If the patent is to be believed, it talks about iPod Nano 7G getting the ability to create screen savers to match the surroundings using an array of sensors including camera, thermometer, microphone, and accelerometer. Using a sensor of some kind – possibly a camera – the Nano can adjust the screensaver according to the environment it is in, turning it into a fashion accessory of geeks.

When this awesome feature becomes a part of the future iPod Nano, your screen saver will match the color and pattern of the jacket you are wearing, or on a not-so-sunny day, the screen will display rain drops and so on so forth.

Another possibility is that the sensor could be a microphone, so the display could change according to the volume and intensity of ambient noise, according to the patent.

Also check out this unique collection of 30+ Hidden Hacks, Tips and Tricks For iPod Touch 4G.

Apple is offering one lucky shopper $10,000 dollars in the form of an iTunes gift card if they happen to be the buyer of the 10 billionth song from the iTunes store. “iTunes changed the way you buy music, making songs and albums available for download, day or night,” Apple wrote on its Website. “Seven years later, we’re about to celebrate our biggest milestone for music, yet-10 billion songs downloaded.”

In what the company is calling “One huge milestone for music” the Cupertino based company is hoping the chance to win a vast chunk of cash to buy music, videos, and apps will be enough to lure thousands of customers into the iTunes store. All you have to do is buy a song, and if it’s the 10 billionth download, you could win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.

If you’re at least 13 years old and reside in a participating country (full list on Apple’s Web site), you can submit as many as 25 entries per day either by purchasing music or completing the no purchase necessary form.

Does this sound familiar? A Michigan 17-year-old won a similar prize on Feb. 23, 2006, when the company marked its first billion songs sold on iTunes. He got a $10,000 iTunes gift card, 10 iPods, an iMac and a phone call from CEO Steve Jobs. The company also marked its billionth download from its iPhone app store last April by giving a 13-year-old a 10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule and a MacBook Pro.

Apple expects the iTunes milestone to be passed sometime this month. But don’t rush to the iTunes store just yet. At the time of writing, Apple has 9,931,376,941 songs suggesting it will be some time yet before the company reaches the magic number. All the best

This is what People said when iPod Launched

“iPoop… iCry. I was so hoping for something more.”

“What a load of tripe! Gee! An mp3 player with a HD! how original! kinda reminds me of a JUKEBOX I once knew…”

“Not revolutionary. Big capacity mp3 players already exist. With Creative Labs’ entrance into the firewire arena, future nomads will have similar specs and better prices.”

“Sounds very revolutionary to me. Hey – here’s an idea Apple – rather than enter the world of gimmicks and toys, why don’t you spend a little more time sorting out your pathetically expensive and crap server line up? Or are you really aiming to become a glorified consumer gimmicks firm?”

“A bad fit. This product is outside Apple’s core competency – computing devices. When many are calling for a pda, they release an MP3 player.”

“Without a future. This Christmas you will see mp3 players be commoditized. Meaning that the players from Korea will be way less expensive tha iPod. The real money is in DRM and distribution (ala Real Musicnet). If Apple were smart they would be focusing on high gross revenue from services rather than a playback device.”

“Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve! Where’s the Newton?!”

“I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It’s so wrong! It’s so stupid!”

“All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-through digital device? The Reality Distortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve’s mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.”

“It’s now at the online Apple Store. $400 for an Mp3 Player! I’d call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time… and it’s not really functional. Uhh Steve, can I have a PDA now?”

“Revolutionary? There are already two products similar to this on the market. The Nomad Jukebox and the Archos Jukebox which can come with a 20 gig HD. The iPod is obviously a lot cooler and has firewire, but it is far from revolutionary. I for one am disappointed and think that apple is making a mistake by trying to get into this market.”

“Goofy Idea!!! OK. For $300 I can get an in-dash MP3 player for my car, which is where I spend most of my travel time. For walking, etc., a Rio is fine. At home, it’s right off the MAC or my stereo. Where oh where does a $400 (!!!!!) player fit into the scheme of things? Seems like Steve just wanted the coolest toy, regardless of its practicality. Besides, has anyone brought up the recent statements by the RIAA about completely blocking ripping of new CDs? Here’s to another bullet in the foot…”

via forums.macrumors.com

Apple Music Event 2001-The First Ever iPod Introduction

This is proof why you shouldn’t take your crticis, commentators and the haters too seriously. You must continue to work on your product with extreme focus. It’s easy to sit back in a cozy armchair and criticize someone/something, but when it comes to delivering things, thats the hardest part. So… DELIVER Quality and prove that your critics were wrong.

Features:
Plays videos, music, photos and audio books
Digital FM radio
Voice recording with built-in microphone
Bright 1.9″ screen
Up to 24 hours for audio playback and 5 hours of video playback with internal rechargeable battery
microSDTM /microSDHCTM slot for additional content expansion
Music subscription ready
1 Year Limited Warranty
Dimensions: 3.1 x 1.9 x 0.3 in. (HxWxD)

Pros: It’s easy to use and easy to sync (just drag-and-drop files). With MP3s ripped at high bit rates, the sound quality is as good as the original CD. However, it would be interesting to see how it works with low bit rates. The FM radio works well in suburban area. The 8 GB holds over 700 songs, all ripped at 320Kbps, and several video clips, including one 15 minute video clip.

Cons: The Sansa Fuze MP3 player can get confused if you power-off the unit in the middle of watching a video. A power cycle recovers it, though. Also, the ear bud plug must be firmly and completely pressed into the unit. Also it seems that you can’t charge it while you are listening to it; so you’ll need to pick up a third party charger, but fortunately they’re cheap. Also, the screen is very glossy and shows scratches. Get a screen protector or device sleeve, if you hate scratched screens as much as we do.

Overall, Sansa Fuze MP3 player is a good competition to other main stream music players like Apple iPod nano and Microsoft Zune HD at this competitive price and enticing feature sets. SanDisk is a trusted name in the digital flash memory data storage products. But if it wants to survive the stiff competition in the already crowded MP3 Player market and become the music lover’s darling then it has got to do some improvements before it can actually start giving nightmares to Apple and Microsoft. Some areas of improvements to start with can be – working on removing the current dependency on Sansa software to convert photo and videos, including the option of playing songs randomly etc.

Are you a music lover? Would you prefer Sansa Fuze MP3 player over Apple iPod nano or Microsoft Zune HD?

Unlike other MP3 players, the bone conduction audio technology of SwiMP3 sends the vibrations that generate the sound through your cheekbones, thus giving it a perfect clarity. Thus SwiMP3 is revolutionary in that it relies on bone conduction of sound. When the device is placed on any bones of the skull (i.e. the cheek bones or the mastoid tip) it leads to vibration of the fluid in the inner ear. Thus swimmers can enjoy clarity of sound with the SwiMP3 device that was never before possible. Bone conduction is a safe, well-established hearing mechanism in humans that the SwiMP3 player leverages to enhance aquatic activity. FINIS’ application of the technology brings an entirely new level of experience to swimmers of all abilities.

SwiMP3 Product Features

Attaches easily to any swim goggle or snorkeling mask
Built in MP3 control panel
On/Off button
Next / Previous track
Volume control
Pause & Shuffle functions
8-hour rechargeable battery
Plays both MP3 & WMA files
Easily Drag & Drop playlists

SwiMP3 System Requirements:

Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Mac OS 9, OS X
Intel Pentium II 233MHz or equivalent
128 Mb RAM, 35Mb available hard drive space
USB port, CD-ROM drive
Internet connection recommended

MSRP: $249.99

It has been proven that while listening to songs, swimmers have enhanced their abilities giving them a whole new swimming experience.  The SwiMP3 is compatible with Mac and PC and supports both MP3 and WMA. It is equipped with a rechargeable battery. Your swimming agility will not be harmed in any way, as the device weighs only 2 ounces.

On the flip side, this product does have some challenges to face. Turbulence is generated as you swim through the water and the end result is sound. With each stroke arms and legs are thrashing about, breaking above and below the water line and introducing a cacophony of splashes and churning bubbles. Furthermore, the exhaling and inhaling of air throughout the course of the workout is more pronounced than a runner’s because gulps can only be taken at specific intervals when the swimmer turns their head sufficiently out of the water. This moving the head in and out of the waterline in itself presents challenges as sound waves travel at different intensities under different mediums. Swimming makes a lot of noise and it is not necessarily something that an in-pool music device can completely overcome. Moreover, SwiMP3 can potentially result in nausea in some swimmers inner ear imbalance.

SwiMP3 is not something designed to isolate you from the world around you, it is just a device that should play music well enough that it entertains and distracts you lap after lap after lap. It makes no sense for expectations to be unrealistic (like comparing S/N ratios with that of land-based portables) as this unit was designed for a practical purpose. So put your wet suit on and plug yourself to the swimming experience of your life!

While this is far from revolutionary, the MH907 headphones certainly offer some extraordinary convenience and may well turn out to be very intuitive. We’ll have to find out more when we get our hands on a unit. The MH907 Headphones uses Sony Ericsson’s SensMe™ Control technology. The headphones are not all about gimmicks, they also produce a superior sound so you can enjoy your music while on the move.

Sony Eric apparently achieves this via capacitive sensing technology — it makes use of your skin (your ears in this case) as an electrical conduit. Aside from music playback, you can perform the same actions for answering and ending calls. The MH907 works with most Sony Ericsson mobiles with a Fast Port connector and comes in yellow, white,and ‘Titan Chrome’ shades. No word yet on when they’ll go on sale.

Specs:

• Colours: Yellow/White and Titan Chrome
• Size: 164cm long
• Weight: 25.32g

Download the product fact sheet from here (pdf)

So if you’re listening to your favorite album and someone interrupts you – darn them! Removing your ear bud will temporarily stop music playback. You no more need to press the pause button on your Sony Ericsson phone or the headphones’ in-line control. Listen to music normally with one bud in each ear, but pull one side out and music automatically pauses. Calls are received/ended in the same way. Isn’t that really cool?

It is really an unbelievably amazing concept, when headsets shrink down to the size of a pill! Pillete boasts to be the world’s smallest Bluetooth headset so far.  Capsulated in a form factor that is almost the size of a pill, featuring high performance microphone and at the same time maintaining optimal voice quality with a twistable design, Pillete is certainly one of those gadgets capable of making heads turn (ohh well, even if the eyes on those heads may not be able to see Pillete). This almost invisible Bluetooth headset is turned on when folded in to an ‘L’ shaped ear-bud and returns to the off mode when made straight. Would it be imprudent if I call it “pure genius”?

The downside, of course, is the fact that people have different sized ears and the device might be too small and slip out or too big and not fit. People who often use earphones will tell you I’m right. But once they’ll figure out a way to make the Pillete adjustable, this design will be the future of all headsets, as I would imagine. The other imaginable problem is having a super-tiny headset and making sure that you don’t lose track of it – which is actually a pretty cool problem to have.

Though in terms of design and technology it has a long way to go and do a lot of improvements before it attains mass production, Pillete is certainly one of those technology marvels that make you say Wow!

The combination of the OLED screen, the Nvidia Tegra processor and a lightweight device has helped put the Zune HD ahead of the iPod. The Zune HD weighs only 2.6 oz, almost 35 percent less than the similarly-sized iPod Touch. Zune has a Samsung-manufactured 3.3 inch OLED display, which is also probably its single most expensive component. At just 1 mm, the OLED screen is incredibly thin and seems more rugged than a traditional LCD panel.

The Zune HD has an Nvidia Tegra 2600 processor. Tegra includes an 800-MHz ARM CPU, a high-definition video processor, an imaging processor, an audio processor and an ultralow-power GeForce GPU in a single package. In comparison, the third generation iPod Touch uses a Samsung ARM processor.

Betting on Tegra has paid off for the Zune in an unexpectedly positive way. The Zune HD’s battery capacity is 660 mAh, about 16 percent less than the 789 mAh battery in the new iPod touch. Yet the Zune promises a longer run time than the touch for both music and videos.

Specifications of the Zune HD include the following:

16:9 3.3 inch 480×272 OLED display
Nvidia Tegra 2600 processor. Tegra includes an 800-MHz ARM CPU, a high-definition video processor, an imaging processor, an audio processor and an ultralow-power GeForce GPU in a single package.
16GB or 32GB internal flash memory
802.11 b/g WiFi
660 mAh battery for a reported life of 33 hours music and 8.5 hours of movies with no WiFi
Integrated FM/HD radio receiver
3.5mm headset jack

The battery on the Zune should also be easier to replace than on the new iPod Touch. The Zune’s battery has individual wires for the battery leads. In the Touch, the battery leads run through a single ribbon cable, making hand-soldering a challenge.

Unlike the latest version of the iPod Touch, the Zune HD does not support 802.11n Wi-Fi. Instead, it’s has an Atheros AR6002GZ 802.11g chip.

Interestingly, Zune HD is manufactured by Foxconn, the same company that produces iPods for Apple.

So at the end of the day, the Zune HD promises and delivers one of the best portable music and video experiences your credit card can buy. However, at a time when people are shifting their attention to games and applications, providing a killer media experience may not be enough for potential Zune buyers.

As a video camera, the new nano is remarkably good. It’s also extremely simple to operate and takes decent quality MPEG-4 video at VGA resolution (640×480) at a fluid 30 frames per second rate. The total bit rate of its movies is around 2,500 to 3,000, making the output files portable and compact, and well-suited for online use. Missing from its arsenal (for now?) is the ability to shoot stills; the nano’s camera captures video only. Also you don’t get the full range of video-editing features that you have on the iPhone 3GS. However, you still get a lovely range of fun video effects to choose from.

iPod nano Video Strengths:

Exceedingly wide-angle lens when you compare to pocket camcorders.
Cool 16 video effects to choose from.
Breathtakingly awesome Macro mode.
Small video-file sizes; makes it easy on the memory.
The latest nano is much more smaller than any pocket camcorder available in the market.

iPod nano Video Weaknesses:

Not so user-friendly and unconventional lens placement.
Shoots only videos; no still images.
Too bad low-light footage.
Video effects can only be applied before you shoot the video.

The audio recording quality is even better when you record video using the mic integrated into a pair of iPhone-style headphones. Note that the nano only ships with standard headphones lacking an integrated mic, however. Even using the nano’s built-in mic, audio is very decent and very usable for the casual applications one can expect of it.

You probably won’t want to use the iPod Nano’s tiny speaker as a boom box for listening to music, as it isn’t capable of producing very high fidelity music, but it can serve a functional way to share videos with friends without using headphones.

Like any tiny CCD camera, it takes the best shots in good lighting. Inside in dim lighting, shots get noisy and motion blur is a lot more evident. The video-capable Nano isn’t going to put Flip out of business, but it will dramatically expand the number of recording eyes out there in the hands of millions of iPod users. Given that the Nano’s video recording feature doesn’t cost any premium over the previous generation, Apple is effectively dumping millions of free video recorders into the market, something that may badly hit the emerging market for standalone video recorders.