Sierra
07-18-2004, 02:36 PM
TMO Reports - New iPod Features: 12 Hour Battery, Lower Prices; Goodbye 15GB
by Brad Gibson, 7:00 AM CDT, July 18th, 2004
Further details of the new white iPod, to be officially announced by Apple Monday, have surfaced through a sidebar story accompanying Newsweek magazines feature article on Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the iPod phenomenon.
Key features of the new iPod are:
- 50% improvement in battery life to 12 hours from the current eight through better power conservation.
- A click wheel identical in design and functionality to that of the iPod mini.
- A thinner iPod by one millimeter.
- More efficient menus, so there's less thumbing through to get to content.
- New ability to create multiple playlists and delete songs from them.
- Variable speed control to listen to content faster or slower.
- No new hard drive sizes, but lower prices. The 20GB will now cost US$299 from $399 and the 40GB model will cost $399 from $499. The 15GB is being phased out.
Taken from http://www.macobserver.com/article/2004/07/18.1.shtml
By Steven Levy
Newsweek
July 26 issue - Veteran Podsters understand that at least once a year Apple performs a feat that at once infuses them with dread and delight: an iPod upgrade. The delight comes from a new look and new capabilities. The dread comes from the realization that you're a step behind the cutting edge and must consider whether to buy your way back on it.
And here it goes again. The considerably tweaked fourth-generation iPod will roll out this week, and NEWSWEEK got an advance peek. It looks a bit different, operates more efficiently, has a few more features and costs less. Here are the highlights.
The click wheel. The iPod keeps getting slimmer and more streamlined. While the initial version had a relatively boxy feel, subsequent versions have been curvier and smaller. This one is about a millimeter thinner and, more significantly, eliminates the control buttons that sat under the display screen. Instead, it uses a "click wheel," where the controls are placed on the compass points of the circular touchpad that lets you scroll through menus. This is an innovation carried over from the diminutive iPod Mini. "It was developed out of necessity for the Mini, because there wasn't enough room [for the buttons]," says Steve Jobs. "But the minute we experienced it we just thought, 'My God, why didn't we think of this sooner?' "
More efficient menus. There's less thumbing required to get to your favorite stuff. "Music" is a first-level entry, and now a single click initiates the popular technique of shuffling your library for playback.
New features. You can create multiple on-the-go playlists and delete songs from those ad hoc mixes. And audiobooks are not only easier to find, you can listen to them at normal speed, slower or 25 percent faster, without its sounding like a Munchkin.
Longer play. Coast-to-coasters rejoice: the new iPods are rated for 12 hours of rockin' between charges—a 50 percent boost in battery life. This is accomplished, Apple says, not by a heavier battery but diligent conservation of power.
Lower price. The top-of-the-line iPod, holding 10,000 songs (40 gigs, as geeks will tell you), now costs $399. The lower-capacity model, with room for 5,000 songs (20 gigs), costs $299. That's a $100 price reduction for each. (There's no more 15-gig model.)
Color. Fuggedaboutit. Despite rumors to the contrary, the wide-bodies are still as pure as the driven snow.
Bottom line: If you have yet to jump on the iPod bandwagon, it's cheaper and more attractive to do so. If you're already plugged in, the question is whether you should engage in the "iPod Bump," where you snap up the spiffy new version and pass Old Reliable to a grateful friend or family member (or the highest eBay bidder). If your music collection has exceeded your iPod's storage space, or your listening binges exceed your current iPod's battery life—or if you want to hear Bill Clinton's abridged book in 4-1/2 hours rather than six—consider the Bump this time around. Of course, if your heart went aflutter at the very sight of this year's model, you're probably in line at the Apple Store already.
© 2004 Newsweek, Inc.
Taken from http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5457434/site/newsweek/
Apple Computer has created a fourth-generation iPod that offers a slimmer case, click-wheel navigation and significantly improved battery life.
According to Newsweek magazine, the two new models will offer greater capacity for the same price as the current lineup. A 20GB iPod will sell for $299, while the top-of-the-line 40GB model will retail for $399. Currently Apple sells a 15GB version for $299, a 20GB version for $399 and a 40GB model for $499.
Newsweek did not say when the new iPods would be available, and an Apple representative was not available for comment. The new iPods were not featured on Apple's Web site Sunday morning.
The details were revealed as part of a cover story on the iPod and its impact. Apple CEO Steve Jobs holding one of the new, still-white models. In January 2002, the new iMac was featured on the cover of Time.
The battery in the new iPod is said to offer 12 hours of battery life, up from an 8-hour rating for the current models. According to Newsweek, the jump comes form better power-management features, rather than a higher capacity battery. The click-wheel interface is similar to the one Apple introduced in January with its iPod mini.
There are also software advances, including the ability to listen to audio books at a faster or slower rate, as well as ways to create and edit more than one playlist from the iPod itself. Previously, only one playlist could be made and songs could be added, but not removed.
The iPod has been a boon to Apple's sales and profits, with the company now selling roughly as many iPods as Mac computers.
The new models represent the fourth generation of the portable players. The first 5GB iPod debuted in October 2001, selling for $399 and featuring a mechanical wheel that spun to navigate through a library of songs. The iPod has kept its basic design since, though the wheel has become touch sensitive, rather than mechanical, and the device has also slimmed down from its original size.
Meanwhile, competitors including Sony and Dell have introduced new hard-drive based models, though none has yet to approach the iPod in terms of market share or cultural icon status.
Taken from http://news.com.com/Apple+hatches+fourth-generation+iPod/2100-1041_3-5274032.html
Damn it, the 20 GB is 300$ when i payed 300$ for a 15 GB a month or so ago!
Also, when does the newsweek come out that talks about the new iPod?
by Brad Gibson, 7:00 AM CDT, July 18th, 2004
Further details of the new white iPod, to be officially announced by Apple Monday, have surfaced through a sidebar story accompanying Newsweek magazines feature article on Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the iPod phenomenon.
Key features of the new iPod are:
- 50% improvement in battery life to 12 hours from the current eight through better power conservation.
- A click wheel identical in design and functionality to that of the iPod mini.
- A thinner iPod by one millimeter.
- More efficient menus, so there's less thumbing through to get to content.
- New ability to create multiple playlists and delete songs from them.
- Variable speed control to listen to content faster or slower.
- No new hard drive sizes, but lower prices. The 20GB will now cost US$299 from $399 and the 40GB model will cost $399 from $499. The 15GB is being phased out.
Taken from http://www.macobserver.com/article/2004/07/18.1.shtml
By Steven Levy
Newsweek
July 26 issue - Veteran Podsters understand that at least once a year Apple performs a feat that at once infuses them with dread and delight: an iPod upgrade. The delight comes from a new look and new capabilities. The dread comes from the realization that you're a step behind the cutting edge and must consider whether to buy your way back on it.
And here it goes again. The considerably tweaked fourth-generation iPod will roll out this week, and NEWSWEEK got an advance peek. It looks a bit different, operates more efficiently, has a few more features and costs less. Here are the highlights.
The click wheel. The iPod keeps getting slimmer and more streamlined. While the initial version had a relatively boxy feel, subsequent versions have been curvier and smaller. This one is about a millimeter thinner and, more significantly, eliminates the control buttons that sat under the display screen. Instead, it uses a "click wheel," where the controls are placed on the compass points of the circular touchpad that lets you scroll through menus. This is an innovation carried over from the diminutive iPod Mini. "It was developed out of necessity for the Mini, because there wasn't enough room [for the buttons]," says Steve Jobs. "But the minute we experienced it we just thought, 'My God, why didn't we think of this sooner?' "
More efficient menus. There's less thumbing required to get to your favorite stuff. "Music" is a first-level entry, and now a single click initiates the popular technique of shuffling your library for playback.
New features. You can create multiple on-the-go playlists and delete songs from those ad hoc mixes. And audiobooks are not only easier to find, you can listen to them at normal speed, slower or 25 percent faster, without its sounding like a Munchkin.
Longer play. Coast-to-coasters rejoice: the new iPods are rated for 12 hours of rockin' between charges—a 50 percent boost in battery life. This is accomplished, Apple says, not by a heavier battery but diligent conservation of power.
Lower price. The top-of-the-line iPod, holding 10,000 songs (40 gigs, as geeks will tell you), now costs $399. The lower-capacity model, with room for 5,000 songs (20 gigs), costs $299. That's a $100 price reduction for each. (There's no more 15-gig model.)
Color. Fuggedaboutit. Despite rumors to the contrary, the wide-bodies are still as pure as the driven snow.
Bottom line: If you have yet to jump on the iPod bandwagon, it's cheaper and more attractive to do so. If you're already plugged in, the question is whether you should engage in the "iPod Bump," where you snap up the spiffy new version and pass Old Reliable to a grateful friend or family member (or the highest eBay bidder). If your music collection has exceeded your iPod's storage space, or your listening binges exceed your current iPod's battery life—or if you want to hear Bill Clinton's abridged book in 4-1/2 hours rather than six—consider the Bump this time around. Of course, if your heart went aflutter at the very sight of this year's model, you're probably in line at the Apple Store already.
© 2004 Newsweek, Inc.
Taken from http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5457434/site/newsweek/
Apple Computer has created a fourth-generation iPod that offers a slimmer case, click-wheel navigation and significantly improved battery life.
According to Newsweek magazine, the two new models will offer greater capacity for the same price as the current lineup. A 20GB iPod will sell for $299, while the top-of-the-line 40GB model will retail for $399. Currently Apple sells a 15GB version for $299, a 20GB version for $399 and a 40GB model for $499.
Newsweek did not say when the new iPods would be available, and an Apple representative was not available for comment. The new iPods were not featured on Apple's Web site Sunday morning.
The details were revealed as part of a cover story on the iPod and its impact. Apple CEO Steve Jobs holding one of the new, still-white models. In January 2002, the new iMac was featured on the cover of Time.
The battery in the new iPod is said to offer 12 hours of battery life, up from an 8-hour rating for the current models. According to Newsweek, the jump comes form better power-management features, rather than a higher capacity battery. The click-wheel interface is similar to the one Apple introduced in January with its iPod mini.
There are also software advances, including the ability to listen to audio books at a faster or slower rate, as well as ways to create and edit more than one playlist from the iPod itself. Previously, only one playlist could be made and songs could be added, but not removed.
The iPod has been a boon to Apple's sales and profits, with the company now selling roughly as many iPods as Mac computers.
The new models represent the fourth generation of the portable players. The first 5GB iPod debuted in October 2001, selling for $399 and featuring a mechanical wheel that spun to navigate through a library of songs. The iPod has kept its basic design since, though the wheel has become touch sensitive, rather than mechanical, and the device has also slimmed down from its original size.
Meanwhile, competitors including Sony and Dell have introduced new hard-drive based models, though none has yet to approach the iPod in terms of market share or cultural icon status.
Taken from http://news.com.com/Apple+hatches+fourth-generation+iPod/2100-1041_3-5274032.html
Damn it, the 20 GB is 300$ when i payed 300$ for a 15 GB a month or so ago!
Also, when does the newsweek come out that talks about the new iPod?