It is now 2 days after the much anticipated Apple event of 09/09/09, and even though I’ve already found out what I needed to know via various tech blogs, tech podcasts and Twitter, I finally got to sit down and watch the keynote speech where Steve Jobs reappeared to a crowd who welcomed him with a standing ovation. Although not an Apple user myself, I was looking forward to the announcement of (much speculated) new features on the iPod Touch. I must admit, I was kinda disappointed at the outcome.

Sure, the addition of a video camera, a voice recorder, a pedometer AND an FM receiver (finally) to the iPod Nano IS exhilarating indeed. The colors and the polished anodized aluminum finish are BEAUTIFUL! All that goodness at an even lower cost is definitely most welcomed. The return of color to the world of iPod Shuffle is a big relief. The stainless steel version is SHINY, but that just about it (duh?). But where are all the changes that almost everybody prophesied about the iPod Touch?

I wasn’t wanting any cameras, nor anything particularly shiny or lofty, but I was secretly wishing for Apple to add 3G capabilities to the Touch to make it a more all-rounded internet device (for me at least). In the very least, I was hoping for slightly more dramatic changes to make the 3rd generation Touch more viable. I’d say that Apple was rather tame this time, to the point that it was a slight let down. Still, the drop in prices despite the increase in capacity still deserves credit.

I had originally wanted to get myself an 8GB 3rd generation Touch that would hopefully have all the wonderful new features that everyone was raving speculating about at a MUCH reduced price. What Apple has now is just an 8GB 2nd generation Touch with nothing new about it except the updated OS and the slightly reduced price of S$308, a reduction of S$80. I don’t think I’ll be running into an Apple store just yet. With the hardware improvements only available for the 32GB and 64GB models, I’m now deciding between getting a 32GB 3rd generation Touch (S$468), where I can finally house all of my music collection on a single device, and hopefully getting a Windows 7 netbook at less than S$600. The final decision will probably surface early next year.

Thankfully, iTunes 9 saved the day, despite all the disappointment and anti-climax I felt regarding the iPod Touch. I gleefully updated both the work PC and the home laptop. The new iTunes Store is fantastic! I love the way things are organized and how easy it is to navigate now. The iTunes LP feature looks great too, even if I don’t normally buy my music from the iTunes Store. The new “Show all available episodes” and “Copy Podcast URL” options are much welcomed. My only gripe is.. why can’t I do a “Update Podcast” if the feed doesn’t contain any episodes? The only options are “Show Description” and “Delete“. I used to be able to do that in the previous versions. Come on Apple! Do something! Please?!?

Tags: musings, Personal, rant, technology