New iPod nano and iPod touch disassembled

You’ve seen Apple roll out the new iPod nano and new iPod touch. Heck, you’ve heard what we have to say on both the new models. But perhaps you’re wondering what really makes these suckers tick. Fortunately, iFixit is in the business of satisfying your prurient interests in that regard.

You’ve seen Apple roll out the new iPod nano and new iPod touch. Heck, you’ve heard what we have to say on both the new models. But perhaps you’re wondering what really makes these suckers tick. Fortunately, iFixit is in the business of satisfying your prurient interests in that regard.

As is its habit, the company has posted in-depth slideshows of the newest Apple products in all their disassembled glory. You can see the nano’s new video camera, microphone, and speaker, all the while marveling at the incredible tolerances of engineering that make it possible to fit all that tech in such a small package. The camera itself, for example, is just 3mm thick—as iFixit points out, that’s half the size of the unit used in the iPhone 3G, which is likely why they don’t use the same hardware.

Then there’s the third-generation iPod touch. While it doesn’t look very different from its predecessor on the outside, you can’t judge an iPod from its exterior. As we know, there’s a new, faster processor on the inside, and a wireless chip that supports 802.11n (though the software at this point does not). There’s also an FM receiver and transmitter in the Bluetooth chip, though no antenna to use them. Conspiracy theorists can run wild on the fact that there appears to be room for a camera similar to the nano’s, and the internals even look similar to allegedly leaked photos of the new internals from a few months back which actually had cameras in them.

There you have it: the nano and touch—two innocent iPods—dissected for your amusement. Hope this enlightens you.



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FM Radio Comes to the iPod

Runners and exercise buffs: if you’ve been asking for an iPod with a built-in radio, you’re finally in luck. After eight long years, Apple has finally delivered.

Last week, Apple introduced its latest version of the iPod Nano, a multimedia player that’s smaller than a business card and weighs 1.28 ounces. It’s small enough to slip into some running shorts and skirt pockets.

While the radio is a welcome addition, the new Nano has some other features geared toward the active set. There’s a pedometer and, like previous Nanos, it is also compatible with the Nike Plus system that tracks your distance and other running or walking stats.
run well

Just like on a home or car radio, you can set your favorite stations into the Nano’s memory. After tagging your favorite talk radio or other stations, you can navigate them with the forward and rewind buttons (rather than using the wheel to scroll through the spectrum). The Nano also adopts a feature from TiVo’s playbook: if you need to take a break, hit the center button to pause live radio. You can store up to 15 minutes.

If you’re listening to a song and want to remember the name for later, you can “tag” it (but only if the station supports iTunes tagging). When you connect the iPod to your computer, iTunes will show you a list of the songs you tagged and then gives you the option to purchase the song from iTunes.

At first, I fumbled with the tagging and live pause on the iPod’s dial – inadvertently pausing the radio when I wanted to pull up the tuner to change stations. It takes some getting used to, but it’s worth the effort.

When I tested the pedometer, it seemed mostly in step with my steps. But as many of you know, none of these devices that measure steps or distance or routes are 100 percent accurate. You can set it to be “always on” or set a daily step goal.

The Nano also has a video camera, a stopwatch and a voice-over feature that tells you the name of a song from your playlist. Of course, you can still listen to podcasts and your own music. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have Bluetooth, so if you want to use wireless headphones, you’ll need an adapter.

The Nano is available in two capacities, the 8-gigabyte version costs $149, the 16-gigabyte is $179.



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Walkman Outsells iPod in Japan

You read right. Sony’s Walkmen are selling more units than Apple’s all-powerful, all conquering iPod. In the week ending August 31st, Sony’s share of portable music player sales hit 43%. The iPod struggled at a terrible 42.1%. Is Sony’s W-series Walkman bringing back Sony’s glory days of the 1980s?

The answer is, predictably, no. It also shows that the financial sector’s obsession with market share is flawed at best. The figures, reported by Bloomberg, give figures for market share in terms of units sold, not in terms of revenue or profits. Here are the prices quoted: Sony’s players all come in at under ¥1000 ($108), whereas Apple’s range from ¥8,800 ($95) to ¥47,800 ($516). Clearly, then, Sony is outdoing Apple at the bottom of the market, but has nothing to rival the top-end (cough netbook cough).

Further, these figures completely exclude the iPhone because it is a “wireless handset” (unlike the iPod Touch, which, wait…). Apple itself has reported dropping sales for the iPod as the iPhone and iPod Touch sell more and more. In fact, sales of vanilla music players fell 13.5% last year in Japan. So the takeaway from this seems to be that Sony has gained victory by challenging a weakened, diminishing enemy and beating it. Well done.

Does this remind you of anything? Barely six weeks ago, Apple was found to sell a huge 91% of computers over $1000.




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Getting flight data to you by iPhone, iPod devices

If Air Canada has its way, it soon will see fewer travellers lined up at the airport, clutching printouts of their boarding passes, in addition to suitcases and carry-on luggage. Air Canada is using DIY method to shorten airport lineups; BlackBerry platform also being developed.

The country's largest airline yesterday introduced an application for the Apple Inc. iPhone and iPod Touch devices that lets travellers retrieve electronic boarding passes, track flight data and receive notifications about delayed and cancelled flights.

An application designed for BlackBerry devices is also in the works, said Patrice Ouellette, director of customer service platforms.

Ouellette said web check-in is increasingly popular but only a fraction of passengers check in with mobile devices to have an electronic boarding pass emailed to them.

The problem now is those emailed barcodes can get lost in a mountain of other correspondence; the iPhone and iPod application, by contrast, consolidates all of Air Canada's flight data in one place.

Also, the airline is expanding programs that allow passengers to print baggage tags from airport kiosks. Research suggests that could shave 15 to 30 minutes off the time air passengers spend in lineups.

"To be honest, I wasn't sure if it would be picked up or not by the customer," Ouellette said of self-tagging. But the practice is catching on – about 90,000 people tagged their own bags last week – a number he expects will rise once the service expands from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to major airports across the country.

Such do-it-yourself approaches promise eventually to reduce relatively high costs for the money-losing airline, but for now, Ouellette said the focus is on increasing customer convenience.


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How to make video playlists for iTunes, iPod, and iPhone

Make the most out of your ipod or iphone. here are some tips on how to make video playlist for these gadgets for heavenly satisfaction and getting your money's worth.

Most people are pretty familiar with making music playlists in iTunes (if you're not, we can help). Video playlists are a less common sight. iTunes already does a pretty good job grouping your TV shows and video podcasts together in their correct order. But for all you video junkies out there who want to create playlists that scan your vast library of "Family Guy" episodes with "Stewie" in the title, playlists can be a lot of fun.

If the ultimate goal is to get these video playlists onto your iPod or iPhone, there are a few hurdles worth knowing about. For all the ins and outs of making video playlists for iTunes, the iPod, or the iPhone, check out our CNET How to video or check the step-by-step slideshow.

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new iPods to have cameras

There are rumors circulating that new generation ipods have built in cameras. The annual iPod rollout is rumored to be on its way next month, and the breadth of the changes to Apple's multimedia players is becoming apparent. The biggest new revelation is that the iPod touch and nano are about to get themselves on-board cameras, revealed by case manufacturers who apparently didn't get the memo that this stuff is secret.

Nice. In one swoop, iPods suddenly gain a significant additional reason to carry them around all the time. The thing about having a camera or camcorder on a music player that you have with you all the time is that, well, it will turn out to be the most useful camera you own. Why's that? Because a camera sitting at home in a drawer doesn't take any pictures.

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Four killer iPhone applications for runners

I used to run without music. Then I started bringing along an MP3 player. And finally I caved in to strapping my iPhone to my arm.

Sure, it's a little unwieldy, but it's comforting to have a phone with you just in case you need a sag wagon.

And don't forget the apps. Your iPhone can double not only as an iPod, but also a GPS watch, a route map, and a personal trainer. Here's my list of must-have apps for new and seasoned runners alike.

FlickTunes If your iPhone is coming along solely for iPod duty, check out FlickTunes. This 99-cent app turns the entire screen into a playback control: flick left for the next song, right for the previous one, up to pause, and so on. Sure beats trying to futz with the standard controls while you're running.

Get Running New to running? This 99-cent app guides you from couch to 5K over the course of nine weeks. It's a complete training program, with audio prompts that let you know when to run, when to walk, and so on.

RunKeeper Pro As I discussed last month, I think RunKeeper's a better system than Nike + iPod. The latest update, released yesterday, can automatically start a selected playlist when you start your run--very handy. It also adds real-time route tracking and support for geo-tagged status updates/photos. Worth every penny of the $9.99 price tag. (But the free version's still awesome, too.)

WalkJogRun Routes Looking for a good route to run while on vacation? Or a new one near home? This $2.99 app taps a library of over 400,000 user-created routes. A newly added city-search feature lets you plan ahead, and you can create your own routes on the WalkJogRun site.

OK, race fans: your turn. What apps do you take on the run? And what's your preferred method of carrying your iPhone? Armband case? If so, which one? Hit the comments to talk apps, gear, and, if you want, running in general!


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