Everything Apple Announced Today In One Handy List

It was a big day at the Apple event, and so to keep you in the loop we kept tabs on the action. Read on for darn nearly every single thing that Apple announced today:

iOS and Apps

• Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices thus far. How many iOS activations are there daily? 230,000 new iOS devices are activated each and every day. Steve jabbed at Google for perhaps inflating their numbers. Android fans around the world groaned.
• There have been over 6.5 billion applications downloaded from the Apple app store. Steve: “poof, there goes another 200,” joking with the fact that 6.5 billion downloads works out to around 200 a second so far.
• There are over 250,000 apps in the App store, of which 25,000 are iPad apps.

iOS 4.1

• iOS 4.1 is coming out next week for iPhone and iPod Touch! Free download via iTunes. Bugs that are fixed: Proximity, Bluetooth, and iPhone 3G performance issues.
• It will feature High Dynamic Range photos: a system that takes three quick photos, with different exposures, and combines the three to make the best photo possible. Your phone will keep the HDR photo and the regular photo so you can pick.
• In 4.1 HD video will upload over WiFi, at last.
• Game Center will be debuting for end users. This will be an app and a system that can be baked into your application. You can challenge friends, be automatically matched for competition, and compare scores. Also built in are push notes on when you are challenged.
• Apple brought on stage Epic Games to demonstrate a new game called Project Sword and show off Game Center. Epic was excited about “online leader boards” and “achievements.” The game is beyond neat, and is powered by Unreal technology to boot.

A Sneak Peek At iOS 4.2: “It’s All About iPad”

• Everything that was in 4.1 for iPhone will be coming to iPad in 4.2 – the point of the release is to catch the iPad up with iPhone.
• Wireless printing will be coming to iPad in 4.2, meaning that the device will make more sense in a business environment.
• AirPlay, which before was AirTunes, is coming out. Full media streaming around your house. This is excellent if you have a fully mac enabled house.
• Steve demoed iOS 4.2 on the iPad and showed off multitasking with Pandora in the background and threaded mail. The speeds were quick, with no noticeable lag whatsoever. The A4 chip really shined in the demonstration.
• 4.2 will drop in November as a free update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

iPod Updates: Three New Devices, No Mention Of iPod Classic

• Apple has sold 275 million iPods, Steve announced to thunderous applause.
• Apple is releasing a new iPod Shuffle that has buttons and playlists, and will feature 15 hours of music. The packaging is “cute” according to Steve. The Shuffle will come in 5 colors and costs only $49 dollars.
• Apple is releasing a new iPod Nano, a device that Steve called “super popular.” It is now a touchscreen device that features multi-touch. “It’s very tiny” Jobs pointed out, and because it is so small, it now features a clip. This is a radical change from the previous iPod Nanos. It is 46% smaller, and 42% lighter then the previous version. It works in 29 languages, and can play music for 24 hours on a single charge. To change the screen orientation, you merely use the multi-touch and rotate the screen with your fingers, dropping the need for accelerometers. The Nano will come in 6 colors, including one for the Red project. It will cost $149 for 8 gigs, and $179 for the 16 gigabyte version.
• The iPod touch is the most popular iPod. It has become the #1 portable game player in the world (the audience was very excited to hear that). The iPod Touch outsells Nintendo and Sony portable game players twice over. It controls more than 50% of the mobile gaming market. The iPod Touch has racked up 1.5 billion entertainment title and game downloads.
• Apple announced a new iPod Touch that is even slimmer than one before it. The devices is remarkably similar on the outside, but will now come equipped with Apple’s Retina display. Also, the A4 chip will be coming to the device, along with a 3-axis Gyro and a font facing camera that can run FaceTime. Finally, a back camera that will record HD video has been added. The new iPod Touch can play 40 hours of music on a charge. FaceTime will work between iPod Touches and iPhones.
• In short, Apple has turned the iPod Touch into everything that an iPhone is, just without the calls.
• There are three models: 8 gigs for $229, 32 gigs for $299, and 64 gigs for $399.
• All new iPods are available next week, you can pre-order today.
• Nothing was said of the iPod Classic. What this means, however, we cannot say.

iTunes 10 And General Updates

• iTunes has powered through: 11.7 billion song downloads, 450 million TV episodes downloads, over 100 million movies downloads, and 35 million books sold. iTunes has 160 million user accounts with credit cards in 23 countries.
• iTunes 10 has a new logo that drops the CD in the image because ,as Steve said, “iTunes is about to bypass CDs in sales.”
• The new iTunes is “simpler” and “more elegant.” It features a new hybrid view that edits out redundant text and will replace it with album art for a prettier experience.
• Apple wants it to be simpler to discover more about music, and to find and share new music. To fix this, in iTunes 10 Apple is introducing Ping, a social network for music. It is like “Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes.” You can follow artists and friends to discover what they are talking about, listening to, and sharing. Ping is integrated right into iTunes. Following is the method to this madness, just like on Twitter.
• Ping will feature a customized top ten chart that tracks what the people you follow are downloading, a personal Billboard 10.
• Artists in Ping have their own profile pages that feature large “follow” buttons and will carry their concert dates and other pertinent information. Does this sound familiar? Prediction: not everyone is going to use this.
• Ping is going to put the final nail in the MySpace coffin.
• “Ping is social music discovery,” said Steve. Ping features circles of friends that will allow for you to create rings of associates to share with. Ping has 17,000 concert listings in its database. Ping is open now to everyone with an iTunes account (that 160 million number).
• Ping will also be baked into your iPhone and iPod Touch. It will show up directly into the iTunes Store.
• iTunes 10 is available today, head to Apple.com and download.

One More Thing: The New Apple TV

• The Apple TV has never been a hit, but users who own them love them, said Steve.
• Users want “Hollywood Movies and TV shows” on the device. In short, they don’t want YouTube. HD is mandatory, and Apple TV owners want lower prices for their content. Steve also claimed that people do not want another computer, hence people want Apple TV to not be a full Mac. Storage is another concern that Steve said that users do not want to deal with. The final major problem that Steve brought up was that “syncing” is a big no to the average Joe.
• The new Apple TV is smaller, a fourth the size of the previous version. You can hold it in the palm of your hand. It has HDMI output, and an Ethernet jack, even though the Apple TV has built in WiFi. Comes with a neat looking remote.
• The new Apple TV is about movies, TV shows, and music.
• There are no more purchases ever on Apple TV, it has gone to the rental model. This solves storage management issues that Steve mentioned before.
• You can stream content from your computer, eliminating the syncing problem.
• First run HD movie rentals: 4.99 the day and date that they come out on DVD. That price declines as the movie ages.
• To rent an HD TV show will cost $0.99. ABC and FOX are taking the jump with Apple, meaning that there is a large amount of content that not going to be on Apple TV to start.
• If you are a Netflix subscriber, you can stream Netflix content to your Apple TV. YouTube HD will work, and photos can be brought in from Flikr and MobileMe.
• The interface of Apple TV features a wealth of content including Rotten Tomatoes reviews. The experience seems to be well thought out and a game changer in the content world.
• The new Apple TV will only cost $99. This price seems to scream “we need a userbase to rent videos and shows!”
• It will ship in 4 weeks but can be pre-ordered now.

Stores:

Apple has opened a number of wonderful new stores. Steve outlined three that they are most proud of:

• A second Paris store, this one near the old opera house. Apple spent 18 months restoring it. Jobs called it a “fantastic store.”
• A second store in china, this one in Shanghai. It features a 40 foot high glass cylinder.
• A second big store in London near Covent Garden. We covered that store’s launch recently.
• There are a total of 300 Apple stores, which is very impressive. Stores are now present in 10 different countries, an upcoming store in Spain will bring that number up to 11. On some days, Apple sees over 1 million people in their stores.

That is more or less it, as fast as I could type it all down. There are a few boo-boos in the mix I am sure. Is your wallet hurting already?