Apple Screws Up iPod Updates

As many of you know already, Apple has released their new line of iPods and iTunes. There are a lot of great updates, unfortunately I think a few important ones were misplaced. For starters, the iPod Nano has a video camera, but the Touch does not? This is one feature everyone was expecting that Apple would give to new Touch owners, especially due to all of the great apps that could take advantage of the technology. But on top of that, Apple didn't even decide to give the Nano a regular photo camera, only a video camera, which is extremely odd. Another feature the touch didn't get was the ability to play FM radio stations. The new Nanos can play FM radio instead of its own music library, and now even pause live radio. Granted the touch has access to a multitude of online radio stations, there are plenty of times when those of us who don't live in the city where there is WiFi everywhere would like to listen to something other than what we have on our iPods. 

The new 32gb and 64gb iPod Touch models are able to use the voice controls included with the 3.0 software, but that is only when the user is using the included iPod headphones with the mic. There is no built in mic on the Touch models which means if you dont have your headphones in, the new voice features are useless. However, the new Nano includes a mic so you can record voice notes and interact in different ways with your iPod. The only real new features for the new Touch models are speed increases and updated software. That's a big disappointment for Apple fans. 

 
The new iTunes has some nice new features and has a pleasant overall interface redesign. You can finally share songs between your computers with iTunes in the house with the Home Sharing feature, something Apple fans have been waiting a long time for. They have also redesigned the iTunes Store layout for the better. You now browse through the store using a tabbed bar interface located on the top of the store to allow for faster and easier navigation. They have also added a cool new syncing feature for iPhone and iPod Touch users, you can now create and rearrange your pages on the computer to make it easier to organize all of your apps on your device. Some other cool improvements include more interactive movie rentals/downloads, more interactive album downloads, and Genius Mixes that automatically create stations of your music for you. Here is the finally summary of new features that I haven't discussed with you, "iTunes brings you even better ways to manage and share everything in your library. You can make your Smart Playlists even smarter. You can save iTunes Store items you want to purchase later in a new wish list. You can buy ringtones of your favorite songs directly from the iTunes Store on your iPhone and assign a specific song to a contact. And if you’re an avid social networker, it’s easy to tout your favorite music, movies, and TV shows on Facebook and Twitter right from the iTunes Store'' (quoted from the Apple website).

 
I would say overall Apples new launch of products are a good improvement over the last, with the exception of the Touch model. Don't get me wrong, the new Touch isn't a fail, its just a little disappointing with the lack of a few expected upgrades. The new price drops are also welcomed, and just in time to compete with Microsoft's new Zune HD.