Thoughts on Apple’s September 2010 Music Event

Earlier today, Apple held their annual music-related event in California and announced their new lineup of iPods (iPod Touch, Nano, and Shuffle), iTunes 10, and an updated Apple TV. Here are my thoughts about Apple’s latest announcements in easy to digest 140 character or less tweets:

On the new iPod Nano and iPod Classic:

• The new Nano seems like a step-back. It’s touchscreen, but not iOS. Last years camera & all video playback completely removed!
• I’m really surprised Apple has kept the iPod Classic, even though it hasn’t been updated this year.

On the new Apple TV and TV/movie rentals:

• Apple TV looks interesting, but I’m not liking the rental-only model. Shouldn’t purchases be an option for those who want them.
• How about users who purchased a TV show or movie in their Mac or iOS device? They can’t watch it on Apple TV, or can they with AirPlay?
• Apple should allow the playback of purchases on Apple TV by streaming them from the cloud.
• The new Apple TV is capped at 720p. Why? I want full 1080p, Apple!
• $1 TV rentals are nice, but being only ABC & Fox makes its usefulness quite limited.
• NBC will never go along, considering their previous disagreements with Apple over pricing, Hulu stake, and Comcast takeover.
• Hmm, HDMI. How to connect the new Apple TV to an older HDTV without HDMI (component only)? I probably can’t.
• $5 for a movie rental on the new Apple TV! No thanks! I’ll use RedBox for a buck or Netflix streaming!
• If Apple had embraced the $1 a day RedBox movie rental model, then it could have actually been revolutionary!
• I’m not sure why I’d want an Apple TV over a Roku HD-XR. Roku is cheaper, supports 1080p, component video, and supports MANY other apps besides just Netflix & Flickr, including Pandora & Amazon.
• I wonder if Roku can play back .mp4 & DivX movies too, which the Apple TV can’t? If so, another advantage. I use my Xbox for this all the time. Indispensable.

On iTunes 10:

• I can’t stand the horizontal close/minimize/expand gems in iTunes 10! Why, Apple, why? No respect for your own UI guidelines in iTunes?
• I hardly use Facebook, so I can’t even imagine using Ping.
• Ping would probably be more successful if Apple tied it into existing services like Facebook, Twitter, & Last.FM instead of building anew. Sort of like Facebook did with Geolocation, supporting existing services like Foursquare and Gowalla.

On the new iPod Touch and iOS 4.2:

• Will iOS 4.2 bring wireless printing to the iPhone too, or is it just iPad? If it’s just iPad, then the OS isn’t truly converged.
• How about AirPlay? Will iOS 4.2 on the iPhone get that too?
• No surprises with the new iPod Touch, other than Apple mysteriously capping the camera resolution. Could it be to artificially make the iPhone seem better?
• The iPod Touch uses email for FaceTime. I wish the iPhone would support email for FaceTime as well.
• How will calling FaceTime users on an iPod Touch from an iPhone (or vice versa) work? Can a Touch user call an iPhone by email?