iPod Nano 5th Gen Product Red 16GB Unboxed

Apple unveils new iPod with Wi-Fi

SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Apple announced Wednesday the first major overhaul of its popular iPod music digital players in nearly two years and slashed the price of its new iPhone.

CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a series of iPod upgrades - including more storage and bigger screens - but the showstopper was a new model dubbed the iPod Touch and fashioned after the iPhone.

The new iPod Touch is modeled after Apple's new cell phone, the iPhone.

Apple (down $7.40 to $136.76, Charts, Fortune 500) also announced a new version of its iTunes music store that will allow users to buy songs wirelessly.

In iPhone news, Jobs said Apple will discontinue one of the two models sold since late June. The remaining version, with 8 gigabytes of storage, will now sell for $399, or $200 less than before.

Investors, however, weren't happy about the price cut (and neither were iPhone owners). Apple shares closed down 5.1 percent on Wednesday.

Jobs detailed the iPhone changes and other developments at an invitation-only press conference held in San Francisco.

The biggest news centered on Apple's iPod line. To date, the company has sold more than 100 million iPods, but sales have been drifting since last year's holiday shopping season and profit margins are shrinking.

Apple now sells four different types of iPod: the Touch, Shuffle, Nano and the original model, which Jobs christened the Classic on Wednesday.

A new version of the Classic comes with a full metal design and is thinner than its predecessor. A $249 version has 80 gigabytes of storage and 30 hours of audio. A slightly thicker model features 160 gigabytes of storage and will retail for $349.

"This boggles the mind," Jobs said. He noted that the original iPod could hold up to 1,000 songs. Today, an iPod can store 40,000 songs.

The new Nano, meanwhile, will have video and a larger, brighter screen with an interface similar to the iPhone. Apple will also bundle three games into the new Nano, including Sudoku from Electronic Arts.

The new Nano will feature two memory sizes: A 4-gigabyte model for $149 and an 8-gigabyte model for $199. It will be sold in black, red, silver, blue and green.

Jobs said the new Nanos should be in stores by this weekend.

As for the iPod Touch, Apple watchers had speculated for days that Apple would unveil an iPod similar to its new mobile phone. Though slimmer than the iPhone, the iPod Touch features a similar multitouch interface, built-in Wi-Fi and the Safari Internet browser.

Like the iPhone, the iPod Touch can play YouTube videos. It will retail for $299 or $399, depending on the memory installed.

One thing the iPod Touch can't do that the iPhone can: make or receive phone calls.

Jobs said Apple will begin shipping the iPod Touch this month.

Next up: The 'iCar'?

iPOD CAR RADIOS

Many stereos now feature an "intelligent" or "full-speed" iPod connection, which transfers information from the iPod to the stereo's display and gives the driver full search and playback control via the stereo's faceplate buttons. The challenge for these stereos is to present the driver with a user-friendly means of navigating iPod menus on the move. Smaller systems have less real estate to play with, but some manage to do a good job of giving drivers control of their digital audio libraries. Sony's CDX-GT610UI and JVC's KD HDR1 enable drivers to stream songs according to artist, album or playlist, while Alpine's iDA-X001 was designed with input from Apple and enables drivers to view album art on its LCD.

Among the larger systems, the Pioneer Avic-D3 and the Clarion MAX675VD both provide user-friendly touch-screen interfaces that display a virtual version of the iPod wheel. The Alpine IVA-W200 presents drivers with an equally intuitive means of navigating their iPod song collections. Check out the full reviews of these iPod-friendly systems below.

iPod Car Stereos

1. Sony CDX-GT610UI

The good: The Sony CDX-GT610UI car stereo offers lots of support for external digital audio sources, a good range of sound adjustment options, and a very intuitive user interface.

The bad: Its lack of an “On” button is puzzling.

The bottom line: The Sony CDX-GT610UI car stereo is a cost-effective and user-friendly option for digital audiophiles. Its USB and iPod compatibility set it apart from much of the competition. Check Prices

2. JVC KD HDR1

The good: The JVC KD HDR1 car stereo's built-in HD tuner and its wealth of playback options set it apart from the competition in the sub-$200 price range.

The bad: The limited number of characters on its display means that ID3 tags and HD radio channel information can be tough to read at times.

The bottom line: The JVC KD HDR1 in-car stereo delivers HD Radio and most other digital audio playback options for a very competitive price. Check Prices

3. Alpine iDA-X001

The good: The Alpine iDA-X001 is an innovative in-car device for those who want to take their iPod on the road. Its digital USB connection enables playback of compressed and lossless files, while its well-designed menu system is intuitive and easy to understand.

The bad: For a system that claims to deliver "the best in-vehicle iPod experience ever," we found the iDA-X001's jog wheel to be slower and less effective at navigating digital audio libraries than we would have liked.

The bottom line: The made-for-iPod Alpine iDA-X001 is a useful interface for bringing a digital music library on the road. We like its stylish design and breadth of functions, although its user interface falls short of that of the iPod itself. Check Prices

4. Pioneer Avic-D3

The good: The Pioneer Avic-D3 combines a user-friendly navigation programming interface with real-time traffic capability and a range of media options, including a standard iPod connector.

The bad: The system's single-disc slot means that users will constantly have to switch between navigation discs and media sources to make the most of its many features.

The bottom line: The impressively equipped Pioneer Avic-D3 offers an array of advanced navigation and media playback functions, but the system's poor hardware design limits its usability. Check Prices

5. Clarion MAX675VD

The good: The Clarion MAX675VD is an elegant and feature-packed in-car multimedia system with a range of useful and intuitive media playback features, including one of the best iPod interfaces we've seen.

The bad: A couple of minor design flaws, such as the positioning of hard buttons on the far side of the driver and an incomplete source menu, are our only gripes.

The bottom line: The Clarion MAX675VD was designed with digital-age drivers in mind. Its breadth of features and excellent functionality make it one of our favorite all-in-one in-car multimedia systems to date. Check Prices

6. Alpine IVA-W200 multimedia player

The good: The Alpine IVA-W200 supports a range of multimedia inputs including most disc-based media, iPod, Bluetooth audio, and satellite and HD radio. It offers an impressive array of video customization options while providing a generally intuitive interface for navigating digital audio.

The bad: Despite the necessity for two clunky external modules, Bluetooth hands-free calling is effectively limited to incoming calls. Video quality can be grainy, and one glitch in the music-search functionality can lead to frustration.

The bottom line: The Alpine IVA-W200 is a stylish, all-in-one in-car multimedia unit with some impressive audio and video compatibility and control options. However, DVD picture quality is not great, and the external Bluetooth module is more trouble than it's worth. Check Prices

Waterproof your iPod Shuffle

H2O audio announced today for pre-order a new waterproof case for the second generation iPod Shuffle. The case is rated for unlimited submersions up to ten feet in depth.

The case gives full access to the controls of your Shuffle while it is inside the case and even allows you to control the iPod while you are underwater. To be able to submerge the case to the rated 10 feet you have to use the H2O Audio headphones, which aren’t included.

A sport armband is included and the iS2 is supposed to be available on August 25 at a MSRP of $39.95. The H2O headphones will cost you another $39.95 if you want to be able to submerge the case.

Experts warn of lightning-strike injuries with iPods

Listen to an iPod during a storm and you may get more than electrifying tunes.

A Canadian jogger suffered wishbone-shaped chest and neck burns, ruptured eardrums and a broken jaw when lightning traveled through his music player's wires.

Last summer, a Colorado teen ended up with similar injuries when lightning struck nearby as he was listening to his iPod while mowing the lawn.

Emergency physicians report treating other patients with burns from freak accidents while using personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman players and laptop computers outdoors during storms.

Michael Utley, a former stockbroker from West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, who survived being struck by lightning while golfing, has tracked 13 cases since 2004 of people hit while talking on cell phones. They are described on his Web site, www.struckbylightning.org.

Contrary to some urban legends and media reports, electronic devices don't attract lightning the way a tall tree or a lightning rod does.

"It's going to hit where it's going to hit, but once it contacts metal, the metal conducts the electricity," said Dr. Mary Ann Cooper of the American College of Emergency Physicians and an ER doctor at University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago.

When lightning jumps from a nearby object to a person, it often flashes over the skin. But metal in electronic devices -- or metal jewelry or coins in a pocket -- can cause contact burns and exacerbate the damage.

A spokeswoman for Apple Inc., the maker of iPods, declined to comment. Packaging for iPods and some other music players do include warnings against using them in the rain.

Lightning strikes can occur even if a storm is many miles away, so lightning safety experts have been pushing the slogan "When thunder roars, go indoors," said Cooper.

Jason Bunch, 18, says it wasn't even raining last July, but there was a storm off in the distance. Lightning struck a nearby tree, shot off and hit him.

Bunch, who was listening to Metallica while mowing the grass at his home in Castle Rock, Colorado, still has mild hearing damage in both ears, despite two reconstructive surgeries to repair ruptured eardrums. He had burns from the earphone wires on the sides of his face, a nasty burn on his hip where the iPod had been in a pocket and "a bad line up the side of my body," even though the iPod cord was outside his shirt.

"It was a real miracle" he survived, said his mother, Kelly Risheill.

The Canadian jogger suffered worse injuries, according to a report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

The man, a 39-year-old dentist from the Vancouver area, was listening to an iPod while jogging in a thunderstorm when, according to witnesses, lightning hit a tree a couple of feet away and jumped to his body. The strike threw the man about eight feet and caused second-degree burns on his chest and left leg.

The electric current left red burn lines running from where the iPod had been strapped to his chest up the sides of his neck. It ruptured both ear drums, dislocated tiny ear bones that transmit sound waves, and broke the man's jaw in four places, said Dr. Eric Heffernan, an imaging specialist at Vancouver General Hospital.

The injury happened two summers ago and despite treatment, the man still has less than 50 percent of normal hearing on each side, must wear hearing aids and can't hear high-pitched sounds.

"He's a part-time musician, so that's kind of messed up his hobby as well," Heffernan said.

Like the Colorado teen, the Canadian patient, who declined to be interviewed or identified, has no memory of the lightning strike.

In another case a few years ago, electric current from a lightning strike ran through a man's pager, burning both him and his girlfriend who was leaning against him, said Dr. Vince Mosesso, an emergency doctor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Eardrum ruptures are considered the most common ear injury in lightning-strike victims, occurring in 5 percent to 50 percent of patients, according to various estimates -- whether or not an electronic device is involved. A broken jaw is rare, doctors say.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

'DRM-free' music - Embedded information

DRM technology puts a sort of software lock on digital songs or movies, dictating where and how the content can be played and distributed. With DRM-free content, some songs purchased from iTunes now work directly on portable players other than Apple's iPod, including Microsoft Corp.'s Zune.

Apple Inc.'s recent rollout of songs without copy protection software at its iTunes Store has given consumers new flexibility, but questions have emerged over the company's inclusion of personal data in purchased music tracks.

Are the songs that are being billed as free of so-called digital rights management technology really "DRM-free" or are there still strings attached?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a consumer watchdog group, said the embedded user information in the purchased track raises privacy issues.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which also analyzed the DRM-free song files on iTunes, said it did not want to jump to any conclusions on Apple's reasons for embedding the personal data.

Users can remove their identifying data from the files simply by burning the tracks to a CD and then ripping the songs back to their computer in the MP3 format, said Fred Von Lohmann, an attorney with the San Francisco-based group.Still, the group takes issue with the fact that the personal information stored in these type of song files is not encrypted. If someone were to lose their iPod or have their laptop stolen, for example, anyone using simple software tools could access the personal data in the songs.

excerpts from 'DRM-free' iTunes songs raise concerns