New blog: Davao in the last 7 days

I created a new blog for my friends overseas.

It’s a blog that chronicles the week that was in Davao City. I call it Davao: The Week In Review. I get my news from Sun.star.com Davao. Mind you I am not a professional writer or reporter. I just do this in my spare time.

I hope you guys will drop by.

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The iPod Family

iPodlounge publishes the article Understanding the iPod family: new iPod minis and photos by Jeremy Horwitz. It talks about the changes in the second generation iPod mini and iPod photo.

iPodounge also releases their review of the second generation iPod mini.

I will post my reaction and comments the next time. I’ve been typing and editing for 2 hours now.

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FireWire backfire

I mentioned in my previous blog (New iPod photos and iPod minis) about the new iPod photos and iPod minis and they don’t include a FireWire cable in the package.

This exclusion didn’t go down so well with Mac users. They feel that Apple sold out.

Daring Fireball talks about the reaction of some in the Mac community and why they reacted so.

From “FireWire hysteria“:

The big hubbub over yesterday’s revamped iPod line-up is that FireWire cables are no longer included as a standard part of the kit; only the USB cable is included by default. That’s not to say the new iPods don’t support FireWire, however — they do, just like always — it’s just that the FireWire cable is now a $19 accessory.

This has raised the hackles of some Mac users, for several reasons. Mostly, however, it is a symbolic slight, in that it indicates that Apple is no longer interested — or at the very least, not as interested — in making the Mac iPod experience better than the Windows iPod experience.

Though the mini is cheaper, Mac fans reasoned out it wouldn’t have made much difference to Apple if they included the FireWire cable. Doesn’t it?

The original 4 GB iPod Mini cost $249 and included a FireWire cable and AC adapter; you can now get a new second generation 4 GB iPod Mini for $199, a FireWire cable for $19, and an AC adapter for $29, for a grand total of $247. (Or if you just want the standalone AC adapter, you can get the USB power adapter and forego the FireWire cable, saving $19.)

So, DF shows that the price cut can be attributed to the FireWire cable and the adapter being sold as a la carte, as DF puts it.

Daring Fireball’s last comment goes:

Symbolism aside, this FireWire cable issue is not a big deal. It’s not a technical change, it’s a marketing/packaging change. Ina Fried’s report on the issue for CNet News is getting lots of play, largely due to its sensational headline: “Apple Takes a Step Away From FireWire”. A more accurate headline would have read, “Apple No Longer Includes FireWire Cable in iPod Box”.

Mac fans feels that Apple bent over to accomodate the millions of Windows users. But from Apple’s perpective, they are just doing what any company would do when it wants to dominate an industry.

Samsung, Creative and the rest of the digital music players better watch out: Apple’s ready to take a huge bite at them that’ll leave them bleeding.

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Dressing up and dissecting your shuffle

This is from CNet News.com:

Shuffle’s on to dress up baby iPod

Add-on maker XtremeMac on Friday debuted more than a dozen accessories for the iPod Shuffle, ranging from auto accessories like a car charger and an FM transmitter to aesthetic enhancements such as Bumperz–colored silicon bands that go around the flash music player.

After seeing Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduce the iPod Shuffle at Macworld in January, XtremeMac CEO Gary Bart saw a hit in the making and quickly headed off to China to ready a slew of add-ons.

“The development of such an extensive line of new iPod Shuffle accessories just six weeks after its launch at Macworld shows our determination and commitment to being the iPod accessory leader,” Bart said in a statement.

After playing dress up with your shuffle it’s time to take it apart. Still from CNet News.com:

A voyage inside the iPod Shuffle

IDC analyst IdaRose Sylvester recently dissected a 512MB iPod Shuffle, purchased at retail, to determine what the tiny music player is made of. Her report, published earlier this month, reveals that Apple used two main chips spread over two separate circuit boards to foster the compact design of the music player, which was introduced in January.

The article continues to say:

The Shuffle’s Samsung flash memory chip is mated to a separate circuit board. The two boards are sandwiched together at the top of the Shuffle, leaving room for its battery below.

The Shuffle’s lithium-ion battery takes up the bottom half of the device; it sits between the boards and the player’s USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector. Sylvester surmises that because of the Shuffle’s design, it may not be possible for the battery to be replaced by a consumer, if at all.

On a side note, CNet News.com also mentions that there has been a boom in iPod add-ons:

Less than three weeks ago, XtremeMac President Gary Bart was in San Francisco, sitting in the VIP section as Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Shuffle.

Days later, Bart packed his bags and jetted to China, where he has been working feverishly to produce 14 new accessories for the music player. Such is the life in the lucrative but highly competitive market for iPod add-ons.

Stratospheric iPod sales have created a vast opportunity for other companies to sell companion gear, but the spoils have gone to those able to keep pace with Apple, which has introduced at least a half dozen kinds of iPods since the first model arrived in late 2001.

Putting a dollar figure on the “iPod economy” isn’t simple, but it easily stretches into the hundreds of millions. Bart said the rule of thumb in the electronics industry is that with items like cameras or cell phones, people probably spend, on average, about 10 percent of the cost of a device on accessories. Apple has sold more than 10 million iPods, probably at an average price above $300, so the 10 percent rule would easily put the iPod add-on market in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Among the best-known companies offering iPod accessories are speaker makers such as Bose, JBL and Monster Cable, a company known for its stereo wiring. The rest of the accessory market is spread out among an array of companies, nearly all privately held and most quite small–companies such as Griffin Technologies and XtremeMac, which has 14 full-time staffers and maybe a dozen part-timers.

An entire site, iPod Hacks, is devoted to customizing the iPod in unsanctioned ways. A popular recent posting outlines a tactic for changing the graphics that the iPod displays at startup and when synching to a computer.

Quicklinks:
Bose
Griffin Technologies
iPod Hacks
JBL
Monster Cable
XtremeMac

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New iPod photos and iPod minis released!

It would seem that Apple is really serious in taking on the likes of Samsung and Creative in the race for domination in the MP3 player arena.

Just after about six weeks from releasing the iPod shuffle, Apple revamps the iPod photo and iPod mini line. The new iPod photo comes in 30GB and 60GB priced at $349 (less $150 than the 40GB model) and $449 (less $150) respectively. The 40GB model seems to have been discontinued. The price drop, however, comes at a price: they removed from the package the AV cable, the Photo dock with S-Video out ($39) and the Firewire Cable ($19). The new included items are the usual earbud headphones, a USB 2.0 cable and a power adapter.

A new accessory called the iPod Camera Connector ($29) can be used to connect the iPod photo to a digital camera so you can transfer pictures from the camera to the iPod.

The 30GB iPod photo is thinner than the 40GB model while the 60GB still has the same thickness.

News articles from Playlist, MacCentral, MacNN and MacMinute.

Upgrade and price drop: two things that describes the second generation iPod mini (though it’s still not officially called as “second generation”. I’m just getting ahead of the pack.)

The iPod mini now comes into two varieties: the original 4GB and a larger 6GB version. When the iPod mini was first released it was priced at $249. Now, it’s priced at $199. The 6GB is priced at $249. The iPod mini still looks the same except for the color coordinated click wheel icons.

Like the iPod photo, the cheaper price comes at a cost: the charger is now sold separately, as well as the Firewire cable.

One good news is that the battery life is now advertised to last for 18 hours. This we have to wait and see.

As before, Apple offers different colors for the iPod mini but this time they removed the gold colored mini. Sales of the gold colored mini must have been really poor as to make Apple decide to pull it out as a choice.

As with the new iPod photo line, they chose to package the mini with a USB 2.0 syns and charging cable instead of the Firewire cable ($19). Other items that are included in the package are: earbud headphones, a belt clip case and the iTunes 4.7.1 CD.

Articles on the iPod mini from Playlist, MacCentral, MacNN and MacMinute.

I will watch out for reactions on the web from both Apple fans and Apple haters.

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iPod in USA Today

In iPod America, legions in tune
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — With its high-tech decor and clubby feel, Apple’s flagship store here doesn’t look like a creepy cult headquarters. But there’s some kind of mind-noodling going on: Everyone exiting its glass doors is ready to spout the gospel of iPod.

“With the iPod, the Buddha is in the details. The finish and feel are such that you want to caress it. And when you do, wonderful things happen,” says one user.
By John Zich, USA TODAY

“I love the sound quality and how many songs I can carry around,” says real estate agent Paige Baron, 25, running her fingers over a pink iPod Mini. “My friends all have one, and I just felt it was time to catch up.”

She has just joined the iPod nation. Apple may have introduced its innovative digital music player in 2001, but of the 10 million iPods sold to date, 8.2 million of the $249 to $399 gadgets were purchased in 2004. Nearly 5 million were bought over the holiday season alone. With its new $99 Shuffle, Apple expects the streets to soon sprout even more iPod people.

More at USA Today.

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The iPod People

Here is an artice from the Des Moines Register website that talks about the iPod popping up in unexpected places.

Iowa’s iPod people
The popular digital players are popping up in unexpected corners of everyday life, from the pub to the classroom

By KYLE MUNSON
REGISTER MUSIC CRITIC
February 21, 2005

It was Monday night at the Lift, the bar at 222 Fourth St. in downtown Des Moines, perhaps the first in Iowa to devote a weekly night to owners of iPods and other portable digital music players.

” PodJay Mondays” debuted on Valentine’s Day, and it is one of many signs that the coveted gadgets are becoming much more than mere entertainment.

PodJay Mondays essentially set up digital players as the new icebreaker. People program a playlist with 15 minutes or so of songs from their music catalog, then hand their players over to bartender Clint Curtis who treats the entire room to their musical tastes.

From DJs to lawyers:

“I’m not much of a tech guy,” said Dave Tank, a 45-year-old attorney in Des Moines who didn’t try an iPod until an old law school buddy finally showed him the ropes. “It’s one of those products you don’t really understand or appreciate until you have one in your hand.”

And there are more: from a teacher to a podcaster, from a blogger to a restaurateur. More here

I mentioned podcaster. What is a podcaster? Well, someone who podcasts.

So, what is a podcast?

I’ll tell you about it the next time.

This is it for today!

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iPod shuffle… yet again.

Here I go again. I know that I have been blabbering about the shuffle for more than a month now. I said I was going to me one of these things but unfortunately my source said the shuffle didn’t make it to Davao. I had to wait another 3 weeks to find out that some big shot store got all of the stocks allocated for Davao.

Damn!

I have to wait til March. And it’s still a very very very long time from now.

Anyway, the raves (and the boos) for the shuffle has not died down a bit. Here, I present to you the latest shuffle rave that I found. This is written by Scott Goldman of Indystar.

Apple’s Shuffle ripe for picking

Scott Goldman

Super-portable iPod, good even for athletic use, winning raves for its AutoFill function.

What you should know about Apple’s Shuffle

Scott Goldman

• How much music can it hold?

Apple has two versions — the 512 MB holds up to 120 songs and sells for $99 at the Apple Store; the 1 GB version holds up to 240 songs for $149.

• How much will it REALLY cost me?

There are a couple of recommended extras, like a battery pack, sport case and arm band, but you can seriously walk out of the store with just the Shuffle and you’ll be very happy. The earpods have even gotten better, so you don’t need to upgrade those.

No comment on how much you’ll spend downloading music from the iTunes music store.

• What’s the coolest part of the Shuffle?

Amazingly, it’s the plug. The bottom of the unit is a tiny white cap that covers the USB 2.0 plug that you use to load songs from your laptop. And while the unit is plugged into your laptop, it recharges the internal battery. The included lanyard snaps into the plug as well.

• How long does the battery last?

Up to 12 hours. Mine still was going after 12 straight hours of use. The optional battery pack adds 20 more hours of playback.

• Does this only work on a Mac?

Nope. Mac or PC. You just need a USB port, and the software for the latest version of iTunes comes in the box.

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I got mine!!!

My Powerbook, that is.

Got my PB this morning and it burned a rather large hole in my pocket.

So far, it surpasses my expectations. It did very well in doing the 3D images in OsiriX. It didn’t break a single sweat.

There are some minor defects since this is a second hand Powerbook. There are dents. The left front corner is not plush with the rest of the portable. There are scratches.

But so far, I am happy. I think I’m sticking with this for quite some time.

On another note, this article asks whether Microsoft has gotten it? The article stems from another article talking about another in Wired.com, Hide your iPod. Here comes Bill. The Wired article says that even Microsoft employees are buying the iPod because:

“The industrial design on the iPod is absolutely amazing. The usability of the device is light-years beyond anything else I’ve seen.”

I’ll post more as soon as I gather my wits.

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Shuffle away!!! Whoops! Not yet.

I’ve been rambling and ranting about the iPod shuffle for weeks now. I’ve been posting commments and giving links to various reviews found on the net. I promised that I would get my hands on a shuffle by the end of January.

Well, guess what. I don’t have it yet.

My last hope was that I’ll have one by the first week of February.

Yup. You guessed it. Not yet.

It would seem that the local distributor here doesn’t have much clout and Davao City once again has been pushed aside for the more important cities like Manila and Cebu. We are still left behind and last on the list of priority. Ah, well… I was told that the shuffle will be here on the first week of March. I think by then I would have lost interest in the shuffle. We’ll just see won’t we?

But who am I to complain? There’s actually a worldwide shortage on the shuffle. There’s no flash based MP3 player that has this much demand. Up yours, MuVo!

For now, my heighten anticiption has dropped down to idle curiousity as many more people now own the shuffle here in the Philippines and are releasing their own mini-reviews. The euphoria is gone. The drool factor has waned. I’m just in it for the functionality and not for the wow-factor anymore.

Update:
I wonder is my cuz, Aivory, managed to get her hands on one.

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