EW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Apple Inc on Tuesdayintroduced models of its popular iPod touch handheld computerand iPhone with double the memory available in previousversions.
The products come on the heels of Apple’s launch last monthof a service that lets iPhone and iPod users rent and downloadmovies to watch on their devices.
"There are a lot of users out there for whom there is neverenough memory," said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s head of globalmarketing for iPod and iPhone.
"We’ve given people more and more content that they can puton their iPhones," Joswiak said.
Apple, which said in January that it had sold more than 4million iPhones since sales began last June, will now offer aniPhone with 16 gigabytes of flash memory, the kind that storesdata on microchips instead of a spinning disk drive.
The iPod touch, a wireless touch-screen device that playsmusic and videos, adds a 32-gigabyte model.
Both of the new devices will sell for $499, Apple said.
Apple will continue to sell its iPhone with 8 gigabytes ofmemory for $399. A 16-gigabyte version of the iPod touchremains at $399 and an 8-gigabyte model, at $299.
The updated models come amid a slump in Apple’s stock, dueto fears that a U.S. recession could make consumers less likelyto buy its iPods, Mac computers or other products.
Asked whether Apple expected the new models to boost sales,Joswiak said: "We always put our products out there and hopethe market likes them. The higher-capacity models have alwaysdone well."
Apple shares were up 30 cents at $131.95 in morning Nasdaqtrade. The stock has fallen more than 33 percent so far thisyear.(Reporting by Franklin Paul and Scott Hillis, editing by LisaVon Ahn and Dave Zimmerman)
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