iLounge

Early Thoughts on Logitech’s Very Cool New Squeezebox Radio (Updated)

By Jeremy Horwitz | 11.06.09 | 8 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

Logitech’s Squeezebox series of devices have ranged from “hmmm, interesting,” to “wow, that’s pretty cool” in the past, and the new Squeezebox Radio ($200) is definitely in the “cool” category. We’ve been playing with it today, and apart from some little issues—ones that won’t bother some people—we’re so impressed by the little Wi-Fi Internet Radio and speaker unit that we wanted to share some early pictures and details with you ahead of a more complete article later. (Editor’s Note: We updated this article on November 6 with additional thoughts, found at the end.)

The star attraction in Squeezebox Radio is a bright little 2.4” LCD screen, which is quite simply far better than we’d have expected from any of Logitech’s prior Squeezebox devices. It’s brightly backlit, pops with color, and has a bunch of sharp-looking backgrounds, fonts, and icons that really look pretty great given the size and nature of this unit. There’s a clean, easy to navigate list of menu options, all accessed through a ratcheting, soft touch rubber scroll wheel that is clicked inwards to make selections. When you’re not using one of the system’s other features, a clock appears on screen, as shown in the photo here.

Apart from a fabric speaker panel on the left front, which hides a .75” tweeter and 3” woofer, the unit is made almost entirely from glossy black plastic, which looks cool but is one of those “little issues” in that dust and fingerprints appear almost instantly on its surface. We don’t mind much given the design of the rest of the unit, but some people—particularly those planning to use its rear handle to pick it up and carry it around—might. Logitech packs it with a wall power adapter and an audio cable, nothing more; it runs only off of wall power rather than any rechargeable battery.

Click on the title above or Read More link below for bunch of shots and details showing off just some of the unit’s various cool features.

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Heads Up For Loyal Readers: The 2010 Buyers’ Guide Is Here

By Jeremy Horwitz | 11.01.09 | 0 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

The official press release hits the wires shortly, at which point the downloads will commence furiously… but as always, we wanted to give our loyal readers the first chance to get their hands on this:

The 2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers’ Guide.

It’s our best yet—50 pages larger than last year’s, and completely up to date with everything from new games, apps, and accessories to selling prices so you can trade up your old iPod or iPhone to a new model. Grab it now so you can have something to read during that subway ride, lunch break, or slow commute home, quite possibly all three and then some.

And by the way, the numbers are in for the last edition: roughly a million downloads. A million for just that one Guide (!)—on top of the millions of downloads for our prior publications. THANK YOU from all of us at iLounge for your continued support, and enjoy the 2010 Guide. We’ve put many, many hours of our lives into it.

As If the Magic Mouse Wasn’t Cool Enough… Look At The Box

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.29.09 | 0 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

Awesome. And the bottom explains how to use Multi-Touch gestures.

A Few Thoughts On The New Apple TV 3.0 Interface

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.29.09 | 0 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

We’ve known for a couple of weeks that it was coming, and had some ideas of what to expect, but to see the Apple TV 3.0 interface actually running is actually somewhat of a relief. Of the several iLounge editors with Apple TVs, only one of us has been using it actively, while the others have basically left ours to collect dust, occasionally struggling with various aggravating bugs and eventually finding the version 2.0 menu scheme to be more of a pain than it was worth. Installing 3.0 has made us feel like there’s a potential to actually start using these things again. The new menu system uses the best element of Sony’s PlayStation 3 Xross Media Bar—the horizontal list of media options—while replacing the often needless icons with nice album art to show off the varied content on the device or streaming computer, and it’s so snappy that the button-tapping problems with version 2.0 (down, down, right, down down down) seem almost like a distant memory.

There are clearly still some issues. The Internet Radio feature that’s just been added looks nice, but several of the stations we went to test wouldn’t play; similarly, a podcast with a list of various supported resolutions came up with a 1080p option that errored out. Using iTunes LP and iTunes Extras via a streaming connection appears to be problematic, and possibly not totally supported by the current iPhone/iPod touch Remote software—something we’re going to need to keep playing with. iTunes LP doesn’t appear to have been completely tied into the Apple TV interface properly, either, as there are some awkward switches between the song playback and iTunes LP on-screen displays that pull you out of the “virtual album” experience rather than drawing you in.

Jesse’s going to have a lot more to say on Apple TV 3.0 in his Instant Expert piece, which is already underway. For the time being, and little problems aside, it’s safe to say that this is a more or less mandatory update for all Apple TV users except those who have hacked the device for various other features.

On the New Late 2009 Mac Lineup

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.20.09 | 4 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

Though the rumors were obviously out there some time ago—and generally accurate—everyone is still sort of shellshocked by the tidal wave of Apple Mac announcements from earlier today—the new iMac and MacBook, the new Mac mini, Magic Mouse, and the comparatively minor Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme and Apple Remote stuff. So I’ll just say briefly what’s on our collective minds right now:

Bravo, Apple.

There wasn’t a detail missed in the new iMacs—the right prices for bigger screens, better processors, and finally a replacement for that damned Mighty Mouse, one that looks like a super cool update to the classic transparent one-button Apple mouse I’ve kept using for years. Quad-core in and of itself would have been big news, but 27”? Wow. Wow. The new plastic MacBooks are neat, too; I played with one earlier today and was generally pretty impressed, particularly with the fully rubberized bottom that will finally get rid of all those glossy plastic surface scratches. As its power adapter has changed, it looks like MagSafes are all heading towards the MacBook Air- and Cinema-Display-style metal connectors with side-angled cables for strain relief, too. And the Mac mini, Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme and Apple Remote news? All welcome, though not earthshattering.

This is going to be an insane holiday season for Apple. And deservedly so. Glad to see the announcements actually happen today after all that waiting.

On The Wisdom of Buying a Mac In Light of Windows 7 and Snow Leopard

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.16.09 | 25 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

With a brief breather in the middle of several extremely busy weeks, I wanted to take the time to post some Mac-related thoughts that readers have asked for in e-mails and comments on the site. What follows is a discussion of the Mac, divided into two sections: Apple’s Snow Leopard software, and current-model Mac hardware. The Snow Leopard side is relatively negative, the Mac side generally positive, so I’ll start with the Mac part for those who like their good news first. Click on Read More for the full story.

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Two Proposed Solutions to Snow Leopard Crash Problems on Macs

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.06.09 | 52 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

After 155 comments from readers on the topic of Snow Leopard crashes, two potential solutions have been posted by readers. We’re posting them here (a) to help you find them more easily and (b) because we’d like to know whether either one fixes your problems.

Solution (a), from reader Darren:

“I have had no end of problems, especially with Safari, since upgrading to Snow Leopard and now ALL MY PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN SOLVED by a simple boot into safe mode then reboot. For those that don’t know how to do it, reboot your mac and hold down the shift key until it shows the apple symbol in the middle and a grey or black progress bar starts then release. When it boots up you should notice it says safe mode, test, Safari mainly in my case, or what ever and if it all works just reboot without holding the shift key, Job sorted. What I’m told you are doing is re-writing all the permissions from scratch, mine is like it used to be, fantastic and with Snow Leopard.”

Solution (b), from reader FatalFallacy, credited to Mr. Pi at Apple discussions:

“Anyone that’s getting crashes whenever the system tries to save or open docs should try this:

-1. Start by opening System Preferences
-2. Select ‘Sharing’ from the Internet & Wireless section
-3. From the list on the left choose ‘File Sharing’ and turn it off.
-4. Delete anything listed in the Shared Folders section
-5. Turn File Sharing back on
-6. Log out, then Log back in
-7. Done!!”

Try them. Any luck? No luck? Let us know.

Aluminum Mtable Offers MacBook Monitor Users An Alternative to Stands

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.06.09 | 5 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

Roughly two and a half years have passed since we first tested Power Support’s Docking Stand for MacBooks, a neat little padded aluminum accessory that holds a MacBook upright for use with a monitor. In the time that’s passed, we’ve looked at quite a few other MacBook holders, but none has struck us as a complete alternative to the Power Support design until now. And even so, what just arrived isn’t necessarily superior—especially given its price—but some people may really like it.

Just Mobile calls it Mtable, and at $80, it sells for twice the price of the Power Support Docking Stand—a premium that we’re not totally enthusiastic about. It is an Apple-quality piece of aluminum, forged into a metal monitor stand, with rubber pads on its bottom to avoid scratching the surface below. The idea is that you put your monitor on top of it, your MacBook below it, and turn the monitor’s footprint into a more effective use of space. Mtable is also pitched as an organizer for the Mac mini, though for that machine it does nothing more than place the monitor and Mac mini next to each other as they would be on any table, letting you conceivably store your keyboard or other items below it. Other items might make sense; rare is the table surface that’s already at the correct wrist-friendly height for a keyboard.

What we like about Mtable: port and SuperDrive access is easy with the holes cut in its sides, and Wi-Fi doesn’t appear to be affected by all the metal, thanks in part to a breathable pattern of dot-shaped holes in its back. A 13” system fits in without any issue; a 15” should do the same, but a 17” would be a non-starter. That said, the question of whether we’d really want to slide the MacBook into the front bottom every day is separate, and one that we’re in the process of testing right now; our typically cluttered desk wouldn’t necessarily make this as easy as we’d prefer. In any case, Mtable is a nice-looking option, and one that will work for sure for some users—we’ll update this article when we know which camp we’re in.

Great News: The FTC Finally Requires Payment-For-Review Disclosures

By Jeremy Horwitz | 10.05.09 | 5 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

Jesse Hollington forwarded over a link and quick comments on something that we can only describe as “great news” for those of us who care about the integrity of product reviews generally, and on the Internet specifically. As I’m busy working on the 2010 Buyers’ Guide, I wanted to just post Jesse’s comments and add one or two of my own for the time being.

The link: FTC: Bloggers Must Disclose Payments For Reviews.

The summary: Effective December 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission requires bloggers to clearly note the freebies or payments they’ve received for reviewing companies’ products.

Jesse’s comments: “I realize it doesn’t affect us, and the fact that it doesn’t is in many ways a testament to the quality of our organization. It will be interesting to see how it affects certain other sites out there, however.”

My comments: Jesse’s correct. First, iLounge isn’t a blog. Second, we’ve never taken a payment or a freebie in exchange for writing a review. Third, we are thrilled to see the FTC working on behalf of consumers to create transparency in product coverage, which has been plagued by tons of faked/compensated reviews over the last five or so years.

iLounge has a unique operating structure that was designed to avoid the exact sorts of problems that the FTC is focusing on. Our publisher owns iLounge outright, but does not write product reviews; by contrast, our editors and reviewers have no ownership stake in the company or site. The editorial side of iLounge covers whatever is purchased by or sent to iLounge that we feel is worthy of coverage, but as editors, we do not own anything that is acquired by the organization. Additionally, iLounge has never sold items received for coverage, or traded them for other items. iLounge even purchases all the iPods and iPhones we review—a substantial expense given how many we buy every year (10 iPod nanos? Sure, why not?), and a major differentiator from publications that receive items directly from Apple.

As you may or may not already know, this is different from many publications—online and print—where the person who owns the publication is also reviewing products. Some publications explicitly expect payments in exchange for coverage. Others only review products that they are sent, and then with the expectation that they will be able to keep or sell the items afterwards for cash. In our experience, these practices lead to obvious reviewer biases in favor of that which is heavily compensated for, or merely expensive; this is part of the reason you see so many “sure, it’s overpriced, but I love it!” reviews out there. Our long-standing distaste for compensated editorial—essentially, “advertorial”—is why we do not work this way.

So the FTC’s decision to require reviewer compensation disclosures is very, very good news for consumers as a whole. We applaud it, and want you to rest assured that our reviews are not and have never been paid for by the companies we cover. That’s a point of pride around here, and as Jesse says, it will be interesting to see how others address (or fail to address) the topic.

Ten New Details on the Apple Tablet

By Jeremy Horwitz | 09.28.09 | 128 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

Want to know some more about Apple’s upcoming tablet device? You’re in luck. We’ve received the scoop from our reliable source—who correctly called the iPod nano 5G, iPhone 3GS and Chinese iPhone 3G months ago.

1. Apple has created at least three separate prototypes of its tablet computer. Let’s call it “iPad.”
2. Version 1 was designed with a 7” screen, which was judged to be too small. The latest version has a 10.7” screen.

3. It runs iPhone OS.
4. There have been reports that it looks like an iPhone. They’re sort of true. It looks like an iPhone 3G, complete with a curved back.
5. It will come in two different variations: one with 3G networking capabilities, and one without 3G networking capabilities. Think of the 3G version as a bigscreen iPhone 3GS, and the non-3G version as a bigscreen iPod touch.
6. Screen resolutions will obviously jump considerably from the iPhone and iPod touch 480x320-pixel displays, enabling easy reading of full-sized book and magazine pages, plus cropped newspaper pages. Expect something like 5-6 times the resolution of an iPod touch or iPhone screen (720p or thereabouts) and 7 times the touchable surface area.
7. It is designed to expand the iPhone and iPod touch media concept to its next potential level: as a slate-like replacement for books and magazines, plus all of the media, gaming, app, and web functionality of the iPhone and iPod touch.
8. It is not meant to compete with netbooks. It’s an iPhone OS media player and light communication device.
9. Apple is currently planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and to use an iPhone-like hype buildup period to start selling it in May or June.
10. It is apparently awaiting a final green light from Steve Jobs; chances of it appearing in the market are believed to be 80% at this point.

Feel free to discuss it all below. Just don’t make the mistake that some of these people made back in May (“what’s the point of putting a camera on the Nano?”). Keep an open mind.

The Growing iPod + iPhone Family, in Pictures (2009)

By Jeremy Horwitz | 09.16.09 | 0 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

We like to take these iPod and iPhone family photos at least once a year to show where things started, and where they’ve evolved to.

Full-sized versions are on iLounge’s Flickr stream. Enjoy.

iPod classic 160GB: Yes, FireWire Chargers Still Work

By Jeremy Horwitz | 09.11.09 | 3 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

A reader named Pablo e-mailed to ask whether the brand-new 160GB iPod classic still works with FireWire charging devices. Yes, it does. So if you have one of those iPod Hi-Fis or an in-car audio system that you’re just not ready to give up, there’s still an option.

The Yellow iPod nano 5G Saga, Part 2: Click Wheel Gaps Worth Looking For

By Jeremy Horwitz | 09.11.09 | 1 comment |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

One of the fun things* about actually buying our iPods rather than getting them shipped to us free and early from Apple is that we get to experience the whole buying, defective unit, and return process just like you do. So when our yellow fifth-generation iPod nano died this morning after less than a day of use, we had the chance to re-experience Apple’s in-store customer service, which should be noted up front is considerably better these days than it was, say, six years ago. Bring in a totally dead new iPod, and they’ll swap it on the spot for a replacement. Easy and friendly. Apart from the whole “my iPod died in less than a day” thing, it’s great, but iPod defects aren’t the store’s fault.

The surprise: the replacement yellow iPod nano we received had a fairly big, obvious gap next to the left side of its Click Wheel, evident before we opened the plastic case. This struck as as odd: wouldn’t dirt or dust be able to get in there? We could see something resembling a connector through the gap, so we shot this photo through the box before opening it. Then we went back and looked at the other eight nanos, and a couple of them had gaps, too, but they were smaller and not as immediately noticeable. Most were properly made from edge to edge. Touching the yellow nano’s Click Wheel let us center it a little better, but it does have a little bit of give inside the metal shell. The give appears to be due to a change in the way Apple is assembling the fifth-generation nanos—Click Wheels were better attached to the fourth-generation models—but the gap is definitely more pronounced in some shells than others. We’d suggest that you check your box with a little tilt before you pay for your purchase.

This sort of stuff can’t be found in an Apple press release, but it does impact the quality of the user experience. That’s just one of the reasons we actually spend a bunch of time testing these things before we review them. [* = “Fun,” as used in this and the preceding article, doesn’t actually mean “fun.” It’s actually no fun at all to have to deal with iPod defects.]

The First Dead (And Not Abused) Fifth-Generation iPod nano

By Jeremy Horwitz | 09.11.09 | 2 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

One of the fun things about having a bunch of new iPod nanos on hand is that we’re able to put multiple units through tests at the same time. What we weren’t expecting was that our new yellow 8GB iPod nano would just die in the middle of one of those video tests, less than 24 hours after it was purchased.

The new nano was playing back a video playlist, using its speaker rather than its headphone port. An hour and 19 minutes into the test, the iPod turned off and wouldn’t turn back on again. Nothing seems to make it responsive—hard resets, attempts at charging it, and so on; it was never connected to a power source other than a Mac for charging or syncing. Our testing of the other units continues.

iPod Pricing: Will 2009 Be The $199 Year For iPod touch?

By Jeremy Horwitz | 09.08.09 | 15 comments |  tell-a-friend |  digg this story

A simple question for readers who follow iPod pricing details like we do: will this be the year when the iPod touch becomes a $199 device? Or will Apple maintain 2008 pricing while boosting storage capacities?

iLounge’s editors have been discussing two likely pricing scenarios for the iPod touch family in light of recent economic and competitive trends; they go something like this:

(A) Due in part to the September 15 release of Microsoft’s touchscreen Zune HD at $219 (16GB) and $289 (32GB) prices, and in part to global economic conditions, Apple decides to completely wreck its competitor’s latest launch by using pricing that will guarantee its strongest holiday quarter ever. The third-generation iPod touch is announced in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities starting at $199, then graduating to $249 and $299. For the first time, a 128GB model is introduced at $349, putting the last nail in the coffin of the 120GB iPod classic, which is unceremoniously discontinued. The iPod nano drops to $99 and $149 prices, and the iPod shuffle drops to $49 or $59.

(B) Apple opts to preserve $229 to $399 pricing for the iPod touch, and releases three models: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The company operates under the presumption that Microsoft’s Zune will remain essentially non-competitive regardless of any price advantage it maintains. iPod shuffle, nano, and classic models remain in their past configurations with feature tweaks at or near current pricing levels.

Which do you think is likely to happen? Or something else? We’d like to hear your thoughts in the lead-up to tomorrow’s Rock and Roll event in San Francisco.