New iPods Announced: Updated Classic, touch, and nano
Posted 09/09/2008 at 12:03pm
| by Zack Stern

New iPods predictably shuffled into Apple's media event today, including an updated classic and touch, and new nano. All are shipping from Apple now and should reach stores in the next several days. The classic got a storage bump to 120GB for $249, while the touch and nano improvements were bigger.
Both include the Genius automatic playlist feature found in iTunes 8, so you can let the iPod AI mix songs away from a Mac. It's like your iPod is always passing you mixtapes in class. iPod touch hardware improvements make it more similar to the iPhone, including a thinner shape and built-in speaker. Nike + is built into the touch, too, so you can connect to your Nike shoe pedometer without needing the iPod dock connector. (That connector will continue to work with all nanos.) The new touch comes in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB sizes for $229, $299, or $399.
If the iPod classic is fat/phat, the new nano is tall. A curved, glass display wraps around the front of its oval shape. It also includes an accelerometer, so if you tilt the device horizontally, the lengthy display better matches wide video. And a quick shake shuffles songs.
Available in blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, and silver, the nano comes in 8GB and 16GB sizes for $149 or $199. New earphones are bundled with the media player that include a button to control playback and a microphone to record voice notes. Apple will sell premium, in-ear headphones in October for $79.