touch

Apple looks to revive that special event magic

Other than football fans, there are probably few people in America happier to see the month of September than Apple executives.

Apple will look to put the last six weeks behind it with the expected launch of new iPods this week during one of its trademark media events in San Francisco on Tuesday. This summer, the company received a stark reminder that while its singular ability to produce a technology event still generates buzz, the products must match that hype.

The rumors regarding this particular launch event, Apple's fourth September iPod-related event in as many years, have been fairly … Read more

Sprint HTC Touch Diamond outed early

While the official announcement wasn't supposed to cross the wires till next week, The Wall Street Journal went early with its story (please don't get me started on this) and published a review of the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint.

Yes, that's right. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is officially part of the Sprint family; not that it was a complete surprise. The HTC Touch Diamond, as well as the HTC Touch Pro (no announcement on this model yet), were long rumored for a CDMA carrier months before Wednesday's early coming-out party. So now that the floodgates are open, here is what we know.

There are a number of differences between the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond and the unlocked version we reviewed in late June. First, it sports a purple/burgundy backplate to add more flash to an already sexy phone. The smartphone is also a smidge thicker and heavier at 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and 4.1 ounces, but keeps the same 2.8-inch, 262,000-color TFT touch screen.

Of course, one of the highlights of the HTC Touch Diamond is the TouchFLO 3D interface, which provides a toolbar along the bottom of the screen where you can move left to right with the swipe of your finger to launch applications. Sprint's version is optimized so that you can access things like live TV, weather, e-mail, photos, contacts, and more.

In addition to the toolbar, there are several programs, such as e-mail, the camera, and music, where you can go flip through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen with a cool animated 3D effect.

Moving on to the features, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition, but rather than being content with the standard Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, the smartphone also ships with Dataviz's Documents to Go Suite and the Opera Web browser. We're sure many will be pleased with inclusion of these applications, which are arguably more robust than the former. Wireless options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with A2DP support), EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS with support for Sprint Navigation. … Read more

iPod Touch and Nano blueprints revealed?

Sources at iLounge have unearthed two compelling design blueprints for Apple's next generation of iPods. While dimensions and blurry photos of the 4G iPod Nano redesign have been floating around for a few weeks, this is the first alleged iPod Touch redesign we've seen.

The supposed blueprints, often offered to third-party accessory manufacturers prior to an iPod release, don't reveal much in the way of shocking new details. If the specs are correct, we'll see tapered edges and rounded backs on both the 4G iPod Nano and 2G iPod Touch, as well as a badly needed … Read more

Mophie Juice Pack for iPod Touch packs a wallop

The battery built into the Apple iPod Touch can last up to 23 hours if you're just listening to music--but who uses a Touch just for music? Watching movies, playing games, streaming radio, and browsing the Web can quickly zap your iPod's battery. Anyone who's been stuck in the middle of nowhere with a useless, dead iPod has had to learn this lesson the hard way.

If you need enough power to make it over the long haul, the Mophie Juice Pack is an external rechargeable battery that doubles the battery life of the iPod Touch. Unfortunately, … Read more

The future is now: MultiTouch reveals touch-interactive LCDs

MultiTouch announced on Tuesday that the Philip K. Dick future seen in Minority Report is here. Actually, that's not true at all, but the style of computer interaction in that movie was the first thing I thought of when watching the demo of the MultiTouch Cell.

This is a large LCD touch-screen display which, according to MultiTouch, is the world's first modular multitouch LCD screen. The screen is available in 32-inch and 46-inch versions in 1080p, and an "HD ready" (1366x768) version at 32 inches. Two or more screens (according MultiTouch, the amount is only limited … Read more

Interactive albums coming to iTunes

There's been a lot of speculation lately about whether iTunes is a boon or burden to album sales.

Kid Rock has sold more than 1.7 million copies of his latest album, Rock and Roll Jesus, with no iTunes presence at all. And last week, Warner Bros. pulled Estelle's new album from iTunes in the U.S. in hopes of spurring physical sales. (The plan appears to have failed miserably.)

Apple is striking back before this scattered practice turns into a trend. According to Music Week, the company is working with alternative rock band Snow Patrol on an … Read more

Get a 16GB iPod Touch for $269.99 shipped

If you've been waiting to pull the trigger on the "iPhone without the phone," now might be the time. You can get a refurbished 16GB iPod Touch for $269.99 shipped from Buy.com. That's 30 bucks lower than I've seen it anywhere else.

I imagine most of you are familiar with the Touch by now, so I won't waste your time with specs and info--all of which you can find in CNET's review. I will say it's my single favorite gadget of all time, and that if I'm wearing pants, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 796: Is that an HTC Dream in your pocket?

In today's show, we're introduced to the concept of the "banana phone" (complete with drawings), China tells GoDaddy to Go Away, a Scottish bank sends a computer into the eBay abyss full of customer data, and Apple's latest iPhone firmware shuts down copy-and-paste. As expected, Molly blows her stack. Like, a couple times. It's crazy. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 796

Apple event for September 9 http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/08/25/rumor-apple-event-for-september-9th

Network notary system thwarts man-in-the-middle attacks http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080826-network-notary-system-thwarts-man-in-the-middle-attacks.html http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Firefox-Extension-Thwarts-MITM-Attacks-97239… Read more

Cowon teases three new touch-screen PVPs

Cowon is teasing three new portable video players for the upcoming 2008 IFA showcase in Berlin. Along with the Cowon P5 unveiled last month, the newly announced S9, O2, and L3 make up a formidable new product lineup of touch-screen beauties--none of which have been officially announced for the U.S.

The prettiest of the bunch, the Cowon S9, includes a 3.3-inch OLED touch screen (480x272 resolution), music and video playback, photos, Bluetooth, composite video output, FM radio, voice recorder, and a built-in accelerometer that will rotate the screen depending on how it's held.

The backbone of the … Read more