Sep
09
2009
@11:44 am

appleOr as I would like to call it, “The Awesome iTunes 9 Plus Some iPod Stuff.”

The best announcement that came out from the event was the update to iTunes 9. It’s adding a lot of features that have been a long time coming, but instead of complaining that it took so long, I’m welcoming it with open arms.

Ever since I got an iPhone, the one thing I have wanted to do with ease is to be able to order my apps outside of the iPhone. It’s a hassle to touch and drag an app across multiple screens, so this is a great addition. My only concern is how Cydia apps will be affected. Hopefully they show up as I have a fair amount of Cydia apps that are organized how I would like it to be organized. Knowing Apple though, I’ll be disappointed with the answer.

There are other new features such as improved syncing and genius as well as additional content for downloaded movies and music (at an increased price), but the app arrange was the big one for me.

The iPod lineup wasn’t as excited for me. The classic iPod is still getting support as they update it to 160GB, however it STILL doesn’t have the genius feature. Forget that it can fit a TON of music, giving the genius feature a much wider range of artists to choose from. My 80GB sits aside crying that it’s not being used to it’s full potential (actually, it’s dead because I haven’t charged it in ages).

The iPod Touch only gets upgraded with more space, now offering 64GB of it (come on iPhone, now it’s your turn!). They talked briefly about it’s gaming capabilities and comparing it’s library to the PSP and DS. The gaming geek in me had an issue with this since none of the games on the iPhone have had the production value of the other handheld systems. I’m a fan of iPhone gaming, but the reason why they have 20,000 more games than the competitor is because Apple lets ANYONE make a game, no matter how crappy or short.

Ignoring the shuffle (meh), the iPod nano gets the biggest update with a camera. I didn’t read if Apple mentioned camera specs, but they compared it to the Flip. It’s either a bold choice or they can actually compete with a device that’s primarily a camcorder. Nano also is getting an FM Tuner, which is about time. Not a ‘wow’ feature, but more of a ‘what took so long?’ feature.

And I think that was it. Nothing all too exciting, but I’ll take that iTunes update whenever I can download it. The only event I get really excited for these days is the iPhone one in May. Come on 64GB iPhone!