Apple announces new iPod Touch, Game Center, available next week (updated)

Apple today (September 1, 2010) announced its new, lighter, faster and Game Center-friendly HD iPod Touch to be released “next week.”

According to the company press release, the new iPod Touch will include a better display (“Retina Display” at 960 x 640 pixels) HD video recording and FaceTime Wi-Fi video calling capabilities (read: front-facing HD camera and microphone), a 3-axis gyro (for motion controls), an A4 chip and what it is calling a Game Center. It will also have an HD camera on the back.

I almost forgot the multi-touch feature. You’ll be able to put more than one finger on the screen at a time and each touch point will be recognized or, as the site describes, “control game elements precisely.”

From the description (below), the Game Center sounds a lot like gamertag, achievements and leaderboard areas on the PS3, Xbox 360 and many PC games.

This iteration of the iPod is also “the thinnest and lightest iPod Touch ever” and promises “40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge” (so we can assume about seven hours of active gaming as well).

The new iPod Touch starts at $229 (US) for an 8 GB model, $299 for 32GB and $399 for the 64GB model

Below are the other gaming-relevant sections from Apple’s press release. The last line implies that the new iPod Touch will be available either on or just after September 8, 2010, when the Game Center goes live. Also note that Apple calls the iPod Touch “world’s most popular portable game player.”

Apple’s A4 chip provides iPod touch users with exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life. This remarkably fast and power-efficient chip, along with the Retina display and 3-axis gyro, makes games on iPod touch the best they’ve ever been on any mobile device.

iPod touch is the world’s most popular portable game player. Now with Game Center, iPod touch users can challenge and play friends or be matched automatically with new opponents. Game Center lets iPod touch users showcase their scores and achievements and discover new games their friends are playing. With the App Store on iPod touch, users have access to the world’s largest catalog of apps with over 250,000 apps, including over 65,000 game and entertainment titles to choose from…

Existing second and third generation iPod touch users can update to iOS 4.1 free of charge on September 8 to enjoy new features including Game Center.

Here are the tech specs:

Technical specifications

Size and weight:

• Height: 4.4 inches (111.0 mm)
• Width: 2.3 inches (58.9 mm)
• Depth: 0.28 inch (7.2 mm)
• Weight: 3.56 ounces (101 grams)

Capacity:

• 8GB, 32GB or 64GB flash drive

Wireless:

• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
• Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR
• Maps-location based service4
• Nike + iPod support built in

In the box

• iPod touch
• Earphones
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• Quick Start guide

Environmental Status Report

• Arsenic-free display glass
• Brominated flame retardant-free
• Mercury-free LCD display
• PVC-free
• Recyclable stainless steel enclosure
• Smaller, more compact packaging (17% smaller, 16% lighter)

Display

• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen
• Multi-Touch display
• 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch

Audio

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• User-configurable maximum volume limit

Headphones

• Earphones
• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Impedance: 32 ohms

TV and video

• H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
• MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
• Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
• Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)

Cameras, photos, and video

• Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still photos (960 x 720) with back camera
• VGA-quality photos and video up to 30 frames per second with the front camera
• Tap to control exposure for video or stills
• Photo and video geo tagging over Wi-Fi

Input and output

• 30-pin dock connector
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
• Built-in speaker
• Microphone

External buttons and controls

• Sleep/wake
• Volume up/down
• Home

Sensors

• Three-axis gyro
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor

Battery and power

• Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Playback time

• Music playback time: Up to 40 hours when fully charged
• Video playback time: Up to 7 hours when fully charged
• Charging times: Fast charge in about 2 hours (80% capacity), full charge in about 4 hours.

Read [Appletell] Site [Apple iPod Touch]