iPod iTunes Zone

Apple’s iPod classic may be no more than a stop-gap device, according to analysts at iSuppli.

The researchers have taken an iPod classic apart, and found that the system isn’t as advanced as other players in Apple’s stable - and a lot cheaper to make than before.

“While the rest of the iPod line has migrated to solid-state flash memory, the new iPod classic continues to employ venerable hard-disk drive (HDD) technology for storage,” the researchers state.

Inside, the classic’s design is essentially the same as the existing flagship iPod, with a few changes in parts and component suppliers.

The fact the iPod classic lacks advanced new features such as the wireless capability and multi-touch screen of the iPod touch, “suggest stopgap measures that are likely to limit the product’s longevity and success in the market,” iSuppli believes.

iSuppli claims Apple pays $78 for the 80GB drive used in the low-end classic, and approximately $140 for the 160GB drive in the high-end model.

“Apple typically makes more money on the higher-capacity versions of its products,” noted Andrew Rassweiler, teardown services manager and principal analyst for iSuppli. “This is because the only difference between the low- and high-end products is the cost of the hard drive and the flash memory chips.”

The iPod classic carries a Bill of Materials (BOM) of $127 for the 80GB version, and about $190 for the 160GN model, according to iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis service.

The 80GB version of the classic costs 11.2 per cent less to make than that of the previous 30GB model’s $143 cost.

iSuppli’s estimates are strictly limited to costs for components and other materials used to construct the products. The estimates do not include costs for manufacturing, marketing, software, intellectual property, accessories and packaging or research and development.

“Apple’s continuation of the iPod model without adding new features suggests a stopgap measure necessitated by lack of time to develop an HDD-based touch iPod,” said Chris Crotty, senior analyst, consumer electronics, for iSuppli. “Apple may not have had time to develop an HDD-based touch-screen iPod before the 2007 holiday season.

iSuppli tentatively forecasts that iPod classic shipments will reach 3.1 million units in 2007, but only 3.5 million units in 2008, as consumers move to favour more advanced iPod models - the analysts expect combined shipments of the new iPod nano and touch models will amount to 26 million units in 2007 and will rise to nearly 40 million units in 2008, for a 52 per cent increase.

Source: macworld.co.uk

Pros: An almost entirely superior sequel to the best $150 portable speaker of 2005, featuring superior functionality and sound quality to the prior model. Produces wide, dynamic sound at average to above-average volume levels, besting the clarity and range of peer-priced alternatives. Includes rechargeable battery, nice remote control, carrying case and color-matched Dock Adapters; comes in black or white. Packable design enables you to stow power supply inside rather than carrying it separately.

Cons: Small cosmetic blemishes around black unit’s speaker drivers. Battery should be topped off frequently because of relatively rapid on-shelf discharging. Physically wider than most other portable systems.

 In 2005, Logitech released mm50, a class-leading portable speaker system for the iPod, which was followed in 2006 by AudioStation, a similarly superb all-in-one desktop iPod speaker system. Last month, the company announced that it would discontinue both systems in favor of newer, better replacements: mm50 was being refreshed as Pure-Fi Anywhere ($150), and AudioStation as Pure-Fi Elite ($300), names designed to better reflect their purposes. Each was retooled cosmetically and electronically, supposedly fine-tuning characteristics that had previously won them awards. Did Logitech succeed at making great speakers even better, or did it stumble?

As the rating above indicates, the company succeeded in both cases: the two Pure-Fi speakers are extremely impressive speaker systems for their respective prices, and with the exception of certain aesthetic touches, the very best iPod portable and desktop systems we’ve seen overall. Pure-Fi Anywhere is a marked step up from mm50 sonically, with even better clarity, treble, and faux 3D spatialization, while Pure-Fi Elite remains on the same impressive level as AudioStation, but tilts its bass output in favor of more controlled sound.

 Pure-Fi Anywhere is a four-driver speaker system in a 13.25” wide by 3.7” tall by 1.6” deep white or black plastic enclosure—roughly 0.5” wider, barely shorter, and 0.1” deeper than the mm50. Both systems are propped up by flip-out metal feet with rubber pads, and come with rechargeable batteries, semi-hard carrying cases, wall chargers, and remote controls.

But Pure-Fi Anywhere’s components are better: the battery now has a level indicator which tells you how much of the 10-hour charge remains, the carrying case looks nicer and holds the wall charger inside, and the remote has gone from a membrane-based 7-button controller to a more tactile 13-button design. We were able to achieve 25-foot control distances with the remote under ideal, line-of-sight conditions, less under challenging lighting. Menu navigation buttons, shuffle and repeat controls have been added to the prior track, volume, 3-D sound and power buttons. Logitech has also replaced the mm50’s plain iPod-agnostic dock with a Dock Adapter-ready Universal Dock, and included nine color-matched adapters in the package.

The most obvious differences between mm50 and Pure-Fi Anywhere are external. mm50’s body was monolithic, with a unified metal speaker grille for all four drivers, and top buttons that matched the system’s base white or black color. Anywhere is more obviously two-tone: each system has a glossy plastic body that’s white or black, but silver trim is used to separately surround each of the speakers, and form a band that wraps around the unit. Up close, we noticed small paint alignment imperfections in the silver rings around the unit’s larger drivers, but they’re not noticeable from a couple of feet away and don’t take a lot away from Anywhere’s otherwise good looks.

Read the full article here.

Cool shaped iPod speaker docks are floading the market this holiday shopping season. Our review partner Digital Trends published a review of the snail house shaped Boynq Sabre iPod speaker dock.

Quote from the review: “Boynq, a product line by “youSP” in the Netherlands, has a new iPod dock speaker system - the Sabre - available for $129 USD. With little-to-no company information available to consumers, Boynq has managed to carve out a name for itself with its unusual and often hip-looking products. The Sabre has a funky design, two 10 watt speakers and can push audio and video from 5G iPods to a TV set.

Though looks are important, solid performance and superior sound quality are the ultimate goal of any speaker manufacturer. Does the Sabre live up to the hype? Read on to find out.”

Read the full article here

It didn’t take long for Logitech’s new Pure-Fi Anywhere speaker system to become my travel speaker system of choice. With its myriad of thoughtful features and surprisingly rich sound for its size, I have yet to find a portable speaker system I like as well.

What’s so good about it? Well, first and foremost it sounds better than most other similarly-sized iPod speaker systems. (For the record, that size is 3.6 x 13.2 x 1.5 inches and 1.6 pounds.)According to Logitech, the reason these speakers sound so good is that they:“Deliver dynamic, full-range sound quality with their dual 2-inch Max-XTM, high-excursion drivers with neodymium magnets. Additionally, 3-inch pressure drivers maximize bass response and minimize distortion. With the combination of active and pressure drivers, the Pure-Fi Anywhere speakers provide crystal clear highs and powerful, thumping bass.”
‘Thoughtful Features’
I’m not sure what all that means, but when I first read it I was skeptical. After a few days of using these speakers to listen to many different styles of music, I have to say they sound better than speakers so tiny have a right to sound.However, surprisingly good sound is just the beginning. Other thoughtful features abound. For example, my second favorite feature is that the rechargeable battery provides better than 8 hours of playing time and has a battery-life indicator so I don’t have to guess when it’s time to recharge. Plus, when it’s plugged into the wall it can play music and recharge your iPod simultaneously.Another plus is the carrying case, which is semi-rigid, has spaces for the power adapter and remote control, and provides somewhat better protection than many other cases.
‘A Wee Bit Pricey’
The wireless remote control has more features than many I’ve seen. Of course it has play/pause, next/fast forward, previous/rewind and volume controls. However, it also offers controls for the iPod menus so you can browse and select items remotely. Furthermore, there are loop and shuffle buttons on both the remote control and the speakers themselves, a nice touch. Finally, both remote and speakers offer a button for “Stereo XL,” which Logitech claims “dramatically widens the sound field.” I’m not sure about that but in my humble opinion, most music sounded better with this feature turned on than without it.The Pure-Fi Anywhere speaker system is available in black or white and works with any iPod that has a dock connector. You also get 9 of those little plastic universal dock connector inserts, a wireless remote control, an AC power adapter/recharger, and a padded carrying case.My only complaint or criticism of Pure-Fi Anywhere is that its suggested retail price, US$149, makes it a wee bit pricey. However, if you shop around, you should be able to find one for $10 or $20 less, which is a bit more reasonable. Other than that the Pure-Fi Anywhere delivers on its promise with excellent sound quality, thoughtful features, and a sturdy carrying case.

Source: ecommercetimes.com

In an apparent about-face, Apple Inc. will allow third-party applications to work directly on the iPhone, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a posting on the company’s Web site Wednesday.

Apple infuriated developers and some iPhone users when it issued a software update September 27 that disabled unofficial programs installed on the handsets.

Until Wednesday, Apple had tried to control which applications consumers had on their iPhones.

Now, Jobs said the company intends to release a software development kit in February that will let coders create applications to work directly on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The Touch is the new iPod portable player that resembles the iPhone but lacks the function of a cell phone.

“We are excited about creating a vibrant third-party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users,” Jobs said in the posting.

It is easy to find many unofficial programs for the iPhone on the Internet; users just had to take the risk of installing them, knowing that any damage to the iPhone stemming from unofficial programs was not covered by Apple’s warranty.

“I’m thrilled,” said Erica Sadun, a Denver computer programmer. “I hope it is exactly as they say, full third-party development.”

A Mac enthusiast and blogger — and a critic of Apple’s decision to restrict the iPhone to carrier AT&T Inc. in the United States — Sadun predicted Apple’s change of heart will ultimately help the company sell more iPods and iPhones.

An unknown number of users have “unlocked” their handsets to work on other carrier networks. The September 27 software update reportedly disabled those phones.

It was not clear from Jobs’ statement whether the move was a response to the growing discontent around Apple’s iron grip over its portable gadgets.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to say why Apple made the change, noting instead that Jobs said the process of opening the iPhone to third-party programs will take time.

Apple’s change does not affect the Cupertino-based company’s position on keeping the iPhone compatible only with AT&T’s network in the United States, Kerris said.

Two lawsuits were filed against Apple on October 5, accusing the company of engaging in monopolistic behavior and unlawfully restricting consumer choice by preventing users from “unlocking” their iPhones.

The iPhone, which combines a cell phone with a multimedia and wireless Internet device, was released in late June amid a flurry of anticipation. More than 1 million iPhones have been sold.

Apple had allowed developers to build applications that run on the iPhone’s Safari Web browser but didn’t let programs work directly on the iPhone software platform, which could make them easier to create and make them work more smoothly.

Palm Inc. has always welcomed third-party developers to create applications for its handheld computers, or personal digital assistants. They have created hundreds of programs ranging from medical dictionaries to astrology predictions.

Even without Apple’s blessing, developers created workarounds to install applications onto the iPhone this summer. Some did it for sport, others in order to add capabilities to the device, such as to-do-lists or games.

Jobs said it will take until February to release the software kit because the company wants to give developers an open platform and also protect iPhone users from viruses, malware and privacy attacks.

“There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network,” he wrote.

Jobs noted that rival Nokia Corp. also does not allow third-party applications to be loaded onto some of its new phones unless the applications have a digital signature that can be traced to a known developer.

“While this makes such a phone less than ‘totally open,’ we believe it is a step in the right direction,” Jobs wrote of Nokia’s stance.

Source: CNN.com

Apple may be keen to tout the Touch’s 3.5in display, but the first thing you notice about the new iPod is how thin it is. Front to back it measures 8mm - on paper not as thin as the 6.5mm thick iPod Nano, but you’d never really know unless you measured them both. The point is, the Touch is supremely skinny.It’s hard to describe the Touch without constantly referring to the iPhone, so closely do the two resemble each other. The Touch’s display is surrounded by black plastic, and both screen and bezel do indeed appear to be protected by a sheet of glass. Below the screen is the Home button, and bordering the player is gunmetal-grey edging onto which the iPod-standard chrome-look backplate clips.

Apple’s iPod Touch

The top left corner of the Touch’s backplate has been cut away to make room for a plastic cover that allows Wi-Fi signals to pass through. The wireless window on the iPhone is larger, but it covers the bottom tenth of the backplate, so it’s somehow less conspicuous than the one on the Touch.

The Touch has the same user interface as the iPhone, though Apple’s rearranged the icons into a more appropriate order for an iPod. At the bottom of the screen is the player’s Mac OS X-style Dock, this time rendered as transparent sheet reflecting the icons that are sitting on it: Music, Videos, Photos and iTunes, the latter for the download store.

Above them, at the top of the screen, are the other applications: Safari, YouTube, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator and Settings. Contacts is new, providing the same access to your address book that the iPhone’s Phone app does. Despite the Touch’s wireless connectivity, the iPhone’s useful Weather app isn’t present. Worse, there’s no Mail either.

Sleek and Svelte

Nor is there the ability to add Contacts and enter new appointments into the Calendar. In that sense, the Touch is more akin to the old Palm Pilot that more recent PDAs - it’s a device for taking your personal information with you rather than a data-entry tool. And it’s no different from past iPods that have been sync’d with contact details and diaries.

The Music, Movies and Photos applications operate just like their iPhone equivalents - there, Movies and Music are combined into a single app, iPod. The default Playlists, Artists, Songs, Albums and More tabs can be rearranged and changed - maybe you’d rather have Podcasts listed than Playlists, for example

From Album Art

Rotating the Touch through 90° pops up the iTunes-derived Cover Flow, and you can flick through the album covers on display quickly - the animation is smooth and lag-free. Tapping an album rotates the cover to reveal a track listing - click on the one you want to start playing it, or tap elsewhere on the screen to go back to Cover Flow. Rotating the Touch back presents the cover of the album you’ve selected with easily reachable play/pause, track skip and volume controls. A button at the top right flips the cover round to reveal the track listing - as this happens the track list button itself rotates into a tiny album art icon.

Tap anywhere else on the album cover and a bar appears showing you how long the current track’s been playing and how long there is to go, along with a progress bar that you can shuttle along by dragging a blue blob - just like adjusting the volume.

Cover Flow, at the flick of a wrist

The Video app works broadly the same way, just with fewer list options and video playback fixed in landscape mode no matter how you hold the player. This makes sense, because you want to maximise the viewing area. Tapping the screen brings up the playback controls, and you can double-tap to switch between fitting the video to the screen’s horizontal dimensions - so you get black bars above and below the picture - and its height, so the picture fills the screen, but you may lose a bit off either end. Videos encoded in a 4:3 ratio are not stretched to fit, but appear with black bars to the sides.

Full Control Video

Some early users in the US complained about the quality of the Touch’s display, in particular the way darker areas of the picture appeared brighter than they should have. A duff batch of screens or an endemic fault? It’s hard to say, but we found the display eminently watchable and we didn’t experience any problems with it, whether we were watching videos we’d sync’d over with iTunes or content accessed through the YouTube app.

Read the full article here.

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, said he was not surprised by the threat of a Center for Environmental Health lawsuit against Apple following a Greenpeace report that identified several toxic chemicals used in the iPhone, but noted that he doesn’t think the Greenpeace report will keep consumers from buying an iPhone.

A Greenpeace report could spark yet another lawsuit against Apple. On Monday, The Center for Environmental Health gave Apple 60 days notice that it might file suit against it after tests Greenpeace commissioned revealed several hazardous chemicals in both the external and internal components of the iPhone.

According to a Greenpeace report entitled “Missed Call: The iPhone’s Hazardous Chemicals,” the iPhone contains several dangerous chemicals, including phthalates in the vinyl plastic earphone wiring at levels that are prohibited in young children’s toys in San Francisco and in the European Union.

This is the third time that Greenpeace has tested an Apple product since 2006. Similar analyses of a MacBook Pro and an iPod Nano revealed the presence of phthalates and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

However, the latest study marks Greenpeace’s first test of an Apple product since CEO Steve Jobs made a public commitment in May to make a “Greener Apple.” Apple specifically pledged to phase out all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics and BFRs by the end of 2008.

Apple did not respond to requests seeking comment on the potential suit or the Greenpeace allegations.

Read the full article here.

Steve Jobs has posted an open letter saying that Apple will be making 3rd party SDK for iPhone and iPod Touch available to application developers. The upcoming SDK will use a digital signature system, that means the development might not be open to everyone (selected developers only) according to MacRumors.

The Open Letter

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell networkAs our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.

source: slashgear.com

Apple has launched a directory of applications specifically made for or working with the iPhone and the iPod touch.

It features web-based applications and widgets only such as FaceBook, Big Bang Sudoku UltraLingua Mobile, Digg iPhone Application and SmugMug.

It is available on Apple’s web site through the following URL:

http://www.apple.com/webapps/

The company was recently rumoured to be preparing a true development kit for standard iPhone applications which run directly on the system instead of running through the web on Safari.

source: macscoop.com

Commercials for Apple’s iPod are notable for their dancing silhouettes and upbeat music.

But they may also give insight into how criminals see iPod users.

John Roman, a researcher at the Urban Institute, says, “If somebody wants it, they can tell very easily that you have it.”

Researchers at the Urban Institute say the iPod and other digital media devices may be causing a crime wave.

John Roman says, “Carrying an iPod, which is so expensive, which is so easy for a potential robber to see, is sort of the equivalent of walking around with several hundred dollars poking out of your pockets.”

The increase in “iCrime” is largely anecdotal. Recently-released FBI statistics show a spike in robberies and juvenile arrests during the past two years.

After years of decline, subway commuters in urban areas such as New York and Washington, D.C., have seen significant increases in iPod muggings since 2005.

This mirrors an explosion of iPod sales during the same time period.

John Roman says, “They’re very expensive, so lots of people who’d like to have them can’t afford them, so one of the way to go about acquiring them is, of course, to steal it.”

Still, iPod users have mixed opinions about the problem.

Roman says Apple is not responsible for creating crime, just excitement about its products.

John Roman says, “As we have more of these really, these hot new technologies in the marketplace, we’re going to see more little crime waves like this.”

Good advice until the next gadget fad comes out.

Roman says part of the problem is that people don’t pay attention to their surroundings when they have their headphones in. That makes them sitting ducks for thieves.

One precaution consumers can take is to swap Apple’s white earbuds for some other, less recognizable headphones for your iPod.

source: ksdk.com