Apple unveils new iPod models, latest version of iTunes

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has unveiled a series of updates and additions to its evergreen series of iPods (184 million sold and counting) at the company's Let's Rock press event in San Francisco.

iTunes will see a little bit of facelift in the form of iTunes version 8. The new edition welcomes back NBC TV shows (like fan-favorites The Office and 30 Rock), after a dispute between the two companies over pricing last year, and also introduces the new "Genius" function. The function is said to instantly recommend songs and artists based on the iTunes user's library and preferences (similar to options available from Netflix and Amazon.com).

"Let's say you're listening to a song, Bob Dylan, and you push the Genius button - 25, 50, 75 or 100 songs.You can bring up the Genius sidebar which makes recommendations from the iTunes store," Jobs said at the press conference. "You've got your music library, you turn on Genius, it sends information about your library to iTunes. We can learn about your musical tastes...but completely anonymously...but we're going to combine your info with other users, and as that happens Genius gets smarter and smarter."

Music lovers can also look forward to the third generation iPod nano this holiday shopping season, a device Jobs has deemed "the thinnest iPod ever." The oval-shaped iPod comes equipped with your standard iPod features (video playback and photo storage), but this one also has a built-in accelerometer and compatibility with said Genius function. Better still, the model allows owners to display songs like the iPhone or iTouch - namely, by turning the iPod sideways and scrolling through the library of music. Feeling indesicive? Simply shake the iPod itself to activate the suffle mode, a new feature met with generous applause. The revamped iPod nano will debut in a series of bright colors (dubbed "nano chromatic") that will sell for either $149 (8 GB) or $199 (16 GB) and should be in stores within the week.

Besides the nano, Jobs unveiled a newer (and, yes, thinner) model of the iPod touch, one declared as the "funnest iPod ever" (his grammar, not ours). Pictured above, the iPod touch's emphasis on gaming (with games like Crash Bandicoot, Spore Origins and Super Monkey Ball) hint that Apple may have aspirations to challenge Nintendo's handheld DS dominance. The latest iPod touch is available immediately, in the following models: an 8GB ($229), a 16GB ($299) and a 32GB ($399).

For a rundown of all of Apple's announcements (including a partnership with Nike and hi-tech $80 earbuds), check out Engadget's live blogging of Apple's Let's Rock. Meanwhile, Jobs made sure to point out the fact he's in perfectly good health following a recent bout with pancreatic cancer. "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," a noticeably slender Jobs said today.

Related links:
News: Apple talks to labels about unlimited music access
Apple.com
Wired: Apple Event: Let's Rock 2008

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