Yesterday came a day many were waiting for, Apple’s yearly media event and with that, a lot of discussion. Below, I’ll give you the rundown of what I thought.
If you didn’t see it, you could catch the keynote here but only if you are on an Apple device running Safari.
The refresh of the iPod Shuffle and the iPod Nano
The iPod Shuffle this iteration became what it always should’ve been. Last years generation was a complete fail as many users iPod Shuffles would malfunction during workouts, due to their controls found on the headphones would stop working on sweat. Apparently, Apple listened by returning buttons and adding VoiceOver and playlists with their newest iteration. With an entry point of $49, its a nice buy.
Now, the iPod Nano is a different story. It dropped the click wheel, video recording camera, and its widescreen for a smaller look with a multi-touch screen. In my opinion, Apple just drop kicked all iPod Nano fans because this is not a refresh, but a new device. It just seems like a premium version of the iPod Shuffle. Sure, its nice but at an entry point of $149 I’d rather get an iPod Touch or stick with the shuffle.
The iPod Touch with dual cameras and FaceTime
Seems great doesn’t it? Well, apparently the VGA camera on the rear takes still shots at .7MP. Really? I had heard of phones having 1.3MP and 3MP, but .7MP? It seems like the pictures this will take will be great for social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
I already ordered mine since I had the first generation and since then, it has improved a lot. I’ll give a review once I receive mine. At $229 for the entry 8GB model, its good for those who want such a device.
The comeback of AppleTV with 99cent episode rentals
Apple decided to try getting into your living room again with the AppleTV. This time, they were boasting about 99cent episode rentals, 720p streaming, Netflix ready, Pandora, stunning photo slideshows, no memory management and a $99 entry point. Convinced?
Well, there already exists a device that has a large fan base and is probably a better option, Roku. You can see how its better through Apple TV vs the competition. Given the keynote, Roku made their entry level $59, while their HD-capable model is $69.
Shortly after, Amazon decided to sell, not rent, their episodes for 99cents. Wow. We are welcoming the competition. It seems like Amazon is operating at a loss for their 99cent episodes in order to win over their market share.
So what do you think? Is the AppleTV going to last?
So what do you think about the Apple keynote?
Go ahead and let us know what you thought about the keynote.
Note: Apparently a lot of what I had guessed actually happened in my previous post, Apples Special Event Takes Place This September 1st. I’m beginning to think the social media is ruining all these events because they hardly surprise people anymore since the majority of the things released have been talked about for weeks before the event. Maybe if we didn’t know, we’d react differently?
