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Low prices on iPods, nanos, shuffles, and all the accessories you need!
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BBC
Apple is poised to unveil a mobile phone that plays music just like its best-selling iPod.
Made by Motorola the handset will have Apple iTunes onboard and will be available via the US Cingular phone service... [T]he device will give a phone music playing abilities roughly equivalent to Apple's iPod shuffle.
vnu.net
Apple is hinting at a major revamp of its iPod music player range next week, after sending out invitations to an event in San Francisco on 7 September. "One thousand songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again," the invitation stated.
Associated Press
As many as 1.3 million owners of iPod music players will be able to replace their defective batteries on Apple's dime, after a judge approved the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the company.
The lawsuit claimed that Apple failed to disclose battery limitations on its first three iPod models... Consumers who qualify for reimbursement under the settlement have until May to file and can get instructions on how to file at www.appleipodsettlement.com.
Download subway maps that you can put on your iPod. (You'll need a color iPod for these to work.) Current maps available: Boston, NYC, DC, and Hong Kong.
~stevenf
I know I'm not alone on this one, because I remember reading about it on a forum somewhere. What happens is you pause your iPod Shuffle, turn it off, and put it away. Hours later, you take it back out, turn it back on, hit play, and it restarts from some random point waay waaaay back in its playlist.
The Inquirer
If you have an iPod and are a fan of killing stuff you'll be happy to know that the King of First-Person Shooters, Doom, has made its way across to Apple's stylish 'mini hard drive with an earphone jack and screen.' Unfortunately only users with color iPods and those who are able and willing to run Podzilla, an iPod Linux project, are able to play the game.
CNN"It's inevitable that over time their market share declines," Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster says. "It's safe to say that nobody can sustain an 80 percent market share in a consumer electronics business for more than two or three years. It's pretty much impossible."
Privately, record company executives say they can't wait. Not because they want to see Apple stumble, but because a less dominant Apple means a more robust market for digital music. The company by itself cannot bring digital music to account for 25 percent of all music sales, as labels hope it will by 2009.
NorthJersey.com
Hearing experts wonder whether the frequent use of [iPods], particularly with the "ear bud" inserts that sit within the ear, are contributing to noise-induced hearing loss.
"The incidence of hearing loss is underappreciated," said Thomas Willcox, associate professor in otolaryngology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "We're going to have a boom of this population because of the increased exposures that previous generations haven't had."
SoftPedia
Sony trusts the vegetable shaped MP3 Player to kick some competition ass...Does that even sound plausible to anyone except Sony?
...So what does Sony come up with? While design is obviously a big issue for iPod creators, the once ass-kicking mobile music mogul thinks it had found the perfect shape for the latest MP3 players, which are officially known as the NW-E300 line, but without a doubt everybody will know as the "bean line".
DetNews.comIt was one of those sweltering summer nights when even a torrential rain can't tamp down the temperature, but on this special "iPod night," things couldn't have been cooler inside the Ferndale nightclub the bosco.
Sipping the inevitable chilled vodka, a few dozen folk on the green side of 40 were negotiating the summer's cultural handshake, the 2005 equivalent of "What's your favorite record?" or "What's your sign?"
This summer it's, "What's on your iPod?"
MacWorldTechnology columnist Walt Mossberg takes a hard look at the differences between subscription and download music services this morning.
In an article ('Rent vs. Own') he looks at music services offering subscription packages, which let users listen to, but not own, as much music as they like in exchange for a monthly service charge. He notes that these services have attracted a "solid audience", but remain "nowhere near as popular as iTunes".
O'Grady's Power PageThe Street.com is reporting that Apple may be preparing to announce a deal with Google that would make the iTunes Music Store available through the Google Web site. According to the article "market chatter" indicates that Google may host a Web-based version of Apple’s iTunes Music Store.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Appleinsider is reporting on evidence suggesting that Apple will be replacing hard drive-based iPod minis with flash-based models, possibly by October. Earlier this week, iPod chip supplier PortalPlayer announced its quarterly earnings. In his speech, PortalPlayer president and CEO Gary Johnson said that revenues for PortalPlayer's third quarter of 2005 are likely to benefit from new flash-based chip designs.
Shiny ShinyThe iDog starts life as a puppy, requiring regular "meals" of music, which you'll have to feed it every hour. You can attach it to your music player, PC, Video Game system or stereo and it will play music like a normal speaker. It's also equipped with 8 emotions, ranging from happy to angry, which it can express by moving its ears, rotating its head and flashing its 7-colour face LEDs. If he doesn't like your music, he'll go all grumpy.
Bothell HeraldThe Apple iPod is becoming a lot like the little black dress of digital music players; in order to make it stylish, you have to have the right accessories... Speakers, remote controls, lanyards, FM transmitters, screen protectors, waistbands and cases are just a few items found on the shelves of the Apple store, making outfitting an iPod into a series of difficult choices.
Top Tech NewsApple could file a declaration stating that it invented the technology before Microsoft filed its patent request -- as evidenced by all the iPods already on the market at the time. In such cases, a company can ask the patent office to launch an investigation to determine the inventor.
MacNNApple could be forced to pay Microsoft royalties for using the interface on its iPod, although Apple said it would continue to fight to have its iPod patented recognized. Following AppleInsider's breaking report last week, The Independent says that Apple could be required to pay "hundreds of millions of dollars" in royalties to Microsoft, whose previously filed patent on an iPod-like interface prevented Apple from receiving its own iPod interface patent; however, the United States uses a "First to Invent" method rather than a "First to File" method, making unlikely that Microsoft would be able to retain the rights to its patent."
PC Pro
Microsoft believes that the iPod will face much stronger competition than it has done in the past as new products from rival companies are released in the run up to Christmas.
Erik Huggers, head of Microsoft's Digital Music Division said that the company is working with a number of manufacturers, including Philips, Samsung and Creative to design and test players, in a hunt for the so-far elusive 'iPod killer'.
'Come this fall there is going to be a number of devices that get close to competing with Apple's iPod.'
The Mac ObserverApple Computer's dominance in the digital music world will be a tough nut to crack for the likes of Sony, Microsoft and others as the iPod maker continues to have a "substantial lead and advantage" over its competitors, according to analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research.
In a report obtained by The Mac Observer, Mr. Wu said that after a sit-down meeting with Apple executives late last week, he is convinced that despite efforts by competitors to cut into its 70%-plus market share in both MP3 players and music downloads, Apple is showing no signs of faultering.
Australian ITApple Computer, which makes a third of its sales from iPod music players, failed in an effort to patent some iPod technology because Microsoft had already filed a similar application.
The rejection sets up a legal showdown over a patent on the best-selling digital music player in the US. Microsoft, which makes software that runs rival devices, will licence the technology to Apple if awarded the patent.
c|net NewsWhile Microsoft has struggled to challenge the iPod in the market, the software giant's lawyers have managed to slow Apple Computer's attempt to patent its digital music technology.
In a ruling issued last month, a patent examiner rejected Apple's attempt to patent some of the user interface concepts behind the popular digital music player, noting that Microsoft developer John Platt filed for similar claims five months before Apple did.
A Microsoft executive noted on Friday that the company is always open to licensing its technology.
InquirerAccording to a report on mobile entertainment just released by the Informa group...don't think that the mobile phone will become an iPod killer. "Just as cameraphones did not suddenly destroy the digital camera business ... MP3-enabled phones will not seriously damage the digital music player market in the immediate future," they conclude.
InformationWeekIf you think Apple Computer's Steve Jobs invented the technology behind the Apple iPod, don't bet your 60GB, 15,000-song model on it. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, patent applications that cover much of the technology associated with the iPod were submitted by Microsoft, which has been on a patents tear recently filing thousands of patents.
If the patents hold up on appeal, Apple could be accountable for royalties on the spectacularly successful iPod.
Connected Home MagSony is ready to try again. Its first effort is the horribly named Network Walkman Digital Music Player NW-E500 series... These products were designed in Japan, and it shows: They're too small for large American hands, and they sport the same confusing array of buttons that seem to adorn every Sony product. In some ways, they're vastly superior to Apple's flash-based player, the iPod shuffle. But in some ways, crucially, they fall short...
Without understanding the limitations of the Sony Network Walkman, you might see its razzle-dazzle display and assume the iPod had finally met its match. Don't be confused. The overall user experience of the Sony Network Walkman is abysmal. For the time being, at least, Apple has nothing to fear.
VNUNet.comA Welsh psychiatrist has claimed that some iPod users are experiencing what he calls "musical hallucinations". Dr. Victor Aziz said that the effect can occur when people spend many hours listening to the same songs. The hallucinations are characterised by a song " playing" constantly in the head, according to the psychiatrist, and the effect has caused sleeping problems for some of his patients.
Apple InsiderA near three-year-long attempt by Apple Computer to patent the menu-based software interface of its popular iPod digital music player has ultimately proved unsuccessful, AppleInsider has discovered.
The company's patent application, which lists Apple vice president Jeff Robbin and Apple chief executive Steve Jobs as two of its primary inventors, received a final rejection last month from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Create Digital Music
"I'm confirming this now with my contacts at Numark, but the website GearJunkies is reporting that Numark has released the rumored DJ mixer for the iPod."
BusinessWeekThe rumor mill has been buzzing of late with word of a new kind of iPod -- one capable of playing videos. And that has Apple watchers wondering how chief exec Steve Jobs might position the new product. After all, Jobs has downplayed the potential of such a device for years, arguing that the iPod's small screen would make it a lousy machine on which to watch a movie.
MacCentralIt only took Apple four days to dominate the lucrative Japanese music market as the company announced on Sunday that it had already sold more than 1 million songs on the iTunes Music Store Japan. Japanese artists claimed the number one song (Def Tech) and the number one album (Ulfuls).
“iTunes has become Japan’s number one online music store in just four days,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO in a statement. “iTunes has sold twice as many songs in just four days as all the other online music services in Japan sell in one month.”
AmazonFlexible and lightweight, provides easy access to iPod shuffle controls. Just wrap it around your arm, snap your iPod shuffle into place and go. Available from Amazon for $26.59 shipped.
Reuters
IBM is the latest major company to embrace podcasting, the digital audio craze that allows consumers to take audio programming off the Web and listen to it on portable music players. The world's largest computer company said on Friday it plans to introduce a series of occasional podcasts on its investor relations site as part of a broader effort to communicate directly to its investors and the wider public about hot topics.
c|netWant to watch videos on your iPod? Wish there were better games in your iPod's list of offerings? Maybe you want to draw pictures on your iPod without getting ink on the screen?
Well, if you own a first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), or third-generation (3G) iPod, you can already do all those things. The only thing holding your iPod back is its firmware. To unlock your iPod's full potential, you'll need to install the iPodLinux operating system on your player.
MacCentralNeedham & Co. estimates that the “iPod halo” may have attracted up to 400,000 Windows users to the Mac so far this year.
In a note to clients, analyst Charles Wolf observed that Apple’s “key drivers” (iPod and the iPod halo effect) “continue to work”. He believes Apple is set for even more growth in future.
Wolf wrote: “The iPod continued to lure Windows users into the Macintosh fold (in the third quarter). Mac unit shipments rose 35 percent, three times the PC market growth rate.”
ReutersApple Computer Inc. launched its iTunes online music store in Japan on Thursday, bringing its market-leading download service to the world's second-largest music market by album sales.
The California-based company said iTunes would charge 150 yen ($1.35) each for 90 percent of its songs and 200 yen for the other 10 percent, undercutting some existing services such as Sony Corp.'s Mora, which charges 210 yen per song.
MacWorld You can read comics on your iPod: Clickwheel has developed new RSS-based technology to let owners of colour-screen iPods subscribe to digital comics, in the same way as they subscribe to a podcast. The software costs $24.95, and the company has also released several episodes from its current series of comics for users to carry and read on their iPods.
El Paso TimesHewlett-Packard Co. said Friday that it would stop reselling Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iPod digital music players, ending a partnership introduced with much fanfare by HP's now-ousted CEO Carly Fiorina. Both companies confirmed the end of a deal that has contributed to about 5 percent of the iPod's total shipments.
BusinessWeek: The Tech BeatFinancially speaking, Mark Hurd's decision for Hewlett-Packard to stop selling Apple Computer's iPod music player is very nearly a non-event. With just 5% of all iPod sales, revenues from the "Apple iPod from HP" have been a rounding error for HP since the deal commenced in early 2004.
But Hurd's move may be a major step forward in solving a big problem that isn't easily measured in dollars and cents: HP's identity crisis.
MacWorldHP missed a chance and its decision to stop selling re-branded iPods offers Apple more, not less, opportunity, an analyst said. Analysts at Needham & Co. and First Albany remain optimistic for Apple's future fortunes.
In a research note, Needham & Co. analyst Charles Wolf said: "While HP's decision should have little, if any, impact on iPod sales, the company missed a golden opportunity to build a material revenue stream at little expense. HP's departure opens the door for Apple to expand the iPod's distribution network even more rapidly than it has in the past."
MacNewsNetworkNissan Motor Company has started marketing a car navigation system that allows users to connect their iPod to the system when driving in Nissan vehicles, according to Kyodo News. The new navigation system features a specific iPod connector that delivers in-car control of iPods through its 7-inch touch screen display.
Seattle Times...And the fashion world has responded. Suddenly, iPod cases are everywhere, from Ballard to Paris, from ritzy 'n' glitzy to anime monsters. Local designers are stitching them together out of fuzz and florals. International designers are selling them at prices that can exceed the price of the iPod itself. And if that's too rich for your blood, there's even a pattern so you can knit one yourself.
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Low prices on iPods, nanos, shuffles, and all the accessories you need!
Buy with confidence from Amazon.com |
