The Apple rumour mill has let the wireless iPod topic drop for a bit in order concentrate on the anticipated iPhone mobile.
According to a report by Prudential Equity Group analyst Jesse Tortora, Apple will launch not just one, but two mobile phones a soon as January. One will be a slim mobile based on the iPod, while the other will be a smartphone; one will also include Wi-Fi.
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From the "Seriously. WTF" department, Apple has posted a notice on its website warning users that a "small number" of fifth-generation iPods are leaving the factory with a Windows virus—RavMonE.exe—on the hard drives. We'll let the release speak for itself:
We recently discovered that a small number - less than 1% - of the Video iPods available for purchase after September 12, 2006 left our contract manufacturer carrying the Windows RavMonE.exe virus. This known virus affects only Windows computers, and up to date anti-virus software which is included with most Windows computers should detect and remove it. So far we have seen less than 25 reports concerning this problem.
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Letts, IA — On test days, Louisa-Muscatine third-grader Samantha used to have a pretty tough time. A Special Education student, she needed the services of an onsite paraprofessional to read the questions aloud to her, in an entirely different classroom. Now Samantha can grab an iPod, put on her headphones, scroll through the menu to find her test, and get to work. By listening to the test questions as she sees them on the iPod screen and on her paper, Samantha and several of the school’s other students with special needs are beginning to work more independently. At the same time they’ve increased their self-esteem, and have found a way to join the mainstream of education.
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Gear4 today unveiled the BluEye, a device that attaches to the dock connector found on most iPods and synchronizes key calling features of Bluetooth-equipped cellular phones with Apple's music player.
The gadget allows users to pause music during calls and displays caller ID information through the iPod, but also adds the ability to dial the most recent number through the iPod itself -- a feature useful to owners who miss an important call while the BluEye is connected.
Gear4's device also serves as an alternative to Apple's Radio Remote, offering both an FM tuner with 15 presets and basic music controls for pausing as well as skipping tracks, according to Electronista. The company plans to ship the BluEye in early November for £50.
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The multi-touch sensor device described in a recently published U.S. patent application filed by Apple includes sensor areas over different parts of a display. The touch-sensitive interface described in the application looks appropriate for a new iPod model that would do away with the Click Wheel in favor of an on-screen interface or an Apple phone with a secondary display on the backside.
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Hundreds of first-generation iPod shuffle owners are crying out to Apple for resolution after upgrading to iTunes 7 and trying to update their iPods. Many of these users report that updating the iPod renders it unusable with an "Unknown Error (1418)," effectively corrupting the iPods with no way to restore them.
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Starbucks and Apple Comptuer on Thursday announced the availability of the Starbucks Hear Music catalog on the iTunes Store, giving iTunes users the ability to preview, buy and download a wide variety of Starbucks popular Hear Music titles.
"Hear Music produces a wide range of albums showcasing new and classic artists including the well-known Artist Choice series, Opus Collections, Debut Series releases by emerging artists, as well as new works from major artists," Apple said.
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Citing initial channel checks, analysts at Baird U.S. Equity Research are reporting that there appears to be muted demand for Apple Computer's second-generation iPod nano so far, which could have negative implications for NAND flash pricing.
"We believe Apple did not meet its NAND flash order schedule this month," analyst Tristan Gerra wrote in a note to SanDisk investors on Monday.
"While it is difficult to assess the performance of the new nano product family as Apple retailers have been directed to not comment about the iPod's sales performance, the initial feedback we are receiving from industry sources suggests nano volumes are not as strong as in the same period a year ago, which we do not view as a surprise given the new nano offering's lack of new feature set besides higher density."
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Light metal-casing vendors stand to benefit the most from the launch of Apple Computer's new iPod product lines, according to Morgan Stanley's Taiwan-based original design manufacturer analysts.
"Among the iPod food chain companies in our universe, we think the light metal casing vendors will benefit the most as the revamped iPod launch is focusing more on stylish design than key feature set enhancements," analyst Ellen Tseng wrote in a extensive research report from overseas released last month.
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Refinement: that's what you get out of Apple's latest iPod, which comes with a brighter screen and an extra 20GB of storage. For music playback, not a lot has changed. The iPod remains an excellent MP3 player, and its sound quality continues to be among the best around. The latest version adds gapless playback, which eliminates the pauses between tracks for a smoother listening experience.
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