ipod shuffle: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Press shots of Verizon's BlackBerry Storm surface

So you've already seen what RIM's BlackBerry Storm looks like in Vodafone garb, but if your feeble mind just can't envision what it'd look like with a Verizon logo on there, feast your retinas on this. A few new press shots of the VZW Storm have swooped in, though there's nary a surprise to be found. Still, we know you enjoy gawking, so hit the read link for a few more angles. As for a hard release date? Puhlease.

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DXG and Geotate team on geotagging video camera

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We're still waiting for geotagging to go mainstream on consumer-level still cams, but Geotate isn't waiting around in its quest for location-aware domination -- it's teamed up with DXG to develop the first geotagging video camera we've seen. The camera itself isn't anything special -- it's just another average DXG HD cam, based on the DVH586 -- but the geotagging is powered by Geotate's Yuma software, which does most of the heavy lifting on the server at import, so we'd expect it to be pretty robust. No word on pricing or availability, but we're assuming it'll fall in line with the rest of DXG's lineup on the cheaper side.

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Pocketpedia takes your media collections onto your iPhone

Filed under: Software, iPhone, iPod touch

While there are plenty of media collection/organizer applications for the Mac -- some well-known and glamorous, others quietly utilitarian and functional -- fans frequently swear by the merits of Bruji's 'Pedia suite for books, DVDs, music and games. Armed with a barcode scanner or your iSight, you can quickly and easily catalog all your media, manage your lending habits and wishlists, collect tips and walkthrough links for your games, export to a website, pull data from Amazon or other sources -- even browse your catalogs in the Finder via QuickLook. The individual organizer apps (Bookpedia, DVDpedia, etc.) are only $18US, and you can get the bundle of all four for $49 if you want.

Now Bruji has taken the obvious and exciting next step with Pocketpedia for the iPhone and iPod touch [App Store link], allowing you to create collections on your device or sync up from your Mac and take your catalogs with you. Having your DVD rental wishlist with you at the store sounds like a great idea; plus, you can quickly access reviews online if you're having trouble deciding what to rent or buy. Pocketpedia is a free download from the App Store, and will work just fine in standalone mode if you don't have the Mac apps to sync with. If only it could do barcode scanning from the iPhone's camera... *sigh.*

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GBTV #0371 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

GBTV #0371 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
QIK.com, the camera streaming service announce support for two Windows Mobile phones.

Sanyo upgraded the Xacti to include a 300fps Slow-motion feature.

The HDD Stage Rack now supports two SATA drives and connects via eSATA or USB 2.0.

LocatePC phones home when a PC is stolen.

Superlame is a free Web app that lets you add cartoon balloons to your photos.

I'll be live with Woopra President, John P. Saturday, June 7th at 12 PM Pacific time on CaliLIVE.tv.

AAPL down sharply after two ratings cuts

Filed under: Apple Financial

Bad day for Big Rainbow: RBC Capital's Mike Abramsky and Morgan Stanley's Kathryn Huberty cut their ratings and price targets on Apple stock, both citing weakness in consumer spending on PCs.

AAPL was down 17.38 at 110.86 (-13.58%) as of this writing: a 20-minute-delayed chart is above.

Abramsky's price target on AAPL shares is now $140 (down from $200), while Huberty's is lower at $115 (down from $178). Huberty also notes Apple will struggle because the company "does not play" in the sub-$1,000 laptop market.

In a slim bit of good news, Abramsky raised his estimate of the number of iPhone units sold during the fourth quarter to six million, up from five.

AAPL's price during the trading day has been its lowest in over a year.

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SimpleTech adds 1.5TB Pro, 3TB Duo Pro drives

SimpleTech adds 1.5TB Pro, 3TB Duo Pro drives
SimpleTech announced it has added to its line-up of Pro Drive and Duo Pro Drive external storage media on Monday by launching the 1.5TB Pro Drive and the 3TB two-drive RAID 0/1 Duo Pro Drive. Either new drive sports four built-in interfaces, including an eSATA connection, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. Thanks to eSATA, users can transfer files at up to 3Gb per second in peak conditions....

GBTV #0390 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

I woke up this morning to a flurry of activity in the tech world. The iPhone 2.0 software had been unofficially released, and the App Store was in iTunes. I downloaded some apps quickly before heading to the airport to pick up Dave Peterson.

Some of my favorites were PhoneSaber, AIM, Super Monkey Balls and HoldEm.

Seagate released their first 1TB hard drive.

Belkin's BreakFree incorporates a Magsafe adapter with 1/4" TRS cables, and the FlyWire streams HD video across the room to your flat screen across the room.

My iPhone line plans are at www.icali.tv Read More

SimpleTech adds 1.5TB Pro, 3TB Duo Pro drives

SimpleTech announced it has added to its line-up of Pro Drive and Duo Pro Drive external storage media on Monday by launching the 1.5TB Pro Drive and the 3TB two-drive RAID 0/1 Duo Pro Drive. Either new drive sports four built-in interfaces, including an eSATA connection, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. Thanks to eSATA, users can transfer files at up to 3Gb per second in peak conditions....

MacBook tablet the cure for falling Apple?

Apple's shares have taken hits as markets tumble all over the place, led by the US. The basic tenet of hard times is that people stop buying stuff, or they look for cheaper stuff. Buying stuff is good, says President Bush - he's addressed... Read More

Motorola getting friendly with Android

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

When a major player like Google comes up with a new mobile operating system that's better than the competition and is totally free, you would certainly expect handset manufacturers to be interested. But there's interested, and then there's interested. After lingering for nearly a year in the former category Motorola is now firmly moving to the latter, hiring and headhunting in an effort to build up a 350-person group entirely focused on development of Android phones. The company was one of the original members of the Open Handset Alliance, but seems to have waited for the release buzz from HTC's G1 before diving in head-first. There's talk that Nokia (and its "real phones") may be feeling the vibrations too, allegedly forming an internal team to do the same -- on the down low.

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MacBreak 82: Minute: Lite Switch

MacBreak 82: Minute: Lite Switch
Merlin shows us Lite Switch, which adds a bunch o' nifty to the application switcher.

Fear the Bloomberg Bozo

Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store

One of my Denver-area buddies, fellow Apple consultant J. Charles Holt of PEBMAC, was checking the Bloomberg Mobile iPhone application (click opens iTunes) this morning to see how the market was doing. What he found in the app is something downright weird -- Bozo the Clown. Charles originally posted this find on MacRumors.

Being the skeptic that I am, I followed his instructions, took a screenshot of the app's opening screen. As you can see from the image below, there doesn't appear to be anything odd with the picture:

At certain angles it does appear that there is something in the leftmost monitor. Charles sensed this, brought the photo into Photoshop, and did a bit of work with the Brightness / Contrast feature. (see the results on the next page)

Continue reading Fear the Bloomberg Bozo

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iTunes to host unsigned tracks from Pure Play

iTunes to host unsigned tracks from Pure Play
Apple has signed a deal which should see over 1.5 million new songs added to the iTunes Store, reports say. The company has forged an agreement with Pure Play Music, a site which specializes in hosting artists that are otherwise unsigned. The site currently lists a roster of over 6,000 artists from around the world, who operate under a set of non-exclusive rights agreements....

RIM earnings up, 6.1m BlackBerries miss target

Research in Motion today reported one of its better quarters in memory with earnings of $495.5 million over its summer quarter, which ended in August. The figure is a significant 72 percent spike versus the same three-month timeframe a year earlier and is credited primarily to the momentum from the company's expansion into mainstream-oriented phones, which included early sales of the BlackBerry B...

Sling Media starts shipping $300 Slingbox PRO-HD, Canada to get it soon

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

You already witnessed our unboxing and hands-on with Sling Media's Slingbox PRO-HD, and if you're anxious to know when you can grab one of your own, how's about right now? Sling has revealed that its $299.99 high-def box can be purchased this very instant from its website and other B&M retailers, and for Canadians feeling a touch left out, take heart -- you all will be able to purchase the unit "in the coming weeks" for $329.99.

Gallery: Slingbox PRO-HD unboxing and hands-on

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Sony intros VAIO CR / SR bundles in support of breast cancer research

It's crazy to think, but October is merely days away. That also means that Breast Cancer Awareness month is just around the bend, and Sony's being ultra proactive by announcing two new pink laptop bundles to support breast cancer research. First up is the Cosmopolitan Pink VAIO CR pack, which features a 14.1-inch LCD, 1.3-megapixel camera, Core 2 Duo CPU, Bluetooth, a built-in DVD burner and a matching case / mouse. If that's a tad large and / or underpowered for your tastes, you can check the Glossy Pink VAIO SR, a 4-pound rig with a 13.3-inch LED backlit display, up to 320GB of HDD space and a "Switch" mode that gives users the ability to toggle between high performance and power saving modes on the fly. The two bundles start at $870 and $1,399, respectively, though you can CTO them both 'til your wallet cries uncle.

Gallery: Sony intros VAIO CR / SR bundles in support of breast cancer research