Apple announces iPod nano with camera, FM tuner, pedometer

[AppleInsider]

Apple's new iPod nano unveiled Wednesday will allow users to record video, listen to FM radio, and track the number of steps taken by exercisers.

Touting the camera as a "free" addition to the nano, the 8GB model will cost $149 and has a total size of 1.1 cubic inches. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs noted during his presentation that a portable Flip camera with 4GB of storage sells for $149. A 16GB model will be available for $179. Both are available today in a variety of colors.

"iPod nano is the world's most popular music player with over 100 million sold," said Jobs, Apple's CEO. "And now we've added a video camera to its incredibly thin design, without any additional cost to the user."

The new nano has a polished anodized aluminum exterior, and sports a larger 2.2-inch display. It also features voiceovers that tell the listener what is currently playing.



The integrated video camera will allow users to record videos, as well as review them and add "special effects," such as film grain or motion blur, directly from the iPod nano. The content can also be synced to a computer and uploaded directly to YouTube with one click. Video can be shot in either portrait or landscape mode.

The built-in FM radio features live pause. This allows users to pause and resume playing a station. The new iPod nano also includes iTunes Tagging, which allows users to tag songs they like when they hear them on the radio. The song can then be previewed and purchased from iTunes, and synced back with a host computer.



The new built-in pedometer will sync to the Nike+ software without the previously-required external transmitter. The system keeps track of steps taken and calories burned.

The new hardware also allows Genius Mixes. This feature automatically creates up to 12 "endless mixes" of songs from the iTunes library, using the Genius feature to find songs that go well together.



The new iPod nano reportedly provides up to 24 hours of music playback, or 5 hours of video on a single charge. The 8GB model can record up to 7 hours of video, while the 16 GB model will capture 14 hours.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[SpamSandwich]

Curious to see the quality of the pix and video, but those video specs are a little behind the curve considering all of the new tiny HD cameras that have been coming out from Sony, Kodak, et al, to compete with the Flip.

I do like the fact they finally, FINALLY included a stinkin' FM radio. Scandalous.

Also, why is the green nano a different size? The screen is smaller, and the height is different? Huh?

[MissionGrey]

"They won't add a camera"

No, they add a video camera and FM radio!!!




And now for Microsoft reply.



"....................................chirp........ ................chirp............................. ."

Well said, well said

[ortal]

i see a lot about a video camera, but where the 'camera' part of this? I tried looking at the tech specs but dont see anything about megapixels, etc. am i missing something or does this nano not take pictures...

[Jimzip]

Wow ... if anyone could make FM radio look nice, it's our peeps at Apple. Adding pause and tagging is just icing on the cake.

(Oh, and 'New colors for shuffle, along with headphone adapter that works with any headphones.'. To all those naysayers, finally, I am vindicated. X) Sorry but I had to say it while I'm right for once...)

Jimzip

[Bregalad]

The nano has been greatly improved today. It's once again a very desirable item, but I want apps too and the new touch has none of the things the nano got today (video camera, FM, pedometer). Makes me want to keep my money in my pocket.

[teckstud]

Is this the same camera as the iPhone? That's better than a Flip?

[Jaspo]

xxxxx

[teckstud]

I'm glas SJ and APple decided to amend (fix) the shuffle as the public wanted.

[rodkar]

it only lists video capture capability ...

[ortal]

Originally Posted by rodkar

it only lists video capture capability ...

glad im not the only one wondering about that. how stupid would that be, video but no camera.

[teckstud]

The camera only shoots video???????????????????

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Bregalad

The nano has been greatly improved today. It's once again a very desirable item, but I want apps too and the new touch has none of the things the nano got today (video camera, FM, pedometer). Makes me want to keep my money in my pocket.

Yes, sucks for us touch owners. If they had only added the camera I would have upgraded. With video, FM radio and pedometer, I would have loved it. Bizarro-World thinking at work here.

[macshark]

Originally Posted by teckstud

The camera only shoots video???????????????????

The resolution is probably too low for stills. Video feature appears to be primarily targeted for video uploads to YouTube, Facebook, etc...

[macshark]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

I do like the fact they finally, FINALLY included a stinkin' FM radio. Scandalous.

Is it regular FM Radio or HD Radio?

How do they do iTunes tagging with regular FM radio? If they are tuning into the HD signal to get the album/artist info but playing the regular FM signal, that would be lame...

[markb]

They only mention it as a video camera, no where on their site, even in the tech specs do they mention camera. The video is captured at 640x480 resolution which isnt bad for a device this size in this class. I am guessing it doesnt do stills because they didnt want to spring for a 3.2M pixel part and increase the overall costs. I imagine the stills it does take turn out pretty bad in quality or they would have added that ability.

[Jimzip]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Is this the same camera as the iPhone? That's better than a Flip?

Yeah I was wondering that myself ... I can find nothing anywhere about resolution either.

Jimzip

[wanderman]

I would guess there is a microTouch OS X in there.

[eAi]

You can bet it's half a megapixel or so, so fine for quick videos, but not much else... It's an interesting idea, we'll see. If nothing else it's a differentiating factor that might make more people chose the nano...

[Mr Underhill]

New Nano Red on its way...

I imagine the camera will be part of a software upgrade at some point soon once Apple read the whinging on here...Jeez!!

[Ramblings of Insanity]

The Nike+ receiver still needs to be connected to the nano:

http://www.apple.com/ca/ipodnano/features/fitness.html

[8CoreWhore]

The built-in pedometer alerts you to how close a pedophile is. Oh, and BTW - you don't need Nike shoes ... you just need to find your own way to attach the device to your shoes.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by macshark

Is it regular FM Radio or HD Radio?

How do they do iTunes tagging with regular FM radio? If they are tuning into the HD signal to get the album/artist info but playing the regular FM signal, that would be lame...

they probably licensed Shazam for music tagging or most likely they support the radio standard where they transmit artist/song data. a lot of cars have had this for years

[macshark]

Originally Posted by eAi

You can bet it's half a megapixel or so, so fine for quick videos, but not much else... It's an interesting idea, we'll see. If nothing else it's a differentiating factor that might make more people chose the nano...

Yes, they are probably reserving HD Video and 4MP still shot functionality for next year's iPod Touch upgrade...

[8CoreWhore]

Originally Posted by Jaspo

Apple, thanks for the HTTP Live Streaming "OPEN" draft standard. Dang, it's not even a standard yet, and somehow your new iPod Nano captures video in the exact same video format. Thanks for giving us such OPEN specs and then waiting for approval! I thought Google was bad... but I guess they were in your board room - instant video upload to YouTube (a Google company). It's still a conflict of interest and non-competitive. I could go on about how tech firms condone inhuman rights by building and selling in China (iPod/iPhone), but I'll let you make your $$$ billions instead. I love those new colors by the way... lol. Apple as imported as Apple Pie!

troll

[RichL]

Holy crap, an iPod with an FM radio?

Maybe the end of the world IS coming...

[eAi]

Originally Posted by Jaspo

Apple, thanks for the HTTP Live Streaming "OPEN" draft standard. Dang, it's not even a standard yet, and somehow your new iPod Nano captures video in the exact same file format. Thanks for giving us such OPEN specs and then waiting for approval!

What has the Nano got to do with HTTP Live Streaming? It isn't able to connect to the internet? Who says you need to wait for a spec to be aproved as a standard before using it - pretty much all specs aren't. In fact you almost certainly have to have a working implementation before you can get it aproved.

I'll ignore the rest of your post

[markb]

One more thing:

All short specialists on the stock...where were these massive product delays? looks like Nanos and Touches are shipping today.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by macshark

Is it regular FM Radio or HD Radio?

How do they do iTunes tagging with regular FM radio? If they are tuning into the HD signal to get the album/artist info but playing the regular FM signal, that would be lame...

I think it's just plain Jane FM, no HD signal. Feh!

[rangerdavid]

This is awesome - but I have a question.

I'm a grad student that happens to have a conflict in my class schedule; I have to leave a stats class 20 minutes early to get to a lecture I proctor. I was going to buy a Flip camera to record the missing part of the class I have to leave (Actually, I was going to record the entire thing. But the lecture is 1:20 long, and I want to record the whole thing, not just the last 20 minutes. I've worked this all out; a friend will bring the camera to me after class).

ANYWAY, my questions:

- What is the maximum length of a video recording? I want to let it roll for more than 80 minutes.

- Can it use an external microphone for better sound quality?

- Are there going to be tripod-like accessories? I would love one to prop this on a school desk as I take notes.

[Gabster]

mmmm. It does not take photos, does it? what a pity... great buy though.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Gabster

mmmm. It does not take photos, does it? what a pity... great buy though.

It takes photos and 640x480 videos. Kind of a half-baked solution to fend off camera phones and the new generation of tiny video cameras. Still, I think they'll convince many people to buy the nano instead of the touch now... analysts, start your downgrades.

[AdamIIGS]

Seems people are forgetting the price point of the nano before they gripe about what it DOESN'T have. Prices go down, features go up, whaaa it doesn't have fricken laser beams, throw me a fricken bone here.

[mavfan1]

I don't think this is going to take any bite out of the flip market and I shake my head when Apple tries to compare prices. Not because I think Apple is overpriced, but because you can find everyone else's stuff for a nice discount off the MSRP. There's a 8 gb flip on amazon for $161 shipped that shoots 720p and has an HDMI out.

There's an article in a recent Wired all about how simplicity wins out and it uses the Flip as an example of this and as much of a tech head as I am I have to agree. Tell grandma she can take the video camera that she shoot video on by pressing a big red button and hook it to this wire to watch the video on her TV or tell her she can hook her Nano with it's proprietary cable to her computer then she'll either have to stream the video (yeah right) or burn to a disc to view on her TV and which is she gonna choose? I think there's room for both but I don't see Apple taking a bite out of the Flip's market share. More likely they're taking a bite from the canon/sony etc Flip competitors that have more features and thus more appeal to the type of person that would consider Apple.

[theappleguy]

Getting something out was the most important thing for apple today. Holding on the the touch w/cam is fine, but the pricing for the nano is completely wrong.

[pik80]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

I do like the fact they finally, FINALLY included a stinkin' FM radio. Scandalous.

Who cares about FM radio? The music on radio is awful. It's just the same songs being played everyday year after year. Now that you can buy used CDs for so little why bother with radio at all?

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by pik80

Who cares about FM radio? The music on radio is awful. It's just the same songs being played everyday year after year. Now that you can buy used CDs for so little why bother with radio at all?

I don't want a radio for music (unless you're talking about KCRW, which is outstanding), I want it for news and live event coverage. It's tiring listening to content I'm responsible for assembling. I want to discover and be surprised with new stuff sometimes.

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by mavfan1

I don't think this is going to take any bite out of the flip market and I shake my head when Apple tries to compare prices. Not because I think Apple is overpriced, but because you can find everyone else's stuff for a nice discount off the MSRP. There's a 8 gb flip on amazon for $161 shipped that shoots 720p and has an HDMI out.

There's an article in a recent Wired all about how simplicity wins out and it uses the Flip as an example of this and as much of a tech head as I am I have to agree. Tell grandma she can take the video camera that she shoot video on by pressing a big red button and hook it to this wire to watch the video on her TV or tell her she can hook her Nano with it's proprietary cable to her computer then she'll either have to stream the video (yeah right) or burn to a disc to view on her TV and which is she gonna choose? I think there's room for both but I don't see Apple taking a bite out of the Flip's market share. More likely they're taking a bite from the canon/sony etc Flip competitors that have more features and thus more appeal to the type of person that would consider Apple.

Flip completely kills the Nano in any video capabilities, but there just isn’t much you can do with such a thin device. I’m sure they don’t expect it to kill the Flip HD’s that do 720p, but they liekly expect people to find a “good enough” solution since it also includes an iPod.

[Mr Underhill]

Originally Posted by pik80

Who cares about FM radio? The music on radio is awful. It's just the same songs being played everyday year after year. Now that you can buy used CDs for so little why bother with radio at all?

Ahem...not everybody listens to music on a Radio.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

Flip completely kills the Nano in any video capabilities, but there just isn’t much you can do with such a thin device. I’m sure they don’t expect it to kill the Flip HD’s that do 720p, but they liekly expect people to find a “good enough” solution since it also includes an iPod.

Exactly. This will push millions of iPod nano fence-sitters to buy, buy again, or buy as gifts.