Digital Gadgets

Apple iPod Hi-Fi speaker System

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Hi-Fi during today’s special event at Apple’s Cuperinto headquarters. [Live coverage] The high-end speaker system delivers “breathtaking acoustic performance and room-filling sound unlike any other speaker system designed for the iPod in an innovative, all-in-one design.”

Apple iPod Hi-Fi. We’d heard this was coming, and it’s caught our attention namely because it’s Apple’s first true foray into the iPod accessories market, along with their new leather iPod cases.

The iPod Hi-Fi, which can be powered from a wall socket or by six D-cell batteries, features an integrated iPod dock and is controlled by the 6-button Apple Remote. It’s available starting today for $349.

We did get a good listen in some of the rooms Apple set up on campus to demo the sound in a “real world” environment (our fav was the teenager’s space, replete with dirty laundry strewn about), and yup, it sounds pretty good.

Compatible with all dock connector iPods, the Hi-Fi charges your iPod while docked and offers Tone Control, Large Album Art mode and volume mirroring on fifth-generation iPods and iPod nanos. You know how we wish it was, well, a little less iPod-centric for being a regular old piece of consumer electronics and all, but hey, you know how they play the game. The device also features molded handles, a removable front grille, touch-sensitive volume control buttons, a built-in power supply (no external power brick), and a 3.5-mm auxiliary input. The Hi-Fi measures 17.0” x 6.6” x 6.9.”

“iPod Hi-Fi has been designed and engineered by Apple to deliver unrivaled sound quality, realistic sound imaging and optimal audio performance,” the company says. “its clean, all-in-one design features a unique isolated enclosure system that includes two custom designed wide-range speakers and a tuned, ported bass system, minimizing vibration while maximizing sound quality and allowing users to listen to their favorite music as it was intended with amazing sound clarity and rich, deep bass.”

So how’s the thing feel? Well, let’s be straight up, the Hi-Fi is heavy. Like, way too heavy to want to carry with you to the cabana or the beach, as they described you might despite its alternate six D-cell power source. Click on to see some more shots!

Apple also today introduced new Intel-based Mac mini computers. Available in a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor configuration and a 1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo processor configuration, the new systems feature Apple’s Front Row media software and a new music, video and photo sharing feature that uses the company’s Bonjour wireless networking technology. The new Mac minis start at $599. Of course, there is a big difference between satisfying the faithful’s wildly unreasonable expectations and prancing around on stage just because you know you can get people to watch. Was the media event a waste of time or were expectations just too high? It is left as an exercise for the reader to categorize Tuesday’s revelations.

Gamepark announces redesigned XGP and surprise XGP Mini

Added phosphor effect, similar to z26. Useful on ROMs which alternate sprites from one frame to another, resulting in an annoying flicker. When using phosphor mode, a pixels colour is mixed with its previous value, resulting in a blended image that doesn’t flicker, emulating the phosphoresence effect on a real television.

Added ‘pp’ developer commandline argument to set the “Display.Phosphor” property, and ‘ppblend’ to set the amount to blend pixels in phosphor mode. Also added ‘Alt p’ key to enable/disable phosphor effect while ROM is emulated. By default, phosphor mode is only used when necessary, as specified in the stella.pro file.

Since the open-source GP2X handheld gaming console has earned itself quite a devoted little following, we’re sure that several of you will be excited to learn that Gamepark (but not Gamepark Holdings, who had split off to release the GP2X) has released photos of two upcoming models that may or may not pack the same PMP and emulation goodness — these may be geared towards the commercial market — into slightly different packages.

Renamed ‘cheetah’ commandline argument to ‘cheat’. Added per-frame cheatcodes (4 characters long), which are evaluated each frame. Added cheatcode GUI, where cheats can be named, edited, saved, etc.
Cheat codes are now saved to stella.cht file and are automatically reloaded when Stella starts.

First is the the redesigned XGP (Extreme Game Player) handheld, which ditches the swivel screen design that we once opined “looks a bit like the bastard child of a PSP and a Sidekick,” for a more traditional Game Gear / Lynx / Nomad-type form factor, while one-upping the GP2X in screen size (4-inches vs. 3.5), the addition of a DMB TV receiver, and a little standard known as WiFi.

Improved ‘joymouse’ functionality. While in GUI mode, any axis will simulate mouse movement, and any button will simulate a mouse click. So the GUI can be completely navigated without a mouse. Improved CommandDialog and LauncherDialog wrt joymouse functionality. These dialogs are used more than any other on devices without a mouse, so joystick axis movement switches between GUI objects, rather than simulating the mouse. This leads to much faster selection of objects.

The real surprise, though, was the XGP Mini, an obvious rip-off of homage to the Game Boy Micro, which like the GP2X and XGP, sports an SD slot and 64MB NAND memory, but 32MB less RAM than the 64MB found in its brethren.

Added mapping of multiple SDL joystick axis to Event Mapping. Added joystick hat support, and mapping of multiple hats to Event Mapping. Added remapping of paddle emulation to the keyboard or joystick axis (the mouse is still used by default for paddles). Related to this, use more precise analog values when analog axis are mapped to analog-type events (such as paddles).

Treat joystick events as other types of controllers based on the virtual port entry in stella.pro. This means that mappings for a joystick will emulate other devices when necessary. Added ’sp’ developer commandline argument, which sets the “Console.SwapPorts” property and swaps the arrangement of the virtual ports. Useful for games like “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, where the joysticks are normally swapped. Added ability to set which Stelladaptor device emulates which virtual joystick port (’sa1′ and ’sa2′ commandline arguments, which accept ‘left’ or ‘right’).

Although release dates are unknown for either model, the XGP will supposedly retail for around $300, while the XGP Mini (pictured after the break) will cost $150.

True video iPod to sport 3.5-inch display, touch-screen click wheel

This video iPod, which has been in development and on the table since before Apple released the 5G iPod last year with video playback, will feature a display that will occupy the entire front face of the device. Sources who have seen the device report that it features a digital click wheel, one that overlays the touch-sensitive display and appears when a finger touches it and disappears when the finger is removed.

It was too good to be true. Just when we thought we might actually have a day free from Apple rumors (after all, doesn’t Microsoft deserve to have the rumor mill to itself for at least a little while?), ThinkSecret has hit us with word that the “true” video iPod is still coming, and that it will have a 4-inch display, rather than the 3.5-inch one that was claimed in earlier rumors.

Apple has been working with at least two other companies to perfect the digital click wheel display technology. While not all the engineering was completed in-house by Apple, sources have said Apple could hold an exclusive license on the technologies it borrowed from other developers for a period of time, limiting the ability of competitors to copy Apple’s design.

Additional details concerning the new iPod have yet to be confirmed, including capacity and a release date, although all indications point to the Spring, possibly as early as late March or early April. During the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs alluded to a major announcement on or around April 1, Apple’s 30th anniversary as a company.

ThinkSecret also reports that the video iPod is on target for a March or April release, pending content deals with studios (which we assume will come through, given that Steve Jobs basically owns Disney now). Of course, even if the video unit is delayed, we assume Stevie will still schedule another big press conference sometime in the next few weeks.

Like previous iPods, sources insist that this video iPod will lack any sort of wireless connectivity, and will continue to connect to televisions using the conventional cabling solution of current models.

While Apple no longer publicly releases the numbers for how many specific iPod models it sells, Think Secret has learned exclusively that during Apple’s most recent December quarter, the company moved 3.9 million 5G iPods, exceeding internal estimates and confirming that strong demand remains for higher capacity, higher priced iPod models, especially with additional functionality. By comparison, 8 million iPod nanos were sold during the same period.

After all, Apple has yet to announce the Intel-powered eMac and the pleather case for the shuffle.