Apple Announces iPod touch with Wi-Fi

"Today we get to talk about music," began Steve Jobs as the Apple chief executive took the stage during a press conference Wednesday morning. Jobs announced updated versions of every iPod in Apple's iPod lineup, including a new iPhone-like iPod called the iPod touch, and cheaper pricing for the iPhone.
The new iPod touch looks like a stripped-down version of the iPhone, with Wi-Fi and a built-in YouTube application but no voice calling.
"When we announced the iPhone in January, we said it was the best iPod on the planet," Jobs said. "So people were asking when we would bring this technology to the iPod."
And here it is on an 8-millimeter-wide device. It is pretty much indistinguishable from the iPhone in that it plays all media including video, music, and photos. The Wi-Fi is a significant advantage. It uses a built-in antenna that provides 801.11 b/g, and logs into remote Wi-Fi networks with the Safari Web browser.
"Wi-Fi can be challenging anywhere in between your home and your office," Jobs said. "You go to a hotel and you have to pay and login. You go to an airport, you have to pay and login. If you can't do that, you can't get on most networks, so you can build in the hardware but you can't get the network. So we're going to add the Safari Web browser so you can view all those login Web pages and login into any network."
International customers who have had to wait for the iPhone can get their hands on the iPod touch immediately, according to Jobs.
"This is the first touch product that Apple will ship outside the U.S.," he said.
The iPod touch will come in two models: an 8GB version that costs $299, and a 16GB version that costs $399. Both models will ship this month, in time for the holiday shopping season.
The iPod touch also has a new application called the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store that lets customers search and buy songs directly from iTunes. You can preview songs for free and download the song straight to your library, which will be synced into your home computer's iTunes once the device is synced.
"You can search for anything in the entire iTunes store," Jobs said. "Same prices. Same selection."
The iTunes music store will also come to the iPhone in late September as a free software update.
Jobs also announced a price drop for the iPhone. Apple will no longer carry the 4GB model but will now sell the 8GB model for $399 instead of its original $599 retail price, which will inevitably annoy anyone who spent the extra $200 to be early adopters.