iLounge

Time Magazine has named the iPhone the top gadget of the year in its list of Top 10 Gadgets. Time says the handset “changed the way we think about how mobile media devices should look, feel and perform.” It describes the design as “exceptional,” while praising the device’s touch screen and myriad of features.

According to a Billboard.biz report, British group Radiohead is in talks with Apple over the release of its latest album, “In Rainbows,” on the iTunes Store. Radiohead’s EMI back catalog remains a glaring omission from the Store, with the group insisting that its albums be sold in their entirety. Previously, Radiohead, no longer under contract with any label, released “In Rainbows” independently through its own website, on a “pay what you like” basis.

Following the removal of its TV programming from the iTunes Store, NBC has announced a partnership with SanDisk to offer NBC television shows on Fanfare, a web-based service that enables users to download TV shows and other video content for playback on the company’s Sansa TakeTV video player.

HMV, a leading music and entertainment retailer in Canada, has begun selling iPods and related accessories at many of their HMV Canada locations. “While the majority of purchased music continues to be in physical form, it’s clear the listening experience of many Canadians is evolving to also include portable music and for the majority of those consumers the digital player of choice is the iPod,” said HMV Canada President Humphrey Kadaner. “As the country’s leading music retailer, it only makes sense that we provide a full music experience for our customers by selling Canada’s leading digital music player.” In addition to the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPod touch lines, a “wide range” of iPod accessories are now available in more than half of all HMV stores, with plans to expand availability to more stores in 2008.

Nokia has introduced its Comes With Music program, which enables users to purchase a Nokia device with a year of unlimited access to “millions of tracks” from Universal Music Group. “We set out to create the music experience that people are telling us they are looking for - all the music they want in the form of unlimited downloads to their mobile device and PC,” said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Multimedia for Nokia.

The New York Police Department is handing out iPods filled with subject matter including criminal procedure, New York State Penal Law, warrants, ethics and community policing to academy recruits to allow them to listen to and watch coursework on the subway. “Now a recruit can watch a class on ‘search and seizure’ while going home on the subway,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement.

V-Moda has announced the addition of five colors to its Vibe Duo, Vibe, and Bass Freq earphone lines. Vibe Duo is now available in new Chrome and Gunmetal Rouge, the Vibe in new Midnight Blue, and the Bass Freq collection in Jaded and Rouge to match the new green and (PRODUCT) Red Special Edition iPod nano and shuffle.

Google has announced its list of the fastest-rising search terms in the US in 2007, with the iPhone topping the list. “iPhone, of course, is a word very few people typed in a search box in 2006,” said Marissa Mayer of Google. “It didn’t exist.” The iPhone also topped Google’s list of the fastest-rising global search terms.

Mediafour has announced its Holiday Prize Pack giveaway. From now through the end of December, purchasers of the company’s MacDrive 7, XPlay 2, or Media Boss software will be eligible to win one of three prize packs, each specific to the application purchased. Appropriately, the Xplay 2 prize pack includes an iPod classic, iPod nano (with video), and an iPod shuffle.

According to a Reuters report, EMI may be planning to significantly reduce its payments to industry trade groups such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and others that represent the music companies and help fight piracy. EMI was recently acquired by private equity group Terra Firma, and is currently undergoing a strategic review. EMI was also the first of the four major labels to make its music available without DRM.

Greenpeace International has released its latest ”Guide to Greener Electronics,” which ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV’s and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling. The group gave Apple 6 out of 10, good enough for 11th place on the list. Greenpeace said the company “slightly improved with new iMacs and some iPods reducing the use of toxic chemicals,” while stating that Apple’s takeback program “still needs some work.”

Google has announced the launch of the My Location feature for Google Maps for Mobile. My Location uses cell phone triangulation techniques, similar to those used by Navizon, to provide GPS-like functionality. It is uncertain whether the feature will be added to the iPhone’s Google Maps application.

James R. Miller, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Kansas, believes that the iPhone offers unique opportunities for online learning thanks to its mix of mobile phone, audio, and internet functionality. “It’s pretty much a complete computer system in your hand — and oh, by the way, there’s a phone there, too,” Miller said. “People are beginning to expect on-demand delivery for education. They may be out in a field someplace or completely away from standard Internet connectivity. Well, if they can pick up their iPhone and turn it on, that technology is making it possible for them to get this on-demand education that they need.”

T-Mobile will launch the iPhone in Austria in 2008, according to a statement made by Austrian T-Mobile Chief Robert Chvatal at the 2000th T-Mobile store opening (translated link). “We will be offering the iPhone next year,” Cheval said, according to reports. [via Mac Rumors]

Apple and Burst.com have signed an agreement to end a patent infringement suit dating back to April 2006. As part of the agreement, Apple will make a one-time payment of $10 million in return for the right to use Burst’s intellectual property in its own technology and products, without further consideration, not including recent Burst patents related to DVR technology. Strangely, the announcement also clearly states that “Burst agreed not to sue Apple for any future infringement of the DVR patent and any patents that might issue from the pending DVR-related applications.”

A new “John Lennon Video Album” iTunes Digital Release card featuring 21 of the artist’s music videos will debut at Starbucks on Dec. 4 for $25. The card can be redeemed through the iTunes Store for a collection of music videos which includes “Imagine,” “Woman,” “Happy Xmas,” “(Just Like) Starting Over,” “Nobody Told Me,” “Mind Games,” two versions of “Working Class Hero” and others, many of which are available digitally for the first time.

The song “Music is my Hot Hot Sex” by Brazilian group Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), featured in the latest iPod touch commercial, is causing confusion online. According to a Boston Herald article, users are searching for the first lyric, “music is my boyfriend,” featured in the ad, which is leading to a boost in interest for Canadian indie band Hidden Cameras and solo artist Skye Sweetnam, both of which have released songs with “Music Is My Boyfriend” as the title.

Apple has officially opened its online store in Mexico. The new store offers the full line of new iPods (including the Product: RED iPod nano), along with other Apple and third-party products. [Thanks, Arturo]

Paul McCartney has said that he’s “pretty sure” the Beatles catalog will finally be available in digital in 2008. He also blamed the long-delayed release on contractual red-tape, as well as timing. “The whole thing is primed, ready to go—there’s just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it’s being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn’t be too long. It’s down to fine-tuning,” McCartney said.

Proporta is currently offering a 50% discount on all its first- and second-generation iPod nano gear, as well as its iPod FM Transmitter. For those with newer models, the company is also offering a 10% discount on iPod nano 3rd generation accessories — simply enter “FACETHEMUSIC” on the cart page to receive the discount.

Case-mate has announced that it will be offering a 25% discount on all items from Nov. 23 through Nov. 26. To receive the discount, enter the coupon code “Holiday25” during the checkout process.

Following yesterday’s comments from China Mobile’s CEO on bringing the iPhone to China, Reuters reports that China Unicom has also expressed interest in carrying the handset. “Right now, we don’t have any plans to introduce Apple’s iPhones in China,” Unicom Executive Director Li Zhengmao told reporters on Wednesday. “But of course, we’re always willing to discuss a good business opportunity if it presents itself,” he said. “As for whether we’ll talk about iPhones with Apple, you’ll have to ask Apple.”

Apple has taken a more proactive approach in Europe than in the U.S. regarding the iPhone, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. The article points to agreements with Wi-Fi hot-spot providers as an example, saying Apple made these deals in part to appease critics who bemoaned the device’s slow EDGE data connection. “They certainly have learned their lesson, and are being more proactive,” said Chris Fletcher, a mobility research director with AMR Research.

In his review of the new Zune players, Walt Mossberg said that while the devices are an improvement over their predecessors, they’re still not as good as Apple’s current iPod lineup. “Microsoft has greatly improved the Zune hardware and software this time,” he said. “But it seems to be competing with Apple’s last efforts, not its newest ones.”

To celebrate its Quartz case receiving runner-up for Case of the Year for iPod classic in our latest Buyers’ Guide, Pacific Rim Technologies is running a one-week promotion, beginning today, offering the case for $15, discounted from its normal price of $25. The promotion ends Nov. 21.

China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou has said that the company is in talks to offer the iPhone in China, according to an IDG report. “Our customers like this kind of fashionable product,” Jianzhou said at the Mobile Asia Congress, while stating that he doesn’t like the revenue-sharing business model that Apple has used elsewhere. “We still think we can maintain the operator-centric model because we have the customers, the end users.”

UK iPhone carrier O2 has reported that it processed over 8,000 iPhone activations on Friday, the first day the device was available in the region. Apparently, O2 also experienced some activation hiccups, not unlike those experienced on the AT&T network over the US launch period.

Macitynet.it is reporting (translated link) that a string found in iPhone software 1.1.2 mentions the Italian cellular operator TIM, or Telecom Italia Mobile, which is partially controlled by Telefonica, O2’s parent company. In addition, Italian is an officially supported language in 1.1.2, both for the keyboard and interface, along with German and French.

Pictures of an iPod, broken apart in exploded diagram-style and encased in resin, have appeared online. Surprisingly, the artist left the Dock Connector accessible from outside the resin block, enabling the iPod encased inside to retain functionality.

crispSofties has announced the release of version 3.7 of its iPod.iTunes synchronization software, which synchronizes songs, videos, playlist and meta data in both directions between iPods and iTunes libraries. iPod.iTunes 3.7 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

Our friends at iFun.de have informed us that T-Mobile in Germany is planning to add automatic recognition of T-Mobile iPhones to its HotSpot Wi-Fi access points in the near future, eliminating the need for users to authenticate through a not-iPhone-optimized site. A T-Mobile spokesperson told them the company knows “that this is not a satisfying user experience” and that they “hope to have the automatic recognition up soon.”

A GUI-based jailbreak program for iPhones and iPod touches running software version 1.1.2 has been released. The software, which currently runs on Intel-based Mac OS X machines, requires a downgrade to 1.1.1 for devices that have already been upgraded, or were purchased with 1.1.2 installed.

The combination of iTunes 7.5 and iPhone software 1.1.2 appears to restore limited custom ringtone functionality. Take any .m4a file, thirty-seconds or less, rename it to .m4r, and double-click to add it to iTunes — it appears under Ringtones. Apple has yet to officially release the 1.1.2 update for iPhone and iPod touch through iTunes.

Etchstar, the custom laser-etching service, is now an Apple Value Added Reseller, and is customizing iPods with any art the buyer wants. The company is currently offering new products that arrive pre-etched with art of the buyer’s choice, as well as mail-in service for laptops, iPods, iPhones, and other mp3 players and mobile devices.

Popular Science has named the iPhone the Grand Award Winner in the Gadgets category of its Best of What’s New 2007 list. The article praises the iPhone’s multi-touch interface and ease of use, stating, “The competition looks downright primitive.”

According to Macworld UK, a queue for tomorrow’s UK iPhone launch has already begun to form outside Apple’s flagship Regent Street retail store. The iPhone will launch tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. local time in the UK and at 12:01 a.m. local time in Germany.

Alongside the first European iPhone launches, Pocket-lint.co.uk has received confirmation from the UK Apple press team that the 1.1.2 iPhone software, which comes pre-installed on UK and German iPhones, will be made available to iPhone owners in the US sometime tomorrow.

As part of a planned roll-out of the Starbucks/iTunes Store partnership, select Starbucks locations in San Francisco are now offering free iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store access to iPhone and iPod touch owners. These stores join those in New York and Seattle, which already offer the service.

A Florida man has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple claiming that the company’s FairPlay DRM limits the choices of consumers when it comes to its music player or music store, and also causes consumers to pay more for songs and iPods.

Proporta has announced its Golden Ticket holiday promotion which gives anyone who places an order with Proporta from November 12 to December 31 a chance to win one of a selection of iPod classics, 8GB iPod nanos, 1GB iPod shuffles, and other prizes.

Google has announced Android, its new open-source mobile phone “software stack,” rumored for months as the “Gphone.” The new software will be offered to manufacturers for free as part of a new Open Handset Alliance, and phones from HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and others running the software are expected in the second half of next year.

In a recent Telegraph article examining iPhone negotiations in the UK, O2 CEO Matthew Key has said that the company has ordered hundreds of thousands of the handsets, adding that he expects the iPhone to be the network’s best holiday seller “by a mile.”

Last Saturday’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” featured a parody of Apple’s latest iPhone advertisements, which feature iPhone owners telling how they use the devices in front of a plain black backdrop. Of particular note is the fact that the iPhone featured in the sketch appears to have been hacked.

European mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse has said that it expects to sell 10,000 iPhones on launch day in the UK. “We will hope to represent a big share of what’s sold,” said Darren Gardener, head of wireless at Carphone Warehouse U.K. The iPhone will be available from Carphone Warehouse, as well as O2 and Apple retail outlets, beginning this Friday at 6:00 pm local time.

A recent BusinessWeek article asks whether the iPhone’s success will lead to higher prices in the smartphone market. David Carey, head of Portelligent, said, “The component content that is most in demand is flash chips. If everyone starts chasing the iPhone, then the costs will go up, but that will be driven more by flash.”

Time Magazine has named the iPhone “Invention of the Year,” besting other advancements in science, robotics, and technology. “Intel’s 45-nanometer (parts for chips) - that’s a serious deal, but it’s a lot less glamorous than the iPhone even though it’s important,” said Lev Grossman, a Time staff writer. The article will appear in Friday’s issue.

New data from comScore shows that iTunes sales continue to grow. iTunes sales increased 85% in the first three quarters from the same period a year earlier, and dollars spent per iTunes transaction climbed 10% during that period. This goes against a recent figure from Forrester Research that said iTunes sales dropped 65% this year.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has met with Argentinian entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky to talk about his Wi-Fi sharing service FON. The meeting went well, the FON boss said, observing: “I really think Jobs liked the idea of FON. I think he loves the idea of a world where people share WiFi. That I could tell. I think he would like for there to be an opportunity for everyone to share WiFi.”

UK-based ChargeBox, which offers users a place to charge mobile phones and other devices while they are stored in a secure locker, has announced that it will be adding chargers for the iPhone to its locations to coincide with the device’s launch in the UK.

The iPhone Elite Dev Team has released a free Revirginizing Tool for iPhone that is able to repair phones that were “bricked” during the 1.1.1 update process, allowing these users to restore their devices, and safely upgrade to the latest version.

A new ”instant Jailbreak” has been developed for the iPhone and iPod touch, making installation of third-party native applications a much simpler process. To access the jailbreak, visit jailbreakme.com from an iPhone or iPod touch, and click on the “Install AppSnapp” link. Once completed, Installer.app, a third-party application installer, will be present on your device’s home screen.

A small number of iTunes users are reporting problems with the bitrates of iTunes downloads and imports following the installation of Apple’s newly-released Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system. It appears that Leopard uses different criteria when determining the bitrate of songs, which is causing some downloads to show different bitrates than expected. An inspection of older iTunes purchases using Leopard showed similar variances in bitrate, suggesting that the differences in bitrate are not new, but are instead being reported differently, if not more accurately, in OS X 10.5.

The iTunes Store is now taking pre-orders for ”The Complete Led Zeppelin,” a special $100 digital box set containing the band’s entire discography, is now available for pre-order exclusively through iTunes, as is the band’s upcoming ”Mothership” retrospective. Both will be available for download beginning November 13.

In addition, the New York Times has reported that Edward Burns’s latest romantic comedy, “Purple Violets,” will go up for sale on Nov. 20 exclusively on iTunes, marking the first time a feature film has made its commercial debut on the service.

During yesterday’s Q4 financial results conference call, Apple COO Tim Cook confirmed that the company was working with salesforce.com on their initiatives to modify software for the iPhone. Salesforce.com offers software that helps businesses manage sales leads and runs an online marketplace for other business software, all available over the internet.

Music chart provider Billboard and iLike have announced the first social media-based music charts, which will reflect which songs are most popular each week among iLike users on Facebook, as well as leveraging iLike’s desktop software to monitor the top songs that users are adding to their personal iTunes and Windows Media collections.

Both Toshiba and Samsung have announced plans for new flash memory chips made using 30nm technology, which would enable flash-based iPods with much higher storage capacities. Meanwhile, the popularity of Apple’s flash-based models is leading some to say that storage is no longer the main selling factor driving iPod sales.

Apple will report its fourth quarter earnings later today, and will host a webcast discussing fourth quarter financial results at 2:00 p.m. PDT / 5:00 p.m. EDT.

The Copyright Board of Canada has approved a new tax on music downloads from iTunes and other online retailers. Retroactive to 1996, the tax means Apple will have to pay 3.1 cents for each music file they sell, or 1.5 cents per track for complete albums, to SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada).

Jacuzzi has introduced its new J-480 hot tub with the AquaSound Audio System option. The AquaSound equips the tub with an iPod dock, along with waterproof micro-speakers, CD player, AM/FM radio, powered subwoofer, and remote control.

According to a spokeswoman for Orange, the iPhone will be offered in France in both locked and unlocked versions. While the locked version will sell for €399 as previously reported, the unlocked version will cost more.

A number of iPod nano (with video) owners are reporting problems with music playback when using the Nike+iPod Sport Kit. Apple has yet to acknowledge the problem, however, a workaround for the issue has been found.

A page on Apple’s website describing new features found in its Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard software has revealed note syncing of some sort between the iPhone and the new version of Mail. The page states, “Your notes folder acts like an email mailbox, so you can retrieve notes from any Mac or PC or access them from your iPhone.” Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard will be released on October 26.

It has come to light that Apple is limiting support options for iPhone owners who do not have active contract agreements with AT&T. From TUAW: “If a customer discontinues their AT&T service before the 90 days of complimentary support, they are still provided with support, and then covered by the 1 year hardware warranty, during which, if they call for support, have a pay-per-incident charge.”

An iPod touch owner has posted step-by-step instructions on how to create an iPod touch Dock from the device’s box lid. Tools required include double- and single-sided tape, a downloadable hole template, X-Acto knife, scissors, a pencil, and a ruler.

A trademark dispute between Apple and Comwave Telecom over the name “iPhone” could delay the phone’s release in Canada, according to a Sympatico report. Comwave markets a line of VoIP services and products under the name iPhone. Apple previously reached an agreement with Cisco in the U.S. to share rights to the “iPhone” name; Cisco, like Comwave, offers VoIP products under the name iPhone.

Legendary rock group Led Zeppelin has announced that they will offer their music online starting November 13, and that it will be available from “all online music retailers.” “We are pleased that the complete Led Zeppelin catalogue will now be available digitally,” said guitarist Jimmy Page. “The addition of the digital option will better enable fans to obtain their music in whichever manner they prefer.”

T3 Magazine crowned the iPod ”Best Gadget of all Time” at its recent Gadget Awards ceremony. Overall, Apple came away with six awards, including “Best Commuter Gadget” and “Best Music Gadget” for the iPod, and “Best Download Service” for iTunes.

Popular Mechanics has included the Apple iPhone as one of its ”Top 10 Most Brilliant Gadgets of 2007”, joining other devices such as Samsung’s Solid State Drive, the Microsoft Surface entertainment table, and the LG Super Blu Player, which plays both Blu Ray and HD-DVD discs.

Open-source DVD to MPEG-4 converter Handbrake has been updated to version 0.9.1. The new version includes performance enhancements, interface improvements, and various bug fixes. It is available now as a free download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

The Weather Channel has launched a new web application optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new application delivers current conditions, hourly and 10-day forecasts, and maps. It can be accessed by visiting http://www.weather.com/iphone from an iPhone or iPod touch.

iSkin has announced that its Cerulean X1 earphones now include an iPhone-compatible earphone adapter. The Cerulean X1 earphones sell for $99; iSkin will sell the Earphone Adapter separately for $13.

PodWare is now offering men’s and women’s t-shirts featuring integrated pockets for the iPod nano and first-generation iPod shuffle. The shirts, which sell for $26, also feature holes for routing headphones through the shirt.

The solo catalogue of Beatles member George Harrison has been added to iTunes. Offerings include Harrison’s critically-praised All Things Must Pass, as well as Bonus Track Versions of the self-titled George Harrison, Living in the Material World, and Somewhere in England.

A fourteen-year-old Texas girl ended up receiving not one, but two iPod boxes filled with rocks in place of the music player. Both boxes were purchased from Fort Worth, TX-area Target stores; the company has said that an investigation team is “actively looking into this matter and will partner with local law enforcement as necessary.”

Although not ready for widespread use, the iPhone developer community has managed to use an exploit in MobileSafari to launch recompiled third-party applications on v1.1.1 iPhones, and has also gained root access on iPod touch units.

Apple has acknowledged a bug that will only allow the first eight ringtones to automatically sync to the iPhone, assuming the user has more than eight. As a workaround, Apple is telling users to deselect “Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected” in the iPhone’s Summary Tab, and use the “Selected Ringtones” option in the Ringtones tab instead.

iLounge reader Paul Christensen has reported that the XtremeMac Luna clock radio is unable to wake his 160GB iPod classic from deep sleep to play an alarm. It is unknown whether this is a widespread bug or if it affects other members of the new iPod family, such as the iPod nano (with video) and iPod touch.

Following our article about Apple’s recent missteps, the Los Angeles Times’ Michelle Quinn has written a piece examining Apple’s actions and the subsequent response of its customers and supporters.

A new report from Packaged Facts states that $152.5 million in MP3 player sales took place on auction site eBay in 2006, representing more than 1.4 million units sold.

McDonald’s has announced that it will work with U.K. wireless company Cloud Networks to offer free Wi-Fi internet access in its 1,200 U.K. restaurants. The Cloud recently announced a partnership with O2 to offer Wi-Fi access for U.K. iPhone owners as part of their monthly tariff.

According to a Mac Rumors forum post, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in an email that the inability of the iPod touch to edit or add calendar events is a “bug” and that it will be fixed “in a future software update.” This claim is currently unconfirmed.

Goldstriker International plans to offer a gold-plated iPhone later this month. The gold will apparently be applied to both the chrome front surround and metallic rear portion of the phone. Pricing has yet to be announced.

Commomwealth Bank of Australia has used the 4GB model of the third-generation iPod nano to compare global currencies and purchasing power in 55 countries, reports Reuters. The survey found that Brazilians pay the most ($369.61) for the device, while Hong Kong edged out the U.S. as the cheapest place ($148.12) to buy the player.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has issued a research note claiming that 10 percent of all iPhones sold in September were purchased specifically to be unlocked. Munster wrote, “In late September we spent 12 hours counting iPhone, iPod and Mac sales in Apple stores across the country. During our store checks we noticed many people buying iPhones in the maximum 5 per customer allotments, which we believe were being purchased to be unlocked and operated on carriers other than AT&T”.

Verizon Wireless this week rolled out three new cell phones for the holiday season, including the LG Voyager, a touch screen-equipped mobile meant to compete with the iPhone. In describing the device, Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman said, “We think it’ll be the best phone ... this year. It will kill the iPhone.”

The iPod touch is expected to be one of the most popular toys this holiday season, according to toy retailer Toys R Us. The chain has released its list of the 20 toys that it predicts will become best sellers this year, and the iPod touch is expected to be the most popular, knocking the iPod nano from the top spot.