Apple visual feast: from cool Apple Stores to Coldplay’s lead singer (photo gallery and video)

Apple press events are always a visual feast. We’ve captured the imagery of the Apple event today, from cool new Apple store in Shanghai above to the surprise appearance of Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay. Check out the images and the video of Martin, whose perfect voice occasionally cracks while singing Viva la Vida.

This facade of the Apple store in Paris is another example of how the company’s stores are architectural wonders.

Steve Jobs got roars of applause from the moment he stepped out on stage until he walked off at the end. He certainly knows how to put on a show.

Jobs was as rail thin as ever. But his melodious voice sounded better than that of Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, as you’ll see if you listen to the video at the bottom.

We were pleased to see “discovery” as the lead topic for Jobs discussion about how to get music noticed in the right way. As he introduced Apple’s own social network, Jobs talked about discovery as a big problem. We’ll talk about these issues at our upcoming DiscoveryBeat 2010 conference on Oct. 18.

Apple’s Ping social network for music is the company’s answer to music discovery sites such as Pandora, Rdio, and MySpace.

Apple’s iPod Shuffle couldn’t get any smaller, could it? It might as well be a chip that you plug into your brain. This tiny device costs $49 and holds 2 gigabytes of songs.

Apple’s newest iPod Touch has the same A4 chip as the iPad and iPhone 4. It can now run FaceTime video phone calls over the Wi-Fi network, as demoed here.

Say goodbye to the click wheel at last. The new iPod Nano has a touchscreen.

AP photographer Paul Sakuma and BBC journalist Maggie Shields were banging away at the keyboards after the event.

The new remote control for Apple TV is sleek, simple, and silver.

The demo room remained packed for a long time after the event was over. Above, you can see how Apple will market the new devices.

It’s called merchandising. The iPod Shuffle comes in just about any color you want.

The new $99 Apple TV, renewed for the first time since 2006, was the star of the show.

The new iTunes 10 has features such as the Ping social network. It’s available today.

Just when you thought they couldn’t make the iPod Touch any thinner. Jobs said the company has sold more of these devices than Nintendo and Sony have combined, in terms of sales of portable game players.

Apple always has lots of velvet ropes outside its events. If you’re cool enough to get inside the velvet rope, you feel special. It’s like nightclub psychology.

Those iPod Nanos are so cute you just want to collect them all.

Behold the new iTunes logo, which gets rid of the old CD image.

Always dramatic, Steve Jobs teased about his finale.

And the finale was the new redesigned Apple TV, which is a quarter the size of the original one.

And  Jobs was saying, “Wait, wait, I’ve got to sell you one more thing!”

The Apple TV interface is so elegant you just might want to stare at it rather than watch movies.

The show ended with Apple’s tradition of providing live music. Steve Jobs turned the stage over to Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, who came out on stage to sing three piano solos. He joked that the rest of the band was too lazy to come out. Among the songs he sang was Viva La Vida, Coldplay’s huge hit. I’ve included the video below, partly because it sounds beautiful and partly because there’s a part where Martin’s voice cracks.

Getting noticed is a challenge for everyone building apps. Join us at DiscoveryBeat 2010, and hear secrets from top industry executives about how to profit in the new cross-platform app ecosystem. The conference takes place on October 18th at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. Go here for conference details, or to apply to the “Needle in the Haystack” business contest. Early-bird tickets are available until September 15.