Apple Computer announced several new iPod minis and iPod Photos earlier today. These portable audio players are:

• 60-Gigabyte iPod Photo, $449.00
• 30-Gigabyte iPod Photo, $349.00
• 6-Gigabyte iPod minis in blue, pink, green, and silver, $249.00
• 4-Gigabyte iPod minis in the same colors, $199.00

Apple's made a few interesting changes to the iPod product line as a result. They have consolidated the iPod and iPod Photo lines, keeping the 20-Gigabyte iPod but making higher capacity devices iPod Photos. Apple has also expanded the iPod mini line with a 6-Megabyte capacity.

iPodlounge published a great summary of the announcements, focusing on the fact that Apple is including fewer accessories in the new boxes. Purchasers of the new iPod minis will not receive power adapters or FireWire cables. They are supposed to use the USB 2.0 cable to charge their players.

iPod Photo purchasers will no longer receive audio-visual cable, FireWire cable, iPod dock, and carrying case in their iPod boxes. Removal of these accessories saves Apple a lot of money, and the savings are passed along to a large extent.

I think these changes are largely good. Many of today's iPod purchasers want to pick their own accessories. I don't need Apple's iPod Photo case. I'd rather buy one in the aftermarket.

Lots of gadgetheads wanted Apple to add Bluetooth to the iPods. That would have been nice for the few who are aggressively using Bluetooth. For me, the ability to charge the iPod via USB is a much more important feature that drives the price of many of the new models down.