iPod iTunes Zone

Deutsche Telekom, the owner of T-Mobile, says that some 70,000 German iPhone subscribers have been added in the 11 weeks since the product’s debut in the country on November 9th of last year. “The iPhone is by far the most sold multimedia device in T-Mobile’s portfolio,” according to Philipp Humm, the head of T-Mobile Germany. Reuters notes however that this figure is roughly equivalent to the number of iPhones sold by Orange in France, which only began its sales on November 28th.Apple claims that some 2.3 million iPhones were sold worldwide during the December quarter alone, and that the total has been over 4 million since the June 29th American launch. This is despite the fact that only France, Germany, the US and the UK currently sell the device. Plans are said to be in the works for wider release, to countries such as Canada, Thailand and Sweden.

source: macnn.com

Canadian cell provider Rogers Wireless is set to institute a series of changes to its cellular data plans that should pave the way for devices such as the iPhone, according to increasingly corroborated reports. A tip indicates that the carrier will begin offering a reworking of the company’s $20 monthly Communicate Package that allows both unlimited Internet access from a given phone as well as up to 2500 SMS text messages, 1000 MMS picture or video messages, and calling extras such as voicemail and caller ID. A separate $7 plan will offer just the Internet use and 50 minutes of video calling with Rogers’ VISION service, while a $5 plan will offer just the data alone.The Rogers service is believed to mirror similar offerings from AT&T in the US, though offering far more messages than most AT&T plans. Like the American plan, the unlimited transfers would only apply to ‘feature’ phones rather than dedicated smartphones; BlackBerries and Windows Mobile devices would be exempt from the service and have their own separate rates. Rogers will track each phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) to automatically determine whether a device is allowed to use an unlimited plan, though whether this will apply to unlocked handsets is unknown. Tethering those devices that qualify for the unlimited plan to a computer for modem use is expected to incur an extra cost.

The move is believed to partly be a direct reaction to Bell’s $7 data plan, which offers unlimited Internet use for the HTC Touch, as well as to lowered data rates as a whole for competitors. However, the plan is also regarded by observers as a necessary prelude to the introduction of the iPhone to the country. Rogers is the only major provider in the country to operate a GSM phone network needed for the Apple device and has claimed to be bringing the iPhone to Canada since shortly after its unveiling in January 2007, though negotiations are not believed to have begun until after the phone’s US launch in late June. Current reports would have the Rogers data rate change take effect on February 5th but are not believed to be timed with any future Apple introductions.

source: electronista.com

Netflix hopes that changes in two formats will prove to be catalysts for its business in 2008, the company said late yesterday in its quarterly results call. Following a year in which the company profited by 97 cents per share and added 1.2 million subscribers, the rental firm says it intends to offer a Mac version of its web-based Watch Instantly feature sometime this year. Though it did not say how it would reach this goal, the company explained that the move would reflect a larger trend towards web video in general by expanding the available audience.”Web-based video viewing is becoming mainstream, as a wide range of content companies make their content easily accessible on the web,” said company chief Reed Hastings. However, Hastings added that a lack of Mac-native digital rights management (DRM) remains a significant “hold-back” for the move. To date, the only widely used DRM format for the Mac has been Apple’s own FairPlay system, which has not been licensed to any third parties. This has so far limited the Netflix service to Windows alone, where the company uses the protected form of Microsoft’s Windows Media to prevent users from ripping permanent copies of streamed videos. An OS-independent copy protection system named Marlin is expected to debut with the beta of Pioneer’s SyncTV service but has not been announced for use outside of other major projects.

Additionally, the movie house also said it should benefit from Warner’s switch to Blu-ray for movies. By consolidating towards one HD movie disc format, subscribers are more likely to buy the relevant movie players and therefore rent Blu-ray titles. This may accelerate further if Blu-ray players crack the $200 mark currently reserved for low-end HD DVD players or if Paramount and Universal decide to sell Blu-ray movies, effectively ending the HD format conflict altogether.

The Netflix executive also dismissed efforts by others to join the Internet video on demand industry with Apple’s iTunes rentals and similar offerings, noting that many of these services are limited by when and where they can be viewed and are dependent on the Internet, potentially causing problems in a very young industry. “You only have 24 hours in which to complete watching the movie [on iTunes], so if you watch over two nights, you pay twice,” Hastings said. “DVD rentals advantages over VoD are ubiquity of content, ubiquity of DVD players, an early window for new releases, and lower prices.” The senior official acknowledged that there will be a switch to online distribution “at some point” but considered the Watch Instantly feature an investment in the future rather than a complete business model, as with Apple’s service or on-demand viewing from many cable TV providers.

source: macnn.com

The MacBook Air’s special processor is not the only example of the ultraportable veering away from Intel’s reference designs, Electronista has discovered. People familiar with the internal design of the system have explained that the external Superdrive DVD burner available for the notebook should only be recognized by the Air rather than any computer due to custom requirements from both the subnotebook and its peripheral.While external optical drives have existed that rely on the USB port alone, the particular power demands of the Apple-made drive should prevent it being used elsewhere; the sole USB port has been boosted past its specifications to supply enough power to use the drive with just the data cable rather than a direct power connection, say contacts. The computer’s port should allow other optical drives, the design choice essentially limits the $99 add-on drive to the Air alone. No external AC power connector exists on the external burner to support systems that more closely follow Intel’s official power requirements.

source: electronista.com

Apple reported its latest financial results, revealing a record 22.1 million iPod sales over a three-month period. Busy holiday shoppers snapped up the company’s portable players in droves, leading to a quarter that surpasses the record level iPod sales reported a year ago. “According to the latest data from NPD, iPod share of the U.S. market for MP3 players in the December quarter was consistent with the year-ago quarter,” Oppenheimer said. The average selling price at $181 of the iPod was bolstered by the introduction of the iPod touch and revenue was up 17 percent year-over-year, the highest revenue growth rate in the last year. The company said that there may have been some cannibalization by the iPhone in the US, but that there was no evidence of such in Europe.”In international markets, according to GFK, we continue to gain market share year-over-year in virtually all European and Asian countries,” the executive continued.

Oppenheimer also spoke on the company’s iPod touch, a full-screen multi-touch iPod and multimedia browser. The company looked to launch its “mainstrem mobile WiFi platform,” which the company believes will help drive sales beyond the current music/media player markets. It said that its “strategic vision” of launching the new platform was achieved, but it admitted that high-end Touch probably sacrificed some unit sales at the current price point.

“One of our primary goals for this holiday season was to establish an entirely new type of iPod in the marketplace, the iPod touch,” said Oppenheimer. “This new iPod has potential to grow the iPod from being just a music and video player into being the first mainstream Wi-Fi mobile platform running all kinds of mobile applications.” “Because of the higher cost associated with the large touch-screen, and more powerful processor required to run applications like Safari, this was the most expensive iPod we’ve brought to market for some time,” Oppenheimer added. “So we have the challenge of establishing a completely new type of iPod at the top of the line, at a price point above where we’ve been for quite some time. And we succeeded.” Last week Apple announced a major software upgrade for the iPod touch with five mobile applications, as well as the ability to watch iTunes movie rentals.

source: ipodnn.com

Apple stock should still be rated a “buy,” despite its recent stock slide, say Gene Munster and Michael Olson from the research firm Piper Jaffray. The analysts first deconstruct the reasons for the drop: foremost may be Apple’s guidance for the March quarter, which has an EPS 15 percent below expectations from The Street, at $0.94, but with revenue only 2 percent lower, at $6.8 billion. Year-over-year iPod growth was also only 5 percent in the December quarter, versus 50 percent in the same period of 2006. Finally, the state of the economy may be deterring even wealthier people from buying expensive electronics.The depressed state of Apple represents a buying opportunity however, according to Munster and Olson. They suggest that the investor panic is an overreaction, in part because Mac sales are continuing to grow; December-quarter market share was in fact 3 percent higher in 2007 over 2006, the largest Mac share increase in at least seven quarters. Valuation of Apple stock, meanwhile, is currently at 25x NTM EPS, whereas the two-year low is 24x, and the two-year average is 31x. The 2.3 million Macs sold last quarter is further said to be a 7 percent sequential growth, instead of what could have been a flat figure for the past two years. Slowing iPod sales are said to be a serious concern, but Apple claims that the iPod touch is just the beginning of a Wi-Fi mobile platform, and so there is still plenty of economic potential.

source: ipodnn.com

Apple has added two new additions to its iPod games lineup: Pole Position Remix, and Block Breaker Deluxe. Pole Position Remix is a redesigned version of the arcade classic racing game where players compete for first place on any of five three-dimensional tracks. Obstacles like oil slicks, puddles, and other cars will get in the player’s way as they race through four game types. Billboards contain art based off a user’s music selection, with additional themes, cars, and courses ready to be unlocked. Pole Position Remix is available from the iTunes Store for $5. Gameloft’s Block Breaker Deluxe ($5) takes the gameplay of Arkanoid, mixing it with modern club-scene graphics, and includes many different power-ups and bosses. Players must break their way through over 50 levels, with an online level editor available to create new content.

source: ipodn.com

One of Apple’s co-defendants in a lawsuit has settled its case, according to an announcement. SimulScribe has reportedly settled with Klausner Technologies, a company that accused it — along with Apple, AT&T, Comcast and Cablevision — of breaking patents relating to visual voicemail, a technology which allows users to selectively pick which messages to listen to instead of hearing them all at once. The terms of the settlement involve SimulScribe licensing Klausner’s patents, joining the ranks of other companies such as AOL and Vonage.The patents will be used in SimulSays, SimulScribe’s visual voicemail application for Windows Mobile and the BlackBerry OS, which is now cleared to sell in Canada, the US and Europe. The software is distinguished from that on the Apple iPhone by integration with contacts, allowing users to reply via e-mail or SMS instead of just voice. Klausner has long claimed to be the inventor of the PDA, despite the technology’s more popular association with companies such as Palm. Klausner has even alleged that the Apple Newton, despite its brief existence, violated an OEM patent granted over 20 years ago.

source: macnn.com

Apple has updated the Apple Store with a new color of the iPod nano. The 8GB player is now shipping in pink, making for a total of six available colors, including black, green, cyan, silver and red. In keeping with its siblings, the pink Nano costs $199; the 4GB player continues to only be available in silver for $149. The release of the pink Nano follows brief downtime for the US Apple Store, even though it appears that just the one item was added. The inclusion of the Nano in a new gift graphic may, however, suggest that Apple has timed the new color’s introduction to coincide with sales for Valentine’s Day.

source: ipodnn.com

XtremeMac has released InCharge Home and InCharge Travel, the newest additions to the company’s line of power devices designed to safely charge Apple’s iPhone and iPod. Both models are ‘Works with iPhone’ and ‘Made for iPod’ approved, certifying that they meet Apple’s performance standards. The InCharge Home is a wall charger designed for use as an extra charging station with rapid charging technology that boasts twice the performance of standard charging via a computer. InCharge Home is priced at $30, while InCharge Travel is available for $50.

source: ipodnn.com