"Let's Rock": new iPods, iTunes 8, HD TV shows and iPhone update

During a special event which took place today in San Fransicro, Apple announced a revamped iPod line-up, iTunes 8 as well as a major software update for the iPhone.

iTunes:

The first announcement made today was iTunes 8, which brings a new feature called Genius as well as improved browsing.

iTunes is available for download today as a free update.

In terms of content, iTunes now has more than 8 million songs, 2600 movies and 30 000 TV shows but will now offer HD TV shows. NBC content is coming back in HD as well.

The new iPod family:

As the rumours have suggested, both the iPod nano and ipod touch lineups have been updated.

The nano regains its former rectangular shape and becomes even thinner with rounded edges. It also features an accelerometer, a new user interface with CoverFlow and the Genius feature. It's now available in 8GB and 16GB versions for respectively $149 and $199.

The iPod touch also gets even thinner than it was, and receives some small improvements in the software (Genius, UI changes), a speaker as well as integration of the Nike+ technology (the receiver is now built-in).

The Classic iPod gets more like a downgrade as the 160GB is dropped from the line-up which now has only one model which can hold 30 000 songs or 120GB of storage.

Apple has also announced a new pair of in-ear ear buds with dual driver system. they sell for $79.

iPod/iPhone games:

It appears that Apple is starting to openly take on Nintendo and Sony with its handheld gaming strategy as a big part of the presentation focused on gaming.

Spore was officially announced and demonstrated by Phil Schiller (Marketing VP) but Apple also showed some new titles like Real Soccer and Need For Speed.

iPhone Firmware 2.1:

The very awaited iPhone Firmware update numbered 2.1 has finally arrived, at least it's coming this Friday. It mainly fixes bugs and improves performance and battery life. No mention of the so long rumoured and awaited copy-paste feature, though Apple execs recently admitted it's on the pipeline for future updates.