In the tradition of sudden and unexpected announcements (at least, unexpected to some of you), Apple today announced the latest iPod. This one is notable for several things: First of all, it features the elegant Click Wheel, first seen in the iPod Mini. If you haven’t seen one, the Click Wheel (patent pending) is a touch-sensitive scroll wheel that can also be clicked to go to the menu, go forward or backward one track, or play and pause. It is much better than the previous iPod, which used touch-sensitive buttons. While they looked nice, they were a little too sensitive and lacked any tactile feedback, so users would often themselves accidentally skipping tracks when they picked up the iPod or brushed it accidentally. The new Click Wheel should take care of that problem through Apple’s traditional elegance in design.
Other features include a new Shuffle Songs top-level menu item, 12 hours of battery life, a slightly thinner body than the previous generation (the new one is 0.69 inches), and a new $399 price point, which is $100 cheaper than the previous 40GB model. That new price point is a little misleading, however, since the new 40GB model no longer includes a dock or the remote and headphones, each of which runs another $39. I commend unbundling those items from the new iPod though, just because many people might have a dock from a previous iPod, or a set of perfectly good headphones, and they shouldn’t have to pay more for something they won’t use.
