iLounge

Griffin Technology will soon release the iTrip Auto Universal, a new FM transmitter designed to work with any portable audio player with a standard 1/8” (3.5mm) headphone port. Like the other iTrip accessories, this new model allows users to listen to the music on their player wirelessly through a car’s stereo system. The iTrip Auto Universal ($40) is powered by a 12-volt accessory (cigarette lighter) outlet and features an LCD for station tuning, switchable LX/DX Modes, and automatic shutoff function.

GizMac has announced the availability of its aluminum Titan case for the iPod nano. The Titan case, made from anodized aircraft aluminum, features a carabiner clip, armband, belt clip with 360-degree rotation, and lanyard accessories. The $40 case also sports a hard acrylic screen protector and thin film click wheel protector. The Titan case is available in black, silver, pink, purple, cranberry, light green, light blue, dark orange, and gold.

Cingular is now selling Motorola’s iTunes-compatible RAZR V3i cell phone. The V3i, which was announced nearly a year ago, features a 1.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD card slot, and more.

Apple will pay a laptop case maker to stop using the word “Pod” in its product names. Bloomberg reports: “Terry Wilson, 53, who sells the TightPod over the Internet, said Apple contacted her after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said she would soon receive a trademark for the product. She wouldn’t say how much Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., agreed to pay toward costs of the name change.”

Vaja has announced its new iVolution Leather Suit for the 30GB and 60GB fifth-generation iPods. The $70 case is made from genuine Argentine leather and features all-around, padded protection, snap closure system, and a removable Lexan screen protector. The case also provides access to all controls and ports, is available in nearly 40 different colors, and can be personalized with a name ($10) or logo ($30).

The MTVN Kids and Family Group announced today that it will soon offer new programming from Nickelodeon and The N on Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Launching today on iTunes is The N’s Degrassi: The Next Generation, a “fictional, dramatic series that tackles tough issues in a realistic way, which ranked number-one in premiere ratings in its time period among teens.” During the month of September, Nickelodeon will add TEENick series Drake & Josh, Unfabulous and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, as well as Nick Jr. series The Wonder Pets!, and new seasons from Zoey 101. The network will also offer a free sneak peek of its new series, Mr. Meaty, prior its on-air network debut.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple will use its special event next week to add full-length movie downloads to the iTunes Music Store, but that the company has so far only signed up Disney and no other major Hollywood studio. In contrast, Amazon.com plans this week to unveil its new Windows Media-based movie-downloading store with films from all of the major Hollywood studios except Disney. Apple’s lack of studio partnerships is due to Apple’s refusal to charge higher prices for new releases. Apple reportedly plans to sell older movies for $9.99 and $14.99 for new releases. According to Variety, Amazon.com’s movie prices will range from $9.99 to $19.99—about the same as those for other online movie services such as CinemaNow, Movielink and AOL. The movies on both stores are expected to go on sale at the same time as the DVD versions are released.

Harman Kardon has introduced its new Go+Play iPod speaker system. The portable system features a horizontal iPod cradle, stainless steel handle and speaker grilles, and can be battery or AC powered. The Go+Play also offers an IR remote control, touch-sensitive controls, and S-video out. Harman Kardon said the Go+Play will be available later this year for $300.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu believes that Apple’s first cell phone will be introduced in the first half of 2007 and is urging investors to purchase shares of Apple before such an announcement is made. “With a history of revolutionizing the PC industry, the music industry, and the movie industry, we encourage investors to get aggressive in purchasing shares of Apple prior to the potential revolution of the handset industry,” Wu wrote in a research note. “Our research indicates that an Apple-designed smart phone has moved from concept to prototype and recently has progressed to near completion as a production unit,” Wu said. “We believe this smart phone has been in development for over 12 months and has overcome substantial challenges including design, interference, battery life, and other technical glitches. We believe that Steve Jobs is finally satisfied with the end product Apple engineers have produced in terms of quality and the right blend of cell phone and portable media player.”

Apple today confirmed that it will hold a special event on Tuesday, September 12th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, California. An invitation sent to select media, including iLounge, features Hollywood premiere-style spotlights and reads simply, “It’s Showtime.” The event will kick off at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Reports of a September 12th press event first surfaced last week after the hosts of the Your Mac Life radio show and European Apple enthusiast websites claimed to have knowledge of the event. Apple’s date choice appears to be intentional, as the event will overlap with the opening day of this year’s Apple Expo in Paris, France, an international Mac and iPod show the company declined to grace with a keynote.

Analysts have speculated that Apple will use a September event to launch numerous product and service offerings, ranging from new iPod nano and video models to a 23-inch iMac, new iPod-inspired phone and a movie download service. Such speculation rarely proves entirely accurate, however, as few people know Apple’s plans for certain until the event actually takes place. As always, iLounge will be on hand with updates.

SendStation Systems, maker of the PocketDock line of iPod adaptors, has announced that it is giving away 20,000 free song downloads from the iTunes Music Store. SendStation customers who purchase the company’s smartCharge iPod car charger ($25) or PocketDock Combo USB/FireWire iPod adapter ($23) will receive 20 free songs from iTunes for each of these items bought. The offer is available to U.S. and Canadian customers while supplies last.

SanDisk has announced that several companies will be making accessories for its line of Sansa digital media players under a new “Made for Sansa” licensing program—an obvious imitation of Apple’s “Made for iPod” program. Among SanDisk’s first seven accessory partners are six well-known iPod accessory makers: Altec Lansing, DLO (Digital Lifestyle Outfitters), Griffin Technology, HandStands, Macally Peripherals, and Speck Products.

Popular social networking website MySpace has announced plans to launch a major digital music service. The News Corp.-owned site, which currently has 106 million users, said it will offer music from nearly 3 million unsigned, independent bands before the end of the year. “The goal is to be one of the biggest digital music stores out there,” said MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe. “Everyone we’ve spoken to definitely wants an alternative to iTunes and the iPod. MySpace could be that alternative.” The indie songs will be sold in unprotected MP3 format, compatible with the iPod. Bands will decide how much to charge per song after including MySpace’s distribution fee. DeWolfe said MySpace will be “enhancing and customizing” its online music service to eventually offer copyright-protected songs from major record companies.

Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple’s iPod, has withdrawn the defamation lawsuit it filed against two Chinese journalists over claims of labor abuse at its iPod factory. Foxconn and the Chinese newspaper China Business News issued a joint statement saying the two sides had resolved the dispute after apologizing to each other “for the disturbances brought to both of them by the lawsuit.” Last week, after a wave of criticism, Foxconn reduced its demands in the suit to a token 1 yuan (12 U.S. cents) from 30 million yuan ($3.8 million) and filed to unfreeze the personal assets of the two journalists, reporter Wang You and editor Weng Bao of the China Business News.

Hongfujin Precision Industry Co., the unit of Foxconn responsible for building Apple’s iPod, has been told by the Chinese government to let its more than 200,000 workers form a trade union. The Associtated Press reports: “Hongfujin Precision Industry Co. is on a list of companies in the southern city of Shenzhen that have been ordered to set up such a union, which would be affiliated to the government’s All-China Federation of Trade Unions. China does not allow independent labor organizing, but in recent years it has been pushing foreign invested companies to allow the state-sanctioned labor groups. Such groups are not industry-wide, but represent workers in a single company or sales outlet. They traditionally have been allied with management.” Foxconn has been at the center of labor violation claims this year following reports of substandard working and living conditions at its iPod factory.

As briefly mentioned in yesterday’s BusinessWeek article on Wal-Mart’s Hollywood campaign against iTunes movie downloads, Apple is reportedly planning to price movies at $14.99 for new releases and $9.99 for older movies. BusinessWeek claims that Apple will announce the addition of full-length movies to the iTunes Music Store in mid-September, along with “wider-screen iPods.” Interestingly, Apple is said to be planning a special press event on September 12th.

Sonnet Technologies has announced its new USB Car Charger for iPod. The charger is compatible with all USB-chargeable iPods, including all current models, as well as the 4G and mini. The $20 charger, which works in any 12V car or 24V truck lighter/accessory jack, features a coiled USB-to-dock cable, power filtering and a user-replaceable fuse, and LED status light.

Apple has settled a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Vermont-based Contois Music & Technology, which claimed that Apple stole its design for the iTunes interface. The suit was filed in June 2005, and terms of the settlement were not disclosed. “David Contois, who owns Contois Music & Technology in Essex Junction, filed a lawsuit that accused Apple of stealing his patented design for jukebox software,” reports the Burlington Free Press. “Apple denied the allegations and filed a counterclaim seeking reimbursement of its own legal expenses. The settlement ends all legal actions, and the lawsuit was dismissed, according to records at U.S. District Court in Burlington, where the case was filed.”

Based on reports from European Apple enthusiast websites and last night’s YourMacLife radio broadcast, Apple is in the process of inviting members of the press to a special event for new products, to be held on September 12, 2006. According to these reports, the invitation is unspecific as to the type of products to be shown and will be held at an as-yet-undisclosed location in Northern California, despite the fact that the event will fall on the same day as the opening of Apple Expo in Paris, France, an event the company publicly declined to open with a keynote speech. European journalists will reportedly attend a teleconference in London of the live California event. Analysts and Apple watchers have long predicted that new iPods, full-length iTunes movie downloads, and possibly even an “iPhone” would be introduced this fall.

Tokyo-based ZMP Inc. today introduced a new robot that’s designed to turn an iPod into “a dancing boombox-on-wheels.” The 14-inch-long robot, named Miuro, has a built-in iPod compartment and integrated speaker system from Kenwood, and receives wireless signals from a PC to play music from iTunes and other programs. It can be controlled with a handheld remote control and can also be upgraded with a camera and sensors to map out its own course. Miuro comes in white, black, yellow or red and will go on sale in Japan this week for 108,800 yen ($930). U.S. and European availability is expected in the second half of 2007.

Wal-Mart isn’t happy with Apple’s plans to sell full-length movie downloads through the iTunes Music Store, going as far as sending executives to Hollywood to dissuade studios from signing distribution deals with Apple. Wal-Mart’s campaigning has so far reportedly deterred the major studios from partnering with Apple because of the retail giant’s weight in the industry. “As the largest seller of DVDs, Wal-Mart accounts for roughly 40% of the $17 billion in DVDs that will be sold this year, a financial lifeline to big-spending studios,” reports BusinessWeek. Wal-Mart is also seeking marketing help from the studios for its own planned movie download site, and wants Hollywood to cut the current wholesale price for DVDs so it will be able to match the reported $14.99 price point that Apple is targeting for new releases. BusinessWeek says its sources point to a mid-September launch of the iTunes movie downloads.