Rumours surrounding the possible inclusion of a front facing camera and the FaceTime app in the latest iPod Touch revamp are hitting fever-pitch, as leaked pics of what is believed to be the new iPod Touch bezel and LCD have been revealed.

The bezel, if it turns out to be an actual Apple-approved component, clearly has a space cut out for a camera lens, and is marked "Apple © 2010" with the date "April 29, 2010" also printed.

So, if the rumours prove true, how would FaceTime work without a mobile network connection? As it stands, FaceTime on the iPhone 4 connects initially over 3G so the caller's ID and number can be displayed before switching over to Wi-Fi for the data intensive video streaming. An iPod Touch using the same app would likely have to link into an iTunes account to identify each caller.

But do we even want FaceTime on our iPods? Surely those shelling out for a new MP3 player, in this age of multi-functional mobiles and iPhones are after just that: a dedicated music player, perhaps with the odd app, and not much else?

Fancy getting FaceTime on your iPod? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Via: Mac Rumours

iPod docks don't come much more fully featured than this latest offering from Onkyo. A dock, radio and CD player, the CBX-600UKD seems to tick all the boxes.

With an easy-on-the-eye design that tucks all its moving parts out of sight, the CBX-600UKD makes use of a slot-loading optical drive on its top side for CD playback, whilst the retractable iPod docking station itself pops out from the lower edge on the front at the push of a button.

The DAB function features memory for 30 station presets, as well as a regular FM tuner.

In terms of build, the CBX-600UKD sets its sights at the top end of the market. Packing two 10W power amps, a solid aluminium top, and a non-rattle speaker construction with 11 step bass and treble controls plus 3 step superbass, you're getting a system that packs a punch.

Available in either black or white, the Onkyo CBX-600UKD will be in shops from October at a price of £349.99.

Griffin's just-revealed Travel Speaker iPhone/iPod dock may not look all that exciting, but it's got one key feature that should set it apart from the pack.

The Travel Speaker can be powered solely from your Apple product's own battery. There's no need for wires, batteries or chargers; just simply plug your iPod or iPhone into the speaker and you'll be blasting out tunes straight away.

Sure, powering an external speaker purely from your iPod or iPhone is going to be one hell of a drain on its battery, but it's a simple, lightweight alternative to carrying around a pocketful of batteries, making it truly portable.

A USB cable is also included, allowing you to charge or sync your iPhone or iPod whilst it sits in the dock.

You can pick the the Travel Speaker up now from Tesco, priced £29.99.

Name: iGroove SXT (Klipsch)
Type: iPod speaker dock
Specs: (Click here for full specs)
Price: £129.95 from Klipsch

Though they may be best known for their excellent home cinema speaker set-ups, Klipsch also dip their toes now and then into more compact areas of the home audio market, including iPod docks, computer speakers and earphones. Their latest iPod dock, the iGroove SXT reaches us with expectations set high then, but sadly never quite manages to meet them.

The iGroove SXT is a compact bit of kit at around the 30cm mark, and weighing just 3.2lbs it's fairly portable too, easily slotting into most shelves and light enough to be carried without much effort throughout the house. It's a pity then that the iGroove SXT will nearly solely be restricted to indoor use, as it will only work when running off of a mains power supply. While the design is pretty bog standard for a speaker dock, with your iPod or iPhone sitting inset front and centre of the speakers, Klipsch show off a bit of flair with flashes of silver trim here and there.

It does manage some pretty decent audio quality however. Any all-in-one speakers of this size will struggle to match a more comprehensive stereo unit, but the iGroove SXT dock performs fairly well. While bass levels are a little lacking, there is a good balance across the mix between lows and trebles overall. Vocals come out particularly crisply, but can sound a little harsh due to the weak bass elsewhere. You will be able to crank it up quite loud though before the sound becomes distorted thanks to the dock's bi-amplification, which gives each driver its own dedicated amplifier.

In terms of features and connections, the iGroove SXT ticks all the right boxes, but doesn't push the boat out. The dock acts a charging unit for your iPhone (filling it with juice in just under two hours) and you'll get a handful of adaptors so that most Apple devices will fit the dock snugly, as well as a 3.5mm aux port for connecting other audio sources. There's also an S-Video output for sending videos from the docked device to a separate display, and while it's a generous addition, we'd wager few people will actually make use of it. The lack of a radio tuner in a device that's priced around £130 seems a little bit of an oversight too.

Finally, Klipsch have also included a small remote control for the unit. Like the iGroove SXT speaker dock itself, it's well built and looks sturdy enough to withstand a week lost down the side of the sofa. Controls are simple, and probably all the better for it, with easily defined power, volume, mute and track skip buttons.

While not quite the audiophile's dream we'd have liked Klipsch to deliver, the iGroove SXT iPod dock will still brighten up a party with it's loud volume and respectable sound quality. A portable battery option would make this easier to recommend, but as it stands, you could do a lot worse for your money.

3/5

Click here to buy the iGroove SXT iPod dock for £129.95 direct from Klipsch

Fancy yourself as the next Page, Hendrix or Van Halen? Well budding axe-gods will soon be able to turn it up to 11 wherever they go, as Griffin launch the GuitarConnect cable that works alongside the iShred app to turn your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad into an amp emulator.

The 1/4" cable connects to both your guitar's input and your Apple device, allowing you to use the phone as a speaker. A 6-foot version of the GuitarConnect cable also features a headphone port if you want to keep your shredding private. Pair it with the free iShred Live app (available here) and you've got a fully functional amp simulator, complete with a handful of effect pedals, and more premium pedals available through the iShred store. The app also features a tuner, metronome and loop player, allowing you to play along with specific sections of songs that are stored on your device.

"Getting hardware and software to work together is a unique challenge," said Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology. "This type of application requires more than a basic instrument cable, and we were excited to develop a cable to integrate with iShred LIVE."

"iShred LIVE's realistic interface makes it the most useful mobile guitar application available," said Charlie Hitchcock, Chief Developer at the Frontier Design Group who worked on the app. "Whether you're writing a song, practising for a gig, or travelling the world, GuitarConnect and iShred LIVE are the essential tools every guitarist and iPhone owner needs."

The cable will be available in Apple stores by the end of the summer priced £19.99, while the iShred app is already available here.

The 4.1 update of the iPhone's iOS4 software has reached developers in a beta release. Those signed up to the iPhone Developers Program will be able to apply the update to the iPhone 4, 3G, 3GS and 2nd generation iPod Touch models.

Many have hoped that the update will fix the signalling problems that have affected many iPhone 4 handsets. So far reports from those who have applied the update suggest that Apple, as promised, have indeed changed the algorithm for calculating signal strength, with fewer but larger bars illustrating the quality of your phone's reception.

Elsewhere, the update adds more robust AVRCP Bluetooth controls for music playback, letting you skip tracks and play and pause with a connected device, as well as adding the option to shut off FaceTime and multiplayer games in the Game Center.

Apple have also today announced that they will be holding a press conference at 10 am PST, or 6pm UK time this Friday, presumably to address the issues which have dogged the iPhone 4 since launch. Check back then for all the details on what was said.

iPod and iPhone speaker docks may be two-a-penny these days, but we've got to admit that this, the iPod Equalizer soundbar, does tickle our fancy a little.

Featuring a high-resolution VFD display on its front side, the dock displays a large graphic equaliser that bobs up and down in time to your music, just like the sort you'd find on a retro hi-fi. Topped off with an aluminium finish over sleek black casing, it'd make quite a nice centrepiece in a darkened party room.

Compatible with both iPod and iPhones, you can control your tunes using an included IR remote. The dock also charges the Apple products, but a line-in socket will let you play back tunes from other audio sources if you so wish.

The 2x 12 watt speakers should pack a fairly meaty punch, and IWOOT promise that the audio quality should boast "wonderful bass, clear definition and a mini-monster of volume".

Available now from IWOOT, click here to grab one for £99.99.

New iPhone? You can bet your bottom dollar that that means a new version of iTunes to go along with all the new features that theiOS 4 software introduces. Similarly to Apple's new operating system, so far only developers have been able to get their hands on iTunes 9.2. But when has that ever stopped details of a few features making their way online, eh?

So by the looks of things, iTunes 9.2 so far does not include cloud-based streaming. Obviously it'll now include functionality to sync up with an iPhone 4, meaning you'll be able to use it to drag music and movies onto your flashy new smartphone.

iTunes 9.2 brings with it the ability to sync and read books with iPhone or iPod touch with iPhone iOS 4 and iBooks 1.1. You'll be able to organise your PDF files within iTunes before popping them onto an iPad, iPhone or iPod running iOS 4.

You'll also be able to organise your iPhone apps into folders through iTunes, just incase you cant get to grips with it on the handset itself.

Overall performance should be improved too, with faster back-ups and syncing between iTunes 9.2 and any device running iOS 4.

Via: Gizmodo

This is a guest post by D. Salmons over at TestFreaks, which reviews everything from MP3 players to digital cameras.

Hot on the heels of the iPad release, Apple has announced a new operating system update is in the works for all things iPhone this summer, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The update claims to be for all recent devices. However some devices will not get all of the features that the new OS is bringing.

So, will your Apple device support the new iPhone operating system version 4.0? And if so, what features will it get, or more importantly not get? We take a look at what the update brings to each device, hopefully explaining what you should expect when it becomes available.

iPhone 3GS

The current flagship of the Apple mobile world, the iPhone 3GS will definitely be getting the update in all its glory. You can expect to have multitasking support, app folders that will let you store up to 2160 apps (as compared to a limit of 180 apps today), better email, iBooks on the device, and more. In total there are over 100 new features to enjoy, but these are probably the biggest items for most people.

iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G will get the update, but a few features will be missing. One of the most noticeable missing features will be multitasking support. This is due to the lower memory and slower processor on these models. There may be other features that this model will not get either, but so far it appears that Apple is still ironing out the kinks on what exactly will be supported on this model.

iPod Touch Third Generation

The iPod Touch 3rd generation devices that are 32G or 64G will get the same kind of compatibility as the iPhone 3GS - they will get everything, including multi-tasking and more. But please note that this does not apply to the 16G model - it is actually a second generation device in disguise, and iPhone OS 4.0 compatibility will be the same as a 2nd generation device (see below).

iPod Touch Second Generation

The second generation iPod Touch (and the third generation 16Gb model) will get the update, but it will not be able to run all of the features. At this point multi-tasking is out of the picture, and other features may be lacking as well. Apple has not yet committed to exactly what items will be unsupported. Another key point for these devices that Apple has not validated is whether or not the update will be free. Given the history of the 3.0 update it might be wise to expect a charge, but Apple has not officially commented.

iPhone/iPod Touch First Generation

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but at this time it appears that these devices will not be supported by iPhone OS 4.0. To note, Apple can change the game before the release, but everything indicates this to be the case. Even the wording on the Apple website indicates this:

"iPhone OS 4 will work with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the second- and third-generation iPod touch this summer, and with iPad in the fall."

The only good news for the first generation device owners is that new devices are expected around June. While owners of 2nd and third generation devices will have to lament if the new features warrant a new device instead of just the OS upgrade, at least you will have a much more compelling reason for the new device!

iPad

The latest cool tech toy in the Apple lineup, the iPad will definitely be getting the iPhone OS 4.0 update, but at a later date. Right now the delivery timeframe is late autumn, so the iPhones/iPods will get it first. But the extra time will no doubt work in the favour of the iPad owner, with new features and testing.

At this point those extra features are not known for certain, but the rumour mill has suggested direct printing for the iWork apps and cover flow support for your tunes. While those are rumours, it is certain that the Apple engineers are hard at work on the iPad OS 4 autumn update right now.

While we have tried to be as accurate as possible, please remember that Apple can and has changed its mind on the eve of a release. With that stated, it seems that, outside of the first generation device owners, everyone will find something handy about iPhone OS 4.0. My favorite will be the unified email box and the use of iBooks on the iPhone, but you may find other features to your liking.

Since it launched nearly a decade ago, Apple's iTunes has become almost synonymous with digital music. A beautiful and intuitive user-interface coupled with the most thorough library of legal MP3 downloads available, it was the perfect accompaniment to the iPod and, later, the iPhone.

So, what must Apple do to keep iTunes king of the digital music libraries? Here are Tech Digest's 5 things iTunes must do to stay ahead of Spotify.

1.) Free, cloud-based music

While iTunes for me remains the best option for locally-stored music, there's no denying the tech world is moving ever further into the cloud. High-quality MP3s literally take up over half of my relatively large hard-drive, and yet I'm increasingly turning to streaming services to listen to music. Why? Because of convenience. It's instant, easily shareable and, thanks to apps like Spotify, mobile. I don't have to be anywhere near my computer to listen to the songs I want to, so long as I have internet access. And with 3G and broadband services ever-improving, that's not a problem.

What Apple need to understand is that music is less about ownership these days, and more about access. They've got to offer a cloud-based streaming service with the next update.

And what's more, I want this streaming service to be free, ad-funded or otherwise. Of course, I don't mind paying a higher premium for ownership of a special edition of something I really love, but with so many other services offering free streaming options (Last.fm, Spotify, We7), iTunes here seems sorely behind the times. It may be on the cards for the next major update, due in September, but it's a feature that can't come soon enough.

2.) More attractive payment options

Don't get me wrong here, iTunes download prices are very reasonable. Any cheaper than the average £0.99p track price and the artists would go hungry. However, there is room for more options and more flexibility from Apple here.

Just take Spotify's Premium subscription service for example. For £9.99 a month you get unlimited, uninterrupted streaming access to their catalogue of songs on your desktop or on-the-go, with playlists that can be downloaded for offline playback. Even better is Nokia's Comes With Music service, bundled in with their high-end music phones; it offers unlimited music downloads for a whole year, which, apart from some annoying DRM constraints, means you could literally download thousands and thousands of songs legally without breaking the bank. Imagine if the iPhone 4G shipped with a similar unlimited downloads scheme through iTunes?

3.) Full social network integration

You may or may not know this, but iTunes, much like in the recent Spotify update, can be integrated into Facebook and Myspace to give your friends a taste of what you've been recently listening to. Unlike Spotify's recent update however, it's a relatively convoluted process that requires the user to play about with either AppleScript for Mac OS X or the Apple-provided SDK for iTunes on Windows.

Again, this is about convenience and ease-of-use. Straight from the iTunes browser, I want to be able to Tweet and Facebook share music that I think will really excite my friends, and reach out for recommendations from real people around the world for new music, rather than relying on Apple's suggestions. This is tied into the idea of free and streaming options however; I don't want to recommend songs to my friends only for them to hit a very silent paywall.

4.) Full lyrics and album booklets

Artwork and extras is somewhere all the streaming services currently falter. You may get a little album or single cover to accompany your song of choice, but not much else. And, given that the majority of these streaming services are running on low-cost, ad-funded models, what more do you really expect?

Apple have a great opportunity to capitalise upon here, especially if they want their premium download service to continue to thrive. With strong relationships with the major music publishers, they are in a unique position to be able to really push for unique content to accompany their downloads. I'm talking about full album artwork, lyrics for each song, band website integration, exclusive videos and interviews, the works. They already made tentative steps towards a more visually enraging experience with the "Cover Flow" view, but it needs to go a step or two further.

With the iPad flying off shelves, rich visual content to accompany the tunes on the tablet device makes perfect sense, and would stand a good chance of winning over old-school music fans who miss the sense of discovery and artistry that used to accompany buying an album. They're the same crowd who don't really care for the whole cloud-based thing that I previously mentioned, and if Apple choose to opt out of offering a streaming service, they really have to win over the old faithful who religiously stick to their hard copies.

5.) Intelligent updates

This one, really, is just a personal bug-bear of mine. Why, with every iTunes update, must I really grab QuickTime too? Fixes seem to be rolled out every time I boot the software up, and yet the program still has a tendency to lock-up, or lose track of files. I'd rather less frequent but more thorough updates, and a less flaky user-experience.

Conclusion

As it stands, iTunes as a music library has only one real trump card over Spotify; availability. Spotify remains only a European service, whereas iTunes and Apple have global reach. But what will happen if (or increasingly more likely, "when") Spotify launches in the US and the rest of the world? There could be a mass migration if Apple aren't careful, and the new Spotify update makes the service even more attractive.

Time is still on Apple's side however. Despite slow progress, Spotify are still yet to finalise a business plan that sufficiently pleases the major record labels enough in the US to make it a viable territory to launch in. But it surely must only be a matter of time. There are a few months until the next version of iTunes is expected to launch, and much will be expected of it if it is to compete in a rapidly evolving market.

Related Stories | 5 Things we greedily still want Spotify to add

Cycling around may be a refreshing (and healthier) change from driving into work each day, but you cant help but miss the rich tones of your in-car stereo when on your bike. If you're wary that your iPod headphone lead will get caught in your spokes, take a look at the Cy-Fi Wireless Sports Speaker.

Weighing just 4 ounces and measuring in at 12.2 x 10. 2.9 cm, the Cy-Fi sits on your handlebars attached by a robust clip. Compatible with all iPhone, iPod and iPod Touch models (excluding the Mini and Shuffle), it'll wirelessly blast out your tunes at CD-quality as you hurtle down the high-street.

Giving 6 hours of playback from 2 hours of USB charging, the Cy-Fi has a transmission range of 30 feet, and has front-mounted playback buttons meaning that you don't have to fumble with your MP3 player to navigate your tunes.

Available from IWOOT now, click here to grab it, priced £99.99

Intempo have today launched their latest iPod speaker dock, the Perform.

The dock's key feature is it's motorised compartment; slide your iPod in and watch it lower behind a sheet of glass, making the dock a square shape rather than having the iPod sitting on top.

Other features of the 30 watt speakers include an FM radio with digital tuner, a remote control, 5 preset equaliser options as well as alarm, snooze and sleep functions.

Bernadette Spofforth, Intempo's brand director, says: "At Intempo we pride ourselves on being innovative and developing easy-to-use products that bring your favourite music into your home. The Perform is an eye catching iPod dock that not only looks fabulous but sounds even better.  It's just one of the many revolutionary products we'll be launching this year, so watch this space." 

The Perform is compatible with all iPod models, but bear in mind it wont charge your iPod Shuffle when that model is docked.

Available now from Amazon, priced £129.99.

Some gaming royalty has just hit the App Store in the shape of both the Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II games.

iPhone owners can now take two of the most revered titles in role-playing history with them wherever they go, battling monsters and exploring dungeons in two RPGs which laid the foundations for an iconic franchise.

The two titles, which were originally released way back in the late 1980's on the NES have been given a fresh lick of paint to bring them graphically up to date, as well as new touchscreen controls compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch.

Both games are available now and cost £5.49, a fair sum for literally hours of top notch gaming on the go. To grab Final Fantasy click here, or to grab its standalone sequel Final Fantasy II click here.

Also, why not check out Tech Digest's recent interview with Final Fantasy XIII's director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Kitase, in which they reveal how they could be convinced to start work on the much-rumoured Final Fantasy VII next-gen remake?

The Apple iTunes store is now 10 billion downloads old! After a two week countdown, the milestone has been reached, which also awards one lucky customer a $10,000 Apple gift card.

"iTunes changed the way you buy music, making songs and albums available for download, day or night. Seven years later, we're about to celebrate our biggest milestone for music, yet -- 10 billion songs downloaded," said Apple on its website in the run up to the milestone.

Apple also revealed that the most popular band in iTunes history is the Black Eyed Peas, with two tracks in the top 20 all-time downloads chart. The most popular artist is Lady Gaga, with three tracks. Lady Gaga's position is particularly telling; only hitting the worldwide music scene in the last two or so years, it shows how rapidly the iTunes store has grown in recent times.

10,000,000,000 downloads is a massive figure, showing just how important a figure in the record industry Apple has become since iTunes first launched in 2003.

Looks like a major change is on the way for developers hoping to submit adult-orientated applications to the Apple App Store. John Atherton, the developer behind the Wobble iBoobs app, has just had his application removed from the store due to a rather severe and sudden change in policy.

Atherton received this message: "The App Store continues to evolve, and as such, we are constantly refining our guidelines. Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution. However, we have recently received numerous complaints from our customers about this type of content, and have changed our guidelines appropriately."

Think this is another isolated case of the random App Store refusal process? Think again. The message ends with this pointed message: "We have decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store, which includes your application."

It looks like Apple are now laying down the law on adult content, and already a number of sexy apps have been dropped from the store.

Is Apple's stance on sexual content spot on? Or are they being a little prudish and should be allowing adults to make up their own minds on what content they view? Let us know your thoughts.

Via: Tech Crunch

The Freeview digital TV service has now got its own iPhone app.

The app lets you check the programming guide to over 50 Freeview channels, including HD channels, letting you plan your night's viewing on the go. It's all customisable, so you can organise the guide so that you only have to scroll through channels that are relevant to your viewing tastes.

You'll also be able to search for shows through text entry or categories, with even a nice feature recommending programmes you may enjoy based on what you've searched for most. Come to think of it, a recommendation feature rolled out across all digital EPG's would be really useful, so hats off to Freeview there.

Tim Hunt, Marketing Communications Director at Freeview said: "As Freeview HD rolls-out across the UK, viewers can plan their HD viewing wherever they are with our new Freeview HD TV guide app. The launch of this smart app will allow users to cut a quicker path to their favourite channels and get the most out of planning their TV viewing."

The app is free and available by clicking here.

Though carrying an iPhone around is like having everything but the kitchen sink in your pocket thanks to all its maps and apps, its Achilles heel is its relatively low battery life. You'll get a little over a day's worth of juice out of a single charge at best, which isn't too great if you're going to be away from a power supply for very long.

Griffin's PowerBlock looks to relieve you of your charging woes. At first glance it may appear to be a regular USB AC wall charger. However, it features a detachable battery pack which can be used as a reserve power supply for your iPod or iPhone, while also charging other USB devices.

"The addition of a removable battery to the PowerBlock charger means you can take the power with you when you go," said Paul Griffin, founder and CEO of Griffin Technology, "It is a simple and reliable backup to ensure iPod and iPhone users never run out of power on the move."

The PowerBlock Reserve EU and UK model will be available at Apple stores from February priced £29.99.

This week's trip to Apple's app store finds the shop in a romantic mood.

Opening the doors to their Valentine's room reveals a wealth of loved-up e-cards and love poems, as well as apps to make sure you get your other half's pressie just right.

Among the other apps on offer this week, Tapulous bring us the music/driving hybrid Riddim Ribbon featuring tunes from the Black Eyed Peas, and Postman Pat makes his debut on the app store in a selection of wacky, kid friendly mini-games.

Click the image below to get started

While it may have been a tad more useful a month or so ago, the Met Office have today launched their official iPhone app.

It features five-day forecasts, national severe weather alerts, national and regional weather maps and a UK rainfall radar.

Mark Wakefield, founder and COO of app developers Gorillabox said: "Gorillabox has worked closely with the Met Office to develop an application utilising a range of iPhone features and incorporating the Met Office weather alerts that will provide users with the latest and most accurate weather information wherever they are"

Better late than never we suppose.

Pick up the app here.

MP3, you better watch yer back. MusicDNA is the new music file-format in town, and it's here to take your crown.

Or at least that's what developer Dagfinn Bach hopes. His new file type can contain complete artist packages that include videos, pictures, merchandising links and access to official band blog and Twitter feeds. And, of course, music too.

"We can deliver a file that is extremely searchable and can carry up to 32GB of extra information in the file itself," Bach explained. "And it will be dynamically updatable so that every time the user is connected, his file will be updated."

Tons of labels have already signed up to get involved with the new format, including Beggars Group, which owns Rough Trade (The Strokes, Mystery Jets), 4AD (The Big Pink, TV On The Radio), Matador Records (Sonic Youth) and XL Recordings (Vampire Weekend, MIA).

It'll be interesting to see how this one shapes up against the iTunes LP format, which likewise groups together videos, songs and artwork. But to be honest, I still prefer to own something I can hold.

Via: NME