Dear friends, we’re going to be meta-liveblogging the Apple iPod music event. The actual mouth-flapping on stage starts 10:00 AM PT (1:00 PM ET), but the liveblogging fun starts way before that. More »
Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone 4's videoconferencing feature FaceTime at WWDC 2010. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Apple will hold a press conference Wednesday, where Steve Jobs is expected to announce the birth of new stars in his product galaxy, including (probably) new iPods and (possibly) a successor to Apple TV.
As is always the case, Apple has been careful to guard its announcements. The result has been the usual widespread guessing game among Apple worshippers and members of the press. But given the timing of the event, we can make some easy guesses: Apple’s annual September event has always revolved around iTunes and iPods.
Based on a handful of credible reports and some evidence, this time around we expect some interesting upgrades. A touchscreen iPod Nano and an iPod Touch with dual cameras are almost to be expected. It’s also possible that Apple will introduce a complete do-over of the Apple TV.
Wired.com will be attending the Apple event Wednesday, which begins 10 a.m. PT, so check back at Gadget Lab for live blog coverage. To stay plugged in 140 characters at a time, follow @bxchen or @gadgetlab on Twitter.
Meanwhile, if you’re eager to know what’s coming, here are our predictions for what’s likely (and unlikely) to debut at this week’s Apple presser.
Let’s start with the obvious. Apple’s popular iPod Touch is due for its annual upgrade, and rumors suggest the next upgrade will gain most of the features of the iPhone 4 (minus the phone, of course): a high-resolution “retina” display, dual cameras and a faster A4 processor. Because it lacks phone hardware, we can expect it to be a wee bit smaller than the iPhone 4.
Additionally, the website iLounge, which has been spectacularly accurate with Apple rumors in the past, claims that the shape of the iPod Touch is changing: “Think of the top of a MacBook Pro, only smaller, which is to say flat rather than curved at the center—closer to the look of the first-generation iPod touch’s back, only with modifications.” In other words, it’ll be flat like an iPhone 4 instead of rounded like an earlier-generation iPhone.
And let’s not forget Apple sells other iPods, too. There’s been a flurry of rumors claiming the iPod Nano will gain a square-shaped body and a touch display to eliminate the traditional click wheel. Corroborating these rumors, a few photos of third-party cases designed for a square-shaped Nano have have been popping up on the web, and test files hidden in the latest iOS beta allude to an “unknown” device.
To us, a puny touchscreen is an odd design choice, and it’s difficult to imagine how it would make sense — or be very usable, given that the entire screen of a Nano is only a few times larger than the surface area of a typical fingerprint. But the iPod Nano has had somewhat of an identity crisis, as it’s gone through a myriad of major design changes in years past (with the latest model including a camera), so a major makeover is plausible. In light of the multiple reports and leaked case designs, we’ll file this under “probable.”
Oh, and remember the iPod Classic? Each year we wonder when Apple will discontinue this device, but because the current iPhone 4 maxes out at 32-GB of capacity, and the next iPod Nano will likely be sold in 32-GB and 64-GB models, there still seems to be a “need” for a massively capacious 160-GB iPod Classic. Apple still has to serve iTunes-addicted audiophiles, after all. We’re guessing the Classic is still sticking around , and if it gets an upgrade at all, it should only be a minor boost in hard-drive capacity.
We’re but a few days away from Apple’s music-related “special event,” and naturally the bloody rumors are being tossed into the water, frothing up into quite a feeding frenzy. Last week came talk of new iPod touch and nano models, and now we have even more cases and accessories that seem to back up the belief that there’s a fourth-generation touch and a sixth-generation nano coming. The nano is rumored to have a 3 x 3cm touchscreen (presumably this one) and room on the bottom for a proper dock connector, ensuring compatibility with the millions of iPod cradles and whatnot out there. The new cases we’re seeing certainly back up that idea, with a dock-sized cut-out along with room for what’s said to be a headphone jack, volume controls, a hold button, and a clip ’round the back. At the moment we know rather less about the new touch, but we can hazard a guess as to what it’ll look like.
[Thanks, Hobbsy101]
Next-generation iPod touch and nano accessories and rumors continue to surface originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Supposed next-gen iPod touch, nano / shuffle cases surface online originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Poor Apple. The company just can’t catch a break these days. On Wednesday, Apple Japan began offering customers iPod nano replacements, giving in to local government demands to better address an overheating battery issue affecting Apple’s first generation iPod nano players. Then Friday morning (making the English-language press only now) a busy rush-hour commuter train was stopped in Tokyo to investigate a smell. According to a spokesman, “When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart.” No injuries were reported and the exact iPod model is still unknown. However, we can be certain that the eight minute delay on Japan’s notoriously timely railway system caused many commuters to question their ability to go on.
[Image courtesy of Maruhachi-kotsu]
Overheating iPod delays rush-hour train in Tokyo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
After two years of pushing and shoving by the Japanese government, Apple has finally relented, agreeing to replace those first generation iPod nano music players sold in Japan at risk of overheating. The player exchange goes beyond the battery replacement program already in effect for consumers concerned enough to complain directly to Apple. According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, of all the plastic black and white iPod nano players sold between September 2005 and December 2006, it confirmed 27 overheating incidents that occurred during recharging, including 6 fires that left four people with minor burns. On Sunday, Apple added 34 other “non-serious” overheating incidents to the tally — a delay in disclosure that Japanese officials called “truly regrettable.” Of course, today’s news begs the question of how Apple will handle this issue for all the affected iPod nanos sold outside of Japan.
Apple offers first generation iPod nano replacements in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We had an eerie feeling it’d come to this, and come it has. Nearly two full years to the day after the government of Japan began a thorough investigation into the spontaneous combusting of iPod nano devices, that same entity is now mandating that Apple publish an “easy to understand” statement on the web that explains how customers can “receive replacement batteries and obtain advice.” So far, these volatile Li-ion cells have been blamed for four cases of minor burns in the Land of the Rising Sun, and while Apple has been replacing first-generation iPod nano batteries since 2008 for those that complained, it seems that Japan wants the company to make the option readily apparent to consumers. Be sure to keep an eye on Apple’s Japanese site for more, but as of now, we’re not seeing any such PSA posted.
Apple ordered to make public iPod nano battery fix in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We know — you need another iPod sound system about as bad as you need another mortgage, but why leave any one room lacking, right? Altec Lansing has cranked out a rather unorthodox looking device this fine evening, certified to play nice with iPhone and iPod and deliver soothing jazz to whatever ears are fortunate enough to get close. The Octiv Mini (M102; $59.95) is yet another iPod / iPhone alarm clock, though this one ships with the Alarm Rock app in order to customize one’s wake-up tunes from their bedside. Full specs should be popping up in that source link momentarily, and it’ll ship to the last five remaining Americans who actually need one of these type devices in July.
Gallery: Altec Lansing Octiv Mini
Continue reading Altec Lansing serves up angular Octiv Mini iPod / iPhone sound system
Altec Lansing serves up angular Octiv Mini iPod / iPhone sound system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Okay, now this is just getting ridiculous. We know Onkyo has a long history of building iPod docks, but to see the company build an entire all-in-one PC around the feature is a little much, especially when — once again — the iPhone isn’t invited to the party. No, when the E713 series ships in Japan next month at or around the ¥99,880 (about $1100) price point, it will include up to a Core i5-650 processor, 4GB of RAM, a digital TV tuner, Blu-ray drive, 1TB hard drive and loads of ports behind that 23-inch, 1920 x 1080 LCD screen, but a slide-out iPod classic / nano / touch dock that apparently can’t accommodate the iPhone’s portly frame. That’s discrimination, right there — or at least we’ll keep on telling ourselves that, since we’re all out of sour grapes.
Onkyo’s E713 all-in-one PC is the space station to your starfaring iPod originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Whether you love it or loathe it, there is now no way to deny the spectacular success of Apple’s iTunes Store. The proprietary digital media player, organizer and salesperson has just now recorded its 10 billionth song download, marking a truly unique achievement in the still nascent world of digital distribution. Congratulations to Apple, whose response has been to thank you all for spending so much cash and making El Steve look like the techno pied piper. Hit the source link to find out what the most downloaded songs of “all time” were… you might not be surprised by the top three, but you should definitely be horrified.
Apple serves up 10 billionth iTune, smiles all the way to the bank originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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