Digital Gadgets

Apple iPod Nano Coming Soon in 1GB

Apple Computer introduced a 1-gigabyte version of its iPod nano priced at $149 on Tuesday and lowered the prices of its iPod shuffle model to $69 for the 512-megabyte version and $99 for the 1GB version.

ThinkSecret rounds up a bunch of the rumours regarding Apple’s upcoming products. First is is expected that Apple will replace their 12.1″ and 14.1″ iBook notebooks with a new widescreen 13.3″ iBook. They may be announced in March, with availability in April. These iBooks will have a new enclosure, an update to the original one that was launched in 2001.

The 1GB iPod shuffle is no longer available on Apple’s web store or through online retailers like Amazon.com, Wal-Mart or Best Buy. Several third-party retailers are still selling the HP branded version, but HP has said it will stop making it.

It was a quiet introduction with no announcement, no fanfare, and certainly no warning — not that we hadn’t expected this — but today Apple threw up a 1GB nano on their store for $149. Yup, same nano we’ve all come to know and, um, wipe smudges and scratches constantly.

The portable music player maker also said Tuesday it would offer programming from Showtime Networks’ cable TV series Sleeper Cell, Weeds, and Fat Actress for download from its iTunes Music Store. The content can be played on the video versions of the iPod.

Another rumour is about an upcoming 1GB iPod nano from Apple. This may be set to replace the iPod shuffle in the near future.

The move to lower the prices of its two lines of flash memory-based music players, the shuffle and nano, makes the players more affordable for users who have hesitated to purchase more expensive players for themselves or as gifts. Some users also buy them as an adjunct player that is more suitable when jogging and exercising than the hard-disk-based iPods.

But Apple is seeing increasing competition in the digital music player market from other companies such as SanDisk, which showed new players last month at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Thing is, we know that Apple doesn’t like making a big deal when they start phasing out old products, and from the look of things that could be what they’re doing with the shuffle, which got a price slash itself, the 512MB version down to $69 and the 1GB version down to a Benjamin. Somehow we can imagine they’ll be selling a lot more nanos than ever before, and they probably won’t be of the 2GB/$200 or 4GB/$250 variety, feeling us?

Apple Repairing Nano Screens Free

First, note the word cracked. Last year there were stories and even lawsuits about the screen on the nano easily cracking or scratching, and this message to service providers applies to cracked screens only. Apple continues to state that cracking or scratching is an isolated issue.

See, whine long and loud enough and the boys at the boardroom table will hear your plight, dear consumer, and come to your aid. Well, perhaps in a more perfect world anyway, but at least on a case-by-case basis Apple’s doing decently well for themselves on fixing where a fixing’s needed.

“The AppleCare Repair Center will also be processing such repairs as covered repairs,” the company added. This means iPod nano owners with cracked displays should be able to contact AppleCare via telephone to arrange for their players to be serviced under warranty.

It’s unclear if Apple’s decision to continue replacing cracked iPod nano screens stems purely from the initial vendor quality problem or if it is a result of an ongoing issue with the screens. However, Apple’s recent note to service providers appears to imply the latter.

According to AppleInsider, AppleCare Repair Centers will begin processing nano display problems (specifically those screen cracks people keep decrying), which they claim has affected less than a tenth of a percent of nanos. Well done, now hows about issuing a patch for that mad scratchy acrylic they used on the damn things, eh?

Apple kills the 17-inch iMac G5

Apple Computer this week official shifted its PowerPC-based 17-inch iMac G5 offering to “End-Of-Life” status, tipsters tell AppleInsider. Just days after slashing the price of the 20-inch G5 iMac by $200, Apple has apparently killed off the 17-inch version of the computer. The 17-inch G5 no longer appears in any of Apple’s online stores, though it is still available from some resellers, which have begun slashing prices to clear inventory.

It has only been a couple of months since Apple refined its iMac G5’s with the built-in iSight and Front Row. But now they have put it to death! A few days earlier Apple cut down the prices of the 17″ iMac by almost £150 and now they have completely stopped selling it at all online Apple stores.

It seems to me like they are discontinuing it, and replacing it with the Intel iMac. The price was lowered to sell of what stock they have, and now the only place to get it if you still want one is a 3rd party reseller. So the 17″ iMac is the first Mac which is Intel only (not counting the MacBook Pro of which there never was a PPC version).

At last check, MacMall was offering the 17-inch G5 for as little as $1,194 after a rebate, or about $100 less than the Intel-based version. We have to give Apple some credit here; they apparently managed to sell off all of their stock of 17-inch G5s without having to cut prices — though it looks like resellers won’t be quite as lucky.

The QuickerTek 27dBm Transceiver was announced today with the ability to deliver up to a mile of wireless range for the 17-inch iMac G5. “The QuickerTek 17-inch iMac G5 Transceiver delivers a full 500 milliwatts of RF power. By comparison, iMacs tend to average little more than 30 milliwatts. The internal shielding that keeps the other parts inside your iMac from interfering with each other, also limits the effectiveness of the built-in AirPort wireless.” The QuickerTek 27dBm Transceiver is available now for US$200.

The remote control would allow the users to view video content, listen to music, and view videos without needing to be right in front of the computer. While, Apple’s iSight, a video webcam is being offered as an add-on peripheral to enable video conferencing. Apple has also managed to take off some fat from the current generation iMac by making it 1/2 inch thinner and 15 percent lighter.

Like the current version, the new iMacs are available in 17-inch and 20-inch widescreen configurations.

New Apple mouse

The much criticized Apple ‘hockey puck’ mouse will indeed begin to slowly disappear from the company’s desktop offerings starting some time this summer.

Since AppleInsider first broke the story on Apple’s new optical, USB mouse and keyboard over a month ago, several industry sources have come forth in attempts to paint a clearer picture of the new peripherals. Most recently, however, sources from within the company have willingly submitted a set of 3-D rendered sketches of the new mouse unit, which can be viewed throughout this article.

Since this mouse is wireless, you’ll enjoy the freedom to use it practically anywhere. Not only does the optical tracking engine allow it to work well on most surfaces, but the fact that it’s wireless means you can use it in your left hand or your right, on your pants leg, keyboard tray — or from across your office. There’s no cable to clutter your desk and tether you to your computer.

As Macworld New York slowly approaches, sources have begun to reveal addition rumors on Apple’s newly designed Optical USB mouse — specifically those pertaining to its behavior.

According to sources, the new mouse currently has the ability to support up to 3 mouse actions, and possibly more. These mouse actions produce the same results as second and third buttons on multi-button mice, sources said, but without the physical presence and clutter of three individual buttons.

Documentation currently making the rounds as part of the Mac OS X project reveal two new API calls for mouse-click actions. The first, called ‘TipSwitch’ — referring to the tip or rocking action need to produce a mouse click on Apple’s new mouse — is treated as the left (primary) button. ‘BarrelSwitch,’ which is the second listed mouse action, is treated as the right (secondary) button.

Dubbed Mighty Mouse, the new $49 pointer has a 360-degree scroll wheel and can be programmed to recognize a click on either the left or right side. For Apple purists, it can also act as a single-button mouse.

Multibutton mice have been standard on Windows PCs for years and even the Mac OS has long recognized a right click. However, the company has stuck by its single-button design, refining it and adding a Bluetooth wireless version, but maintaining only a single-click option.

In related news, there has been some misconception that our artist renditions (not Apple Computer images or sketches) depict a right-handed mouse only. The mouse is described by sources as a universal mouse that can be used in either hand. The renditions are said to be rough sketches depicting the overall appearance and style of the new mouse, though the unit is much sleeker and compact in reality.

Apple has apparently seeded these mice prototypes in more than one casing; some being generically colored in an extremely simple enclosure to deter leaks about its style. The company has, however, put a number of units with all their cosmetic enhancements out in the field of their closet developers, sources said. A previous AppleInsider report revealed a source’s 3-D rendition of what is rumored to be one of the more complete prototypes.