Hands-on photos, observations of new iPods, Apple TV

As you’ve likely already seen, Apple unveiled all manner of shiny new products at Wednesday’s media event. The iPod touch gained cameras and FaceTime, the iPod nano went touchscreen-only, the iPod shuffle got its buttons back, and the Apple TV got a major overhaul. As usual, Ars got a chance to play with the new products following the event, and we have some hands-on photos (as well as observations) to share with you.

The new Apple TV is incredibly small compared to its predecessor. As you can see from the photos below, it’s practically the same size as an iPhone 4, but a different shape.

We confirmed with an Apple spokesperson that the maximum HD resolution of the Apple TV is 720p, consistent with recent rumors. Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.

The new nano is indeed cool. It’s just a bit bigger than the new iPod shuffle and the clip mechanism is the same. An Apple spokesperson told me that the new iPod nano does not run iOS and that you can’t sync apps to it—it only looks like iOS. Indeed, you can swipe around the screen and tap on icons just like you would on an iPhone, and if you press and hold on the screen while it’s playing a song, the main screen will come back.

Apple has also dropped the video camera that it introduced in the last-generation of iPod nano. In fact, the new nano is completely camera-less, which we think is okay. Below is a quick iPhone video we took of the new nano’s interactivity. We also confirmed that you can control the audio via headphone clicker, just like the iPhone.

Video of the iPod nano’s interface

The new iPod shuffle is, well, an iPod shuffle. It’s smaller than the new nano, and it’s a little smaller than the second-generation shuffle it’s modeled after. Like the 2G iPod shuffle, it has buttons; like the 3G model, it has playlists and VoiceOvers. (Read our review of the third-gen nano to learn how those features work.)

The main new features of the iPod touch are the addition of front- and rear-facing cameras like on the iPhone 4 as well as new Retina Display. The device gains FaceTime support, which works with an e-mail address (as you can see from the photo above).

In addition to making FaceTime calls, the iPod touch’s new camera can also take standard videos as well as photos from both the front and rear cameras. The rear camera can take videos in 720p, an Apple spokesperson told us, but regular still photos are limited to VGA resolution. Just like the iPhone 4, the front camera can only do VGA resolution.

What do you think of the new products so far? Are you getting your wallet out yet for anything in particular? Any extra details you want us to bug Apple about? Let us know in the comments, or you can send me an e-mail directly by clicking on my byline.