New iTunes 7 ! But no movies for the UK !

Apple® today announced iTunes® 7, the most significant enhancement to the world’s most popular music jukebox and online music and video store since it debuted in 2001. iTunes 7 delivers stunning new features such as the new album and Cover Flow views of music, TV shows and movies, enabling users to quickly find titles in their library as well as casually browse through and re-discover titles they already own. In addition, the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) is now offering over 75 movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films, that customers can purchase and download to watch on their computers and iPods, and soon on their flat screen televisions with Apple’s upcoming iTV* player. Movies will become available on the iTunes Store the same day they are released on DVD, with new releases priced at $12.99 when pre-ordered and during their first week of availability, and $14.99 thereafter, and library titles available for just $9.99 every day.

“Here we go again! First music, then TV shows, and now movies,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “In less than one year we’ve grown from offering just five TV shows to offering over 220 TV shows, and we hope to do the same with movies. iTunes is selling over one million videos a week, and we hope to match this with movies in less than a year.”

“ABC and Disney Channel were the first networks to offer television programming on iTunes, and we’re once again breaking new ground as The Walt Disney Studios becomes the first to debut feature films on the iTunes platform,” said Robert Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “Disney is committed to providing innovative ways for audiences to enjoy their favorite entertainment content, and our association with Apple is yet another example of how we continue to reach consumers on their terms, regardless the time, location or device.”

“Steve Jobs and Apple have consistently demonstrated that they have their finger on the pulse of today’s audience with regard to legal downloads of music and television shows, and our presence on iTunes will now allow us to deliver Disney’s films in this popular and convenient format,” said Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. “Not only are we proud to be expanding our association with Apple, but we feel that this new venture meets a growing demand for movie viewing that will ultimately expand the market for our films.”

The iTunes Store has quickly become the world’s most popular video download store, selling over one million videos per week. The iTunes Store began selling TV shows with five shows from ABC/Disney less than a year ago, in October 2005, and rapidly expanded its library to over 220 television shows from over 40 networks today. The iTunes Store also features the world’s largest catalog of online music with over 3.5 million songs and has sold a stunning 1.5 billion songs, making it the world’s most popular digital music store.

The iTunes Store now features great new releases and library titles from Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “The Princess Diaries,” “The Incredibles,” “National Treasure,” “Toy Story,” “The Rock” and “The Rookie.” Customers can purchase and download movies from iTunes the same day they become available on DVD, or pre-order upcoming movies which are automatically downloaded when they become available. Customers get the same great one-click download experience for movies that they enjoy with music and TV shows.

With iTunes 7, all videos purchased from the iTunes Store are downloaded in near-DVD quality at a resolution of 640x480 (up to 480, depending on the aspect ratio), which is four times higher than before. Downloaded videos can be played on computers and iPods. iTunes 7 also includes new features to better organize and enjoy digital music and video, including expanded parental controls, an iTunes video playback window with on-screen controls, and the new Cover Flow view that lets you visually browse your entire video collection by cover artwork.

The iTunes Store now also offers downloads of popular video games for fifth generation iPods, including “Tetris,” “Mahjong” and “Mini Golf” from Electronic Arts Inc.; “Pac-Man” from Namco Networks America Inc.; “Cubis 2” from FreshGames, LLC; “Bejeweled” and “Zuma” from PopCap Games, Inc.; “Texas Hold’em” and “Vortex” developed by Apple, all available beginning today for $4.99 each.

With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod® and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Pricing & Availability
iTunes 7 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download immediately from www.itunes.com. Purchase and download of content from the iTunes Store for Mac or Windows requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. Television shows and feature films are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country. Games are available for download in the 21 countries in which iTunes operates and play on the fifth generation iPod. New release feature films are $14.99 (US) each and other feature-length films are $9.99 (US) each, television shows are $1.99 (US) per episode, music videos and short films are $1.99 (US) each and games are $4.99 (US) each.

* iTV is the project’s internal code name and will not be the final product name.

New revised iPods - 80Gb and brighter too !

Apple® today introduced the new iPod®, the best digital music player and most popular portable video player in the world. The new iPod features a 60 percent brighter and more vibrant 2.5-inch color display perfect for watching TV shows and now Hollywood movies right in the palm of your hand. The new iPod features seamless integration with iTunes® 7 and the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) which now includes over 75 Hollywood movies, 220 television shows and popular video games designed specifically for the fifth generation iPod. The new iPod is available in a 30GB model at the new low price of £189 and an 80GB model, which holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, for £259.

“The world’s best digital music player has evolved into the world’s most popular portable video player too,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new iPod’s brighter and more vibrant display and longer battery life make it perfect for watching Hollywood movies and TV shows right in the palm of your hand.”

The new iPod features Apple’s patented Click Wheel for precise, one-handed navigation, and is seamlessly integrated with iTunes 7 which now features gapless playback for enjoying albums the way they were intended to be listened to. iPod’s new Search and Quick Scroll feature makes it even easier for music fans to find exactly what they are looking for and Apple’s patent pending Auto-Sync technology automatically downloads digital music, podcasts, photos, audiobooks, movies, music videos and popular TV shows onto the iPod and keeps them up-to-date whenever the iPod is plugged into a Mac® or Windows computer.

With its stunning high-resolution color display, iPod allows users to view album art and photo slideshows while playing music, or watch video and play games in full color. Popular video games designed specifically for the fifth generation iPod include: “Bejeweled,” “Cubis 2,” “Mahjong,” “Mini Golf,” “Pac-Man,” “Tetris,” “Texas Hold’em,” “Vortex” and “Zuma,” and are available for purchase on the iTunes Store.

The 30GB model features up to 14 hours of battery life for music playback and up to three and a half hours of video playback, and the 80GB model features up to 20 hours of battery life for music playback and five and a half hours of video playback.* The new iPod features brightness control allowing users to easily change the brightness.

Pricing & Availability
The new iPod models are available worldwide through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The new 30GB iPod model in white or black is available for £189, and the new 80GB model in white or black is available for £259. All iPod models include redesigned earbud headphones providing superior comfort, fit and sound quality, and a USB 2.0 cable.

New Nanos from Apple - Multicoloured

Apple made so many announcements today, most excited about the new colour Nanos.

From the Apple website:

"Completely Remastered" - A thinner design. Five stylish colors. A brighter display. Up to 24 hours of battery life. Just about the only thing that hasn’t changed is the name. In 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB models starting at £99, iPod nano puts up to 2,000 songs in your pocket.

Your music says a lot about you. So should your iPod nano. A super-slim design says you always have room for music — up to 2,000 songs, in fact. Durable anodized aluminum says you won’t let the rough and tumble of everyday life ruin your groove. And one of five colors says whatever you want. Choose your hue and make a statement.

The black Nano is the king of the bunch and comes in 8Gb only at £169.00 with all available and shipping within 24 hours.

New Sneak Peek Apple Set-top Box iTV

So it seems I got another one right, a set-top box from Apple. Like the Mac Mini everyone originally wanted. This is a new typ of announcement for Apple as this new product is a glimpse of the future, to be available in 2007. They have never pre-announced anything like this before, so good on them for their openess. It will be half the size of the Mini with USB, ethernet, wifi and that all important HDMI port. Plus component video, stereo analogue audio and optical audio outputs.

Now onto the name 'iTV', this is great, but I am sure that ITV in the UK will have something to say about it, or will Apple win out by more or less owning the letter 'i' ? The name is only a work-in-progress, so I assume they will change it to something snappier.

It also sounds like this device will not record, rather it is the updated Video Airport Express I posted about earlier, so streaming, rather than recording content... more details as they unfold. [MacRumors]

Movies here today

So one prediction seems to have come to fruition with the announcement of movies available from the iTunes store from Walt Disney, Pixar, Touchstone, Miramax (please note these are all Disney owned). Good news this is for the US, for us in the UK we will have to wait until next year... this is a big shame, as a worldwide rollout would be the ace in the pack.

It seems at this stage we will not see a new Video iPod and I suspect this will not come until suitable content is available worldwide, as this would effect sales.

iPod Shuffle gets an update too

Well well well, I really thought Apple would kill off the Shuffle, what with the Nano being so small and all that jazz. Big surprise is a new second generation Shuffle, smaller (about the size of the iPod/iMac Remote and in an aluminium finish. One size only and it is 1Gb. [MacRumors]

Nano in colours

So it seems as though we will not be seeing a Video iPod, but we will be seeing a new aluminium metal finish iPod Nano, plus a selection of five different colours. Green, silver, black, blue and pink, along with the new metal finish. Plus a new 8Gb version in black only (seems like black is bein favoured like the MacBook for top of the range Apple products). [Engadget]

New iPod from Apple... no, just enhancements

Early reports are coming through that the full size iPod is being enhanced, rather than replaced by a new Video iPod. This is a shame, but I may well update this post should news surface that a new model is in fact coming out. The enhancements include a brighter screen.

It's Showtime - 5 minutes and counting!

So everyone is filtering in to the Apple event and the talk in the line is about the Video iPod, will they? won't they? the anticipation is almost unbearable. [engadget]

It's Showtime - Apple special event almost here!

OK, so it is just 3.5 hours to Apple's Media Event (6pm UK time) and I am getting excited. Not normally one to post rumours I just could not help myself let you all know my predictions, some are in agreement with others, with a few thrown in from myself at the end, so here goes.

- iTunes Store: This is now down showing an 'It's Showtime' message. I think the exclusion of the word 'Music' in this message means it is a forgone conclusion that Apple will announce Movie Downloads. I am hoping for some good big movies, but I think we will only see something like 'Disney with more to follow.

- Video iPod: This will be Steve's main product announcement. My take on it is a full screen, touch sensitive, slightly bigger than current iPod. It will also be all black or all white, no shiny metal back, as we all hate fingerprints.

- Video Dock: The best new accessory for your NEW Video iPod... will allow you to dock your new Video iPod and record from any source (Sky or Cable), then play back directly on the iPod... or synchronise with iTunes and you can playback on your Mac... or DockiT and you can play back on your TV. Wow !

- AirPort Video: We thought all the announcements had been done when the famous "One More Thing..." comes from Steve. The AirPort Video allows you to record on your Mac and stream the recordings to your TV. A very sleek box, with three status lights so you know what is happening at the Mac end of things in case it is in a different room.

That's it for now, enjoy !

New 24inch iMac - too much for my bank !

Sorry for the lack of posting this week, I am on a well earned holiday, but have sneaked into an internet lounge just to make this quick post, a bit late for hot news, but here it is for you to enjoy. Shame my bank balance won't allow me to buy 24 inches of real estate.

September 6, 2006—Apple® today announced that its entire iMac® line now features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor in every model, delivering up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous iMac.* A new 24-inch iMac with a brilliant 24-inch widescreen display joins the 17- and 20-inch models, and iMac prices now start at just £679 (inc. VAT). Every new iMac includes a built-in iSight™ video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box; Apple’s breakthrough Front Row media experience; and iLife® ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications.

“Every iMac—from the £679 model up through the new dazzling 24-inch widescreen model—now features blazing Core 2 Duo performance,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “And the new 24-inch widescreen iMac is the fastest, biggest and brightest iMac we’ve ever made.”

The new iMac lineup includes four models: a 1.83 GHz and a 2.0 GHz 17-inch, a 2.16 GHz 20-inch and the all-new 2.16 GHz 24-inch iMac, and features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor which delivers up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous 20-inch iMac running industry standard benchmarks.

Ideal for both consumers and professionals, the 24-inch iMac features a 24-inch widescreen LCD display with a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution that offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 20-inch model and a brighter display to make reading text and viewing images even easier. The all-new 24-inch iMac packs professional performance into the convenience of an all-in-one design and includes a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB of shared L2 cache, 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 128MB of GDDR3 memory and a SuperDrive™ for burning professional-quality DVDs. Delivering greater customisation for performance and expansion needs, users can configure the new 24-inch iMac with a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 3GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 500GB Serial ATA hard drive and the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory for outstanding graphics performance.

All I can add is wow !

iColour your Apple Laptop

If you fancy making your Apple Laptop a bit more individual and you have the guts to do what looks like a very simple install, then point your browser over to iColours. For just $3.99 (with free worldwide shipping) you can get a snazzy blue filter for your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro logo. The new MacBook incarnations are untested, so if you have any info on these then add it to the comments section on Geekanoids and pop iColours an email.

Link to iColours.ca