iHome’s announced its new iH69 and iH70i speakers. The new speakers are designed to allowing users to dock, charge, play and sync iPods directly to their computer.

The “all-in-one” speakers feature high-fidelity Reson8™ speaker chambers and a sync switch, with the iH70 model boasting higher wattage and a full function remote control.

The iHome iH69 and iH70 cost $99.99 and $129.99 respectively.

Apple announced that its iPod shuffle is now even more affordably priced at $49 and that it is introducing a new 2GB model of the iPod shuffle for $69.

“At just $49, the iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “The new 2GB model lets music lovers bring even more songs everywhere they go in the impossibly small iPod shuffle.”

The new 1GB iPod shuffle is available immediately for a suggested retail price of $49 through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 2GB iPod shuffle will be available later this month for a suggested retail price of $69 . iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later and iTunes 7.4; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.4 or later.

Look on this AS-IP300 iPod dock station from Kenwood. Dimensions are a good, 380×157x221mm at 1 kg (1.2) for this iPod dock equipped with a couple 1.9W speakers. The price is set at 95€.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS say the new HD-AAC codec delivers better-than-CD-quality sound in file sizes that are small enough to be offered online - like on Apple’s iTunes Store, for example.

The codec is based on MPEG-4 SLS - a scalable lossless format. HD-AAC enables you to enjoy high quality 24-bit / 96KHz files on a home media server, for example, and then use the base version (called the AAC-LC layer) of the same file to play back on an iPod or other AAC player. There’s no need for you to rip different versions of your music at different codecs for different devices.

The Fraunhofer Institute says that future devices - like iPods - may also be able to play back the full lossless audio files once they’re equipped with suitable decoders. It even says that because HD-AAC is scalable you can use it to fire files over a network, with the file size scaled depending on the amount of available bandwidth. Handy for wireless multi-room audio streams, for example.

The arrival of HD-AAC could also spell good news for Apple’s rivals - Sony, Creative and others also offer AAC playback on their portable audio players.

Apple unveiled a new iPod, called Touch. The new iPod Touch equipped Wi-Fi capabilities that will work with the new Wi-Fi iTunes music stored.

“Apple today introduced the new iPod touch featuring Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables users to find and enjoy all of their music, videos and more on its gorgeous widescreen display with just the touch of a finger. First introduced on iPhone, the multi-touch interface uses pioneering new software to present the perfect user interface for each application. The iPod touch also includes Wi-Fi wireless networking, the first on any iPod, and three amazing applications that use it—Safari, the most advanced browser on any mobile device, lets users wirelessly view web pages just as they look on their computer, and features Google Search or Yahoo! oneSearch; Apple’s YouTube application lets users wirelessly watch over 10 million free videos from the Internet’s most popular video website; and the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store lets users wirelessly browse, preview and buy songs and albums from the most popular online music store in the world. The iPod touch is an unbelievable 8 mm thin, and is priced starting at just $299.

“The iPod touch is a landmark iPod, ushering in a whole new generation of features based on its revolutionary multi-touch interface and built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “People are going to be amazed at how thin it is and how much it does.”

With its gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display, iPod touch is perfect for watching movies and TV shows, as well as viewing photos and album art. iPod touch has a built-in accelerometer that automatically senses when you rotate it into its landscape position. When you’re in music, it automatically switches to Cover Flow so you can browse your music collection by album cover artwork with just a flick of a finger. When in Photos, it automatically displays the photo in its landscape aspect ratio; and when in Safari it displays the web page horizontally. iPod touch also has a built-in ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the display’s brightness. iPod touch features up to 22 hours of audio playback and up to five hours of video playback.

Also Apple released its most exciting iPod lineup ever with the iPod shuffle in five new colors; iPod classic holding up to 40,000 songs; the incredible all new iPod nano with video playback; and the breakthrough iPod touch with a revolutionary multi-touch user interface. iPod owners can choose from a vast ecosystem of accessories with over 4,000 products made specifically for the iPod including cases, fitness accessories, speaker systems and iPod connectivity in over 70 percent of US automobiles.

The new iPod touch will be available later this month. The 8GB iPod touch model is $299 (US) and the 16GB iPod model is $399 (US). iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.4; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.4. Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended, fees may apply. The iTunes Store is not available in all countries.”

Apple is due to drop a new Inventec Appliances manufactured, flash-based widescreen “iPod video” with touch-interface (widely rumored to carry the iPod Touch brand) sporting WiFi and an iPhone-like UI when it ships “at the end of this month or early October.” Also in the cards is a Foxconn manufactured iPod nano with more storage and iPhone-like UI at the same prices as existing models and higher capacity iPod shuffles from Asustek.

The Apple prepare the next generation iPod. Specifically, will it or won’t it feature a device-wide touch-screen running OS X — a stripped down iPhone if you will. Enter DigiTimes, with their hit-or-miss record of Taiwanese sources, who are calling for a touch-screen iPod to launch in August. Sources at “upstream suppliers” claim that WinTek — a former iPod panel supplier back in the black-and-white iPod days — won the order for the capacitive touch screen panels. With Jobs himself calling the iPhone the “best iPod yet,” we certainly don’t doubt that Apple’s working on a touch-screen iPod (possibly with WiFi).

British company Amosu unveiled line of 24 carat gold iPods. Covered in hardened mirror gold, users can stare triumphantly at their beautiful, golden visage while rocking out to the new.

So how much will a golden iPod set you back?

30GB = $600
80GB = $800

The second generation iPod Shuffle, tiny MP3 player, has started shipping. If you’re have placed a pre-order, you should be expecting the Shuffle v.2 sometime around November 3rd. If you don’t have a pre-order, the new iPod Shuffle should be hitting retail outlets soon too. As you recall, the clippy player boasts USB connectivity, 12 hours of battery life, and 1GB of memory.

Apple has unveiled a new product line of iPods and nanos. New MP3 players offering more storage space and longer battery life than previous models. Apple also launched the new iPod shuffle, which it claims is the world’s smallest MP3 player, containing 1GB of flash memory and retaining up to 240 songs. It will priced for $119.

The aluminium-designed Apple nano is small and thin. The battery life of the new nano has also been increased from 14 to 24 hours and can now offer up to two hours of video playback. It comes in a new black 8GB version, which retails for $380; and a 4GB nano model available in silver, pink, green and blue. A 2GB version available in silver.

The new Apple iPod range is available in 30GB and 80GB capacities. It has 20 hours of battery life and six and a half hours of video playback and retails for $499. The 30GB model features up to 14 hours of battery life and three-and-a-half hours of video play back and costs $380.