Interesting news/reviews/deals from the portable audio market
The versatility of the iPod is ever growing and changing. New add-ons and products are developed every day to make the iPod more versatile and resourceful. In fact, Apple has to fight to keep up with other MP3 technologies that are currently available on the market. Many of the other players available [...]
In our article iPhone Rumors we speculated that Apple might pull the trigger on the iPhone. There has bee so much hype and speculation that we thought it was going to become almost like an urban myth.
Apple did pull the trigger on the iPhone, and the news and reviews on it so far are positive. [...]
There have been rumors for years about Apple developing an iPod iPhone. It seems that these rumors may be true and the development may finally come to fruition.
The iPod iPhone will probably not be like typical MP3 cellular phones. An MP3 cellular phone adds music to communications, whereas converting an iPod to a cellular phone [...]
[Alternative title for this post: “Hey, we gotta get rid of that stock somehow.”]
The first batch of the new iPod Shuffles has already reached the hands of those who hurried to order it immediately after its announcement, on September 12. As with all Apple products, pictures of the new $80 device, its packaging and accessories [...]
Q4 financial results and conference call notes
$230.9M in sales ($305.4M a year ago)
$12.7M net loss ($31.9M a year ago)
Verdict? Betten than last year, but stil… Michael from epiZENter also jotted some notes from the conference call—interesting to see they’re pushing the X-Fi technology, talking about a future product that is connected to the Zen Vision:M [...]
More details on Zune’s interface and features: nice write-up from the iLounge guys:
The big question being asked around these parts right now is whether Zune has any feature so compelling that it can really rival the iPod juggernaut. Right now, the feeling is that Microsoft may have gotten a few things closer to right than [...]
Preface
Wasn’t it Creative who said it would clean up its over-crowded product line, in a conference call a few months ago? Seems like some engineers were kept out of the loop, creating yet another iPod nano competitor, probably thinking that the recently introduced Zen V/Zen V Plus weren’t adequate enough. We’re talking about the Neeon [...]
Warner to experiment with ‘DVD album’ discs: these will feature:
stereo and surround mixes of the album
extras: ringtones, remixes, photos and video footage
pre-ripped digital music files. Warner is currently in talk with Apple to make those rips, so that they’re iPod-compatible and DRM’d (with FairPlay).
A handful of titles are expected in October, a “full-blown launch” next [...]
AppleInsider broke the news that iTunes Producer, the software labels use to submit music for inclusion to the iTMS, was updated to include support for tracks in the Apple Lossless format. Speculation that the iTMS may begin offering tracks in the lossless format have risen substantially ever since, but it’s probably safer to remain sceptical [...]
BusinessWeek runs a piece on Tim Schaaff, Sony’s Senior VP of Software Development: the man who left Apple to undertake a huge task—make Sony’s software work. That means bringing the various departments closer, giving more power to software developers and keeping a low profile so as not to collide with the rather autonomous hardware engineers.
Review: [...]