iPod - page 19

Wow. Blown away to discover that Tommy Hilfiger, the man whose clean-cut, simple designs spell yesteryear americana rocks out on his iPod.

Here are two of three selections on his hot button:

“The Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the Devil I like the lyrics, I like the drums, I like the guitar my favorite band ever.

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced? It reminds me of the Fillmore East, in New York, but I also loved Hendrix’s style. I thought the way that he created this vintage rock’n’roll look was very cool.

The trouble with these features, meant to replace the “top ten desert island album” party question, with the amount of storage even on a Shuffle, how can he give such a miserable selection?

I mean, does he really have only three songs, three playlists on his iPod? C’mon.

Via The Sunday Times

A California Inn is dubbing itself the world’s first “iPhone hotel.” When guests check into the Malibu Beach Inn, they’re asked if they have an iPhone or iPod Touch. If guests have got the gear, hotel staff loads an app called “Hotel Evolution” from Hollywood software firm Runtriz, to the device. If they don’t, they’re given a 16gb iPod Touch (with the application pre-loaded) to use during their stay.

Guests punch in room number plus security code for access to hotel services: order room service, set a wake up call, request dry cleaning, extra blankets or replace forgotten toothbrushes, check your messages or set your room to “Do Not Disturb.” Shopping, eating and cavorting info for the area is on tap, too. Cost to the hotel is about $10 per room, no word on whether the cost is passed on to guests.

Feeling a bit like an over-Botoxed actress on this one, I’d like to get excited, you know, move some facial muscles, but just can’t.

First, because the usual hotel Flintstone phone service, paper “do not disturb” sign and flesh-and-bones concierge do just fine most of the time. And the fact that most people travel with electronic gear — cell phone, mp3 player, pda, computer, watch — means that stuff like the wake-up call function isn’t all that necessary. The idea of a loaner iPod Touch is cool but you just know it’d be left in a cab, stolen, get stepped on or something. Then what?

It’ll be more interesting if it were to catch on and be widely available abroad, where lost-in-translation mishaps are the order of the day or for foreigners in the U.S. in a bunch of other languages to avoid that problem of not understanding what was just mumbled at you from across the counter.

So, what do you think, is the iPhone Hotel future perfect or conditional?

Via Washington Post

Swiss designers Big Game have just launched a collection of pimped everyday objects called “New Rich” by replacing one plastic part on each with real gold.

In it are Apple earbuds with a gold “bolo tie” look, lending a hint of bling to your iPod. Subtle, yes. Practical, no. Cool, definitely.

The idea behind it?
“We’ve picked standard, universal products, and replaced a part of each object by an equivalent in gold”¦We love the shrewd blend between the down-to-earth functionalism of mass-products and the ultimate precious material: gold.”

Prices to come…

via Josh Spear

Seek shelter for your iPod Nano with a case made from a recycled cassette tape.

These one-of-a-kinds cost $45 each, with a $5 rebate for viral marketing. Only about a dozen are left.

They’re from Contexture Design in Vancouver, the smart folks behind cases made from old 45s for iPods. Those have already disappeared faster than mini-bruschettas at a press conference, however.

Contexture’s Nathan Lee told us the 45 iPod classic cases were a limited edition project and that they don’t plan in cranking out any more.

So get these while you can. Similar cases for newer Nanos to come, so keep an eye out.

For those of you who thought the Diamond Shuffle was a bit much, Swiss luxury accessories brand DEOS launched these diamond-encrusted covers designed for iPod and iPhone earbuds.

Prices for these handcrafted covers, which slip on earbuds, start at $4,500, for black and white diamond versions, climbing to $60,000 for earbuds dripping with pink, yellow or black diamonds.

Sure, they cost more than the actual device. Which is why some of the models, like the DEOS 32W, which has a full carat of diamonds and costs $5,000, comes with a complimentary Shuffle.

If you’d like to add a little splash to your morning run but don’t have the cash, Swarovski crystal versions run from $110 (demi-dipped) to $200 for the Full Monty.

Steve Goldstein, founder of the Geveva-based DEOS (Defining Expressions of Sound), said the idea is one whose time has come:

“Today there are more than 152 million earphones in the world. [It’s] a marvellous way of making a fashion statement. When you meet someone the person sees first your face and then looks at your ears…”

Don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that bling.

Via The Moodie Report

Designers have tried before to integrate tech with clothing, mostly resulting in stuff you should buy, stick in a box and sell 20 years from now rather than wear today.

Exception made for Julieta Gayoso’s Indarra line, which includes this Touch Pad Jacket with wireless controls for your iPod that allow wearers to pump up the volume, turn it down or skip tracks while on the move. (The controls even look like Apple icons, so people won’t think you’re randomly poking yourself).

The design’s simple and practical enough to actually wear, with a waterproof finish, zip-out 3M lining and plenty of pockets. The limited-edition numbered topper, which also comes in also comes in “iron moss” and black, retails for about $275. Argentine Gayoso, who started designing tech-friendly clothes in 2006, also offers a line of basics for women.

Smart clothes that actually look smart. Now there’s an idea.

Via Reuters

If you’re the logo type, Louis Vuitton has launched a new iPod Widescreen case.
It’ll set you back $290, but hey it’s got “Armagnac leather lining.” And a belt loop.

Calling it the world’s first monthly comic series for children on the iPhone and iPod touch, EyeCandy is available on iTunes.

The $.99 comic, described as “goofy” by creator PJ Holden as he walks through features, can be stripped down to the ink or pencil layers for digital finger painting. It exploits the iPhone platform for sound, vibration and an accelerometer. Each issue comes with extras, like a pony toy (shake the iPhone and it whinnies) in the cowboy-themed first issue, so a lot of busy time for your buck.

EyeCandy is a heroic come back by Infurious Comics, whose MURDEDROME was rejected by Apple for sale on iTunes out of concern over adult content.

The boys in Belfast are valiantly trying to put a positive spin on the situation, describing safe for children release as “hot on the heels of the rejection” of the adult comic.

While we’re not against kiddy apps, it’s a shame there isn’t more for grown-ups who need a little displacement activity during meetings.

Aptly named “wowPod,” this giant interactive sculpture of an iPod was created by Russian artists Aristarkh Chernyshev and Alexei Shulgin. The working iPod (inspired by this model?) with the fun-house mirror effect must especially good for those Grateful Dead tunes.

Via Make.

Too loud, too tinny, not any good. Our fault? No, way. Rusted rockers Metallica are blaming the iPod for ruining their sound, specifically the rattle and hum on latest effort ‘Death Magnetic.’ Fortunately, the WSJ is on the case (love the stipple portrait of Rick Rubin):

“The battle has roots in the era before compact discs. With vinyl records, “it was impossible to make loud past a certain point,” says Bob Ludwig, a veteran mastering engineer. But digital technology made it possible to squeeze all of the sound into a narrow, high-volume range. In addition, music now is often optimized for play on the relatively low-fidelity earbuds for iPods, reducing incentives to offer a broad dynamic range.”

Making Metallica’s clatter barely listenable on an iPod.
For better or worse, iPods have changed the way we listen.  The first time I really heard Mick Jagger singing backup on “You’re So Vain” it was on a secondhand first-generation iPod.

Anybody else?

The LinkedIn profile of a senior manager on Apple’s chip architecture team appears to confirm Apple is developing its own ARM processors for the next generation of iPhone, according to a report in the New York Times.

While current iPhones feature a Samsung chipset according to many analysts, Apple was rumored to have acquired chipmaker PA Semiconductor in April for $300 million to engineer custom low-power chips to meet the specific needs of iPhone and iPod design. Wei-han Lien, a member of the PA Semi team who came to Apple in the deal, lists his current project as “Manage ARM CPU architecture team for iPhone” on his profile at the popular social networking site, an indication Apple will soon quit outsourcing iPhone processors.

By developing its own ARM configuration, Apple could create a processor with support for software accelerators or a graphics engine, according to former AMD chief technical officer Fred Weber. In addition, disposing of an outside chip supplier would allow Apple to maintain tighter controls on who knows what about its future products.

As one might expect, Apple declined to comment on matters related to PA Semi, which it operates as a subsidiary.

Via c|net

Apple has filed a patent application detailing a method of “pairing a sensor and an authorised garment”, such as “running shoes, shirts or slacks” in hopes of deterring what the company has determined is a disturbing trend toward people “[taking] it upon themselves to remove the sensor from the special pocket of the [iPod-linked] Nike+ shoe and place it at inappropriate locations (shoelaces, for example) or place it on non-Nike+ model shoes.”

Apple sells the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit as a tool for storing data about your workout on your iPod, allowing you to track and analyze your progress toward fitness perfection. As one commenter on Slashdot said about the $30 sensor, “you can also share your workout stats with others, help build community, etc – sort of the antithesis of the “isolated runner with headphones on” kind of thing. Very Web 2.0.”

Under the patent Apple has applied for, companies like Nike could authorise their garments by burying an RFID chip inside it, requiring that chip to activate the sensor. No longer would you be able to use the sensor you paid for with any shoe of your choosing.

Via Slashdot

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you can’t have failed to notice that iTunes 8 arrived to some fanfare earlier this week. I’ve been putting it through its paces, figuring out whether the new features are any good, and scoring them using our patented* rockometer.

More after the break…

* Not patented.

Cult of Mac has confirmed the newest version of Apple’s iPod Touch contains the hardware necessary to enable free or low-cost phone calls over wi-fi.

With 5 wires connected to the Touch headphone jack (instead of 4 on the previous model), the device now supports the external microphone included with some headsets, according to Kyle Wiens of iFixit, who fully dismantled an iPod Touch on Wednesday.

Speculation about the possibility of VoIP (voice over internet protocol – a method for making and receiving voice communication over a connection to the internet, as opposed to the cellular telephone network) on the iPod Touch arose yesterday when the specifications of new Apple headsets with external mics appeared to include support for the iPod Touch in addition to the new iPod Nano and the 120GB iPod Classic.

“”I’m very excited about the possibility of VOIP on [the Touch],”said Wiens. “Now we just need the software.”

The software may already be here, in fact. TruPhone, a venerable innovator in the VoIP field, already has an iPhone application in the AppStore. Apple has said it would not permit applications that run VoIP using cellular networks, but a purely wi-fi-based calling method could pass muster, making the iPod Touch a little less distinguishable from its iPhone sibling.

Check out this gallery of images, courtesy of the Apple hardware experts at iFixit, who meticulously recorded their disassembly of the new device yesterday.

Of particular note in the new iPod Touch are the external speaker, support for Bluetooth, and support for an external microphone.

For more images and details on the disassembly see iFixit’s forensic report.

Check out this gallery of images, courtesy of the Apple hardware experts at iFixit, who meticulously recorded their disassembly of the new device yesterday.

Of particular note in this iPod model is the real glass covering the 240×320 resolution LCD screen and the impressive feature set packed in this “thinnest iPod ever.”

For more images and details on the disassembled parts, see iFixit’s forensic report.

Among the little-noticed aspects of Steve Job’s “big event” in San Francisco yesterday, Apple’s “greening” of the iPod line may have the most far-reaching effect on its business and on the technology industry in general. Electronics companies have been long derided by environmentalists for using toxic chemicals and materials and Jobs made a public promise to phase out PVC and BFRs from all of its products by the end of 2008.

Today, Greenpeace, a leading environmental advocacy organization is congratulating Apple for leading the electronics industry toward a more earth-friendly future. “Greenpeace congratulates Apple for phasing out harmful chemicals in its new, much greener iPods,” said Greenpeace International campaigner Casey Harrell. “It shows – once again – that there is absolutely no reason why a high-performing electronics product needs to be toxic in order to be popular, effective and affordable – these are the cheapest iPods yet,” Harrell also explained.

The new line of iPods announced yesterday are all free of terribly toxic chemicals such as PVC, BFRs, mercury and use arsenic-free glass. Greenpeace acknowledged the upgrades indicate Apple is serious about meeting the commitments of its environmental policies, but also urged the company not to become complacent.

“We hope that this is only a teaser of what is to come with all future product announcements, from iPhones to Macs,” said Harrell, adding, “What we’d really like for Christmas is to see Apple remove toxic chemicals from all its products, and announce a free, global recycling scheme. Now, that would make a very tasty green Apple indeed!”

Via MacWorld

In the week since Apple announced its “Let’s Rock” event, the organization’s spokespeople have assured all observers that this would be a really critical launch, with bigger news than just a refresh of the iPod product family.

Well, apparently Apple and I have very different definitions of “big news.” Because all the organization delivered was more of the same:

• An iPod touch that looks more like the iPhone 3G, but loses the black aluminum border that gave the device its own distinctive personality. But hey, price cuts and built-in Nike+ support! (no word on iPhone support, however)
• An iPod nano that looks more like the nano 2G than its predecessor, adds a few new colors and awkwardly tries to implement the UI from the touch and iPhone. Oh, and you can shake it to shuffle.
• An iPod classic that literally makes no changes other than bumping the hard drive capacity and cutting the high-end model. It now costs exactly the same as the high-end Zune, and has the same hard drive capacity.
• A new revision of iTunes with smarter automatic playlist generation, HD TV show downloads, and the return of NBC/Universal programs
• Bug fixes for the iPhone.
• And two lame songs from Jack Johnson. That’s it.

The business sense side of me is saying that Apple has another winner. The designer side of my brain really likes the subtle changes that Apple’s design team has brought to the the product line (except for the ugly iPod classic — hate the use of aluminum there). But the Apple fanatic in me can’t help but me incredibly disappointed by this morning’s activity.

Just how perfunctory was this round of updates? Consider this: The event has been done for 30 minutes, all the new models are available for purchase on the Apple Store, and Apple still hasn’t updated its own website to announce the product launches (EDIT: It went up as I finished typing. STILL). Apple has never gone this long without getting its main site up-to-date.

Now, none of us should be surprised by any of this; after the launch of iPhone 3G, AppStore, and the fiasco called MobileMe, it’s little surprise that Apple hasn’t been able to devote many resources to doing more than making slightly curvier cases for the iPod line. But Apple has trained us to expect the best, particularly when they say it’s really time to pay attention. Today, it completely missed the mark. I can’t recall an Apple launch event this underwhelming since the launch of the iPod HiFi and iPod socks. It’s this year’s model, and nothing more. It’s the entire iPod product line as afterthought to the iPhone.

And that’s not good. The iPod family is Apple’s highest-revenue business, and any indication that the company is bored with the media player business or unable to innovate beyond bringing iPhone features to iPods is going to mean a rough time in the market. It’s certainly not impossible to do so, Apple’s just in an unfortunate liminal space between the launch of a new business and the adaptation of another. The new nanos, in particular, felt oddly anacronistic. Why go to all that trouble to design such a wildly different case for this revision and then still use the same old clickwheel? Why, in the name of all that is holy, would you copy the horizontal interface on the right, screen on the left interaction found on the flash-based Zune? Why launch nine, count them, nine new colors in a single day when this is a clear incremental upgrade while the company works on a touchscreen nano for the near future?

Honestly, the biggest news today is that the iPod touch has dropped in price by $70 and has external volume controls.  It’s the future of the product line, and Apple needs to drive its adoption rapidly while the pre-2007 iPod outlook gradually ramps down.

In the mean time, I sincerely hope that we’ll see new Mac announcements on a not-too-distant Tuesday. The entire product line is just begging for processor upgrades, and they’ve been suffering while Apple has put so much attention on the iPhone this year. Not to mention which, it’s high time that Apple brought out a true Home Theater Mac for the living room — AppleTV and Mac mini aren’t cutting it.

One thing stuck out about the build-up to Let’s Rock. It wasn’t the hype, nor people expecting the absurd (such as an all-powerful unlocked 128 GB iPhone for about $5), but Apple actively encouraging the media to attend. The event, we were told, would be a ‘big deal’. As it turns out, even fairly modest expectations were barely met, and I think it’s pretty safe to say most people left distinctly underwhelmed.

iTunes was first up, with Jobs routinely talking shop (lots of songs, lost of podcasts, and lots of NBC, who came crawling back to a distinct lack of rapturous applause). The app itself is now at version 8, but with seemingly few major changes: there’s a grid view, a Genius playlist that makes me think Apple’s been getting all jealous of last.fm, and iPhoto-style scrubbing over artists, but that’s about it.

The iPod classic’s clearly loved about as much as the Mac mini. This icon of Apple’s resurgence over recent years was pretty much dismissed, and the line knifed to a single model, 120 GB. 30,000 tracks fit on it, apparently, but that’s 10,000 fewer than on the 160 GB version that’s now like the dodo.

Things were better in the realm of the nano, even if the rumor mill had revealed most of the details. The new model resembles the second-gen model, but has a raft of new features, including voice recording, an accelerometer, and the amusing ‘shake to shuffle’ feature. The rainbow colors are arresting and presumably caught rivals out, who’ve largely been following Apple into muted-color-land.

As for the iPod touch, it got the predicted price-drop, weight-loss, volume control and speaker, along with a tag-line to make English teachers wince (“The funnest iPod ever”). New games were also on show, with Real Soccer 2009 rather depressingly dumping a D-pad and buttons on the screen, cunningly making it so players obscure the screen while playing. Woo. (How I wish the Belkin rumor hadn’t turned out to be a hoax…)

So, yeah, I’m rather wishing I’d spent the past hour doing something a little more productive and exciting, like fashioning a lint ball from my office’s windowsill that really needs dusting.

I know, I know—I’m usually the first to complain about people getting all pissed with Apple events letting them down. However, this time Apple was the one telling us we were going to see something big, when all we got were skinny things we already knew about anyway.

Via our Twitter stream, we ran ongoing commentary on Apple’s Let’s Rock shenanigans. Below is a (somewhat) edited tweet-style stream-of-consciousness from the event.

iTunes store

• 8.5m+ songs, 125k+ podcasts, 30k+ TV shows, 3000+ apps
• New today: HD TV shows, and NBC has returned
• SD shows: $1.99. HD: $2.99

iTunes 8

• Grid view, as per the rumors. Can set by artist and scrub across them like a photo album in iPhoto
• Genius “Automatically makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together—with just one click”.
• Genius information sent anonymously. Click a button to get a playlist. Restrict by track number.
• Available today

iPod sales and iPod classic

• Zzzzingg! Jobs dissed everyone else’s player market share. iPod: 73.4%. Microsoft: 2.6%.
• iPod Classic: 80 GB upped to 120 GB. 160 GB discontinued.

New iPod nano

• Form factor as per rumors: skinny, tall, like the gen-2 nano, really thin.
• Push-hold center button for Genius playlist creation.
• Voice recording from attached mics.
• New UI.
• Photos/vids in landscape mode.
• Accelerometer. Rotate 90 degrees to get Cover Flow, like with the iPhone.
• Shake to shuffle.
• Battery: 24 hours for music and four hours for video.
• $199 for 16 GB, $149 for 8GB. Bright rainbow colors in addition to aluminium.

Accessories

• New accessories: headphones and armbands, a mic for voice recording, and in-ear headphones.

iPod touch revamp, iPhone and App Store

• Thinner, with integrated volume control and speaker.
• Genius playlist creation.
• Built-in Nike+iPod – just add a shoe transmitter.
• App Store: 100 million downloads in 60 days. Available in 62 countries.
• Spore Origins, Real Soccer 2009 and Need For Speed: Undercover demoed.
• iPod touch battery life: 36 hours for music, six for video.
• New prices: 8 GB: $229, 16 GB: $299, 32GB: $399.
• New firmware, free to 2.0 owners.
• “Funnest iPod ever” strapline for the new ad.
• iPhone owners to get 2.1 bug-fix—better battery life, less crashing, fewer gremlins, speedier back-ups. Free on Friday.

Steve Jobs took the stage this morning for Apple’s “Let’s Rock” event, bounding into the lights like a rock star himself. My grandmother would say he looked svelte, but most importantly, he seemed energetic and strong.

We’ll be back later in the day with a full reaction and analysis of Apple’s news, but the big news is Steve looks ready to keep on truckin’.

Speculation surrounding this morning’s ‘Let’s Rock’ Apple special event remains intense, with Digg’s Kevin Rose at the center of the vortex of leaked data, or so it seems.

Overnight we’ve picked up a few more details on what to expect, thanks to MacRumors, who tell us that not only will the iPod nano see a shape-shift, returning to the long and thin look of the first two generations, capacity will rise to 16GB.

Apple’s also expected to introduce nine different colours for the nano, adding purple, yellow and orange to the existing pink, silver, black, blue, green and Product (RED).

Less is known of the iPod touch, which is expected to see a price cut to bring it into line with the cost of an iPhone—and seems unlikely to see a capacity increase, MacRumors also claimed – though far less is known of the iPod touch than of the iPod nano upgrade, other than some suspicions that new features could be enabled in future generation devices, cameras or a microphone, for example.

To recap Rose’s claims, Tunes 8 is expected to offer a Grid View, Genius Playlist recommendations, a new Visualizer (based on the Magentosphere visualiser) and support for HD TV show downloads from iTunes, a feature currently only available to the Apple TV.

iPhone and iPod touch users are also hoping for iPhone Firmare 2.1, which it is hoped will introduce true push support for MobileMe, more stability in 3G connectivity and an end to widely-reported cases in which iPhone user’s applications and iPod features become unavailable. iPods of all stripes are anticipated to see price reductions, as Apple grapples to deal with an increasingly saturated music player market.

Analysts, soothsayers and philosophers of all stripes seem to have achieved a consensus decision in recent days that new MacBooks are unlikely to make an appearance at this event. However, Apple’s publicity people have been urging media to attend the show, which implies that all Apple’s secrets aren’t yet out in the open…that the company has also organized a European media event in London boosts such expectation.

Perhaps that one more thing could turn out to be an all-new version of the Apple TV, now equipped with a digital TV receiver, DVD player and larger hard drive? At least one report speculates on such a possibility.

Image from Daily Mail 

For years, Apple (and just about every other digital media company in the world) has battled with Burst.com, a Santa Rosa, California company that holds a huge number of broad patents for streaming audio and video over networks. Microsoft settled with Burst three years ago, as have many other players. Apple maintained for years that those patents are too generic to be enforceable, and was especially upset at the notion that anything about the iPod was derived from Burst’s circa 1990 patents.

And after years, the company has proof: a 52-year-old Brit named Kane Kramer who developed a prototype digital music player called IXI in 1979 that could hold up to three-and-a-half minutes of music (no word on whether he advertised it as putting “One song in your pocket). While his invention never made a direct market impact (and his patents expired in the late 1980s), Kramer’s IXI provides clear evidence that the basic concept behind the iPod existed long before Burst ever thought it was a good idea to make money through patent enforcement.

In spite of Apple’s use of Kramer as a witness in its case with Burst, he quite naturally hasn’t been granted a share of its revenues. In fact, he recently had to sell his house and move into a rental. Still, his original sketch isn’t that far off the mark. Kind of hard to believe.

‘I must admit that at first I thought it was a wind-up by friends. But we spoke for some time, with me still up this ladder slightly bewildered by it all, and she said Apple would like me to come to California to talk to them. ‘Then I had to make a deposition in front of a court stenographer and videographer at a lawyers’ office. The questioning by the Burst legal counsel there was tough, ten hours of it. But I was happy to do it.’ 

Daily Mail via Digg

Crews working at the front of Yerba Center for the Arts.

SAN FRANCISCO — There’s a lot of busy bees preparing for Apple’s special “Let’s Rock” event on Tuesday.

Two days before Steve Jobs hosts a special press event, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is humming with Apple staffers, TV crews and scores of security guards. See the pictures below.

A crew of three or four hung a huge silhouette iPod poster over the Center’s facade, while half-a-dozen Apple staffers watched from the curb, fussing over the details.

The center is lousy with Apple security guards. There’s a guard posted at every one of the center’s half-dozen doors — back and sides. The guard pictured below stood inside a door at the back, which appeared to be securely locked. Apple seems to be taking no chances that nosy bloggers might break in for a sneak peek of what Jobs is going to announce.

Around back, several Apple staffers were busy setting up computers in an office at the rear of the center.

At the side, there’s already a large satellite TV truck parked on Third Street (again, carefully guarded).  A San Francisco police officer has parked his patrol car at the back of the TV truck. Presumably, SFPD will be stationed there for the next two days.

Though Apple has held special events at the Yerba Buena center before, the preparations for Tuesday’s event seem more elaborate than just a new iPod nano would warrant. I may, however, be imagining things. I’ve got a bad cold, and I’m as high as a kite on DayQuil.

An Apple security guard at the back of Yerba Center for the Arts. 

What appears to be a genuine spy shot of the new iPod nano has surfaced on MacNN (heavily Photoshopped and disguised for some reason) before it got picked up and surfaced for the wider public in this AppleInsider thread.

As rumored, the new nano appears to be taller than the current model, with a rounded body and screen. Presumably, the screen is designed for the iPod to be tilted to watch widescreen movies in landscape mode.

The device is expected to be unveiled at a Steve Jobs “Let’s Rock” special event in San Francisco next Tuesday. But fear not — there’s likely to be other surprises. Apple PR is telling journalists the event is a “big deal,” which implies there’s more than a tarted-up 2G-looking iPod.