#Apple Keynote: All About #Jigglemode (and more)
#TalkNerdytoMeLover's Adam Reisinger
Apple held one of its famed media events earlier today to introduce a new iPod lineup, a new version of iTunes, a new Apple TV and an update to iOS, but none of those items were the big news. No, this keynote was all about #jigglemode.
OK, not really. But Steve Jobs might have inadvertently started a new meme when he referred to the ability to move icons around on an iOS screen as "jiggle mode". It's a great term that can be used in so many ways (giggity).
But seriously, on to the meat of the presentation (and no, that meat doesn't come with #jigglemode). iOS 4.1 has plenty of bug fixes, a new camera mode and the anticipated addition of Game Center and is due next week. Steve also demoed iOS 4.2, which will bring the iOS 4 feature set to the iPad, and that's coming in November.
Apple is still a hardware company too, and that means new iPods. The new shuffle brings back on-device controls, and a similar -- but smaller -- form factor to the second-generation shuffle. It's $49 for 2GB of storage and comes in five different colors. The new nano is probably the biggest departure for Apple, with the device ditching buttons for a touchscreen interface and a square form factor more similar to the shuffle than the previous generation of nanos. The device looks impressive, but might not appeal to everyone. It's $149 for the 8 GB and $179 for the 16 GB.
The new iPod Touch gains many of the features of the iPhone 4, but doesn't share its industrial design (which probably pisses off the case makers). It's got the retina display, front and rear facing cameras, FaceTime support and everything else you love about the iPhone, without that whole phone thing (or 3G support at all). Interestingly, Steve admitted that many people see the iPod Touch as an iPhone without the phone, and he even took the time to take a veiled shot at AT&T, calling it an iPhone without a contract. It's $229 for the 8 GB model, $299 for the 32 GB model and $399 for the 64 GB model. Oh, and all the new iPods are shipping next week.
New iPods means new iTunes, and iTunes 10 is available today (run your software update and you may already find it there). And with iTunes 10 comes Ping, a new music-centric social network. According to Steve, you can follow your friends and favorite artists, and discover what music they're talking about, listening and downloading. Steve said Ping was a little big of Facebook and a little bit of Twitter. The nice thing about it is it doesn't require you to sign up for yet another service (assuming you're already using the iTunes store), but it does become yet another service to check. It also has kind of a GoMiso feel to it, at least from the demo. I don't want to get too much into Ping before getting my hands on it, but right now I'm not sure how successful it will be without integrating into already existing social media.
As always, Steve had a "one more thing" for his keynote, and as rumored, this was the new Apple TV.
I gotta admit, this is the product I was most interested in for this keynote. The new Apple TV is $99 and is entirely based on streaming. You can rent HD movies for $4.99 or rent individual TV episodes (from ABC and FOX only for now) for $0.99, but you can also stream directly from Netflix or your computer. Since I've got an iTunes library that's approaching 3 TB, the streaming ability of this device is nice, but I'm not sure how successful the rental model will be. Yes, it's commercial free, which is a benefit over say a Hulu Plus, but Hulu Plus is $10 a month for unlimited streaming. With an Apple TV, $10 a month buys me 10 individual TV episodes a month. That's a pretty big difference for a lot of users. Also, $1 per episode isn't going to replace most people's cable bills yet, particularly with only two networks available. The new Apple TV is a step in the right direction, but I'm not sure how it stacks up against Google TV long-term.
There was so much more about the keynote I couldn't cover here, so go ahead and watch it for yourself to get the full Apple-y goodness. And drop us a comment to let us know if you're going to buy any of these new products or if there are any features you wish Apple had added.
For more nerdy content, be sure to visit AdamReisinger.com, or follow Adam on Twitter (@AdamReisinger)