Apr 15

Weird Apple Rumor of the Day: Steve Jobs Moving to Memphis

Posted in: Apple, steve jobs, Today's Chili

Steve Jobs.jpgHave you been going through Steve Jobs news withdrawal since the Apple CEO went on a health-induced hiatus? No worries, the Internet has you covered. Today’s weird Apple rumor has the turtle-neck exec moving to Memphis, Tennessee, of all places. The idea is that Jobs is going south to help treat his pancreatic cancer–Memphis, it turns out, is the home of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Private equity blog PEHub is citing a “well-connected business person in Memphis” as the source of the odd rumor.

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Apr 14

Podbrix Intros Fake, Plushy Steve Jobs

Posted in: Apple, steve jobs, Today's Chili, Toys

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Steve Jobs may be gone (for the moment), but he’s certainly not forgotten. For those among us who miss the glory days of Apple keynotes, Podbrix has introduced a doll version of the black-turtlenecked CEO. Reenact the original iPhone announcement, or just cuddle up with your favorite sneaker-wearing executive in front of your MacBook’s warm glow.

You can pick up your very own fake Steve Jobs today for $28.

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Apr 13

Prince iPod Touch is Really, Really Expensive (Really)

Posted in: Apple, ipod, Today's Chili

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U2 jump-started this whole custom-iPod trend back in 2004. Since then, Apple has released a few other customized versions of its nearly ubiquitous MP3 player. The limited-edition players generally carry a bit of a premium for their customized hardware and bundled software. Still, as far as extra cost goes, those players have nothing on the $2,100 Prince iPod.

The purple iPod Touch isn’t available through Apple (not even it could get away with that sort of price hike). Customers have to buy it through Kraken Opus, a high-end (like $6,247 high-end) manufacturer of books. So, what does a little over $2,000 get you? A purple iPod, 15 songs, and 40 minutes of concert footage.

That, as Media Memo points out, comes out to around $150 a song.

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Apr 13

HP MediaSmart Server Adds iPhone Streaming Support

Posted in: Today's Chili

mediasmart.jpgHP is adding more Apple love to its current lineup of MediaSmart Servers (EX485/EX487). With existing support for Time Machine backups, a new update to the home servers will enable content streaming to the iPhone and iPod
Touch. HP MediaSmart Server iStream, a free iPhone application, will mimic Apple’s
familiar iPod interface for streaming music and videos to the device over WiFi
or 3G, and will support photo streaming as well. The update is expected later this month.

Other updates include a video converter that automatically converts
videos from a variety of sources (including unprotected DVDs) into both high-resolution
and mobile versions (suitable for iPhone streaming), and updates to the HP
Media Collector and Apple Time Machine configuration. The update also adds
Photo Viewer support for public and private albums.

The update is compatible with current MediaSmart Servers, but will not
be available for the EX470 or EX475, as those models don’t have enough power to
support the new streaming and conversion features. The 1.5 terabyte EX487 ($749
list) received a PCMag.com Editor’s Choice in February. The EX485, which
includes 750GB of storage, is available with a $599 list price. We haven’t had
a chance to test the new features, but stay tuned to PCMag.com for ongoing
MediaSmart Server and iPhone application coverage.

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Apr 13

New iPod Shuffle Costs $21.77

Posted in: Apple, Today's Chili

iSuppli did its thing to the new buttonless iPod Shuffle, tearing the device down an evaluating the price of its components. According to the company, the manufacturing price for the diminutive MP3 player is roughly $21.77, including the device itself, headphones, and package.

That comes out to about 28-percent of the player’s retail price.
As a point of comparison, the first generation iPod Touch cost about 49-percent of its retail price to build. The latest Nano cost about 40-percent of its retail price.

According to iSuppli, Samsung provided a good number of components for the Shuffle, including the flash memory and the primary application chip. According to Business Week, On Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductor, and Texas Instruments also got a part of the internal Shuffle action.

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Apr 09

Dell Adamo and MacBook Air: We Show You Which is Thinner

Posted in: macbook air, Today's Chili

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Side-by-side; the Air is on the left, the Adamo on the right . Click to enlarge.

We’ve been hearing that the Dell Adamo is supposed to out-thin the Apple Macbook Air. Well, now that we have the Adamo in our Labs, we can tell you this: Depending on where you apply the ruler, the Adamo is thinner. The Adamo measures 0.65 inches all around, whereas the Air has a tapering design that goes from 0.76 inches in the back to 0.16-inches in the front bezel. Judging by our comparison photos (thanks, Zach Honig!), though, I think the Air should get the bragging rights. Take a look at a couple more pics, after the jump.

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Apr 08

Scosche reCOIL: Mobile iPod/iPhone Charger

Posted in: charger, Today's Chili

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Mobile accessories maker Scosche has a nifty new gadget for charging Apple iPods and iPhones when you’re on the road: The reCOIL plugs into your car’s 12V power/accessory outlet to do its work, and it has a retractable cable, so no tangled wires to worry about. It comes with a magnetic locking dock connector.that you can mount on your dashboard [corrected]

The reCOIL’s available now direct from Scosche or at retailers, priced at $29.99 list.

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Apr 06

Report: iPod Touch Getting a Camera

Posted in: Apple, camera, ipod touch, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

Last month Apple posted a listing for a Camera Project manager. The aim of the position was the “development and of integration of camera modules across iPhone and iPod.” The former is not especially exciting, but the latter is certainly interesting, seeing as how current versions of Apple’s flagship MP3 player don’t yet offer the feature.

Recent rumors swirling around the iPhone have hinted that the latest version of the device will get an upgraded camera complete with higher resolution and video capture support. This is really the first hint that the Touch might also benefit from such a boost, but heck, the company’s gotta give the device some kind of bump come June.

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Apr 01

Leaked Pics: Is This the New Apple Tablet?

Posted in: Apple, tablet, Today's Chili

Take this one with a grain of salt: An anonymous tipster has exclusive shots of what he claims is that rumored Apple netbook/tablet. The images are suitably blurry–taken most likely with a camera phone or a concealed point-and-shoot camera. If theyre real, they reveal a marked change from the Apple design team.

The touch screen is present on the device, though it seems to be much smaller than expected. Likely because of this, there are also a lot more buttons on the device than, say, on the iPhone, iPod touch, or new Shuffle. Also, the color scheme for the device is a pretty bold shift from past models.

If this is indeed the new tablet, Apples entering some brave new territory with this device. Get ready for Cupertino to shake up the consumer electronics industry yet again. Check out the exclusive pics, after the jump.

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Mar 30

Macworld Moves to February

Posted in: Apple, Today's Chili

When Apple announced earlier this year that 2009’s Macworld would be the last that featured a keynote address from the company, it seemed like a pretty safe bet that the convention would never be the same. The first indication we saw was something of a mass exodus by third-party iPod-accessory designers to a newly-announced iLounge-branded hall at CES–that little electronics expo that traditionally falls the same week as Macworld.

The second big change? Well, it seems that those two shows are no longer happening during the same week. Macworld has announced plans to push the show back to February–the 9th to the13th, which, as Technologizer points out, includes a Saturday, a marked change from the traditionally weekday-only show.

The timing of the even has always been a source of frustration for tech journalists and publications, who’ve customarily had to split their resources between Macworld and CES. Hopefully the move will convince some vendors to attend both shows, because, let’s face it: Without product announcements from Steve Jobs himself, CES is going to win out every time.

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