iPods are the worldwide leader in the area of MP3 Players and also theres a promising Emulation and Homebrew scene for the iPod which include a Gameboy emulator and also a port of Doom, check those and the latest iPod news out at IPod Emulation News here --> http://ipodnews.dcemu.co.uk/ ...

Motorola has posted information on a new product called the Music Duo.

The Music Duo provides Bluetooth capabilities to the iPod for use with Bluetooth headphones. The Music Duo also provides simultaneous connectivity to your Bluetooth capable phone... passing through a telephone call and pausing the music while you take the call.

This product or similar ones may be what was hinted at by Motorola Car Product Manager in Feb 2005 when he said that "consumers will soon be able to listen to music wirelessly from their iPod through their car speakers." At the time, people assumed that Apple would be incorporating Bluetooth technology into the iPod itself.

Features of the Music Duo listed include:

- Provides seamless connections to both your iPod and compatible Bluetooth-enabled phone
- Music pauses for incoming calls and resumes when calls are complete
- Compatible with Generation 3 or newer iPod players that have a Dock Connector (i.e. iPod, iPod mini, iPod nano)
- Compatible with any brand of Bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 –enabled phone that supports “headset” and “hands-free” profiles
- Compatible with Bluetooth Stereo Accessories

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/...04142115.shtml ...

Motorola has posted information on a new product called the Music Duo.

The Music Duo provides Bluetooth capabilities to the iPod for use with Bluetooth headphones. The Music Duo also provides simultaneous connectivity to your Bluetooth capable phone... passing through a telephone call and pausing the music while you take the call.

This product or similar ones may be what was hinted at by Motorola Car Product Manager in Feb 2005 when he said that "consumers will soon be able to listen to music wirelessly from their iPod through their car speakers." At the time, people assumed that Apple would be incorporating Bluetooth technology into the iPod itself.

Features of the Music Duo listed include:

- Provides seamless connections to both your iPod and compatible Bluetooth-enabled phone
- Music pauses for incoming calls and resumes when calls are complete
- Compatible with Generation 3 or newer iPod players that have a Dock Connector (i.e. iPod, iPod mini, iPod nano)
- Compatible with any brand of Bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 –enabled phone that supports “headset” and “hands-free” profiles
- Compatible with Bluetooth Stereo Accessories

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/...04142115.shtml ...

So I buy a video iPod, figuring it would be a cool toy. (Gotta get those toys.) It arrives and I'm ready to give it a whirl. I pony up my two bucks, download the pilot episode of Desperate Housewives, insert a standard A/V-to-RCA cable into the earphone jack and try to play it back on my TV.


No Luck. Damned Apple.

I'm here to tell you not to worry. You don't have to fork out for an outrageously priced "proprietary" Apple video cable. You don't even have to buy an expensive dock. You can connect your Video iPod directly to a TV, and you can do it with the ordinary camcorder A/V-to-RCA cable you probably already have lying around your house.

You just have to be tricky.

Here's how.

What You'll Need
In order to get your iPod connected properly to your TV, you'll need the following items on hand:

A video-capable iPod. Any color will do.
An iPod-compatible video. Load it onto your iPod through iTunes.
An A/V cable. If you don't already have an eighth-inch-to-RCA cable, you can pick one up on eBay for five or six bucks shipped. Search for "camcorder A/V cable." Remember, you want a three-plug yellow/red/white RCA connection at one end and a three-banded eighth-inch (3.5mm) A/V plug at the other.

rest of the article here --> http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...od.html?page=1 ...

So I buy a video iPod, figuring it would be a cool toy. (Gotta get those toys.) It arrives and I'm ready to give it a whirl. I pony up my two bucks, download the pilot episode of Desperate Housewives, insert a standard A/V-to-RCA cable into the earphone jack and try to play it back on my TV.


No Luck. Damned Apple.

I'm here to tell you not to worry. You don't have to fork out for an outrageously priced "proprietary" Apple video cable. You don't even have to buy an expensive dock. You can connect your Video iPod directly to a TV, and you can do it with the ordinary camcorder A/V-to-RCA cable you probably already have lying around your house.

You just have to be tricky.

Here's how.

What You'll Need
In order to get your iPod connected properly to your TV, you'll need the following items on hand:

A video-capable iPod. Any color will do.
An iPod-compatible video. Load it onto your iPod through iTunes.
An A/V cable. If you don't already have an eighth-inch-to-RCA cable, you can pick one up on eBay for five or six bucks shipped. Search for "camcorder A/V cable." Remember, you want a three-plug yellow/red/white RCA connection at one end and a three-banded eighth-inch (3.5mm) A/V plug at the other.

rest of the article here --> http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...od.html?page=1 ...

Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates, who is already fending off a threat from the fast-growing internet search giant Google, has opened a second front against the iPod with the launch of an alternative music downloading service which will not be compatible with Apple's massively popular player.

With a touch of the showbusiness glamour usually employed by Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, Mr Gates invited the pop singer Justin Timberlake on stage at the technology world's annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to showcase Microsoft's new service.

Branded Urge, it will offer two million tracks for purchase. With iPod owners not able to use the service, Microsoft hopes it will boost use of its digital player, the Portable Media Centre, which has been overshadowed by iPod's dominance of the market.

Microsoft is also striking a blow at Apple's downloading service, iTunes. Unlike iTunes, which charges customers a fixed amount per song, Urge will offer a subscription for unlimited downloads.

Created through a partnership with the television network MTV, Urge will also offer MTV music and videos and will be built into Microsoft's next version of its Windows operating system, Vista, which will be available later this year.

The move is the most serious attempt to date by Microsoft, once the technology world's most innovative company, to shake off criticism that it has become staid and has lost ground to nimbler rivals.
In a marked change from previous years, when Microsoft has given dry presentations of innovations aimed at business customers, this year the company used its appearance at the highly attended Consumer Electronics Show to showcase a range of sleek, new consumer products.

As well as the Urge music service, Microsoft wants to make inroads into people's living rooms. It has signed a deal with Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB in the UK and DirecTV in the US to allow customers to get the video on-demand service through a PC with Windows operating system or through its Xbox console.

Microsoft also unveiled more details of Vista, its first upgrade of Windows in five years. Vista has been partly developed to fend off attempts by Google to branch out from internet search into a range of other areas.

Mr Gates was dismissive of Google yesterday, saying: "There are all these rumours Google is going to come out with a robot that cooks pizza. Who knows what the truth is, we'll just have to see."

Google, which was created only seven years ago and is worth $135bn (£79bn), is set to unveil its own set of innovations today. They are expected to include a system to allow customers to download videos, including television shows, via the Google site.

http://news.independent.co.uk/busine...icle336802.ece ...

Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates, who is already fending off a threat from the fast-growing internet search giant Google, has opened a second front against the iPod with the launch of an alternative music downloading service which will not be compatible with Apple's massively popular player.

With a touch of the showbusiness glamour usually employed by Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, Mr Gates invited the pop singer Justin Timberlake on stage at the technology world's annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to showcase Microsoft's new service.

Branded Urge, it will offer two million tracks for purchase. With iPod owners not able to use the service, Microsoft hopes it will boost use of its digital player, the Portable Media Centre, which has been overshadowed by iPod's dominance of the market.

Microsoft is also striking a blow at Apple's downloading service, iTunes. Unlike iTunes, which charges customers a fixed amount per song, Urge will offer a subscription for unlimited downloads.

Created through a partnership with the television network MTV, Urge will also offer MTV music and videos and will be built into Microsoft's next version of its Windows operating system, Vista, which will be available later this year.

The move is the most serious attempt to date by Microsoft, once the technology world's most innovative company, to shake off criticism that it has become staid and has lost ground to nimbler rivals.
In a marked change from previous years, when Microsoft has given dry presentations of innovations aimed at business customers, this year the company used its appearance at the highly attended Consumer Electronics Show to showcase a range of sleek, new consumer products.

As well as the Urge music service, Microsoft wants to make inroads into people's living rooms. It has signed a deal with Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB in the UK and DirecTV in the US to allow customers to get the video on-demand service through a PC with Windows operating system or through its Xbox console.

Microsoft also unveiled more details of Vista, its first upgrade of Windows in five years. Vista has been partly developed to fend off attempts by Google to branch out from internet search into a range of other areas.

Mr Gates was dismissive of Google yesterday, saying: "There are all these rumours Google is going to come out with a robot that cooks pizza. Who knows what the truth is, we'll just have to see."

Google, which was created only seven years ago and is worth $135bn (£79bn), is set to unveil its own set of innovations today. They are expected to include a system to allow customers to download videos, including television shows, via the Google site.

http://news.independent.co.uk/busine...icle336802.ece ...

Piper Jaffray research analyst Gene Munster maintained an "outperform" rating and $80 price target on Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) ahead of Macworld 2006 and announced his expectations for the conference, which will be held in San Francisco next week.

On Tuesday morning, Steve Jobs will speak at the Macworld keynote and announce a number of new and upgraded Apple products.

New announcements at the keynote could include a revamped iPod shuffle with a slightly different form factor and a small screen, Munster said.

Evidence of this is the fact that Apple.com indicates that 1gigabyte iPod shuffles are sold out and supply will not be replenished until mid-January. "We believe this is a sign that a new shuffle is coming at Macworld; otherwise Apple would likely have refilled the channel," the analyst noted in research note today.

Munster also believes there is a good chance that we will see "some form" of consumer focused Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) based Mac at Macworld, likely as an iBook or Mac mini. Apple has indicated that Intel-based Macs will become available in mid-2006.

The research analyst said he "would be surprised" if Apple does not announce new video content offerings to be added to the existing offerings available at iTunes, such as new TV shows and, potentially, feature films.

In addition, Munster believes it is possible that Apple will introduce some form of new consumer electronics device, continuing on the "trend towards being more of an entertainment/media technology company, not just a computer company."

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2006/0...markets06.html ...

Piper Jaffray research analyst Gene Munster maintained an "outperform" rating and $80 price target on Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) ahead of Macworld 2006 and announced his expectations for the conference, which will be held in San Francisco next week.

On Tuesday morning, Steve Jobs will speak at the Macworld keynote and announce a number of new and upgraded Apple products.

New announcements at the keynote could include a revamped iPod shuffle with a slightly different form factor and a small screen, Munster said.

Evidence of this is the fact that Apple.com indicates that 1gigabyte iPod shuffles are sold out and supply will not be replenished until mid-January. "We believe this is a sign that a new shuffle is coming at Macworld; otherwise Apple would likely have refilled the channel," the analyst noted in research note today.

Munster also believes there is a good chance that we will see "some form" of consumer focused Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) based Mac at Macworld, likely as an iBook or Mac mini. Apple has indicated that Intel-based Macs will become available in mid-2006.

The research analyst said he "would be surprised" if Apple does not announce new video content offerings to be added to the existing offerings available at iTunes, such as new TV shows and, potentially, feature films.

In addition, Munster believes it is possible that Apple will introduce some form of new consumer electronics device, continuing on the "trend towards being more of an entertainment/media technology company, not just a computer company."

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2006/0...markets06.html ...