Where's the Apple Keynote discussion?

Love them. Ordered a 16GB iPod Touch. Pissed that it's only available in 8GB and 16GB though. Hopefully before tis shipped it'll be updated to like 16GB and 32GB.

i think i liked the previous nano better, but other then that, i love em all
iphone, here i come

I'm stuck between an iPod Touch or an ASUS Eee PC.

now that the iPhone is less, its considerable... or the iPod Touch... I want to see what the kids can do with the Touch before I commit (I am impressed with all the brave iPhone hackers)

um... Hooray Apple!

-__-_--_-__-_-
edit--->

I've just rearranged the info under "video" as its kind of confusing to read:

audio: AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio using .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second,
Baseline Profile: Low-Complexity with audio;

H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second,
Baseline Profile: up to Level 3.0 with audio;***

MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second,
Simple Profile with audio.

below is from wiki H.264 Levels

H.264 Level 3.0-
max macroblocks per second:
.........................40,500 macroblocks/s
max framesize:
.........................1620 macroblocks
Max video bit rate (VCL)-
Baseline Profiles:
.........................10 Mbit/s

Examples for high resolution @ frame rate
(max stored frames) in Level:
.........................352x480@61.4 (12)
.........................352x576@51.1 (10)
.........................720x480@30.0 (6)
.........................720x576@25.0 (5)

**This is a place where the specs for iPhone and Touch differ, for the iPhone, its
H.264 video, up to 768 Kbps, 320 by 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with audio

I'm not sure what all this means, but I'm throwing it out there. Why specify 1.5Mbps for Low Complexity Baseline when it says "up to" Level 3 Baseline up to 2.5Mbps? Isn't one inclusive of the other?

Also, is the iPod Touch, the iPod flagship actually capable of 29.97fps 720x480 video output, aka DVD quality, on an external video?

-----
Apple Special Event 9/5/07

Nothing thats really a big deal actually. An iphone without the phone part. I'm most excited about the nano playing video now!

OK, so I'm watching the Steve demonstrate the new iTunes ringtone maker . . . Gee golly willikers, is the ringtone biz really such a big deal nowadays? I find song ringtones incredibly annoying, but I'm clearly sooo out of touch with what's happening . . .

Now, it would be pretty cool to make ringtones out of any sound, not just iTunes songs. Anyone know if the ringtone maker can use other sources? Well, of course, I'm guessing these ringtones only work with iPhone, which I ain't got and ain't getting any time soon, so the issue is actually moot for me.

dan k

take any digital audio file you have, cut it to the length / section you want, convert it to a format your phone uses and transfer it... either blue tooth, cable connection, or web browser...

All in all, im mostly excited about the nano myself... not even about the video..

but to be honest (embarassingly so) because of the awesome teal color...

...anyone know if Nike+ is still supported on the new nanos?

Yes it is. Check it here:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=MA365LL/B

Scroll to the bottom, just before the customer reviews. It lists the 3rd gen Nano.

What amazes me more than the new iPods is the wingnuts who are up in arms over the iPhone price drop because they were early adopters.

I just don't get it. It's like these people somehow bought the phone without knowing the price, or that their phone has somehow lost functionality because the price has dropped.

Sure, I'd be annoyed if I'd bought anything, then saw the price drop a month later. It's happened to me before, and likely will again. But I accepted that purchase price when I bought it. That was my own decision, and even if they started giving them away for free the following week, that was still my purchase decision, therefore my responsibility completely.

I'm not fan of corporate Apple, but I'm much less of a fan of stupidity.

But this guy is ... giving money away

I find it very interesting that he is only giving away a store credit of half the price drop, and only on people who've received no other rebates or consideration.

I'd love to see the iTouch (should that be the new name for the iPod Touch?) drop price when Flash prices come down as supplies ramp up, to offer more of a differentiation from the iPhone. I'm thinking that Apple is getting into a suppliers battle over UMPC makers and such like ASUS who want SSD for their products. The iTouch, the new nano and the iPhone all take the same size of Flash that is supposed to go into the Eee PC. I'd love the $199 Eee PC to be really nice with a full 4GB, but with Apple eating up so much of the supply I can understand why ASUS is dropping to 2GB for the entry model.

The iPod Touch (I think the name WiTouch would be fine) with Safari and WiFi is generally fairly awesome. A SD memory expansion port would be a great addition.

Given the history with iPods, I'm not very keen on buying a product in which I can't change the battery. Does anyone think that Apple will modify that design aspect?

Mutant_Pie

I'm actually considering an iPhone. As for those who are irked about the iPhone price drop - they are morons. When you buy any Apple product - you know that a price drop or random revision can come at any time. And with the cell phone market being what it is - a price drop this soon was almost a given, if not a little late. The AT&T stores haven't been able to sell them since the initial launch - selling maybe one or two a week. I wouldn't be surprised if the pricing action were more an effort to keep AT&T on board.

For $299, a 4gb iPhone isn't a bad deal, $399 for an 8gb is pretty nice too. I've been putting off replacing my dying iPod and RAZR for a while. Considering that a 4gb Nano is $149, and the promotional rate for a halfway decent cell phone is going to be $100-$150 (before rebates), I can say that it's not a bad deal when you look at the value proposition. An extra $50 is worth it to me to not have to lug around two pocket fillers.

As for the iPod touch - it seems horribly lame to me, the nanos look bloated - and the iPod classic looks freakin' awesome - 160gb for $349! Of course, that sort of thing appeals to me, like when I bought a 3g 40gb back in early 04. Man, those were the days.

Hey,

Did anyone mention "computer" at MacWorld or was it just a rumor mill for the iToaster?

William
www.williamahearn.com

I don't think you can connect the iPhone to an external video display like you can with the Video iPod or the Touch. Can you? That's the one deal breaker for iPhone for me... Also... I'm anxious to see what the iPod Touch can REALLY do (i.e. other than what Apple tells us).

So... the Touch is the iSlate, isn't it? There were strong rumors of a apple tablet... but I think this is it. OS X on a handheld. iSlate.

My biggest gripe - no HWR ala Newton.

but... OS X. So its not like its not possible. If the Touch and the refund shows us anything, its that Apple may very well listen to its customers; Apple could port Inkwell if enough complain. (What is the processor anyway? Same as iPhone? Via?)

If the Apple fan base could be unified, when we spoke, Apple would probably listen.

This was fast:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/07/simple-hackery-enables-free-itunes-ringtones/

Man, that was the first thing I thought of while listening to Jobs description of the iNewTouch - a wifi equipped touchscreen portable running OS X!! That means it could be used for all sorts of apps, not just Safari. Email, chat, scheduling, text/doc editors/creators, how about drawing?, a remote control?, inet radio receiver?, geez, the possibilities are nearly endless. What a super platform!

Does the iPod connector have sound in? Be pretty cool to use a Touch to take notes in class, both audio and HWR-created notes, tie 'em together somehow, what a great app that would be.

Crap, with enough cool add-ons you might not even need a fullsized Mac. Most stuff people need could be done right on a Touch.

Of course, all of this applies to the iPhone too, even more so I reckon.

dan k

ps: looks like iTouch has already been claimed, by a number of different businesses. Guess Apple had to forgo that obvious name.

The multitouch display can't be used with a stylus or anything like that, only a finger. It's capacitative, very much like the trackpad on a laptop.

This all would be contingent on Apple opening up the device to 3rd party developers. This is basically the only reason I won't buy an iPhone in the near future, much as I think (with the price drop) it isn't a bad deal for an Ultra-Portable Mac/Beefy Mac PDA. I just think it's not worth it given that the potential of any device is not going to be realized if it's a closed platform.

Possibilities . . . I was just offering up some possiblities.

I predict it won't remain forever closed, either Apple will open it or someone(s) else will. The possibilities are too intriguing, the challenges too inviting.

dan k