Portal combat New Apple TV

Portal combat


New Apple TV, iPods and Ping social network unveiled
05:55 AM Sep 03, 2010





Apple MA711LL/A TV with 40GB Hard Drive

APPLE has thrown down the gauntlet to Facebook and Twitter with the launch of a social networking service designed for music fans.

Ping, a social music discovery service, is built into Apple's iTunes software, a programme used by more than 160 million people to download songs and organise their music library.

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, outlined Apple's new approach to music and entertainment services at a press conference at the Yerba Buena Centre in San Francisco.

"One of the biggest things we focus on with iTunes is discovery. There are more than 12 million songs to choose from, so how do you find new stuff?" asked Jobs. "So, we're launching Ping - it's a social network that's all about music. It's like Facebook-and-Twitter meets iTunes. You can follow your favourite artists and friends and discover what music they like and are downloading."

Jobs also unveiled a compact Apple TV set-top box that's a little bigger than a drinks coaster, which can stream content, such as music, films and television shows, from the Internet to a television set.

Jobs, who had previously dismissed the Apple TV as "a hobby", admitted that while people loved the device, it had only sold in modest numbers. He said the company had listened to user feedback and had overhauled the device to meet those needs.

"They want on-demand access to Hollywood movies and TV shows, they don't want amateur stuff," he said.

"They want their movies and TV shows in high-definition, and want to pay less for this content. And they don't want a computer on their television - though this is a hard one for people in the computer industry to understand. And they don't want to manage the storage of downloaded movies and programmes."

The new Apple TV will allow users to "rent" films and television shows, with high-definition movies available on the day of DVD release for US$4.99 ($6.70), and television programmes for US$0.99. The device will cost US$99 - around US$200 less than its predecessor.

Jobs also used Apple's annual September press conference to show off new-look iPods, including a smaller, squarer iPod shuffle with buttons, and a tiny iPod nano controlled via a touchscreen.

Apple also unveiled a new iPod touch with the same pin-sharp retina display as that on the iPhone 4, as well as dual cameras for shooting high-definition footage, and for making video calls using Apple's FaceTime application.
 




"The iPod touch has become the most popular iPod for us," said Jobs. "It's also the number one portable games console in the world, outselling the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable combined." THE DAILY TELEGRAPH


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