Apple Quietly Releases New iPods

redletterdave writes "At the company's media event last month, Apple introduced its fifth-generation iPod Touch and seventh-generation iPod Nano, but only mentioned an October timeframe for when it would start filling pre-orders. Without an official word, it looks like the official launch day for the new iPods is today. Apple Stores around the country are currently stocked with the new iPods and customers who pre-ordered are finally receiving email notifications that their orders have shipped, or are 'preparing to ship.' Still, it is interesting to note that Apple didn't make a special announcement or even post a press release to announce the launch of its newest media players, especially as the competition heats up before the holiday season."

User quietly buys...

[dohzer]

...non-iPod media player of equal storage and superior features for third of iPod price.

10,000 feet limitation

[Anonymous Coward]

From the specs on Apples page:

Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Really? What would cause this. This means it can't be used in places like Leadville, CO for example. Is this some sleazy warranty trick? Granted, this is the same for the 4th generation but I don't understand why any media player would be limited to 10,000 feet.

Re:"the competition heats up..."

[future assassin]

Cowon?

http://www.cowonglobal.com/ [cowonglobal.com]

Re:"the competition heats up..."

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

eh? in media players? what competition?

The competition is not from other dedicated PMPs, but from Android phones. Why buy an ipod when you can get one of the cheap-ass androids for the same price.

(I know, I know, joggers etc like a small light PMP, but its a vanishing market)

Re:10,000 feet limitation

[viperidaenz]

Both of which, the iPods have none of. Its most likely the lithium ion batteries.

I have a smartphone, who cares

[dadelbunts]

Do people still buy these things? And 300 dollars is outrageous. My phone was 80 dollars, no contract. A 32gb microsd is 20 dollars. So 100 dollars total for a device that can outperform this I-Pod touch in everything, even media playing thanks to winamp and winamp remote.

Re:Where is the new iTunes 11?

[Gothmolly]

None of what you wrote has any meaning to the vast majority of PC and Apple users.

Re:They didn't... because Telecomm Cos are Nervous

[retroworks]

No, there is actually a story here. IPhones and Galaxies and HTCs are being launched by companies like ATT, Veriozon, Orange, Sprint, etc. But growth of handheld devices is skyrocketing in urban environments around the world. 80% of the Earth population now has electricity, and 47% of households have access to wifi (or soon will). Just as (and this is lost on wealthy audiences) MOST display devices sold in 2006 (by number, not by dollar) had both an SVGA jack and a TV tuner, because most buyers (India, China, Indonesia, Egypt, etc.) could not afford, or have room in the house, for both a TV and a computer, there is a very large market which IPods are aimed at. WIFI. Using Google Voice or Skype to speak on an IPod over Wi-Fi is a frightening trend to the telecommunications firms which promote the IPhone. I would expect this kind of relative silence over a device which does not require $90 per month individual subscription and data fees. Why do almost all the comments on this article treat the Phone-company-Less device as a toy? Because Slashdot readers live in a world where buying a laptop AND a desktop AND a television AND a cell phone AND a pad AND a pod seems just slightly consumptive. See pictures of slums with electricity and wifi, a third to half of the world telecom market, here. http://retroworks.blogspot.com/2012/04/useless-lists-of-jobs-beneath-wealthy.html [blogspot.com]