It was another big day for Apple aficionados. As announced, Apple held their [now] annual “Music Event.” There were predictions across the blogosphere about what would be announced (even some here), and what people doubted we’d see.

Well, after the live streaming of the event (a first in years), we can now rest happy with what we got and a little disappointed by what we didn’t.

I’ve taken my initial reactions and kicked them around so that I could provide you with some expert advice.

Apple has traditionally used this platform to announce new iPods & updates to existing models and this year’s event was no exception.  Apple refined almost all of their existing iPod models: the shuffle, the nano, and the iPod Touch. The iPod Classic (the only non-flash based iPod) hasn’t been updated, but hasn’t disappeared either).

The iPod Shuffle:

In its last refinement, the iPod Shuffle lost ALL buttons. That iPod Shuffle introduced “VoiceOver,” but was essentially controlled by the few click controls on the ear buds.

With the newest release, Apple has brought back the shuffle’s buttons, but managed to keep the iPod small, and still maintain the VoiceOver controls. As expected, the shuffle comes in five colors: pink, blue, green, orange and silver. It is available in a 2GB for $49 US.

The iPod Nano:

Of all the new iPods, the new iPod Nano has seen the biggest physical adjustment this time around. Apple completely redesigned the Nano to more closely resemble the iPod Shuffle (built-in clip, size, etc), but added its incredible “touch” technology. While I haven’t had my hands on one of these new iPods [yet] I find the design and concept very appealing.

For a long time, the Nano was Apple’s best selling iPod (it has since been eclipsed by the iPod Touch…likely because of the available apps). This  new design could help re-popularize the Nano. For $149 US (and starting at 8GB), it’s a far better value than the shuffle. The touch features seem a little strange (compared to the touch we’ve learned to love in the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad), but still seem intuitive enough to replace the shuffles limited feature set. Unfortunately, unlike the iPod Touch, the new nano doesn’t have access to Apple’s App store and (at present time), users cannot load additional applications onto their nano. I wouldn’t be surprised if that changed. Additionally, the video recording and camera capabilities that Apple introduced into their nano last year, are now gone. The iPod Nano still comes in six different colors.

The iPod Touch:

While this iPod received the smallest update, it has gained the most exciting changes. As the blogosphere predicted, both a front & rear camera have been added (nearly matching the iPhone 4′s specs, but aren’t quite as good/powerful). The rear camera now adds HD recording and it also takes advantage of Apple’s new “FaceTime” video conferencing. Prior to this updated Touch, only iPhone 4 users could video chat [with one-another]. Now, even non-iPhone 4 users can get in on the fun. I assume that integration with the desktop computer (mainly Apple’s iChat application) isn’t far off.

The iPod Touch is also a smidge thinner and steals from a few other iPhone 4 features: the Retina Display, an A4 processor and a 3-axis gyroscope. Aside form the brilliant image quality the Retina Display provides, most of these other updates will go unnoticed. They are under-the-hood adjustments that dramatically improve the overall user experience. The iPod Touch starts with 8GB at $229 US.

iTunes 10:

I admit that I’m surprised that Apple unleashed iTunes 10 in the manner and with the features that it did.  Previously, I suspected that they might abandon the name “iTunes” in favor of something else, like “iHub,” since listening to “tunes” is hardly the main usage for the application these days. Further, I assumed that with a major number like “ten” Apple would have finally rewritten the application so that it was 64bit. They didn’t do either.

That aside, Apple did make some interesting adjustments/improvements: they’ve have changed the overall user interface to (as they call it) be “more streamlined, sleeker.” After using the new interface for a few days, I admit that I’m a fan. As a modernist, I like the way that iTunes 10 has toned down its color combinations, accents and buttons. Interestingly enough, there are many people tweeting, and blogging that they do not like the interface and have said, “if this is a sign of OX 10.7, [they] are switching back to windows.”

Not only is that a little dramatic, it’s probably not true. It’s not the type of interface that we’ve come to love & expect from Apple, but it is a nice update. And, no random visual-interface-adjustments are going to send us away from the features, stability, reliability and intuitiveness that we’ve come to love from our Macs.

Apple did decide to change the icon that has represented iTunes for nearly ten years. Jobs, in his keynote, said that they no longer felt it was appropriate to have the “CD” in the icon because far fewer people are actually using CDs and CD-Rs these days. The icon isn’t the only place Apple has killed the compact disc: in iTunes 9, if you were looking to burn a CD, you simply created a playlist, inserted a CD-R and clicked the “burn” button in the lower left corner of the application. That “burn” button no longer exists. If you decide to burn a playlist to your CD, in iTunes 10, you must go into the File menu and select the “burn playlist to disc” option.

Apple has also introduced a few other small enhancements including changes to “airtunes,” now “airplay,” a new list view option and “improved device syncing.” Airplay will certainly become more interesting in the future (it’s only been renamed for now…but the features are set to change with the next iOS software release).

Apple has also managed to re-negotiate with the television networks, now providing their shows, commercial free, for just $0.99 US. Movies are now available in HD for just $4.99 (rented).

The big news to come out of iTunes 10 is the addition of “Ping.” Ping is Apple’s take on social sharing and social networking. According to Apple, Ping is a way to “…discover new music by going social…learn even more about your favorite artists and friends starting with their bios. See what they’ve been up to — even listen to 30-second previews of music they like. Find out when and where artists and bands are on tour, and check out photos and videos they’ve posted. With Ping, a community of the world’s most passionate music fans is just a click away.”

At the moment, Ping’s features are a little confusing and not all that interesting. If Apple can find interesting ways to incorporate Ping into services like Facebook or Twitter, I think they may gain a larger market, and subsequently kill the beleaguered MySpace. While Apple has officially announced that over a million people have signed up to join Ping in just a few days, the social network still feels a little anemic. And, a lot of the content that people (celebrities) are posting already exist on Twitter and Facebook. Who wants ANOTHER network to check, if it can all be combined in one magical place?

Finally…Apple’s big surprise (sort-of) announcement…

AppleTV:

While the AppleTV has been around for a while, Apple has always proclaimed that it was just a “hobby” project of theirs. In the few years that it’s been on the market, it has never seen a physical change, and only saw minor changes to its interface. That ALL changed with Apple’s newest announcement. On Wednesday, Apple announced the first major update to their AppleTV product and, that it is no longer considered a hobby for them. The physical design is simple and appropriate: the new AppleTV box is all black and is 80% smaller than its predecessor and it no longer requires a big, bulky, external power supply. NICE.

Jobs admitted that they’ve been using all the feedback they’ve received [from users] to modify, update and improve the AppleTV experience.

He even gave a checklist of the “most desired” user features:

• More movies and TV shows on demand
• HD
• No computer required
• Silent
• No local storage, storage management or syncing
• Smaller
• Cheaper

With the largest library of online content Apple is moving everything to full HD and adding more and more movies and TV shows. “Purchasing” movies on the AppleTV will no longer be an option (the device no longer has onboard storage). With the new AppleTV, you will only be able to rent or stream your content. That being said, if you want to buy and own your shows or movies, you can always purchase them on your Mac (via iTunes), your iPad, your iPod Touch or iPhone and stream them directly to the AppleTV. Smart.

Another excellent addition to the AppleTV is its ability to link to your Netflix account for instant movie streaming. Prior to this update, users that wanted to access Netflix through their AppleTV were forced to hack and modify all sorts of things. Even then, IF it worked, the experience wasn’t very pleasant (I can attest with personal experience). In addition to streaming from Netflix, the new AppleTV will stream content from YouTube, Flickr, MobileMe and from your home computer (and iDevices).

The best part? It’s no longer $229 US (to start), but instead is just $99 US. It is expected to ship in the next few weeks.

I am already and AppleTV owner, but admit that it’s feature set hasn’t been all that ideal, until now. While no mention has been made, I’m hoping that the software update will not be exclusive to new AppleTV owners and devices, but also to those of us with previous models.

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