iPod to become a computer, direct online shopping plus iPhone price drops to $400
By Jeffrey Jolson
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/5/07 — Apple will change the face of its hit iPod players to match the equally hot iPhone Wifi capabilities and full screen interaction, the company said. In addition, the iPhone will drop from $599 to $399, a price more in line with other PC Phones and Smart Phones.
Not only is the full-screen display already a hit at geek blogs, the capabilities to shop for downloads and other products online from a mass-market pocket device will affect the music and movie download industries. “We are going to refresh or replace every single product in this line-up for this holiday season,” Apple chief Steve Jobs said as he unveiled the new iPod. “We think it’s one of the Seven Wonders of the World. If you’ve used an iPhone you will feel very much at home.”
The new full-screen IPod Touch models feature Apple’s Safari web browser and a built-in wireless antenna, meaning users can connect directly to the Internet at Wi-Fi “hot spots” the same way they might with a laptop computer.
Apple built Google and Yahoo search capabilities into iPod Touch models, along with YouTube compatibility and an iTune Wi-Fi Music Store that permits shopping at the online store without going through a computer – a highly significant development in terms of the success of its download sales, which have already accounted for 3 billion songs sold since the iPod came out.
The iPod Touch models have been localized to an array of languages and will be the first part of the new product line to ship worldwide, according to Jobs. Apple’s overhaul includes matchbook-size iPod Shuffles in new colors and iPod Nanos built with video and game capabilities. Jobs officially christened the original iPod model the “Classic” and said it would be available in 80 and 160 gigabyte models.
Eight gigabyte iPod Touch models will be priced at $299 and 16 gigabyte models at $399, Jobs said.
The iPhone price cut is designed to turn the Apple branded cell phone it from a popular novelty to a mass market phone. “We want to put iPhones in a lot of stockings this holiday season.” Jobs said to the media.
