Technology Metro

Apple Launches its brand new Gadget; Apple iRack. From the line of the ‘i’ technology; iPod, iPhone, iMac, iBook comes the newest gadget launched by Apple, the iRack.

The New Apple iPod Nano - Nano Chromatic is here. The previous version of iPod Nano looked like a smaller version of iPod Video. It was great but this one looks even more beautiful. For people who enjoy watching video in their iPod and the previous iPod Nano, the screen size featured in the iPod Nano Chromatic is a bit bigger than the previous version of iPod Nano (third gen) and has a wide screen display. The iPod Nano Chromatic comes with a larger size storage capacity than its predecessors. iPod Nano Chromatic boasts an 8GB and 16GB versions with many many colors to choose from.

iPod Nano Chromatic comes with a new aluminum body. A brand new feature has been added to the new iPod Nano, it now has an accelerometer and detects when you are watching movies and videos in landscape mode just like in iPod Touch and iPhone. Another brand new features added to iPod Nano is called “Shake to Shuffle” and with this feature you can change to shuffle mode without pressing any buttons, just shake your iPod Nano as the feature name is called and it turns to shuffle mode. The last new feature you can see in iPod Nano Chromatic is called “Genius”. This feature will try to analyze your musical taste and propose songs accordingly. I haven’t tried it yet so, don’t know if its effective or not. See all the features of iPod Nano Chromatic here. The battery life has improved and now it supports 24 hours of audio playback and 4 hours of video playback.

You can get an Apple iPod Nano Chromatic 8GB version for $149 and an Apple iPod Nano Chromatic 16GB version for $199. iPod Nano Chromatic is available in nine colors. All other technical specifications are the same as the iPod Nano Third Gen except for the features I wrote above. You can buy an iPod Nano Chromatic right here on Apple’s online store for  the above price or Buy an Apple iPod Nano Chromatic 8 GB Black Version for $134.99. You can choose from all nine colors available plus an Apples Exlusive Product Red version which should satisfy everyone now, in terms or color.

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The iPhone, from apple computers, is the company’s first major venture into the mobile phone market and like all other apple products, this phone has also been able to make a place for itself in the market. To put it very simply, the iPhone is the talk of the town and everybody with a big enough pocket, is itching to get his/her hands on one of this beauties. The craze is fully justified as the Apple’s iPhone packs in a whole lot of powerful features along with its sleek design. The interface and design of the phone makes it extremely user-friendly and fun to use as well.The iPhone packs in a host of features and is a very useful, productive as well as fun tool. Although user friendly, the iPhone needs to be set up and configured properly before the user can fully utilize its host of features. Setting up the iPhone is quick and easy, so let us quickly go through the steps for setting up an iPhone.

1. Install iTunes -
   Go to Apple’s website to download the correct version of iTunes for your computer. From this page, select your operating system and begin the download by clicking the download button. Once iTunes has downloaded, find the download file, double click it and follow the on-screen directions. This will install iTunes for you.
2. Create iTunes store account -
   To set up and use your iPhone you will need an iTunes account . To create the account open iTunes and go to the iTunes store and click on sign in. Click on create a new account and fill the form that pops up and then agree to the terms and conditions. Next, enter the information for the way you want to pay for purchases at the iTunes Store. This can be a credit card, debit card, or PayPal account. Be sure to enter the billing address for your card and the security code from the back then continue. This sets up your iTunes account.
3. Activate the iPhone -
   
   - Unpack the iPhone and set it in the included dock then connect the dock to the computer. This opens the installation screen. Select yourself as new customer on the screen and proceed. The next step is whether you want to use an existing number for the phone or do you want a new number? Since you are a new user ask for a new number and continue.
   
   - Next, iTunes will ask you what service plan you wish to use with your iPhone. Select one by clicking the button next to it at the top of the screen and click continue. Now, iTunes will ask you to sign into your Apple ID/iTunes Account. Enter your username and password for the iTunes store account and log in.
   
   - On the next screen confirm your personal and billing information and agree to the terms and conditions. Now a screen will pop up which will confirm the information entered by you if there are any changes to be made then click on ‘back ‘ otherwise click on the ‘submit’ button to activate the iPhone. This activates the iPhone and the next pop screen provides the new number for the phone. When this happens the iPhone’s screen will light up and a message will be displayed saying that the iPhone is now activated.
4. Syncing the iPhone -
   Your iPhone is now activated and ready for use. But now you should sync the iPhone with your computer to add your contacts, calendar, music, and videos. This will happen automatically or you can do it manually, although automatic is recommended.

So now we know how to set up the iPhone and activate it. After finishing this tutorial you have a full idea of activating the iPhone but there are plenty more features in the iPhone to see and enjoy. Have fun exploring the iPhone and its features.

PS: I will be writing an article on the New Apple’s iPhone 3G soon.

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You can get Free Information Technology Magazine Subscriptions and Free White Papers here if you are interested in it. Not related to iPhone.

Another great Logitech product on offer at Buy.com. This time it is a Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System. This is a great Surround Sound system for anyone on a tight budget. It is still expensive but is a lot cheaper than other surround sound systems. Now, it is even more cheap as Buy.com are giving a discount price on it. Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System costs $100 at buy.com after a $60 Mail-in-Rebate (Printable PDF format rebate form).

Enough of the deal talk, lets see what the Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System is made of. Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System claims to reproduce dialogue, symphonic film soundtracks, explosive gaming audio and subtle ambient sound accurately. Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System is good surround sound system for people who watch movies in their PC as it has a SRS TruSurround HD which immerses you into the movie. It is very easy to install the Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System as it uses a USB port to plug in. The USB plug n play system allows true 24-bit digital quality audio (Pure Digital Fidelity). This surround sound system also includes a head phone jack to listen to musics and movies privately. It also has a input port where you can plug in mp3 players and listen to them. There is also a media center remote control that comes inside the box but this only works in Windows XP Media Center, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition and Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition.

Here are some tech specs for the Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System:

• Total power: 180 watts RMS
• Subwoofer: 110 watts RMS (into 4 ohms, @ 45Hz)
• Midwoofer: 26 watts RMS x 2 (into 4 ohms, @ 335Hz)
• Tweeter: 9 watts RMS x 2 (into 16 ohms, @ 17.4khz)

Don’t know when this deal expires so go get one before it does. Shipping is free. The lowest price I found anywhere else is at Buydig which is considerably higher than on buy.com. At Buydig, Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System costs $189.00 + $44.95 shipping charge. So you decide for yourself if its a good deal or not. Personally, I think its a damn good deal. Even without a $60 Mail-in-Rebate, Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System at Buy.com is a great deal.

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Youtube is one of the most used sites on the world wide web and is becoming even popular if that can happen. Youtube is free to use by any person and they can upload personal videos or any kind of videos and share it with the world. When I first started using YouTube, there were a lot of videos I wanted to save on the Computer for later viewing but it was quite hard to do so. I started using a FireFox plugin called Video Downloader. It was not the best way to download videos from YouTube. You can only download videos using Video Downloader in FLV format and to watch that video, you will need a FLV player. FLV files don’t play on Windows Media Player or any other player except a FLV player and if you want to save the video in your cell phone, iPod or any other handheld and computers, you need to download and install a FLV file converter. It is a quite a hassle doing all this.

Some months ago, I found a site that will let you download YouTube Videos in any format, well in six formats including flv (mpg format, .mov format for playing in quicktime and MACs, .mp4 format for iPod, PSP, iPhone, ,3gp format for cell phones, mp3 and ofcourse .flv). You can use ConvertTube not just download YouTube videos but convert and download any online videos from the web. Convert Tube is free to use but there is a restriction, you can only download a video every eight minutes only. To download videos without a time restraint, you will have to pay a subscription fee of $5 per month. Using Convert Tube is very easy, just paste the videos url (eg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCnhhz9MguA) in the URL field and choose the format you want to download the video in. It is easy as that, no need to install any flv players or install any kind of softwares, it is all done online.

This is the best online video downloader I found till today. I always use it, the only drawback to ConvertTube is, you have to wait eight minutes before you download another video if you are not a registered user ($5/month).

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I think this is a neat idea. This should be a device for all the people who can’t live without their electronic devices and travel a lot. This is great for the environment, even thought it reduces the impact in a very very small way. HYmini Micro Wind Powered Charger can be used in a day to day basis without using the electricity from the power grid. Charging the HYmini Handheld Micro Wind Power Generator’s battery is pretty simple, you just need some wind. HYmini is a hand held hybrid portable device charger which can be also charged by plugging it into your wall.

Why would you want to do that when you can charge your portable devices for free by using the HYmini charger. It is green and should be good gadget for environmentalist as well as others. You can use the HYmini charger to charge almost all 5volt portable device. Cell phone, MP3 player, iPod, PDA, digital camera or other 5V devices can be charged using the HYmini . There are various ways you could charge HYmini Micro Wind Charger, place it on your car window when you drive, place it on your bicycle, while jogging (strapping it on your arm) or well just place it outside your window if there is sufficient wind available.

The HYmini Handheld Micro Wind Power Generator generates power using:

• DV input jack 5V 1A max limitation through 110/220 wall plug
• Other sustainable sources like linkable HYmini Solar battery attachment with 0.7W Max capacity
• Laptop or Desktop USB 2.0 outlet
• Built-in supplemental wind generator with 1W Max capacity with zero loading
• 1200mA/h lithium ion polymer rechargeable battery
• Input current: Less than 1A or 1000mA and 5V max
• Maximum charging rate 40mph (65kmh)

There is no need for you to install additional software to use HYmini Micro Wind Power Generator for charging any portable devices. To know if your HYmini Charger is fully charge, just look at the color of the LED light and if it is green that means your HYmini charger is fully charged. This is quite an environmentally friendly solution for charging your cell phones, iPod, digital cameras, PDA and other 5Volt electronic devices. The HYmini Micro Wind Powered Charger costs $50. Not that expensive but not that cheap either. The Lithium ion battery will have to be replaced in time depending on the use as they have a limited lifespan.

When I first bought my iPod, I found it quite hard to load videos and even some audio on it. Lots of video formats and some audio formats is not supported by iTunes (the software used to load music, videos and pictures into iPod). Apple has to look into this system and find a new way to sync music and videos from PC to iPod. Well, I had some problems but with a little bit of search on google, I found some softwares that would convert videos, MP3’s to the proper iPod format. You can easily convert iPod Classic video with just some clicks. It is that easy. After you have converted the files to iPod suitable format, just add it to your iTunes library and the next time you plug-in your iPod, it will be loaded to it.

Even converting dvd to ipod classic is not that difficult, it may take some time to convert but other than that it is all easy. iPod is one of the best piece of technology made by Apple. Specially the click, which is magnificent to use is one of the technology that I like in 5th Generation iPod video and 2nd Generation iPod Nano. If you want to convert movies and musics to iPod compatible format you might want to take a look at the Avex DVD to iPod converter software. Someone at Apple needs to revamp the way iTunes behave, sometimes some songs magically vanish from my iPod without me even deleting it from my iTunes library. Well, iTunes can and will handle some file converting for you but it won’t be able to convert all the media files out there like DVD and some other formats so you will need to use a third party software to do so. There are some great softwares out there to convert DVD and other video format to iPod compatible format. Don’t forget to do some research as there are a huge collection of Video converting software for iPod’s.

Having an iPod is great but sometimes you want to share and listen to the music on your iPod with your friends and family. Well you can connect it to a usual speaker or any audio device that has a line-in socket and cable. Well, this is not a very portable option and iPod is made for portability. Speaker systems from Bose costs a fortune and it is better get speakers from other manufacturers. One thing that is good about the Bose speaker system is it’s great designs. Bose speaker systems for iPod is not that portable so you won’t be able to carry that around with you either.

Here is a great opportunity to get your own portable speaker system for your iPod. The price is really low and everyone should be able to afford it. You can buy the Kensington FX 300 Portable iPod Speaker System for $10 at Buy.com. The original price of the Kensington FX 300 Portable iPod Speaker System $30 but Buy.com has sliced the price down to $10. There is no shipping and handling cost so you don’t have to pay anything other than the $10 for this iPod Portable Speaker System.

Looking from the design point of view, the Kensington FX 300 Portable iPod Speaker System is not a great eye candy. It looks like a lunch box but the usability of this piece of iPod accessory is great. There is a compartment inside the box to hold your iPod so you don’t have to carry two pieces. Just place it in the iPod holder that is present inside the Kensington FX 300 Portable iPod Speaker System and plug-in the speaker cord and that’s it, you are ready to go. It also has an external volume control for easy access.

This is the perfect gadget if you have an older versions of iPod Nano. What better than playing all your songs on your iPod Nano for everyone to listen to. One bad point of any version of iPod is it being unable to play songs for more than one people. None of the iPods has a speaker so people can only use their earphones or headphones. You will need to buy an extra speaker that is compatible with your version of iPod and I can tell you, none of them come cheap.

For people who own an old version of iPod Nano, this is a golden opportunity. You can buy iHome iHM1B2 Speakers for iPod nano at CircuitCity. The iHome Portable Speakers works with first generation and second generation iPod Nano’s. Right now CircuitCity is offering the iHome Portable Speakers for iPod Nano on clearance sale. The price of an iHome Portable Speakers is just $10. The original price for the iHome iHM1B2 Speakers for iPod nano 1G/2G was $25, so circuitcity are giving a $15 discount on this item. Shipping cost for the iHome Portable Speakers is free. You can either choose delivery or in-store pickup option. Other shipping methods will cost you some extra money though. iHome Portable Speakers for iPod Nano features an SRS TruBass setting for dynamic bass response and great sound even though the size of the speaker is pretty small.

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This is a gadget that can really come in handy. Unlike Tempo’s External Recycle Bin, there is a good use for Soldius 1 Solar Charger. I have had trouble at times charging my iPod Video when on the road. I don’t have a adapter that plugs in to a wall power outlet and I have to use my computer every time the iPod’s battery is low. Sometimes I even travel to remote locations where there are no electricity at all, this gadget will surely come in handy in those situations. Soldius 1 Solar Charger will solve this problem once and for all. You don’t need a power outlet, just the sun which is readily available to use this solar charger.

Soldius 1 Solar Charger not only charges iPods, it also works on cell phones and PDA. Here are the list of all the devices compatible with Soldius 1 Solar Charger. All in all 250 cell phones are compatible with Soldius 1 Solar Charger. Soldius 1 Solar Charger works with all the popular cell phones. In a direct sunlight, Soldius 1 Solar Charger will fully charge your device within two to three hours. Here are some of the details for Soldius 1 Solar Charger:

• Output power: 6.58 Volts - 320 mA (max) in direct sunlight
• 5.4″ x 3.2″ x .43″ in dimension when closed (pretty small and can be carried around easily)
• Weighs about 4 oz.

The price for the Soldius 1 Solar Charger is $90 and is available at Thinkgeek. Two colors are available for you to choose from, black and white. Soldius 1 Solar Charger also comes with a one year warranty. You will find a Soldius charger, USB cable and adapter tips (for charging different cell phones and iPods) inside the box. Soldius 1 Solar Charger looks cool, is useful and also helps save energy (helps the environment in a small way). People on the go should find Soldius 1 Solar Charger a very useful and handy gadget.