Apple retail online is out of action as the company sets the scene for today's announcement.
Hot rumours include:
iPod nano refresh, highercapacity, more colours iPod touch refresh, cheaper iTunes 8 - inc. new visuals and HD films
We'll be at the event, trying to keep you informed.
Steve Jobs today introduced a new model of iPod nano at the widely publicised reported “Let’s Rock” event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.
As predicted by the rumour mill, the new model of iPod is taller than the iPod nano it replaces with an elongated screen. The longer screen enables the device to be turned on it side for improved widescreen video playback.
However, a surprise addition was the inclusion of the accelerometer from the iPhone (the sensor that measures movement). This enables you to adjust photographs and album art , depending on which way you hold the iPod.
The iPod 4G has a built in accelerometer that detects which way up it is being held
Steve Jobs said: “It combines the best of both worlds: The portrait ratio from the original iPod nano, and the same super high res display from the recent one. And it is the thinnest iPod we’ve ever made.”
Another unique feature to the iPod nano is “shake to shuffle” this is where you can shake the iPod nano to shuffle to the next song.
The iPod nano is made out of curved aluminium with a curved glass display, it share design features with Apple’s MacBook Air with a thinner tapered edge.
Like iTunes 8, the new nano also sports the new Genius Playlist functionality. If you hold down the centre button you can access a new menu that enables you to create Genius Playlists. These compare your music with other songs in your library to build playlists of similar sounding music.
Another new feature is the iPod nanos built-in voice recorder. This works when you connect a microphone enabled earphone to the iPod nano. Apple also launched a new style of earphone for it iPod range, that incorporates the shuttle button and microphone found on the iPhone earbuds, but also includes volume controls ($29, sold separately).
The iPod nano is available in eight different colours that Steve Jobs referred to as “chromatic”. The new model of nano also saw its storage space increased to 8GB and 16GB. It is immediately on sale in the UK. The price was announced at 109 for the 8GB model, and 149 for the 16GB model.
The new iPods are ready to ship and go on sale in the next few days.
Steve Jobs closed the “Let’s Rock” event saying: “We think we’ve got the best line up we’ve ever had for this holiday season. We enter the season having sold 160m iPods and have the strongest line up of iPods we’ve ever had and best version of iTunes. We’re ready for this holiday season. And we’re glad to share it with you this morning.”
Apple CEO Steve Jobs didn't skip the Green vote as he introduced new iPod nanos and a slightly revised iPod touch today, reassuring that both products reflect Apple's growing focus on being environmentally friendly.
"We have an environmental checklist we use internally," Jobs revealed, before informing keynote attendees that the both new iPods are free of four of the most highly toxic materials: arsenic, Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Mercury.
Because the new iPods are encased in an aluminium chassis. they are also "highly recyclable," Jobs said. "We think these new nanos are the cleanest, most toxic free iPods we've ever built," he added.
The danger posed by such materials is increasingly understood by manufacturers, all the materials named have been traditionally used to manufacture computers - indeed most computers from pre-2006 contain some or all of the following, which is why proper recycling is essential.
Arsenic, for example, is extremely poisonous, arsenic is used in LCD displays to prevent defects and can leak into ecosystems during product manufacture and disposal.
A Greenpeace campaign and the inclusion of environmental crusader, Al Gore, on Apple's board forced Apple to become more transparent about its environmental record in 2007, making multiple commitments to a greener future.
In revealing the eco-credentials of the new iPods, Jobs was confirming the company remains on course to meet the promises it has made before. The company has already committed to the complete elimination of arsenic thus year and mercury (as soon as technically and economically feasible) in its displays.
Apple will completely eliminate use of Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) and PVC by the end of this year.
LaCie has introduced its new 700 series of LCD monitors designed to offer the closest match between captured, displayed, and printed colours for creative pros.
The new displays are available as the 20-inch LaCie 720, 24-inch LaCie 724, and the 30-inch LaCie 730, the complete 700 series is designed to offer a colour experience that mimics real life by using advanced display technologies.
The display family features an RGB-LED backlight, meaning they can produce purer red, green and blue primary colours that generate a larger range of vibrant colour.
“The cutting edge technology embedded in LaCie’s new 700 series monitors supports the colour-critical workflow of prepress operators, photographers and graphic designers by enabling the most-precise on-screen proofing yet,” said Daniel Mayer, LaCie’s colour business unit manager.
All 700 Series Monitors are bundled with LaCie’s blue eye pro Proof Edition calibration software. The displays also embeds ColorKeeper, an advanced backlight stabiliser technology that analyses the brightness and chromaticity of the backlight, and then adjusts it in real time.
Included 14-bit Gamma Correction lookup tables ensure delicate gradient rendering without banding and smooth colour transitions that are 64 times more precise than on consumer-quality 8-bit monitors.
The LaCie 724 and 730 monitors feature a 16:10 wide-screen format, large enough for two letter-size (A4) pages to display side-by-side with additional room for palettes and toolbars. For customers preferring the 4:3 aspect ratios, the LaCie 720 is a perfect alternative.
All these monitors feature an integrated USB 2.0 hub and ship with the LaCie easyHood which prevents on-screen reflections.
The LaCie 720, 724, and 730 monitors are available now starting at 949.
SanDisk has issued a public statement of obfuscation, attempting to cast doubt on claims its been meeting with Samsung Electronics with a view to selling out.
As reported by Rafat Ali at PaidContent.org, Samsung Electronics is reportedly considering the acquisition of SanDisk. A Samsung spokesperson said: "We are looking at various opportunities regarding SanDisk but nothing has been decided yet."
Responding to the claims, SanDisk early this morning released its own statement, in which the company agreed talks are taking place, but declined to say just how advanced they have got.
“SanDisk periodically has conversations with multiple parties, including Samsung, regarding a variety of potential business opportunities. We evaluate all of these opportunities, but maintain a policy of not commenting on market rumors or speculation," the statement explained.
Potential motives behind Samsung's interest in the acquisition of SanDisk Corporation is pretty clear - SanDisk is the inventor and world’s largest supplier of flash storage cards, and a global leader in flash memory – from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution.
With both companies deeply immersed in flash-based solutions, Samsung already pays SanDisk an estimated $353.8 million a year in licensing expenses for the format.
SanDisk also offers its own Sansa line of iPod competitors and in June acquired a firm which creates technologies to stream music over WiFi.
Microsoft's $300 million advertising campaign for Windows starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld launched Thursday night with an extra-long television commercial almost entirely devoid of any talk of Windows, Microsoft, or anything, really.
That was oddly appropriate, considering Seinfeld's eponymous hit 90s comedy was described by both admirers and detractors as a "show about nothing." The minute and half commercial (available on YouTube here and here and elsewhere) is the first of many.
It co-starred Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and was set in a shopping mall. Seinfeld, who did most of the talking, helps Gates buy a pair of shoes called the Conquistador while asking if Gates ever wears his clothes in the shower. The commercial ends with Seinfeld asking Gates if Microsoft will "come out with something that makes our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we're working." Gates wiggles his rear to answer in the affirmative.
The commercial ends with the Windows logo and the phrase "Delicious."
It was aired early during the broadcast of the first National Football League game of the season.
Immediate reaction online was almost uniformly negative, with bloggers calling the commercial baffling and unfunny.
The part that bloggers liked the most was when Gates showed off his 'Shoe Circus Clown Card.' The picture was of Gates' notorious mugshot when he was caught speeding by New Mexico police in 1977 at the age 21.
The commercial lacked the flashy camerawork that is considered the trademark of French director, Michel Gondry. Gondry reportedly shot a Microsoft commercial earlier this summer.
Nearly 90 per cent of Brits would be happy to use a payment system on their mobile phone, says O2.
The telecommunications giant joined forces with phone manufacturer Nokia, Transport for London (TfL) and a number of high-street shops to trial a new payment system between October last year and May this year.
The trial saw 500 Londoners given Nokia 6131 handsets that featured applications for TfL's Oyster Card and Barclay's payWave systems. Using near field communications (NFC) technology, the handset owners were able to travel on tubes, buses and trains by waving the phone near an Oyster Card reader or make purchases under 10 in a number of high street stores including Threshers off-licences and sandwich shop Eat by tapping the device on a specially designed console.
According to O2, 89 per cent of participants in the trial were happy with the Oyster Card application and 66 per cent wanted to continue using the payWave system. A further 87 per cent also claimed their choice of handset would be influenced by its ability to be used as an Oyster card.
Nokia meanwhile claims the system doesn't sup the phone's battery and the apps will continue to work even if the phone is switched off.
