The iPod Nation

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]

If you are tired of those simple iPod dock devices such as iPod Dock Clock Radios and what not, then iLuv has something that might interest you. It is called the i9500 iPod/CD Sound System from iLuv. The iLuv sound system supports 4 CDs at a time as well as a dock for any Apple iPod. In addition, the sound system can support microSD flash memory cards as well as USB flash drives. It also comes with the usual FM/AM tuner and a alarm clock. The system looks great. Not really sure what size that subwoofer is, but it looks like it packs a mean punch. There is no official word to what the retail price would be, but it is expected to make its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 9, 2009.

- Geoff

[Source: Engadget]

We have known for some time that the second generation iPod Touch is the fastest iPod that is perfect for gaming. Well Konami wants to take advantage of that gaming platform. Konami announced their next project to be Metal Gear Solid Touch for the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. The game is scheduled for release in March 2009 and it will continue where it left off from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The original release will include eight levels with additional levels to be released at a later time. Gamers can unlock wallpapers and images when they gather enough points. In addition to MGST, Konami also plans to release Dance Dance Revolution, Silent Hill The Escape, and Frogger later this month. With this announcement, it shows that video game developers are considering making games for the iPod Touch and iPhone. It shows the power that the iPod Touch and the iPhone has in regards to the video game market. I am pretty sure gamers are happy to hear this news.

- Geoff

[Source: EdgeOnline]

With so many new Apple news today, the one that caught our eyes were the Apple Netbook rumors. Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research said in an interview that Apple would most likely introduce two new Apple netbooks at MacWorld 2009. Gottheil believes this because of several different factors. According to him, because of the slow economy, the rise in sales for inexpensive netbooks, and Steve Job’s comments back in October, Apple has no choice but to release an inexpensive netbook. According to Gottheil, Read the rest of this entry »

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]

There are plenty of chess applications out there for the Apple iPod Touch/iPhone. But nothing is as intriguing as this version of the chess game. It is called Samurai Chess. Instead of using the English style of chess, Conit Co. Ltd., who developed the application, created their own version of the chess game by bringing it back to Japan’s civil war era. Now many of you may think this is just another chess application, but this app has new features not found in other chess game applications. The first obvious difference is the reference to Samurais. The application also has a network match mode in which you could play with other users from around the world. Additionally, the application features fierce Samurai battle scenes to showcase the action. The game is available at the Apple App Store for $1 (limited time).

- Geoff

[Source: MarketWatch]

The latest trend in the digital world are digital books and comics. One platform that is notoriously known for this is the Apple iPod Touch/iPhone. Well Star Trek is hoping to take advantage of this trend. Comics publisher and Star Trek licensee IDW has announced that they are starting a digital publishing cycle at the Apple iTunes store. The first digital issue of the Star Trek comics is “Star Trek Archives: The Best of Peter David No. 1″. This is just a digital DC comics reprint. More issues will follow at the Apple iTunes store. There are also other comics that are ready for download at the iTunes store. Although most of the comics at the online store are available for free for the first issue, they will charge you 99 cents for following issues. So go check them out and let us know what you think.

- Geoff

[Source: Wired]

Scandyna Speakers have just introduced their new retro-inspired speakers for the Apple iPod, called the iPod Pink Dock Pack. The iPod Pink Dock Pack will sell for $300 and it features 2 x 15-watt Class T amplifiers, stereo line output, a pair of Micropod SE speakers, dock insert for all dock-connecting iPods, a Kevlar bass/midrange driver, a soft dome tweeter, a remote, and pink paint. Unfortunately, there is no word on whether it will come in different colors. Customers can find the speakers at Sak Fifth Avenue and 800 different audio/video stores in 30 different countries. So if you are looking for some good retro-inspired iPod dock speakers, this is what you have been looking for.

- Geoff

[Source: Engadget]