New Apple iPhone 4s, Nanos, and iPod Touch Features

At yesterday’s Apple event, there were quite a few new products announced including a new Nano, new iPod Touches, and a new iPhone.  All of these updates were what would be called incremental updates and would not really be considered major updates.  Apple also spent some time on new services like the iCloud and the iPhone assistant using technology developed from their Siri acquisition last year.

iPod Nano

The biggest redesign to the Nano was the addition of a built in pedometer so that you no longer need the Nike+ sensor.  Apple also included several new clock faces making the Nano more of an accessory that it was previously.  The price has been lowered slightly to $129 for the 8GB and $149 for the 16GB.

iPod Touch

Apple started off the iPod Touch announcement by talking about how it is the number 1 gaming platform in the world.  To me this sounded very similar to their last iPod Touch upgrade where they discuss how it was the number one gaming platform in the world.  Beyond letting us know that, it looks like the beefed up the processor on the Touch to make it perform better.  But there was no camera update, which anyone who has a touch will tell you, it needs a good camera.  This is one of the most disappointing things to me.  Pricing is $199, $299, $399 for the 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB.

iCloud and iOS 5

What can I say about these two services that hasn’t already been said.  I’m really not kidding.  Apple has already talked about both in great length at the WWDC over the summer.  iOS 5 brings some nice features like revamped notifications, iMessage, and the ability to get to the camera from the lock screen.  iCloud will work with all apps on your iOS devices to sync music, documents, apps, calendar, and photos with their cloud service.  One of the creepier features is “Find My Friends and Family” which is basically a tracking service for your friends.  The gold release of iOS 5 is coming next week and the pricing will be 5GB for Free, 15GB for $20 a year, a 20GB upgrade for $40 a year, and a 50GB upgrade for $100 a year.

iPhone 4s

The iPhone announcement was the one that everyone was waiting on.  Apple started it off by talking about how the iPhone 4 was the most successful iPhone out of the whole line.  They basically then proceeded to say how they improved the iPhone 4.  This disappointed everyone because they were expecting an iPhone 5.  Here is a run down of features:

• Siri – This is a voice assistant.  Google phones have had voice assistance for a while but apple has really stepped it up with this one.  It looks really nice.  Oh yeah, did I mention it is in beta?  I have never know Apple to do that.
• Faster Processor – Apple put a dual-core A5 processor in the new iPhone, which is the same chip that is in the iPad 2.
• New Camera – They have done a lot of work on the camera of the iPhone increasing it to an 8MP camera that has better white balance and performs better in low light.  The camera now supports 1080P video as well.
• World Phone – The iPhone has a dual antennal essentially allowing for CDMA and GSM connectivity from the same phone.
• Dual Antennas – There are dual antennas on the phone allowing the iPhone to dynamically switch from one antenna to another when there is a reception issues.
• Sprint Version – Sprint will now sell the iPhone

Really, that is about it on the iPhone.  To this though, I have to say what did you expect.  I think a lot of people wished there was a bigger screen on the iPhone and support for 4G networks.  I don’t see Apple adding 4G support until all the carriers have a mature product, look at how long it took them to move to 3G.  And addressing the bigger screen, well there is probably a 5 in existence out there, but the iPhone already has a crazy high pixel count on the Retina screen and that provides a crisp display.  So I am not sure why people are complaining so much.  The iPhone 4s when compared to other phones out there is probably just enough to get apple by until next year.

The iPhone 4s will be available for pre-order on October 7th and available for pickup on October 14th.

Essentially, this product announcement was a safe announcement.  The school year has begun and this is always the time when Apple make the iPod announcements.  The iPhone announcement that did not come in June was rolled in here.  Apple will probably not sell as many iPhones as it did with the iPhone 4 release, but the addition of Sprint will more than make up for the lack of features the iPhone 4s.  Personally, as someone who has access to the iPhone 4, but still uses an iPhone 3gs on a daily basis, I think the iPhone 4s is a worth while upgrade.  But if I had the iPhone 4, I do not think I would bother.