Apple is now taking pre-orders for the latest iPod touch. The iPod touch 5th generation will ship in October, but if you visit the Apple Store website today you can reserve a 32GB model for $299 or a 64GB model for $399.
The new iPod touch features a 4 inch, 1136 x 640 pixel display, an Apple A5 processor, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and a front-facing 1.2MP camera which can shoot 720p video for HD video chat or recordings.
In a nutshell, it’s an iPhone 5, but with a thinner case, no cellular capabilities, and the same processor as the iPhone 4.
That makes the 5th generation iPod touch a pretty powerful media player and portable gaming device. It’d also be a pretty good eReader, or addition to a home entertainment system — it supports AirPlay mirroring, which lets you stream games, videos, and other content to an Apple TV.
The $299 starting price might seem pretty steep, but if you don’t need the faster processor, bigger display, extra storage, or improved camera you can still pick up a 4th generation iPod touch.
In fact, Apple has discontinued the 8GB model and dropped the price of a 16GB iPod touch 4th gen to $199.
Meanwhile, pre-orders for the iPhone 5 also started today. Apple’s latest smartphone starts at $199 when you sign up for a wireless contract.
There’s no contract-free option available at the moment, but TechCrunch reports that prices will start at $649 for a 16GB iPhone 5 if you don’t sign up for a wireless plan.
The company is already sold out of its first shipment, but you can still place an order. Your new phone just won’t arrive for a few weeks.
PC makers really need to pay attention to these nice displays. 1280×720 on a 10-13″ screen is pathetic anymore, even 1600×900 is merely OK.
I think this pretty much puts to rest the rumors of the iPad Mini being less than $300 to compete at the low end. If the touch is $300 it mini is going to have to be at $350, which will let them get out of making iPad2’s but not really help drive the growth of their product line into the low end… Which is probably what Apple wan’ts given the margine’s it’s used to living on.
Apple never competes on price. They probably will launch it at $399 if they really are going to.