Playing with the Divine
Free Ipod Conga Line

Site is investigated by wired.com and proven to be legitimate business model verified by WIRED and other media. Join using the following link and leave a comment to this post. Once you are verified you will be added the the Free Ipod Nano Conga Line and others can sign up under you.

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Details on how get a free ipod, and links to actual received ipods
Pictures of received Apple iPod

Saturday, October 29, 2005

iSmack: iPod Nano Brass Knuckles


Like the iTunes Phone introduced by Motorola last week, the iSmack nano will temporarily pause the playing song when it senses an impact. Jobs demonstrated this feature on Apple Vice President Phil Schiller.

"Our product literally beats the crap out of the competition," says Jobs.

Free iPod Nano Received, thanks Freepay!

Here are some pictures of the iPod Nano that Freepay sent our way. It took about two weeks to process, one day to go STV and it was shipped out 4 days after that overnight.






Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Apple to replace any 5G iPods that exhibit hardware failure

Apple is apparently hoping to minimize any media attention the 5G iPods+video get. Due to a large number of complaints over iPod Nanos scratching, Apple has instructed channel partners to replace 5G iPods even if the problem would normally be classified as abuse. Perhaps they are hoping to prevent another lawsuit, but I would think that this would provide some evidence for the iPod Nano lawsuit against Apple. Perhaps in response to the scratching issue, Apple is providing leather cases with 5G iPods and seems likely to do so with the iPod Nano in the future. This would imply that Apple will settle the lawsuit and provide iPod Nano owners with another Nano (likely refurbished) and some sort of case.

PortalPlayer Comments Up Analyst's Bullish iPod Outlook

Apple financial analyst and Apple Permabear, Shaw Wu, changed his tune recently. He had previously issued negative comments on Apple stock even in the face of the success of the iPod Nano. His price target for the stock had been below the trading price of AAPL. After hearing comments from PortalPlayer, supplier of iPod components, Wu actually moved his AAPL price target above the price of the stock. He states that he believes Apple will sell more than 9 million iPods this quarter and will report a 30% increase in revenue growth over last quarter.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Free Apple Ipod Nano Received!

Even though I have been checking like a madman the DHL shipping status using the info given below I never saw a package shipped. Even though I was never able to track my (it shipped from 49637) Nano, it arrived yesterday! Thanks Freepay!

Monday, October 24, 2005

Lawsuit Claims Apple Knew About nano Defects

More details emerge about the iPod Nano lawsuit filed against Apple. The lawsuit alleges that Apple was aware of the flaws in the resin used in the iPod Nano. It also states that by having Steve Jobs pull an iPod Nano out of his pocket that this is misleading consumers since it implies one can carry a Nano in your pocket without harm. Even Apple's own website describes the product as one that will slip easily into a pant or shirt pocket. Hopefully Apple will update the Nano with a more scratch resistant resin. This is unlikely to happen since it would be, in a sense, an admission of guilt on Apple's part and would probably force them to replace a lot of the iPod Nanos out there.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Things wrong with the iPod

A post about all the things Apple should do with the iPod. For the last few years they have managed to stay on top, but eventually they will fall from grace when they can no longer maintain their premium pricing. I think there are a lot of UI issues that could easily get fixed (when viewing a list of your songs, the song names don't scroll).

Apple seems to be following the same path with the iPod that they did with the Mac. For the first few years they were the cats meow, but then by sticking with premium pricing they became marginalized. It seems like Apple has made some moves toward licensing, providing Michigan and Stanford with custom iTunes stores, and the ill fated HP iPod. Once the Mac became marginalized, they lost out to Microsoft and could never catch up because of network effects. It remains to be seen if the same will happen to the iPod. It seems like the advantage the iPod has over other players is that once people use Apple's DRM they are locked in. So if someone spends a fair amount of money at iTunes, they won't want to switch to a non Apple player. Even by using the ratings system in iTunes you have become locked in as its hard to move those ratings out of iTunes.

But given that Apple is only going to slice the MP3 market into 3 or so parts, it doesn't seem that they will be able to maintain their dominance in their respective segments. Over time eventually someone will come up with a better MP3 player hardware/software setup. Assuming that player uses Microsoft's DRM then they game is over.

How to check the STV shipping status of an item from Freepay/Gratis

My iPod Nano went STV this past Tuesday. Freepay/Gratis says it might be another 4-6 weeks yet but hopefully its sooner than that. If you have an item that has gone STV here is how to check on its shipping location.

1. Goto http://track.dhl-usa.com/TrackByRef.asp
2. Enter Your FreeiPod's Order Number in the "Shipper's Reference" box.
3. Enter "49637" in the "U.S. Origin ZIP"
4. Enter Your Zipcode in the "U.S. Destination ZIP"
5. Set the "Beginning Ship Date" to a date before the Sent to Vendor date
6. Leave the "Ending Ship Date" with the current date.
7. Hit "Track" and you should see your status.

Cartoon studio hints at iPod formatted video releases

Frederator Studios, creators of The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow & Chicken, I.M. Weasel, Courage the Cowardly, and What a Cartoon!, mention on their blog that the new iPod with video fits into their plans perfectly.

Friday, October 21, 2005

iPod nano owners sue Apple over screen issues

Even though consumers complained that Apple's iPod Nano gets scratched too easily, Apple claimed there was only a defect in a small portion of iPod Nano screens. Many reports indicated otherwise, some even stating that a microfiber cloth used on the screen caused it to scratch. Apple stated that the screen was made of the same material as other iPods and advised consumers to buy a case for the player. In response to this iPod Nano owners are filing a class action lawsuit against Apple claiming that design flaws have caused this problem.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Why Apple hasn't used Intel processors before

"So, throughout Apple's existence, there has simply never been both a reason and opportunity to use Intel processors"

There is not one mention of Star Trek, because I guess that would throw out the entire post. Macs ran on x86 in the mid 80s and again in the early 90s with Intel's blessing. This was done before the Pentium so its a misleading statement to imply the Pentium couldn't run the Mac OS. So if you want to call this the opportunity (Intel helping Apple), the reason would be Apple's downward spiral in the late 90's.

Before Apple's comeback, everyone was saying they were going to fade off into irrelevance. That would give them a strong reason to switch to Intel. So I would claim that they had both the reason and the opportunity previously.

The Pentium Pro was designed to be a server chip and it didn't run 16 bit apps at the time because MS was late in moving Windows to 32bit. Since MS and Intel work together Intel was following MS OS plan. To imply that the Pentium Pro was a chip for the lay person is misleading.

read more | digg story

Apple 'iPod Tax' and the missing remote port

News.com has a story on how Apple is charging somewhere in the range of 10% for iPod accessories that connect to the iPod dock connector. While it seemed strange that the new iPods would no longer have the remote connector near the headphone jack like previous full size iPods, now Apple's strategy seems clear. The 'made for ipod' program is only for accessories that connect to the dock connecter and not for things like cases. Thus by removing the remote port anyone who wants to electrically connect to the iPod must now pay Apple or face their wrath.

The Video iPod: What you need to know

Every time Steve Jobs gets on stage to announce products, thereĆ¢??s a flood of information. First, there's what Jobs says. Then, there's what the Apple press releases say. And then there's all the information that Apple doesn't broadcast right away, but trickles out gradually in interviews and on its Web site.

read more | digg story

Monday, October 17, 2005

New video iPods shipping

According to Appleinsider, earlier shipments will be in consumers hands tomorrow. Retails stores do not know when they will get any shipments. Apple also is finally starting to ship their lanyard headphones for the iPod Nano.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Memory shortages may be cause of iPod nano delays

While Apple was pretty tight lipped during its financial results Q&A about what the component shortages on the iPod Nano were it looks like it might be the memory. Digitimes is reporting that certain Taiwanese companies are reporting the bottleneck is the NOR flash memory in the iPod Nano.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Apple Sells Millions Of iPods, Shareholders Angry

An article that complains about Apple stock dropping. Of course no one looks at what happened to Apple stock before this announcement. The was at an all time high, the stock had been going up because Wall Street believed that Apple would sell 8mm iPods. When they found out they didn't and might not sell as many as they would like during Christmas the stock took a hit.

They led people to believe they would sell 8 million iPods but only sold 6.5 million, a miss of more than 18%. The stock, which was already at an all time high, dropped 10% on the news. Not only did Apple state that they didn't sell as many as iPods, they also stated that they would have component shortages and would have NO IDEA when those shortages would be resolved. i.e. even though they have a hit on their hands they can't ship any iPods. I think that is a pretty huge statement for a company to say and the stock got sheared for it. What would happen if Microsoft said they could no longer sell Windows for an indefinite period of time because of manufacturing problems? There would be a huge drop in the stock.

Apple iPod Announcements Commentary

Watching the streaming video of the Apple event brings out some subtle points that weren't stated explicitly. Notice that Steve Jobs didn't bring out an iPod Video, he brought out an iPod that also happens to play videos. Along with playing videos they are now offering music videos for sale on iTunes. This is more significant than one might think at first. The music industry doesn't make much money on music videos. They give them away to MTV and put them on CD's for free when you buy an album. By selling music videos for $1.99 they are basically resetting consumer expectation that music videos have a price. Also they are providing revenue for the music industry where previously they had none. The pricing of these videos was probably the cause of the tension between Apple and the music industry in the last few weeks. They probably wanted a higher price on music videos and Apple refused.

On top of pricing music videos instead of giving them away for free, Apple also makes it more difficult to raise prices on individual songs. Why by a song for $1.49 when you can buy the music video with the song in it for $1.99? Slick. On top of that this also makes its more difficult for the wireless industry to sell songs for $3 a pop over the air using a cell phone. The case for purchasing a song using a cell phone is bad enough as it is, as you will have DRM issues preventing you from doing much with the song except on your phone. But on top of that you have to choose between paying $3 and getting the song now or paying $2 and getting the video on your computer.

Apple is going to provide the music industry with revenue where previously there was very little. They are also doing the same by offering TV shows. By offering old shows and new shows the day after they are broadcast they are actually moving into competition with two different markets. The first are DVDs and the second is Tivo. They are doing for TV series DVDs what they did for music albums. Why pay $30 for a season of Seinfeld vs just buying one show for $1.99? By offering the show to download the next day they are resetting the Tivo market price (i.e. free) as well. At first glance this might cut into later DVD sales, but most likely it will not. The person who will probably buy the show the day after it is probably a big fan who will probably buy the DVD (at some point there will be show collections on iTunes as well) later as well. This won't affect syndication of popular shows (at least not until a majority of people watch TV this way which is a long way off). So now the TV industry can make a show and sell it with ads and make money, and now they can sell the show digitally as well (i.e. no manufacturing cost after the show is digitized) and in the process get people used to paying for TV programs.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Video iPod after all?

ThinkSecret now believes that, despite conflicting reports earlier in the week, a video iPod will actually be announced at tomorrow's Apple event. Possible confirmation of this is that BBC is hosting a media event by Apple at the same time tomorrow.

read more | digg story

iPod Nano component shortages

Apple had a great quarter but did not meet wall streets expectations. Apple's conference call with financial analysts reveal some interesting problems with the iPod Nano. They shipped 1 million iPod Nanos, but due to unnamed component shortages they have an "enormous backlog" of Nanos. Not only that but Apple is unable to say when they will be able to meet the "staggering" demand for the iPod Nano.

No iTunes store update today

TUAW link mentioning that the Apple iTunes store hasn't been updated today. So this implies that the announcement tomorrow will include some kind of iTunes update. Speculating a little, it seems like Apple will announce music videos for the companies it has worked out licensing deals with, to sell those videos along with the music.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Two new iPods coming on October 12th

ThinkSecret is reporting that there will be two new iPods in two colors (white and black). The new models appear to be thinner full size iPods with higher storage capacity. Capacity for the $299 model looks to double to 40GB and the $399 model moving to 80GB. The rumored Pink Madonna iPod is supposed to be an iPod Nano with Madonna's full music collection on it ala the U2 iPod.

The infamous iPod Video ad

Gizmodo has pictures of what the Apple South Africa page had up on the iTunes + iPod Video. It of course has been pulled from the Apple website. Gizmodo also references the BBC mention of an iPod Video on the air and on their website which was of course pulled. For the most part this is old news and the consensus seems to be that there will be new iPods but not video iPods on the 12th.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Apple introducing a Madonna iPod nano?

It would seem Apple is doing another custom iPod. This time its for Madonna, she obliged Apple by giving iTunes access to her music and also helping launch the ROKR. The current rumor is that a pink iPod nano will be created for the material girl. Considering the U2 iPod was a more neutral color, I would think a pink iPod Nano would turn off male fans willing to admit they liked Madonna. Or at least it would allow Apple a way to test a new color that was a little less gender specific.

Friday, October 07, 2005

What would Apple be without Jobs?

Perhaps a little fluff piece glossing over the rough periods and making Jobs seem almighty, but hey thats the media isn't it? Unlike what you might think after reading this piece, Apple hasn't dominated the computer industry since it was born. Not too many years ago everyone was saying Apple would fade away into irrelevance, but that is all forgotten. Even when the iPod first came out, it was considered by many to be cool, but waay too overpriced. Its only been in the last year or two that the iPod phenomenon has really taken off with the introduction of the iPod Mini (which was only slightly overpriced) and the iPod Shuffle (and of course now with the iPod Scratch, err Nano).

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Scratches Mar New iPod's Beauty

Walter Mossberg gives an update on the iPod Nano's susceptibility to scratching. He says that after using the device in the same fashion as previous iPods and his Treo (which has no scratches) it looks very scratched. The screen has some large scratches that impair its use. He speculates that there is something about the size of the nano which affects its dynamics when carried in a pocket that makes more susceptible to scratching.

No video iPod October 12

Seems like the previous post was more correct than incorrect. Engadget, without any further details, has posted that there will be no video iPod. The introduction will probably be for updated full size iPods. There might be some video tie in since the invite shows a closed curtain, that could be interpreted as a movie curtain of old. So there could be an announcement of music videos on iTunes along with the new iPods.

Apple doesn't have enough black 4GB iPod Nanos

As reported previously Apple had shipped as many as 5 white nanos for every black nano. It seems that most people are looking for black 4GB nanos and are willing to pay the extra $50 to get another 2GB in storage. Even though the iPod factory is probably running 24x7, Apple is still not meeting iPod Nano demand. Also reports indicate the iPod Shuffle might see another price drop soon. Sales of iPod Minis are brisk as people are trying to snatch the last of the iPod Minis. Lost in the Nano craze is the full size iPod which is experiencing slower sales.

Analysts See iPod Market Share Gains Among Teens

Confirmation indications of a previous post that Apple will actually increase its marketshare. 74% of teens with an MP3 player own ipods, up from 56%. Of teens interested in purchasing an MP3 player,79% were looking to get an iPod as compared to 70% previously.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Possibly the Video iPod?

This is supposedly a camphone shot of the mysterious, the elusive, the much-rumoured video iPod that may be announced as early as next week. It seems rather similar to other video players out there. I would have thought Apple would have come up with some new cool industrial design.

read more | digg story

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Apple video iPod coming soon

Production has begun on a video iPOd according to AppleInsider. The video iPod might be announced next week, but considering production has just started and there won't be enough supply for christmas, it seems unlikely to be soon. The video iPod will use the thinner hard drives described previously and will look similar to a regular iPod but with the iPod Nano's smaller click wheel allowing for a bigger display. The introduction of the video iPod will be accompanied by a revamp of the iTunes music store and music video section.

How Steve Jobs Snookered the Entire Cell Phone Industry

While most of the article is based on very illogical statements, the people who want to be misinformed about the ROKR phone might want to read this. The big problem with the post is that Motorola designs phones for the carriers not the consumer. So before Motorola (or Apple) can sell any phone they need some carrier to sign off on it. Just because Motorola makes a phone, doesn't mean any carrier will feel any pressure to sell it. Especially if it cuts into future business models as the iTunes phone might have had it not been hobbled.

read more | digg story

Monday, October 03, 2005

Ipod nano VS the washing machine

Man accidentally leaves his Apple iPod Nano in his shirt pocket when he throws it in the wash. See what happens after an iPod Nano is washed, spun and stuck in the drier for a minute. (with pics showing what little happened)

read more | digg story

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Apple iTunes downloads to reach ONE BILLION

The graph does a little more than extrapolate out the current iTunes purchase rate. It assumes a bit of an exponential increase in purchases. Nevertheless it does show that in the timeframe of next year the number of iTunes songs sold will double to 1 billions songs sold.

read more | digg story