Apple Press Conference Sept 9th

Sept 9th has made it, that means Apple will be announcing new products and giving the press a look at their progress. So far it looks like the event will be mainly about iPods and there are several indicators to new a iPod Touch and Nano. Will the most rumored tablet make an appearance? Check back and I will update this post with the goods. The event starts at 10:00 AM pacific / 12:00 PM central.

Updates:

Several new iPods were announced at the Apple event today. Also new iPhone OS 3.1 and iTunes 9. Check out the full details after the break.

Apple started with the new iPhone OS 3.1. They added new Genius functionality, it now recommends songs on the store. There are now 30,000 ring-tones for purchase at $1.29 each and the update will be free.

Next Apple talked about iTunes 9 which is available today. The Genius functionality makes another appearance here. iTunes now create mixes of your music for you, “Imagine a genius DJ that plays endless mixes of songs from your library that go great together.” There are now new ways to sync your iPod with your library. You can now select what artist and genres are synced along with play-lists. You can manage your iPod or iPhone Apps directly from iTunes. You can even arrange your device icon layout. Home sharing allows you to copy all or parts of your library to 5 other computers on your network. Apple has redesigned the store. Probably to create a fresh new look but also to accommodate some of the new features. New to the store is iTunes LP. You can now download all the great liner notes, photographs, lyrics and writings you would get when you purchased albums long ago. This seems like a really great feature and something that Microsoft has been doing with their Zune software. Lastly downloaded DVDs now come with extra content just like the physical DVDs do.

Now on to the main even, the iPods. The first to be revealed was the iPod Touch. Not much has really changed. It gets the new 3.1 software which includes the new genius features. It now supports Open GL 2.0 and I would guess some beefier hardware. The prices have dropped a little as well. 8GB now $199, 32GB now $299 and 64GB now $399.

The iPod Classic as undergone a little renovation as well. A new thinner design and upgraded storage. The Classic is still $249 but now caries 160GB.

The Shuffle is still around and now can be had in five different colors. You can get pink, green, blue, silver or polished steel. It still talks to you and now lets you know when the battery is full. Apple also announced several new headphones that come with the Shuffle controls. Prices are $59 for 2GB and $79 for 4GB.

Now the big news was the iPod Nano. The Nano now comes with a larger 2.2 inch screen. That screen will make it easier to view and create video. Yes the Nano now has a built in video camera. Not only that but they have also added a speaker and FM radio. Where are those updates for the iPod Touch? Also Apple has thrown in a pedometer that can sync directly to Nike. All of this is now in a polished aluminum case that still comes in all the colors. Prices are $149 for the 8GB and $179 for the 16GB.

That is it. Thanks for coming here to get your Apple release news.