Apple has discontinued the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. There wasn't much fanfare; it was a pretty quiet ending, when you consider that these devices defined a generation and changed the way we listen to music.
If you're a gadget fan of a certain age (cough), you're about to feel ancient: Apple's iPod just turned 15 years old. Steve Jobs unveiled the first version of the media player at an event on Apple's campus on October 23rd, 2001. To say that it had a...
When Apple dropped the 30-pin connector in favor of Lightning for the iPhone 5, new iPods and new iPads, it also dropped much of the current accessory market: short of an expensive adapter, years of collecting docks and more exotic peripherals were for nought. Belkin is stepping into that vacuum with what it says are the first officially sanctioned third-party Lightning accessories. Neither its Charge + Sync Dock (seen at left) for the iPhone 5 nor its Car Charger for Lightning (right) are what we'd call revolutionary, but they both cover missing pieces of the puzzle -- including Apple's, as the tech firm skipped making an iPhone dock of its own for this generation. Should either the audio-supporting dock or the iPad-capable charger sound appealing, both are up for pre-orders today and will ship in mid-November for $30.
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablets, Mobile
Belkin fills the void with first third-party Lightning accessories for Apple devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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At its event in San Francisco a few weeks back, Apple had more up its sleeve than just an aluminum-clad smartphone. In the latest issue of our weekly, we put both the new iPod nano and iPod touch through their paces to find out how they fare against their elder siblings. If a duo of PMP reviews doesn't snag your attention, we also throw down the review gauntlet on Wacom's Cintiq 24HD touch and this year's slimmed-down PlayStation 3. Eyes-On peeks at an ultrathin ultrabook, Weekly Stat examines emoticon use and Time Machines tallies up some more gadget history. The week's end is mere hours away and the usual download links that follow can help you settle in for a bit of leisurely gadget reading.
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Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile
Distro Issue 62 arrives with Apple's iPod duo, a superslim PS3 and Wacom's multi-touch display originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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At its event in San Francisco a few weeks back, Apple had more up its sleeve than just an aluminum-clad smartphone. In the latest issue of our weekly, we put both the new iPod nano and iPod touch through their paces to find out how they fare against their elder siblings. If a duo of PMP reviews doesn't snag your attention, we also throw down the review gauntlet on Wacom's Cintiq 24HD touch and this year's slimmed-down PlayStation 3. Eyes-On peeks at an ultrathin ultrabook, Weekly Stat examines emoticon use and Time Machines tallies up some more gadget history. The week's end is mere hours away and the usual download links that follow can help you settle in for a bit of leisurely gadget reading.
Distro Issue 62 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter
Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile
Distro Issue 62 arrives with Apple's iPod duo, a superslim PS3 and Wacom's multi-touch display originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tearing down a device the size of an iPod nano is definitely not for the faint of heart (or shaky of hand), but none of that deters iFixit, who just tackled Apple's latest pint-sized player. We called it the best nano so far, but if the tiny iPod with newfound Nike+ functionality calls it quits, can you do something about it yourself, or will it need to be binned or go back to the repair depot? iFixit is torn on the device, saying that it's easy to take apart and replace the LCD or digitizer glass, but that the battery is glued solidly to the chassis, and other important parts like the Lightning connector are soldered together. That makes the replacement of those components nigh-on impossible, resulting in a repairability score of 5/10 for the device -- not that we'd be brave enough to crack it open ourselves.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Apple
iPod nano hits iFixit's dissection slab, rated so-so on the repairability scale originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you think Apple is getting a little predictable with its yearly device refreshes, you probably haven't been charting the progress of its iPod nano. While most products in the Apple line receive an update every 12 months or so, few have experienced the kind of annual reinvention of the nano. It's a rare example of the company drastically re-thinking a product with such regularity -- or of simply not really knowing what to make of it.
Depending on how you look at it, this new seventh-generation iPod nano is either the latest, most optimal design of the long-running series, or it's Apple's latest shot in the dark. Even the cynics will have to agree this is a pretty good shot, thinner than ever and packing more functionality than in the past -- including Bluetooth 4.0. It sure doesn't make much of a wristwatch, but is the latest littlest iPod worth the $149 price of admission to its 16GB capacity? Read on to find out.
Continue reading iPod nano review (2012)
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Apple
iPod nano review (2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsEach week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
If you bet that Apple was going to turn the square, occasionally wrist-strapped iPod nano into a MOTOACTV-like watch that would provide a glanceable window into iPhone apps, you lost. Clearly, Apple could have gone that route. It teased in the last generation with an expanding selection of watch faces and used this generation to add Bluetooth and enable a thinner design via the new Lightning connector. Nevertheless, Apple decided to forgo the embryonic smartwatch market. Indeed, it returned to the larger, longer iPod nano school of yore, but with the single-button design of its iOS mobile devices complementing a multitouch interface.
The watch faces may be gone, but the new iPod nano regains the ability to play video while retaining photo display and Nike+ integration. It has become the equivalent of the lineup's feature phone, albeit with a better user interface. Examined in context, the new clip-free iPod nano looks more at home as a midrange option between the tiny iPod shuffle and the now larger iPod touch.
Continue reading Switched On: The iPod's modern family
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Tablets, Wireless
Switched On: The iPod's modern family originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As we briefly mentioned in our EarPods review, iFixit was able to teardown Apple's latest generation of earbuds, which are currently shipping with the iPhone 5. While we weren't quite sure what was going on with their insides, the site has confirmed some of our suspicions and detailed a few other fun facts. As it turns out, the internal layout of each earpiece is essentially that of an average 'bud with a forward-facing driver. The new top section, with its side-facing audio port, is apparently a good chunk of what affects the sound in unison with those strategically placed vents. The improved bass and low-mid response we noted in our review falls in line with iFixit's confirmation that the new driver in each Pod is made with a paper speaker cone -- in contrast to the plastic used on the older model.
As the site notes, those driver diaphragms should be less likely to blow-out, and the basket behind 'em have also been updated with a cleaner fit and finish. Aside from that, you'll be pleased to know that the inline remote appears to have an improved seal for protection from the elements, and it'll hold up better to cable snags. As you might imagine, the $29 headphones have been deemed as disposable rather than repairable. Don't take our word for it however -- you can read the teardown for yourself at the source link below.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Wearables
Apple's EarPods get the iFixit teardown treatment, found to basically be earbuds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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