September 9, 2005 [LINK]

New iPods and more from Apple

When are those utopian nerds in Cupertino gonna take a rest? Apple just introduced two groundbreaking products: the iPod nano, an "impossibly small" version of their digital music player which includes a color screen, and iTunes mobile which is based on a new Motorola cellular telephone model with service provided by Cingular. The Motorola partnership is interesting in light of the fact that Apple recently announced they are abandoning the Motorola PowerPC microprocessor family and are joining the Intel bandwagon. Steve Jobs also unveiled version 5.0 of iTunes software, which has faster searching, parental controls, and enhanced support for podcasting. (My own iPod, purchased in January 2004, has become increasingly balky whenever I connect it to my iMac in recent months, making me cut back on my Apple Music Store purchases.) I just hope Apple's enormous success with iTunes and iPod doesn't result in reduced focus on their core computer business. To see the one-hour presentation of all the latest Apple products, featuring Madonna, Yo-Yo Ma, Kanye West (the rapper who departed from his script to denounce the Bush administration during the recent Hurricane Katrina televised fund-raiser) and other glitterati, click on this screen grab image. (The video is in AppleQuickTime format.)

DISCLAIMER: I have not been compensated in any way by Apple Computer or its business partners. The image displayed here is unauthorized, and is for informative purposes only.