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Apple is trying to convince Hollywood to reduce prices of downloads of TV shows from $1.99 to 99 cents, according to a story in Variety.

The trade publication reported Friday that TV networks have shown little enthusiasm to price cutting, although Apple is telling them that lowering the cost will boost sales, according to the story.

Last week, NBC Universal announced that it would not renew a long-term contract with Apple to sell TV shows via iTunes. Many in the entertainment sector have wanted more control in pricing their products at iTunes, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs has held … Read more

Vudu won't be shipping for another few weeks, but I was fortunate enough to get one of the first review units of the device--and my gadget-jaded eyes were somewhat impressed. The Vudu box aims to deliver a wide variety of on-demand movies to your TV (no PC required) via a broadband Internet connection--think Netflix or Blockbuster, but with immediate gratification. The idea of a dedicated video-on-demand box has been tried before (Akimbo, MovieBeam), but the Vudu sidesteps many of the issues that made those previous boxes hard to recommend. It's got actual content that you want to see--all … Read more

Again, the video here tells most of the story for this new sixth-generation version of the iPod, now called the iPod Classic. Still, there are a few specific details worth focusing some extra attention on.

Capacity

The iPod Classic is now the only iPod Apple makes with a storage capacity over 16GB. In fact, the base model ($249) starts with a whopping 80GB of storage, and the next model up ($349) jumps to 160GB. These are serious numbers that are bound to excite those of us who carry huge music and/or video libraries. Many people were worried that Apple would ditch high-capacity players altogether with their latest line of iPods, but maintaining a high-capacity legacy MP3 player makes sense. After all, the iPod at this point has become an icon of industrial design and a symbol (for better or for worse) of our current digital music economy.… Read more

At less than $200, the new 4GB and 8GB iPod Nanos will surely be the most popular tech stocking stuffer this year. While the updated iPod Classic and iPod Touch are equally drool-worthy, the new Nano is obviously priced to move.

I was fortunate enough to get some hands-on time with the all the new iPods at the launch event, and even though the iPod Touch is clearly the star of the show, the new Nano is really the one to watch for. The 2-inch screen packs a dense and crisp 320x240 video resolution that looks very nice. The revamped graphic user interface (shared with the iPod Classic) is graphically rich and uses both a Cover Flow method for browsing music content, as well as a split-screen view used for browsing music, videos, photos, and more.

There's lots of small touches included on the new Nano that are easy to miss. For instance, Apple's music shuffle function has evolved. With this latest generation of iPods, after launching the player's shuffle function, users can now access the shuffle mode settings (shuffle song/shuffle album/shuffle off) from within the Now Playing pane by pressing the center button four times. This might seem insignificant, but it effectively gives users the ability to steer the shuffle function--randomizing song selections until they find something they like, then effortlessly disengaging the shuffle function once they've found an artist or album they'd like to hear more from. Accomplishing the same effect using… Read more

The video here sums it all up quite nicely, if I dare say, but here's a few key points worth noting about the iPod Touch.

Standard headphone jack

It may seem like an insignificant detail, but after the iPhone threw us for a loop with its recessed headphone jack, everybody wants to know if the iPod Touch has the same issue. The answer is no. Despite the fact that the iPod Touch looks nearly identical to the iPhone, the headphone jack is a standard plug that accepts any 3.5mm stereo headphone connection. The jack also distinguishes itself from … Read more

Yesterday MyStrands, the music discovery service/social network launched MyStrands.TV, a new offering that serves up music videos related to your tastes. If you've ever used Last.fm, the idea is similar--just type in an artist name and you'll get a playlist full of their videos, along with several recommendations for similar artists or genres. The service keeps track of which videos you've watched, and shows you a listing of members who have added that artist to their own playlists. There's also a social element with user pages full of custom band picks you can … Read more

Who gives a hoot about bumping compact cameras from 10 megapixels to 12 megapixels? It's time for some digital camera features that will really open up new photographic possibilities.

Enter a prototype Casio is showing at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin. The camera can shoot 60 frames per second at its full 6-megapixel resolution, Casio said. And in video mode, it can shoot 300 frames per second. In contrast, even Canon's $4,500 photojournalist-oriented 1D Mark III can shoot 10.5 frames per second (though doubtless with higher image quality) and newer compact cameras' video … Read more

Apple's newly announced iPods are sure to wreak havoc on holiday wish lists this year. Here's the lowdown straight from Job's mouth to our ears.

New iPod Nano

The new iPod Nano, which is just as slender as its predecessor but shorter and squatter, has a 2-inch display with an iPod video's 320x240 resolution. The new Nano--available beginning this weekend--supports Cover Flow and video games (three are included--Vortex, Sudoku, and a mystery game). Cover Flow on the Nano shows albums against a white background, differentiating itself from the iPhone's cover flow. The Now Playing screen … Read more

The remote-controlled rocket phone may yet to become a reality, but in the meantime we can all amuse ourselves with another airborne gadget: a flying video camera. And it's just in time for football season--we can just see these projectiles knocking out those wimpy floating field cameras in midflight.

It may look like an ordinary toy rocket, but the remote-controlled mini-craft houses a digital camera in its nose cone that's "impact-resistant" (good thinking) and can capture images from an altitude of 500 feet. Once it lands, the video can be downloaded onto a computer through its … Read more