The iPod Nation

The iPod Touch 2nd Gen was a huge hit over Christmas 2008. Basically an iPhone without the phone, the iPod Touch is priced much more reasonably than the iPhone and is the perfect choice for those who are happy just talking on their phones and have no need to pay an exorbitant amount to AT&T for the data plan. The App store reported an influx of downloads over Christmas with most of those coming from iPod Touch users. Amazon has reported the iPod Touch as their number one selling MP3 player and many companies have already started to order more iPod Touch 2G accessories in preparation for the large demand following receipt of the iPod Touch 2G as Christmas presents.
-Derek
[Source: macrumors]

The Android G1 from T-Mobile is gaining in popularity but one of the main complaints is its lack of a proper headphone jack. A few innovative do it yourselfers figured out a way to connect a G1 Android to an iPod dock. The hack is said to be very precise and delicate, doing such a hack is not for the faint of heart. The hackers took apart a HTC ExtUSB adapter for the Android phone and soldered it to the iPod dock’s female connector. Not only does the G1 play audio via the iPod dock, it charges the Android phone as well. It isn’t the cleanest hack in the world, but it works. Although this hack is pretty darn cool, why not use a universal speaker system with an AUX instead? Sure you can’t charge the G1 with it but you’ll still be able to play music. But hacking just sounds so much cooler I guess.

-Ray

[Source: gizmodo]

Imagine you are planning your honeymoon or romantic getaway for your significant other. Imagine you want to make all your friends or coworkers jealous. Well you can now with a new feature from Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. Sheraton Maui allows its guests to download a notescast prior to their arrival at the resort. The notescast is a file from the Sheraton Maui site and it gives you information regarding your room and the resort. It also includes pictures just so you know what to expect (or just to make your friends jealous, depending on how much money you spend). Although this maybe something that is not worth mentioning, it just shows the direction every industry is taking in regards to technology. Everybody is being more technology-centric. It also shows how the Apple iPod has become a staple in our society.

- Geoff

[Source: HotelChatter]

In the end, the iPod will always be better than the Zune. Even while saving a life, people can’t leave home without their Apple iPod. A teenager from across the pond in the United Kingdom was given the rare opportunity to listen to his iPod while he was undergoing brain surgery. Gavin Brooke, who is 18 years of age, required surgery so that a brain tumor could be removed. But the doctors wanted Brooke to be awake during the surgery just so they knew it wasn’t damaging his brain. So in order for him to stay awake, the allowed him to bring his iPod and connect it to the surgery room’s sound system. The first track Brooke chose to listen to was “Apologize” by Timbaland featuring One Republic. The funny thing about this is that this was his second time undergoing the surgery. During the first brain surgery, the doctor were unable to fully remove the tumor. According to the head surgeon,

“The tumor was in a very difficult place that controls the movement of the body,” Andrew McElroy, the head neurosurgeon told The Sun newspaper. “And we had to ensure we didn’t damage the surrounding area. A few millimeters too far could have paralyzed him, so I let him listen to his iPod. We talked to him all the way through, and he was happy with his music on.”

Well apparently, the iPod saved Gavin Brooke’s life. I’m not quite sure if I would of chosen Timbaland and One Republic as the artists I would want to listen to. Given the fact that I have several surgeons with sharp knives working on my brain, I wouldn’t want to distract them with that kind of garbage music. But oh well. It did the job. Congratulations Gavin Brooke. And kudos to Apple for their beloved iPod.

- Geoff

[Source: CNET]

I have the Pac-Man game app on my iPhone, it was free and it is one of my favorite games of all time. Many other people have the game too, but Khantipol Kasemsant of Bangkok took his obsession with Pac-Man one step further. He built a small enclosure to hold his iPod touch and recreated the retro arcade game cabinet. Made out of paper the retro game cabinet was printed from a template he discovered online and cut it out of heavy grade stock to hold his iPod touch in place. If I wasn’t so lazy I would probably try something like this, but I’m pretty damn lazy and just want to get my Pac-Man on.

-Ray

[Source: electronista]

The U.S army used an iPod during an operation in the Sadr City portion of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Kent Crandall combined an iPod and the speaker seen above to turn it into a platform to broadcast the pro-coalition messages to the people during a Halal food handout. Sadr City has seen some of the heaviest fighting in Iraq but the area has cooled down some after the cleric Muqtada Al Sadr called a ceasefire and told his men (the Madhi Militia) to lay down their arms. The iPod was loaded with Iraqi pop music which definitely made for a more interesting broadcast than straight spoken messages and numbers for anonymous tips.

-Derek

[Source: Wired]

Best Buy is currently offering customers who purchase an 8GB iPod Touch from them with a $50 gift card. And if you were to use the $50 gift card with the purchase of that 8GB Apple iPod Touch, you would pay around $179 for that iPod Touch. Now the deal is only for the 8GB iPod Touch models. There is no word on whether Best Buy would extend the offer to the 16GB and the 32GB iPod Touch models. This is probably the best deal out there for a iPod Touch. So get yours today while iPod supplies last.

- Geoff

[Source: Gizmodo]

A new internet advertisement for the Apple iPod Touch has been discovered by our good friends at Macenstein. We think the whole point of the commercial is that you have to tilt the iPod Touch to do stuff. A pretty cool ad if you ask me. Check it out and let us know what you think.

- Geoff

[Source: Macenstein]

I guess news of the shortage of supply for the Apple iPod must have been a heartbreaker for iPod Fans. It has been reported that a boy in the Suffolk County in the east coast was robbed of his iPod after school. Last Thursday afternoon, a boy stayed afterschool to play some basketball and football. His mother told him to wait so she would pick him up so that he would not have to walk home in the dark. While waiting for his mother near the Newfield High School grounds, the suspect brandished a butcher knife and demanded his cell phone and his iPod. The 14-year-old complied with the suspect’s demands and the suspect fled the scene. There was no word on what kind of cell phone it was. A pretty sad story in my opinion. Just a product of consumerism if you ask me.

- Geoff

[Source: NewsDay]

Last year, the number one gift that was hard to find was the Nintendo Wii. But much to the surprise of us iPod fans, this year it might be the Apple iPod. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu has been stressing earlier this week that we could expect sudden shortages on all iPod models, including the iPod Touch. Initially, Apple thought they would be selling more Macs and iPhones during the holiday season. But the surprising surge of interest in the iPod has left Apple with a shortage of supply of iPods. The first sign of the shortage started during Black Friday when Amazon sold out on the iPod Touch. Amazon and Apple were expecting the supply of iPods to last anywhere from 11 days to 3 to 5 weeks. Now the only iPods available come from affiliates. The reason behind the surprising surge of interest in the iPod could be attributed to the declining economy as the iPod is a relatively cheap Christmas gift, as suppose to the Nintendo Wii or a Sony Playstation 3. Wu says that there is a “strong consumer understanding of the value it (iPod) provides”. So if you are in the market for a iPod, better hurry before they run out.

- Geoff

[Source: Gizmodo via AppleInsider]