Filed under: Audio, Games, Photo, Video, News, Windows, Macintosh, Apple
Apple releases iTunes 7, goes Hollywood
by Grant Robertson Sep 12th 2006
Whew. After spending an hour rapid-fire reloading the Engadget live blog coverage of Apple's "It's Showtime" special event, my fingers are tired, my eyeballs are fried and I'm full of Apple vitriol.
For starters, Apple announced iTunes 7. It's not just a little facelift, there are some seriously cool new features that are useful even to those of us who aren't into movies. Yep, movies. Did I mention that iTunes will now sell movies online from Disney, Pixar, Touchstone and Miramax? Seventy-five titles to kick things off, with prices ranging from $9.99 to $12.99. Our buddies at TUAW have already rolled up their sleeves and written a complete walk-through of the new iTunes version 7.
Who wants to watch movies at a dinky 320x240 resolution? No one, and definitely not Jobs... So they've upgraded resolution on iTunes video downloads from that dinky 320x240 to a really respectable 640x480. Hi-res is the new black.Speaking of black; The Nano got a facelift. It's thinner (Is that possible?), brighter(40%) and has better battery life(24 hours!). The 2GB and 4GB models are still available, but Apple added an 8GB to the lineup (available only in black). All models get an aluminum case, so no more scratched Nano blues. The 2GB is available only in "naked" aluminum, but the 4GB gets a dash of whimsy with green, pink and blue models available.
Watch the super sharp new Nano ad campaign here.
The standard from factor iPod got a bit of lovin' too. An 80GB Video model was announced, along with price drops across the line. And, not to be forgotten, the Shuffle gets a complete facelift. An all aluminum case and ultra tiny new form make the new shuffle a pretty hot little ticket at it's new price of $79.
What else could you want? Games. Everyone loves a good time-waster. Games are coming to the iPod with Bejeweled, Tetris, Pac-Man, Zuma, Texas Holden, Mini Golf, Cubis 2 and more. They'll set you back $4.99 a pop at the iTunes
Jobs is famous for, "Oh, and one more thing" and this time it's a yet to be released product due in 2007. Codenamed iTV, this little box will allow you to browse and watch your iTunes Movies on your TV. It's a slick little toy, with the clean menus and interface you'd expect from the Cupertino kids packed into a form factor that's roughly a Mac mini at half-height. The iTV will include built in 802.11 wireless, USB 2.0, Ethernet, HDMI, Component video and analog audio jacks. Suspiciously (or not so) absent is any sort of analog video out.
It's a solid shake-up to the Apple line, but notable pundit misses include the non-existent iPhone, and 16:9 video iPod. No dice for the future watchers. However, what Apple delivered are solid products that update their core entertainment business and functionality.
[Thanks to Engadget and Apple for the great images!]
Update: Keen eyed reader Graham points out that a component video output is analog. Oops. Thanks Graham!
After spending the better part of an hour on 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dsfsdfsdf said 4:56PM on 9-12-2006
iTunes is the reason why I would not buy an ipod. the best upgrade would be to make ipods work without it.
Reply
J5892 said 5:04PM on 9-12-2006
So is there a reason why when I download itunes from apple's site it still gives me itunes 6?
Reply
Grant Robertson said 5:08PM on 9-12-2006
@1 : Amen brother. Your statement is the primary reason I don't own an iPod. However, most people aren't with us on this one so, it's still a really relevant topic.
Reply
Grant Robertson said 5:41PM on 9-12-2006
Robotrock: What do you use?
Reply
Monoto said 6:12PM on 9-12-2006
I've heard lots of people praising the iPod plugin for Winamp. There was also a great article on Lifehacker in January about creating a self-sustaining iPod (http://doiop.com/selfsustainingipod). The thing that bugs me is that if you don't want to be married to iTunes, you have to go through a very messy divorce.
I agree with you, Grant. The reasons abound for not owning an iPod, but your average user is, well, just that: your average user. And iTunes (along with most other mass-produced software) is made for the average user. Before I get flamed, I'm NOT claiming that everyone who chooses to use iTunes is a dope, 'kay?
So Grant, I've been wondering. What media player(s) do you use? For on-the-go, I've been using an iriver H120 since they came out (I've even bought spares now that they're out of production). My media software of choice is Winamp, hands down.
Reply
Grant Robertson said 6:30PM on 9-12-2006
I have a 4GB Muvo, which at the time I bought it was the smallest mp3 player for its capacity. It works great, and has been incredibly reliable.
It's getting to be time for an upgrade, and I have to say that the SanDisk Sansa e280 is looking mighty tempting. It's tiny, it's slick and, if you add a 2gb microSD card, it's the largest capacity flash based player on the market (even after today).
Reply
Monoto said 7:10PM on 9-12-2006
I'm leaning very heavily toward trying out a Sansa myself. Beautiful design, great feature set, and the price is definitely right.
The only showstopper is that it doesn't handle Ogg Vorbis, and about a third of my collection is in Ogg. I'll be very excited when the Sansa port of the Rockbox firmware comes out.
Reply
phizm said 7:21PM on 9-12-2006
iPods rock, iTunes sucks ass.
Try Mediamonkey, It's got everything you'd need personally I don't need a built in music store.
www.mediamonkey.com/download.htm
Reply
Grant Robertson said 7:23PM on 9-12-2006
I'm not much of an ogg zealot but I have respect for your reasons. I too would dig some Rockbox firmware, if only to kill the ability to play DRM'ed WMA. The Rockbox site says it's not very far along.. pity that.
Reply
Graham said 8:16PM on 9-12-2006
Isn't component analog? Sorry had to ask.
Reply
asurroca said 9:54PM on 9-12-2006
Man, with all the iTunes-bashing, I find it fitting to bring back an ooold post of mine on iTunes...
http://asurroca.wordpress.com/2005/10/02/itunes-usuck/
Feeding the fire...
1. iTunes 7. The best upgrade to iTunes would be deleting it entirely and going back to good ole WinAmp. Also, when the hell will Apple give up on the tired old brushed metal look they force into nearly every one of their applications?!
2. Games: Wow, now the iPod plays games most cellphones have done for years. One step closer to the rumored iPhone?
3. Movies: Why pay $10 for a movie when I can find one with its own box in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart or on amazon.com (excluding Unbox!) for that much or less on any given day? Especially if it's going to be as DRM'd as iTunes music files.
4. You know how everyone screams "iPod ripoff" everytime any other company makes an MP3 player? Well, let me be the first to call the new Shuffle a Mobiblu ripoff (+ clip - screen).
Reply
Ryan Carter said 12:40AM on 9-13-2006
I am also a big fan of the Sansa e280. I think the ability to play many common formats both audio and video is what sets the Sansa above the iPod. I am tired of Apple's proprietary crap. I want to be able to play all my media without all the red tape involved. I currently have an Creative Zen Nano Plus, not a bad first player, but it is no Sansa or iPod.
Reply
mac-lender said 11:46AM on 9-13-2006
I'm still anoyed tha Apple didn't get the mutiple libriary or reverse synching right but it is a decent upgrade....
Reply
robotrock said 12:28PM on 9-13-2006
uhh I have an ipod and don't use itunes. Where have you two been?
Reply
robotrock said 12:30PM on 9-13-2006
weird I don't know how that happened..
there's lots of software out there to unmarry the ipod from itunes
i like ephpod and winamp myself. I isn't as slick as itunes, but that's sorta the point.
Reply
O.com said 2:03PM on 9-13-2006
is it just me... or is this new itunes really really buggy and sticky?
i havent been able to eject my ipod from itunes ( im on a pc ) this damn thing keeps freezing up on me. its getting irritating. i cant even update my ipod software.
i have over 15000 songs. and i have a dual 3 gig machine. this thing refuses to work right, and NOT freeze.
Reply
ITunes Hater said 12:58AM on 9-14-2006
itunes 7 sucks - used to be that you could drag a playlist onto the iPod and it would copy the songs and add the playlist. You could simply double click the Ipod Icon and have another window to drag from the ever increasing playlist.
Now, you double click and you get some programmer self indulgent preference pane (as if the preference option wasn't enough, now we have pretty pictures).
If you have playlists that extend such that the iPod icon is out of sight, you can't drag and drop. Who thinks of these types of shit changes??? [person of less-than-ample endowment] refugees from Microsoft??????
Reply
uscmandy11 said 11:27PM on 9-17-2006
This new deal between Apple and Disney is merely just another way for studios to market their films and in return, make more money. Young people these days have become so lazy that they would rather download a movie on their iPod then simply go buy it. Although this is a potentially profitable investment, what does this mean for our idea of entertainment these days? With iPods that have games, music, TV and now movies, what is this doing for social events. Now people can just sit by themselves and become entertained, never having to interact with others. Already, the box office records have been on a steady decline over the past few years and with movies now available through iTunes this may hinder the profit a movies makes in the theater even more. Films were made to be on the big screen, not a miniscule screen that hurts your eyes after looking at it for five minutes. Even if this new program allows you to burn the film on a DVD, it still takes away the luxury of the movie watching experience.
Reply