iPods Get Bigger and Cheaper, iTunes 9 Released

Apple has announced the availability of updated holiday lineups of iPod Nano, Touch, Shuffle and Classic models of iPod along with iTunes 9.

iPod Nano: The latest iPod nano has a built in video camera, mic and speaker. You can now shoot spontaneous video when you are listening to music, and view it later or transfer it to your computer. Another blessed new feature in the nano is the inclusion of a built-in FM tuner with Live Pause and iTunes Tagging. Live Pause lets you pause FM radio, while iTunes Tagging simply enables you to tag songs from Genius results in your nano, and then preview or purchase it using iTunes from your computer. iPod nano can keep track of your steps taken and calories burned using the built-in pedometer. In India, the new iPod Nano starts from Rs.9,400. Apple Store (link):

• 8GB: $149
• 16GB: $179

(Check out the teardown photos of 5^th generation iPod nano at ifixit.com)

iPod Touch: iPod Touch now comes in three sizes, 8GB, 32GB and 64GB. Except for the price and capacity, no new feature like a video camera (like rumored) has been added.
Multi-Touch user interface, 3.5-inch widescreen glass display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a built-in accelerometer are standard. Apple Store (link):

• 8GB: $199
• 32GB: $299
• $399: 64GB

iPod Shuffle: The world’s smallest music player, iPod Shuffle, which comes in silver, black, pink, blue and green is available in 2GB and 4GB models. Apple Store (link):

• 2GB: $59
• 4GB: $79
  

iPod Classic: The good old iPod Classic which comes in 160GB, now supports Genius Mixes, which automatically creates up to 12 endless mixes of songs from your iTunes library that go great together. Apple Store (link): 160GB (black or silver): $249

iTunes 9: The shiny new iTunes 9 has been redesigned a little, but the most exciting feature is iTunes LP. Basically, iTunes LP is immersive experience for select albums on the iTunes Store with slick visual features like live performance videos, lyrics, artwork, liner notes, interviews, photos, album credits and more.

Home Sharing is another great feature which lets you share music, movies, TV shows, and more with up to five authorized computers in your house, import songs and automatically transfer purchased songs to other computers in your household. Home Sharing requires an iTunes account.