:: HIT TO 21Apple announced new iPod Nanos and iPod Touches today as expected. In addition, iTunes 8 was announced. All the stuff we knew was coming due to leaks. What we didn't get were new features or the notification service (originally promised for this month, but pulled from developer betas recently) for the iPhone OS.
While iPhone OS 2.1 was announced, it's a bug release fix only. Promised fixes include improved iTunes backup times, fewer dropped calls, better reception, better battery life, and fixing app crashes. We'll see when it's released Friday for iPhones. iPhone OS 2.1 comes on the new Touch out today so expect some reviews online in the next couple hours.
Apple has scheduled an event Tuesday. The main purpose of that event is to launch new iPod Nano and Touch models. But it's also expected that iTunes 8 will be released with features like a Pandora-like Genius, new visualization, and grid view.
But more importantly iPhone OS 2.1 should also be released to coincide with the expected release of the notification service scheduled to be released in September. With the iPhone OS 2.1 and notification service I would expect to see Apple release a mobile version of iChat. Or at least I would hope to see it. This was rumored from the start for the 2.0 release but it seems that the notification service was not ready for that release in July.
We'll see what Steve has in store for us Tuesday.