Cheat sheet to Apple’s music event

Did you miss the Apple media event announcing its new iPod lineup, Apple TV announcement and iOS news? No worries! We summed it up for you here below. Starting with iOS…

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iOS 4.1:

  • Bug fixes for Proximity, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G compatibility
  • TV show rentals
  • HD uploads over WiFi
  • HDR (high dynamic range) photography: This is very cool. No more blown out parts of an otherwise great photo. And no dismally dark areas either. iOS 4.1 means the camera will natively snap three pics, and use the best highs, lows and mids and put them together.
  • Game Center (finally). Challenge friends or be challenged to play a variety of games in one-on-one or multiplayer mode. Track scores or, if you have no contacts, find someone to play. Basically, it’s social gaming.
  • Available next week

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Teaser about iOS 4.2!

  • It’s all about the iPad: Many of the things that iPad owners have been waiting for will be included in this update.
  • Tablet users will get it in November
  • It will be a free update
  • Wireless printing will be a new native feature
  • Print Center app, for monitoring print jobs
  • iPad will also get Airplay support (more on this below)

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iTunes 10

  • New logo (minus the CD graphic)
  • Album art is viewable in line with song titles in the user interface
  • New feature called Ping, for social networking music and discovery. (Allows users to share info with pals, see recent activity, or follow people and their musical tastes.)
  • Ping also available on iPhones and iPod Touches
  • AirTunes has gotten redubbed as AirPlay. Users will be able to stream video and audio over WiFi.
  • Available now

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The iPod Shuffle

  • Tiny little shuffle, but this time with buttons
  • Offers playlists (and can speak the playlists) also allows for multiple playlists, as well as genius playlists
  • Voiceover
  • 15-hour battery life
  • Comes in 5 colors
  • Price: $49
  • Available next week, pre-orders open today

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The iPod Nano

  • Took off the click wheel
  • Gave it a teeny little multitouch display!
  • New version is 46% smaller and 42% lighter than previous version
  • Features a clip (like the shuffle)
  • Hardware volume buttons
  • Nike+ app
  • 24 hours of battery life
  • Rotatable screen
  • Photo viewer
  • Works in 29 different languages
  • Comes in 6 colors
  • Price: $149 for 8GB, $179 for 16GB
  • Available next week, pre-orders open today

The iPod Touch

  • Thinner
  • Retina Display (with four times the pixels, at 326 ppi, 24 bit color, LED backlit)
  • Apple A4 chip
  • Front and rear cameras (with HD video recording)
  • FaceTime (with other iPod Touch users AND iPhone owners)
  • 3-axis Gyroscope
  • iOS 4.1 (with Game Center)
  • 40 hours of music playback
  • Users can trim HD vids and use iMovie.
  • Price: $229 for 8 GB, $299 for 32 GB, and $399 for 64 GB
  • Available next week, pre-orders open today

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Apple TV:

  • 25% smaller than the previous version (and now cast in matte black)
  • Price drop from $229 to $99
  • HDMI, USB, optical audio and Ethernet ports, plus Wifi 802.11n
  • Focused on playing streaming content, so no onboard storage. Supports: Netflix, YouTube, Flicker, MobileMe, and accepts streams from computer or iPad (via AirPlay)
  • To rent: Movies ($4.99 on DVD launch day) and ABC/Fox TV shows ($0.99), other studios to hopefully follow. Displaying reviews is another very cool feature.
  • Availability in 4 weeks, with pre-orders opening today

Are you happy with what you saw today? Was there anything you had your heart set on that wasn’t announced? Let us know in the comments!

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