Apple iPod is back – New iPod Touch launched with A8 Chip, 8MP Camera and Apple Music

So the rumors were true after all! Apple has brought back a refurbished iPod touch with a variety of colors, a faster processor, better cameras, fitness tracking capabilities and Apple Music. You can say that the new iPod is an iPhone minus the phone capability.

The iPod touch is available in several colors including silver, gold, space gray, pink and blue, all looking fabulous with their PVC-free aluminum body. Under the hood is the 64-bit A8 processor, the same that has been used in the iPhone 6. It also has M8 motion coprocessor that takes care of the fitness tracking.

The new iPod touch has a 4-inch (diagonal) retina display with 1136 x 640 pixels and 326 ppi resolution, an 8MP iSight camera with f/2.4 aperture, autofocus and 1080p HD video recording capability. There is a 1.2MP FaceTime HD front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture and 720p HD video recording capability. Apple has added popular features such as slo-mo and burst mode to give improved photo and video quality.

Apart from this there’s the fingerprint sensor, Siri intelligent assistant, Wi-Fi and Apple Music. Apple claims a battery life of up to 40 hours for audio playback and up to 8 hours for video playback. The device runs iOS 8.

Apple Music is available through the Music app and Apple is offering 3-month free trial to the users. After that, they will have to pay a $9.99 per month membership fee for individual accounts and $14.99 per month for a family plan with up to six family members.

It is obvious that Apple has revived its iPod line because it wants to popularize its new music service. The iPod touch is available since Wednesday from Apple’s online store as well as its retail stores and authorized resellers with prices starting from $199. The lowest 16GB version costs $199, the 32GB version costs $249, the 32GB version costs $299 and the top-end 128GB model costs $399. The 128GB version and the (PRODUCT) RED model will be exclusively sold through the Apple store.

Apple iPod is back – New iPod Touch launched with A8 Chip, 8MP Camera and Apple Music

Nike working with Apple to develop new ‘Stealth’ and ‘Stylish’ wearables

Although Nike has abandoned FuelBand, its fitness tracking bracelet, it is not out of the wearables arena. The company has teamed up with Apple to work on a new wearable device that will be less obtrusive, more ‘stealth’ and ‘stylish’ and will work with existing devices, according to Mark Parker, CEO of Nike.

Nike’s partnership with Apple in wearable technology goes a long way. It first partnered with Apple in 2006 for its Nike+ running sensors that connected to the iPod wirelessly. Nike abandoned its FuelBand in April last year and shut down the team involved. Consequently, two of its engineers moved over to Apple for working on its Apple Watch. But Mike Parker still thinks wearable technology is a key factor in the future of Nike.

As Parker said to Bloomberg TV in an interview:

“I think it’s going to be a big part of the future, absolutely. I think the form it takes is critical. You can go from the very geeky kind of wearables today – we’ve all seen some of those – to what I think you’ll see in the future, things that are more stealth, more integrated, more stylish and more functional, yes.”

Parker stated that having Apple’s CEO Tim Cook on Nike’s board was a big advantage because Nike has worked well with Apple earlier and Parker had personally worked with Apple’s founder Steve Jobs.

“Technologically we can do things together that we couldn’t do independently,” said Parker. “So yeah, that’s part of our plan, to expand the whole digital frontier in terms of wearables, and go from what we say is tens of millions of users – right now there’s 25 million Nike+ users – to hundreds of millions.”

Nike axed its 70-member dedicated FuelBand team just a few months after its 2nd generation fitness band was released, which though didn’t come as a complete surprise, was somewhat sudden. Apple’s entry into the wearable’s segment might have been one of the reasons. Nike said that it wanted to focus back on its existing business of fitness devices in shoes and on the Nike+ software.

It is not yet known what wearable technology Nike is developing in collaboration with Apple. Nike+ app will probably be on the Apple Watch. However, Parker’s comments suggest it will be much more than a mere smartwatch app.

 

Via The Guardian

Nike working with Apple to develop new ‘Stealth’ and ‘Stylish’ wearables