Friday, May 23, 2008

The Apple Ipod and the Nano

What do people love about an Apple ipod? These are the cold hard facts people say they love about Apple ipod:

1. The original ipod can hold about five thousand songs.
2. The original ipod can give the user up to forty gigabytes of harddrive space.
3. The original ipod comes with an easy to use wheel.
4. The original ipod also has a battery with a life that lasts up to about 12 hours.
5. The original ipod can also provide you with the ability to set-up a play list.
6. And last but not the least, the original ipod has a shuffle function.

Even with a minimum layout of the features of ipod, users have agreed that the original ipod gives one an exhilarating experience of music.

With basic ergonomics, the Apple ipod has captured the heart of millions of music lovers all over the world.

The Apple Ipod Nano

With the list of facts regarding the original ipod enumerated above, the characteristics of the new Apple ipod nano would reveal a measure of smaller comparison:

1. The Apple ipod nano can hold about one thousand 1,000 songs. That is with the 4 gigabytes version, the one with the full color album art.

2. Another version of the Apple ipod nano can hold about five hundred songs in a smaller four megabytes of space.

3. The Apple ipod nano has a medium sized Click Wheel and a full color screen. With the click Wheel, you can fast forward, rewind, pause, play or access the menus. The full color screen is about 1.5 inches of display.

4. The Apple ipod nano has a battery life that would last to about fourteen hours. Fourteen hours is about a day without charging.

5. The Apple ipod nano also has a shuffle function like the original ipod.

6. The Apple ipod nano is available to make use of the armband accessory. All that is needed is a USB external cord that would also charge the Apple ipod nano.

7. The Apple ipod nano has a skin that acts as a sort of protection for the ipod.

8. The Apple ipod nano also has the iTrip. The iTrip lets you play the music you want via any radio. This accessory is very much in demand when buying an Appled ipod nano.

9. The Apple ipod nano has about the following statistical measurement: 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches and about 1.5 ounces in weight.

10. The Apple ipod nano also boasts of a perfectly skip-free playback and works well on either a Mac OS X or a Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

11. The Apple ipod nano, just like any other Apple ipod can play music, podcasts and audiobooks.

12. The Apple ipod nano can also hold up to about twenty five thousand photos.

13. The Apple ipod nano can also be used to synchronize contacts and calendars and to do lists.

As you can observe from the available features, what you love about the original ipod, take all of it and try to shrink it a bit and you got the Apple ipod nano. Not yet a believer? Put on the headphones and try to volume up the music. Everything now becomes clear -- it is an ipod.

This pencil thin ipod packs into your ears the entire original ipod experience. What makes it unbelievable is despite its small frame, it can still hold a 3 days worth of music and can play for 14 hours straight.

Accessories of the Apple iPod nano includes a leather case, an in-ear Lanyard headphone, armbands, dock where the iPod takes its rest, a radio remote, a USB power adaptor, an AV connection kit and Tubes, the iPod skins.

Integration of the ipod Nano in Cars

Users can take the ipod music experience on the road by seamless integration of the ipod and the car. Top automakers like Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, BMW, Acura, Honda, Infiniti, Mercedez Benz and others have designed elegant solutions to both their new and prior year car models.

Top automakers call this strategy as part of their After-Market Solutions. They have available options to the car user of iPod integration products for use. Available options vary from iPod-ready head units to self installation options as wells as professional interface installation. People now can customize their ride with iPod music.

You can also opt to have iPod integration options from car stereo accessory stores and manufacturers available within your area. They can outfit any car to play well with the iPod nano.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Handling the Apple iPod Fame and Lawsuits

With the success of the apple ipod series of Apple Computer, it is no wonder that there will be an apple ipod lawsuit on the table. Apple Corps sued the apple ipod creator, Apple Computer, of a breach in their agreement over the use of their famous trademark. Last March 2006, the hearing for the Apple ipod began before the London court.

Before any of the loyal fans of this iconic device dismiss this Apple ipod case as envy,it is important to look behind the court history of these two companies. The Apple ipod case is the latest court battle of these companies. In the early 80’s, Apple Computer paid Apple Corps $80,000 and promised that they will never enter the music business. 1989 proved to be another hot year between them after Apple Corps took Apple Computer to court again, this time for a music-making program and a microphone.

The latter paid Apple Corps another $26 million and was allowed to sell goods and services for the reproduction, play, running or otherwise delivery of music content. Apple Corps maintained the rights to creative works containing music. Their agreement only prevented Apple Computer in distributing content on media like CDs and tapes. It is vague on the stand pertaining to later inventions like digital music files or even the devices that they run on.

Mainly a trademark dispute, the Apple ipod case has become a much-anticipated issue. Because of the 1991 agreement, Apple Computer says that they are allowed to use the logo on the apple ipod and iTunes because they don’t own the rights to all their music, just the digital technology to handle its distribution. Whatever they have used the trademark on is well within their agreement.

Anthony Grabiner, Apple Computer’s lawyer believes they have a strong defense against Apple Corps. Meanwhile, Apple Corps is seeking damages and demands that the company and apple ipod maker to stop its use of the apple logo on their iTunes Music Store and the in advertising for the site.

Many fans of the Apple Computer products think that the Apple ipod case has some bearing. There are those who suggest that Apple Computer should just completely change its logo to end any lawsuit from being filed against them in the future. Ilounge.com visitors see this Apple ipod case as an admission that Apple Computer has indeed violated their agreement with Apple Corps especially when they are judged by the previous settlements that the former offered.

What this Apple ipod case really shows is a warning to all companies. Trademark and copyright lawsuits can be very expensive to settle especially when your company has just picked up business. That is why many companies invest heavily in market research, branding and patents. Make sure that you check the copyright of any of your business processes, logos and symbols before releasing it to the public. Setting everything in order will help your company avoid nasty court battles such as the Apple ipod case.

Eddie Cue, iTunes vice president at Apple Computer, took the witness stand April 3, 2006 to defend his company. Cue testified that the Apple Computer did not violate their 1991 agreement by using the Apple logo on their iTunes Music Store. What they provided was data transmission and not the original rights to the songs.

During the closing in the Apple ipod case, Anthony Grabiner defended Apple Computer’s right to use the logo because they are promoting the iTunes store and not the music itself and as long as they indicate the origin of the software and downloading services, they have not breeched anything.

Apple ipod will still remain as the most popular audio and multimedia player device in the market despite lawsuits filed against them. The apple ipod sales will continue to soar as users and patrons find more and more ways to use their apple ipod in their daily lives. Of course, there will be dissidents. By experience, anyone who can complain will complain so no matter how Apple ipod tries to meet its consumer’s needs, they can’t please everyone.

The ruling for the Apple vs. Apple trademark case is unlikely to be before the Easter break. As to how this all ends for the apple ipod, we will just have to wait and see.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

The iPod Junkie’s Dilemma

Modern society keeps creating new and better ways of fulfilling a need. Living in the digital age has never been more exciting and for anyone who can afford these gadgets, life is indeed sweeter. One of the most influential devices ever created is the ipod. These nifty portable audio players created by Apple Computers has redefined our understanding of personal freedom and customization. For anyone who loves music and multimedia, ipod is the best media player out there in the market.

Before the ipod, MP3 players were the best portable players around. Primarily a flash drive, these devices had limited features. The screen size was small and only text is allowed. The colored screen was optional and the memory size only went up to 1 GB. But with the introduction of the ipod and its succeeding generations, music lovers were transported to another realm. A world where they can only listen to all the songs that they want to hear. Once they put on their ipod, they have total control over what tunes should fill their heads. Call it listening to their daily-personalized soundtrack.

Is all this ipod play list personalization good for its users? Apparently some detractors don’t think so. They argue that too much personalization limits the listener to the new genres of music. Constantly listening to Eminem or Christina Aguilera on your ipod can deny you the pleasure of discovering new artists like Ne-yo or new music styles like trip hop. Ipod users become islands of their own, trapped in a floating music bubble of their own making.

Not only that, frequent users have become oblivious to their surroundings making discovery of new sounds very difficult. It can be of grave concern especially for those emergency cases when one is not able to hear a call for help because the other person is too distracted by their ipod. Such cases may seem extreme but turn to Hollywood movies and you’ll see how prevalent such instances are.

Ipod fans say otherwise. They say they can be as entertaining as the FM radio that has more content and users are exposed to more styles and artists on a regular basis. Plus there are some trivia and entertainment news that you cannot get from this device without buying accessories. Because of this, a new trend was born through the ipod called podcasting. Podcasting is a radio-style program that can be shared to other people through the Internet and played back in their ipod. You can create your own program and broadcast it to the World Wide Web.

Ipod users and fans have come up with ingenious ways of making their toy into more than just a digital audio player. Some have opened up it up and tinkered with its hardware and software. The result? An ipod that has an organizer function that stores addresses and calendar events in its memory. While it does need some getting used to, fans are thrilled at the devices’ limitless possibilities. Apple Computers then gave us the fourth generation of ipod more commonly known as the ipod photo.

This generation boasts of a colored display and photo transfer capabilities. As the company realized the need for something more innovative, the fifth generation was released. This ipod series is currently the hottest model because of the video function. Ipod video can play MPEG-4 and H.264 video with resolutions of up to 480 x 480 and 320 x 240. Its potential as a marketing and advertising tool is so huge that even Apple is overwhelmed with the idea. One possible product for this is the selling of video formats like music video clips and television show reruns.

The personalization of ipod is not a big issue among its many patrons. It is this quality that makes the device so appealing to them. Our age today holds value to the importance of self-expression. Ipod can deliver that self-expression through personalized covers, skins, accessories and a host of other complimentary software. It becomes an extension of one’s taste in music and other multimedia formats. The only real dilemma for any ipod junkie nowadays is getting the money to buy all those accessories.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Spin Tunes With the iPod Nano

Welcome the age of innovation! Welcome the Apple iPod nano. The iPod nano is the successor of Ipod mini. The ipod nano was born on September 7, 2005. It works on flash memory instead of a full a hard drive unlike the other ipods. The iPod nano is 62% smaller than its predecessor, with memory available in 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB sizes. The 65,536 color LCD display can show photographs and connects to a computer with the use of a USB 2.0. The iPod nano has a headphone jack on the bottom and also has a dock for other peripherals. One setback though is that the iPod nano is the only one in the ipod series that does not sync to any PC or Windows through firewire.

The iPod nano has many features that would be copied and included into the fifth generation video iPod. These iPod nano features that are new to the ipod series is the addition of the world clock, a stopwatch, and the screenlock option. The world clock permits the users to set time in world cities and set alarms for their time zones. The clocks are ready to adjust for the Daylight Saving Time. The stopwatch feature enables users to start the timer and to stop. The screenlock feature lets users set a passcode for their iPod nano. Should the user forget his or her passcode and the iPod nano is locked, the iPod nano must be plugged into the computer and it will be unlocked.

Spinning tunes with the iPod nano is easy. All the user has to do is upload their chosen songs from iTunes or other external websites, attach their iPod to the computer and start using it. You can choose an iPod nano with colors in white or black. The memory size varies from in 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB models. The price for an iPod nano ranges from $149 to $249, depending on the memory capacity you want.

One of the most appealing things about the iPod nano is its sleek design. However, there have been a number of complaints about the nano’s screen softness thus becoming easily scratched or cracking if too much pressure is applied. The iPod nano body is also delicate and scratch easily. Its surface is soft plastic and frequent use can damage the surface.

Because of this, Apple has had to defend its iPod nano from lawsuits, stating that they found the units not living up to its claim. Also the battery life is not as reliable. Since then, Apple began to package the iPod nano and fifth-generation iPods along with soft fabric cloth carrying case to help prevent scratches on the screen and body. The bad side to this is that the case does not give access to the control and the screen. The user must really exert effort in using the function of the iPod nano under the soft case.

Lucky for us, there are iPod nano accessories that solve this problem. One such device is the rubberized skin covers. These skins not only prevent the unit from being scratched, it also protects it from moisture and dust. The snug fit ensures that it does not slip and the rubberized feature gives the user a tight grip on their iPod nano. For the battery problem, users can always purchase a new adapter that they can carry to charge their units anywhere, as long as there is a socket.

Along with the car charger, earphones and loud speakers, the iPod nano has loads of peripherals available to really give you listening pleasure all day long. Among the favorites is the iPod FM stereo and cassette adaptor. Now you can search for tunes and play them through conventional devices like a car stereo the use of your iPod. It’s fast and simple.

And also there is the iPod Groove Purse Tote with Built in Speaker & Amplifier System. This classy tote bag lets you display your iPod and share your music with everyone around you. The flawless integration of style, clear sounds and amazing technology, make this a hot item for gifts.

Spin your way into the world of music and multimedia with the iPod nano. Its great tunes, great photos and the coolest gadgets to show everyone what you’ve got are what turns an audiophile into an iPod lover. Once you get the beat started, it’s really hard to back down.