Moore’s iPod/iPhone News Reader - Monday, September 17, 2007
Playlist Reviews 80GB and 160GB iPod classic
iPod nano: A Bite-Size Player for Bite-Size Video
Apple Ships iPod touch Without Operating System
A Week With The New iPod nano
First Week With The 160 GB iPod classic
iPod touch: Gorgeous and Talented, but is it Overqualified?
Unlocking an iPhone - Take advantage of hacking techniques to use non-AT&T SIM cards
Is the iPod (gasp) Doomed?
More Cautionary Tales Of iPhone Roaming
Nike + iPod: How Many Runners Actually Use It?
Playlist Reviews 80GB and 160GB iPod classic
PlayList's Christopher Breen reports:
As of September 5, 2007, the full-sized iPod turned six (as in sixth-generation) and, because of the existence of the iPhone-like iPod touch, was pronounced a classic—the iPod classic. Offering increased capacity, a thinner form factor, a full-metal enclosure, an enhanced (and sometimes sluggish) interface, and incompatibility with some accessories that get along quite happily with earlier iPods—in short, the high-capacity version of the third-generation iPod nano—the iPod classic is mainly about size and storage. If you want to pack every speck of digital media you own into your pocket, this is Apple’s best iPod option.
[Editor's note: this is so far the most comprehensive review of the new classic I've read.]
For the full review visit here:
http://playlistmag.com/reviews/2007/09/ipodclassic/index.php
iPod nano: A Bite-Size Player for Bite-Size Video
PCMag's Tim Bajarin says:
The iPod touch might be getting all the attention right now, but the video-enabled nano is the device that best suits our "media-snacking" lifestyle.
About four years ago, at a conference in San Diego, Steve Jobs was asked about putting video on an iPod. He responded by saying that he was not convinced that anyone would want to watch a movie on a 2-inch screen....
Apple's recent iPod news focused on iPhone price cuts and the new iPod touch. But I believe its most important new product, in terms of sales and impact, will be the new nano. The Apple iPod nano (3rd generation) now supports video on, ironically, a 2-inch screen. This will be Apple's hottest product this coming holiday season.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2182997,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03079TX1K0000585
Apple Ships iPod touch Without Operating System
tech.blorge.com's Jonathan Schlaffer reports:
iPod Touch shipped without operating system What's going on in the industry today that it seems almost impossible for any manufacturer of any device to produce it perfectly the first time. Dell can't manage to get an operating system or firmware installed which is more than Apple managed to do. An iPod Touch arrived without its operating system installed (OSX) but had the firmware and a diagnostic utility.
For the full report visit here:
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/09/14/apple-ships-ipod-touch-without-operating-system/
A Week With The New iPod nano
TUAW's Nik Fletcher reports:
Dear TUAW readers, I have a confession. Normally I am not a person who spontaneously buys an iPod . However last Thursday morning was, well, a little different. Upon seeing the new Nanos, Shuffles and iPod Classics on display at an Apple Store I just happened to be passing (convenient, eh?), I was torn. Do I buy a new Nano? Do I need one? Do I want one? Can I even justify purchasing one, given that I have a (RED) 4GB Nano that I love dearly? The answer to all those questions was close enough to 'yes', almost exclusively because I wanted a video-playing iPod. And more importantly, because I had 7 days of travel that would allow the Nano to prove its worth. Well, after a week of video-playing, music listening and more, the jury is in.
For the full review visit here:
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/14/a-week-with-the-new-ipod-nano/
First Week With The 160 GB iPod classic
O'Reilly Mac DevCenter's Chris Adamson reports:
Here’s an unformatted collection of thoughts and experiences since picking up a 160 GB iPod Classic, the last one in stock at the Apple Store in Alpharetta GA, last weekend.
This blog is going to be from the point-of-view from someone who’s jumping from a 2nd gen (click wheel) iPod to the 6th gen “classic” model. So some of this is new to me and won’t be new to those of you with more modern iPods. Though I’m not completely oblivious to iPod evolution: I have been borrowing a 2nd gen nano from my wife while my old one is in the shop (no, it’s not back and not refunded after more than two months; yes I have initiated a chargeback).
For the full report click here.
iPod touch: Gorgeous and Talented, but is it Overqualified?
PC World's Edward N. Albro says:
It's hard to argue with the grace and power of the iPod Touch. It displays photos and videos flawlessly, it gives you lots of innovative ways to navigate your music collection and its use of Wi-Fi is a quantum leap past that of any other dedicated music player. But after playing with it for a couple of hours, I can't help but wonder whether a music player really needs to be this much....
Perhaps that's just the Puritan in me, though. Certainly, if you want a music player that does it all -- and with panache -- this is the one to buy.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/005424.html
Unlocking an iPhone - Take advantage of hacking techniques to use non-AT&T SIM cards
Macworld's Cyrus Farivar says:
If you’re one of the million people who’ve purchased an iPhone since the end of June, you probably signed up with Apple’s exclusive carrier in the U.S., AT&T, when you activated your phone. That means your iPhone identifies itself to AT&T’s network using an AT&T SIM card, a smart card that’s located in a small tray between your iPhone’s sleep/wake button and its recessed headphone jack.
But what if you’re planning a trip to Europe and rather than paying AT&T to use the networks of its European partners, you want to take advantage of the favorable rates and local phone numbers offered by replacing your AT&T SIM card with a pre-paid European card? Or what if you’d prefer to use T-Mobile as your cellular provider, rather than AT&T?
In the past month several groups have announced that they’ve found a way to “unlock” the iPhone, allowing it to use a SIM card from any provider.....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macworld.com/2007/09/secrets/iphone_sim_unlocking/index.php
Is the iPod (gasp) Doomed?
Reuters' Franklin Paul reports:
So says Brion Feinberg, an analyst at The Diffusion Group, of that digital audio/video player you have in your pocket (OK, if you don’t have one, one of the three people near you does).
In a strongly worded report, Feinberg says that mobile phones will rapidly rise as an option for consumers desiring media-on-the-go, eventually supplanting the iPod and all hardware based music devices. That is, once problems with battery life, ease of use, and consumers magnetism-to-all-things-Apple are overcome.
For the full report visit here:
http://blogs.reuters.com/2007/09/14/is-the-ipod-gasp-doomed/
More Cautionary Tales Of iPhone Roaming
Anders Brownworth has some excellent (and cautionary) details of his experience taking his iPhone to Argentina. He noted that even if you select one of AT&T's international calling plans, you then are in a quandry about what to do about the exorbitant international data charges. And given that the iPhone was designed with an unlimited data plan in mind, the phone seems to be a little more cavalier about using EDGE than many users will be happy with.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.blackfriarsinc.com/blog/2007/09/more-cautionary-tales-of-iphone-roaming
Nike + iPod: How Many Runners Actually Use It?
Business2.com's Philip Elmer-DeWitt says:
Jogging for me has always been a form of exercise that sounds better than it feels, and judging from the numbers Steve Jobs offered last week on sales of the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, I'm not alone.
It's been almost a year and a half since Apple and Nike introduced the system that combines a small accelerometer (embedded in a pouch in specially equipped Nike running shoes) that communicates wirelessly with a receiver plugged into the bottom of an iPod nano.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/09/nike-ipod-how-m.html
iPhone headed for Germany: source
Reuters' Nicola Leske and Knut Engelmann report:
Deutsche Telekom has clinched an exclusive deal with Apple Inc to sell the coveted iPhone in Germany, an industry source told Reuters.
The deal will be announced next week, the source said.
The touch-screen device, which combines the popular iPod music player, a video player and a Web browser, will be sold through Deutsche Telekom's retail outlets in Germany at an initial price of 399 euros ($554), the source said.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKL1431969920070914?rpc=44
Charles W. Moore
