iPod

Fox strikes deal for free shows on iTunes

With NBC and ABC both making free downloads of their shows available this week, Fox jumped on the trend with free downloads of new shows available on iTunes.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Fox and Apple have reached an agreement to offer free downloads of the shows Fox is trying to promote this sweeps season: that is, the ones people aren't watching as much as they'd like. No Simpsons or Family Guy clips are among the five shows currently available for free on the iTunes Store. But episodes of shows sure to be forgotten in the … Read more

Mossberg likes the iPod Touch, at least while it lasts

Apple pulled off a nifty reinvention of the iPod with the iPod Touch, but it better work on improving its battery life in future models, according to gadget guru Walt Mossberg.

The iPod Touch carries over many of the design attributes that Mossberg and others loved about the iPhone, but the personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal found a few flaws he felt compelled to point out. Overall, the newest iPod is "elegant and capable," but Mossberg was puzzled by poor battery life.

"For all its beauty and functionality, the Touch has some quirks and … Read more

European regulators on the rampage? Maybe not

Without a doubt, the reverberations of a European court's decision to uphold stiff remedies for Microsoft's anticompetitive behavior were felt in more than one legal office in Silicon Valley. But which ones?

The top three candidates? Intel, Google and Apple. Intel is facing antitrust scrutiny all over the world, and Google is so ubiquitous that it has become a verb. Apple has raised the ire of European regulators for some time with its iTunes/iPod juggernaut.

The Google era is relatively young, and since I don't cover that area, I'm not going to opine on the … Read more

Can I see your iPhone? Prying eyes want to know...

One of the inherent risks of having an iPhone will necessarily mean that you will become a de facto sales rep for Apple.

It's not uncommon for co-workers, non-iPhone-laden friends or strangers asking to 'see' your iPhone. "See?" Is that the right word? No, perhaps play and fool around with your iPhone is a better description as you can plainly see an iPhone, but these people clearly want to touch it to believe it as the Apple ads direct them to do. It happens to me enough to make me feel like a roving iPhone sales rep. … Read more

I'M IN UR INTERWEBS, BAITIN UR LINKS

Hey, kids, you remember Mike Elgan, dontcha? He's the gelatinous hunk of wadded up Kraft Singles that Computerworld employs as a columnist.

Right, right! That Mike Elgan.

The last we saw Mike he was arguing that the Zune scares Apple to the core (get it? Core?! Ha-ha-ha!).

What's that, dear reader?

Oh, the Zune.

Zune.

Z. U. N. E.

It's Microsoft's iPod killer.

Um... no, ZUNE.

C'mon, surely you remember the Zune. It's like the Foleo without the refreshing sense of honesty.

Well, it doesn't matter. What does matter is how laugh-out-loud (LOL … Read more

And on day 68: $100 iPhone credit

And, in case you hadn't heard, in a letter posted on Apple's site, Steve Jobs claims to have read "hundreds" of irate emails regarding the iPhone price drop and is therefore issuing $100 worth of Apple credits to us early adopters. Did he really read all of those emails? Hrmmmm.

While Apple is not under any obligation to do so, it was still nice of them. Now, I know some people will be like why not $200, or why not cash-money. May I repeat, not any obligation to do so. Besides, only us geeky types who … Read more

What Apple didn't announce

Wednesday's Apple announcements included some significant market advances, particularly the iPod Touch and the iTunes Wi-Fi Store. The new lineup of devices should keep the company clearly in the digital-media drivers' seat through the end of 2007, at least, and the pricing strategy is rock-solid. (Microsoft tried to pre-empt Apple's announcement with a $50 price cut on the 30GB Zune to $199, but with an 80GB iPod available for only $249, Microsoft's going to have to cut the price further.)

Even so, a few things that Apple didn't announce might leave some room for other innovators. … Read more

Apple vs. Apple

The Wall Street Journal says that the iPhone price drop spooked Apple investors. Clearly something did, but if that really is why, it's some slightly goofy thinking on investors' part. But it also gets back to a point the Macalope was making a few months ago about why Apple might not want to release a touch-based iPod too soon. It bears repeating:

If Apple shows gigantic iPhone sales that drop off dramatically, expect howls of "I told you so!" from the usual collection of clowns, but also some serious questions from serious analysts wondering if that toe … Read more

Capturing the excitement

It's all over but the shouting and it looks like Apple's hit another home run. No Beatles, but Apple did announce:

Roll-your-own ringtones for 99 cents. The "fat" nano, a squarish nano with coverflow and video. 4 GB for $149, 8 GB for $199. Higher capacity "classic" iPods. 80 GB for $249 and 160 GB for $349. The new iPod Touch, which is basically an iPhone without the phone. $299 for 8 GB and $399 for 16 GB. Coming in a couple of weeks. A version of the iTunes Store for both the iPod … Read more

And on day 67: $200 iPhone price drop and new services

Steve Jobs certainly knows how to surprise and saturate. Along with other Applephiles, I was following the live coverage of the latest Apple/iPod/iPhone news via Gizmodo, which couldn't refresh fast enough!

So much to digest, but the main points:

(1) iPhone price drop!? The 8GB iPhone's price fell markedly with this announcement to $399. (Say buh-bye to the 4GB model). Boy, I sure could have used that $200 for the past two months, but it's an inherent risk of being an early adopter. So there is a $100 premium for the phone part of the … Read more