This week Apple announced new iPods and lowered the iPhone price by $200. But what if you were one of the millions of people who bought an iPhone 2 months ago? You’d probably be a little pissed off right? Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, got so many emails from angry customers that he wrote an open letter on the Apple website today. The letter says that every customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T will receive a $100 Apple store credit.
It’s a brilliant move by Apple. This rebate will placate the angry early iPhone adopters who are feeling cheated, still keep the money in Apple’s pocket and generate lots of press (like this article).Here’s the open letter from Jobs:
To all iPhone customers:
I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.
First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ‘go for it’ this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent’. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.
Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.
Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.
Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
Steve Jobs
Apple CEO
I’m not going to bury the punch line – it’s just a concept…and what a shame. I think the iRing would be a hot hot seller.
The iRing is a powerful symbol on how Apple enthusiasts have become married to their gadgets. The iRing is a stylish Bluetooth ring that allows complete control over your iPod, iPhone or other Apple media device (AppleTV).
The iRing features an OLED display with a touch sensitive strip that with a simple glide of the finger you control the volume, crimp your finger to unlock or lock the Apple device or tap the Apple icon to toggle play and pause or finally tap the left or right of the Apple icon to skip tracks.
Using the included cradle power up the iRing with the USB power docking station.
The designer Victor Soto is definitely in touch with the needs of the iPod / iPhone enthusiast and I would fully expect this to hit the market in the next 6-9 months (although pure speculation). If not, what a damn shame.
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Apple unveiled its new line of iPods yesterday including a model with an iPhone-like touchscreen interface and Zune-like WiFi access. The “iPod Touch” sports a 3.5-inch widescreen and a Safari browser, creating a mobile YouTube delivery device that essentially replicates the iPhone browsing experience for non-AT&T subscribers. It’s going to run $299 for an 8 GB model and $399 for a 16 GB version, scheduled to ship later this month. You can pre-order the new iPods from Apple.com.
The former Video iPod has been renamed the “iPod Classic” with a slimmer design and a bigger hard drive.
Although the new iPod Touch is very impressive with its Wi-Fi and touch-screen, the fact that it only has a 16GBs sucks big time. I like to keep my current iPod Video full of movies and TV shows that I ripped from DVD for my morning commute. The new smaller hard drive is a major sticking point for me. The reason the new iPods have smaller hard drives is because they are Flash memory based (no moving parts) and are able to withstand an occasional bump or drop better than traditional hard drives.
Apple is also teaming with Starbucks to allow customers to browse a new WiFi iTunes store for free inside of its coffee shops. Go near a Starbucks and an icon pops up. Click on it and you can buy Starbucks’ current music selections.
Steve Jobs also announced he was phasing out the entry level iPhone and cutting the price of the upper-end model from $599 to $399.
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Though it is not official, those in the “know” say Apple is just hours away from announcing a new Wi-Fi enabled iPod designed to receive digital radio along with an option to buy content from the iTunes Store. It is not known whether the same functions will be included in the iPhone.
Other rumors about the new Wi-Fi iPod line suggest the inclusion of a wide-screen touch-screen interface like the iPhone, larger storage capacity, Flash based hard drive and a new version of the iPod Nano that can handle video.
On a personal note, I’m ready for a wide-screen iPod. Watching wide-screen formatted movies that I’ve ripped off of DVD on the small iPod screen has been giving me a headache.
Since the iPod’s release in 2001, the hand-held music player has gone from a fun toy to a cultural icon. But it may be time for a revamp. Last year Apple’s iPod sales dipped for the first time since 2002.
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Technology can be a love / hate relationship. A couple days ago Brando released a product which I think is just brilliant…the company badge holder that doubles as a card reader.
For those working the corporate gig and require an ID badge, I would think this card reader fits the bill perfectly. What better way to tot around your GBs of porn personal pictures without the worry of knowing those pictures will leave your person. Or maybe run your iTunes from a flash card.
Compatible with an array of cards, SDHC (nice), MMC, miniSD, RS MMC and microSD (nice) along with extendable USB cable for connectivity to those pesky USB locations. At $14 it’s a drop in the bucket for you hi-powered, highly-paid executives.
Is this for kids or adults – it’s a tough call. The latest hi-tech toys from Hammacher is a 500 foot flying rocket with USB digital camera. If you can’t make it into this seasons Super Bowl – it is a good alternative – albeit with some serious security issues.
The Estes rocket is designed to keep the digital camera always aimed towards the ground during flight. You can get up to 3 shots per flight or record 12 seconds of live video (640×480 res). The on board USB port and included cable make download of pictures or video quick and easy.
Computer cables are the most over looked piece of technology on any computer system. Too often a cheap cable or a poorly made socket is the cause of many late nights or critical problems at urgent moments. You should never short change yourself and save a few dollars between a cheap cable and higher end cable. Today GetUSB looks at Tendon USB cables.
Tendon makes a full line of USB cables, DVI cables, HDMI cables and host of other cable products.
Today we are looking at the 15 foot USB-A to USB-A cable which is ideal for scanners, printers, external hard drives and USB hubs. Tendon also sent a variety of other USB cables, all of which are made using the same technique, materials and craftsmanship.
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Designed by Undoboy, a member of the Spear Collection, Mimobot introduces the King and Queen series.
Patterned with all the royal shapes of diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades the USB King and USB Queen collection is another unique design from Mimoco.
Included in the limited edition USB drive is a short animation, wallpapers and icons. What is odd about this release is Mimobot labeling the series as “R” and “Not For Kids” The response from Mimoco:
The content on the King and Queen units contains footage of artists using expletives, being extremely frank, etc…
As a foot note; Mimobot is running a 25% OFF back to school sale so if any of their characters where the right design, but the wrong price (like their Starwars Stormtropper or Chewbacca) – might be worth another revisit.
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Even with the inexpensive USB fans available sometimes it’s just more fun to build one yourself. Here is a quick video tutorial whereby you need two CDs, a motor, some cable a lighter and a little time and you’ll be cool (although not looking) at the click of a USB connection.
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I received the iPod FM Transmitter from Hannah over at Proporta and today had a chance to play around with it.
The iPod FM Transmitter is a compact, light and simple product to use. Using the iPod connector you click the FM transmitter into your iPod Nano (also supports iPod mini, Photo, 4 & 5GB pods and video iPod – but today tested with Nano) which is nice to have the direct connect because no extra cables or wires are needed to make your iPod work with a 3rd party radio.
Upon connection you get a confirmation the FM transmitter is sending a signal on FM frequency 88.8Mhz channel. This is the default setting, however, you have 9 memory channels to set the FM transmitter to.
The Proporta FM transmitter has three buttons. A memory button to select one of nine preset channels, a scroll up button and scroll down button to navigate through the radio frequencies. It’s simple. It’s easy.
Using the iPod FM transmitter I had mixed experience. Overall a good product – this is what I found:
Using the iPod FM transmitter without a power connection I had decent reception.
Using the iPod FM transmitter indoors gave much better reception to the radio than using the transmitter in the car. I can attribute the poor performance in the car due to many other electrical disturbances. The same results where found on different frequency settings. I did find the best reception was having the iPod close to the radio itself to boost signal strength over distance.
Using the iPod FM transmitter with a power connection did yield slightly better performance.
When the Proporta iPod FM transmitter is connected it’s best to set it and leave it. I found the connection between the two devices didn’t like being moved around and upon picking up and moving there would be static across the radio. This isn’t a big deal to me as I figure most users would set it and forget it. If you plan on walking around with your iPod forget the FM transmitter and use your headphones.
Bottom Line: For the $24 price tag it’s a good product for getting your tunes to a radio; however, we’d like to see some more signal strength to make the music clear in all situations.
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UPDATE: YouTube has reworked their site in response to this article. If you get an error when trying to download a YouTube video, please try some of the plug-ins and scripts listed in step #3.
YouTube.com is a great resource. Not many sites allows users to freely upload, view, and share video clips like YouTube does. YouTube even lets users easily post videos on their blogs and personal web sites. But because anyone can upload a video clip on YouTube, copyright violations are rampant.
In an effort to prevent the widespread distribution of illegal copied video files, YouTube encodes its video files in the Macromedia Flash format, which prevents viewers from downloading files and making digital copies.
Here’s a step-by-step MethodShop.com tutorial on how to rip video files off YouTube and convert them for an iPod Video, Apple TV, iTunes or iPhone. This trick will work on Mac or PC using Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.
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Following the no-button design of the iPhone, Grundig is launching their MPixx 7000 FineArts series PMP player. Brushed aluminum holds in the button less screen and with a 2.4 inch TFT display there is plenty to look at.
Two models are available; 2GB and 4GB. Both Grundig FineArts models support all the audio and video formats along with FM radio support. If these guys could figure out how to get my satellite radio stations in there we’d be set! The MPixx 7000 also comes with a microSD slot for expanded memory, integrated loudspeaker (how loud is another question) double earphone connection and USB connection for download and power charging.
Due out in October at $200 and $240 respectively.
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Apple unveiled its new line of iPods yesterday including a model with an iPhone-like touchscreen interface and Zune-like WiFi access. The “iPod Touch” sports a 3.5-inch widescreen and a Safari browser, creating a mobile YouTube delivery device that essentially replicates the iPhone browsing experience for non-AT&T subscribers. It’s going to run $299 for an 8 GB model and $399 for a 16 GB version, scheduled to ship later this month. You can 
Though it is not official, those in the “know” say Apple is just hours away from announcing a new Wi-Fi enabled iPod designed to receive digital radio along with an option to buy content from the iTunes Store. It is not known whether the same functions will be included in the iPhone.
Other rumors about the new Wi-Fi iPod line suggest the inclusion of a wide-screen touch-screen interface like the iPhone, larger storage capacity, Flash based hard drive and a new version of the iPod Nano that 
Upon connection you get a confirmation the FM transmitter is sending a signal on FM frequency 88.8Mhz channel. This is the default setting, however, you have 9 memory channels to set the FM transmitter to.
The Proporta FM transmitter has three buttons. A memory button to select one of nine preset channels, a scroll up button and scroll down button to navigate through the radio frequencies. It’s simple. It’s easy.
Using the iPod FM transmitter I had mixed experience. Overall a good product – this is what I found:
Using the iPod FM transmitter without a power connection I had decent reception.
Using the iPod FM transmitter indoors gave much better reception to the radio than using the transmitter in the car. I can attribute the poor performance in the car due to many other electrical disturbances. The same results where found on different frequency settings. I did find the best reception was having the iPod close to the radio itself to boost signal strength over distance.
Using the 
UPDATE: YouTube has reworked their site in response to this article. If you get an error when trying to download a YouTube video, please try some of the plug-ins and scripts listed in step #3.
YouTube.com is a great resource. Not many sites allows users to freely upload, view, and share video clips like YouTube does. YouTube even lets users easily post videos on their blogs and personal web sites. But because anyone can upload a video clip on YouTube, copyright violations are rampant.
In an effort to prevent the widespread distribution of illegal copied video files, YouTube encodes its video files in the 