Zune… Microsoft’s Answer to the iPod… Really?

Microsoft introduced the Zune in late 2006 as an answer to Apple’s iPod, but has struggled to chip away at iPod’s dominance. Microsoft has plans to release a new Zune model this fall featuring a touch screen, web browser and high-def quality video. All of these features should sound awfully familiar to iPod and iPhone owners. It seems as if Microsoft continues the habit of remaining one (or more) steps behind Apple as they continue to reinvent the portable media player market.

“The market reception for Zune is so disappointing that many retailers have even stopped selling it altogether,” said George Kurlan, a vice president at Tradition Capital Management, which owns Microsoft shares. Kurlan went on to say, “Microsoft should abandon Zune and follow Apple’s strategy to try to make its presence felt in the high-growth smart-phone sector.” He recommended purchasing Palm since the Palm Pre has been touted as the rival to the iPhone.

Whether Microsoft takes heed and entertains the idea of a Palm purchase, only time will tell. In the meantime, the new Zune is scheduled to be released within the next few months and new photos show it to be sleeker and edgier than its bulkier predecessors.

Must Haves For the Next Gen iPod Touch

Now that people have had time to get acclimated with the new features offered with the iPhone 3GS, attention has been shifted to the next generation iPod touch and what is expected in the next upgrade to keep Apple king of the MP3 players.

Mirror.co.uk has provided their wish list as “must-haves” for the next gen iPod touch.

1) Super fast processor and graphics – The iPod touch is quickly becoming as much a portable games console as it is an MP3 player. A “turbo charged” processor similar to that in the iPhone 3GS will help keep the iPod touch fun.

2) Camera – It just makes sense.

3) Compass – Including a compass will avoid further split in which Apps will run on which new hardware

4) Increased Storage – The iPod touch has always been a step ahead of the iPhone when it comes to storage. At the very least, Apple should outfit it with a 64GB hard drive.

5) High def – The screen would be too small to see the full benefits of the extra pixels in a high def signal, but Zune is already stretching out to HD, so Apple should have plans to keep up. Maybe they could add an HDMI out as well to make the iPod touch a true portable pocket cinema.

Do you own an iPod touch?  How’s it working for you?  Contact iPodParts.com with any repair needs.

Apple in Talks with Verizon

Apple is in talks with Verizon, but iPhone users need not get too excited. The two companies are actually in talks to develop two iPhone-like handhelds that could be unveiled as early as this year. One handheld device is a smaller, less expensive calling device described as an “iPhone lite.” The other device is a media pad that would allow users to view photos, watch hi-def videos, listen to music and place calls over a WiFi connection.

What do these talks between Apple and Verizon mean for AT&T?  The partnership between Apple and AT&T are due to end next year and it has been reported that the two have been in talks to extend the partnership. If Apple and Verizon end up not striking a deal, the talks between them should, at the least, increase pressure on AT&T to enter into an agreement that is more favorable for Apple.

So, whether this is all just a strategic effort to give Apple the upper hand in their talks with AT&T or if a true partnership with Verizon is on the horizon, time will only tell. For more information on the media pad and “iPhone lite”, click here.

iPhone 3GS Battery Life Issues

Brand new phone… not so brand new issues. Everyone who owns a cell phone knows that the battery life promoted by a cell phone manufacturer is rarely accurate. And not even Apple, the leader in cell phone manufacturers, can avoid this issue. The new iPhone 3GS was released last month and there has been an increasing number of users posting across the internet that the iPhone 3GS’ battery is just not living up to expectations.

“My charge did not last from morning to evening with a very moderate usage of checking mails just 5 times in a day and 10 minutes of YouTube video. All this was on WiFi with 3G turned off,” says npshenoy2 on Apple’s support forums.

However, unlike the 3GS overheating issues recently reported last month, this lack of battery holding power does not appear to be a hardware issue. Daniel Nation, a writer for the Examiner, believes the issue is related to the 3.0 software update. Reports of overly short battery life surfaced when the 3.0 software update was released for iPhone 3G users two days prior to the iPhone 3GS launch. The culprit in the 3.0 update seems to be the Push Notifications feature which keeps an internet connection open at all times, draining the battery. To conserve energy, Push Notifications can be turned off from the Setting menu.

Apple is currently testing a 3.1 software update for the iPhone, so hopefully the battery life issues will be corrected with that update.

For those who are dealing with iPhone or iPod battery life issues, consider buying an extended life battery.

Professional iPod Repair

It’s summertime… the time of year for long road trips and vacations at the beach. Getting to your destination is always great when going on vacation, but enjoying the trip there and back is a close second. And many of us have come to rely on our iPods to help pass the time. Now with the expanded capabilities of many of the iPod models…music, movies and games, an iPod would surely be missed on long trips. As you make your final plans for your trip to Disneyworld or your drive up the coast, make sure your iPod is working at its best. Does your battery not hold a charge like it used to? Or, maybe your audio port needs tweaking because your music cuts in and out 50 times during a 3:00 minute song. Visit ipodparts.com for reliable iPod parts and professional iPod repair services at an affordable price.

Macbook “transforming” into a mini jet

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continues to rule the box office. There may be one star or two contributing to the masses coming in droves to see this Transformers sequel, but this movie is 90% CGI .  And rightly so, this movie is called “Transformers” and people want to see these robots in action.

Cars “transforming” into robots… who wouldn’t want to have one of those.  How about a computer that transforms into a robot. We came across a video on Youtube of a Macbook “transforming” into a mini jet. Trust me, this is no second rate, stop action, homemade video. It’s very well done and convincing.  Check it out below.

Could your next digital camera be an iPod Touch?

That’s right.  Rumors are running rampant that Apple has placed an order for camera modules destined for the next version of the iPod Touch. The size of the order, according to TechCrunch, is “massive.” This isn’t the first we have heard of an iPod – digital camera convergence, but this recent news of the “massive” order has peaked interest again. MacRumors, in fact, is taking the camera information a step further and claiming that both the iPod Touch and iPod Nano will receive cameras.

Digital cameras and iPods just seem like the natural progression. So, if the rumors prove not to be true for the next round of iPod Touch updates, don’t be surprised if this topic show up again when it’s time for the next update in 2010.

13-year-old boy gives up iPod for Walkman

We’ve all gotten so accustomed to our electronics with what seems like limitless capabilities and bells and whistles galore. And the advancements to these electronics have come so quickly that many of us don’t realize how far things have come in such a short amount of time. Take the cell phone for instance. 15 years ago, everyone salivated at the thought of being able to make and receive phone calls away from home. Now if you don’t have a cell phone, you are in the minority. And just being able to make and receive calls on your cell phone is not good enough anymore. If you can’t send texts, send an email, surf the internet, post a tweet, calculate a tip, get instant directions to the local Starbucks, take pictures and videos with your cell phone, then… well, you might as well be stuck in the 90s.

Speaking of the 90s… well let’s rewind a few more years back to the late 70s. Does anyone remember the Walkman? For those who weren’t alive in the 80s, here’s the Wikipedia link. This week marks the 30 year anniversary of the Walkman which started the revolution in portable music. In recognition of this revolution, a magazine in the UK challenged a 13-year-old boy to give up his iPod for a week for a Walkman. This article recounts his experiences.

The boy tells of his appreciation of the handy belt clip screwed on the back but compares the size of the Walkman to a small book that would “haul down a low-slung pair of combats” if clipped onto your pants. The boy goes onto critique the vintage media player with some naively funny comments:

- “Another notable feature that the iPod has and the Walkman doesn’t is “shuffle”, where the player selects random tracks to play. Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down “rewind” and releasing it randomly – effective, if a little laboured.”

- In learning to play a tape… “It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.”

I have to admit, I felt a bit nostalgic about the good old cassette player after reading the article.

iPhone 3GS “too hot too handle”… literally

So, you bought a new iPhone 3GS and now you have the fastest phone on the market.  Well, you might possibly have the hottest phone on the market too. There have been growing complaints of these new iPhones becoming increasingly hot with every minute of usage. There have been reports that owners of the white version of the iPhone 3GS are claiming that the phone gets so hot that it cannot be held.  In fact some of the devices have started to change pinkish brown in color because of the heat.

Many complaints have been posted on the Apple customer support forum with many of the heat problems occurring while playing games, using the integrated GPS and wait for it… talking on the phone! One poster, Alan Ziegler, stated “I was on a call for 20 minutes and [the phone] was so uncomfortably hot, I had to put it on speaker.”

There has been no official comment yet from Apple regarding the complaints, but there is speculation that the overheating could be linked to a batch of potentially faulty batteries.

So, how cool is it to have the latest, greatest phone?  Apparently, not very.

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