Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2006.04.20
This Week's iPod News
PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review. General
Apple and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review. News about Apple's
transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is covered in
The Macintel Report.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
For current iPod prices from a variety of sources, see our
Best iPod Deals.
Products
Software
Products
earPod, a First of Its Kind Earphone Storage
Device
PR: AudioOutfitters, LLC, a provider of iPod accessories,
has announced the introduction of the first true storage product
for the Apple iPod and third party earphones, the earPod. The
earPod is a sleek stylish storage device for your iPod earphones.
According to Charlie Bernstein, President of AudioOutfitters, LLC:
"While storing my iPod, I noticed that the earphone wires would
tangle easily. We were curious if others were having similar
problems." A market study of over 1700 iPod users was conducted.
The research found that 75% of the group experienced the same
problem. Users also indicated that they found the wire too long and
there was no product available today to help them.
Designed by iPod
Users for iPod Users
Seven hundred iPod users were recruited to help design this
product. These users where polled regarding every aspect of the
product and at every stage. Based on their input, the earPod is
small and compact and provides quick access to store and retrieve
your earphones. It can also shorten your earphone wires during use
and has a place for your Apple remote control.
The "Tangles"
When your earphones are placed in a bag, purse, or pocket, the
wires always get tangled - sometimes knotted. The earPod eliminates
awkward tangling and knotting - increasing the life of the wire.
With the earPod, the earphone's wires are neatly wrapped around a
spool. Your earbuds and plug are stored in a central compartment.
The compartment has felt padding to protect your earbuds. And it's
fast too. "With my earPod, I can store my earphones in less than 20
seconds, which is a lot faster than it takes me to untangle the
wires." indicates Mr. Bernstein.
Long Wires
"I have spoken to many users who love their iPod, but are a
little embarrassed by the long earphone wire, especially when used
with the iPod remote control." indicates Mr. Bernstein. To shorten
the wire, just wrap it around the earPod a few times then feed the
wire through a slot to your iPod and to your ears. It's that
simple. The earPod comes with the e-Clip™ - an integrated,
removable belt clip - that allows you to clip your earPod to your
belt, your pocket, or the front of the Apple iPod case so it is
close to the iPod during use. The earPod also has a place to clip
on your iPod Remote Control on either side making it a complete
solution for iPod users.
The earPod sells for $11.99. Initial distribution of the earPod
will be available via www.ear-pod.com and other online Apple iPod
resellers.
Link: earPod
Roadmaster $20-70 FM Modulators for Your
Car
PR: Roadmaster USA Corp. has announced that it has begun
shipping the Roadmaster VRFM series of FM Modulators that plug into
your car's cigarette lighter to play your favorite MP3, WMA, iPod,
CD, or MP3 player music through your car's radio. The Roadmaster
VRFM FM modulators convert audio signals into an FM signal, which
is then transmitted over an unused FM frequency or station selected
by the listener. The VRFM can transmit this high-quality music from
an SD card, USB or audio input device, including MP3 players, USB
memory key, and CD and DVD players. It can even play any MP3 and
WMA music saved on a SD Card or USB Memory.
High-Quality Stereo Sound
Roadmaster FM Modulators make it easy to listen to all your
tunes saved on your computer, laptop, or MP3 Player in your car
with excellent stereo sound at a low price. Just save your MP3
collection on a USB memory key or SD card and plug it into the
Roadmaster FM Modulator; or simply plug your MP3 player or other
device directly into the FM Modulator for instant music that you
can listen to for hours.
VRFM6 - Low-cost
Entry-level FM Modulator
Starting at $19.99, the VRFM6 (Roadmaster's entry-level model),
connects to all audio devices, including MP3 players, CDs and DVD
players, through its audio input to wirelessly broadcast
high-quality music through the car radio. The LED displays 15 FM
frequencies, from which you can select the appropriate radio
channel frequency to play your music. The VRFM6 uses 12 volt
wire-free transmission and a 3.5mm stereo input. The channel
selector features an up and down key.
VRFM7 - with USB Slot and MP3 Decoder
The next product in the line, the VRFM7, is priced at $29.99 and
includes an MP3 decoder, USB slot, Aux in, and frequency push
button, as well as all the standard features. The Dual-Function
Buttons offer selections for Play, Stop, Volume, and Track Change.
The VRFM7W is Plug 'N Play ready for your MP3s and WMA music, which
you can play from a USB memory drive.
VRFM8 - with
Versatile Ratchet Neck & Shuffle/Random Play Features
The Roadmaster $34.99 VRFM8 includes all previous FM Modulator
features, plus Dual Function Buttons for Shuffle/Random, Last Song
Played, Last FM Channel, Play, Stop, Volume, and Track Change
Controls. The Ratchet Neck style provides more flexibility with 6
versatile positions that you will find makes for ease of use in any
vehicle.
VRFM9 - Top of the Line with USB, SD Card Slots and Song Name
Read-outs
The top of the line Roadmaster FM Modulator, the VRFM9 (priced
at $69.99), includes a read-out of the name of each song, SD and
USB slots, Dual Function buttons for Shuffle/Random, Last Song
Played, Last FM Channel, Play, Stop, Volume, and Track Selection.
It automatically plays MP3s and WMAs from USB memory drives, as
well as SD cards. In addition to song titles, the easy-to-read LCD
also shows preset FM stations.
Priced between $19.99 - $69.99, the VRFM FM Modulators are
available immediately through most major superstores, retailers,
and car dealerships.
Link: FM
Modulators, Roadmaster USA
Software
iPod Music Liberator 4.6
PR: The iPod Music Liberator allows you to copy music
from your iPod to any computer, filling in a missing feature of
iTunes. You see, iTunes only allows for a one way transfer of music
from your computer to your iPod. But what if you want to move music
to another authorized computer? What if you want to make a backup
of your music? What if your computer crashes and you lose all of
the music on your computer? What if you buy a new computer and need
to move your music? What if
Use the iPod Music Liberator for all of your iPod music copying
needs.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.2 or later.
System support: PPC
$24.99 demoware
Link: iPod Music
Liberator
MoviesForMyPod Converts QuickTime Movies to
iPod-friendly Format
PR: Simple, effective batch processing application for
converting QuickTime movies into iPod-friendly PSP/iPod/Podcast
Movies, 320x240 MPEG-4 and H.264 movie files.
New in version 1.0
PSP video conversion to MoviesForMyPod, a post-fix moniker, and
a bunch of other enhancements to this popular free utility for
Macintosh fans.
For a final test, I converted this clip using the iPod+PSP
Template, and then sync'd it to a 5G Video iPod and a Sony PSP v2
firmware. It played on both perfectly. Good luck with your own
videos....
- Creates .MP4 that plays/synchs to both iPod and PSP ("Universal
Podcast"). Perfect for Podcasters.
- Optimized for Single, Dual and Quad Core CPUs
- PSP Thumbnail Creation
- Watched Folders
- Converts MPEG-2(.m2v)/.AIFF with Apple MPEG-2 component
installed.
- Universal Binary
Found and fixed one last minute bug after Midnight, so if you
downloaded the software between 9 pm (Sun) and 4 am (Mon) PST, you
probably have the version with the bug. The executable file should
be dated April 17, 2006. If not, download again.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.3 or later, iTunes 6.x or
later.
System support: PPC/Intel
Free
Link: MoviesForMyPod
Babya iGrab Lets Let You Rip a Single MP3 or an
Entire MP3 Collection from Your iPod
PR: Babya iGrab is an easy to use way to grab iPod music
without having to manually do it. This utility will let you rip
either a single song or the entire music collection of the
iPod.
This utility will not hurt your iPod in anyway, nor modify its
database files or music.
Babya iGrab has some limits also: It can only read MP3 encoded
music, all other music will not be shown on the list (e.g. music
purchased from the iTunes Music Store. It can only grab either one
song, or the entire collection, not in between.
Babya iGrab will work with most iPods-including the latest fifth
generation iPod and iPod nano.
Babya Software Group's product manager for digital media, Alvin
Novick said: "Babya iGrab is a fast and fuss-free application for
easily managing your music on a iPod."
Babya Software Group's A.A. Fussy noted, "Babya iGrab is a
innovative application, allowing Apple iPod users to effectively
and efficiently copy music stored from their iPod onto a computer
for archival or playback purposes."
Link: Babya
iGrab
