Apple's big day: all new iPods, iTunes and Apple TV

Apple held its highly-anticipated press event today, and for the first time in recent memory, streamed it live via the Web. Cult of Mac reports that Apple decided to stream the event to test its new new data center in Maiden, North Carolina, slated to go into full operation later this year. (The $1 billion data center is one of the largest ever built).

Some of the announcements:

• 230,000 new iPhone activations per day - this doesn't include upgrades (jab at Android with that one)

iOS 4.1:

• Fixes proximity sensor, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G performance bugs
• HDR photos standard in iOS 4.1
• Upload to YouTube
• TV Show Rentals
• GameCenter for end users
• to be released next week

iOS 4.2 (sneak peek):

• all the features of iOS 4.1, plus
• Wireless printing via Print Center app
• AirPlay (formerly AirTunes), stream audio, video and photos over WiFi
• Coming out in November (free update)

iPods

• 275 million iPods sold
• all new iPods, biggest change in iPods ever

• buttons
• voiceover
• playlists
• Genius mixes
• $49 - 2GB
• four colors

• multitouch-based clickwheel
• 46% smaller, 42% lighter
• clip
• Volume buttons
• VoiceOver
• FM Radio, Pedometer, Nike+
• Six colors
• $149 - 8GB, $179 - 16GB

iPod touch

• number one game player in the world (50+% marketshare worldwide)
• even thinner
• Retina Display (4x amount of pixels, 326 ppi, 24-bit, LED)
• Apple A4 chip
• 3-axis gyroscope
• front-facing camera and FaceTime (over WiFi)
• rear camera with HD video recording
• $229 (8GB), $299 (32GB), $399 (64GB)
• Available next week (pre-order today)

iTunes 10

• New icon ditches the CD
• New social feature called Ping
• Ping also available on iOS devices

• one quarter of the size
• includes a remote
• Music
• TV shows
• all HD
• rentals only, no purchases
• $4.99 first run HD movies (day and date releases)
• $0.99 HD TV show rentals from ABC and Fox (commercial free)
• Netflix streaming
• streaming from a computer
• AirPlay (coming in November in iOS 4.2)
• $99, available in 4 weeks, pre-order today

What do you think of the new announcements?

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