Those of you who saw my tweets earlier today may have noticed that I had some complimentary things to say about Apple’s iPod-focused event. Indeed, I consider myself a fair person who calls it like I see it. And what I saw today were a few good things coming out of Cupertino.

First off is the newly-redesigned iPod Nano (pictured at left). The new Nano eschews the old click wheel for a touchscreen. Essentially, it is a miniaturized iPod Touch. Obviously, it sacrifices some of the features of the Touch, such as apps and the cameras. However, the Nano also has its unique advantages. The removal of the click wheel makes the device downright tiny; in fact, like its smaller sibling the iPod Shuffle, the Nano now includes a clip on the device for attaching to a belt or other object. The Nano is also priced attractively ($149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB; comparatively, the Touch is $229 for 8GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB). Thus, if you are looking for a dedicated music player and don’t have a need for the added storage of the Touch, the Nano is a very attractive options. Personally, it’s not up my alley, because I’m going for total convergence with my next cell phone, but it is a nice looking new device.

Next up is iTunes 10. On the one hand, I have criticisms (it blatantly copied the hybrid view that other audio players have used for years). That being said, the Ping social network is a neat idea, especially because Apple begins with a large user base to draw from. It is smart on their part to try and harness that user base in new ways. Currently, MySpace is the de facto leader when it comes to social networking in music, but there clearly has to be a way to do it better. The user experience Ping offers seems solid, and it should be familiar to people coming from Facebook. Users will have another way to explore and discover music they might like, and iTunes and artists will have a new way to increase profits (a win for all sides). That being said, I do have to wonder if people are going to want to involve themselves in yet another social network. The main hurdle for Ping on the path to success will indeed be user adoption.

Finally, the refreshed Apple TV is also intriguing. For months, rumors had swirled about a name change to iTV, with iOS powering the device and apps available for the TV. However, Apple did not choose that route, instead opting to shrink the old Apple TV and focus on streaming. The main target of the device seems to be the average consumer; Apple wants to get a basic, easy to use device into the living room. It will support streaming from Netflix, as well as from iTunes and iPads. However, if you want to use any of your own content from other sources, the Apple TV does not seem to be the best route to take, as its format support is limited. It also only supports 720p resolution. At $99, it could be a good proposition in the consumer market, but for the A/V enthusiast, there are better options. Like the Nano, the Apple TV is not a device aimed at me, but I can see the value.

With their announcements today, Apple continued their tradition of making beautiful and easy-to-use products. Are they for me? Not really. However, there are some good price values in here, which is somewhat rare for Apple, and I can certainly see the value in many of the things they announced (and I didn’t even mention the nice updates coming to iOS on both the iPhone and iPad). If you are in the market for a portable media player or a living room streaming device, there are certainly some desirable products coming out for you from Apple.