Apple Announces $99 Tiny Apple TV, 99¢ TV Show Rentals, iTunes Social Network

From DailyTech: The much anticipated September Apple event has come and gone, delivering highlights of the company's retail efforts, information on iTunes 10, and a slew of Apple TV related news. The biggest surprises? Apple has launched a social network and it finally has a TV box that seems competitive and compelling.

Starting the show, Apple made a big-deal at the start of the event about its new stores. Among the high-profile places where Apple has planted its seed are Paris, France (housed in a restored building); Shanghai, China (featuring a 40-ft tall glass cylinder over the subterranean entrance, which Mr. Jobs calls a "landmark in glass engineering"); and London, England (a "fantastic" store at "the heart of Covent Garden").

Mr. Jobs bragged of some big numbers -- over 1 million visitors at the company's stores daily; over 300 stores in 10 countries, total. Apple puts on lessons for 80,000 customers a week, a key part of its attempt to convert people to lifetime Mac buyers.

After unveiling its new lineup -- which featured some surprises (the tiny, attractive Shuffle, starting at $49 for 2GB), some disappointments (iPod Nano with iOS and multi-touch but no camera and a smaller screen), and some expected developments (iPhone 4-esque iPod Touch revision) -- Apple turned to iTunes.

The new version of iTunes, iTunes 10 is full of surprises. First it ditches the old hat logo for a new icon. The biggest new feature is a brand new, integrated social network called Ping that looks an awful lot like Facebook and helps you network with others to discover music -- and make friends. Mr. Jobs describes, "It's a social network for music. It's like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes. It's all about music."

You can "follow" friends in Ping, check out concerts, and post your thoughts. Apple claims that the network will offer as much privacy as you want, with complete control over who can see/follow you. Mr. Jobs describes, "You can get as private or as public as you want, and it's super simple to set up."

The new social network is also available via app on iOS devices. The new version of iTunes will be available today.

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