"Others have done this and have failed," said Jobs, referring to wireless networking -- and perhaps making a casual swipe at Microsoft's 'iPod killer,' the Zune. "We think we know why it's failed. What's the problem with adding Wi-Fi? Part is getting on Wi-Fi itself."

"When you're at home, you might need a password. When you're in the office, you might have a password," said Jobs. "But everywhere in between can be challenging. You go to any hotel, and to log in, they throw up a Web page.

"Portable devices don't know how to deal with Web pages. You go to an airport, you'll see a Web page. Even walking through Stanford University, to use their Wi-Fi, you have to log into a Web page." The solution, said Jobs, was to add Safari to the iPod Touch.

"So you can view all those Web pages, zoom in, log into any Wi-Fi network pretty much. But beside that, you get an incredible Web browser ... the best Web browser on any mobile platform," said Jobs. YouTube is also supported.

The iPod Touch's battery lasts for 22 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video playback per charge, according to Apple.

The iPod Touch is a worldwide product launch, said Jobs. It's the first touch product Apple has shipped outside the United States, and it's been localized into many languages.

The iPod Touch is coming in two configurations: 8GB and 16GB, for $299 and $399, respectively. Both models are expected to be available "in just a few weeks," according to Jobs, who said that Apple will ship them in September, "in plenty of time for the holiday season."

One more thing
"But there is one more thing, if you'll bear with us," said Jobs.

"You might have noticed that there's an empty spot on that dock of the new iPod Touch," said Jobs. "What could that possibly be for? Well, it's for a new app we've written called the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store."

"'Finally,' some of you are saying," said Jobs. "It's so cool. So let's take a look at what it is."

Opening the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store displays four buttons: Features, Top Tens, Search, and Downloads. You can pick Top 10 songs from all of iTunes or only from specific genres. If you see a song you like, you can preview it, and if you like it, you can tap it to buy it using a Buy Now button.

You'll download the song, and the next time you dock your iPod Touch to your computer, it will sync back to iTunes.

Jobs demonstrated the new software's capability by buying John Lennon's "Imagine." The song was visible in a playlist on the iPod Touch called "Downloads."

"Isn't this incredible?" asked Jobs.

The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is available internationally in every country where Apple operates an iTunes Store, said Jobs.

"And we're going to bring it to the iPhone," he added. Jobs said the new software will be delivered to iPhone users via an iPhone software update later this month.

Apple and Starbucks partnership
"There's even one more incredible part of this," said Jobs, who revealed that Apple has been working on this for two years. "I cannot tell you how much pleasure it gives me to announce we've got a great partnership with Starbucks today."

Jobs called Starbucks "an incredible phenomenon in our culture" and added that a lot of Apple employees are great customers. Apple wanted to combine iPods and their love of music with Starbucks' coffee and love of music.

"In the new iTunes Wi-Fi Store, when you get near a participating Starbucks, automatically a fifth button is going to pop up in the store with a Starbucks button," he said.

"You will know what songs they're playing in Starbucks, and you can buy it with one tap of your finger. And if you just missed it, you can look at the last 10 songs they've played. They're going to program some cool music for us in terms of their collections," Jobs said.