APPLE COMES WITH BRAND-NEW IPOD, NEW ITUNES FEATURES MOVIES
Apple has unveiled its powerful new iPod and the latest iteration of iTunes (seven, if you’re counting) that will offer movies on the same day of release as DVD, priced at $12.99 on pre-order and $14.99 thereafter. All library titles will be available for $9.99. Movies can be purchased for download to watch on computers and iPods, and soon on flat screen TV with Apple’s upcoming iTV player.
More than 75 movies from Disney’s Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films will be made available.
“Here we go again!” enthused Jobs. “First music, then TV shows, and now movies. In less than one year we’ve grown from offering just five TV shows to offering over 220 TV shows, and we hope to do the same with movies.”
According to Jobs, iTunes is selling over one million videos a week since launching in Oct. 2005, and now includes more than 220 TV shows from over 40 networks. Now if only the guy could direct his attention towards painless dentistry.
In addition, Apple introduced two new models of the iPod, one priced at $249, the other, which holds up to 20k songs or 100 hours of video, for $349. The new iPod includes new features like Search and Quick Scroll, allowing viewers to view album art and photo slideshows while playing games in full color, with an increased battery life. The high-priced model features up to 20 hours of battery life for music playback and six-and-a-half hours of video playback.
A new iPod shuffle, the world’s smallest digital music player, which will retail for $79 and hold up to 240 songs, was also unveiled, featuring up to 12 hours of battery life. A new version of the iPod nano in 4 GB ($199) and 8 GB ($249) models, with a 24-hour battery life, was introduced as well.
In addition, the NFL announced that they will offer video downloads of highlights from individual games the day after they are played on iTunes. Fans will be able to download highlights of each NFL regular season game for $1.99 per game or they may purchase a "Follow Your Team" Season Pass for $24.99 and have game clips from their favorite teams delivered automatically as they become available for viewing on a computer or iPod.
Apple stock rose after a rally to 73.13, up from an opening price of 72.81, reflecting growth during the past week over speculation about today's announcement.
