Few things get me as excited as watching Macworld conferences. Apple always unveils their new and innovative products at these events, and this year was no exception.

Steve Jobs introduced four items today: major software updates for the iPod Touch and the iPhone, iTunes movie rentals and added features to Apple TV, Time Capsule, and the MacBook Air.

iPod Touch and iPhone Software Updates

New software was released to improve the functionality of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Most notably was the addition of locations to the Maps application. New applications (Mail, Maps, Stock, Notes, Weather) were also made available for the iPod Touch.

iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TV

Today, Apple added the ability to rent movies from the iTunes store. They were able to get all of the big movie companies on board with their endeavor, putting them in the best position to succeed while competing with other online movie services like Netflix.

Another important update was that of the Apple TV. Before, the Apple TV was an accessory, and could only be used when coupled with a computer. Now, it is able to be used as a stand-alone device. It can rent and play HD movies and has improved its functionality to interact with Flickr and YouTube. The Apple TV has been a bit of a disappointment since Apple released the product last March, but these new updates may increase the popularity of this product.

Time Capsule

When Apple began promoting OS X Leopard, one of the features they talked about was the ability to back up a computer with Time Machine and save the files on a network hard drive. When they released Leopard, they removed this functionality, disappointing many people.

Now, however, they have redeemed themselves by introducing Time Capsule, which is essentially their wireless router, the Airport Base Station, with an added hard drive. Two models were unveiled today: 500 GB ($299) and 1 TB ($499.)

Time Capsule is meant to be used with Time Machine, and can back up the files of multiple computers on a network. Considering that these items are competitively priced for their storage capacity and integrate perfectly with Time Machine, I think that they should sell well.

MacBook Air

Rumors have been going around for a long time about Apple introducing an ultra-portable notebook. As was speculated, Apple added a new product to the MacBook family: the MacBook Air. Obviously, it’s very, very, small. But, there are some other features, in addition to its portability, with which I was really impressed.

To enable themselves to make such a small laptop, Apple removed the disc drive. To make up for this they have an external disc drive attachment available. But, they also introduced a new feature where the MacBook Air can wirelessly use the disc drive of any Mac or Windows machine. I think that this feature greatly enhances the appeal of the MacBook Air, and makes up for not having an internal disc drive.

I am also very impressed with backlit keyboard (a feature that it now shares with MacBook Pro) and the larger, multi-touch trackpad. Apple has integrated some of the multi-touch features associated with the iPhone and iPod Touch into the trackpad, and even added some new ones, like the three-finger swipe for internet and photo browsing, and a rotating motion to use while adjusting digital photos.

It’s a great, powerful, super mobile product, and I’m really happy with the new features that they managed to pack inside such a small laptop. The only unappealing thing about it is the price which, at $1,799, they were apparently not able to shrink.

So, what’s your take on the new Apple products? Does anything in particular appeal to you?