If you’ll recall, it was April of last year when we reported on pictures from Apple.pro, which claimed to show a seventh-generation iPod Nano chassis with room for a camera. Not long after, the site posted a second leak of the device, hinting at the omission of the Nano’s famous clip in favor of optics.

Fast forward to the present, and we’re now looking another supposed shot of the unit, however, this time the clip is back and it’s made room for the shooter. Like prior Nano-camera efforts, this prototype’s loaded with a less-than-whopping 1.3-megapixels of resolution, which M.I.C Gadget claims in its non-final form, took overexposed photos. Apple’s apparently also been toying with 2-megapixel prototypes, but those too were apparently deemed unsatisfactory. M.I.C. Gadget also muses the two month old prototype is nearing release, and that it could be released before the traditional fall schedule.

Seeing as the Nano’s long overdue for a hardware refresh, we’d file that under definitively maybe, but before believing, take copious amounts of salt as you hit the source link below for a bevy of pics.

SOURCE via Mac Rumors

Apple hasn’t been having the best couple of weeks recently. The iPhone 4S’ battery woes have been a big issue, and the iOS 5.01 update they released to remedy the problem seems to have opened an entirely new can of worms. But now it’s come to light that the company has also recalled the first generation iPod Nano over safety risks with its aging battery.

The recall notice was posted on the support section of Apple’s website, with the following statement:

Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006.

This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages.

On the plus side, it means that users who still have a five year old iPod Nano lying around can get it replaced, free of charge. If you’re not sure when you purchased your Nano, the recall process will check your unit’s serial number to see if it’s eligible for replacement. So if you can manage to find yours in that drawer full of forgotten technology, it’s certainly worth checking to see if it’s covered under the recall.

SOURCE via Reuters

That Siri gal is certainly making the rounds these days. When she’s not answering your questions on a 4S, she’s showing up on iPads and elder iPhones. Not one to play favorites, Siri’s now lending her considerable talents to an iPod touch. Two enterprising young hackers, euwars and rud0lf77, are the ones who put Siri on the iPod, and you can see the results of their labor in the video after the break. Of course, Apple’s servers still aren’t as friendly as the virtual voice assistant, so Siri’s latest cameo remains a silent one — but some Siri’s better than foreveralone.jpg, right?

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Ten years ago, Steve Jobs pulled a little white box out of his pocket and promised that it would revolutionize the music world. We were not so convinced back then that this little MP3 player would sell, but Apple managed to ship more than 320 million so far.

Back on October 23, 2001, we were expecting something huge from Apple when we watched Steve Jobs discuss the digital media world in Apple’s auditorium in Cupertino, which recently was also used to unveil the iPhone 4S. A 5 GB, HDD-based music player was hardly revolutionary and I was not the only one who felt that the device had no future with an MSRP of $399. Apple gave every person in the audience a beta-release iPod, with 25 free CDs to match most popular music tastes and transferred all songs via Firewire interface within a minute or so to the player.

Back at home – the iPod software was pretty buggy – the iPod failed to impress me, but I felt that Apple had invented something special. It was the first MP3 player I was willing to actually display in public and use with my regular stereo equipment in my living room. Ten years later, Apple has sold an estimated 320 million iPods with generated more than $60 billion in revenue. Since its original introduction in 2011, Apple launched 22 different models of iPods and the original version has survived in the form of the sixth- generation iPod Classic which is offered in a 160 GB version for $249. The current iPod line starts from $49 with the 2 GB Shuffle and ends with the 64 GB iPod touch for $399.

Current shipments are slowing down significantly as sales are shifting toward iPhones. Apple said that it sold 6.6 million iPods in Q3, down from 9.1 million one year ago. However, Apple claims that it still sells more than half of the world’s MP3 players and still has 70 percent market share in the U.S. While Apple does not break out iPod model shipments from the total number, the high-end iPod touch is now the key model that secures profit margins for the iPod line and is aligned with Apple’s iOS strategy. The company said in September that it has sold more than 250 million iOS devices (iPod touch, iPhone, iPad).

Over the years, the iPod has survived several high-profile lawsuits as well as Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player, which was announced in 2006. Back then, Microsoft said that it was in the MP3 player game for the “long haul” and predicted that it could beat the iPod sometime in the future. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that it will stop selling Zune players.

Apple today announced the iPhone 4S, but the company also freshened up its iPod line (so much for rumors that it was going to do away with some or all of the line).

Both the iPod Touch and iPod Nano got a little attention, with none of the other iPods really mentioned (maybe killed off?). The iPod Nano now has larger icons for easier navigation (a must when you have a multitouch screen so small); the ability to track your walks and runs (time, pace, distance, calories, steps) right out of the box, no accessories required; and, inspired by those that saw this iPod a year ago and thought, ‘That would make an excellent watch,’ the option of 16 new clock faces. See, Apple’s been listening. Aw… Apple’s got everything covered, from classic analog to Mickey Mouse. Take your pick and wear it with pride, folks. Boy oh boy the kids sure gonna love showing off at school.

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With just two business days to go before Apple’s scheduled October 4 event at its Cupertino HQ, the rumor mill is kicking into overdrive. While we know that it’s an iPhone event, Apple has not confirmed anything regarding an iPhone 5, an iPhone 4S, or even, given that the fall event is traditionally for iPods, if it will be making any changes to the iPod line. However, a few recent additions to the company’s inventory system suggest that all three of the above rumors might be true.

9to5Mac reports that three new iPod models have cropped up in Apple’s inventory system with the codename N81A. N81 being the codename for the 4th generation iPod touch, 9to5 believes that these N81A models are the same device with a minor tweak: The color. Yep, the main theory is that this is just the 4th generation iPod touch in white. Thrilling!

More interesting is the appearance of a modified iPhone 4. This model carries the N90A codename, which is just a small difference from the iPhone 4′s N90 moniker. Considering the iPhone codename ‘N94′ has appeared in the iOS SDK several times, we’re going to assume that N90A refers to something close to the iPhone 4 while N94 is the iPhone 5.

If you’re not a fan of the iPhone 4, you might be interested in learning that the iPhone 5 has also cropped up in Apple’s inventory system. 9to5Mac has since reported that the next generation of iPhone, under the N94 moniker, has appeared in the inventory system. Roll on Tuesday!

SOURCE via 9to5mac

Now that Amazon’s mystery press conference is out of the way, we’re eagerly awaiting Apple’s October 4 iPhone 5 event. However, will Apple also be saying goodbye to a couple of devices this year?

Apple said on the invitations that next week’s event is about the iPhone. Most have assumed that this means Apple will finally launch the iPhone 5 (and perhaps the iPhone 4S). However, the fall event is typically for iPods and iTunes, and Apple hasn’t given any inclination that it will be devoting even a small portion of the press conference to music. Instead, it appears as though the end may be near for a couple of the iPod models.

The latest scuttlebutt is that Apple will be killing off some of the iPods we know so well. According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, the iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle will both disappear this year. The site didn’t name its source, but said that the reasons behind killing off these two versions were to do with numbers (iPod sales make up just 8 percent of Apple revenue) but also the fact that they’re kind of out-dated and unnecessary; the Shuffle is basically a Nano without a screen, while the Classic is devoid of flash memory, instead relying on a platter-based HDD.

The news comes hot on the heels of a report from CNet that Apple might kill the entire iPod line. Don Bell writes that, while it used to be a big money-maker for Apple, now is “really not a bad time for Apple to stick a fork in the iPod.”

“For starters, this year (October 24) marks the 10-year anniversary of the iPod,” he writes. “That’s quite an achievement, but it’s also a nice place to bookend things. I can imagine Apple saying, ‘It had a great run, now go buy an iPhone.’”

Bell also refers back to Steve Jobs’ 2006 advice to Nike CEO Mark Parker. Jobs told him to just “get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff.” So has the iPod, when compared to the iPhone and the iPad, become ‘crappy stuff’?

SOURCE via TUAW

MacRumors reports that Apple is expected to hold a press conference in the first or second week of October — pushed back from the prior September speculation — to introduce its new iPhone, iPod Nano and iPod Touch devices.

But contrary to prior rumors, the latter non-telephony device won’t see a major overhaul according to reports. Instead, it will see the introduction of a white model. Only minimal changes are expected with the current 4th-generation hardware including an oleophobic coating for the display and a revised ambient light sensor.

As indicated earlier, white parts for the iPod Touch leaked into the supply chain back in July. These suggested that Apple plans to offer white models with no apparent changes to the overall design, and could even be applied to the existing fourth-generation model.

Prior rumors have claimed that Apple plans to introduce a 3G-capable iPod Touch, a cheap, cloud-based version of the iPhone 4 and the hardware refresh that’s supposedly the iPhone 5. Recent reports have also indicated that the iPhone 5 isn’t scheduled to appear at all, that Apple won’t be ready until next year, leaving the cheap iPhone 4 all alone in the spotlight next to its touchy comrade.

As always, Apple rumors should be taken with a grain of salt. There’s so much circulating the Internet that it’s hard to get a clear picture of what Apple has in store for consumers. And now that Steve Jobs has stepped down from his position, there’s no indication that the company will stick to its customary reveal and release dates. We’re still in September, so Apple has less than two weeks to stay on its iPod refresh schedule.

It’s like clockwork: the closer we get to a supposed Apple launch date, the more “leaked” materials consumers and press uncover, building hype. We’ve seen plenty since the beginning of the year regarding the next iPhone and iPod Touch release, and today is no exception.

Wednesday morning iDownloadBlog discovered that Apple “accidentally” loaded a promo shot of an iPod Touch with 3G capabilities on the iTunes website. On the North American shores, the shot was quickly yanked and replaced with a new version, but the iTunes page over in the UK still conveniently displays the iPod Touch 3G without hesitation, as seen here. The only thing missing from the image is a wireless carrier icon.

The “accidental leak” follows recent rumors that the next-generation iPod Touch will feature 3G capabilities when it’s revealed in September. This feature was actually spotted in iOS 5 Beta 4, represented as cellular and GPS toggles in the iCloud and Settings menu. The initial discovery led to speculation that Apple won’t release an iPhone Nano, but rather intends to equip the iPod Touch with hardware capable of supporting FaceTime and iMessage over a 3G wireless network.

If that’s the case, it’s assumed that the new iPod Touch will require the same data plans used by the iPad 2. But as always, everything is mere speculation and rumor until Apple officially reveals the device in September.

SOURCE via idownload

In the wake of the abundant news about the iPhone 5/4GS some questionable news has surfaces regarding the iPhone’s little brother, the iPod Touch. According to Applespot.Nl, the next generation iPod Touch will gain 3G connectivity.

“This will be as his work as the iPhone, where you have a 3G subscription from your ISP, then the SIM card into your iPod Touch key. The choice to add to 3G iPod Touch lineup is not even a very bad idea from Apple, it was obviously true. The only question is how this is received by the telecom farmers, since the use of Skype then will shoot up considerably.”

Now the BS bells are ringing pretty loudly with this one. Why would users shell out all that money for an iPhone when they could just get an iPod Touch cheaper and with no real contract obligations? After all, at half the price, users get essentially the same experience with a iPod Touch 3G, albeit without annoying SMS Spam.

For now, we call shenanigans on this one, but who knows? Would you like to see a iPod Touch 3G?

SOURCE via Cult of Mac