512 Pixels

Chris Rawson at TUAW:

For the same price as last year’s iPod nano, you get a much smaller device with a new multitouch-based UI, but you also lose many of the features the old model had. That’s form over function all the way, and it’s just as bad, in its way, as Apple getting rid of FireWire on its MacBooks. It’s the same principle at work: once you intro a feature, you’d better have a very good reason for taking that feature away in a subsequent model, … and “Gee, look how small it is now!” doesn’t cut it every time.

The whole thing still perplexes me.

Ben Brooks sums up today’s events.

I can’t wait.

At its annual music-based event, Apple today announced an all-new iPod nano.

The new player is small — 1.48 inches tall and 1.61 inches wide. Gone is the click wheel that for so long defined the iPod. Instead, the iPod nano’s face is defined by a 1.54-inch color, Multi-Touch display. The OS is still in question, even though it sure looks like iOS, and Jobs alluded to it running iOS while describing how to move icons around on the screen.

It is easy to think of the new Nano as a Shuffle with a screen. In fact, it’s just a tiny bit bigger than the Shuffle, which is just 1.14 inches tall and 1.24 inches wide. Both have built-in clips for ease-of-use. Both are small and both have great battery life.

(See Apple’s “Compare iPods” page for full specs.)

Apple has always positioned the Nano as the workout iPod. Equipped with Nike+ for runners, it’s small form factor was easy to manage. The click wheel made it simple to control the iPod, even on the go.

I’m not convinced that the Multi-Touch Nano announced today will be that easy to live with for runners, no matter what Apple says. A click wheel is easy to use without looking at it, a screen isn’t. The existence of volume buttons on the top of the device says to me that the company realizes this on some level. So while adjusting volume should be easy to do by feel, changing songs may not be.

Apple hasn’t shared details on the headphones it will be shipping with the new iPod nano, but assuming they are the standard, simple earbuds (without the controls that ship with the iPhone’s) the only way to navigate music is via the screen.

Engadget’s photo of the playback controls show what appear to be large targets, but glass is smooth, no matter what is showing underneath it.

And even though the Shuffle’s buttons are back, the only two models with Nike+ are the Nano and the Touch.

Yes, the new Nano is pretty, and yes, I’m sure it will sell well, but for a device pitched to athletes, it doesn’t make sense.

Update: Engadget’s hands-on video is up, and reveals the Nano doesn’t have an alarm.

Update 2: According to the online Apple Store, the iPod nano just comes with normal headphones — to get a pair with controls, it’s an extra $29. Lame.

Update 3: None of this even gets into what other functions the iPod nano has lost, including video playback, video recording and games.

Hardware

The iPod Shuffle has buttons again, while the iPod nano is tiny and touch-based. With a clip. It’s really weird.

The iPod touch got a Retina Display, A4 and loads of other goodies. Make no mistake — this is Apple’s gaming platform. They company claims the Touch outsells Nintendo and Sony’s mobile game systems combined.

The iPod Classic wasn’t mentioned, but still appears on Apple’s site, so I’m assuming it is just the same as it has been for the last year — forgettable.

The AppleTV is a brand new beast. It’s small and sexy, and is all about rentals. Netflix is on board, finally, as is streaming from local computer. All for $99.

Everything is smaller, lighter and thinner, except for iTunes. Which continues to balloon out of control.

Software

iTunes 10 includes a social media network. Yes, I wish I was kidding.

iOS 4.1 is coming to the iPhone and iPod touch this month, and includes lots of bug fixes and Game Center. iOS 4.2 will be out in November, bringing all the new goodies to iPad owners, who are still stuck on iOS 3.2.1.

This sure seems to be a violation of Apple’s terms:

This broadcast is the property of Apple and is protected by US copyright law and international treaties. Any reproduction or distribution is strictly prohibited without prior written approval from Apple. Please contact Apple Public Relations with any questions.

Oh, wait. This is Gizmodo. They don’t concern themselves with such things.

Ars Technica’s Chris Foresman, on Delicious Library 2:

So Delicious Library 2 would ship with a whole new back- and front-ends—in effect, it was like a whole new product. But Shipley didn’t stop there; instead, DL2 piled on new features, including a whole list of new product categories it could track, like video games, tools, and other items. It also added web exporting with iWeb integration, a companion iPhone app (which was later dropped due to API limitations set by Amazon), library sharing with friends, improved AppleScript support, and more.

The result was that DL2 was a nightmare for some users. Shipley:

So, the big realization with 2.0 is that I tried to do too much. Which is, you know, like being in a job interview and saying your biggest fault is you work too hard. But it turned out to be a big disservice to my customers.

[…]

The decision was, make stuff work or cut it.

And that right there is the hardest thing to do to something you’ve created.

Very cool, but I’m not sure how easy this would be to use day-to-day.

I guess we’ll know tomorrow.

[ via 9 to 5 Mac]

Philip Berne has a meltdown.

Each time the company does this, I feel a little older.

So very true, Shawn.

The Pew Research Center:

A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency, a plurality of the public says they do not know what religion Obama follows.

[…]

The view that Obama is a Muslim is more widespread among his political opponents than among his backers.

[ via @epilnivek]