Well here it is. This is Apple’s holiday lineup and it was a biggy. We at the Giggaheim felt it would be easier to not just post several smaller articles detailing 1 thing but to just do the entire event in one post. Apple has done it again. We are gonna go in the order that Apple did:

#1: New Retail Stores

Apple has always done well with there retail stores. Steve revealed 3 new stores openings around the world and the elegance that is presented with the stores is stunning. I am an engineer and I gotta say I was impressed. The locations consisted of Shanghai, Paris and London. The Paris and London stores were built in refurbished old buildings and are HUGE. The Shanghai store has a glass cylinder enterance and is large as well. Just take a look at some of the photos Steve released of the new stores.

[galleria]

Apple has stated that they almost get 1 million visitors a day across all 300 stores worldwide. They are doing something right!!

#2: 2 new iOS 4 updates (4.1 and 4.2)

iOS 4.1 is going to be good update. It is scheduled to be released sometime next week and will be available for the iPhone and iPod Touch (*excluding some models). It will be a free update and will include these features:

1. Multiple bug fixes:
2. HDR Photos
3. HD video uploading over Wifi
4. TV Show Rentals
5. Gamecenter

Multiple Bug Fixes:

These fixes include performance improves for the iPhone 3G. It also improves the Bluetooth functionality and fixes some of the proximity sensor problems some user may have been experiencing. (I have to be honest, my iPhone 4 is experiencing the bluetooth and sensor issues.)

HDR Photos:

HDR photos is something new that Apple is pushing on us to improves the quality of our photos. What it does is when you take a standard photo on the iPhone, it actually takes 3 photos. 1 photo at regular exposure, another underexposed and the last one overexposed. It then uses software(probably black magic Photoshop) to improve the image; and it WORKS! Some of the examples Steve was showing showed massive improvements in the photos but

removing a lot of the light that was taking some of the detail out of the images and sometimes adding some in darker images. Check out some of the examples Engadget took; the first image being before HDR, the second with HDR processing. Unbelievable!!!

HD Video Uploading over Wifi:

Since the iPhone 4 has been released there have been a lot of complaints about how the iPhone cramps the HD resolution to 480p when uploading to YouTube directly from the phone. Apple has addressed that and will allow for 720p uploading to YouTube when connected to Wifi. Trust me, you’ll eat the crap out of your data if you do this over cell and it will probably take forever.

TV Show Rentals:

Apple has implemented a way where you can actual rent and watch TV shows directly on the iOS device. This is done through the iTunes app.

Gamecenter:

Because of the huge success of the iPod Touch, Steve announced that the iPod Touch has outsold Nintendo and Sony by holding a 50% market share. There have been 120 million iOS devices sold since the original iPhone. Because of this success, Apple is now going after Xbox Live and is trying to getting into the multiplayer aspect of gaming. You can now use Gamecenter to unlock achievements in games, have a friends list, play online with friends and matchmaking as well. You can challenge your friends and some of the games look stunning. Epic Games has an amazing looking game coming out this year and its running on an iPhone. The power of this device continues to astound us.

iOS 4.2

iOS 4.2 is everything in iOS 4 and 4.1 but for the iPad. It is scheduled to be released in November and it looks to be huge. Multitasking is coming to the iPad, folders, and now wireless printing. You can print to any connected printer right from your iPad. Another cool feature about 4.2 is something called Airplay. More on that later.

Steve then moved onto iPods, so I will go in order of the Shuffle, Nano and Touch.

#3: iPods

iPod Shuffle:

The new shuffle is getting a pretty significant upgrade. They are bringing back the click-wheel from the 2nd generation and are keeping the Voice-over from the 3rd generation. Think of it as the 2nd and 3rd generations combined. The shuffle has a max battery life of 15 hours of music. They come in multiple colors and all look awesome. It will retail for $49 and has a 2GB flash based memory.

iPod Nano:

The iPod Nano is also getting a significant overhaul. Apple has made it even smaller. To make it smaller they removed the clik-wheel and made it just a multi-touch screen. The built in all the touch controls we use with our iPhones and iPod Touches but with some customized features. There is no accelerameter, but to concur that you just twist 2 fingers on the screen and it rotates. It can rotate all 360 degrees in 90 degree increments. The battery life on the nano will last about 24 hours worth of music playing. The new Nano will come in 7 different colors and has 2 different versions. An 8GB model for $149 and a 16GB for $179. There is no longer a camera on this; so no more video recording or picture taking.

iPod Touch:

The iPod Touch seems to be the biggest thing Apple “touched.” The retina display, the A4 chip, the 3-axis gyro, front-facing and rear-facing camera are all coming to the iPod Touch and they were still able to make it thinner. How have they done that??? The new Touch will has a battery life of 40 hours worth of music playing and can record HD videos just like the iPhone 4. This sucker will retail in 3 different configurations. The 8GB model will go for $229. The 32GB model for $299 and the 64GB model for $399.

ALL NEW iPODS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE NEXT WEEK!!!!

#4: iTunes:

Steve announced that iTunes is still going strong as being the #1 retailer of music purchased PERIOD. There have been 11.7 billion songs, 450 million TV shows, and 100 million movies downloaded from iTunes. So what are they doing with iTunes in the next release. Well iTunes 10 is out TODAY and here is what they have added:

1. A new logo: Apple has ditched the CD in the logo for an all new slicker design.
2. New listing functionality: When scrolling through your list of songs, if you have more then 5 from 1 album it will then show you the album artwork on the left.
3. Ping: Ping is Apple’s version of Facebook and Twitter combined but for music only. iTunes will now let you share and post your favorite songs you have downloaded, let you follow your friends or artists (just like Twitter) and will show you what concerts are available around you. It also customizes a top 10 list of songs based on who you are following. There are many more features so go download it and check it out.

That was all UNTIL Steve has “one more thing…or hobby.”

Apple TV:

Apple’s AppleTV was never a big success. Why?? It was too expense, too hard to use and ran very hot and loud. Apple has addressed all of this. First thing they did was remove the hard drive. Everything you do to the new Apple TV is streamed based content only; whether from iTunes or you computer. You can stream movies, TV shows, music and photos directly to the new device. The interface is much easier to use and a lot of third party based services have been implemented. Some of these sites include: Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, Rotten Tomatoes and others. Apple also released there new TV show rental services with ABC and FOX (currently) which will let you rent TV shows and stream them over to AppleTV for only $0.99 a show. These are not just SD shows, these are HD shows for $0.99. New released movie rentals will also be available for rent for $4.99 a movie.

Technical Specs:

• The thing is 25% the size of the original AppleTV. Its about the size of a hockey puck.
• 802.11 n wifi built in
• HDMI
• No power brick
• Optical port
• ethernet jack

The coolest thing about AppleTV now is something I referred to earlier as AirPlay. AirPlay is the reworked version of AirTunes but this time not only lets you stream music over but movies, TV shows and photos to another device. The other device I am talking about is AppleTV. Steve demonstrated this but streaming UP from his iPad to AppleTV without the use of the computer. All you do is play the movie on your iPad, hit a button and it instantly plays on the AppleTV right where you left off. It was awesome. You can also do this from your iPhone and iPod Touch. All of these features and then some and AppleTV will retail for only $99. Not $229 but $99. That’s more like it Apple. It will be available in 4 weeks and pre-orders start today.

So this was it. Apple’s lineup for the holiday season this year and it is shaping up to be a very big year for Apple. All products will be available within 4 weeks and some are available today!!! Pre-orders yours now before they are gone!!!!

If you would like to watch the Keynote, you can either stream it from Apple’s website, if you have a Mac or iOS device, or by downloading it from iTunes.

Check out: MCSpartan017: MCSpartan017 - Giggaheim Webmaster, Editor, Coder The dedicated video game editor, MCSpartan017 spends most of his time during the day doubling as a mechanical engineer but at night is the creature you only see when the moon is in the right alignment. He is either playing shooters or music games to increase his gamerscore on Xbox Live. You can try and find him but trying to find him is like trying to decipher the mystery of the universe. GOOD LUCK!!! On the side, MCSpartan017 enjoys creating comedy videos on the internet and also coding iPhone apps. Check out his website for the latest craze he is on.