Apple announced that in the 20 days following the release of the iPod with video, they have sold over 20 million videos. If you ask me, that's a ringing endorsement to the concept and definitely gives legs to selling videos online.
If you haven't seen the new iPod yet, you really need to see it. The screen is incredible and the viewability is amazing.
Samsung has announced it will introduce an online music service to compete directly with iTunes. Yeah, good luck.
If you're in the market for a case for your iPod, there are literally thousands of choices. The Apple Store online offers a mere 185 pages (yes, pages) of cases. That's over 1000 cases. There's even a $75 Kate Spade case. That's nearly the cost of a Shuffle and 1/4 the price of a new iPod!
I wouldn't even begin to recommend a case - I've had 4 iPods over the years (and trying to find a way to get the fifth) and I've yet to buy a case.
Wired has a great article on the new Motorola/Apple/Cingular iTunes phone, the ROKR. The much-anticipated and now lamented, the ROKR was released on the same day as the iPod nano.
I haven't seen the phone yet, but from everything I've read, it's just so-so. It is limited to 100 songs. You can't purchase and download songs on the phone - you need to sync it just like an iPod with iTunes.
It's probably not a bad phone, but I haven't yet encountered any mobile device that does more than one thing well. I have a Blackberry phone and it's fine as a Blackberry, but really stinks as a phone.
Update: Attended an event at Cingular Wireless the other night (their headquarters is here in Atlanta) and they were raffling a phone to attendees. They made a big joke about how they were originally going to raffle a ROKR, but considering all the negative press, they thought the RAZR would go over better.
It was bound to happen. When reports surfaced soon after the Nano's release that it was too easily scratched, you could see this coming. Apple doesn't comment about its lawsuits, but was the Nano rushed to market? I guess the court will have to tackle that issue if it isn't settled like the battery controversy.
Got a closer, second look at the new iPod today. Wow. A colleague of mine bought a lovely black iPod last week, and downloaded Desperate Housewives over the weekend. The screen is beautifully bright and crisp. The weight and profile of this iPod is fantastic. I've got to get my hands on one of these!
What are you waiting for? Get the new iPod today!
The first iPod came out in October 2001. Just 4 years later and we're already on the 5th Generation iPod. Not sure which model you have? This article on the Apple support site does a fantastic job of identifying which generation iPod you have.
There have only been 25 different versions of the iPod - I mean, c'mon - keep up, man! :-)
Okay, not really. But this crushproof case from Otterbox is waterproof up to depths of 1 meter. Not only does it keep out the water, but it also keeps out the sand, dust or dirt. The exceptional thing about this case is that you can still control the iPod while it's in there, as well as plug in headphones - all without breaching the waterproof seal.
And if that's not enough, checkout these submersible/waterproof headphones by SwimMan.
Fits 4th generation iPods including the mini.
Read the review at PlayListMag.com.
H&M Holdings, the current makers of one of the world's first MP3 players - the Rio, has announced it is leaving the business citing "intense competition". It's a tough space to compete in, especially when you consider Apple's iPod has a 70% market share.
Most people think the Rio Diamond (pictured) was the first MP3 player. Wrong. That distinction actually belongs to Saehan's MPMan which was released a couple of months earlier than the Rio in Asia.
HP stopped selling the Apple iPod + HP a couple of months ago. However, there are still some in the retail pipeline, sometimes at a great discount. The only thing different about the Apple iPod + HP is the label. Everything else about it is the same. So if you can live without color or video, you can pick up a great deal.
Check out PriceGrabber.com for a list of merchants with stock left. Prices go from $79 (Shuffle) to $249 (iPod 40GB). I've also seen them at your neighborhood warehouse club - BJ's Wholesale, Costco or Sam's Club.
Purchase refurbished iPods starting $79 at the Apple Store
Oregon Scientific has an interesting speaker system for the iPod called the iBall. Sit your iPod in the included transmitter base and send your music up to 100 feet away to the powered speaker array without wires.
The base also charges and syncs the iPod to your computer.
Works with 3G-4G iPods, plus the nano. Not sure if the new iPod with video will work. More information on Oregon Scientific's web site.
There's a new iPod dock in town and it isn't your old generation dock. This one is now universal for all iPod models since the the third generation (1G and 2G didn't dock). In the past, Apple has released a separate dock for every generation.
The universal dock comes with inserts that will hold all the various models of the dockable iPods, except the iPod Shuffle. All you do is slip in the insert that matches your iPod. As with the previous dock, it comes with audio out, dock connector and s-video ports.
However, it doesn't end there. The new dock sports an infared sensor which goes with the new Apple Remote (purchased separately of course). The remote is the same as the one shipping with the new iMac G5. As you'd expect, it controls volume, skip, rewind and fast forward. If you're lucky enought to have the new iPod with video, the remote lets you control the video.
iLounge.com has a very good in-depth review of these new components.
Buy the new dock and remote today!
Gift certificates from the iTunes Music Store are great - but if you want to buy that special someone a specific song or album it wasn't possible - until iTunes 6.
Simply click the Gift This Music from any song or album listing. Key in the email address and you've sent someone the gift of music.
If you want to gift some music to me, the email address is way2poppy(at)konfrst.com. :-)
Give the gift of music with iTunes gift certificates
You don't have to just view videos from the iTunes Music Store - you can convert just about any video you already have on your computer with QuickTime 7 Pro.
QuickTime 7 Pro is an awesome program. It is well worth the $30 price tag. Convert video. Convert music. Record sound. Extract sound. Extract stills. View movies in full screen. Encode. Decode. View high-definition video. There are so many things this program can do.
Apple has created a helpful 8-step process to convert your videos for use on the iPod with video.
QuickTime 7 Pro for Mac OS X
QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows
Black & White - more choice than before, but it may not reflect your true personality. If you are looking for something outside the norm, consider iPods from Colorware. Lots of different color choices. Blue iPods, green iPods, even pink. If you miss the color options the iPod minis gave you, here's an alternative.
Contemplating an iPod vs. Sony PSP? There are a lot more similarities than you might think. Both play music and both play videos. The PSP adds high-end games.
Playlistmag.com has a good side-by-side comparison of the iPod with video and the PSP. As with anything, it really all comes down to what you want to do with it. There are very few devices that can do multiple things and do them all well and conveniently.
There's always Apple's dock, but here's a truly innovative way - wirelessly. The Belkin TuneStage sends your music wirelessly to a receiver that is hooked up to your home stereo. Control the iPod as you would normally, but instead of listening to it through your headphones, listen to it through your stereo; without the mess of wires. The iPod essentially becomes the remote control. Awesome concept.
It's a bit pricey at $180 USD, but if you want to listen to your iPod through the stereo without messing with a spaghetti mess of wires, this might be a great solution.
Playlistmag.com has a good review of this unique iPod home stereo solution.
Got a problem with your iPod? Check out the discussion board over at apple.com. If you are having an issue, chances are good you're not the only one.
