SourceCrowd.com

Never dismiss an iPod, it’s always ready to surprise you with its outstanding featues!
iPod touch 2G and iPod 4G are now available with substancial discount.
Guess what? 35% off the Apple iPod touch 32 GB (2nd generation) means you’ll pay US $ 239.99 for one the best devices around!
32 Gig is a lot of space for videos, music and - mostly - apps you can download from App Store!

Be cool: Apple iPod nano with 16 GB capacity is now US $ 139.99, that’s 30% off regular price!

It’s a limited offer, so hurry up!

Apple kicks off 2010 tablet frenzy with the iPad: one of the most awaited and rumors-prone device in history!

A 9.7″ inches screen that’s essentially a bigger brother to iPhone more than a little one to a MacBook, but that’s what it was intended for.

Big news: meet A4 processor, Apple’s own processor, running at 1 GHz.
Available with 16 -32 and -64 GB of memory, with 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Sports accelerometer, compass, mic and speaker and the usual iPod dock connector!

More facts: 10 hr batter, over a month of standby.

Runs the same Apps as the iPhone, so the iPad starts with a massive software library as well as developers support.

[ More on partner site MacSwitching.com ]

Let’s leave the boring economic & stock details to those really interested into this [so click here to read more Apple stock news], but Apple’s shares got up to $ 205.04 - super-atmospheric price!

For us, geeks, Mac-users and -lovers, what’s more important?

New products, of course!

On Oct 20th Apple introduced so many new produts and updates I barely can name all of them here, so let’s get a list to begin.

new iMac, it’s that simple: 21.5 and 27 inches display, new CPUs up to Core i7 Quad processors, up to 16 GB Ram (from the 8 Gig previously allowed). Simply gorgeous!
Several built-to-order options for Graphics cards, CPU, hard disk units available.
new MacBook: white policarbonate chassis but with unibody construction style, multitouch trackpad, 13.3 Led display.
new Magic Mouse: almost an iPod touch or a multi-touch trackpad - in a mouse! All the mouse surface is smart enough to keep track of your gestures!
Mac Mini: despite all rumors (and death bell tolls) it’s still alive - and fine! The 2009 Mac Mini sports a faster processor, twice the RAM, energy-saving features and a lot more!

A product I’m really interested in is the Mac Mini with Snow Leopard.
A special edition Mac Mini fully loaded with 4 Gigs of RAM, two 500 GB hard disks and pre-installed Snow Leopard Server with special remote management features.
Right now it’s the best way (and the most affordable yet) to get a great Mac server for your Home/Office and to fully integrate PCs and Macs!

Most Apple product should be available by the time you read this or eligible for pre-order; here are some prices:
Apple iMac 21.5-Inch starts at US $ 1.199
Apple iMac 27-Inch starts at US $ 1.699
Apple MacBook available for US $ 999
Apple Magic Mouse available for US $ 69
Apple Mac mini goes starts from US $ 599
Mac Mini with Snow Leopard Server (unlimited license) is available for US $ 999.

The iPod nano 5th-gen has been Apple’s best-seller, moving 110 million units with its promise of easy music listening in a very slim package.
Images

But Apple believes the era of dedicated devices is waning, and the Nano is a good example of how Apple is evolving its market-leading media players into much more.

The iPod nano 5th-gen got video playback two years ago and then added voice recording last year with a microphone or special headset.

Now, with the iPod nano 5th-gen released Wednesday, the slim player sports a video camera, an FM radio, a pedometer and an integrated microphone for voice recording. It’s a remarkable feat considering Apple has left the dimensions of this iPod virtually unchanged.

Let’s take a look at the additions to the iPod nano 5th-gen.

The camera offers standard-definition 640×480 video, although it can’t do still shots. The lens is built into the back corner along with a small microphone. The 16 GB version can hold up to 16 hours of video.

The video generally looked good, on the order of the standard definition Flip camcorder. The sound quality is decent, although I found it easy to get too close to the microphone, which distorted the sound.

The best part about the iPod nano 5th-gen is the effects the camera applies in real time to video recordings. There are 16 effects that let you stretch or distort images or throw the video into thermal, sepia or X-ray view. My favorite was one called Cyborg, offering a view of what the Terminator sees when it stalks victims.

Getting the video up to YouTube isn’t as easy as it is with the Flip, which lets you do easy uploading with its integrated Flipshare software. But with all the cool effects and the ability to take spontaneous video, the Nano should be a major source of YouTube videos, especially from kids.

An iPod radio has been on people’s wish list for years and it’s finally here. Apple has given the long-awaited feature a twist, building in a 15-minute buffer that allows you to pause a radio feed and listen to anything in that period. You can’t save the buffered audio - it just keeps moving along - but it’s a nice feature to back up and hear what you might have missed.

The radio also allows you to tag certain tunes so you can remember them or buy them later through iTunes. Though the Nano has a tiny speaker, you won’t be able to listen to radio over it because you’ll need to plug in the headphones - Apple’s or your own ear buds - which act as an antenna for the radio.

Check AP video coverage on Steve Jobs’ presentation:

iPod nano 5th-gen retails for US $ 149 (8 GB version) and US $ 179 for the bigger 16 GB version.

Starting today, Mac OS X Snow Leopard is available for shipping.
Current Mac OS 10.5 Leopard users are eligible to upgrade to Snow Leopard at the very low price of $29.

Snow Leopard is a truly exciting addition to the Mac OS X line, with half the footprint of previous versions, great new features in Expose & Stacks, quicker Time Machine backup, and faster wireless network interaction. It’s the world’s most advanced operating system, finely tuned.

Quicktime X and 64-bit support just to name a few features.

I’ll be checking ‘em out very soon and report about them!

You may think you’ve seen everything that’s cool around.
Think again.

Wacom Techno Cintiq 21UX 21-Inch Interactive Pen Display is so stunning and new you’ll ask yourself how you made it before.
It’s a tablet sporting the well-known Wacom quality plus a 21-inch UXGA (1600 x 1200) Pixel LCD display.
That means you’re going to do PhotoShop editing like never before: a pen display that allows you to directly address each and every pixel on the screen.
Resizing and contour operations will be outrageously easy and powerful!
The user-defined keys on both sides allow for even more customisation of both PhotoShop and your workflow too.

We tested the Wacom Techno Cintiq 21UX along with a MacBook (the white one, not the latest unibody!) and were amazed by the results!

With a 21.3″ TFT diagonal display, the Wacom Techno Cintiq 21UX delivers a highly sensitive pen-on-screen experience and a generous active area for working directly on large images, concepts, and designs in the most natural way possible. Working directly with the pen on screen is a natural motion that gives you an unprecedented degree of control and allows you to take advantage of natural hand-eye coordination, helping you work more intuitively and noticeably faster. The display’s completely flat surface allows the hand and pen to glide over the surface of the Cintiq without bumping into any bezels or borders. A dynamically adjustable stand allows you to rotate the display up to 180-degrees in each direction, incline the display from 10-degrees to 65-degrees, and even remove it for comfortable lap use.

System Requirements:

Apple has released an all-new iPod shuffle with an audio-based navigation system called VoiceOver.

Featuring no buttons save for the shuffle/straight/off switch and billed as “the world’s smallest music player,” the third-generation iPod
shuffle uses VoiceOver to let users navigate through songs and playlists, all using the in-line remote control. VoiceOver can tell users the
name of the song and artist, playlist information, and status information such as battery life.

The new shuffle also features a stainless steel clip on the back for attaching to clothing. The new iPod shuffle comes in 4GB capacities
only, and is available now in silver or black for $79.

“Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice
president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing. “The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen
to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists.”

Stop all rumors!

The guys at MacSwitching.com just reported that Apple has just updated Mac Pro, iMac and Mac Mini (after a few hours of down-service for world-wide online Apple Store).

Mac Pro -> new versions with 4- and 8-core, both with a redesigned interior,
iMac -> four versions: from 20″ (now US$ 1,199) and three 24″ versions (all with 4 GB RAM),
Mac mini -> all rumors confirmed: it’s totally revamped with NVidia 9400M graphics, in two models.
The new Mac mini sports two outstanding features:
- it’s the “greener” products from Apple ever (less than 13 W of power when idle, Apple says)
- has a crowded backside with 5 USB 2.0, DVI and mini-DisplayPort (and yes, FireWire 800!).

Have you been to Mars when Apple early this January announced the new MacBook Pro 17 unibody?
Time to refresh your memory, since it’s now available!

At first glance, you could easily mistake the new 17-inch MacBook Pro for its predecessor, the legendary 17-inch PowerBook G4 ( ; January 2006 ). The new model has roughly the same dimensions—at 15.4-by-10.4-by-1.0 inches and 6.8 pounds, it’s a shade wider, but a tenth of a pound lighter—and it retains the familiar aluminum enclosure and sleek design.

Inside, however, the new top-of-the-line Apple laptop incorporates not only a completely different processor, but a slew of other changes you should consider before deciding whether—or when—this is a machine for you. (you should…)

The MacBook Pro 17″ desktop replacement of Apple can also be classified as a multimedia notebook, because of its 3.1 kg and only 2.59 cm height.

Feature list at a glance:

With the iLuv iMM173 alarm clock and dual dock for iPod and iPhone, you can charge your iPod and iPhone while you’re sleeping and wake up to your favorite FM station or tunes from your iPod or iPhone. Featuring two integrated docks, an FM tuner, a large and easy-to-read display, and powerful built-in speakers, this unique bedside alarm clock lets you choose how you wake up every morning while making sure your iPod and iPhone are fully charged for the day.

The iLuv iMM173 features two integrated docks that give you the option of charging up to two iPods and/or iPhones. Do this while you’re sleeping, and when it’s time to wake up, not only will your devices be fully charged, but you also can wake up to your favorite tunes.

And thanks to the system’s powerful built-in speakers and jAura acoustic speaker technology, you’ll get sound with depth and clarity that belies its small size, making this bedside clock ideal for the kitchen or other room in your house as well. Note: iPhones can be charged on both docks, but only one will be fully compatible while the other will show “airplane mode.”

If you’d like to listen to the news, weather, or the latest radio hits, the iLuv iMM173’s built-in FM radio uses PLL digital tuning technology to ensure crystal-clear reception. The radio offers eight programmable presets, so your favorite stations are only a button-push away.

Or, connect another source–like the iPod shuffle, portable CD players, or other MP3 players–using the auxiliary line input. A remote control lets you operate the iLuv iMM173 from across the room, and a handy magnet on the back of the unit holds the remote when not in use.

The iLuv iMM173 features a large easy-to-read LCD with a 10-level dimmer that lets you turn down the brightness at night when it’s time to sleep. The time is easy to set, and a simple switch lets you change between standard and daylight savings time.

Dual alarm clocks, which offer the options of waking up to a buzzer, FM radio, or your iPod or iPhone tunes, ensure that your bedmate also wakes up on time. The iLuv iMM173 also offers a sleep option that lets you fall asleep to the radio or your iPod/iPhone. Plus, the alarm clock has treble and bass controls.

Price, about US$ 92.

There’s a saying that 2 is better than 1. When 2 can get together it’s special. The new JVC NXPN7 clock radio is very special. It accommodates two iPod players side-by side with its integrated dual-dock technology, charging them simultaneously and offering playback from each through the dock’s speaker system.
Supplementing iPod playback is an AM/FM tuner, and adding to the unit’s versatility is a clock and timer. In addition, there’s an analog audio input for connecting other devices for playback.
Though the JVC NXPN7 handles two iPod players, it measures a mere 13 inches wide and will fit almost everywhere.
It features sleek and sophisticated styling, with a black cabinet and speaker grille, and controls arrayed clearly and logically in a band along the bottom. Adding a bit of flair are two illuminated strips, one under each docked iPod.
These can display one of nine colors - including white, blue, red and others. The included remote control features dedicated iPod control keys that simulate the iPod control wheel layout, so users are able to easily shuffle, repeat, scroll and select songs from the iPod menu. Back illuminated LCD Analog audio input lets you add other MP3 players if you don’t have an iPod Remote Control (also controls iPod when docked)

In the end: dual dock, great sound, nice look and lots of features!
Price? $99.99 (just one time, not two!).

Still have to sort out all stuff that’s been announced yesterday.
In a nutshell:

Apple MacBook Pro 17″ with unibody, 8-hour battery (even though non user-replaceable) and up to 8 GB RAM (!!!)

iLife ‘09 which, along with all updates, introduces an interesting Garageband feature: music school lessons with the best artist around!

iWork ‘09
that introduces iWork.com, right now a public-beta online service for document sharing

iTunes pricing changes:

(check our partner site iPodPalace.com about this iTunes-related topic)

Highly recommended: check these Garageband previews with music lessons from selected artists!

This year, despite economical troubles worldwide, Amazon.com finished the 2008 holiday season with over 6.3 million orders on December 15th.

This season Amazon shipped to over 210 countries.

More than 99-percent of the orders were shipped in time to meet holiday deadlines worldwide.

Among top selling gifts in electronic and toy departments were Nintendo Wii, Apple’s iPod touch, and stealth goggles.

Several sources suggest that iPod touch and iPod nano are among the top 10 best selling product for the end of 2008.

Check here Amazon.com best selling iPods and MP3 players list.

More details here:

Wired.com
CNN.com
Arkansasmatters
Reuters

The Sony Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter lets you enjoy your iPod music wirelessly on a compatible Bluetooth sound system. It doesn’t use a battery, and draws minimal power from the iPod. Basic functions can be controlled from a compatible Bluetooth headset with AVRCP compatibility. The compact size and simple operation make the Sony Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter a must-have accessory for true music lovers. It is designed for any iPod with dock connector (30-pin).

Usage? Instructions?
It couldn’t be simpler You just turn on your iPod and connect the transmitter to the port, and in order to activate it, you set your receiving device into pairing mode and then hold down the button on the transmitter for about 7 seconds until the two devices are paired.
That’s it.

It’s not about their cool design, it’s not about the renowned JBL audio quality.
It’s because your iPod will love them (and you will too!).

Meet JBL On Stage 200ID High-Performance Speaker Dock for iPhone and iPod and the JBL Time Machine Alarm Clock/Dock for iPod.

The JBL On Stage 200ID is compatible with iPod mini 1G; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G; iPod 3G, 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch and iPhone as well!

The JBL On Stage 200ID loudspeaker dock is a complete sound system for iPod and iPhone–one that will become the new centerpoint of your personal entertainment space. Imagine a total audio system in one place, with no extra wires running across your table or desk. Connected to your new-generation iPod or iPhone, MP3 player or other music source, the JBL On Stage 200ID system produces clean, powerful sound, letting you take complete control of your music.
The system features a powerfully tuned digital audio path. The clean and compact digital amplification, coupled with DSP (digital signal processing) equalization, efficiently provides the transducers with cool-running power.

The JBL Time Machine Alarm Clock/Dock for iPod will let you rise and shine every morning to your favorite music stored on your iPod instead of fuzzy radio stations.

The speakers are encased in an O-shaped bridge above the dome-shaped dock with digital clock. In addition to the iPod dock, it includes a radio, clock and dual alarm. Its two Phoenix aluminum-domed full-range transducers are driven by powerful neodymium magnets. The Ridge tweeter provides accurate high frequencies. This two-way design provides a full, rich frequency response from the lowest bass to the highest highs.

About compatibility, JBL Time Machine incorporates the Apple iPod Universal Dock adapter and is compatible with most docking versions of the iPod, including nano and 5G versions. A stereo mini jack connection allows you to enjoy high-quality audio from a variety of other devices, including the iPod shuffle, MP3 and CD players, desktop and laptop computers (all platforms), and satellite radio.