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.

Apple Computer will pay around $100 millions to Creative for a paid-up licence to use the company’s patent in all Apple products. It’s a final of MP3 patent technology war with Creative Technology. Creative had confirmed that Apple’s MP3 players infringed upon its MP3 patents.

“We’re very pleased to have reached an amicable settlement with Apple and to have opened up significant new opportunities for Creative,” said Sim Wong Hoo, CEO of Creative.

Apple Computer has filed a second copyright lawsuit and a trade complaint in the US against Creative Technology.
This is the latest in a string of legal challenges and counter challenges between the two rival makers of portable media devices.
In its latest lawsuit, Apple claims Creative is infringing three patents relating to using icons, and displaying and editing data.
It is asking for cash damages and a court order to stop Creative from further breaches.

At the same time, Apple wants the International Trade Commission in Washington to block imports of Creative’s music players.

Another patent filed by Apple has been uncovered, meaning that a patent infringement lawsuit is bound to happen at some point. This time the patent, which was filed on November 24, 2004, is for a ‘Music synchronization arrangement’. This news, which is clearly directed towards use while exercising, makes sense given Apple new partnership with Nike.

The patent features technology that goes beyond what the Nike+iPod Sport Kit can do. It has a mode in which the iPod will measure the tempo of your feet as you are running and choose songs with the same tempo. This would be done using a built-in accelerometer. It can also change the tempo of a song to match your tempo. The idea is that the music will help you maintain your tempo. Alternately, you can set a tempo and strive to meet and maintain it.

This leads to speculation about the emergence of a Sport iPod of some kind. If it happens, you have to imagine Nike will somehow be involved, too.

mobilemag.com

Apple cut the price of its MP3 player, the iPod Shuffle, and launched a smaller-capacity version of its mid-priced iPod Nano.

Cupertino, California-based Apple said the 512-megabyte Shuffle will now sell for $69, down from $99 previously. The 1-gigabyte model will sell for $99, down from $129.

The 512-megabyte version holds about 120 songs. The new 1Gb Nano, the sleek iPod model, was priced at $149.

The 2Gb Nano sells for $199 and holds about 500 songs; a 4-gigabyte model sells for $249.

Interesting report from xtndata.com:

While 25% of people regularly download music using filesharing software only 7% of iPod owners were doing so. Why is unclear but Greig Harper, founder of XTN Data suggested, “It may be that the iPod has a more mainstream audience beyond the gadget fans which means they’re less aware of or have less desire to use filesharing software.”

This is supported by the finding that iPod owners are more regular buyers of CDs buying an 25% more albums than your average music fan. Half of all iPod owners were regular users of Apple’s iTunes legitimate download service.

Owners of other MP3 players were most likely to be downloading illegally followed by those using their computer to listen to music.

The iPod facts:

44% of MP3 players are iPods
52% of iPod owners male
79% regularly listen to music via the radio
50% of iPod owners regularly download music from Apple’s iTunes service.
29% can regularly be found on eBay buying music CDs.
43% of iPod owners regularly play computer games.
36% own a PlayStation 2 while 11% own an Xbox.

Last Saturday Steve Jobs, the Apple Computers CEO, presented three new iPods. Steve presented the iPod Micro, a small mp3 player that holds 0.5 mln. songs. ALso announced that the iPod Micro, just a minute old, and was being replaced by an the iPod Pequeno, an even smaller mp3 player. The Pequeno was then replaced by the iPod Invisa, which, despite being invisible, holds 8 million songs and “every picture ever taken.”

It was the latest, and probably deserving, jab at Apple and the people who clamour for their products.

Apple-bashing seems to be at a fever pitch lately.
Non-believers say Mr. Jobs has been making too many “this-product-is-going-to-change-the-world” presentations.

Pocket-lint report: Apple has secretly started including a case with its iPod nano MP3 player following complaints from customers that the screen scratches too easily.

Although images on the web have started appearing showing the new case bundled in the box Apple has yet to confirm the move.

The new sleeve is virtually identical to the slim-line case current shipped with the new iPod capable of playing video.

The problem with the scratching screen is thought to be from users slipping the thin player in jean pockets with keys and coins in them – something that wasn’t really possible with the original iPod.

The power of the iPod’s “cool factor” in driving new purchases appears to be waning. According to “Understanding iPod®’s Dominance: A Consumer Perspective”, the reasons most often cited for purchasing an iPod have more to do with the interface and brand familiarity than enhanced social status or “coolness.”

Apple’s dominance of the portable digital music player (DMP) market has led pundits and competitors to try and deconstruct the iPod’s “special sauce” – in other words, to identify what specifically continues to make the iPod so much more successful than other MP3 players. According to Dale Gilliam III, director of primary research at The Diffusion Group, today’s iPod buyer is driven more by practical considerations than the enhanced social status that may result from owning an iPod. That said, Gilliam notes significant differences when the age of the user is isolated. For example:

• The “cool factor” ranked third among those 15-to-24, behind quality of interface and familiarity with the brand.
• Among those 25-to-34, design aesthetics and quality of interface were the top two reasons for purchasing an iPod.
• Among those age 35-to-50, familiarity with Apple and iPod brands was the primary reason they chose an iPod.

“Apple has done an exceptional job getting the word out about its DMPs and has dominated mass-market media, said Gilliam. “By comparison, other MP3 brands appear as generic. In many cases, consumers see the iPod as one might see the brand Kleenex – as a category label, not as a brand or subcategory.”

emediawire.com

Hit by the successful launching of Apple’s iPod nano, the prices of local MP3 players have fallen by up to 30 percent over the last two weeks.

The price drop is most apparent in the flash-memory models with storage capacities of from 1 gigabyte to 4 gigabytes. The nanos, Apple’s newly introduced sleek music players, are being sold at 230,000 won for a 2-gigabyte model and at 290,000 won for a 4-gigabyte one, which are much lower than those of rival products with similar storage capacities and functions. Samsung Electronics is reportedly supplying the flash memory chips to Apple at specially discounted prices.

According to danawa.com, a price-comparison Web site, an online shopping mall sold Cowon Systems 2-gigabyte model at 209,000 won early this week. The price of G3s had been set around 290,000 won before the arrival of the new iPods two weeks ago.

Two leading South Korean brands, Samsung’s Yepp and Reigncom’s iRiver, also saw drops in price of their flash-memory devices. The price of Samsung’s 2-gigabyte player YP-T8QB has been cut down to 324,000 won from 380,000 won as of mid-September, and Reigncom’s 1-gigabyte T20 also is being sold at 209,000 won on the Internet, 6,000 won lower than two weeks ago.

The manufacturers, however, deny that they intended to lower the prices of their products, and said that it was the distributors decision in order to get rid of their stockpiles.

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