iLounge

One clever person has built a modern day stereoscope with two iPod photos, an antique stereoscope, and a digital camera.

A Japanese website is offering several decorative templates that can be printed out on labels to stick on an iPod shuffle. The site also appears to let you upload your own designs.

Apple-X has posted an interview with the songwriter and guitarist for the Caesars, the band behind the tune on Apple’s iPod shuffle TV ad.

An iPod shuffle owner in Japan has created a case for the tiny Apple music player out of a Frisk-brand mints package.

Wired’s Leander Kahney has written a article on iPods at Microsoft. “To the growing frustration and annoyance of Microsoft’s management, Apple’s iPod is wildly popular among Microsoft’s workers.”

Apple said yesterday that it will lower iPod prices in Korea. The price drop is only for Apple’s hard-disk drive iPods and excludes the iPod shuffle.

New at iTunes this week: ”Ghettochip Malfuntion (Hell Yes)” by Beck; ”2005 Grammy Nominees” by Various Artists; ”Red White & Crüe” by Mötley Crüe; and ”The Lonesome Crowded West” by Modest Mouse.

Following its dissection of the iPod shuffle, AppleMatters has posted an article looking at the device’s file structure.

This year’s Pepsi-iTunes promotion officially launched today. Apple has updated its promo site with instructions on how to play and redeem codes, official rules and a FAQ.

Ina Fried of CNET News.com has written an extensive article on the ”iPod economy,” which currently includes more than 400 add-ons (not counting all the various cases).

Buy.com has the 20GB fourth-generation iPod for $279.99 when you use the online store’s $15 off coupon. Shipping is free.

The Financial Times reports that Apple is setting out to cement its dominance of the portable music player market with the help of iPod accessory makers.

Former MTV veejay and podcasting pioneer Adam Curry plans to launch a podcasting network, “offering an edited selection of the web’s best dispatches and tools for neophytes to create their own casts.”

Apple’s iPod shuffle will be sold in 50 Singapore 7-Eleven stores starting next month.

In his latest PBS column, Robert X. Cringely asks if the iPod is ”a razor or a blade? In other words, is Apple a hardware company or a media company?”

A Japanese iPod owner has posted photos and specifications of an impressive custom-made machined metal iPod case that he calls the ”Armor plate.”

Geek Culture has posted another Joy of Tech comic relating to the iPod shuffle. In it, the artists have created a humorous new game called ”iPod shuffle Roulette.”

Sony reportedly plans to launch a global music download service under its PlayStation brand to enable tracks to be downloaded directly to the PlayStation Portable.

Following iLounge’s exclusive report earlier this month, BusinessWeek takes at look at Apple’s ”Made for iPod” program.

The International Herald Tribune has an interesting article on the mobile phone industry hoping to cash in on digital music. More than 600 million cell phones will be sold in 2005, according to forecasts.

Gizmodo has found the iBear, a new iPod mini stand/holder designed to match the five colors of the music player. “The bad news is that all we have are pictures, as haven’t quite determined how to purchase them through the [Japanese] Medicom site.”

The folks behind the Playlist iPod party in the UK have put together some pointers for success at the parties from DJ Lisa Rocket.

Ron Harris of the Associated Press says that the iPod shuffle “proves that fewer bells and whistles can be just as good as more” and that the player’s ease of use is “unrivaled.”

MP3.com’s Eliot Van Buskirk notes that the first MP3 player was not Diamond’s Rio PMP300 as many think--it was Saehan’s MPMan, sold in Asia and the US a few months before the Rio in 1998.

Peter Lewis of Fortune says the iPod shuffle is ”bound to be a hit.” He says “It’s simple, useful, loads of fun, and inexpensive enough to entice newbies to give digital music a try.”

The Wall Street Journal looks at Russian Web sites--such as AllofMP3.com, MP3search.ru and 3MP3.ru--which tout legal music downloads for as little as a nickel apiece.

Sega’s iDog is an iPod-inspired pet robot. “Seven LEDs on the face express emotion, while an audio jack under the right hind leg let’s you plug in your iPod (or other audio player) to broadcast through iDog’s speaker.”

The New York Times published three iPod stories this weekend. They include articles on iPod-related mishaps; high school students getting their iPods stolen; and the booming iPod-loading industry.

Steven Levy of Newsweek has written an article on the iPod’s shuffle songs feature, asking if the process is truly random.

The PDA Guy has a roundup of the top four Podcasting clients for the Mac: iPodder, iPodderX, PoddumFeeder and PlayPod. “iPodder is my preferred option, followed by PlayPod.”

Praising the iPod shuffle’s “breakthrough price” and “excellent battery life,” USA Today tech columnist Edward C. Baig gives the device three and a half stars out of four.

The February 2005 issue of Wired magazine’s ”Wired, Tired, Expired” lists the mythical iPhone as “Wired,” the iPod as “Tired,” and the iBook as “Expired.” Strangely, Wired’s January 2004 issue also listed the iPod as “Tired.”

eWeek’s David Coursey gives the iPod shuffle a C- grade, saying that Apple is “trying to make a virtue out of the fact that the device lacks a screen by making it sound like random playback is an advantage.”

LostiPods.com is giving away an iPod mini to the 500th member to register their iPod in the site’s iPod tracking service. The site will also give an iPod mini away for each 100th member after the 500th milestone.

TIME magazine has picked the iPod shuffle as its Gadget of the Week. “It’s very easy to write extensively about music players these days without ever mentioning sound quality, but let me set some minds at ease: it sounds great.”

In his iPod shuffle review, Mike Wendland of the Detroit Free Press praises the new device. “Apple’s new iPod Shuffle is about to be the next must-have product… Way to go, Apple. You did it again. The Shuffle is one hot new product.”

The first 100 iPod shuffles that arrived at the Apple Store in the Glendale Galleria on Monday sold out within an hour and the Northridge store was wiped out in three hours, said employee Rob Lamog.

To promote its new H10 music player, iRiver’s Web site is currently rotating between a male and a female model taking a bite out of an Apple along with the slogan “Sweeter one.”

Kirk McElhearn, author of “iPod & iTunes Garage,” has posted a sample chapter from the book for download. The chapter covers the iTunes music library.

Engadget has created a do-it-yourself pair of iPod shuffle sunglasses that are reminiscent of the Oakley Thump MP3 player sunglasses.

The Apple industrial design team has been nominated in the sixth annual Wired Rave awards for its work on the iPod shuffle and iMac G5. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is nominated in the Business Leader category.

Elizabeth Hitchcock of iPodJewelry.com has unveiled her first creation for the iPod shuffle. The design uses freshwater pearl and wire. Pricing is not yet available.

Following similar comments by Creative’s CEO, the chief executive of iRiver says he is surprised by features of the iPod shuffle and that it’s “not a competitor to an iRiver product because we have more features and focus on the premium area.”

AppleMatters has posted several iPod shuffle dissection photos. The innards slide out by pulling on the USB plug after removing the switch on the device’s backside. (It is not clear whether one has to pop off the round controls on the shuffle’s face.

In an interview with Silicon.com, Dell CEO Kevin Rollins says Apple isn’t “in the same league” as Dell and that the iPod is a “fad” and a ”one-product wonder.”

Scott Knaster has noted a new feature in iTunes 4.7.1 for the iPod shuffle. The “shadow mode” option keeps your shuffle in the Source list even after you’ve ejected it so you edit its contents at any time for easy updating later.

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has posted great article on Apple’s new Mac mini and iPod shuffle. The Mac pundit offers several insightful thoughts.

Apple has posted its support page for the new iPod shuffle. The page offers a number of answers to general questions, tutorials and troubleshooting help.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of hardware marketing, said Apple considered including a screen and an interface for navigating the iPod shuffle, but was unable to create a system that it was happy with.

You can use coupon code TCTVTGC2SAVE at Target.com to get 10 percent off iPod and iPod accessories. The offer is valid through January 31.

One iPod owner has posted a humorous tutorial on how to turn any iPod into an iPod shuffle in three easy steps with a Post-It note as the main ingredient.

Apple’s iPod shuffle product page, which compares the size of the device to a pack of gum, features a rather humorous warning: ”Do not eat iPod shuffle.”

Gizmodo has uncovered a new XM Satellite Radio trademark that should raise some eyebrows--”SkyPod."

Artists and creative types are being invited to show-off their skills by designing HP Tattoos for the iPod. A UK website that sells pre-printed Tattoos, has provided an upload area where budding designers can preview and submit their designs.

Green Day plan to donate all their iTunes royalties they make with their current single, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” to the American Red Cross to help with tsunami relief.

The first picture of one of Motorola’s new iTunes-compatible mobile phones has made its way out of CES 2005 and onto the Web.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says the iPod still has no equal, despite a number of new entries coming from CES this week. However, Creative is gaining the most traction with its Zen Micro, he says.

Apple is now offering a somewhat hidden free 13-song ‘iTunes New Music Sampler’ album to new iPod owners--or to those who restore their device or click on this link.

XM Satellite Radio says it has had discussions about a combo portable audio player and XM receiver with several companies, including Apple, but there are no current partnerships and no plans for an imminent announcement.

In an attempt to counter the runaway success of the iPod, Microsoft said this week that it may pursue an alliance with Sony.

In an Irish Times interview with U2 on its endorsement of the iPod, the band said Apple has ”single-handedly saved the music industry.”

Rio this week announced the Carbon Pearl, a new version of its 5GB digital music player in a familiar white casing.

In an interview with CNET News.com, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates commented on the success of Apple’s iPod. 

Steve Lidberg of Pacific Crest Securities says that a flash memory-based iPod, and new initiatives in 2005, should help Apple grow its music business to more than $5 billion by 2006.

Apple rivals Napster and Yahoo say the iTunes Music Store’s 99-cent pricing is the wrong formula for digital music, and that subscription-based models are the future.

The fourth-generation iPod was named “Gadget of the Year” in Engadget’s 2004 awards. Picking up the “Disappointment of the Year” and “Worst Gadget of the Year” honors was Sony’s Network Walkman NW-HD1.

Tim Hanrahan and Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal said a significant number of people wrote in to let them know that the iPod, Windows security concerns or a combination of the two had made them switch to a Mac or plan to do so.

Forbes tech writer Arik Hesseldahl said that a video iPod tops his 2005 wish list. “The experience shouldn’t be about watching video on a tiny handheld screen. What I do want is to output video from the iPod to a TV. An 80-gigabyte hard drive would make it practical.”

The iPod’s success isn’t just music to the ears of Apple--companies such as PortalPlayer, Audible.com, and Synaptics are also reaping the benefits.

Tweeter is offering 15 percent off iPod accessories through January 2, 2005. You must use coupon code TWTRGIFT during checkout to receive the discount.

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has increased his iPod collection--to 70. “I have some white ones but lots of metallic pinks, blues. I have had every single CD I have downloaded. I enjoy gadgets.”

7-Eleven stores in Singapore have begun selling Apple’s iPod--as well as Gameboy and N-Gage games.

The Globe and Mail reports that getting your hands on an iPod mini before Christmas in Canada is virtually impossible.

iPodBaskets.com sells gift baskets made up of iPod accessories. Prices start at $49.

Executives at Synaptics, the maker of the iPod’s scroll wheel, sold a combined $10.64 million in company stock last month as its shares rose to a 52-week high thanks to the iPod’s popularity.

Noting that the iPod is proving to be as synonymous with music players as Band-Aid with bandages or Kleenex for tissues, Peter Howe reports that the 20GB iPod is by far the most popular model this holiday season.

Rio, Creative, Virgin, iRiver and Archos are among those pushing their design teams to challenge Apple’s ”800-pound white gorilla” on both function and fashion.

BusinessWeek’s Thane Peterson says that Podcasting is one of 2004’s major cultural trends. He says it will “democratize radio by making it possible for just about anyone to broadcast audio content--much as blogging did for written commentary.”

iPodContests.com is a new Web site that tracks contests from companies that offer iPods as prizes. For a more comprehensive listing of iPod giveaways check out Les Posen’s iPod Giveaway Site.

Apple’s iPod, iPod mini and a “new iPod” that holds “a billion songs” appeared this week on the Late Show with David Letterman. (Click on the Big Show Highlight in the DaveTV box.)

According to data released by America Online, the iPod, Britney Spears, Ugg boots, and Paris Hilton top this year’s Internet searches.

In a New York Times article, David Pogue takes a look at four iPod mini competitors from Dell, Rio, Creative and Virgin. Unsurprisingly, he concludes that Apple’s device is still king.

April Horace, a Janco Partners analyst, said the rumored iPod with Sirius satellite radio support is technologically unfeasible right now. “I don’t believe Sirius’ chip set is at the point where it can go into an iPod. It’s the size of a credit card, and an iPod would need a chip set the size of a thumb nail,” she said.

Citibank is offering a free iPod mini to anyone who opens an EZ Checking account, fund it with $2,500, and pay two bills online each month for 12 consecutive calendar months.