iPod Tracker : iPod News

Check out these headphones! The Macally mTUNE-N headphones have a built-in iPod nano dock integrated into one of the earphones. This means that you can connect your nano into a neat, cable-free cradle and control it from the side of your head. Changing tracks is as easy as ever, just scroll up or down and select a tune. However, you cannot change menus so if you want to listen to a different album, artist or playlist then you’ll have to take the headphones off and change menu.

There’s no denying that these are a statement - they’re big and bold. Put it this way, you’ll be seen wearing these. But considering that your precious iPod is attached rather visibly to the side of your head, would you really want to make it that easy for a thief to knab it? Moving on, it’s available now priced at $49 / £40.

Rumors are circulating that Apple and Starbucks may be teaming up to allow customers to download songs onto their iPods at Starbucks coffee shops.

Starbucks already sell a range of funky-jazzy-coffee-music CDs that get airtime in the shop, but they currently don’t offer music downloads. But all that may change with a deal where customers can fill-up with coffee and music.

“A lot of our customers are asking for device fill-up, and going forward we’ll do that,” said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, at the Midem music industry conference in Cannes.

Right now there is no definite link between Apple and Starbucks, but both companies have such popular products and complimenting demographics that any affiliation would certainly benefit both - and all those Starbuckers out there!

Now this is a pretty cool iTunes accessory! The ITJ is an electronically enhanced cartridge-based interface that can control what tunes play depending on the jewel case you insert.

The makers have designed the ITJ for parties so that your friends can select the tunes they want to listen to, without having to use your computer. When playing, the jewel lights up blue but when the track is nearing the end it starts to glow orange. Right now the jukebox can only handle about a dozen cases, but because each case can start a playlist you have a fairly broad scope of choice.

It’s pretty cool. Check it out.

We’ve had car docks and a plethora of home docks, but has there ever been a dock for a Vespa scooter yet? Well there is now!

If you’ve got a scooter and would like to start modding it, then try out the Scooterworks Stereo Kit. Priced at $299, the kit comes with a pair of 4″ Alpine speakers, a cradle with iPod connector, an amplifier and a replacement glove box complete with pre-cut holes. Currently the Stereo Kit is compatible only with the Vespa P-Series and Vespa Stella.

Reports on the web are surfacing that iTunes 6.0.2 now has video sharing capability. It hasn’t been advertised by Apple, but you can now add your videos to a playlist and share them over your local network just like you can with music. It currently only works seamlessly between users running iTunes 6.0.2. One more reason to update I guess.

Setting up iTunes to get video sharing:

• Download iTunes 6.0.2.
• Open ‘Preferences’.
• Click on the ‘Sharing’ tab.
• Check ‘Look for shared music’.
• Also check ‘Share my music’.
• If you only want to share your videos, click ‘Share selected playlists’ and check ‘Videos’.

And here’s what it looks like.

The Kensington Stereo Dock for iPod is a new accessory that allows users to control their iPod wirelessly. You just need to connect your iPod to the Stereo Dock via an included 7ft cable. You can then use the included remote control to pause / play / rewind / fast forward and adjust volume. The built-in speaker sounds good with decent bass and treble.

Looking for something else to play on your iPod? Check out the free iPod game from Coolgorilla is a musical quiz that asks you a number of questions. Featuring sounds from u2, Gorillaz, The Beatles and more, the free game plays back a sound clip and you guess what the track is.

It’s fun, it’s free, so why not!

With the release of the latest iPod with video playback capability people have been scouring the web for video. While there are some decent podcasts out there (Diggnation for example), a lot of them are really quite poor. Even worse, it can be tricky to find new video content for your iPod.

Searchforvideo.com aims to fix this by making it easy to search for and find new video content for your iPod. The site has channels of content for iPod, but there are also lots of other videos in iPod-compatible format for you to download.

Head over there and try it out.

Continuing the ever-growing number of iPod accessories designed for the car is the new 2point5 spec.dock.

The spec.dock is a new accessory that converts your existing ashtray into an iPod dock, and is currently only available as an aftermarket hack. The only thing is that if you smoke, where are you going to put your ash?

It currently is compatible with the following cars:

• MKIV Volkswagen v.2
  Includes 1999.5-2005 Golf, Jetta, GTI, GLI, 20th AE, 337, R32
• BMW 3-Series e-46 v.1
  Includes all 1999-2004 models
• BMW 7-Series e65 v.1
  Includes all 2003-current models
• BMW X5 v.1
  Includes all models
• Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300C v.2
  Includes all models
• Universal Cup Holder v.2

New audio chips released by Wolfson Microelectronics will boost the battery life of pretty much every iPod sold. The new audio chip, called the WM8985, is reported to give up to 70% more battery life according to Wolfson. If these figures prove true, then you can expect a big jump in the length of time that you can spend listening to music.

However, with the recent iPod nano and video bringing brighter screens and extra photo / video capabilities, these improvements might go unnoticed. However, Apple are historically keen to boost battery life across all iPod models, so it is quite possible that they will use the new chip in upcoming revisions.