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Apple's Music Devices Get Updates, While Apple TV and iTunes' Social Features Steal the Show

The New Apple TV Apple

Unless you’ve been living underneath a Zune, you’re likely aware that Steve Jobs and his Apple empire held a music-centric event in San Francisco today in which the company's best-selling line of portable musical devices received yet another refresh (the holidays are coming up, you know). And while some of the updates were the usual benign, tech trickle-down one might expect, Jobs did break some new ground with an Apple TV do-over and an iTunes update that’s more social network than music store.

First, Apple TV: It seems everyone has levied an opinion on Jobs’ move into the set-top box space, and few opinions have been laudatory (Jobs’ defense: our product hasn’t been a huge hit, but “nor has any competitive product.” Fair enough). However, this year’s “one more thing” is pretty slick.

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Gadgets, Clay Dillow, apple, apple tv, cameras,cellphones, computers, ipod, itunes, steve jobs

Jobs' praises its small size (“You can hold it in the palm of your hand!” he exclaimed, though this seems somewhat irrelevant for a set-top box). We’re more interested in the fact that it does everything in HD when available, streams from your computer, rents commercial-free TV shows for 99 cents, streams Netflix content, displays photostreams from Flickr, and pulls content from your MobileMe account. Also sweet: you can stream stuff from your mobile devices, meaning you can start a flick on your iPhone or iPad, walk into your living room, and swap the feed over to your big screen. Nice.

As far as TV programming is concerned, ABC and FOX are currently on board. Jobs thinks the other networks will soon come around to his way of thinking, and given his track record of bending the world to his will, we would agree.

Oh, and price. It’s just $99, a refreshing break from the first-gen’s $299 price tag.

What else are we getting for early Christmas this year? A new version of iTunes that’s a hybrid music player and social network (think Last.fm meets iTunes). iTunes 10 will have a feature called "Ping" that lets you see what your friends are listening to.

This goes beyond the old shared playlist feature. Jobs played up the privacy features of course, but essentially you can share your own playlists, opinions, and recommendations with your followers (like musical Twitter) and in turn follow artists and friends to see what’s getting play out there. It’s also layered with concert info and all kinds of ancillary stuff that seems pretty useful, as long as it doesn’t result in MySpace-like sensory overload.

Along with the big platform upgrades, Apple’s music devices all received a refresh. The Shuffle got its buttons back. The Nano got a multi-touch screen (and lost its click wheel) while shedding nearly half its size and weight. Perhaps most exciting: iPod touch got the same A4 chip and Retina Display screen as iPhone 4, a 3-axis gyro like the iPhone's, a rear camera with HD video recording, and – drumroll, please – a front facing camera with FaceTime. Eight gigs start at $229

Testing The New Apple TV !

Apple TV Dan Nosowitz

Apple's new Apple TV has been overhauled. It's been shrunk to a tiny black square, with a new interface and some great new features. But while it does some things very well, it's severely lacking in both content and functionality.

This fall, companies both big and small are betting on connected TV, but there's no real consensus on how to do it. Google, for example, is taking a fundamentally Googley approach with its own Google TV (coming this month for an as yet undisclosed price), adding search and web apps to the services you already have, like cable TV or a DVR. Boxee, the open-source, Linux-friendly community, is releasing a typically open-source, does-anything kind of player in the Boxee Box (coming in November for $200). Roku is continuing to add great apps to their budget-priced players, with Hulu support coming soon.

And Apple's revamped Apple TV is Apple all over: beautifully designed on both the hardware and software side, and excellent at working with other Apple products like iTunes and hardware like the iPhone and iPad. Want to stream your music to the living room, watch TV shows you've downloaded to your iPhone, or stream from your Netflix queue? The Apple TV can't be beat on any of those fronts.

The problem with the Apple TV isn't what it does, it's what it doesn't do. And there are all sorts of things it doesn't do. Just to name a few: It doesn't support most streaming services like Hulu and Pandora, it doesn't let you plug in an external hard drive, it doesn't let you download shows, and it doesn't offer much of a selection of TV shows or movies. Those limitations make it super simple to use, but also make it frequently frustrating.

Apple TV's Netflix Integration:  Dan Nosowitz

What's New

Revamped interface, Netflix support, TV rentals, tiny body, lower price (only $100, making it one of the cheapest options out there), and a new remote. There's also been a fundamental change in hardware philosophy: The new Apple TV doesn't have a hard drive or hardly any ports at all (like USB or standard-def video-out)--this is a streamlined streaming device, not a computer for your TV.

The Good

The price and physical body of the Apple TV are both delightfully small, and the Netflix integration might be the best I've ever used. Streaming from Netflix was faster and of notably higher quality than from a home theater PC running Boxee, and at least as good as on Roku and the Xbox 360. The Apple TV is great at streaming both video and audio content from your computer's iTunes library. The interface is intuitive, consistent, and very pretty. Set-up is dead simple (though the remote can be frustrating for text entry--more on that below)

Apple TV's TV Selection:  Dan Nosowitz

The Bad

The two main problems: content and functionality. The selection of TV shows is totally anemic, lacking, for some reason, even top-selling shows found in the desktop version of iTunes (including 30 Rock and The Daily Show). It can only stream videos in iTunes-compatible formats, which means most downloaded video will have to be converted. It doesn't stream from any service besides Netflix and YouTube--no Hulu, no Pandora, and no network-owned sites (like ABC.com or ColbertNation.com).

The rental system itself is easy to use, but not a very good deal, even forgiving for the moment the tiny selection: Each episode costs $1, can only be watched once, and is restricted to the Apple TV. Rent a show on the Apple TV, and you won't be able to finish it on your computer or iPhone--it can only be viewed on the Apple TV, and only within a 48-hour period after you started watching.

In contrast, streamed episodes from a service like Hulu are free (albeit ad-supported) and allow you to watch them as many times as you like. Downloaded episodes from services like Amazon Unbox (or even the normal version of iTunes!) can be watched on multiple devices (like smartphones or portable media players), and also have no limits on views.

Apple TV Rentals:  Dan Nosowitz

Even worse, renting is the only option on Apple TV. It would have been great to have the option to purchase content to stream from the cloud any time, but that option is nowhere to be found: It's rent or nothing. The only workaround is awkward and unnecessary: You'd have to purchase content on your computer, and then stream it to the Apple TV. But what's the point of that? Why should you have to run to your computer every time you want to watch a new episode of Top Chef? Why can't you just buy it with the Apple TV?

The remote is lousy; it's pretty to look at, but interminably slow for entering text (which is necessary when you want to search for something), and very peculiarly lacking a volume control. Apple TV only connects to TVs via HDMI, which means older, standard-def TVs won't be compatible.

I also found that streaming content, especially HD content, often involved an unusually long wait before it began playing. The Apple TV creates a significant buffer before starting any video, to avoid having to stop and load. But that often took longer than I'd have guessed, frequently as long as a minute or two (which seems longer when you're staring at a black screen). Hopefully Apple fixes the speed issue with a firmware update soon.

Apple TV Homescreen:  Dan Nosowitz

The Verdict

The Apple TV is tiny, intuitive, and cheap, and is great at streaming content from iTunes, iOS devices, and Netflix. But for those who get their content from places other than iTunes and Netflix, there are better options. Even as an iTunes streaming device, it could be so much better--it's unnecessarily restrictive (why can't I purchase, rather than rent, TV shows and movies? Why can't I play those videos on any device other than the Apple TV?) and often slow to stream.

There are too many caveats for me to wholeheartedly recommend the Apple TV. It's not that it's a bad device, but it's so limited in ability and in usefulness that even the $100 asking price starts to seem merely adequate rather than inexpensive. If you just want to stream music and video from your computer's iTunes library to your TV, and maybe watch Netflix every once in awhile, then by all means pick up an Apple TV. But the state of web media today is so much more than just iTunes and Netflix--it's Hulu and Pandora and MOG and NBC.com and Rhapsody and Funny or Die and CollegeHumor and...

Well, I could go on forever. But the Apple TV can't. If you want to truly connect your TV and have access to all that great stuff on the web, wait for Google TV or the Boxee Box.

testing of the new Apple iPods!

The new iPods John Mahoney

Another holiday season, another batch of fresh iPods. We've been testing the new Touch, Nano and Shuffle to see how they fare with last year's models. Find our full impressions on all three here.

iPod Touch

The new iPod Touch: Yes, the chrome-y back is still easily scuffed  John Mahoney

What's New
The Touch is now almost up to speed with the iPhone 4: new is a high-res Retina display at 960 x 640 pixels; both a back and front-facing camera for HD video and FaceTime, respectively; a speedy Apple A4 chip; gyroscopes for more accurate tilt controls; and a chassis that's been shaved down to just over a quarter of an inch thick.

The Good

The iPhone-without-the-phone keeps getting better. It surpassed the Nano this year as the best-selling iPod with good reason —it gets you into the App Store, matches the iPhone as the best mobile computing device when you're within Wi-Fi coverage, and is one of the sleekest industrial designs in Apple's portfolio —all without an AT&T contract.

The Bad

Always-on data and GPS aside, the Touch still isn't quite an iPhone. The rear camera is not nearly as good. When compared to the iPhone 4, its video noticeably lacks contrast and saturation, and in still mode, the max resolution is a paltry 960 x 720 compared to the iPhone 4's impressive five-megapixel sensor. In their reviewer's guide, Apple doesn't even mention the camera's ability to take stills, so this is obviously something they're not proud of. And while the display matches the iPhone's ultra-high resolution, the panel is not quite as crisp and contrasty.

The Price

$230 (8GB), $300 (32GB), $400 (64GB)

The Verdict

While still a notch down from the iPhone 4 in a few departments, App Store access with no contract in a package this sexy remains a no-brainer for those in need of a dedicated MP3 player that's not a phone.

iPod Nano

The new iPod Nano: Now with chip clip  John Mahoney

What's New
Bye bye clickwheel. The new Nano is Apple's latest multitouch convert. The form factor is now more Shuffle than Nano, and it also includes a clip.

The Good

The new Nano shrinks all the music capabilities of the old one (video is out) into a crazy small package. Also, the clock screen saver doubles as a wristwatch!

The Bad

I've got to say, I miss the clickwheel. I don't disagree with Apple's current core design philosophy that touch interfaces are the future. But the new Nano demonstrates where multitouch can get dicey —when the screen is too small. At just 1.54 inches (diagonal) the Nano's display can fit only three-and-a-half list items (songs, albums with art, etc) on the screen at once. That means a lot of swiping to get through a longer album's tracks (and a partially obscured view of the screen while you're doing it). You don't want to cut all the hilarious interludes from your Lil' Wayne mixtape just to save space now, do you?

Navigating menus can also be tricky. A right-swipe brings you back a step, and a left swipe uncovers additional options at certain points. But the small screen often forces you to make both gestures over other tappable controls already on the screen. This can result in mis-taps, especially if you're switching tracks while fading fast on the treadmill like I do at around mile three.

The Price

$150 for 8GB, $180 for 16GB, all in seven colors

The Verdict

My previous-gen Nano can display ten text list items and six album covers per screen, and provides a more intuitive way to scroll through them quickly without blocking the screen. This could come down to personal preference, but for me, the hard buttons are more advantageous than a smaller form factor. Because hey, both iPods are practically weightless. If you exercise in pocketless clothing and hate to strap on an armband, the more capacious Nano with its clip (and screen) could be a nice step-up from your workout Shuffle. But beware the tiny touchscreen.

iPod Shuffle

The new iPod Shuffle: Buttons are back  John Mahoney

What's New
Gone is the no-buttons, stick-of-chewing-gum design from the last generation, killed in favor of something that more closely resembles the second-generation's round ring of buttons. They've made the controls larger while shrinking the overall product; now it's an even tinier aluminum chip clip with buttons.

The Good

One day, Apple will find a way to sell us something with multitouch that doesn't have a screen. As of now they haven't (YET), so the new Shuffle relies on a hybrid control scheme from previous generations that works perfectly. Gone is the headphone wire remote for advancing tracks according to a coded morse code of clicks; it's been replaced by the second-gen's friendly round of control buttons. What remains from the buttonless previous version is the cool VoiceOver feature that will announce the current track name, artist, playlist or battery remaining at the press of a dedicated button. It's such a useful feature, it should be standard across the line (How many times have you pulled your shuffling music player from your pocket to ID a song you couldn't quite remember?). Plus, it's fun to hear Mr. Synth Voice pronounce your favorite artists and tracks ("Yeah-Ma-Ha....The Dream").

It's not often Apple admits it's wrong, but in smartly reigning the crazier, buttonless Shuffle back in and adding buttons, they've improved on a product that tops all previous generations easily.

The Bad

Sure, it's more convenient to have a screen, but that's not really the point here. And the headphone-mounted clickable remote would have been handy, but its absence means many will just clip the thing somewhere external and use the buttons on the face.

The Price

$50 for 2GB in five colors

The Verdict

A smart rollback. It doesn't get much more perfectly executed than this for $50.