Apple debuted its new iPod line, an updated iTunes, and the much rumored $99 Apple TV at its September Special Event, held in San Francisco. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, took to the stage, and ended any speculation about what might make an appearance at the event, showing off the company’s latest wares.

The company’s popular iPod line of products got a full overhaul this season, starting with a new design for the iPod shuffle.

iPod shuffle:
The new iPod shuffle features clickable “ring” buttons, Apple’s VoiceOver technology, and has an all-aluminum enclosure with a built-in clip, to allow users to carry the device easily. The shuffle comes in silver, blue, green, orange, and pink colors, and has almost 50 percent more battery life than the previous model. The new iPod shuffle allows for more than 15 hours of music playback on a single battery charge, and has 2GB of storage.

“We’re making the iPod shuffle even better by combining clickable buttons and VoiceOver technology, so users can find and enjoy their music without ever looking at their iPod shuffle,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With its all-aluminum enclosure and built-in clip the new iPod shuffle is a great workout companion, and at just $49 it's a great entry-level iPod that almost everyone can afford.”

Additionally, the shuffle’s new VoiceOver button allows users to hear the name of the currently playing song and to switch between songs, playlists, or Genius Mixes. VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages and alerts users when their battery needs charging. The new iPod shuffle will sell for $49.

iPod nano:
Also newly redesigned, is the iPod nano, which features Apple’s Multi-Touch interface that lets users navigate their music collection by tapping or swiping a finger on the display. The new model is half the size and weight of the previous nano, and sports a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with a built-in clip, making it easy to wear, much like the iPod shuffle. The new iPod nano features Genius Mixes, the ability to create and edit playlists, a built-in FM radio with live pause, and up to 24 hours of music playback on a single battery charge. Users can also customize their Home screen by dragging icons from other screens onto the Home screen.

“This is the biggest reinvention of the iPod nano since its debut in 2005, and we think users are going to love it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Replacing the click wheel with our Multi-Touch interface has enabled us to shrink the iPod nano into an amazingly small design that is instantly wearable with its built-in clip.”

The new iPod nano will sell for $149 for the 8GB model, and $179 for the 16GB model. Both models are available in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange, pink, and a special (PRODUCT) RED edition.

Though the new iPod nano no longer has the video playback and recording features it has had for some time now, users looking for those features in the new iPod line, at a price close to that of the 8GB nano will have to turn to the next item Apple updated, the iPod touch, which will start at $80 more for the least expensive model.

The decision to lose some of the iPod nano’s best, and most widely expected, features is questionable, and will surely spark debate. Selling for the same price as the previous model, which featured video playback and recording, seems a bit too expensive now that the nano comes closer to the iPod shuffle rather than even the iPod classic as far as features go.

Will customers embrace the nano’s new design and downgraded set of features? That remains to be seen. It seems more likely that customers are being steered more towards the iPod touch now, and that the nano will either slowly fade away, or be forced to reduce in price to bring it more in line with the iPod shuffle’s $49 than the higher price tag of previous models. $99 seems to be a better price for this version of the iPod nano than $149. Whether Apple will come to that conclusion as well is the question.

iPod touch:
The most anticipated update of the iPod line came with the debut of the new iPod touch, which has become the company’s most popular iPod device. The new touch now features Apple’s Retina display, much awaited front and rear facing cameras for FaceTime video calling and HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, Game Center (which lets users showcase their scores and achievements and discover new games their friends are playing), and a thinner and lighter body than previous models. The new iPod touch also features up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge.

“We’ve put our most advanced technology inside the new iPod touch,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Whether you’re listening to music, playing games, making FaceTime video calls, browsing the web, capturing HD video or watching TV shows and movies, the new iPod touch with its Retina display, A4 chip and 3-axis gyro is more fun than ever.”

The new iPod touch will sell for $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 32GB model, and $399 for the 64GB model.

iPod classic:
For those who like the ability to carry even more music, photos, and video with them wherever they go, the iPod classic held its place in the iPod line with its ample 160GB of storage for only $249. Many fans of the iPod classic worried that a new rollout of iPods would mean the end of the device, but with the iPod nano now closer to the iPod shuffle than the iPod touch in design and features, the iPod classic fills the role between the nano and the touch nicely.

iTunes 10:
Even though the new iPod lineup played a big part at Apple’s Special Event, the new devices wouldn’t be as popular as they are without iTunes providing an enormous amount of content, as well as easy management of that content, all from a simple store and user interface. Apple knows this, too, and introduced iTunes 10, which features a new music-oriented social network for following your favorite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to, and downloading, called Ping.

iTunes Ping lets users post their thoughts and opinions, their favorite albums and songs, the music they’ve downloaded from iTunes, view concert listings, and gives them the ability to tell their friends which concerts they plan to attend.

“iTunes is the number one music community in the world, with over 160 million iTunes users in 23 countries, and now we’re adding social networking with Ping,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With Ping you can follow your favorite artists and friends and join a worldwide conversation with music’s most passionate fans.”

HD TV show rentals are also a new feature of iTunes 10, with commercial free episodes from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel, and BBC America for only 99 cents an episode. Episodes can be watched on the Mac or PC, iPhone, iPod touch, and the Apple TV. Users have 30 days from the moment they rent an episode to start watching it, and 48 hours after that to finish it. iTunes 10 is available now.

Apple TV:
Rumored for some time, the Apple TV finally got a new update as well, and dropped in price to $99. The newly redesigned device allows users to rent movies and TV episodes, many of which are in HD, as well as view their purchased iTunes library content, all on their home televisions. Apple TV also streams content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, and has built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and an internal power supply for easy setup. The device features silent, cool, low power operation in an enclosure that’s less than four inches square, which is 80 percent smaller than the previous model. Apple TV users can also view millions of YouTube videos, more than 200,000 podcasts, and listen to 4,000 Internet radio stations.

“The new Apple TV, paired with the largest selection of online HD movie and TV show rentals, lets users watch Hollywood content on their HD TV whenever they want,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “This tiny, silent box, costing just $99, lets users watch thousands of HD movies and TV shows, and makes all of their music, photos, and videos effortlessly available on their home entertainment system.”

The new Apple TV comes with a seven-button aluminum Apple Remote, but users can also control the device with their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using the Remote app, which is available as a free download on the App Store. The new Apple TV will sell for $99.

Star of the Show:
Although the new iPod lineup and the iTunes 10 update were big features at the event, the star of the show was, undoubtedly, the new Apple TV, and what its new design and price drop can do for Apple.

At $99, the Apple TV instantly becomes an easy way for just about everyone to make the most of their iTunes library content, especially video, and integrates well with devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, giving users more options as to how and where they listen to and/or watch their favorite media. The addition of Netflix also dramatically helps the Apple TV, making it one of the least expensive ways for Netflix subscribers to take advantage of the service’s thousands of streaming titles on their HD televisions instead of their computer screens.

The new Apple TV should prove to be a major seller for Apple, much more so than the previous model of the device, and give the company the presence it has been seeking in living rooms and theater rooms for so long.