Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ iPod touch, iPod nano, and iTunes Get Redesigned Agen G. N. Schmitz While the iPhone has crashed its party the last two years, Apple's annual September event retained a bit of the music theme of its predecessors with the release of new iPod models, as well as a brief introduction to the newly redesigned iTunes desktop software. Interestingly, neither the new iPods nor the new version of iTunes will be available until October (though pre-orders for the iPods begin on 14 September 2012), which leads many on the TidBITS staff to wonder if another iOS-based product (i.e., a mythical 'iPad mini') may be announced in the intervening weeks. iPod touch -- The fifth-generation [1]iPod touch adopts the same 4-inch Retina display (1136 by 640 pixels) of the new iPhone 5 and similarly grows taller and slimmer due to the shared form factor. In particular, the iPod touch grows to 4.86 inches/123.4mm tall (compared to the 4.4-inch/58.9mm fourth-generation iPod touch) while remaining essentially the same width (2.31 inches/58.6 mm). It also shaves off a bit of depth (0.24 inches/6.1mm versus 0.28 inches/7.2mm) and weight (3.1 ounces/88 grams versus 3.56 ounces/101 grams). The iPod touch gets a processor bump to the A5 chip 'enabling it to run Siri ' and upgrades its wireless capabilities to dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 Ghz bands) and Bluetooth 4.0. Both front and back cameras have been updated, with the rear iSight camera moving on up to 5 megapixels and 1080p HD recording and the front FaceTime HD camera improving to 1.2 megapixels and 720p HD video resolution. Like the iPhone 5, the iPod touch includes the new Panorama feature that stitches images together into a panoramic photo. In addition to the standard black and white case options, the iPod touch now comes in pink, silver and blue. The new iPod touch will be available for pre-order starting on 14 September 2012 with pricing remaining the same as the previous model: $299 for 32 GB and $399 for 64 GB. The fourth-generation iPod touch remains a part of Apple's product mix, with black and white models available at $199 for 16 GB and $249 for 32 GB (the 8 GB model has been discontinued). iPod nano -- The seventh-generation [2]iPod nano has once again been given a drastic redesign, returning to the slim, tall profile of the fifth-generation iPod nano after the sixth generation's square shape. This latest iteration measures 3.01 inches/76.5mm tall, 1.56 inches/39.6mm wide, and 0.21 inches/5.4mm thin. With the larger body, it's also grown in weight to a 'hefty' 1.1 ounces/31 grams (from 0.74 ounces/21.1 grams). The iPod nano sports a 2.5-inch Multi-Touch display (240 by 432 pixels), a home button on the front, and volume and play/pause buttons on the right side. It keeps the FM radio of its predecessor (though now adding DVR-like rewind capabilities) while also including Bluetooth 4.0 and improving its battery life to 30 hours. You have seven choices of colors ' pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver, and slate ' but only a single choice of storage capacity (16 GB). Retailing for $149, the iPod nano will also be available in October (with pre-orders starting 14 September 2012). New Accessories -- Like the iPhone 5, both the latest iPod touch and iPod nano adopt the new Lightning connector, which replaces the long-in-the-tooth 30-pin dock connector that we've used since 2003. Of course, a new adapter can play havoc with the iPod accessories you've become accustomed to, but Apple is offering two versions of a Lightning-to-30-pin adapter that's available as a $29 [3]single standalone piece or as a $39 [4]0.2 m cable. Both additions to the iPod family also include Apple's EarPods, a replacement for the oft-maligned earbuds. The new EarPods have been designed to (thankfully) fit better in the ear and provide deeper bass. The iPod Survivors -- The [5]iPod shuffle doesn't receive any improvements, but it's now available in colors that match the new iPod nano ' pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver, and slate. It's available starting today for $49 for 2 GB of storage. Additionally, the [6]iPod classic survives another product cycle, with no changes to capacity (160 GB) or price ($249). iTunes Goes to 11 (Or Does It?) -- While Apple hasn't officially assigned the version 11 number to the new iTunes (perhaps in order to avoid endless Spinal Tap references), the updated desktop software seems to be taking design cues from the redesigned iOS iTunes Store (also announced today). The new desktop iTunes has been given a cleaner edge-to-edge design that echoes its redesigned iOS compadre (which is where 60 percent of all downloads are made, according to Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice president of Internet software and services, during today's presentation). It also adds a new Up Next feature that displays upcoming songs and enables you to add songs or albums to the queue. Other improvements include a redesigned MiniPlayer mode with built-in search and support for Up Next, and searches that span across your entire library (rather than having to choose a particular playlist or category to search within). iCloud is further integrated into iTunes, with all iTunes purchases now viewable in your library. However, the new iTunes won't be released until late October. In the meantime, Apple has released [7]iTunes 10.7 to bridge the compatibility gap for iOS 6 (which will be shipping on 19 September 2012). References 1. http://www.apple.com/ipod-touch/ 2. http://www.apple.com/ipod-nano/ 3. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD823ZM/A/lightning-to-30-pin-adapter 4. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD824/lightning-to-30-pin-adapter-02-m 5. http://www.apple.com/ipod-shuffle/ 6. http://www.apple.com/ipodclassic/ 7. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1576 .