Apple iTV: coming in early February with a built-in hard drive?
By this time next week, Steve Jobs' Macworld Expo keynote address will be history.While guesses about what will be announced run the gamut from the mundane (OS X upgrades) to the lustful (iPod phone and/or wide-screen video iPod), it's a near certainty that we'll get more details on Apple's so-called iTV product. The iTV--its final name is still pending--is Apple's take on the digital media receiver.It's a small box designed to stream your computer-based iTunes media (movies, TV shows, music, podcasts) to your big-screen TV and home theater system--basically, a networked "home iPod." The little that's known about the iTV is what Jobs revealed back in September 2006: It's got built-in wireless networking, HDMI output, and--perhaps most importantly--it's priced at just $300. But when will you be able to buy an iTV? And what features of the device does Apple have yet to reveal? Nobody knows for sure, but rumor site Appleinsider.com (as spotted on Digg) has some relevant dirt, thanks to "people familiar with the matter" (otherwise known as anonymous sources).The iTV will ship in just a few weeks ("late January or early February"). Moreover, it's said to have a "small hard drive" which would enable some local content storage, according to information previously leaked by Disney CEO Robert Iger (a friend and colleague of Jobs--the Apple CEO, you'll remember, also sits on Disney's board of directors as a result of the entertainment company's 2006 buyout of his other company, animation stalwart Pixar). What do these latest rumors mean?Not too much, in the grand scheme of things. While Apple generally has its new products available within days of their announcements--if not instantaneously--anytime between now and the end of March would still fall within the previously announced first-quarter time frame. As for the inclusion of a small hard drive: maybe, maybe not. Yes, hard drives are dirt cheap these days, and Apple gets some of the best discounts in the business. But Iger's "hard drive" phrasing may be a layman's description of a decent flash memory capacity (say, 2GB to 4GB) that could be used to cache media files--especially video--as they zip across a home network, to deliver smoother performance. A few gigs also could be helpful when streaming Web radio and increasingly large digital photos. Whatever the actual release date or storage capacity, however, there's no doubt that the iTV is going to shake up the market for digitally-delivered media. By this time next week, we'll have a much better idea of exactly how much. In the meantime, look for the rumors to reach a fever pitch.Previous iTV coverage:iTV: beam there, done thatApple's iTV: promise and perilApple previews iTV network digital media playerVideo: Steve Jobs unveils the iTV
Scosche iKit replaces car stereo with iPad
Scosche iKit replaces car stereo with iPad
We've seen a few custom iPad dashboard mounts from the guys at SoundMan car audio. Now Scosche, manufacturer of car audio accessories, is stepping up to the plate and developing its own iPad dashboard mount kit, appropriately--and predictably--known as the Scosche iKit.Unlike the iPhone mounts that we've seen from this manufacturer, the iKitactually starts a double-DIN module that replaces your car's stereo with an auxiliary audio input and a powered USB port for charging. Protruding from this module is a mounting knob onto which an iPad-mounting cradle is attached. You can then position the iPad and tighten a locking ring to hold the tablet in place. Included in the kit is a 30-pin dock connector cable that connects the iPad into the system's USB port and auxiliary input.The connected iPad can then play back audio from its iTunes library through the vehicle's speakers when charging over USB. When used with an iPad 3G, you can choose from a number of Internet streaming audio sources or use the iPad with a navigation app such as the freshly minted CoPilot Live HD for turn-by-turn directions.We assume that there's some sort of wire harness coming out of the back of the iKit to connect the car's speakers and 12-volt power. There would also need to be some sort of internal amplifier, as the iPad's headphone jack doesn't output enough juice to push four or more speakers. However, Scosche hasn't outlined any installation instructions or details about the iKit's internal electronics. Until Scosche releases more details, check out the introduction video below for a sneak peak at the iKit in action.Is this new wave of iPad car audio accessories a cool implementation of new technology or does it herald a whole new level of driver distractions? Make yourself heard in the comments.
We've seen a few custom iPad dashboard mounts from the guys at SoundMan car audio. Now Scosche, manufacturer of car audio accessories, is stepping up to the plate and developing its own iPad dashboard mount kit, appropriately--and predictably--known as the Scosche iKit.Unlike the iPhone mounts that we've seen from this manufacturer, the iKitactually starts a double-DIN module that replaces your car's stereo with an auxiliary audio input and a powered USB port for charging. Protruding from this module is a mounting knob onto which an iPad-mounting cradle is attached. You can then position the iPad and tighten a locking ring to hold the tablet in place. Included in the kit is a 30-pin dock connector cable that connects the iPad into the system's USB port and auxiliary input.The connected iPad can then play back audio from its iTunes library through the vehicle's speakers when charging over USB. When used with an iPad 3G, you can choose from a number of Internet streaming audio sources or use the iPad with a navigation app such as the freshly minted CoPilot Live HD for turn-by-turn directions.We assume that there's some sort of wire harness coming out of the back of the iKit to connect the car's speakers and 12-volt power. There would also need to be some sort of internal amplifier, as the iPad's headphone jack doesn't output enough juice to push four or more speakers. However, Scosche hasn't outlined any installation instructions or details about the iKit's internal electronics. Until Scosche releases more details, check out the introduction video below for a sneak peak at the iKit in action.Is this new wave of iPad car audio accessories a cool implementation of new technology or does it herald a whole new level of driver distractions? Make yourself heard in the comments.
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