Apple’s Rock and Roll Event 09-09-09 Oh Snap!

Today in San Francisco, Apple revealed some long awaited goodies and put some rumors to rest. Let’s start off with the improved iTunes 9 (available for immediate free download). It has a new cleaner look and now along with Genius Playlist has Genius Mixes, which is compared to having your own personal DJ. It can make up to twelve mixes at a time and is built from over fifty-four billion analyzed songs (and you thought your library was huge). It’s not just for music, but can organize movies as well. iTunes 9 now has Home Sharing. Swap and copy files with up to 5 authorized computers in your home. Improvements have been made to the store as well.

Other updates include:

  • The iPod Classic upgrades its hard drive from 120GB to 160GB.
  • The iPod Shuffle will come in more colors (pink, green, and blue). A stainless steel edition is available for an additional price ($99).
  • New notable games will be available in the App Store: Assassin’s Creed II, Riddim Ribbon (from the creators of Tap Tap Revolution),  and Nova.
  • The piece de resistance: every iPod Nano will now have a video camera with a built-in microphone and speaker.

Stainless Steel Limited Edition Shuffle & Video Enabled Nano

Give the people at Apple a rousing round of applause! Another moment of note, Steve Jobs has returned after a liver transplant. He acknowledges the donor and encourages others to save lives by become donors as well. I’m not here to preach, but I would like to say that I am a donor and proud of it. To find out more about organ donation click here.

For more minute by minute information of the event check out Cnet’s live coverage.

The Next Wii…

I have been hearing a lot about the Nintendo Wii lately and had the pleasure of playing it this summer. Unfortunately, my  convenient Wii source has left the country for the semester taking his Wii with him (can you blame him?) I will get one of my own eventually, but I thought it would be interesting to see what the next step in gaming would be. Imagine my surprise when Apple’s  iPhone pops up as “the next Wii”. Usually I would think that the next competitor for a game console would be another game console and not a phone. But then the iPhone is not a regular phone. It makes a lot of sense after you read this article.

iphones

A customizable controller is highly alluring especially if you are looking to save space and money. You wouldn’t have to purchase another controller to play a certain game and you could avoid additional clutter around the entertainment area. Although, one could argue that different contollers give you a more realistic experience. Another advantage to the Iphone is its portability. Wii on the go. It also effectively eliminates the need to carry another gadget. Who needs the DS or PSP etc. when you have it all on your phone? I have been fighting Apple domination, but if they keep packing tons amazing content in such a little device I may have to give in…