MacShock.com

A modder by the name Marian has been able to create a mic for the iPod Touch by  using a TLC272 OP-Amp with SMD components. the modder has managed to modify his dock connector to work as a line in microphone for his iPod Touch. Having this as a add-on would certainly be very helpful in taking audio notes and recording clippings making the iPod Touch more usable in terms of a PMP rather than just a flashy-touchy device. [HackaDay]

Yes !!!!

Finally news about 3G iPhone from the horse’s mouth - AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson declared: “You’ll have it next year.” Critics of the iPhone had considered this to be a major negative considering that 3G is very widely used and existent in the US, however Apple ruler - Steve Jobs thought and has said that 3G on the iPhone would drastically reduce it’s battery which is said to be of 8hours on a full charge however it seems that iPhone will finally have 3G by nest year which is pretty much in line with my belief that Asia will get v1 of the iPhone when the US gets geared up for v2.

Apple plans to conquer 1% of the total mobile market in 2008 by selling 10 million iPhones worldwide in 2008. COnsidering the fact they were able to sell 1.4 million handsets by September end 2007 - i say it’s pretty achievable.

But i guess as long as hackers are alive we shouldn’t complain - El Jobso bring it on! we’re waiting.

China Mobile Ltd. - China’s largest cellular operator seems to be keen on tying up with Apple to launch the iPhone in China, no decision or deal has been signed as of yet but according to reports Apple Inc. and China Mobile Ltd. are in talks to unleash the iPhone in China by 2008 which was the speculated year for the iPhone’s Asia launch.

Revenue sharing is supposedly the obstacle that the two companies are trying to over come. In Asia, China and India are the two biggest markets and after China it would make sense if Apple launched the iPhone here in India despite of the fact that hacked iPhones are already being sold and can be easily found there are many who are still waiting eagerly for the device to be officially announced here.

Whether the technologically advanced Chinese consumer accepts the iPhone or no will be decided by time!

To be honest this was a little dis-appointing when i read it but well when it come to Apple and Steve Jobs this is not a surprise.

Jobs just pulled a Jobs on all of us, when the iPhone was released it’s being Apple locked even for applications was something that did not go down well with almost the whole tech community but God knows which cell phone and network was Steve Jobs using that made him say the following while announcing a revolutionary device (yes im saying it is revolutionary - because in 2007 you wont find a phone that cant record videos)

You don’t want your phone to be an open platform, you need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.

And voila, 1 morning Steve Sir just says to himself in the mirror that let’s allow third party developers to code applications for my products - a good thought many said, excited by the prospects of being legally allowed to code applications for the 2 devices and even many more that will follow.

In a recent interview Greg Joswiak - Marketing Head iPod & iPhone talks about the various bold decisions and blah blah Apple took in the past which are paying heavy dividends now as in their move to go into music retailing and going all out with the iPods.

However he has talked about the SDK that will be released and why is it taking time for releasing it, an interesting part in the conversation talks about an Apple Digital Signature which the SDK based iPhone applications will require (which i might point out is not required in case of coding applications for the MAC OS X)

This revelation has caused people to fear that this will hamper the freedom of third party coders to make applications such Instant Messengers; Tweaking Softwares and many such applications which will unlock certain restrictions/dis-abilities in the iPhone which is a legitimate beliefbecause Instant Meesengers pose possible threat to AT&T’s SMS revenues; Custom Ringtones hamper iTunes sales of ringtones; worst of all an iPhone version of Skype would result in AT&T and other exclusive carriers huge losses.

Having said that i still believe that “Something Is Better Than Nothing” and a SDK from Apple will certainly offer a lot of features to the iPhone consumer and i am very pleased about that.

Hoping for the best!

At first, they look like one of those rich guy’s cigarette box but these are the new shiny iPod casings made in aluminum - a strong and solid protection box for the iPods. Only for the new nanos and available in 3 colors: Red; Black & Silver. They dont have a screen but a screen would have made them look horrible anyways!

 Shimura has also made similar Alumium casings for the Mac Books (which IMHO make the book look like a sniper’s gun holder)

[Shimura via Akhibara]