Oh! Gizmo

By David Ponce

On paper, I suppose it makes sense:

1. StealGet inspired by the iPod nano’s look.
2. Shove a 2MP camera on the back.
3. Profit!

That’s the kind of ballsy capitalist innovation we like to see, and we’re certain that BTL International is going to ride its creative streak to fame and fortune in no time. Heck, their M2406 even has a couple specs that we wouldn’t mind seeing in the original:

It can play AVI videos, and MP3, WMA, WMV and WAV audio files. It has a 2.4-inch TFT screen (220×176 pixels, 262,000 colors), a built-in speaker and six EQ settings. Internal memory ranges from 128MB to 4GB, all flash, and can be supplemented with miniSD cards.

Of course, by now you’ve probably realized this company is based in China (official Home Of The Knockoff), and that we’re not entirely sure how to get shipment on this, nor how much we’d expect to pay for one. Still, the device is out there somewhere.

[ Link To Similar Model, Without Camera ] VIA [ Coolest-Gadgets ]

By David Ponce

File this under the rumor section, but there’s a very good chance Apple will announce their smallest notebook ever at MacWorld, in January 2008. The rumors are so strong, a price tag is even being tossed around: $1,500.

CNBC show host Jim Goldman has said in a financial TV report broadcast today and observed by AppleInsider. The presenter refers to alleged sources close to Apple’s manufacturing plants in southeast Asia who have seen the 12-inch notebook and appear to confirm earlier details of the computer, which include a design half as thin as today’s systems and the use of slimmer, more efficient flash memory for storage.

No shipping date is suggested, though production has already begun, which could mean availability as soon as it’s announced. Our own Evan is likely to attend MacWorld, so tune in during that week to get first hand reporting on this.

VIA [ Electronista ]

By Evan Ackerman

So, I have a bunch of digital music. Never you mind where most of it came from, but I’ll tell you were it definitely did NOT come from: an online music store. I don’t like the idea of software/music companies restricting where I’m allowed to play music that I’ve paid for, especially since I can always just go out and (legally) buy and rip a CD. Not that I would go out and buy a CD, but still. Turns out that Steve Jobs (you know, the guy behind the iPod and iTunes) agrees with me, and according to his statistics, most of you do too.

In a letter posted today on the Apple website, Jobs talks about why DRM is such a pain in the ass for everybody, including Apple. And since only about 3% of the music on a given iPod is protected by DRM (or in other words, is from the iTunes store), DRM is not really protecting the commercial interests of Apple or the major music companies. The fact is, as Jobs states, “DRMs haven?t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music.”

So what’s the solution? Here’s Jobs’ take:

Abolish DRMs entirely. Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store.

Wow. Almost makes me want to go out and buy a Mac. Almost.

[ Your cynical editor would like to point out that it just seems so easy for Steve to wash his hands of it all, placing the blame squarely on the Big 4. As if Apple’s wishes can so easily be twisted around. Anyone remember when the Big 4 wanted to increase the price of songs on iTunes? Didn’t happen. Cisco wanted to twist Apple’s arm on the iPhone name… Didn’t happen. -Ed. ]

[Thoughts on Music] VIA [Apple]

By David Ponce

So, you know Apple is being sued by Cisco for using the iPhone name, right? Technically, Cisco’s got a case. They do own the name… in theory. But, then again, maybe not. And the full-page ad you see above is their latest move in this ongoing saga. Here’s the deal: Cisco’s owned the name since 2000, when they bought Netgear Infogear. But they haven’t used it in a product up until December 2006 (that’s, like, a few weeks ago, by the way), UPDATE: when they started shipping a VoIP device through Linksys, a company they apparently bought in 2003. Well, it turns out you can’t just sit on a name; you have to actively use it in the marketplace or risk losing it, and Cisco had simply not been using the name. That’s why there’s a decent chance Apple could win the lawsuit and be able to keep using iPhone, essentially giving Cisco the finger.

Cisco obviously knows this, and they’re taking steps. As you can see in the above image, they took an expensive full-page ad in the NYT, touting their version of the iPhone, as if it was their most cherished product. It’s a direct challenge to Apple, with the words “More than talk!” in bold; likely a reference to Steve Jobs saying the Apple’s iPhone was built around voice. So, why would they do this? Either to consolidate their claim on the name, or to confuse the marketplace in the hope of diluting Apple’s future benefit from the use of the name.

If this is the beginning of a larger ad campaign from Cisco, you could end up with a situation where you have enough consumers confused about the iPhone (”Which one’s which, again?”), and where both products could suffer, though Apple stands to lose more from this than Cisco does. In a way, Cisco would be saying “If we can’t hold on to that name, we’re gonna do our damndest so the name becomes useless to you.” Is it too little too late? Time will tell, but once thing is sure: this ad is a clear message to Apple that Cisco has no intention of bending forward and grabbing ankles.

VIA [ Gearlog ]

By David Ponce

The real top tech news today is about Brightcove and how they managed to raise $59.5M in funding. They are (yawn…) yet another internet TV company, only proving what we already know: internet TV is hot. Yes, we get it.

So, instead today, we’ll just tell you about Apple, and how they’ve just announced a cool billion (with a “b”) in profits for the last quarter. That’s $1B in profits, from $7.1B in revenue; $7.1B worth of iPods, Macs and whatever other Apple branded goodness the Cupertino Oven bakes. This represents a 24% growth in revenue and 78% growth in earnings. Considering most PC companies are happy to post single digit growth, this last financial showing from Apple proves that it is indeed leaving its simple computer manufacturer ethos behind and becoming a full blown consumer electronics manufacturer. If you thought dropping the “Computers” from “Apple Computers” was done on a whim, you better think again.

Oh, and how much of this comes from the mighty iPod and music sales? 58%

[ Apple Press Release ]