iLounge

Microsoft has posted a new Zune advertisement to YouTube, comparing the cost of the company’s Zune Pass subscription service to iTunes. Starring “Certified Financial Planner” Wes Moss, the ad goes on to suggest that it costs $30,000 to fill an iPod—with a black iPod classic shown as an example—while it costs only $15 a month to fill a Zune using the Zune Pass service. As the latest attempt by Microsoft to erode public interest in Apple’s hardware, the ad deliberately ignores the fact that music from users’ existing CD libraries can be loaded onto either company’s device at varying bitrates, but does underscore Apple’s continued lack of a subscription-based listening option for iTunes users. Continue reading to view the full advertisement.

British publisher Kraken Opus is bundling a special second-generation iPod touch, which it has dubbed the Prince Opus iPod, with its Prince Opus book, a limited-edition, 280-plus page photographic essay of Prince’s 21 Nights tour. The Prince Opus iPod features a custom-colored purple front and home button, Prince’s symbol logo etched onto the rear, and comes pre-loaded with an exclusive 40-minute movie and bonus audio tracks; both the iPod and the leather, hand-bound Prince Opus book are limited to 950 copies worldwide. Kraken Opus’ Prince Opus with Prince Opus iPod is available for pre-order and sells for $2,100. [via All Things Digital]

Apple has been exploring the prospect of an iPod model with a unified enclosure similar to the “unibody” MacBook and MacBook Pro computers, an patent filing discovered by MacNN disclosed today. In the course of discussing the design, which would use inexpensive, cost-saving sheet metal “formed in such a way that the final part looks like it was machined down from a large thick slab of material,” Apple offers a roughly sketched example of an iPod classic that features the same sharp, seamless body lines as the third-generation iPod shuffle and metal MacBooks, while preserving the screen, Click Wheel, headphone port, and Hold switch placement found in fifth- and sixth-generation hard disk-based iPods. Notably, even the substantially aluminum current-generation iPod nanos still rely on plastic top and bottom pieces, and no full-sized iPod has previously done away with the polished steel housing originally developed by Apple for the 2001 first-generation model. As with all Apple patents, this filing does not necessarily represent any future product release from Apple, but offers evidence of the company’s research in this area.

Apple’s iPod and iTunes Store remain the dominant MP3 player and online music store, respectively, in the teen market, according to the results of Piper Jaffray’s latest bi-annual Teen Survey. Of the 92% of students that said they currently own a digital media player, 86% said they have an iPod, up from 84% in the prior survey. While the percentage of students saying they are planning on buying an MP3 player in the next 12 months dropped dramatically from the prior survey, from 28% to 19%, a full 100% of those who plan to purchase intend to buy an iPod. “Apple is dominant in the market, and the lead appears to be growing as the market nears saturation,” said Piper analyst Gene Munster. “Apple’s dominance in the PMP market remains largely unchecked, and it is clear to us that Apple has captured the ‘cool factor’ among high school students across America.”

iTunes also made significant gains in the Spring ‘09 survey. While the percentage of students saying they download music online rose modestly, from 80% to 82%, and the ratio of students saying they use P2P file sharing over purchasing tracks remained the same at 6 to 4, 97% of students who said they purchase music online said they use iTunes, up from 93% in the prior survey. Finally, the percentage of students who said they owned an iPhone remained flat from the prior survey at 8%, but the percentage of those planning to buy one in the next twelve months fell slightly, from 22% in Fall 2008 to 16% in Spring 2009. “We believe AT&T rate plans are adversely causing the discrepancy in teen’s interest in the phone, and actual market share gains; as much as teens want the phone, parents may be reluctant to add expensive monthly data plans to their teen’s phone bill,” Munster said. “We expect Apple to address this issue in the coming months, with a family of iPhone models including a high end model with current plan pricing and possibly a low-end model with fewer features and lower-cost monthly data plans.” Piper Jaffray’s Spring 2009 Teen Survey was based on the responses of 600 students with an average age of 16.3 years, 54 percent of which were male and 46 percent female.

A new Apple job posting suggests the company is planning to add a camera module to future iPod models, possibly including the iPod touch. The listing for “Camera Project Manager - iPhone” states that “[t]he iPhone Engineering Group is looking for a Camera Engineering Project Manager (EPM) to drive the design, development and integration of camera modules across iPhone and iPod.” Responsibilities of the position include serving as an “interface” between Apple’s internal engineering teams and component suppliers of sensors, lenses, and camera modules, and coordinating all aspects of the camera module design, production, and integration. Applicants are expected to have a strong technical background including camera optics, sensors, actuators, manufacturing, and quality control. While Apple has yet to officially announce any plans to add a camera to the iPod touch, the company has in the past revealed future intentions through its job listings website; omitting the word “iPod” would have been easy for the company had it intended to offer camera functionality only for iPhone models. [via AppleInsider]

During his current international trip, President Barack Obama presented Queen Elizabeth II with a “video iPod” featuring a special inscription, pre-loaded content, and accessories. Content on loaded onto the iPod includes both photos and videos from the Queen’s 2007 visit to the United States, photos from President Obama’s inauguration, audio of then-Illinois Senator Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and audio of his Inauguration address. ABC News reports that the iPod was also loaded with a variety of show tunes, including selections from The King and I, West Side Story, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Once known as the “iPod Mechanic,” Nicholas Woodhams of Kalamazoo, MI, has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with both federal fraud and money laundering crimes over a scheme that allegedly involved tricking Apple into sending “more than 9,000” replacement iPod shuffles to a company that specialized in third-party repair and replacement of iPods. According to an earlier lawsuit filed by Apple last year, Woodhams allegedly took advantage of Apple’s iPod shuffle Advance Replacement Program in 2007, by filling out an online form for customers that saw Apple ship him “replacement” iPod shuffle units, with a credit card kept on file in case the broken shuffle was never returned. Apple claimed that Woodhams used a credit card he knew could be authorized for a potential charge, but would immediately decline any actual charges made by Apple should the broken shuffles fail to appear. Woodhams then sold the players for $49 each, according to court documents filed this week in Grand Rapids, MI. According to his lawyer, Woodhams has “been cooperating with the government and [is] in the process of negotiating a resolution,” adding that Apple’s lawsuit is on hold while the criminal case proceeds.

In addition to the shuffle replacement scheme, Apple also accused Woodhams of ignoring an agreement to stop using the iPod Mechanic name for his business and accompanying website, claiming it was misuse of the company’s “iPod” trademark; Woodhams is also said to have swapped out the back plates of out-of-warranty iPods for those of still-covered models in an effort to avoid paying repair and parts charges.

Update, April 7, 2009: Woodhams has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. As part of the plea, he has agreed to forfeit property, including a home, Audi sedan, a race car, and more than $570,000; Woodhams will be sentenced August 25.

Shortly following Apple’s release of the second-generation iPod touch, which unexpectedly added Nike + iPod receiver functionality to the touchscreen device, a hardware teardown by iFixit revealed the presence of a Broadcom BCM4325 chip with integrated Bluetooth support. The chip was determined at the time to be used for communication with the optional Nike + iPod Sensor accessory, but had no other known purpose.

During the iPhone OS 3.0 Event today, Apple announced that it would be unlocking the Bluetooth functionality of this chip upon the release of the new software, enabling features such as AD2P Stereo Bluetooth streaming, wireless gaming, and other application-to-application communications to be used by developers. It is unclear whether Apple will make all of the Bluetooth features of iPhone OS 3.0, including monaural headset support for phone calling, available to second-generation iPod touch users.

In keeping with past releases of the iPhone OS software for the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple today announced that the iPhone and iPhone 3G versions of iPhone OS 3.0 will be free for current iPhone users, and that the iPod touch version will be available for $10. Slides at the event, interestingly, depicted the iPhone as receiving a new Voice Memos application previously announced in the presentation, while the iPod touch was shown without the application; it is unclear whether Apple will attempt to charge iPod touch users separately for the voice recording functionality. iPod nano and iPod classic users have a free integrated application for this purpose.

A Cincinnati, OH mother is suing Apple and 10 unnamed employees from the Apple retail store in Kenwood Towne Centre claiming that her son’s iPod touch caught fire in his pants pocket. According to Ars Technica, the suit claims that the device was off when it made a popping noise and the boy noticed a burning sensation, only to stand up and discover his pants were on fire. The child was found to have second-degree burns from the incident. “He continues to suffer from both physical and mental conditions which will cause him to suffer pain, mental distress, emotional distress, and otherwise for the rest of his life,” the lawsuit claims. Apple and its 10 employees are accused of gross negligence and recklessness; the suit is requesting compensatory damages totaling more than $75,000, as well as punitive damages of more than $75,000, and attorney fees.

Apple’s iPhone 3G, fourth-generation iPod nano, and second-generation iPod touch were all given International Design Forum gold awards at the 2009 CeBIT conference, SetteB.IT reports. Among 802 products that were recognized, including the Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic, only 50 products earned gold awards. The products were judged on the basis of design quality, workmanship, choice of materials, degree of innovativeness, environmental compatibility, functionality, ergonomics, visualization of use, safety, brand value / branding and universal design. Notably, the MacBook Air was also the recipient of a gold award.

An auction by former Apple employee Mike Evangelist for a pre-release first-generation iPod was posted on eBay Sunday, then removed today at Apple’s request. According to Evangelist, the iPod was acquired while he was at Apple as part of an internal testing program, and never exchanged for a final released version. Otherwise fully functional, the pre-production unit can be synced with the current version of iTunes, but requires a special utility for restoring the software, as hardware changes made before the official release preclude this unit from being updated/restored using the standard mechanism. In addition, the unit included slightly larger earphones than Apple actually shipped with retail units—they were reduced in diameter from 18mm to 16mm following tester complaints. After posting the auction, Evangelist received an e-mail from eBay noting that “[t]he rights owner, Apple, Inc., notified eBay that this listing violates intellectual property rights. When eBay receives a report of this type of violation, we remove the listing to comply with the law.”

Apple has posted a new iPod touch TV advertisement to its online gallery. Similar to the prior ad which debuted along with the second-generation device in September 2008, the new ad features several iPod touches being used to play games, appearing over top of one another and set on a white background. Games spotlighted during the ad include Rolando, Touchgrind, Real Soccer 2009, and TouchSports Tennis ‘09; the song in the background is “No You Girls” by Franz Ferdinand. The ad also features the text “More Games” and “More Fun,” before finishing with the iPod touch 2G slogan “The funnest iPod ever.” The new ad is now available for viewing on Apple’s website.

According to the latest data released by The NPD Group, iPod sales were down 14% year-over-year in January. Fortune reports that Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster said Wall Street expectations were for an 11% drop in iPod sales. Despite the falling unit sales, the average price of iPods rose 4% in January, compared to an expected 3% drop. Overall, Munster believes iPod unit sales will fall between 6% and 15% for the quarter. “Given concerns regarding iPod weakness,” Munster said, “we believe the segment’s in-line performance relative to  Street expectations is a positive.”

Mobile advertisement firm AdMob has revealed its Mobile Metrics report for January. According to the data, worldwide requests from Apple devices grew 28% month over month to 1.2 billion in January, with the iPod touch outpacing the iPhone’s growth in top markets. The iPod touch now represents 40% of ad requests from Apple devices, doubling September’s 20% share. In early January, AdMob revealed that iPod touch requests had more than tripled worldwide from November to December; it is unclear how many of these increases can be attributed to sales of AdMob-supported applications.

RapidRepair has posted a page touting a 240GB hard drive upgrade for the fifth-generation iPod. According to the product page for the Toshiba 240GB MK2431GAH 8mm, the drive will only function correctly in fifth-generation iPod units, and not the iPod classic, due to the fact that it is a two-platter drive — the latter model is currently only able to see one of the drive platters. Pricing for the drive is not available and it is listed as out of stock, although RapidRepair is offering a “wait list” link for interested parties.

Update: The company is now accepting pre-orders for the drive, which is priced at $295 and will begin shipping in March. Owners of the 30GB fifth-generation iPod will be able to order a thicker backing along with the drive for an added $10.

Sandlot Games has released its Cake Mania 3 game for the fifth-generation iPod, iPod classic, third- and fourth-generation iPod nano, the first Click Wheel iPod game for be released in 2009. In the game, players must travel through time baking cakes and serving tea and cookies to guests while trying to achieve daily cash goals. The game offers over 80 levels, more than 20 characters, six different bakeries, and six different eras in which to work, as well as the ability to customize the bakery with new equipment to meet increasing demand. Cake Mania 3 is available now from the iTunes Store and sells for $5.

Thanks to an overwhelming response from the iPod and iPhone community, the Consumer Electronics Association and iLounge are pleased to announce a dramatic expansion of the iLounge Pavilion at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). According to CEA, the original space allocated for the Pavilion was completely sold within three days after the announcement, leading to a substantial waiting list. In order to accommodate continued interest from iPod, iPhone, and even Mac vendors, CEA has quadrupled the pavilion’s size, creating a massive presence for Apple accessory, software, and service providers on the 2010 CES show floor. Vendors interested in exhibiting at the 2010 International CES should contact Tira Gordon (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) immediately for additional information.

Update: CEA has issued its official press release announcing the record-breaking response and pavilion expansion.

During the company’s Q1 2009 Conference Call, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer and COO Tim Cook made several comments during the call relating to the company’s iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV businesses. According to Oppenheimer, customers love the sleek design and colors of the fourth-generation iPod nano. He also said the feature set and App Store have helped iPod touch establish as gaming, entertainment, and communications platform. According to the latest data from the NPD Group, iPod MP3 player marketshare is over 70% in the U.S., and gained in international markets as well, with marketshare of over 70% in the U.K. and Australia, over 60% in Japan, and over 50% in Canada.

The December quarter was the biggest ever for the iTunes Store, including the highest sales ever for Christmas day and week. Although the company had already reached its goal of selling 10 million iPhones in calendar 2008, Oppenheimer reiterated the fact, with Q1 sales pushing the total up to 13.7 million units. The phone was selling in over 70 countries by the end of the quarter, and recorded iPhone revenue was $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared with just $241 million in Q1 2008. Finally, the executives revealed that Apple TV unit sales were up almost 3x from the year-ago quarter, although the company still considers the product a hobby.

The complete record of our live coverage is below.

Working together on behalf of the iPod and iPhone community, iLounge and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today announced the historic official launch of the iLounge Pavilion, the first unified pavilion area for iPod and iPhone products to be offered at an International Consumer Electronics Show. Debuting at the 2010 CES, this pavilion will for the first time give iPod and iPhone vendors their own dedicated, prominent stage at the world’s largest trade show for consumer technology.

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