It’s that time of the year again! White iPod touch photos have been leaked! While Apple has featured white variations on the iPad and iPhone, the iPod touch has been left on its lonesome coming in just black. It’s only natural for the iPod touch to join the bandwagon of white iOS devices.
Since the iPod touch has possessed a relatively unchanged design over the course of the past few generations, compared to the changes that Apple has given to the iPhone, it definitely may be a possibility that Apple plans to add some excitement to the iPod’s design. Apple definitely has the expertise to release an iPod touch in both black and white, so we may actually see one officially released in the coming months.
We think there will be many more upgrades to the iPod beyond a simple color addition too, though. Apple will likely upgrade the current A4 processor to the A5 processor that’s currently featured in the iPad 2. The dual-core A5 processor, according to benchmarks, has significantly better performance than Apple’s currently featured A4 processor.
Do you think this is the next generation iPod touch? What other upgrades do you expect to be coming along in the next month or so?
Check out shots of the leaked iPod touch in gallery after the break.
Chopper 2, by majicjungle, is a very fun and addicting game for the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac! The best part of Chopper 2 is that you can use Bluetooth or WiFi to pair the devices when playing in multiplayer mode! Chopper 2 is available on the Mac App Store for $4.99 and on the iOS App Store for $2.99. There is an additional app, available free via the App Store, which allows you to use your device as a remote control.
You can control the game through the virtual joystick, the accelerometer on the device, and remotely through another iOS device.
This game is also very intense when playing. While there are arrows that show you where to go – you’re constantly in a rush for time when playing. Red indicates enemies that need to be assassinated and blue represents people you need to save and places you need to go to, in order to succeed in your mission (which you can always be reminded of when pressing the “?” button on the display).
As for weapons, you have the choice of using a Machine Guns, Rockets, and/or Bombs. The machine gun can be aimed without moving the helicopter (while on the course to your destination). Bombs drop straight down, while rockets shoot in the direction the helicopter is facing
Although there are only 12 missions you can choose from, each and every mission is comprised of multiple parts, which do take a little while to complete. You also have the option of playing in 3 levels of difficulty: Medium, Hard, and Harder.
After you’re done playing this addictive game, you can sync your High Scores to Game Center and OpenFeint to show off a little about your success!
I’d like to finish off by pointing out that the graphics on this app were developed amazingly! I believe that the developer, majicjungle, definitely put a lot of time and effort to make the graphics so remarkable.
I would give this game 4.5/5 stars. While there are enough missions to play for a little while, you do end the game feeling that more could definitely be added. Additionally, it feels like there should be more helicopters added on to the game.
If you’d like to check out his video review of this app, please check it out here.
This App can be Controlled With Another iOS Device.
Over the past few days, I got the chance to play with the 3TB G-Drive from G-Technology by Hitachi. Hitachi is one of my favorite technology companies because of their continued track record of having very reliable, high quality products.
Design
This is an amazing looking external hard drive. In comparison to just about every other external hard drive I’ve used from any other company, this sets the bar for the best industrial design. The drive perfectly complements any computer, however this drive is setup right out of the box to work with Macs and it appears that they had the design of the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro in mind when designing this drive.
Performance
Right on the box the stated speed for FireWire 800 is “up to 75MB/s.” Whereas I’m used to experiencing half of the speed that’s usually advertised on a product, I was very surprised to see the Read/ Write Speeds of this drive very close to the stated amounts.
I tested this drive using AJA System Test. Again, I was really surprised to see the speeds so close to par. The average write speed for a 8GB file was 74.1 MB/s and the average read speed for a 8GB file was 81.2 MB/s using FireWire 800. The average write speed was 30.6 MB/s and read speed was 36.2 MB/s via USB 2.0. All of these tests were done on my 2011 Quad-Core MacBook Pro.
This drive utilizes an Oxford 934 Chipset, which not only allows it to have such a wide assortment of ports (USB 2.0, eSATA, FireWire 800) but also reduces the necessary CPU utilization on your computer through its internal ARM processor. This is particularly beneficial for professionals, in the media industry, because CPU usage can instead be dedicated to other tasks like rendering.
Other Thoughts
One thing I really liked about this drive is the fact that it has a built-in heat sink. Over the course of using this drive for nearly 3 hours, the temperature not once went above room temperature. The heat sink dissipates all of the heat from the drive really well.
Hitachi calls this a “Professional External Hard Drive” and thus its price-point passes consumer hard drives from other companies. While you can buy other comparable (in terms of storage capacity) drives from competing manufacturers – they will likely lag in performance and durability.
This drive isn’t for everyone. The great performance of this drive and the assortment of data ports are great features but not everyone needs them. This drive is aimed (and marketed) towards the professional and pro-sumer market. While this definitely has the capabilities to store movies, Time Machine backups, and a music library – I think it’s a bit overkill for these simple purposes.
If you’re looking for a quality hard drive that performs very well and complements the appeal of your Mac – this is the drive for you. If you’re looking for a budget hard drive to back up photos or hold your music, I think other hard drives will meet your needs just as well as this drive while saving you a lot of money too.
Blue Microphone dominates the market of great sounding USB microphones on a budget. The two mid range creatively named microphones, The Yeti & The Snowball both provide an excellent balance between crisp sound and price along with two eye-catching designs.
The aesthetic of the snowball is unique as the microphone is completely round and, when not resting on its stand, will roll around on your desk. It’s exterior is made of a durable plastic that, although it rolled off my desk a few times, managed to survive with no aesthetic or audio quality damage. The metal stand, which threads into the bottom of the Snowball is sturdy and well built. The stand has a 3 legged base and an extendable post that allows you to adjust the height of the microphone minutely. Even fully extended, the stand did not hold the microphone at a suitable height for voice recordings. Without the stand the microphone is easy to hold up to your mouth for audio recordings and for use with software like Macspeech Dictate. The one challenge with using the microphone handheld was the constant need to plug in the cord, as it fell out frequently. The Snowball is quirky, and that’s make makes it a hit for people who need quality audio, but also feel the need to prove their hipsterness.
The Yeti, on the other hand, feels as if it was made in the Himalayas by the Yeti himself. It’s hefty body, and metal case makes it not only durable but stylish with a professional feel. The microphone, although only $50 more than its counterpart the Snowball is the only THX certified USB microphone. The Yeti comes on a detachable base, that weighs almost as much as the microphone itself. When on the baseplate, the microphone can swing on one axes to adjust the direction making it significantly easier for vocal use than the Snowball for taller people at a desk. The large head of the microphone, the quality base and the stylish dials make the Yeti a great microphone for the budding musician, or the avid Skype user.
The Snowball has three setting on the back of the microphone that control the pickup pattern and the gain. The pickup pattern defines what portions of the microphone head picks up audio. For example, a shotgun microphone which is commonly used in field recordings picks up audio from only the tip of the microphone as pictured. The gain defines how loud the microphone picks up the audio. The first setting picks up audio from only the front of the microphone for podcasting and other vocals. The second setting is used for live concert recording, or anything that is loud: it records with a significantly lower gain so loud noises don’t cause clipping. The third setting allows recording from many directions, instead of just from the front. The three setting, although they are not as versatile as the Yeti’s settings all provide a good use although I found myself only using the first setting.
The Yeti on the other hand has 5 unique settings that make it the most useful USB microphone in its class for choir recordings to podcasting. The 5 settings feature stereo recording, cardioid recording, omnidirectional recording, and bidirectional recording for interviews. It has two ridged knobs on the back, one for gain control and another to select the pickup pattern. The front of the microphone has a control for muting the audio, and a volume control for the headphone output located alongside the USB jack on the bottom. The Yeti has all of the control that almost all users could use or need.
The Yeti, in all categories outperformed the Snowball. Unless you fall in love with the smooth design of the Snowball, the Yeti is worth the extra change.
[learn_more caption="Show Official Rules"]
1. The promotion will begin at 9 PM PST on November 6, 2010 and we will announce the winner on November 30th, 2010.
2. To enter the promotion, the entrant must follow freeiphoneapps’s Twitter account located at the URL http://twitter.com/freeiphoneapps from entrant’s own Twitter account. Entrant must then tweet both of the approved tweets. Tweets must remain visible and unprotected during the promotion period. Entrants may sign-up for their own Twitter account at https://twitter.com/signup.
3. The prize is an “iPod Touch 4th generation (8 GB | $229)”. We will ship or email equivalent US Dollar value ( winner may be required to have or setup a valid paypal account to receive cash equivalent ) the Prize to the winner within 20 days of the promotion closing date. The winner is responsible for any and all fees associated with activating and using the prize. The winner is responsible for any taxes associated with receipt of the Prize. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute the Prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the Prize is not available for any reason.
4. The promotion is open only to entrants who are 13 years of age or older at time of entry, and a legal resident of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. Entrants under the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence must obtain a parent’s or legal guardian’s consent before participating, and by participating represent that they have done so.
5. One winner will be selected randomly from all the valid entries. Sponsor will notify the winner via a Twitter direct message from the Sponsor’s Twitter account. If the winner does not respond within five (5) days, he or she will forfeit the Prize and another winner will be randomly chosen.
6. No purchase is necessary to enter or win, enter up to 3 times a day. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
7. By participating in this promotion, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, TeenCastic, and @freeiphoneapps from any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the promotion.
8. The sponsor of this promotion is Emantras
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We gave away an Apple iPad. Tens of thousands of you entered, making it one of our most participated giveaways ever! We want to have a mini-giveaway right away which will then lead off to giving away the new 8GB iPod Touch! For starters, we are giving away TEN $15 iTunes Gift Cards.
The Yuento Balloon is a compact and stylish ballon shaped speaker made from a sponge-esque material, and are sure to turn heads with their distinct look and feel. For a gadget smaller than the size of a palm, this speaker packs a punch.
The speaker itself is about the size of a toddler’s fist; fairly small. Included with the speaker balloon is the audio cable (necessary to connect the speakers to the your MP3 player or computer), a USB cable to charge the speakers, a Japanese/English operating manual, and a small orange bag to hold the speakers when you aren’t using them. The speaker charges via USB from your computer and takes about 2 hours to reach a full charge. Once charged the speakers last about 5 hours. The speaker automatically turns on once connected to the audio cable. The design is practical and adorable. I’ve received many compliments about the intriguing design.
One major disappointment is that if you leave the audio cable plugged into the speaker when the speaker is not in use the battery will drain. Another annoyance is the flimsy audio cord; it’s thin and seems as if it could easily break under stress.
The volume is loud enough and can be changed manually on your audio player. The sound would probably carry well within a group 4-5 people (think small), but is definitely not intended for party use.
The sound quality itself is surprising for such a small device. Sometimes if tilted at the wrong angle, the volume becomes very low or slightly muted, which can be very annoying, nonetheless, the speakers produce sounds clearly and vibrantly.
I would highly recommend these speakers if you are traveling with a small group of friends or maybe when mingling with buddies at a small gathering. They’ll be impressed by the looks and maybe by the sound quality.
[rating:77/100]
The speaker will set you back $40 and is available at New People World in San Francisco and on their website.
Let’s face it, the Apple TV has been one of Apple’s least popular devices on the market. With all the hype around the iPad, iPhone 4, and their other portable devices, like the iPods, and their MacBook line of laptops, it’s obvious why Steve Jobs calls the Apple TV a “hobby”: it’s just not worth it for the average joe. But if Apple puts some TLC in the Apple TV, it can be something extraordinary. Read More →
I’m heading off to boarding school this year, and I want to come prepared. I want a solid computer that will last me 4 years. I want an alarm clock that will wake me up on time and I want a solid collection of tools to document my journeys (for my parents back home). Here are my picks: Read More →
As we announced a month ago, the new iPod Touch will feature the Retina Display, and a front facing camera for FaceTime.
Front-facing camera in the new iPod Touch, image from MacRumors.com
MacRumors received pictures of the face of the new iPod Touch. We can’t think of anything that Apple could use that camera for except FaceTime (maybe PhotoBooth, if they bring that to iOS), so there’s a good chance that the iPod Touch will have FaceTime. While FaceTime should work, it is still unknown how the calls will be initiated. It is thought that they will start over email.MacRumors recently unearthed screenshots of how this will work:
Screenshot of initiating a FaceTime call to an iPod Touch, image from MacRumors
Slovak site, MôjiPod.sk [in Slovak, link is to a translation of the site], confirmed the presence of a Retina Display on the new iPod Touch. Following in the footsteps of its big brother, the iPhone 4, the iPod Touch will make converting graphics to a higher resolution more attractive for some developers. This means that more of your apps will look fantastic on the iPhone 4 and the new iPod Touch.
MôjiPod also says that a Chinese vendor that they talked with had seen a prototype of the new iPod. They claim that it will have a second camera, like the iPhone 4, except it will only be 3.2 megapixels due to space constraints. This would likely be the same camera as the one that is in the iPhone 3GS right now.
Retina Display in new iPod Touch, Image from MôjiPod.sk
With all these changes that we’ve heard of, we started to wonder what else from the iPhone 4 will be in the new iPod Touch. Since Apple added a gyroscope to the iPhone, its likely that one will be present in the iPod too. When combined with an accelerometer, this allows games and utilities to get a much clearer idea of where the phone is in space. With a better understanding of its location, games that depend on motion will be smoother and more fun to play.
UPDATE:9 to 5 Mac found an eBay auction for a prototype of an iPod Touch with a back side camera. The pictures are small, but they seem to be the same as the ones that were floating around earlier this year. It’s amazing what people will pay for unreleased Apple products—this auction is going for over $1320!
We’ll tell you more about the iPod Touch here and on Twitter as we find out. To keep up to date with our news, rumors and reviews, follow @FreeiPhoneApps on Twitter.
