Apple Making Future iPods Hot Unpluggable

One of the small things that's bugged me about my iPod is that every time I sync it I have to use iTunes to unmount it. Well, it appears Apple is doing something about that as it's filed a patent for a hot unpluggable media storage device. The patent talks about rendering a peripheral (I'm guessing an iPod unless it's something else) from a host computer without having to prep it. Small upgrade, but this means future iPods may be plug and play and not require software

Nike + iPod gear v2.0 leaked baby!!

Nike's not doing the best of jobs keeping a lid on their expanding Nike+ CE line (get it, Jobs? Nevermind.), which is why we've got some leaked shots of upcoming gear, including the Nike Speed+ Watch Kit (which displays distance, pace, elapsted time, and calories), and three iPod controlling watch systems including the Amp+, and the so-similar-they-may-be-the-same-product Flight+ and Aero+ (which features voice feedback and a rocking bezel for music control). All are launching launching May 1st for varying prices: $130 (Speed Watch and Aero+) and $80 (Amp+)

PEIKER BluetouchMusic links iPod, cellphone to car stereo

While it didn't bring it a massive posse or hundred foot banners, Germany's PEIKER did manage to deliver an "award-winning" in-car connection device during CES last week. The company's BluetouchMusic claims to be the "world's first" system to integrate handsfree calling and music into your car's stereo, but clearly it's missed quite a few other applications that have already graced American soil. Nevertheless, the device is meant to be "professionally installed" into your car's stereo system, and allows you to converse wirelessly on your Bluetooth-enabled phone, stream tunes from your A2DP-enabled device, listen to your iPod via an optional cable, or connect any music device via a 3.5-millimeter aux input. The diminutive device touts an intuitive-looking menu with oversized buttons to navigate from music to your address book and everywhere in between, but interestingly enough the "handsfree" aspect becomes somewhat laughable when many functions need a few button presses to get things in order. Regardless, PIEKER's first device to be sold and distributed here in America should start hitting "aftermarket channels" shortly for a currently undisclosed price.

Meizu thinks small, copies Apple again with Music Card

Sure, there've been props all around for Meizu's M6 Mini Player, but that still doesn't alleviate those concerns of iPod "homage." Now that we've spotted this upcoming "Music Card" nano foe, who's design was apparently inspired by a user submitted competition, it's pretty clear where Meizu is getting its design ideas, but we're not sure we'd have it any other way. With a shiny metal back, "reminiscent" of the original nano, along with that glossy plastic metal front and familiar screen size, the Apple references are hard to skip. Meizu mixes things up with its scroll strip and that little button on the bottom left, along with what we're assuming is expansive codec support and probably even video playback. Dimensions are familiar as well, at 6.9mm thick and 39mm wide, but enough about similarities: we're looking forward to a bit more info on this player to see just what Meizu has planned for us on price, availability and features.

Longhorn:Now a widescreen ipod from China...

If Apple wasn't going to give people a fullscreen iPod, darn it, the Chinese would do it. Longhorn's M16 and M18 —which kinda makes for a weird Apple/Microsoft mishmash—are flash based video/audio players that look like the iPhone. So how good is it?

Form what we saw, video was sharp and actually quite detailed. The m18 has a 480x272 dpi display and the M16 had a 320x240 display. The video wasn't completely fluid, but it was definitely watchable.

What's cool was this thing can actually record from TV/DVD/CD/DV to MPEG-4, and output to NTSC/PAL for watching on the TV. It supports up to a 2GB SD card, and has a 2000 mAh battery. No pricing on this, we're pretty sure it'll be a cheap knockoff iPod/iPhone player when it's released.

Apple unveils Bluetooth headset, new headphones for iPhone

So Apple couldn't release its iPhone without also unveiling a new Bluetooth headset and a tweak to their iconic headphones now, could they? Keeping in line with Apple's minimalist design ethos, the Bluetooth headset appears from the side as a simple, thin, 2001-esque, black slab. It only has one button (on the top) and is apparently "incredibly small." Apple has also unveiled a new set of stereo headphones that accommodates the iPhone's cellular functionality. Similar to wire based hands-free kits, it has a small white box halfway up the wire with an integrated microphone and a "squeeze" switch for answering and hanging-up calls. Check out the break for a shot of the hands-free Apple headphones.

Apple confirms Paramount and iTunes deal

It's official, Viacom's Paramount Pictures will indeed offer its movies for download over Apple's iTunes service. Some 250 titles in fact, including Tomb Raider, Italian Job, Wrath of Khan, Chinatown, Zoolander, School of Rock, and Sum of all Fears. The titles are currently being moved into the iTunes store and once available, should cost the same (no pricing was given) as the Disney films already available: $9.99 apiece for most titles, $14.99 for new releases and $12.99 for pre-orders.

Luxpro seeks $100M from Apple after legal battle

Luxpro wants $100 million in damages from Apple after prevailing in a legal skirmish over whether its Tangent MP3 players are iPod Shuffle ripoffs.

Luxpro's Super Shuffle MP3 player was one of the most talked-about devices at the 2005 Cebit show in snowy Hanover, Germany. Not because it did anything really cool, but because it looked almost exactly Apple's iPod Shuffle introduced two months earlier at Macworld.

Predictably, Apple was not amused. Luxpro changed the name to the Super Tangent, but Apple filed suit in Taiwan asking for a cease and desist order. That was granted, but Luxpro managed to prevail in a series of appeals as well as in a challenge before Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission.

Now, Luxpro wants $100 million to make up for the loss of revenue it suffered while litigating the matter with Apple, and says it intends to file suit against Apple. It charged that Apple insisted resellers remove the Tangent devices from their shelves or lose the right to sell iPods. An Apple representative declined to comment on the matter.

The newer Tangent MP3 players have a display, unlike the iPod Shuffle, but otherwise they are pretty similar to the old iPod Shuffle design. Check out this Engadget post from March 2005, and look at Apple's original iPod Shuffle, for a better comparison.

Apple's new iPod could bolster music dominance

After absolving its current management team of any wrongdoing in an ongoing stock-options scandal, Apple (AAPL) shifts its attention to next week's Macworld conference here, and the much-speculated unveiling of an iPod with cellphone-like features.

During the holiday season, Apple further cemented its dominance in the estimated $6 billion digital media player market, and brushed aside a new entry from Microsoft (MSFT), the Zune.

Sales of the much-hyped Zune have flagged after an initial flurry in mid-November, when it was unveiled, according to market researchers.

"Zune was a non-event this holiday season," says Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. It called 40 retail stores - including Best Buy, CompUSA and Circuit City Stores - during the first week of December, and found that 70% of the stores recommended iPod to customers, compared with only 10% for Zune.

Zune was fourth among mobile media players with 1.9% market share in November, compared with 62% for Apple, according to researcher NPD Group. SanDisk and Creative Labs were second and third in market share, respectively.

Visits to the iTunes website on Christmas Day outnumbered those to Zune.net by 30-to-1, market researcher Hitwise says.

The fates of iPod and Zune underscore Apple's supremacy, and Microsoft's attempts to establish itself as the No. 2 player in the market. "Nobody, including Microsoft, expected Zune to compete with the iPod this holiday season," says Matt Rosoff, lead consumer analyst for Directions on Microsoft.

Despite its standing in the market, Microsoft has a long-term commitment to the digital-music player market, and there is plenty of room for more than one company to prosper, Microsoft says. Microsoft expects to meet its goal of selling 1 million units by June 30.

"With billions in the bank, Microsoft can subsidize weak Zune sales for years to come - as it did with Xbox." says Charles King, principal analyst at market researcher Pund-IT.

Microsoft is likely to release lower-priced Zune models early this year, NPD analyst Ross Rubin says.

Apple declined comment on its Macworld plans.

Speculation is that it could unveil an iPod with cellphone-like features; a model with a larger screen and higher resolution; or a cheaper iPod with greater capacity, says Joe Wilcox, editor of news blog Microsoft-Watch.com. He also expects news on Leopard, code name for Apple's latest operating system. Microsoft's Windows Vista OS becomes available to consumers in late January.

The emerging MP3 cellphone market could be lucrative for Apple, says King at Pund-IT. Despite an increasing number of phones that incorporate MP3 players, none is considered a must-have gadget, he says.

The buildup to Macworld comes days after Apple said an internal investigation of improper stock-option grants cleared CEO Jobs Steve nd other current executives of any wrongdoing. On Friday, Apple said it will restate its earnings by $84 million after taxes because of improper grants made from 1997 to 2002. Apple says it is cooperating with the Securites and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Northern California.

Apple, Microsoft to unveil digital media systems

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Forget about iPod versus Zune. As popular as portable music devices are, they no longer represent the cutting edge of the digital music market today.

The next phase of digital entertainment innovation will take place in the home, and a bevy of consumer electronic manufacturers, from unknown startups to blue-chip bellwethers, are introducing products designed to bring digital media stored on personal computers to home entertainment systems.

Leading the news in the coming weeks are Apple Computer and Microsoft, both expected to introduce competing systems. Although details are still scarce on Apple's iTV streaming media device, company CEO

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs last fall said it would allow users to stream wirelessly any content -- movies, music or video -- downloaded from the iTunes store. The official launch of the device reportedly has been pushed back until after the January 8-12

MacWorld expo in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, analysts expect Microsoft to outline its home media server, code-named "Quattro," at the Consumer Electronics Show January 8 in Las Vegas. The company's Media Center PCs have struggled in past years to make a real consumer impact, but the media-extending capabilities of

Xbox 360 show the company still believes there is a market for sharing digital media across multiple devices.

Other brand name manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics and Sony also say they plan to unveil new products this year. They join existing, music-streaming products from Roku Labs, Sonos, Logitech and others.

All this activity is coming to a head this year despite the fact that such products have yet to generate much consumer demand. "It's a market that has been slow to take off," says NPD Group analyst Ross Rubin, who estimates only a few thousand media extension devices -- also called media hubs or media adapters -- are sold in a month.

Many factors have combined to slow the market to date. Few U.S. households have a home wireless network required to connect computers to other appliances. Those that do have found the process of connecting media hubs to the network confusing, and many consumers don't have enough digital music on their computers to justify the effort.

Additionally, such devices have been expensive, difficult to use and can't access music bought from iTunes. Perhaps most significant is that digital music is considered a young person's format, a demographic not known for home ownership. But hopes are high. A Parks Associates survey of U.S. consumers finds that 40% are interested in streaming music stored on their computer through their home stereo, but only 4% actually do so. Analyst Harry Wang calls this a tremendous market opportunity.

"They want this application, but don't know that digital media adapters are the solution," he says. "There needs to be more education about what a digital media adapter can do."

With heavy brand names like Apple, Microsoft and Philips entering the market, awareness is expected to increase. Apple alone can do more to raise the profile of networking digital music in the home than any single company has to date.

Other factors are converging to open the home multimedia floodgates. According to In-Stat, 20% of U.S. households will have a home network by the end of the year, and 75% of those will be wireless in some fashion. Component costs are falling, which will result in cheaper units, and the growing popularity of Internet video is increasing demand for streaming media to the living room.

As a result, Parks Associates expects the market for media extension devices to almost double during the course of the year to 7%. While some smaller providers may be acquired by larger companies entering the market -- such as Logitech's acquisition of Slim Devices, which marketed the Squeezebox music streaming device -- most are expected to hold their own as the market expands.

"Those products are probably better insulated because they're focused on the music application and are addressing an area that the traditional competitors have been slow to embrace," NPD's Rubin says. Only a few high-end home audio manufacturers like Onkyo and Bose have experimented with multiroom digital streaming solutions. Yet startup Sonos, which introduced its first product in 2005, is seen as the leader in the space today.

The music industry has a vested interest in this market's growth. Early studies indicate that media streaming solutions promote more digital music use. A survey conducted by Sonos found that people with media hubs listen to digital music twice as much on average than those who don't.

RealNetworks VP of music Rob William confirmed this, pointing out that subscribers with Sonos devices use the Rhapsody service three times as much as other Rhapsody subscribers. "The PC is great for discovery, but pretty crappy for listening," he says. "Having a dedicated appliance approach for the home is the way to go."

For an industry relying on digital to save it from a downward spiral of CD sales, home media streaming devices might just prove the last piece of the puzzle.

Reuters/Billboard

A Fendi case to accent your iPod trunk

We're continually surprised at the things we learn while assembling material for Crave. We had no idea, for example, that Karl Lagerfeld was such an iPod fanatic. So much so, in fact, that he has more than 100 of them, according to Sybarites, and has even designed an iPod trunk for Fendi. (Maybe he needs one for each new recipe he concocts.)

But if you're a simple person and just want an individual case, the uber-designer has created one made of leather and velvet with Fendi's trademark Zucca print. Regardless of whether it's your color, we're confident that it would look fabulous with the right oriental fan.

Apple faces suit over iPod-iTunes link

NEW YORK - As if its options woes weren't trouble enough, Apple Computer Inc. said Friday it is facing several federal lawsuits, including one alleging the company created an illegal monopoly by tying iTunes music and video sales to its market-leading iPod portable players.


The case, filed July 21, is over Apple's use of a copy-protection system that generally prevents iTunes music and video from playing on rival players. Likewise, songs purchased elsewhere aren't easily playable on iPods.

The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages and other relief. The court denied Apple's motion to dismiss the complaint on Dec. 20.

Another lawsuit, filed Nov. 7, alleges that the logic board of Apple's iBook G4 fails at an abnormally high rate. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages. In a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said its response to the complaint is not yet due.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also disclosed that PhatRat Technology LLC filed a lawsuit Oct. 24 alleging patent infringement. The Nike-iPod product in question, developed jointly with Nike Inc., allow runners to keep track of how far and how fast they've gone. The company's response to the complaint is not yet due.

Separately, Apple is facing a securities lawsuit accusing the company and some of its current and former officers of improperly backdating stock-option grants, failing to properly account for them and making false financial statements. Defendants responses to the complaint are not yet due.

The lawsuits, many of which seek class-action status, were disclosed in Apple's delayed regulatory filing with the SEC.

The company cleared Chief Executive
Steve Jobs and the rest of its current management of misconduct involving the stock-option practice, despite Jobs' awareness of favorable grant dates. The company restated past earnings Friday as a result of its three-month probe.

Apple shares rose about 4.9 percent to close at $84.84 Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market following the announcement.

iPod lights to irritate us all from afar

What is it that makes accessory manufacturers think that media players need flashing lights? Griffin recently came out with its "Disko" case in all its blinking glory, much to the dismay of some true Apple loyalists. But at least that product had some practical protective use.

The "Lumi Flasher" by Japan's Trinity, on the other hand, is simply lights for the sake of lights, with one white and four red LEDs that plug into the iPod's dock connector. It does include a "flashlight mode," according to Newlaunches, but we're not sure why. If they really can be seen nearly a third of a mile away as Trinity claims, that should be plenty of light from this beacon of irritation. Luckily for those of us in the West, the $21 Flasher is available only in Japan (for now

Monochromatic speakers try to blend

Note to Intempo: There's a concept known as too much of a good thing. That idea is apparently a foreign one to the company, which just began shipping its new monochromatic "I-Series" speakers apparently to match the iPod Nano's color spectrum, though it will work with other MP3 players.

This reminds us of the matching shirt-tie combos that were popular in the '60s and made a comeback in the '90s (as did everything else). You can mix and match, but that would kind of defeat the purpose. Once again, originality eludes designers in consumer technology.

BenQ's new MusiQ has sights on shuffle crown

While apparently this BenQ MusiQ player has been making the rounds in China for a little while now, it's the first we heard of it, and we're definitely impressed. While the diminutive player might not be quite as tiny as the iPod shuffle, not to mention the fact that Apple is about the only company that seems to be able to get away with producing a screen-less player anymore, the addition of a microSD slot sure is quite the feat. We're also kind of digging the neck chain headphone cord integration (peep the pictures after the break) -- even if it is a wee bit shiny. Unfortunately, the built-in memory is a mere 512MB, though microSD does alleviate that concern a bit. The player is currently available for 688 HKD, about $88.50 US. For the picture visit
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/12/benq-musiq.jpg

iPod To Eventually Hold All the Video In the World?

An anonymous reader writes "A senior Google exec has been talking up the prospect of iPods that can hold all the world's media due to the plummeting price of storage and its increasing volume-to-size ratio. Google's VP of European operations, Nikesh Arora, predicts that in as little as just over a decade's time, iPods will be capable of storing 'any video ever produced.'" From the article: "Arora believes, mobile is likely to follow the same path. 'Mobile is not going to be a different thing,' he added — and if the mobile industry is to capitalize on the growth of content, it would be wise to ape the development of the internet. He said: 'The mobile industry has to go through the same phases the internet has gone through... Mobile will have the same learning curve. It would be somewhat foolish to leapfrog the stages the internet went through.'"

iTalk connects iPod to the real world

In prehistoric times, when cassette tapes ruled the Earth, people were known to hold their recorders up against their radio speakers to capture a song. The results were predictably primitive.

If only something like the iTalk were around then. (Food and shelter would have helped too.) Griffin Technology says the device, which plugs into the iPod's dock connector, "faithfully records under real-world conditions," including concerts, lectures and, yes, even open-air radio if you should so choose.

Griffin also claims that the $50 recorder has CD quality and an easy one-touch operation. But we think the smartest thing the manufacturer did was make it look like a natural part of the iPod, both in size and design. The last thing the tech world needs is another mutant.

iHome iH21 wireless speaker system

Home's already been busy this morning and now we can add the iH21 to their product catalog. The kit is said to transmit iPod music anywhere in the house to that "water-resistant" speaker. Get it? You can leave the iPod docked-up, far(ish) away from your filthy azz while streaming music to the speaker in the hot mustiness of nausea you call bathroom. Now, we're not sure what technology they're packing (WiFi, Bluetooth, PowerLine, etc) but we've got a sneakin' suspicion these are Bluetooth-equipped. Hell with EDR, A2DP and AVRCP profiles, that 32 foot transmission range (unobstructed) should be just about right with the remote. But we'll wait for these to be unveiled at CES before getting too riled up.

Beatles Only On the iTunes Store?

The biggest holdout in digital music is coming to digital stores soon, as I reported earlier last month in my interview with David Munns, CEO of EMI north America. Now Fortune reports that Apple iTunes is close to a deal to bring the Beatles catalog online. Apple is angling to become the exclusive online music store for the Beatles for a limited window of time. Other music stores, such as Microsoft’s MSN and Rhapsody, have courted the Beatles over the years to no avail, but it appears Apple is close to getting first dibs on the band’s hits, the story says.
The story further says that the parties were discussing how lengthy a window of exclusivity iTunes might get and how many tens of millions of dollars Jobs will commit to an advance for the band and marketing costs.
Also being discussed is whether the band would be willing to take two steps at the same time and endorse the iPod by allowing its music to be used in a commercial.
As you know, there’s the Apple vs Apple case, so this truce, if it happens, will be big.

Zune AV cable dissected, just like iPod's

AnythingButiPod took a look at the Zune's AV Cable and surprise, surprise... found it to use yet another unique pinout configuration for pumping audio and video out to the TeeVee. However, this time you don't have to get locked into the vendor-specific accessory game since the Zune AV cable shares the same ground location of both the iPod (video) AV Cable and better yet, those off-the-shelf camcorder cables you probably have sitting around the house. As a result, you can use the other cables as long as you route the cable colors correctly for AV-hookup to your TV: iPod AV cable, swap left and right audio; el cheapo camcorder cable, swap video and right-audio. Unfortunately, in yet another drubbing for PlaysForSure devices, the AV cable which works interchangeably between Archos devices, the Zen Vision Series, Cowon iAudio, and even Toshiba's other DAP -- the Gigabeat -- won't work with the Zune. Not without the help of a Xacto knife, anyway.