iPod Nano 6

Apple downsizes its mid-range iPod, but upsizes the awesomeness. At about half the size and weight of its predecessor, the iPod Nano 6 ($149-$179) shrinks down and gets a new Multi-Touch display, a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with belt clip, and a built-in FM radio (with ability to pause and resume playing FM), a built-in pedometer, and support for Nike + iPod. Your choice 8GB or 16GB sizes in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange or pink.

Apple TV 3

Dropping the price by a third and cutting the size by even more, the new Apple TV ($99) should be in everyone’s living room before long. (And no, it’s still not an actual TV. Just an add-on.) They’re ditching movie and TV show purchasing altogether, instead going with a streaming rental model — $5 for HD movies and 99-cents for TV shows. The all-black-everything Apple TV also streams Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr, in addition to your music, photos and videos from your computer. It’s got built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply.

iPhone OS 3.2 has NEW features!

The iPad may not have a camera in its current incarnation, but Apple’s at least laying the foundation for one: we just confirmed with extremely trusted sources that iPhone OS 3.2 contains rudimentary support for video calling, which could explain that mysterious space at the top of the device in our leaked pics. We’re told that there are hooks to accept and decline a video conference, flip a video feed (which suggests a front-facing camera) and — most importantly — run the video call in either full screen mode or in just a portion of the screen. That means you’ll be able to chat and do other things at the same time, which could mean there’s at least some type of multitasking going on here.

We can also confirm that iPhone OS 3.2 supports file downloads and local storage in the browser, which means you’ll be able to pull files off the web and use them in other apps, and there’s at least the beginnings of SMS support buried within the code — a fact we were able to verify with noted iPhone jailbreaker chpwn, who sent in the above screenshot from a hacked-up copy of the iPad simulator. (The simulator always says “iPhone simulator” in the menu bar, but that’s the iPad.) chpwn also tells us he’s found some inklings of actual phone support, there’s a spellchecker, and that both the new landscape orientation for the homescreen and keyboard support appear to be destined for the iPhone itself when 3.2 comes out.

We’re not sure what any of this means at this point, or if any of it will ever be implemented, but we’re definitely starting to get the impression that Apple didn’t tell us everything there is to know about the iPad on Wednesday — and we’re even more curious to find out what iPhone OS 4.0 will look like when it arrives.

P.S.- chpwn was also able to port iPhone multitasking hacks ProSwitcher and Backgrounder to the iPad simulator, which is certainly going to be useful if an iPad jailbreak exploit is eventually discovered. Check out a shot of it going in the gallery below, along with some other settings panels the coder dug up.

Update: We just got another tip from iPhone jailbreak dev Ryan Petrich, confirming that there’s a spell checker with multiple dictionaries and user-added entries (huzzah!), much richer text support for apps, the ability to selectively draw to external displays (using the VGA or component adapters, we’d imagine), location-aware ads in Maps and possibly other programs that use the Maps API, file upload ability in Safari, a modifiable cut / copy / paste menu, and, most interestingly, prototype support for a “handwriting keyboard.” Maybe we’ll see some stylus action on this thing after all. Peep Ryan’s take after the break.

New features I’ve uncovered:
• CoreGraphics to PDF API for sure, printer API is being prototyped
• Spell checker in text fields and web views using AppleSpell
- multiple languages
- grammar checking (English-only so far)
- address book integration
- user added words
- SDK access
- Included dictionaries: Apple Dictionary, New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Shogakukan Daijisen, Shogakukan Progressive English-Japanese Japanese-English Dictionary, and Shogakukan Ruigo Reikai Jiten (may also be used for a Dictionary app perhaps?)
• USB Host support or expanded Bluetooth support
- PTP support for transferring images
- MobileStorageMounter (perhaps used for PTP; perhaps used to mount external USB storage?)
- Hardware keyboard: USBKeyboardLayouts.plist
• Much richer text API including low-level access to font data and highlevel support for drawing formatted text
• Support for querying attached screens and choosing which screen a window draws on (App Store approved?)
• The beginnings of file upload in Safari
• Location-sensitive ads are being prototyped in integrated Maps application (and applications that use the maps framework)
• Ability for applications to modify the standard cut/copy/paste menu
• “Handwriting keyboard” is being prototyped.

Via: engadget.com

iPad: What’s in it for you?

As usual, Apple created quite a buzz this week when it finally unleashed its long-rumoured iPad tablet. Beyond all the hype, though, most people just want to know how practical the iPad is. Will it fill a need that they have? Will it make their lives easier in some significant way? Will it allow them to do away with some of the other gadgets they currently carry? Is it worth the price? Read on for some answers. Read the rest of this entry »

Swap your songs between iPods

One of the biggest problems that people have with iPods is that is extremely difficult to share your files, especially without getting a computer involved. That is of course until now. Want the latest album from your buddy iPod? Simply connect both iPods to the miShare unit, press the button and you are all set. It’s kind of like swapping football cards in the playground, just much cooler.

Providing that your files are not DRM protected, everything from movies to photos to songs can be transferred. There is however one downside – for now the unit does not work with the iPhone or iPod touch, although a firmware update is being looked in to.

Should Apple Allow Adult App?

iPorn.com, the iPhone-friendly porn site that sent bikini-clad women to the after-party of Apple’s 2009 WWDC conference, is up to no good again. This time, iPorn girls will pay Apple executives a visit to convince them to allow adult apps in the App Store, according to a press release issued by the porn site.
The iPorn girls, who have a “high level of motivation and a willingness to bend over backwards in order to close a deal” say an iPorn app would be more convenient than having to launch Safari to browse to a porn site:

iPorn and its customers believe that having to open the safari browser on the iPhone in order to visit the iPorn website is too much of a hassle. An app that is accessible only to adults would be much more effective and safe. The whole world is waiting for Apple to stop controlling the type of applications its users are allowed to access. The approval of the iPorn iPhone app would be Apple’s first step in the right direction – NO MORE CENSORSHIP!

How to Restrict Adult iPhone Apps?
I imagine Apple is most concerned about the parents who would complain if their children got their hands on Apple-approved porn apps. But any kid with Safari enabled on his iPhone can look at adult content if he wants to, so why is the App Store of particular concern?
Adult apps in the App Store would actually be easier to restrict than websites in Safari. Just as other iPhone functions are controllable in Settings >> General >> Restrictions, adult content could be restricted here, too.

Should Apple Allow iPhone Porn Apps?
Apple is not the moral judge of content on the Internet or Safari, so why should it be the moral judge of iPhone apps in the App Store? What do you think? Should Apple take its hands off the App Store and allow adult content on the iPhone?