News Blogs

How to resist your iPad 2 craving

I won't name names, but we have an editor here in the office, who, every time a new Apple product comes out, says he isn't going to get it. He had the iPhone 3GS and said he was going to wait for the iPhone 5 and not get the iPhone 4. Two weeks later, he had the iPhone 4 and had given his 3GS to his wife.

I said, "Dude, where's your discipline?"

"I know, I know," he replied sheepishly. "But I wanted it. I couldn't resist."

He's got an iPad, the original. I know he's going to get an iPad 2, even though he says he isn't. How do I know? Because the moment Steve Jobs got up on stage and showed his first slide, he said, "Gee, that looks pretty nice." He had him at hello.

The iPad 2 didn't look any different from what we expected it to look like--and it didn't look all that different from the original iPad. But suddenly there on stage in the flesh it had taken on a new, irresistible sheen. Not the Charlie kind of Sheen. Just the Apple kind. … Read more

iPod Classic to get update--or be killed?

The site AppleBitch has an interesting tidbit on the status of the iPod Classic, as supplies appear to be dwindling at various retailers. Target and J&R don't seem to have any in stock and Amazon, which has the 160GB Classic on sale at $229.99 (best deal), lists shipping times at "two to four weeks."

The initial speculation is that Apple might be on the verge of updating the Classic now that Toshiba has recently updated its 1.8-inch iPod-size hard drives to 220GB. The Classic was last updated in September of 2009 and never … Read more

Rumor: Next iPod Touch to go 3D?

With Nintendo officially rolling out the 3DS today, we thought it worth mentioning that Japanese blog Macotakara reported a few days ago that Apple is considering glasses-free 3D screen technology for a future iPod Touch.

Thanks to a somewhat garbled Google translation, the key quote that blogs are picking up on involves the usual anonymous sources from a vendor potentially supplying parts for the 3D iPod Touch:

According to a source of a company which provides LCD to Apple, they seems to begin preparing to manufacture small glasses-free 3D LCD panel for iPod touch. This 3D LCD panel looks similar … Read more

Boy swaps third-gen iPod Touch battery for $8.59

A couple of months ago, I noticed that my third-generation iPod Touch (32GB) was having trouble holding a charge. After using it for a few hours, the battery was at about 30 percent, and if I left it sitting on my desk overnight, it was invariably dead in the morning, even after I turned Wi-Fi off.

I looked into getting a replacement battery and found out that Apple charges $79 (see complete chart of iPod repair pricing). Now I like my iPod Touch, which serves both as a Sonos remote and a remote for an old Roku player that I … Read more

CES: Conquer China (and get some cheap speakers)

LAS VEGAS--They tell me that China has taken over America. It's something to do with money, rather than physical occupation, but in this digital world, what's the diff?

So I was riveted to the already sticky carpet of the North Hall at CES when I saw a sign that read Conquer (China) Industry Co. Ltd.

Would this booth offer America hints on how to inveigle its way digitally into China's consciousness, something that Google didn't quite manage to do?

Well, it's the next best thing.

Conquer (China) makes speakers that are wonderfully compatible with your … Read more

How to make your speakers sound better

Think about it: when you're listening to music or movies most of the sound that reaches your ears doesn't directly come from the speakers. You're hearing a lot of sound reflecting off the floor, ceiling, walls, and other objects in the room. Speakers "play" the room. It's an analogous to way light illuminates a room, the source of the light may be the light fixture, but most of the light you see is reflecting off the surfaces of the room. With speakers we're trying to reduce reflections where we can to maximize the … Read more

Make your own tree-branch iPod dock

Chris over at Manmadediy.com says he noticed one item pop up on lots of lists of his fellow design and DIY bloggers: the Enchanted Woods iPhone Dock from Anthropologie. He describes it as "a fun nature-meets-technology way to stand and display your iPod or iPhone."

While he thought it was "awesome," at nearly $100, it seemed like a lot to pay for something that didn't have "speakers, a clock, or even a way to plug it into the wall." But more importantly, because it was 100 percent wood and didn't "… Read more

How Apple whiffed on the new iPod Nano

Back in September, when Steve Jobs unveiled the sixth-generation iPod Nano with its multitouch display, my first thought was, "Wow, that thing's small. Maybe too small." As Jobs himself pointed out, it was tiny, even suggesting in his keynote that it could be worn as a wristwatch.

At the time, I can't say I foresaw an impending Nano wristwatch fad. And though I've only seen a couple out in the wild, Nano wristband cases are proliferating and making their way into the market. It's also worth noting that Scott Wilson has raised close to $900,000 … Read more

Amazon iPhone app helps you find the best prices

Those of you ready to shop for the holidays now have a new tool to find the best prices.

Available today in Apple's App Store, Amazon's new and free Price Check for the iPhone tries to find the best deals on items among both online and offline retailers. iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users shopping at their favorite outlets can compare prices on the shelves against those at other stores as well as at Amazon and other online vendors.

You'll find a variety of ways to get the app to recognize an item. You can take a picture of the product's bar code. You can snap a photo of a book, DVD, CD, or video game. You can speak the name of the product. If all else fails, you can simply type the name of the item into the app's search field.

Amazon then matches the product's photo or description with the same item already in its database and provides a list of vendors and their respective prices. Price Check even offers details on the item and reviews from other Amazon users.

If you find an item and a price you like, you can buy the item directly through the app, whether it's sold by Amazon or by another retailer through Amazon. You can share prices on your favorite items through e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter as a not-so-subtle holiday wish list for friends and family.… Read more