The fifth-generation iPod touch was announced alongside the iPhone 5 at the September 12th media event in San Francisco, but while Tim Cook proudly proclaimed that the new smartphone would begin shipping just over a week later, there was no such news about the rather colorful new iPod touch range. Rather than lavish us with all of the necessary launch details for the new iPod touch, Apple deemed it acceptable to give a vague October deadline instead of a proper date.
Apple's download and authentication servers will no doubt be taking a hammering right now as people clamor over themselves to download iOS 6 and install it onto their iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. The latest iteration of Apple's mobile operating system brings over 200 new features to users, with a notable amount of them being relatively large enhancements to the firmware. As is usually the case at the launch of a new major version of iOS, users who require a jailbreak are weighing up the pros and cons of the update, determining whether or not to go for it and live with a tethered jailbreak initially.
All the talk and column inches are understandably being devoted to Apple's iPhone 5 right now. Always guaranteed to get attention, large hardware releases will have the pulse racing for many people, whether that be due to the urge to splash the cash, or the distinct feeling that Apple is holding something back.
iOS 6 was first announced a couple months back at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, otherwise known as WWDC '12, and with the iPhone 5 showcased last week in a well documented Yerba Buena-based affair, Apple also revealed the latest iteration of its famous mobile ecosystem would be landing on 19th. True to its word, the company has made the final version of iOS 6 available to download for the masses today.
If you are a registered developer on the official iOS development program, the time has come to head on over to the developer center and see exactly what Apple has in store for us, with iOS 6 GM for iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, iPad 3, iPad 2, iPod touch and Apple TV just been seeded on the Dev Center.
When it comes to Apple's iDevice range, the iPod touch sits a miserable third behind the champagne iPhone and iPad devices, both of which hog the lion's share of the limelight. With Apple retailing older iPhones and iPad years after a release at much-cheaper prices, it's little wonder few consumers wish to consider a device handicapped from the word Go! At today's special event, though, Apple has really bolstered the specs of the iPod touch, and if you're the mobile device user playing games, listening to music and using Instagram a little too much, then the newly-upgraded iPod touch might be the perfect product for you.
There's no doubt that the overwhelming majority of tech enthusiasts will be making special arrangements in order to catch the coverage of the new iPhone tomorrow, but the fruit company's smartphone isn't the only new product or feature expected to make an appearance at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
As the release of the iPhone 5 draws nearer, more and more reports have indicated what we might be seeing with the purported iPod range refresh. With most using their smartphones as digital music players, it's easy to see why the iPod has been left somewhat in the shade, but it certainly looks as though Apple isn't about to ditch its iconic brand of portable entertainment.
The iPod was the catalyst for Apple's initial transcendence towards becoming the world's most valuable company, and although the MacBook, iPhone and iPad devices dominate most column (and shelf) space throughout the digital world, we should never forget where each of those aforementioned innovations originated from.
A while ago, my colleague made some good points with regards to the importance of the iPod touch. With the iPad and iPhone having lead the way, the touch has taken something of a backseat, amounting to little more than a mere footnote in the continually-evolving story of the iOS device family.
