For my overly enthusiastic politico friends - here's a must-have app for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Get easy access to all the information you need about any person in Congress.
This is fairly timely given the current situation our government has put us in. Tell them how much they suck and drive down their approval ratings even lower in the toilet than they already are.
:-)
I guess this is going to be a slow Apple news week as we all wait for new MacBooks in a couple weeks. Apple launched a new official YouTube page.
With the exception of an iTunes tutorial, it's all ads. Maybe they'll put some classic ads and things that are more interesting than ads.
(Via Macenstein)
My first iPhone/iPod Touch application, Vinoriffic, is live on the iTunes Apps store. Vinoriffic lets you quickly capture information about a wine that you've enjoyed and even purchase it right then and there.
I'm excited to see the feedback to know what to put in the next version. If you like it, or think it has a lot of potential, give it a good review on the store. If you don't like it or don't think it has potential, don't review it. :-)
I'm committed to enhancing the application based on what features people request most. The app went live last night some time and I've already had some feedback which is great!
Update Version 1.1 has been submitted to Apple for approval. 1.1 addresses an bug that prevents the proper wine from being returned in some searches. 1.5 is also coming soon with a vastly improved buy interface. 2.0 is starting to take shape with the addition of fields requested by some users.
Get it now. It's worth the wait! Better signals, battery life, faster interface, Genius, and more.
Finally got a chance to try the iTunes Genius feature on my MacBook Pro. Even though it has 1/1000 of my music collection, the Genius feature put together a great playlist. All songs flowed nicely into each other and were of the same tone. Kudos Apple!
Watching the keynote now (yes, I know, a couple days later - I've been in Jury Duty).
Highlights:
iTunes
- 65 million iTunes accounts
- 8.5 songs
- 125,000 podcasts
- HDTV Shows - $2.99
- NBC is back (aww, that Hulu thing didn't work out? Shocking.)
- iTunes 8
--- Grid view (I've used it a little, don't like it so far)
--- Genius (Signed up for it, haven't used it yet, be ready for a future post)
iPod
- iPod has a 73.4% market share of all audio players
- Over 5000 iPod accessories
- 90% of all US cars offer iPod integration
- Apple has sold over 160 million iPods since 2004.
- New 120 GB iPod classic (no 80GB or 160GB)
- New iPod Nano
-- Thinnest iPod ever made
-- Oval shape
-- Aluminum
-- Glass
-- Enhanced user interface (hold center button down for contextual menu)
-- Accelerometer (shake to shuffle - very cool)
-- Genius list creation
-- Voice recorder built-in
-- 24 hour music/4 hour video battery life
-- "Green" iPod (Mercury, PVC, Arsenic, BFR free)
-- nano-chromatic colors (silver, black, purple, green, pink, blue, yellow, orange, red)
-- 4GB - $149; 16GB $199
New Accessories
- Arm band
- Headphones
-- Volume Controls
-- Next/Previous/Pause/Play
-- Microphone
-- $29
- In-ear Headphones
-- 2 drives - woofer/tweeter (very nice)
-- Same controls
-- $79
iPod Touch
- Thinner
- Stainless Steel Back
- Integrated Volume Controls
- Built-in speaker
- Genius playlist creation
- Built-in Nike+iPod
- 36 hours music/6 hours video
- "Green" iPod (Mercury, PVC, Arsenic, BFR free)
- "Funnest iPod Ever"
- 8 GB $229/16 GB $299/32 GB $399
- 2.1 software (free to 2.0 users; $9.95 for 1.0 users)
iTunes Applications Store
- 3,000 Applications (but no Vinoriffic yet)
- Users have downloaded over 100 million applications
- Only 60 days old
iPhone
- 2.1 update - fixes lots of bugs (fewer call drops, better battery life, faster iTunes sync - about f'ing time)
- Free to all iPhone owners
- Available 12 September 2008.
Special Guest
- Sold 16 Million albums
- #1 male artist in iTunes history
- Jack Johnson
I have no doubt Way2Poppy will weigh in with more introspective reactions to Apple's announcement today, but - as a music fan - here's my take:
Too Poppy: The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me
The quintessential digital music player got a refresh today - Apple announced the new iPod classic, the new and rainbowy iPod nano, new iPod shuffle flavors, and the new iPod touch. A new version of iTunes is also available for download. You'll hear about the details elsewhere, but my initial reactions:
Someone please explain this to me. Seriously. This is the softer side of Microsoft? What, retardation?
From sista blog Too Poppy:
It's been a looooong time since Apple has significantly upgraded the iPod and after dropping mine down the garage stairs for the first time in its two-and-a-half years of existence, it's good to know that change may be a-coming. Although, if the new iPod looks at all like this, I'll keep my trusty ol' classic working as long as possible (BTW, the drop resulted in not even a scratch - at least Brandon Wilde is playing fine today.)
