Look, we already know a lot about the so-called Apple Tablet. We know the project is real and a lot of man power has been dedicated to the project. A China Times article might have answered a few of our questions though. That is, if the translated article can be trusted.
The Chinese trade publication is stating that Apple is working on a large screen touchscreen device; we knew that. What we didn’t know was when this device was coming out, but the Chinese supply chain companies are stating October. That’s also when the unibody Macbooks where introduced last year, btw. Read More
Dru at Gearlive has unearthed a fascinating Escherian software solution that allows you to stream ZunePass music. Zune Pass, for those not in in the know, is Microsoft’s $15 a month streaming service that can blow music through your Zune and onto your Windows desktop. Then you need Orb. Then you send the music straight to the iPhone over the Interwebs. Simplicity itself.
Read his whole DIY if you’re so inclined. Then you can listen to your Orb-streamed music anywhere in the world.
Japan-based Elecom today announced the Soundblack [JP], an iPod dock connector/speaker for use with a number of iPod models (iPod 5G, iPod touch 1/2G), iPod classic and iPod nano 1/2/3/4G). The 0.04W mini system doesn’t support the iPhone though.
Like most people who’ve had an iPhone 3GS in their hands, we’ve been extremely impressed with the video capabilities of this little device. Not only Does it take near-HD video, it has excellent basic editing software and video can be uploaded to YouTube over Wifi or the cell networks. Among other things, it is the most useful video camera in the world today. No wonder the video camera market is shaking in its collective boots.
Thank God those iPhones are so expensive, and Apple will only sell 20 million or so of them in 2009. If Apple added cameras to its line of iPods, there would be another 3+million of them hitting the market per month, and the low end of the digital video camera market could be crushed.
Uh oh.
That’s exactly what we’re hearing is going to happen. One of our sources in Asia say that Apple has placed an order for a massive number of camera modules of the type that they include in the iPhone. These are inexpensive cameras, in the $10 range. And the size of the order, our source says, means they can only be used for one thing – the iPods.
You have to give it up to the Sony engineers and designers behind these two, new iPod docks. Both new audio systems are swanky as hell and the one pictured above with the large remote almost seems worthy of it’s $1000 USD price tag – almost.
Old NES controller, meet iPhone. An enterprising individual over on the iPhonefr.com forums (careful, everything is in French!) has turned one of the most iconic controllers of all time into something that holds one of the most iconic electronic gadgets of the present day.
Wee Scott Campbell of Aberdeen, Scotland is 13 years old and sent us an email last week asking if he could write for us. What he lacks in physical age he makes up for in chutzpah. And so, much to my surprise, I wake up this morning to discover young Campbell on BBC comparing an iPod to a Walkman with his mum and generally impressing the heck out of us.
The bairn writes:
My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day.
He had told me it was big, but I hadn’t realised he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book.
When I saw it for the first time, its colour also struck me. Nowadays gadgets come in a rainbow of colours but this was only one shade – a bland grey.
So it’s not exactly the most aesthetically pleasing choice of music player. If I was browsing in a shop maybe I would have chosen something else.
From a practical point of view, the Walkman is rather cumbersome, and it is certainly not pocket-sized, unless you have large pockets. It comes with a handy belt clip screwed on to the back, yet the weight of the unit is enough to haul down a low-slung pair of combats.
Tokyo-based electronics company Lancerlink has announced the iJector [JP] today, an LCOS projector that you can use with your iPod or iPhone. Shaped like a dock, the device makes it possible to watch video stored on your iPod on the go via its built-on stereo speakers (3W×2ch).
I don’t think you have to be a craftsman to appreciate the beauty of this handmade iPod. It’s a tad large and bulky, but it’s still beautiful in its own right. The outside casing is Australian red cedar, the working touch-sensitive click wheel is Camphor Laurel, and brass makes up the rest. Gorgeous. Now where is a wooden iPhone?
Japanese super geek Akio has single-handedly designed what he calls a digital signage bag specifically made for iPhones. It’s essentially a bag with three pockets that fit an iPhone or iPod touch each and can serve as a promotion tool. At least in theory.
Now, the smart thing to do when faced with the prospect of a long aeroplane flight is to load up on Benadryl (or Ambien, if you have money and a cooperative doctor) right before boarding. That way you sleep for the duration of the flight—no having to worry about crying babies for you! But, for the sake of this here post, let’s say you want to, or have to, stay awake for a certain amount of time. You know who’s got your back in this instance? Panasonic, of all people, what with its “iPod merge” in-flight thingamabob
Want to break Apple’s hegemony over your headphone choice when using the new iPod Shuffle? This $18 dongle adds all of Apple’s functionality into a little thing that sits on top of the Shuffle rather than inline on the headset, thereby freeing you from the shackles of fear that hold us all down and, in the end, will kill us. After all, even the birds are chained to the skyway. Read More
So AppleInsider found a patent that shows a multi-touch clickwheel. You pinch in to turn the music down and pinch out to turn it up. Blah-blah.
More specifically, the 38-page filing made just this past September describes a “multi-dimensional scroll wheel” that “can sense a moving object, such as a finger, as it is moved not only in a rotational manner but also in a linear manner across the center of the scroll wheel.” This new breed of scroll wheel would also be capable of sensing more than one object at a time, such as multi-finger touch or motion.
It’s officially official: the iPod is the number one media player in the known universe. The number two media player is the entire Sansa line from flash maker SanDisk. Eli Harari, CEO of SanDisk, admits that he’s content to sit at the number two spot. And why shouldn’t he?
So, as we recall, the Palm Pre is supposed to have some sort of iTunes syncing feature built-in. With the Apple pedigree of most of its programmers, this isn’t surprising. When you plug in your Pre, it seems, it will show up as an “iPod.” But how did they do it? John Gruber smells a rat:
If you’re still holding out any sort of hope that Palm is using some sort of heretofore sanctioned, semi-sanctioned, or even maybe-sorta-kinda-sanctioned-if-you-squint-your-eyes means for a third-party device to sync with iTunes via USB, note that the Pre, when connected to iTunes, is labelled as an “iPod”. If you think Apple would ever allow the use of “iPod” to describe anything other than an actual iPod, you’re nuts.
Belkin, and others, have been making similar car docks for a while now so your probably know how this new model works. There are two versions coming: the TuneBase FM has a FM modulator and the TuneBase Direct outputs via a 3.5mm jack. Both will get your iPod/iPhone hooked up to your car’s speakers while simultaneously charging it and providing a speakerphone for the iPhone.
I’m writing this up because of how delightfully ham-handed it is, which suggests their tactic worked. Basically, some “gadget matchmaker” service called Retrevo ran a study asking newlyweds what gadgets they wanted as wedding gifts. 38% wanted a camcorder, 24% wanted a digitial camera, and 2% wanted an MP3 player. I suspect thats because anyone at marriageable age right now – including those weird states where you can marry your cousin at 16 (looking at you, Delaware!) – already has an MP3 player.
Note there is no sample size mentioned so they probably asked their immediate family, making the entire process slightly statistically unsavory.
If we are to believe an iLounge tipster, this is what the next iPod nano will look like. The screen ratio will change from 1.33:1 to 1.5:1. the click wheel will be shifted down and shrunk a bit. And yes, it will have a camera. All this in a less scratchable plastic (eww, plastic) matte body. The same tipster states that this new nano will be released with the iPod touch which should be sometime between July and September.
Got an 60GB iPod Video? Got a dollar? Buy this aluminum case. It’s only $.99 cents and ships for free. The one downside is that it’s gold colored. But once again, it’s only $.99 so I’m sure you can probably get over it.
