Apple Packs a Video Camera into the iPod nano

Source: AP

Apple iPod Shuffle At a press event today in San Francisco, Apple new iPod pricing, iTunes 9, and a new video-capable version of it’s tiny iPod nano.

The new iPod nano boasts the same small size as its predecessors, but now the back of each unit touts a video camera and a microphone—and the front of the unit also offers a slightly-larger 2.2-inch display. Users can shoot video directly on the nano, storing it in the units’ 8 or 16 GB of flash memory; users can watch the video directly on the iPod nano or sync it back to their computers, where it’s all ready to be uploaded to YouTube. iPod nano users can use the integrated microphone to record voice memos, and the nano is also gaining something that has been missing from Apple’s iPod lineup since day one: an FM radio tuner. The new iPod nano picks up the Voice Over feature originally introduced on the iPod shuffle, which announces track and playlist information. The new iPod nanos are available today in a wide range of colors, with the 8 GB edition running $149 and the 16 GB edition priced at $179.

Apple spent a good portion of its press event extolling the virtues of the iPod touch as a gaming platform, showing off forthcoming titles ranging from Electronic Arts with a version of Madden NFL 10 to action games like Assassin’s Creed II and Nova. To that end, Apple introduced new 32 GB and 64 GB versions of the iPod touch which the companies claim are as much as 50 percent faster than the originals, thanks to OpenGL | ES 2.0. Apple has also introduced new pricing on its iPod touch line, offering the existing 8 GB edition for $199, and offering the 32 GB edition for $299 and a 64 GB edition for $399.

Apple also had a surprise for folks who thought the iPod classic was going the way of the dinosaur: Apple is pushing the capacity of its tried-and-true hard drive-based media player from 120 GB to 160 GB, while retaining the $249 price tag. Apple also introduced new colors for the diminutive iPod shuffle (black, silver, pink, green, and blue): the 2 GB edition drops to $59, while the 4 GB edition is still $79—Apple also announced a special edition $99 iPod shuffle in a stainless steel case.

Apple also took the wraps off iTunes 9, the latest version of its digital media management and jukebox software. iTunes 9 expands on the software’s existing “Genius” feature—which would make suggestions about songs that go with a particular track—and leverages listener preference data to automatically generate up to a dozen “Genius Mixes,” playlists of songs from a user’s library the “genius” database believes will go well together. In our experience, iTunes’ “Genius” feature has been been at best comic, but we confess we fall well outside Apple’s target audience for the feature. iTunes 9 will also introduce new media synchronization capabilities, and adds sharing features that enables users to copy media (music and video) to up to five authorized computers in a home. The iTunes store will also be able to support liner notes, photos, and essays for albums—the sort of stuff that used to be packed into LP releases but fell by the wayside with CDs and digital music.

Showing 11 comments

Does the next iPod Nano really need a camera? – JailBake at 1:59pm 2nd February 2012 [...] sixth-generation iPod Nano replaced the fifth-gen, it not only lost the click wheel but the video camera mounted on the rear of the wafer-thin device too. Now, a series of images have leaked out showing the familiar [...]
Does the next iPod Nano really need a camera? | iDevices News at 7:19am 2nd February 2012 [...] sixth-generation iPod Nano replaced the fifth-gen, it not only lost the click wheel but the video camera mounted on the rear of the wafer-thin device too. Now, a series of images have leaked out showing the familiar [...]
Does the next iPod Nano really need a camera? at 3:58am 2nd February 2012 [...] sixth-generation iPod Nano replaced the fifth-gen, it not only lost the click wheel but the video camera mounted on the rear of the wafer-thin device too. Now, a series of images have leaked out showing the familiar [...]
Rumor: New iPod Nano to regain camera – JailBake at 3:49am 11th May 2011 [...] have to ditch the clip because it will cover the camera lens. The Nano used to have a camera in its fifth-generation model back in 2009, and critics were unhappy when the current smaller model phased the camera [...]
Rumor: New iPod Nano to regain camera (Digital Trends) at 11:37pm 10th May 2011 [...] th&#1077 camera lens. Th&#1077 Nano used t&#959 h&#1072&#957&#1077 a camera &#1110n &#1110t&#1109 fifth-generation model back &#1110n 2009, &#1072nd critics w&#1077r&#1077 m&#1110&#1109&#1077r&#1072bl&#1077 [...]
Rumor: New iPod Nano to regain camera at 9:44pm 10th May 2011 [...] have to ditch the clip because it will cover the camera lens. The Nano used to have a camera in its fifth-generation model back in 2009, and critics were unhappy when the current smaller model phased the camera [...]
Microsoft Zune HD vs. Apple iPod Touch | My Blog at 7:31pm 18th December 2010 [...] in the price department when it lifted the lid on the ZuneHD pricing back in August, but since Apple responded with a price drop on the Touch in September, the gap has narrowed significantly. Apple technically holds the lowest entry-level [...]
Dan Gaul at 9:51am 10th September 2009 I had thought I read somewhere that the nano was the best selling iPod. I think it's dumb they don't have a still camera on the nano. I agree, why doesn't the touch have this?! Maybe they don't want to compete too much with the iPhone?
1. Ian Bell at 1:01pm 10th September 2009 So it will record video but not take pics!? WTF?
Sunny Youn at 9:18pm 9th September 2009 I like the fact that they installed the FM tuner. There are only so many times you can replay your own iTunes playlists without getting bored! The videocam feature is overkill... puh-lease.. I am interested to check out the new "Genius" features on the iTunes software, since the older versions were hardly genius at all..
Ian Bell at 3:48pm 9th September 2009 This doesn't make much sense to me. They don't sell many nano's anyways. Why not put them in the Touch which is what everyone uses?