SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple Computer unveiled a
batch of new iPods, iTunes software and promos designed to keep it atop
the heap of digital music players.
At a launch event that included appearances by rock band U2’s Bono
and The Edge, master showman Steve Jobs said Apple has started shipping
two new iPod devices with color screens, 15 hours of battery life and
the ability to store as many as 25,000 photos.
“If you look at what our competition is doing, they are moving
towards video, but they are too big, too heavy and the screens are too
small,” Jobs said at the launch event here. “We think that video is the
wrong way to go. The right place is towards photos. [Because of the
increase in digital photography,] everyone has the content and you own
the copyright.”
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The latest iPod offers color and pictures. |
The new devices ship with A/V cables and an S-Video plug on the
docking station so users can hook it up to a TV monitor. The software
also lets users synchronize with Apple’s iPhoto application, as well as Adobe Photoshop
Elements, Photoshop Album or the My Pictures folder on a Microsoft
Windows machine.
Jobs also announced an upgrade to its iTunes Music Store.
Version 4.7 is designed to accommodate the now shipping color screen
iPods, which come in 60GB ($599) and 40GB ($499) versions.
The EU version of the iTunes Music Store features more than 700,000
songs from all four major music companies and more than 100 independent
record labels and exclusive tracks. A Canadian version is due out
next month. The regional differences accommodate both payment methods,
download partners like Akamai does for Apple in the United States and other
copyright issues.
Jobs also announced that London’s
first Apple retail store would open on Nov. 20. Currently, Apple has
93 main retail stores with 24 million visitors in that last 12 months
laying down some $1.2 billion in business.
But Apple is the undisputed champ when it comes to music download
sites, owning 70 percent of market share, according to monthly independent
analyst firm Nielsen SoundScan. The company said users have downloaded
150 million tracks with a projected 17.7 million songs passing through
iTunes Music Store this month alone. Jobs said Apple actually bucked
industry analysts who suggest the online public is not purchasing at
the fever pitch it once had.
Jobs also boasted that Apple sold 2 million iPod music players
in the last three months. The company’s nearly 6 million units sold thus far
account for 65 percent of the market share, according to research
firm NPD Group. Jobs even cited NPD research that stated Apple had 92
percent market share of the hard drive players marketplace, but that
number is moderated because Apple’s numbers are only for a specific type
of hard drive.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker also announced plans to
release a one-time special edition black iPod with a red scroll wheel
that is signed by U2.
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| U2 got in on the iPod act with its special edition. |
The Irish band said it would also release all of
their albums in a “digital box set” on November 23. The total of 400
tracks including their latest album and 25 additional unreleased songs
sells for $149 dollars. Buying the 20GB special edition version at
USD$349 also nets you a $50 certificate off of the download.
Both of U2’s front men acknowledged Job’s unique position when it
comes to digital music.
“It’s kind of extraordinary that music companies did not crack the
piracy problems. It had to be a technology company,” Bono quipped.
