0 Consensus builds for rumored Sept. 9 iPod event

Spurred on by his own leak from the past weekend, Digg founder Kevin Rose has pegged a more specific date for Apple to unveil its new iPods and is garnering support from additional sources.

Listeners to the August 25th episode of This Week in Tech, which features Rose as a show guest, report the site creator mentioning a September 9th introduction for the new iPods that he himself broke word of a day before the podcast was recorded.

While he doesn't say whether this would involve one of Apple's characteristic press events to usher in the changes, the Digg head also sent what are allegedly further images of the redesigned iPod nano to show founder Leo Laporte, who didn't find any glaring problems with what he saw but was sworn to keep the product shots to himself; he quickly deleted them outright.

Separately, leaks that would support Rose's claims have seemingly popped up at the same time, as Chinese resellers at AliBaba and iDealsChina are either selling or claim to know of silicone skin cases for the fourth-generation iPod that fit a player like that seen in an image this weekend. In at least one of these shots, however, Apple's proprietary Dock Connector is replaced with a mini-USB port and a lanyard hook, casting doubt on its accuracy.

Outside of the hardware, Rose also believes he has knowledge of at least one of the features of iTunes 8.0, which he previously said would arrive simultaneously with the iPods. He hears that the new software will be "looking at your music" and recommending content based on specific conditions.

Although Rose hopes to avoid incriminating himself by revealing too many features and risking added criticism if he's proven wrong, his assertions are gaining support. A report from Ars Technica later on Monday says the technology site could give a "wink and nod" about the general timeframe, though it stops short of confirming an event or any of the product details. Analysts at Piper Jaffray have also predicted similar plans for Apple in September as it reveals one or more product updates.

Detail: Consensus builds for rumored Sept. 9 iPod event

0 Retail sources say its closing time for current iPod line

Resellers both near and afar are reporting signs that Apple's current line of iPod digital music players are on their way out the door, just as one prominent Wall Street analyst restates his claim that a $199 iPod touch is likely to be among the new models that will fill the void.

Stateside, people familiar with the inventory management systems of mass merchandizer Target say all current iPod models have recently seen their status shift from "Active" to "Discontinued" when scanned with handheld PDA scanners used by employees.

Those handhelds, however, aren't capable of displaying set dates for new planogram refreshes, as that information is said to be available only through the retailer's web-based intranet systems.

Separately, big-box retailer Argos in the UK is preparing to clear out its remaining iPod inventory in anticipation of new models in the coming weeks. A person familiar with the plans says the company recently took receipt of new point-of-sale displays promoting "price cuts" that should hit the retail floor during the last week of August or first week of September. Show me more...
The displays include a "giant wall graphic" which is the "biggest poster" displayed by the retailer, that person said.

These initial signs of inventory ramp down come amid calls from some of the more prominent Wall Street analysts regarding the steps that will be necessary for Apple to maintain its current momentum in the digital media player business.

In a note to clients last week, Lehman Brothers analyst Ben Reitzes noted that availability of the 16GB iPod touch at speciality electronics retailer Best Buy has trailed all other members of the iPod family for several weeks.

"We continue to believe Apple will need to reposition the iPod touch line in conjunction with its anticipated new product announcement in early to mid-September now that the iPhone acquisition price is lower," he said.

On Tuesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster issued his own note to clients where he voiced a similar view to that of Reitzes, adding that he expects iPod refreshes across the board with a sub-$200 iPod touch to boot.

"Specifically, we believe Apple will increase the capacity of the iPod shuffles as well as the iPod nanos (but maintain current price points); redesigned form factors for the shuffles and nanos are unlikely," the analyst wrote. "We believe the iPod touch may be redesigned and may enter the $199 price point, in line with the iPhone."

Detail: Retail sources say its closing time for current iPod line

0 Apple blames scorching iPods on battery problem

Apple is blaming a problem with overheating iPods in Japan on faulty batteries, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

In response to reports that Japan is investigating incidents of iPod nanos getting hot enough to scorch paper placed nearby, Apple acknowledged that "in very rare cases" first-generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat.

This problem, which Apple said is extremely rare, causes "failure and deformation of the iPod nano."

The company said it has received reports about less than 0.001 percent of first-generation iPod nano units acting in this way, and has traced the problem to a single battery supplier. Apple did not name the supplier.

Apple added that there have been no reports of serious injuries or property damage due to the overheating problem, and no reports of incidents for any other iPod nano model.

The company advised iPod nano customers who have experienced an overheating battery or who have concerns to contact AppleCare. iPod nanos with faulty batteries will be replaced for free by Apple.

Apple's statement was in response to reports out of Japan Monday that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was investigating two separate incidents in Tokyo in which iPod nanos overheated, burning nearby paper and a woven straw mat.

In March, the Japanese ministry reported a similar incident, in which sparks flew out of an iPod nano.

Detail: Apple blames scorching iPods on battery problem

0 Apple warns of near-term iPod shortages

Apple has issued an advisement bulletin to select resellers suggesting that the company is beginning to ramp down production of current-generation iPod models, according to AppleInsider.

In the advisement, Apple “strongly suggested” that resellers either bring in or place immediate orders for approximately four weeks worth of their top selling iPod models, noting that supplies of the devices would start to become extremely limited within the next week.

Apple traditionally holds an iPod-focused special event in the September-October timeframe to announce new iPod models; this report is consistent with the belief that the company is planning to hold a similar event again this year.

Detail: Apple warns of near-term iPod shortages

0 Firmware Hints New iPod Touch?

Besides hints of turn-by-turn GPS directions, the beta 2.1 firmware also reportedly contains references to an unreleased iPod Touch known as "iPod2,1", according to iPhoneAtlas.

The current iPod Touch carries a model designation of "iPod1,1". iPhone readers may remember that the original iPhone is known as "iPhone1,1" while the iPhone 3G is known as "iPhone1,2". It should be noted that these model numbers don't appear to change for storage differences alone.

The original iPhone saw 4GB, 8GB and 16GB sizes but shared the same model number. Only when the iPhone 3G introduced new features, such as a GPS and 3G chipset, did the model number increment.

This would suggest the "iPod2,1" model will carry new features and not simply represent a storage increase to the current iPod Touch. Apple's iPod Touch is currently offered in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB sizes and has not been feature-upgraded since it's initial launch in September 2007. Apple did, however, add the 32GB model in February.

Detail: Firmware Hints New iPod Touch?

0 NetNewsWire for iPod touch and iPhone 3G

NetNewsWire for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch is a free native application based on the award winning RSS feed reader for Mac. NetNewsWire for iPod Touch (iPhone 3G) provides you with a lightweight, easy application for keeping up with feeds on the go and it syncs with NewsGator’s suite of RSS readers, including NetNewsWire for Macintosh, FeedDemon, Inbox, and NewsGator Online. RSS is the fastest and most efficient way to read your favorite news and with NetNewsWire for iPhone you can access feeds wherever you are.

The product features are:
-Access to RSS feeds from your iPhone 3G or iPod Touch.
-iPhone-native user interface.
-Synchronization with NewsGator’s suite of RSS readers, including NetNewsWire for Macintosh, FeedDemon, Inbox, and NewsGator Online.
-Centralized access to your feed list along with an indicator of how many unread news items are associated with each feed.
-Simple view of the titles of each unread news item for faster and easier skimming of content.
-User-friendly news item viewing pane that provides the item’s title, publisher, publish date, author and post.
-One-click access to view news items in Safari.
-"Next Unread" button, which goes from story to story with a quick tap of a single button.
-Clipping capabilities for saving items for later viewing or syncing with the desktop and browser-based RSS readers.

















Once you’ve configured your feeds, launching NetNewsWire on the iPhone 3G displays a list of those feeds, along with the number of unread articles in each feed. (The current version of NetNewsWire for iPhone, 1.0.7, shows only feeds with unread articles; earlier versions showed all feeds. A setting to choose your preferred approach would be a nice addition.)

In the screenshot here, you can see that some feeds are grouped under headings; if you have feeds organized in folders on the Mac version of NetNewsWire, as I do, such groupings are synced to the iPhone version.

If you’re online—via either WiFi or a mobile network—the program will connect to the Internet to check for new articles and to sync the status (read/unread) of articles. You can see the total number of unread articles at the bottom-left of the screen, as well as on the app's icon on your iPhone's Home screen. This check/sync process happens each time you launch NetNewsWire, as long as the previous check/sync occurred more than five minutes before.

Tap on a feed to view a list of articles in that feed, sorted by date with newest articles at the top; unread articles are displayed with blue type, read articles with gray. Tap an article title to view the article summary and any information about the article provided by the feed. (One limitation here: if an article summary includes an image, NetNewsWire doesn't scale the image down to fit the screen; you must manually scroll around to see all of the image.)

You can quickly move to the next unread article summary by tapping the Next Unread button. Alternatively, if you want to view the full article, tap on its title on the summary screen. Unlike many other iPhone apps, NetNewsWire doesn’t use Safari to view a Web page; it provides its own Web-browser screen, so you don’t have to switch back and forth between NetNewsWire and Safari. However, while this screen lets you double-tap or “unpinch” to zoom in on a Web page, it doesn’t support rotation, so you can't view pages in landscape mode.

Detail: NetNewsWire for iPod touch and iPhone 3G

0 Refurbished iPod touch starting at $199

Apple is currently offering special pricing on certified refurbished 8GB and 16GB iPod touch units.

Listed as having the current software release, the refurbished 8GB model, which previously sold for $249, is now being offered for $199, while refurbished 16GB models are now priced at $299. Refurbished 32GB units sell for $429.

For more information visit Apple Certified Refurbished iPod touch

Detail: Refurbished iPod touch starting at $199