Appletell

You all remember the Apple Pippin, the greatest biggest flop of a game system ever, don’t you?  Since then Apple has stayed relatively far away from the gaming market all together.  However, I believe some of there products have, coincidentally, brought them somewhat back into it.  Look at the iPhone and its accelerometer.  Those two devices together make a great pair for a handheld gaming system and developers have already begun to take advantage of that with games like Spore (in the keynote).  Still, I think there is yet one more product that could soon be a nice little gaming device, and that’s the Apple TV.

A recent patent filing by Apple suggest a 3D gaming controller for their Apple TV that would supposedly be much like the Wii’s system.  This would be great for casual gaming on the Apple TV.  Think about it.  This device was made to be put in a living room with a large HD TV and home entertainment system.  It has the iTunes Store on it with a full library of podcasts, etc.  Why not add games to that list of items that can be purchased with this device?  It already has everything it needs besides the most vital part, the games and the controller (Apple remote?).  With those two additions, I feel it could one day become a serious competitor to the Wii.  Now, this probably won’t happen anytime soon if at all, but it’s a possibility.  What do you think?

There has been tons of rumors lately about what the new iPhone is going to look like and and what features it will have.  Sure, the iPhone is bound to be updated (or announced to be updated) in June at WWDC, but what about that little thing we call the iPod?  Can’t we give them a little loving?  What is the next iPod going to be like?  Unfortunately, it seems like this device has gotten lost in all the iPhone shuffle.  Well, let’s bring it back into the limelight, even if only for a little bit!  Keep in mind, I have no idea when they will be updated, but it’s always interesting to speculate on what they may look like and contain.

So, what do you think?  Is that old scroll wheel out of fashion?  Will they eventually all have wifi and Safari?  Are they all going to contain some sort of touch screen?  These are all good questions to ask, and with the way Apple keeps its secrets, any of those could be just as possible as the next.  I strongly believe they will all have some sort of advanced touch system, whether it be the actual screen or just adding multi-touch to the scroll wheel.  Apple has learned a lot from both the iPhone and iPod Touch about multi-touch displays, and the consumers seem to love them.  Furthermore, I think they will all be capable of wireless connectivity.  Even if it’s not Safari, Apple could possibly even add a more simplified iTunes Store to normal iPods.  This would be a great way for Apple to sell more songs and users to find even more music.

Now let’s talk more hardware.  With flash memory get cheaper everyday, will the new iPods move to flash?  I hope not.  Well, at least not now.  The Classic and its 160GB are great for people who have a ton of music as well as some movies, and I don’t believe hard drives are dead just yet.  Going along with my multi-touch theory, I also believe the new iPods will get larger screens to make them more able to support that feature.

What are your thoughts? Let them fly in the comments!

Graphic via [Gadget Reviews]

If you remember a while back, I wrote about a third party app that allows for handwriting recognition on the iPhone called HWPen. Now, according to recent reports, build number 5A258f of the iPhone 2.0 beta software supports a handwriting recognition interface that currently allows only Chinese character input.  A translated page of the website of the man who is reporting about this, Kenneth, goes into detail about the interface and contains tons of screenshots.

This app works by suggesting four character possibilities on the right hand side of the screen as the user begins to write the symbol.  AppleInsider also points out that a recent patent filing by Apple suggested a next generation multi-touch surface that would allow for this and many more touch operations.  All this handwriting news brings back the good old days of the Newton.  Let’s hope it gets a little better of a reputation if it does appear on the iPhone.  Would you like to see this on the next iPhone software update?

Universal is now distributing its TV shows through the iTunes Store in the UK. Universal’s content was added to the store last night (UK time). Their decision to bring shows to iTunes in the UK is interesting, because of the recent disputes between Apple and NBC Universal; its content had been removed from the iTunes US Store, but remained on Microsoft’s Zune store for the same price.

Universal is bringing some well-known hit TV shows that are currently airing on UK television, including: Heroes (Season Two), House, Eureka, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and The Incredible Hulk. All of the shows are priced at the regular £1.89 - which is still quite a bit more than US users would pay, due to the exchange rate and other excuses Apple makes for overcharging us. Interestingly, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and The Incredible Hulk are available for just £1.19 each - this could be because these are the less popular shows, and may gain more exposure from lower prices.

Via [Macworld UK]

Since its introduction by Apple on January 9th, 2001, iTunes has become one of the most popular music library organization apps ever.  It started off simple and eventually became what it is today, a place not only to organize files, but to shop, learn, and watch.  With so much growth, large deals, and new features in the past few years, it makes me wonder where iTune’s place will be in the future.  When digital sales take over physical media, will it be because of iTunes?  Will iTunes one day start a revolution in how we purchase and handle all of our DVDs, music, and TV shows?  Or will iTunes eventually slip away into the past and be replaced by a whole new app or movement?

With the direction iTunes is headed now, it seems like it very well could be the driving force behind moving totally to digital sales for some.  It has one of the biggest music selections available anywhere, allows you to rent movies, releases new DVD titles the same day as hard copies, and contains all sort of other media, such as podcasts and TV shows.  With only a couple more deals and updates, iTunes could soon be the place to go for all of your media.  This would almost completely eliminate the need for physical media.  Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think this will happen anytime very soon, but it is possible.  But what would seal the deal for moving completely to digital media?

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Hate rushing to the store to make sure you are able to get one of the few copies available of your favorite movie on the day of its DVD release?  We’ve all been there, and it sucks.  Well, Apple has now come to the rescue.  You are now able to purchase iTunes movies on the same day as their hard copy DVD release.  This deal covers a ton of studios, including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Lionsgate.  The new releases go for $14.99 currently at the iTunes store.

“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”

It was going to happen eventually, and I’m glad the time has finally come.  Could this be one of the largest steps in a while towards moving completely to digital entertainment, or is there still a long way to go?

Apple has finally surpassed its goal of 1,000 movie rentals - users can now rent from a store of over 1,000 movies. Apple didn’t meet this goal on time however - they are exactly 63 days late from the deadline - but at least they made it. Steve Jobs must have been very optimistic with the movie rental idea, as 2 months isn’t really acceptable from Apple. Most people expected all 1,000 movies to be on the store at least 63 days ago. But I suppose its best that Apple took its time, making sure everything went well - better late than never as they say.

To see the expansive list of movies available on the iTunes rental option, just open up iTunes and choose search from the store menu; choose Movies from the Power Search pop-up and enable the “Search Movies That Are Available for Rental option” - then click search. You’ll see all of the movies organized into 6 pages, each with 150 movies - another additional page lists 103 movies.

Via [Macworld]

BBC America TV shows have just been added to the US iTunes Store. There are only three shows at this point in time, but expect more to be on their way:

• Torchwood (Series 1 and 2)
• Little Britain (Series 3 only)
• Robin Hood (Series 2 only)

This small collection of shows is available for the usual $1.99 per show - buying entire seasons can vary in cost, but is usually slightly cheaper than buying episode-after-episode. This is still very limited, and what I would call not worth paying for. But I guess if you don’t have access to the BBC World channel, or you want it on your computer/iPod/iPhone - then this is the way to go. If you’re in the UK, you’ll have a much wider variety of choice; including the BBC’s own iPlayer - which lets you catch-up on shows every 7 days. This service is also available for streaming on iPhones and iPod Touches in the UK.

Via [TUAW]

According to Henry Milan, owner of patent number 6,991,483, Apple is infringing on his patent for a method to connect a Flash memory device to a connection port on another device, such as a computer.  This would affect devices such as the iPod Touch and iPod Nano, but Information Week has mentioned that, surprisingly, the iPhone is not mentioned in this report although it could be added.  The lawsuit wants to receive damages for the infringement as well as an injunction against the sales of the devices.  However, the law firm, Butzel Long, is not sure whether or not they want to pursue the injunction yet.

I’m sure Apple’s lawyers are busy over in Cupertino trying to get this straightened out, and I hope the lawsuit is settled quickly and efficiently for both sides.  I find it highly unlikely that the iPods will have to stop being sold, but that’s fairly obvious.  What are you thoughts on this patent dispute?  Is Mr. Milan on to something here?

Apple is now threatening legal action against 11 UK e-tailers, unless they agree to stop selling iPods imported from outside the UK. Apple has complained to many well-known online retailers which were buying iPods in the United States (where they sell for £15 less than in the UK), and then selling them at a lower price to customers.

The lawsuit issued by Bird & Bird, a London law firm, demand e-tailers to stop selling what they described as “Grey iPods” anywhere in Europe. The Cupertino-based law firm also threatened to sue any e-tailer that “infringes” Apple’s rights.

Apple also requested that the details of suppliers who provided the “Grey iPods” be given to the law firm. Companies which have cooperated must now also pay a sum to cover Apple’s legal expenses and damages.

A Bird & Bird spokesman announced that the firm was unable to comment on details of the lawsuit because it is a “sensitive, ongoing legal matter.”

Via [Channel Register]