Apple's iPod touch gets official

Well, what do you know. Turns out the iPod touch is a reality after all. While we initially assumed that Mr. Jobs wouldn't be so kind as to bless us all with two new full-fledged iPods in a single day, we're elated that he had other ideas. The new flagship iPod has "the same size screen as the iPhone, but it's even thinner" (eight-millimeters, for those taking notes), and it also touts the "same multi-touch interface" found on the firm's handset. Additionally, it boasts a 3.5-inch widescreen display, the ability to "flick through your photos," and you even get the "slide to unlock" feature, too. And yes, this thing actually has WiFi. Of note, the built-in wireless antenna isn't exactly attractive, but if it means that we can surf the web (YouTube included) and buy tunes on our iPod, we suppose it may be an acceptable flaw. As for battery life, the touch is said to last 22-hours when playing back audio and 5-hours when watching video, but only time will tell how draining web surfing will be. The iPod touch will be arriving in 8GB and 16GB flavors and will be priced at $299 and $399, respectively, when they ship "worldwide in a few weeks."

Check out more iPod iTouch Pictures here.

[Via Engadget.com]

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Apple cuts 8GB iPhone price to $399

With the new heat the iPhone will be getting from the iPod Touch, Apple decided to lower the barrier of entry to a much more palatable $399, and that's for the 8GB model, which just yesterday was rocking at $599 pricepoint. It also looks like Apple is doing away with the 4GB version, which was seriously lagging behind its big brother in sales, but there's no official word yet.

Apple killing 4GB iPhone, $299 while supplies last

It's true, Apple has no more use for the puny capacity of its 4GB iPhone, and is selling off the remaining stock at $299. Get 'em while the getting's good! Oh, and yeah, that means the Apple Store is finally back up, after an extended hiatus, so feel free to plunder your checking account with all of Apple's new wares.

[via engadget.com]

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Apple and Volkswagen contemplate iCar

Apple co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs has reportedly met with Martin Winterkorn, chief executive at Volkswagen AG, to discuss a possible collaboration. A report in Associated Press suggests that the two chiefs have set up meetings to outline a car that would integrate Apple's technology. Both companies have a history of working to integrate computers and media players into cars. Aside from partnering with Apple to support the iPod, Volkswagen has publicly shown an interest in embedding ultra-mobile PCs inside its vehicles.

If it looks anything like this, which it wouldn't, I'd burn it.

The car maker has also been working with Google to create an in-car navigation system based on Google Maps. Apple has been working since 2004 to integrate iPod connectors into vehicles from BMW, Audi, Ford, Mazda and Ferrari. Although embedded in-car systems would form a new market for Apple, the company has shown a willingness to expand into uncharted territory over the past year.

Apple unveiled its first set-top box, the AppleTV, in September, and turned the mobile phone world upside earlier this year with th e iPhone.

[via www.vnunet.com]
[iCar artwork via www.chris3d.com]

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Veveo Wants to Bring All Video to iPhone

It’s not turning out to be such a great week for AT&T and Apple, as some enterprising hackers have unlocked the iPhone and made it ready for any GSM network. And now it looks like Veveo will break YouTube's exclusivity with their free video service watchable on Apple's iPhone. Ouch.

Check out the story here.

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iPhone unlocked: AT&T loses iPhone exclusivity

It's high noon, Apple and AT&T -- we really hate to break it to you, but the jig is up. Last night the impossible was made possible: right in front of our very eyes we witnessed a full SIM unlock of our iPhone with a small piece of software. It's all over, guys. This is indeed is the real thing.

Curious how they did it? Engadget walks you through the entire process.

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LEAKED: New iPod Nano Pictures.

This is the real deal. Apple has ask major tech blogs to take them down possibly confirming that they are in fact the real deal. Of course these could be an acting ploy to miss lead you into thinking its the real deal. But for now I'll go on the fact that these could be real.

Here ya go... Enjoy!



Update: These are confirmed as real by Apple legal.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about your "snooze" button.

Did you know that your snooze button on your alarm clock is only 9 minutes long? Curious as to how they got to 9 minutes? Well by the time the snooze feature was added in the 1950’s, the innards of alarm clocks had long been standardized. This meant that the teeth on the snooze gear had to mesh with the existing gear configuration, leaving engineers with a single choice: They could set the snooze for either a little more than nine minutes, or a little more than 10 minutes. But because reports indicated that 10 minutes was too long, allowing people to fall back into a “deep” sleep, clock makers decided on the nine-minute gear, believing people would wake up easier and happier after a shorter snooze. We’d tend to disagree with that logic, but, then, we must be in the lazy minority. Although today’s digital clocks can be programmed to have a snooze of any length, most stick with nine minutes because that’s what consumers expect.

If you smack a snooze button, you ain't sleepin' alone. According to USA Today, more than a third of American adults hit the snooze button every morning an average of three times. Snooziest group? The 25- to 34-year-olds - 57 percent of them hit the snooze button daily. Peppiest risers? It's the seniors. Only 10 percent of Americans over 65 regularly use their snooze button.

Snooze alarms can do more than just make you late for work. They can train you to remember your dreams. See, early morning is heavy rapid-eye-movement time, when we dream heavily. The snooze alarm can be your guide in and out of that dreamscape, as you might have noticed on a morning when you hit the snooze button several times.

Charles McPhee, the nationally syndicated columnist and radio host known as "The Dream Doctor," says if you can't remember your dreams you can try this exercise.

On a morning when you can sleep in, set your alarm and when it sounds, hit the snooze alarm. Lie still and work back in your mind to what you were just dreaming about. Remember your emotions and whatever snippets of the dream you can. See if you can piece together the outline of a dream, and write it in a notebook by your bed. Then go back to sleep and repeat the process each time the snooze alarm buzzes.

This can train your mind to better remember your dreams, McPhee says.

SOURCES: Clock historian Jay "Pappy" Kennan, clockhistory.com, USA Today, The Straight Dope

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Chinese Pirates Copy iPhone, Make Improvements

The miniOne looked just like Apple's iPhone, down to the slick no-button interface. But it was more. It ran popular mobile software that the iPhone wouldn't. It worked with nearly every worldwide cellphone carrier, not just AT&T, and not only in the U.S. It promised to cost half as much as the iPhone and be available to 10 times as many consumers.

Curious on how they did it?

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New, thinner iMacs take stage at Apple press event

Video: Apple unveils its new iMac, talks about Numbers "the prettier version" of Microsoft's Excel, and iMovie '08 where you can now directly upload your movie to YouTube. Can Apple and Jobs really improve upon an already sleek design of its iMac? Seems to be that he can... Check it out here.

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