All Articles Tagged ipod touch

Magellan recently announced they are releasing a GPS car kit of their own and it already has hit the FCC. Like the much anticipated TomTom car kit, the Magellan will give the iPod touch and first generation iPhone GPS capabilities as long as you are using the Magellan GPS application. [iTunes Link] This particular car kit is crammed with some nice features:

• Fully adjustable mount that works with any skin or case
• Rotates for both portrait and landscape use
• Enhances signal with built-in GPS receiver
• Noise-canceling speakerphone
• Bluetooth hands-free calling
• Amplified speaker for clear, powerful sound
• Works with any GPS application (Unless you are using a iPod touch or first generation iPhone – you then must use the Magellan application)

Currently no price has been announced but you can expect the Magellan car kit to hit stores before the end of the year. Those of you in the market for a GPS car kit now have one more option available to you. Decisions decisions…

TomTom has released a rather significant update to their $99 iPhone Turn-by-Turn GPS application [iTunes Link]. It seems as if they had second thoughts about omitting first generation iPhone 2G (and iPod touches) support in the TomTom car kit. It was only last month that TomTom officially stated the kit would not enable GPS with the original iPhone or iPod touch. My how quickly things change, perhaps the release of the free Google Navigation application had something to do with it…

If anyone still rocking the first generation iPhone or a new iPod touch and try TomTom out, let us know how it goes!

[Via AppAdvice, thanks Tyler]

AppleInsider is reporting that the car kit will not be compatible with the iPod touch and first-generation iPhone 2G. This is a complete turn around from early reports from TomTom claiming since the car kit contained it’s own GPS, you could indeed use the TomTom App Store software/car kit combo with an iPod Touch and first-generation iPhone.

TomTom’s car kit for iPhone has been in the news countless times the past few months and here it is once again. This news should sadden many iPod touch/First-generation iPhone 2G owners who have been waiting for this often delayed accessory to be released. It was first slated to come out this past summer, which was then pushed back to October and now will not be shipped until November.

[Via AppleInsider]

Looks like the rumors were true and Apple is finally set to replace the aging, WindowsCE + stylus based EasyPay point-of-sale devices used by the retail store staff with sexy new credit card reading, barcode scanning iPod touches. Apple will be using the same accessory access APIs supplied to developers in the iPhone 3.0 SDK.

AppleInsider reports that a trial is now being run at the closest Apple Store to the Cupertino Headquarters, the Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara, but hopefully the rest of Apple Retail will be able to enjoy the cool new gadgets sometime in the near future as well.

IFOAppleStore confirms the switch to iPod touch EasyPay, and adds that Apple will also be ditching the color-coded shirts used to distinguish different types of staff. (Not because Microsoft iCloned them but because they were ultimately more confusing than helpful to customers).

[Small print: The above video is of Apple Store staff cheering for a new store opening, not for their new iPod touch EasyPay systems]

While Apple made a Windows version of iTunes years ago, they still haven’t seen fit to roll out any official syncing solution for our Linux friends. That leaves unofficial solutions, which according to Marcan’s Abort, Retry, Hack? blog, are finally on their way:

• libusb-1.0 provides an advanced API to access USB devices under Linux, replacing the old libusb-0.1 API
• usbmuxd coordinates application access to the device and talks the specific iPhone/iTouch USB protocol
• libiphone implements the Apple-specific protocols that are tunneled through usbmuxd: it can launch services through lockdown, retrieve device info, send notifications, and access the filesystem via AFC.
• iFuse and gvfs-backend-afc both provide access to AFC to regular Linux apps. iFuse does this by mounting via FUSE, while gvfs-backend-afc is obviously a backend for gVFS.
• libgpod (the library that traditionally has managed music databases for iPods) is being extended to support the new SQLite format, the new hash, and also to talk to libiphone to properly put the device in to and out of sync mode.
• Theoretically, actual music players such as Amarok and Rhythmbox will need none or very few modifications to work.

If you’ve got your FOSS-on, and you’re eager to check out this solution, head on over for the details, and then let us know what you think!

[Thanks Brian for the tip!]

The above graph, part of Morgan Stanley Internet analyst Mary Meeker’s presentation at Web 2.0, showing iPhone/iPod touch as the fastest-growing consuming electronic platform in history pretty much speaks for itself. However, TechCrunch is happy to add a big exclamation point at the end:

[iPhone/iPod touch] adoption ramp is even steeper than videogame consoles including the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP. The original iPod and Blackberry aren’t even in the same league.

No doubt this plays into Apple’s recent financial results, but building on what must now be around a 60 million strong install base (50 million from last quarter + 7.4 million new iPhones, + undisclosed amount of iPod touches), builds just the kind of momentum that tends towards freight-train like.

TechCrunch also shows charts highlighting the increase in AT&T data traffic since the iPhone came online (4,932%), and how mobile adoption is “outpacing” desktop. Check out the full article, linked above, for more.

To prove that the iPod touch is the funnest iPod ever, and a gaming force to be reckoned with, Apple’s advertising department has been using it to take over websites like IGN and ESPN, and TUAW (twice now!) has screen captured it all for posterity.

We’re not sure everyone will appreciate the disjointed attack on their senses such website take-overs produce, but it is a sign Apple is taking gaming seriously, and the internet seriously. (And IGN and ESPN are taking Apple’s cash and handing over the website banners, seriously!)

Second video after the break!

Read the rest of this entry »

Porn and iPhone, it is out there and every once in a while you may even find porn in there. In an Apple Retail Store on one of the iPhone and iPod Touch demos, that is.

That’s exactly what happened just the other day as a mother found her 10 year old girl mesmerized by some X-rated content on one of the Apple Store demo devices:

“I called to complain and was told matter of factly by staff this happens a lot as people come in and download it for a laugh, I don’t find it funny and all my friends think it’s disgusting, but Apple say there is nothing they can do to stop it.”

Apple does a fantastic job of keeping smut out of iTunes and their App Store, surely they can figure something out for their real-world stores.

[Via Cult of Mac]

Did Apple plan to add a camera to the third generation iPod touch — just like the iPhone 3GS and iPod nano — but pull it roughly a month ago due to technical difficulties? We heard that rumor last week, after months of previous rumors and leaks that made the camera seem all but a certainty.

For his part, Steve Jobs said Apple prioritized lowering prices over adding new hardware features.

Now, AppleInsider is merging those two story lines into one consistent, and not incredible report. Sourcing people familiar with the matter (PFWTM), those familiar with the situation (TFWTS), and others familiar with the situation (OFWTS), Apple initially decided to add the cameras to the iPod touch feature set only to discover issues with the camera sensors they received. So, Apple execs made the call to yank the cameras last month. However, Apple still wants to add the cameras back in to the hardware, and could do it at any time, and at the same price point.

Obviously, not announcing new iPod touches before the holidays, or announcing that newer ones might show up at some point (who knows — maybe not even Apple yet — when exactly), were not options, so they went with the beefier internals at 32GB and 64GB.

Wether that’s the real, or even approaching real, story or not, likely only a few folks high atop Apple know for sure, but it does make a modicum of sense (even if well seasoned with salt grains).

Following Apple’s It’s only rock and roll, but we like it special music event, CEO Steve Jobs, fresh from his return to the keynote stage, sat down with the New York Times, and while several topics were discussed, here’s the “big question” (and answer):

POGUE: You put a camcorder on the iPod Nano. Why not on the iPod Touch?

JOBS: Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine. Because a lot of the games were free on the store. Customers started to tell us, “You don’t know what you’ve got here — it’s a great game machine, with the multitouch screen, the accelerometer, and so on.”

We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw. So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff — we need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.

So Apple would rather have cheaper third gen iPod touches than more feature-complete ones. Interesting strategy, given what the Zune HD will soon bring to the market (that, admittedly, Apple owns 73% of….) Is Apple’s 30% cut of App Store profits suddenly more enticing than their traditional ~30% margins on hardware? Because here’s the thing, not many people will see the 3rd gen iPod touch as much of an upgrade path from the 2nd gen, so Apple’s leaving that money on the table. Add a camera and mic, and, well, there’s that hardware upgrade gravy train that usually runs so regular-like from Cupertino Central. Or maybe they just think the cheaper entry price will get more than enough new buyers interested to make it worth Apple’s while…

Other questions asked and answered include Jobs’ opinion on the Kindle (people prefer integrated devices), why the new iPod nano doesn’t shoot stills (VGA quality stills aren’t good enough), and how’s he feeling (enjoying the ice cream!)

Check out the full interview for the full Jobs…

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]