Those of you thinking of defecting to Microsoft’s Zune Nation this year will now be competing with ‘next gen’ iPods. In a press release yesterday Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced several key improvements to the new line of iPods, and then added: “One last thing...”

It’s a tagline Jobs is becoming famous for in his press releases, right before he drops a bomb. Lt Columbo - of “Oh, and one more thing…” fame - couldn’t have said it better himself.

The bomb dropped by Jobs was the official announcement that Apple’s iTunes will now support a Hollywood movie library - but that wasn’t all. Apple will produce their own streaming media set top box for seamless integration to your Apple computer and downloaded iTunes media onto your Home Theater system and HDTV.

iPod gets a facelift

Have you been looking into the 2.5 inch color display of your iPod video and lamenting how much better it would look if only it were 60% brighter with better contrast for a more vibrant picture? Well fear not Apple worms, the new generation of iPods will feature a screen that will be the answer to your prayers. Jobs announced the launch of a new iPod, Nano and Shuffle featuring several superficial improvements.

The next gen iPods will be smaller and lighter, with longer battery life and higher capacity. The screen improvements were expected (as was the announcement of iTunes carrying movies), but we didn’t know exactly what those improvements would be. Many expected a wider or larger screen for the iPod - but no dice, you get brighter instead. Snappier clickwheel and thinner iPods aren’t exactly what I’ve been salivating for. I already use a Nano to pick popcorn from between my teeth, how much thinner does it need to be? I’d like to see high end DACs, like a return to the Wolfson they used in the 4th generation.

One nice improvement for the second generation Nano is the all-aluminum body. Soon they’ll be advertising MP3 players for durability. Remember those Timex watch commercials aimed at selling them for their durability? You don’t see gadgets claiming they can stand up to a hockey puck these days, perhaps the aluminum Nano will be the one.

How small is the new Shuffle?

The new Shuffle is about half the size of the original. Literally it’s just a clickwheel with a headphone port on one side and micro USB connector.

Key features: 

• It’s so small it comes with tweezers so you can operate the clickwheel.
• Don’t mix it up with over the counter medication! The new Shuffle could easily be mistaken for an Aspirin – which you’ll probably need after listening to it for any length of time.
• Little known fact: they actually designed the new Shuffle for rodents.
• Heard of the "Kansas City Shuffle"? They’re calling this device the Rhode Island Shuffle.

But seriously folks, I couldn’t use the new shuffle because my hands are too big. Even the Nano is way too small for me, I’d be afraid of breaking or losing the thing.

Battery Life

Is Apple using nuclear reactors in their MP3 players? According to the specs on www.apple.com they’re still using Litho. Battery life is a worthy improvement! The Nano 2nd gen will feature a 24 hour lifespan. That’s enough time for Jack Bauer to get killed, return from the dead and inject the bad guys with sodium pentothal. Jack Bauer won't have to recharge his Nano for an entire season of 24.

And what about Job’s “One last thing…”? I’ll include the scant known details about something called iTV in a future post.