iPod

IFC Entertainment today announced that its independent theatrical catalog will now be available on the iTunes Store ( www.itunes.com). Included in the announcement are all IFC's 2007 Independent Spirit Award nominees. This is the premier award for the independent film community and for the 2007 Spirit Award competition IFC Entertainment received the most Spirit Awards nominations of any one film company.

Customers have loved the new Shuffle since its introduction three months ago, iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce and features a aluminum design with a built-in clip.

Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday introduced an eagerly-anticipated Apple-branded mobile phone with a touch-screen that combines features from the company's popular iPod music player.

While Apple watchers were expecting details on an Apple smartphone able to play music, make calls and perform other functions, the announcement at the annual Macworld conference still helped push the company's shares up more than 5 percent.

Ford has announced its very own factory-installed, in-car communications and entertainment system that offers support for iPods.

The technology is based on Microsoft Auto software (Sync), and supports virtually any mobile phone or digital media player. Drivers can operate their iPod (or other device) using voice commands or the vehicle's steering wheel or radio controls.

Users can plug their devices into the system using a USB 2.0 port or using Bluetooth. Supported formats include MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV and PCM.

Apple announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between iPod® and in-flight entertainment systems. These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays.

“There is no better traveling companion than an iPod, and now travelers can power their iPods during flight and even watch their iPod movies and TV shows on their seat back displays,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “We’re excited to work with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to offer iPod users an even better in-flight experience.”

You make choices every day, from the clothes you wear to the music you play. Now making a choice means making a difference. The iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED holds up to 1,000 songs, 25,000 photos(1), and a little hope. That’s because $10 from every iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED sold goes directly to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Which means your iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED sounds good and does good at the same time.

Apple® today introduced the all-new iPod® nano with a new aluminum body, an incredible 24 hours of battery life and more than twice the music capacity for the same price as the previous generation. The new iPod nano features Apple’s innovative Click Wheel and an even smaller, thinner and lighter design available in silver, pink, green, blue and black.

“iPod nano is the world’s most popular digital music player, and we’ve completely redesigned it to make it even better,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The all-new iPod nano gives music fans more of what they love in their iPods—twice the storage capacity at the same price, an incredible 24 hour battery life and a gorgeous aluminum design in five brilliant colors.”

Apple® today introduced the new iPod® shuffle, now the world’s smallest digital music player with Apple’s pioneering shuffle feature that lets music fans serve up a continuous mix of their favorite songs anywhere they go. Nearly half the size of the original, the new iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce and features a stunning all-new aluminum design and a built-in clip which makes it the most wearable iPod ever. The new iPod shuffle contains one gigabyte of flash memory which holds up to 240 songs, and is more affordable than ever at just $79.

“It’s hard to believe the new iPod is a real music player when you first see it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “But it is real, and holds up to 240 songs in an incredibly compact and wearable design that weighs just half an ounce.”

Apple® today introduced the new iPod®, the best digital music player and most popular portable video player in the world. The new iPod features a 60 percent brighter and more vibrant 2.5-inch color display perfect for watching TV shows and now Hollywood movies right in the palm of your hand. The new iPod features seamless integration with iTunes® 7 and the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) which now includes over 75 Hollywood movies, 220 television shows and popular video games designed specifically for the fifth generation iPod. The new iPod is available in a 30GB model at the new low price of $249 and an 80GB model, which holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, for $349.

“The world’s best digital music player has evolved into the world’s most popular portable video player too,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new iPod’s brighter and more vibrant display and longer battery life make it perfect for watching Hollywood movies and TV shows right in the palm of your hand.”

Tweeter electronics stores announced today the creation of a trade-in program for used iPods. A tool from NextWorth called the “iPod Calculator” will be used to determine the value. Tweeter associates will offer a credit towards the purchase of a new iPod or any other product available from Tweeter.

Tweeter is a national electronics retailer specializing in home and mobile entertainment products. The trade in program is offered at all of the company’s 153 stores nationwide. Tweeter claims to be the first US-based retail chain to offer an in-store iPod trade-in program.

DigiTimes is reporting that Apple Computer is expected to launch soon a new iPod that supports wireless capabilities so as to compete with Microsoft's planned year-end launch of its Zune-branded MP3 players, according to market sources. Apple's headquarters has begun dispatching its staff to its major markets in Asia, to teach local sales how to demonstrate the new products, the sources noted. Story

An Apple spokeswoman, Natalie Kerris, said iPods have a failure rate of less than 5 percent, which she said is "fairly low" compared with other consumer electronics. "The vast majority of our customers are extremely happy with their iPods," she said, adding that an iPod is designed to last four years.

A survey done in late 2005 by macintouch.com, a 12-year-old Web site for Apple users, offers a window into the type of problems users most frequently encounter. Of nearly 9,000 iPods owned by more than 4,000 respondents, more than 1,400 of the mp3 players had failed. The survey reported a failure rate of 13.7 percent, roughly half battery-related, while the other half were hard-drive-related. Other data indicated Nanos and Shuffles, which operate without hard drives, were less prone to failure.

Pods, handsets, USB (universal serial bus) flash drives and other gadgets stand to gain from a new 8G-bit NAND flash memory chip in mass production at Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. chip factories.

The world's largest memory chip maker not only shrank the chips by about 25 percent from previous designs, it also increased the amount of songs, videos and other data that can be stored in small devices, it said Wednesday.

Apple has released a new iPod Updater 2006-06-28, this software update is available from Apple’s Web site.

iPod Updater 2006-06-28 includes iPod Software 1.1.2 for iPods with video; iPod Software 1.2 for iPod nano and iPod Software 1.1.4 for iPod shuffle. The updater includes the same software as what was included in iPod Updater 2006-03-23 for all other iPod models.

The new update adds Nike + iPod support for the iPod nano — this update is concurrent with a change made to iTunes 6.0.5, also released on Thursday. The software enables iPod nanos to collect data from specially equipped Nike+ running shoes that’s then synced to iTunes and transfered to a Nike Web site, where runners can track their training progress.

Apple released a software update today for their popular iPod Nano and Video units. With the new software release a volume limiting option has been introduced. In the midst of a new lawsuit and many threates about the popular MP3 player damaging users hearing. The software update is available for free from Apple's website. Another new feature of locking in the limit with a code to prevent children from changing the settings.

NEW YORK and CUPERTINO, California—March 14, 2006—CBS Sports and Apple® today announced they will bring the 2006 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship distributed by CBS Corporation’s College Sports TV (CSTV) to the iTunes® Music Store (www.itunes.com). For the first time ever, college basketball fans can pay $1.99 per game for condensed versions of all the 2006 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball championship games. Customers can also choose the new “Season Pass” feature on iTunes for $19.99, and receive condensed versions of all 63 games the day after they are played for viewing on a computer or iPod®. Full-length versions of this year’s semifinals and championship game, as well as compilations of buzzer beaters, upsets and memorable championship games from past NCAA Tournaments will also be available on iTunes.

When the iPod video model was released last year, it was met with a huge buzz over the 5^th generation of iPod. The model was named iPod with Video, hinting that Apple may be releasing a full blown iPod Video this year. Either way a new media type was opened up to iPod users that was not available before. First came music, then came pictures and now video. Apple now offers music videos, video trailers, TV shows and special videos available from the iTunes music store. Some of the videos are free and the rest cost around $1.99 with some special videos costing more. The TV section offers full season packages of some shows.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday cut the price of its cheapest digital music player, the iPod Shuffle, and launched a smaller-capacity version of its mid-priced iPod Nano. The move by Apple, which has 70 percent of the U.S. digital music player market, is aimed at further consolidating a market that it leads, Apple executives said. The company also said it has now sold 12 million videos on its iTunes online store.

Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products and the number one manufacturer of MP3 players with music subscription support, today introduced the Zen Vision:M, Creative's premier 30GB video player, photo viewer and MP3 player. Designed with a stunning, 2.5-inch, high-resolution 262,144 color LCD screen, the Zen Vision:M displays rich, vibrant digital video, and photos, full-color menus and album art. The Zen Vision:M will be available in gorgeous high-gloss black, white, blue, green or pink this month for US$329.99 at www.asia.creative.com.