Apple will fix your exploding iPod only after gagging you!Stories of iPods spontaneously exploding have been making the rounds for a few years now. Th

Stories of iPods spontaneously exploding have been making the rounds for a few years now. The latest case of a bursting iPod Touch, however, throws a light on Apple’s tactics to cover up what could potentially be a major hazard to the public.Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie’s iPod Touch last month. “It made a hissing noise,” he told The Times. “I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour”. Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where “within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10 feet in the air”. Ellie Stanborough, 11, with what remains of her iPod."It made a hissing noise and went pop."Credit: Steve Morgan/The Times Upon contacting Apple, he received a letter from the company where they denied liability, but offered a refund under the condition that Stanborough agreed to “keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential”, and that any breach of confidentiality “may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief, damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties”. “I thought it was a very disturbing letter,” said Stanborough, who did not sign it, fearing litigation even if he, his wife or his daughter were to inadvertently mention the exploding iPod to anyone. “We didn’t ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back.” A COVER- UP OF 800 PAGES OF OVERHEATING IPOD DOCUMENTS!A week ago, Amy Clancy of US-based KIRO 7 News learnt that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has over 800 pages of documents which reveal, for the very first time, a comprehensive look that shows, on a number of occasions, iPods have suddenly burst into flames, started to smoke, and even burned their owners. However, Clancy claims that Apple lawyers tried to put a wrench in her 7-month-long investigation by filing exemption after exemption. One of the burn victims listed in the documents is 15-year-old Haylie Mooney of Portland, Oregon, who remembers her hot iPod feeling like it was the inside of an oven. Her mother, Tami Mooney, called Apple to complain. She claims she got the run-around: “I was so frustrated because frankly, they didn’t care. They didn’t care that my child was burned. They didn’t care about the possibilities that other children were burned. I asked them, has this been happening? Is this new? And they said, we haven’t heard of this one yet.” But by then, Federal records show that Apple did already know it had problems with its iPod batteries causing fires and burns. Stanborough and Mooney are not the only victims of an overheating iPod. Both the KIRO7 and the Times Online articles list many other cases, which are worth taking a look at.

SOURCE:http://www.thinkdigit.com/Portable-Media-Players/Apple-will-fix-your-exploding-iPod-only_3259.html

iType keyboard brings a physical keyboard to the iPhone, but there's a catch

Attention iPhone owners that have been praying for a physical keyboard forever: your prayers have been answered... kind of. Ion Audio has debuted its iType iPhone keyboard at CES, and we can confirm that it does indeed work as advertised. Once you pop your iPhone or iPod touch into the dock at the top of the board, you're free to type away to your heart's content -- if you're in the iType app, of course. Unfortunately, because of the closed nature of most of the iPhone platform, you can't just start typing in any iPhone app; you have to type in the iType app and then copy and paste to the app you want. It's surely an annoyance, but if you're sick of the soft keyboard and need some relief, it's your best option for now.

SOURCE:http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/08/itype-keyboard-brings-a-physical-keyboard-to-the-iphone-but-the/

Apple's gag as iPhone disappoints

Apple has banned UK retailers of its heavily hyped iPhone from reporting sales figures amid evidence that British consumers have shunned the device.
In a Christmas season that saw sales of mobile phones soar by number but crash by value, the £269 unit disappointed.
But the California-based designer of the phone has told network O2 and retailer Carphone Warehouse not to tell investors the figures, according to industry insiders.

Apple president Steve Jobs is likely to announce pan-European sales of the device on Tuesday at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, but no breakdown will be given for individual countries, interpreted by some as a sign of market problems.
A senior industry source said: 'The iPhone has not been a huge product for either O2 or Carphone. Particularly in the current market, no one wants to buy an expensive phone with a very expensive 18-month contract.'
Shops visited by Financial Mail last week all agreed that sales had not been strong after the launch week. In one London shop, assistants pointedly steered our reporter away from the iPhone display and towards an Armani-branded Samsung phone. 'This is better, and the phone is free with the contract,' the salesman said.
Another industry figure said: 'If you have only looked at London shops, you are not getting the whole picture, which is much worse. How many Northern Rock employees do you think are splashing out on flash phones right now?'

SOURCE:http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=429336&in_page_id=3

Appletell reviews Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse for iPad

The Devil’s Playhouse begins with this line: "In all the universe, the only power beyond the mind’s comprehension is the power to comprehend the power of the mind."
Get used to that kind of thing, because that’s pretty much what The Devil’s Playhouse is all about. Yes, there are puzzles and adventure, but even those just seem to serve the game’s sense of humor. And that’s fine, because the jokes are sharp enough to carry you through the five episodes that will comprise the series.
Sam and Max are a crime-fighting duo. Sam’s the six-foot talking dog. Max is the manic rabbit. This unusual pair is facing off against the evil alien gorilla General Skunk’ape (skoon-kah-pay). Their story is told with excellent voice acting, although the presentation itself is quite jumpy. Along with frequent framerate issues (Telltale suggests you power down your iPad and turn it back on to clear the system before playing) and long load times, the dialogue often feels disconnected—as if each line was recorded separately then pieced together later. This occasionally throws off the timing of a good joke, but is otherwise harmless.
The graphics are pretty good throughout. They’re a bit jagged, but on par with the Mac/PC versions. The music is especially good, doing a good job of carrying the mood throughout the game…including the cutscenes which are frequent, sometimes quite long, and unskippable.
Controls are all touch-based, of course. Touch anywhere on the screen for movement, and a virtual control stick appears to show you which way you’re moving as you drag your finger across the screen. To interact with a person or object, simply touch it and the appropriate control/dialogue options will open.
I mention all of this here, as I imagine they’ll be the same throughout the series. The Devil’s Playhouse is being delivered in episodic format; the first release was in April, with additional episodes to come once a month. Unlike the Mac/PC versions where you pay for all five episodes and wait for them to arrive, here you buy just the first episode for $6.99. It’s a great way to find out if you like the game, and will ultimately run you the same amount as the computer versions if you buy them all.
SOURCE:http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/appletell-reviews-sam-max-the-devils-playhouse-for-ipad/

Worst iPhone Accessory

Hate fingerprints on your iPhone or iPod Touch? Enough to spend $9.90 on some finger condoms? A enterprising company in Austria is selling something called Phone Fingers that prevent smudges and fingerprints on the screens of the iPod Touch and iPhone.

Here’s a video of the “Phone Fingers” in action. It has a strange ending.
One more thing, the Phone Fingers only come in black and make the user look like they have a severe case of frostbite.
Silly product idea, weird choice in color and a demo video that ends in a theft… Yep, the Phone Fingers are a gag gift… like the Pet Rock.
Apple’s touchscreen technology works by sensing the electrical fields in your skin. A latex finger condom is an insulator and would prevent the iPhone and iPod Touch from detecting any input from your fingers. The Phone Fingers website even says “This is probably the funniest accessory for the iPhone available!” But if you go over to Digg.com, there’s a pretty heated debate going on in the comments. A lot of people initially thought this was serious product, not a gag gift. If you have a few minutes, it makes for a pretty entertaining read.

SOURCE:http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/10/29/worst-iphone-accessory/

TiVo Adds iPod Support -- For a Price

TiVo on Wednesday released a new version of its TiVo Desktop application for Windows, which enables subscribers to transfer recorded television programs from the set-top box to their computers and portable devices.
The DVR maker also released a premium version of the software called TiVo Desktop Plus with support for transferring content to Apple's iPod, Sony's PSP, Treo and Nokia phones, along with other portable devices that support MPEG-4 or H.264 video. The Plus version is priced at $24.95 USD.
The basic TiVo Desktop 2.3 is free of charge to TiVo customers, and features automatic transferring of television programs each night so they are ready by the morning. The application additionally lets customers watch slideshows of their photos directly on the TV.
Windows Mobile and Microsoft's Portable Media Center devices are supported in the basic TiVo Desktop. Burning recorded shows to DVD is also supported, but that feature requires the purchase of Sonic MyDVD, an external burning application.
TiVo Desktop 2.3 is available to customers with a Series2 TiVo and running Windows 2000 or Windows XP. The iteration for Mac OS X does not yet support the TiVo To Go feature, which provides the ability for copying content from TiVo devices.
TiVo Desktop 2.3 is available for download from FileForum. TiVo Desktop Plus can be purchased from the TiVo Web site. A license key will be provided to unlock the full features of the application.

SOURCE:http://www.betanews.com/article/TiVo-Adds-iPod-Support-For-a-Price/1150923147