. Closed captioning is another new feature of the iTunes software. Whether other accessibility enhancements are available in this version, we’re unsure at this time, but will report back with findings should there be any.
Posted in Apple Inc., Apple News, iPhone, iPods and iTunes | No Comments »
