Apple iPods: The best MP3 player lineup, ever.

Apple has been somewhat predictable for the past few years when the holiday season nears - releasing all new iPod line-ups during September 'surprise' Apple events. This year's event introduced arguably the best and possibly the most affordable iPod line-up ever.

The talk of the gadget world this time was the introduction of a slimmer, sleeker iPod touch, multi-colored 'tall' iPod Nanos, iPod Shuffles in new colors, and perhaps the biggest announcement this year - the news that all iPods are now made even more affordable.

iPod Touch (2nd Generation)
When first introduced last year, the iPod Touch was the talk of the town, and it deserved it. Besides having a great 'Multi-Touch' screen which lets you view and listen to your music in a cool new way, probably the main selling point of the original iPod Touch to Bruneians was its ability to surf the Internet with its very cool-to-use Safari browser. It meant that we didn't have to carry a heavy laptop around to cafes anymore just to surf, and the fact that this little gadget costed under $500 was great at the time. What could Apple do to improve it? Quite a few things actually..

The 2nd generation iPod Touch is even thinner now - only 0.33-inches thin, which somehow makes other MP3 players look somewhat huge! Apple has also managed to incorporate speakers in this amazingly thin gadget, which solves the problem of always having to bring your headphones everywhere.

Another major improvement is the iPod 2.1 software that's installed which lets you download games and applications through Wi-Fi right on to the iPod Touch. There's hundreds of free apps and games to choose from, which somehow makes it a great competitor to the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.

The 2nd Generation Apple iPod Touch is now available at AV Electronics for $388 (8GB), $498 (16GB), and $698 (32GB).

iPod Nano (4th Generation)
Probably the most noticeable feature of the new iPod Nanos is that they now have the same 'tall' design as the 1st and 2nd generation models, with Apple choosing to get rid of the recent 'shorter', and probably less selling design of the most recent generation of Nanos. They're also now available in an unbelievable 9 colors in total, so you probably won't have a problem getting one in your favourite colour.

The 4th Generation iPod Nano is the thinnest iPod Apple has ever made, being just 6.2mm deep (from front to back), and after checking out these little gadgets in person, they really are tiny!

Apple has also incorporated the same accelerometers which are used in the iPod Touch into these new Nanos, which automatically changes the screen orientation when the gadget is turned sideways, letting you view all your album art.

Another cool addition is the 'shake to shuffle' feature, which lets you listen to random songs whenever you vigorously shake the Nano.

Fitness fans will be glad to know that these Nanos also have a built-in Nike+iPod receiver, which when connected wirelessly with an in-shoe sensor lets you track your runs and automatically gives you feedback on your progress and calories burnt.



The 4th generation iPod Nano is available at AV Electronics for $248 (8GB) and $328 (16GB).

iPod Shuffle

The iPod Shuffle continues to be what Apple claims to be the world's most 'wearable' MP3 player with it's tiny size and 'clip' design, but the only new features announced this time around was that it now comes in new colours - a more vibrant blue, green, pink and red, on top of the grey model.

The iPod Shuffle is available at AV Electronics for $78 (1GB) and $108 (2GB).

Apple iPod Touch: Touch your music, and more

Apple introduced a new, refreshed line of iPods last week, much to the delight of portable music lovers all around the world. Besides a revamp of every single iPod model, Apple unveiled a new music and video player (and more) to their line, the beautiful, and thin, iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch features Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables you to navigate through all its features with just the touch of a finger. Sounds vaguely familiar? The iPod Touch can basically do everything the iPhone does, except the ability to make calls.

It plays music and video, and lets you store and view your photos just like most of the other iPods, but like the iPhone, Apple has incorporated Wi-Fi onto the device, letting you surf websites on its gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display. The iPod Touch also lets you watch YouTube videos and even organise your calendar scheduling and contacts.

The iPod Touch is only 8mm thick, 3.6mm thinner than the iPhone, but has more or less the same looks as the iPhone, sporting the single button the phone is now famous for.

With the introduction of this gadget, the rest of the world will finally get to enjoy most of the features of an iPhone, without having to wait for the phone to be released in their countries. Please visit the Apple Website for details of the iPod touch, and the whole new iPod range.

The iPod Touch. A Guided Tour

The iPod Touch will be released worldwide on September 28th, and comes in 8GB and 16GB models, and will be available in Brunei at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its price, please click here.

iRiver B20: Video, music, and so much more

In a world where Apple's iPod dominates and reigns supreme in the portable music/video player market, it's quite easy not to notice the other players available, even if they're jam packed with more functions and features.

One player which is more than worth mentioning is the iRiver B20, which does more than just play music and videos.

Slightly smaller than the iPod, the B20 sports a 2.4 inch QVGA TFT LCD screen that can display up to 260,000 colours, which makes it such a joy to look at. Navigation is super easy with its Advanced D*click System, which lets you go through the menu and functions simply by pressing the left, right, top and bottom of the device.

Besides playing music and videos, the B20 has features even the iPod would die for, a Digital TV and FM Radio Tuner (complete with a small antenna). That's right, you can even watch TV on this cool device, and not to mention RTB's digital radio channels.

The B20 comes with stereo headphones and built-in speakers, another feature the iPod lacks. Transferring songs is also a breeze with its USB 2.0 connectivity and built-in Mini-SD slot.

The iRiver B20 might not have all the media attention and publicity as the iPod, but all in all, it's one great feature-packed player, and without doubt definitely worth buying.

The iRiver B20 available online at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

iPhone matches most of its hype

Finally, the first public impressions and reviews of the iPhone have been made and surprise surprise, it really does match most of its hype.

After 6 months of non-stop, and always growing hype and anticipation, and for some people, days of queuing up, the iPhone finally went into the hands of the public late Friday evening in the United States.

Despite a few activation issues (AT&T system glitch) and minor flaws, the iPhone met its high expectations, with some even going as far as saying that it's the best smart phone ever created.

After a few days of testing and playing with the phone, most iPhone owners claimed that all phone functions worked as well, and as smoothly as the iPhone ads make it seem.

The new optical quality touch-screen glass clearly proved that it is very much as scratch resistant as Apple claims it to be, even when being deliberately scratched with a key. The iPhone also passed a few 'drop' tests, as PC World magazine reports..

Apple iPhone Stress Test - PC World


Virtual keypad typing wasn't as hard to master as claimed, even with large fingers, as Gizmodo.com demonstrated here.

The debate whether or not it was silly of Apple to partner with AT&T, given their so called 'slow' EDGE network, was temporarily laid to rest as iPhone users experienced surprisingly fast downloads, averaging around 150kbps, rather than earlier reports of only less than a third of the speed.

There were, however, a couple of notable flaws. The iPhone doesn't support Multimedia Messaging (MMS) or 3G, and even has no video camera. The unremovable battery makes it hard to swap batteries when you're running out of battery life, and you can't use your own ringtones yet either.

These were just probably tiny flaws when compared to the amount of great functions the phone has to offer. One thing is clear though, the iPhone is still the most wanted gadget of 2007 by a mile.

As every Bruneian gadget lover would painfully already know by now, the iPhone will not be arriving on our shores until 2008, but it's almost certain that we'll be getting much better, updated iPhone versions by then.

New York's iPhone launch - CNET TV

iDay is finally here

As the world awaits the Apple iPhone world premiere in the United States, the world of technology and gadget enthusiasts is in a standstill, for at least until 6pm local US time today anyway. Today has been proclaimed iDay by iPhone enthusiasts.

Not many companies have announced a phone and manage to sustain the public's interest 6 months later, and perhaps even build more excitement and hype as the release day comes closer. It's quite amazing. The fact that more than two thirds of the 300 million US population are aware of the device is just staggering.

As we await the US public's reviews of the iPhone, and see whether it sells out, or flops, we'll leave you with a couple of early iPhone review videos and interesting news reports on 2007's most anticipated gadget. If only the Bruneian release was not so long from now..

Standing in line for the iPhone - REUTERS


A sneak peak at Apple's iPhone - CBS News


iPhone review by David Pogue of the NY Times


iPhone review by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal

The much anticipated Apple iPhone: Let's hope it's worth the wait

Perhaps one of the most anticipated phones ever, the long awaited Apple iPhone will finally be released on June 29th in the United States, much to the envy of us Bruneian fans, and perhaps everyone else outside the States.

The innovative fusion of a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod and a breakthrough Internet device has managed to woo mobile phone lovers and tech enthusiasts all around the world.

But what makes it so special? The music player, camera, Internet and email browser, and mobile phone are quite common in some of the modern, newly-released phones, so what makes this phone different from the rest?

Apple's ability to combine all these elements with many cool technological innovations and the company's distinctive beautiful design sense is what made the world buzz with excitement and enthusiasm.

Perhaps the most obvious feature of the phone is that there isn't a physical keyboard. The user interface relies heavily on a high-resolution touch screen which uses finger taps and gestures to navigate through the wide range of available services and applications.

The iPhone also boasts sensors that track light and movement and proximity, to prompt the phone to control screen brightness and other aspects of its operation. For example, when the phone is placed next to the user’s face, the touch screen is automatically turned off to avoid unnecessary taps.

The iPhone’s accelerometer detects when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape, and automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio.

An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time.

With the modern world's ever-increasing need to connect to the Internet from anywhere and at any time, the iPhone boasts a rich HTML email client and Safari, which Apple claims to be the world's most advanced web browser ever on a mobile phone. The fully multitasking phone lets you read a web page while downloading your email in the background, over a Wi-Fi or EDGE connection.

Since it was first introduced in January, the iPhone has seen quite a significant amount of improvements. Perhaps the most important update announced so far is that the iPhone will feature up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback. In addition, it will feature up to 250 hours (more than 10 days) of standby time. The 3.5-inch display has also been upgraded from plastic to optical-quality glass for superior clarity and scratch resistance.

As of today, Apple has just announced that users will be able to enjoy YouTube's originally-created content on their iPhones once its released. A new Apple-designed application will wirelessly stream YouTube content to the iPhone and play it on the 3.5 inch display.

As the world awaits the release of this exciting new product, we will just have to wait and see how much of a hit it really will be, especially in the Bruneian market. One thing's for sure, no matter how bad or good the previews are, people will still be camping and queueing up for it when it hits the US stores come June 29th.

The iPhone will be released in Asia in 2008, and there's no word on when it will hit our Bruneian shores. In the meantime, all we can do is enjoy, and drool over the ads..