At a scheduled media event in San Francisco, Apple refreshed its entire iPod line with models that are downsized (physically) from their predecessors, and yet packed with more features, many of which were culled from the iPhone4.

For example, the new iPod touch has Apple's 960 x 640 pixels Retina display, which like the one used in iPhone4, is comprised of such small pixels that a normally sighted person can't see them separately.

It also inherits FaceTime video calling from iPhone4, Apple's implementation of video conferencing that requires WiFi connectivity. Until now, only other iPhone4 users could contact one another; but at least with the new iPod touch into the fray, the number of possible contacts will swell in time.
Other iPhone4 additions include HD video recording, Apple's snappy A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, and iOS 4.1.

A new feature, Game Center, allows iPod touch users to challenge and play friends or be matched automatically with new opponents. It also lets iPod touch users to showcase their scores and achievements, and discover new games their friends are playing.

Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO noted that the App Store affords iPod touch with the world's largest catalogue of apps with over 250,000 apps, including over 65,000 game and entertainment titles to choose from.

The new iPod touch features up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge.

A new feature of iTunes can be accessed directly from the new iPod touch. Ping, a sort of Twitter for music, lets users follow their favourite artists and friends to discover the music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. Users can allow themselves to be followed, or not.

The iPod nano now comes in a square form that's all screen in the front. Controls are built into the Apple's onscreen Multi-Touch interface that lets users navigate their music collection by simply tapping or swiping a finger on the display. Nearly half the size and weight of the previous generation, the new iPod nano features a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with a built-in clip, making it instantly wearable. The new iPod nano features Genius Mixes, the ability to create and edit playlists, a built-in FM radio with live pause, and up to 24 hours of music playback on a single battery charge.
iPod nano also features a built-in pedometer and supports Nike + iPod, giving users the ability to track runs and workouts.

The redesigned iPod shuffle now has both clickable "ring" buttons and Apple's VoiceOver technology. It's housed in an elegant, aluminum enclosure with a built-in clip, and comes in silver, blue, green, orange, and pink. Apple says the device will run for 15 hours on a single charge.

The clickable buttons make the new iPod shuffle easier to use. One presses the centre button to play and pause; and the outer buttons to skip forward and back or adjust the volume up and down.
The new VoiceOver button on top of iPod shuffle allows users to hear the name of the currently playing song and to switch between songs, playlists or Genius Mixes. VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages and alerts users when their battery needs charging.

The new iPod shuffle now supports Genius Mixes, the popular iTunes feature that automatically creates mixes from songs in a user's music library that supposedly go together.

As of their availability next week, Canadian pricing for the new iPod family will be as follows: iPod shuffle (2GB)-$59; iPod nano-$159 (8GB) and $189 (16GB), both are available in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange and pink; iPod touch (8GB)-$249, (32GB)-$319, and (64GB)-$429; and the iPod classic 160GB-$279.

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