iTunes 5.0 was released today along with the new iPod nano. The nano replaces the mini but is slimmer and has a color display. It looks like a wider version of the shuffle with a color display. It comes in a 2GB and 4GB version whereas the mini was available in 4GB and 6GB models. The nano is also available in black instead of the stereotypical iPod white. I can honestly see the nano causing the end of the shuffle. The shuffle is $129 for 1GB whereas the nano is $199 for 2GB. I’ll have to go to the Apple store in the mall here to see how light the nano is.
The new version of iTunes isn’t much different from the previous version. They changed the look of iTunes and now podcasts that you’re subscribed to in iTunes show up under Podcasts and in your main library. Other than that, the only reason for iTunes 5.0 is to give the nano and the new iTunes phone, the Motorola ROKR available only through Cingular, something to sync with. The one thing missing from the new iTunes is BitTorrent support. A lot of the lesser known podcasts can’t afford the bandwidth that iTunes may bring them so most turn to BitTorrent to help control bandwidth demand on their sites. All of the other podcatching clients like Doppler, iPodder lemon, and iPodderX support BitTorrent.

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