Griffin TuneBuds Now Support iPods Touch, Nano and Classic

Griffin, purveyor of all manner of iPod add-ons, has updated both its TuneBuds and its SmartTalk. The TuneBuds Mobile is a set of earbuds with a microphone, and the originals were designed to replace the in-line mic and remote control of the Apple iPhone ‘buds. Now, the TuneBuds also work with the second gen iPod Touch (hello VoIP!), plus the new Nano and Classic.
The in-ear style TuneBuds cost $40, which is half what Apple is asking for its in-ear iPhone cans. More importantly, the Griffin headphones are available to buy, whereas Apple still hasn’t managed to make any of its new mic and remote equipped earbuds available yet. I should know — I’ve been trying to buy some for a month.

Griffins other update is to the SmartTalk, which adds the mic and in-line remote to any headphones. Essentially it is a 30″ cable with a jack on one end, and a socket with a switch and a clip on the other. If you hate cheap headphones, though, and still want to use you iPhone hands-free, these might be just the thing. Better still, they’re only $20.

By Charlie Sorrel

Tamagotchi Moves to iPods

Tamagotchi, a popular digital pet brand, is now leaving its egg-shaped console and taking up residence in Apple iPods. The new game Tamagotchi: ‘Round the World mixes the aspects of the original toy with new options, tasks, and characters to evolve into a multi-part gaming experience.Players take their Tamagotchi on missions through three planets with one ultimate goal: creating a happy, healthy planet. Along the way, the Tamagotchi will be challenged by characters in the form of living clouds, plants, and other natural elements in order to keep the planet healthy. Mini-game challenges include Memory Matches, Math Puzzles, and Rock Paper Scissors.

Of course, a safe, eco-friendly planet cannot be maintained if your Tamagotchi is sick or unhappy.

“Fans of the Tamagotchi brand are going to enjoy the cute, fun gameplay that Tamagotchi: ‘Round the World offers,” said Scott Rubin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Namco Networks. “The loveable characters and the playful setting deliver hours of amusement. In addition, the device’s portability, similar to the original keychain, gives consumers access to this amusing game experience anywhere, anytime.”

Not interested in the light and cheery musical themes? Users can play songs on their iPod while adventuring through the planet with their Tamagotchi.

Tamagotchi: ‘Round the World is available exclusively via iTunes for $4.99.

by Kait Silva

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DLO offers TransDock Direct for iPods

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO) on Friday announced it’s shipping the TransDock Direct, a new dock and charging system for the iPod. It costs $59.99.

The TransDock Direct designed to work in vehicles equipped with a stereo that has an auxiliary input. It includes a support arm and detachable 12-volt power socket. It can also be used with a separately available cassette adapter.

The dock rotates to enable you to position your iPod horizontally, navigating the iPod touch using Cover Flow, for example. And the power socket lets you simultaneously charge your iPod and another device, such as a cell phone or GPS unit.

by Peter Cohen

Cloud Girls Now Available For iPhone & iPod Touch

Cocoa Touch Games recently announced the release of its newest arcade family game on the iPhone App Store, Cloud Girls

The player’s goal in the game is to protect the world for as long as possible by rotating a vibrant, spinning, finger-controlled, multi-coloured shield to gather falling stars. As the game progresses the stars increase in speed and frequency, making it increasingly hard to spin the shield around fast enough to protect the world. Bonus stars provide extra score or replenish your lives fall among the other stars—make sure to let them through the shield to gain the bonuses they provide.

Players begin the game by selecting one of the five distinctly different Cloud Girls to play—Jenna, Anya, Mirabel, Keiko or Bjork—before leaping into space with their multi-coloured shield.

Your score in Cloud Girls is determined by how long you survive the onslaught of tumbling stars with extra points provided by one of the two types of bonus marbles. At the end of game your score is saved locally, but can also be submitted to the Cloud Girls online server (WiFi or cellular connection required) where your score will be added to the ranks of other players around the world. You can review your own scores and those of the top 100 players around the world with the click of a button.

The game features delightful art, perfect 80s pop music, power-ups, online high scores and superb transition and graphic effects. Join the ranks of the Cloud Girls and save the world today!

The producer and creative director for Cloud Girls was Cocoa Touch Games founder David Janik-Jones. The game was programmed by Ricardo Quesada, author of the highly recommended cocos2d-iphone framework for building 2D iPhone games, demos, and other graphical/interactive applications. The beautiful Cloud Girls were created, and generously made available to game designers, by Daniel Cook of lostgarden.com.

Cord Kruse

Apple vs. Mario: The handheld gaming battle begins

When Forbes.com suggested in June that Apple might be preparing to attack the handheld gaming market, bloggers freaked out. CrunchGear called the notion that Apple will challenge the Nintendo DS “wild speculation.” CNET blogger Don Reisinger began an 800-word harangue with the words “Has Brian Caulfield of Forbes totally lost it?” and GameDaily asked “What Is Forbes Smoking?”

For the record, Forbes Media LLC is a drug-free workplace. But if talking to software developers counts as a mind-altering experience, we’re there. Back in June, Apple was preparing to launch the App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and our checks with developers showed the App Store’s pipeline was stuffed full with games.

Since its launch in July, the App Store has turned into a monster, with Apple announcing in August it was selling $1 million US worth of software a day — and climbing. And 928, (26 per cent) of the 3,528 applications offered at the store are games. “Who knows, maybe [the App Store] will be a $1 billion marketplace at some point in time,” Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs told The Wall Street Journal.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has speculated that the rapidly growing App Store for the iPhone could become, “a $1 billion marketplace at some point in time.” (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press) And that was just the start. Jobs did everything short of holler “Run Miyamoto, run” while brandishing a shotgun earlier this month to get a simple point across: Yes, Apple is going after the handheld gaming market.

After debunking rumors of his impending demise, Jobs slashed the price of the cheapest iPod Touch to a gamer-friendly $229 (from $299) and previewed an advertisement pushing the iPod Touch as a gaming gadget.

“Now you could make the argument that it’s the best portable device for playing games — and a whole class of new games,” Jobs told an audience at the San Francisco Yuerba Buena Center For The Arts.

Whoops. Of course, if you believed everything you read on the Internet, you’d never think Apple could dream of taking on mighty Nintendo. Unless, say, you were to start checking the math.

One blogger actually wrote that he doesn’t “see how Apple has a chance,” citing Apple’s “lofty goal” of selling 10 million iPhones this year and the fact that Nintendo clocked DS sales of 414,800 in the month of April.

Huh? Last time we checked, 12 times 414,800 was 5 million (rounding up, anyway). As for Apple’s “lofty goal” of 10 million iPhones, as any stock analyst can tell you, that was a cheap set-up. Apple always lowers expectations so it can crush its targets. People who pay attention to stuff like this figure Apple will build more like 17 million iPhones this year. That bests a three-to-one advantage — before counting the sale of a single iPod Touch.

Certainly the $130 DS Lite has an enormous “installed base.” Then again, the Atari 2600 has a hefty installed base, too — in landfills.

But forget the numbers showing Apple is going to sell a ridiculous number of game-friendly gizmos over the next few years. Frankly, the Nintendo DS is looking a little weary. Introduced in 2004, the Nintendo DS got skinny in 2006, transforming into the DS Lite. In other words, it’s getting old. Not only does the thing rely on cartridges, it uses a stylus — kind of like, say, the Palm Pilot (another gizmo with a big installed base).

If you want to see the future of Nintendo’s handheld gaming devices, pick up an iPhone or iPod Touch. The gadget’s interface combines a touch-sensitive screen with the motion-sensing attributes of the Nintendo Wii. And who needs buttons when you can use software to paint the controls you need on the screen?

Critics seem to like the combo: “The iPhone and iPod touch are now formidable handheld gaming platforms, to be taken as seriously as Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS,” Tom Rose wrote for the Boston Herald last week.

Even better, the App Store allows gamers to buy a game with the touch of a button, turning shopping for the latest game into an exercise in instant gratification. Rather than trekking to the store to shell out $35 for a game cartridge, Apple can lure in gamers with the promise of hundreds of free games and hundreds more for less than $10. It all adds up to a very serious offering. End of argument.

As for commenters such as “Rucksack” who have contended on blogs like Destructoid that I’m a “non-gamer,” I have two words: Thank you. With your help, I may yet manage to convince friends and family that my XBox, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, collection of PC games, Game Boy, iPod Touch, Coleco Head-to-Head Football hand held, and yard-wide game controller complete with a gear shift, eject button, two joysticks and three foot pedals are not a sign of any kind of videogame “addiction” and that, in fact, I do not play videogames at all.

By Brian Caulfield

An iPod Buyer’s Guide

There are lots of different breeds of iPods, and deciding which one to pick up either for oneself or as a gift is sort of like deciding between a Great Dane, a Chihuahua, or something in between. Reviewer Chris Maxcer compares the assets and liabilities of each type of iPod, from the tiny shuffle to the massive classic.

Let’s get one thing straight: You can’t go wrong by buying an iPod. Any iPod. But that’s not to say the decisions between which iPod to buy aren’t hard. In fact, it can be downright tough. The tiny iPod shuffle is awesome for working out, but it lacks a screen. The iPod nano has a screen but lacks applications. The iPod touch has applications but might be too bulky for working out and may lack storage space. The iPod classic has mega storage but no touchscreen joy.

For the casual buyer, the choices are enough to drive a person batty. What if the iPod in question is a gift? The four models are different enough that making the wrong choice could easily result in a forced smile, and let’s face it: These little bundles of media joy aren’t exactly cheap. This quick and easy guide should help you get it right.

The iPod Shuffle

At US$49, the 1 GB iPod shuffle is Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) least expensive media player — and by media, it means songs and podcasts, up to about 240 of them. With its handy built-in clip, Apple positions it as “the world’s most wearable music player.” It comes in five vibrant colors, and it’s so small and light it can clip anywhere — even in an owner’s hair. The 2 GB model holds up to about 500 songs in Apple’s 128-Kbps AAC format, though it also plays MP3, Audible, WAV, and AIFF files. Playtime is up to 12 hours. Users can create a playlist in a particular order via iTunes running on a connected PC or Mac, and a shuffle mode will play songs randomly.

• Pros: Super small, super light, cheap yet rugged. 

   

• Cons: No screen, no video, no sleep mode for late-night listening. 

   

• Bottom Line: The iPod shuffle is great for exercising, and it’s durable enough that you don’t have to worry about dropping it and breaking it. It’s a great entry player for kids, but think twice before giving it to a spoiled teenager.

The iPod Nano

The newly redesigned iPod nano has returned to its rectangular roots. The previous generation was a fat-looking, (yet quite thin, in fact) square, and some of these older iPod nanos are still available at retail. Avoid them and go for the upgraded, newer versions, which include an accelerometer that recognizes landscape and vertical positions. The accelerometer is also the magic that lets you give the nano a little shake to shuffle your playlist.

The small screen is surprisingly sharp, so much so that it’s possible to watch TV shows and movies to good effect. It comes in nine bright colors, in two sizes: the 8 GB model holds about 2,000 songs and costs $149, while the 16 GB model holds up to about 4,000 songs and costs $199. Navigation is done through an intuitive touch-sensitive scroll wheel that’s easy to use in one hand. Most importantly, while the nano is surprisingly small and light, it’s big on functionality. You can create playlists on the go or even let it create playlists for you with Apple’s new built-in Genius feature, which is also part of iTunes. Genius lets you select a song and then generates a playlist of similar, complimentary songs. Oh, and photos — it’ll hold pics, too.

• Pros: Thin and light, tiny screen is sharp and usable, navigation is easy with a single hand, includes Apple’s Genius, comes with some games, can play video, can be used to record audio with an add-on mic. 

   

• Cons: Few games, few applications, no WiFi, no Web browsing, no e-mail , no SMS , no Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) maps, etc. 

   

• Bottom Line: Packed with features, the nano is a good compromise for active users who want something great for working out, small enough to slide into a pocket, and yet still capable of playing video now and then. It’s primarily a music and video player in a tight package.

The iPod Touch

The new iPod touch is much like the previous generation, except it feels thinner, comes with more storage, newer software, Genius, a speaker, built-in Nike (NYSE: NKE) + iPod support for runners, and integrated volume controls.

The iPod touch is like an iPhone without the phone part — its gorgeous, big screen boasts Apple’s innovative multi-touch navigation. It plays music, displays videos, and shows off photos to glorious effect; it runs thousands of third-party applications and games; it has a built-in browser, e-mail access, WiFi, Google Maps, YouTube access, an accelerometer, and more. With direct online access to Apple’s App Store, adding games and applications is just a matter of tapping the screen. An 8 GB version retails for $229, a 16 GB for $299, and a 32 GB for $399.

 

 

• Pros: Wonderful screen, lots of built-in applications, thousands of third-party applications available, its operating system is upgradable, future may bring WiFi-based VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) calls, touchscreen makes it easy to use with home audio and speaker docking systems, it can be used as a remote for an Apple TV, and basically it’s an all-around joy to use. 

   

• Cons: No built-in camera, no GPS , storage seems paltry for such a great form factor and interface. 

   

• Bottom Line: Because the iPod touch does so many things so well — easy music navigation, videos are a joy to watch, and games are ready for it — Apple calls it “the funnest iPod ever.” While most won’t want to risk taking it to the gym, the touch is surprisingly thin and light. With the right case, it’s a viable workout companion. For traveling, the big screen is amazing, and the thousands of applications and games will give this iPod a life extension for many years to come. Can’t go wrong. Seriously. Tell your friends: iPod touch.

The iPod Classic

On the surface, the iPod classic is the least compelling of all the iPods. It’s bigger, has a mid-size screen, and the touch-sensitive scroll wheel that seems perfect on the nano seems old-school on the classic. Still, the iPod classic comes with 120 GB of storage — that’s about 30,000 songs or 150 hours of video. And it’ll play those songs for 36 hours. Few iPod owners have enough media to fill this thing up.

• Pros: Capacity. 

   

• Cons: Lacks much of application functionality of the iPod touch. 

   

• Bottom Line: This big puppy is perfect for those who are avid music listeners and who must have their entire music library with them at all times. Same goes for TV, movies, and video. If having the media available at a moment’s touch is key, the classic is a win. Not surprisingly, the iPod classic has been the go-to tool for DJs for years.

Overall, the nano and the touch are the most versatile models. The nano gets the edge for super-active, on-the-go users while the touch will wow most everyone else.

By Chris Maxcer

Listen to your iPod in your car

Fring available on iPhone and iPod

fring has been approved by Apple, and is now available for iPhone and iPod devices, from the App Store.

Fring will allow iPhone and iPod users to enjoy live, mobile instant messaging with friends, no matter what device their contacts are using, and benefit from cheaper calls over WiFi.

Service users, called ‘fringsters’, can chat with contacts on their favourite online community, including Skype, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Twitter, Yahoo! and AIM, no matter where they are.

Fring released a preview version of its iPhone application in April, which was the first ever mobile VoIP app to appear on the iPhone.

An outstanding response to the application was received and fring has used feedback to develop the new version now launched on the Apple App Store, which features a new dialer screen and fring Add-ons menu.

Fring is free to download and use without any subscription fees.

by Jan Harris