Yesterday Apple announced the long rumored iPod Touch. It is essentially an iPhone without the phone, with the same design, and most of the same features. Its reliance on flash memory enable it to be thin, 8mm. However, it also is limited to 8/16GB of memory, which may put off some potential buyers.
The fact that it will be priced more affordably than the iPhone (which itself got a substantial $200 price reduction), yet retains wifi and browsing abilities, gives it wide appeal. Also, the audience of the iPod Touch is not artificially limited to AT&T customers in the US, it will be launched worldwide by the end of the month.
Apple also launched some new services available only to the iPod Touch/iPhone, but how well received they will be by consumers remains to be seen. The ability to browse and buy from the iTunes store online is certainly interesting, and many have longed for such abilities. The other “feature” is a deal with Starbucks that will, over time, give users of these two devices access to listen to some music for free, and browse and buy from Starbucks’ music selection when near a Starbucks store.
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