Apple disses touch, adds video to nano, color to shuffle

Apple disses touch, adds video to nano, color to shuffle
In addition to showing off a number of updates to iTunes and the iTunes Store, Apple also unveiled its revamped line of iPod portable media devices today during a special media event. While the classic, touch and even shuffle got slight changes in capacity and new pricing, the nano was the star of the show, getting a new built-in video camera and several new features. The move baffled nearly everyone, including a number of angry folks hoping the iPod touch would get a camera and possibly GPS features to make it more comparable to the iPhone.

Apple showed off new iPod touches, which got expected bumps to CPU speed and storage capacity. Two new models have the updated CPU and graphics capabilities of the iPhone 3GS—a 32GB model for $299, and a 64GB model is now offered for $399. An 8GB model without the updated CPU or graphics is selling for $199—$30 cheaper than yesterday's model (well, before this morning's unexpected price drop). So you can quadruple your storage for just another $100, and a 16GB version is conspicuously absent.

Also conspicuously absent from the upgraded touch is any addition to the basic hardware. While the addition of GPS and digital compass would have been nice, it boggles the mind to wonder why Apple left the touch with no camera, which was widely speculated to be added this fall. A number of readers following our liveblog were beyond surprised—folks are downright angry about the omission. While Apple may have wanted to keep a clear separation between the iPod touch and the iPhone, the fact is that there are plenty of people that want iPhone-like capabilities in a portable device that isn't a) a phone, and b) beholden to an expensive service

We predict this move will have a serious material affect on iPod touch sales, despite the fact that Phil Schiller heavily promoted it as a portable gaming device during today's media event. While a number of game developers were trotted out to show how great the touch is for gaming (and honestly, we agree), we can't help but notice that one of the top-selling portable gaming devices, the Nintendo DS, had camera hardware added to the recently released DSi variant.

The omission of camera hardware was made even more glaring when Steve Jobs came back on stage to show off the highly upgraded iPod nano featuring—that's right—built-in camera hardware. Apple added SD video capability to the tiny, inexpensive media player, likening it to the popular Flip micro-camcorders. The nano also now has an integrated microphone to record audio, built in speaker for playback, a larger 2.2" LCD screen, built-in Nike+ hardware, a pedometer, built-in FM radio (that feature was about 8 years in coming), and includes the VoiceOver features introduced with the iPod shuffle earlier this year. The nano still comes in nine different colors, with an 8GB model selling for $149 and a 16GB selling for $179.

Apple also introduced updated iPod shuffle and classic models. The oft-maligned buttonless shuffle now comes in five colors, adding green, blue, and pink to the silver and black options. $59 buys you a 2GB model, and $79 doubles the capacity to 4GB. A "special edition" 4GB model in polished stainless steel is available for $99. The languishing classic stays pretty much the same, except it now has a 160GB 1.8" hard drive inside, and sells for just $249.

All of the updates are unsurprising, and for the most part keep the various iPod models up to date. The nano obviously received the bulk of the attention this time around, making it arguably the value leader among the various options. We are still scratching our heads over the ho-hum refresh of the iPod touch, though. Despite the bump in speed and capacity, ignoring the other possible upgrades, especially the camera, seems like a very un-Apple-like blunder.