The iPod product line was the focus of yesterdays Apple keynote event. I think it was a overwhelming event, as they have replaced every iPod except the shuffle with a new model. Here you can see an overview of the new product lineup.

iPod shuffle

The shuffle did not change in regards to price and features. The only change is, that now you can get more colors.

iPod nano

Now things get interesting. Pictures of the new nano leaked to the Internet a couple of days ago and this time they were spot on. The nano does no longer have this nice slim design, which in my eyes is a bit disappointing, but I see that the wide (fat) design is a necessity of the new display, which is definitely a big big “thumbs up” feature. Now you can watch podcasts with the same quality as on the old iPod. This is exactly what I have been waiting for: a small iPod with video features. The new operating system which is based on OSX does also look nice. The new game features on the other hand are something I do not really need on a small mp3 player. The capacity of the nano players was doubled to 4 GB and 8 GB. I think this was really necessary with the addition of video features. 4 GB is ok for a music-only player but once you start watching podcasts, you need more memory.

Overall I think the new nano is the most interesting product of yesterdays keynote.

iPod classic

The iPod classic is the right product for people who want to have their complete music library handy. With a capacity of 80 GB or even freaky 160 GB you don’t need to change playlists often. The new capacity is certainly a step in the right direction but I prefer a small form factor over big harddrives.

iPod touch

This is the new kid in town. It is basically an iPhone without the phone. It has all the nifty features of the iPhone, including the new display, user interface, a Safari browser and WLAN connectivity. So it is a real multimedia beast. But the big downside is the memory capacity. The iPod touch comes with 8GB or 16GB memory, which is ok for a music / video player, but the touch has so much more capabilities screaming for memory and then you are stuck with a maximum of 16 GB. I think one should wait for the next generation of the iPod touch to really benefit from the new possibilities of this product.

The bottom line is, that I am really impressed with the new lineup and I think the I will replace my old mp3 player with the new iPod nano in the near future. Congratulations Apple!