As expected, Apple has unveiled its latest iPod touch today, and it can arguably be called the best iPod touch to date. The new music player is now essentially an iPhone 4 without the phone capabilities.
The iPod touch is Apple’s secret weapon when it comes to developers, as this is a major reason why there are more than 120 million iOS users. Android and BlackBerry users do not have a credible device that can be purchased without a data plan, which may hinder its adoption among teens or users who don’t want to pay about $100 a month for cell phone service. The Apple iPod Touch is a major reason why the App Store has swelled to over 250,000 programs.
“A lot of people call it an iPhone without the phone,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “It’s also an iPhone without a contract.”
The cameras should be identical to the ones found on the iPhone 4: the rear camera is a 960 x 720 resolution shooter (0.7 megapixels) with high-definition video recording, and the front-facing camera can be used to video chat.
Speaking of iOS and the front-facing camera, remember that e-mail enabled FaceTime chat feature? The one where you can initiate FaceTime calls via e-mail instead of phone numbers? That’s right, the iPod touch now features FaceTime calls where WiFi is available so you can harass your iPhone 4 toting friends with your mug any time you want.
The iPod touch also comes with the Retina display that’s on the iPhone 4 and this fefatures 326 pixels per inch.
The new Apple iPod touch comes in 3 different memory capacities. For $229 can get the 8 GB version, $299 gets you the 16 GB version and $399 will put the 64 GB iPod touch right into your pocket.
The company also introduced a new iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano. The Nano has received a multitouch screen. All the new iPods will be available next week and ready for preorder today.