New iPods now, Apple iTV coming in early 2007

Apple did take the wraps off of a new iPod today, but it was not the mythical "true video iPod" that we've been waiting for since last year. The company looks to be focusing on improving the video playback experience, however, touting a 60 percent brighter screen and better battery performance when playing video. The 6G iPod will get many more games, as popular time-wasters such as Bejeweled, Cubis 2, Mah-jong, Mini Golf, Pac Man, Tetris, Texas Holdem, Vortex and Zuma are coming to the iPod, and can be purchased at the iTMS for $4.99. The iPods will also feature newly redesigned Apple headphones.

The new top-of-the-line is a 8GB beast that holds "20,000 songs" for $349.

As expected, the iPod nano is showing its new colors now: green, silver, black, blue, and pink. With the explosion in color options comes an additional model, too. The entry point is a 2GB (silver only) model priced at $149. For $199, Apple offers the 4GB model in every color except for black, which is reserved for the new 8GB model alone. Priced at $249, the 8GB model comes in any color you like, as long as it is black. The nano has 24 hours of battery life according to Apple.

Apple also announced a new generation of the iPod Shuffle, priced at $79. The Shuffle is now smaller in physical size, around the size of a matchbook. Capacity has been boosted to 1GB, and it has a 12-hour battery life according to Apple. It will begin shipping in October.

The movies have indeed arrived. Apple is launching with Disney as its sole partner, with only 75 movies to start. We all know how that will end.

The big news is the pricing. Apple has apparently listened to the movie studios, and has adopted a pricing strategy to promote new releases. While new videos will sell for $14.99, studios have the option of offering pre-orders for $12.99, and this special introductory pricing will also be good for the first week that a video is released. Older titles will be sold at $9.99.

Apple has turned up the resolution on videos sold through iTMS, moving from its paltry 320x240 resolution to a much more respectable 640x480. Encoded with h.264 (MPEG-4), the videos should be close if not better than many 480p sources. It's not HD by any means, but it's a big improvement and really the first resolution we can see performing well on the TV across all manner of content.

iTunes has been updated to version 7.0 and sports some new features, including "Cover Flow."

Breaking with Apple's tradition of not announcing unreleased products, Jobs said that the company will release a wireless, set-top box for the TV called... iTV. Approximately half the size of the Mac mini, the iTV will feature Ethernet, 802.11g, USB ports, component video, optical audio and HDMI ports. It will work with the Apple Remote and sport an interface much like that of Front Row.

iTV will allow music, TV shows, and movies residing on a computer to play on a television in another part of the house with what Jobs describes as instantaneous access. It is slated to ship during the first quarter of 2007 and will retail for $299.

"Apple is in your den now," says Jobs. "Apple is in your living room. Apple is in your car. Apple is in your pocket." Will Apple be in your wallet?