All iPods Feeds

Has HBO deal changed iTunes for good?

Patrick Goss — 1210678920

HBO has reportedly agreed a deal with Apple to sell their programmes at a flexible rate on iTunes – which could spell the beginning of new flexibility from the online store.

Time Warner owned broadcaster HBO are already embracing VOD and an agreement with Apple to sell their shows at flexible price points marks a major departure from the norm.

One size fits all

Apple had previously stuck to their rigid ‘one size fits all’ pricing insisting that it was to prevent confusion for their users, a policy that had left broadcasters resistant to the service.

However, if the HBO deal is confirmed it could herald a new era for the iTunes store – already the market leader in online music sales and pushing aggressively into the video market.

Another major US station – NBC – pulled its programmes from iTunes last year because of the pricing policy, but they may well make a return and the UK audience may see an increase in domestic TV stations willing to sell their wares.

Myvu tries to give video glasses style

Marc Chacksfield — 1210601640

The idea of wearing video glasses is definitely an intriguing one. In theory, they’re great: don them and you turn wherever you are into a cinema. In practice, though, while you wonder at your new portable cinema, everyone is staring at you, wondering who the berk is with the space-age face furniture.

Enter a new piece of video eyewear, the Myvu Crystal. According to the bods who created the glasses, you can “Watch what you love, when you want and look great doing it.” And while we’re not that convinced that you will look great, the glasses do boast some nifty features that may well keep the hecklers at bay.

Points of view

The Myvu Crystal is the lightest and thinnest videowear available, and boasts 33 per cent wider field of view than the company’s Shades 301 range.

Video output is Full VGA quality (640 x 480) and is designed to be worn with the latest iPods. You also get four hours’ battery life, connected earbuds and a remote control unit.

The glasses are available in two colours, amber or black, and are out in the US now for $299 (around £150).

If you check out the website, there’s a 30-day trial, which you may want to use. If after 30 days, the sartorial bullies haven’t mocked you for wearing them, then the Myvu Crytal glasses may be well worth a purchase.

Japan to introduce iPod tax - who's next?

J Mark Lytle — 1210139814

If it gets its way later this week, the Japanese government looks set to introduce a levy on all portable digital music players and home PVRs that will amount to what many are calling an 'iPod tax'.

The Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs will discuss a draft of the plan on Thursday and is expected to instigate legislation that will come into effect before the Beijing Olympics in August, when home TV recording - and hardware sales - is expected to increase.

Nothing has been decided yet, but speculation suggests each PMP and PVR sold from then on will all be subject to a ¥100 (£0.48) tax at the point of sale.

This will raise about ¥1 billion (£4.8 million) annually, to be given to copyright bodies for distribution to TV companies, musicians and other content creators.

So what?

Although neither the agency nor hardware makers were prepared to comment, Joe Public didn't seem too bothered at the prospect of paying more for his iPod.

The general consensus among the people we informally polled in Tokyo today suggests an extra few yen on already-expensive machines won't alter their purchase decisions.

Tarred with same brush

However, one owner of an iRiver PMP pointed out the fallacy of effectively accusing everyone of piracy.

Hiroshi Nishimura, a medical student, told us: "I listen only to lecture notes and podcasts I've either paid for or which are free anyway. Why should I pay more just to make old men who don't understand the technology feel they've done something useful?"

Previous attempts to raise an iPod tax have floundered in the face of opposition from electronics manufacturers, but the same firms aren't expected to beat the current proposal.

Karaoke mic for wireless in-car entertainment

J Mark Lytle — 1206414184

For the bargain price of just ¥5,980 (£30), you and your iPod-toting friends can now become the most annoying people outside of any Big Brother house thanks to a breakthrough in karaoke technology from Japan.

Logitec's LAT-PKARA01SV microphone may not even have a proper name, but don't let that put you off sharing your vocal talents with all and sundry through the magic of FM.

The handheld mic takes audio input from any source - naturally, an iPod features heavily in Logitec's marketing - and mixes the vocal track down to almost zero.

FM transmitter

Sing - or breathe heavily - into one end and the software inside combines your efforts with the source music before pushing the result out the other end and onto any nearby FM radio.

There are adapters for connecting to mobile phones and sucking the life out of any music therein, as well as the usual karaoke functions for adding reverb and upping the volume to ear-splitting.

A pair of AAA batteries will last about four hours, by which time we sincerely hope someone will have seen sense. Thankfully, Logitec has no plans to foist this thing on the rest of the world.

iPods to come with lifetime of 'free' music

J Mark Lytle — 1205915493

If the speculation to be found in this morning’s Financial Times proves accurate, the entire music industry could be turned on its head by an Apple deal that promises a lifetime of free music.

The pink ‘un appears to have spilled the beans on high-level discussions between Apple and a slew of music publishers to offer free access to the entire iTunes catalogue in return for adding a premium to the initial cost of buying an iPod or iPhone.

How much up front?

If we’re to believe the story – and, frankly, it’s plausible – the two sides are haggling over how much Apple should pay to allow its customers to dig into the iTunes smorgasbord to their hearts’ content.

The FT’s unnamed source says, rather poetically, “It’s who blinks first, and whether or not anyone does blink”.

Given a discussed price of between £10 and £40, we’d expect that to result in UK customers paying an extra £80 at least on top of the cost of a new iPod. That will most likely get them free access for the lifetime of the iPod concerned.

Subscriptions too?

Another possibility is the far less radical subscription model, in which users pay per month for unfettered access to the music. As current iPods, bar the touch, aren’t yet Wi-Fi enabled this would be limited to iPhones.

Naturally, Apple has had nothing to say about the report, but we’ll keep pressing them, so watch this space as the story develops.

At last! Channel 4 TV shows finally arrive on iTunes

Rob Mead — 1205843299

Great news for Mac-owning telly addicts - Channel 4 is finally offering some of its biggest shows through the UK iTunes Store. And not before time.

Channel 4 is offering limited series of seven different shows initially - Skins, Spaced, Peep Show, Black Books, Teachers, Shamless and Monarchy - although more will undoubtedly follow.

Making the shows available through iTunes finally enables iPod owners to access their favourite shows legally.

On-demand TV

It also marks another small victory for Mac owners who've largely been left out in the cold by broadcasters' on-demand TV services - Channel 4's 4oD and Sky's Sky Anytime PC are both Windows only. The BBC's iPlayer only enables you to stream, not download content - although a hack has been successfully used to work around that.

The BBC also offers a number of programmes through the UK iTunes Store, including homegrown series like Little Britain, Robin Hood, Ashes To Ashes and Spooks, as well as hit US shows such as ABC's Lost (also broadcast on Sky).

iTunes pricing

By far the most common complaint on the iTunes Store is the high price of TV episodes. They cost £1.89 in the UK, compared to $1.99 (£1) in the US. US iTunes visitors are also able to buy Season Passes for complete series - something we in the UK cannot yet do.

Season Passes enable you to order a whole series in advance and then automatically download each episode as it becomes available - great for new TV series like Lost. Season Passes are usually also offered at a lower price than the cost of episodes bought individually. US TV watchers often get bonus programmes and other content free as well.

iPod Nano battery explosions in Japan

1205319055

The Japanese trade and economy ministry is officially investigating a problem with the batteries on early iPod nano models. They have apparently caused explosions, bedroom fires and chest high flames.

One incident, in which a first-generation iPod nano shot out sparks while being recharged, was reported to Apple in January.

Problems in the US

Another incident, back in December, caused an Atlanta airport worker to claim that his iPod nano caught fire while he was carrying it in one of his trouser pockets. Precisely what caused the blaze is still not known - Apple is investigating that incident too.

The offending model’s (MA099J/A) lithium ion battery is now under investigation by Apple in Japan and the US.

TechRadar has contacted Apple UK today for further comment.

Why the Beatles aren't on iTunes yet

Audley Jarvis — 1205250173

Following numerous reports of a £200m deal that would finally see The Beatles' back catalogue made available for download on Apple's iTunes, it appears that no such deal is actually on the cards after all.

The Daily Mail broke the story over the weekend, claiming that Sir Paul had “sanctioned” the release. This was then picked up by hundreds of internet news, music and fan sites.

However, Sony/ATV – the joint Sony/Michael Jackson-owned venture that has an integral stake in The Beatles’ back catalogue – has since said that no deal has been done. Apple has also moved to quash the rumour, albeit with a firm ‘no comment’.

Rumours resurfacing

This is hardly the first time rumours of this nature have surfaced. And as on previous occasions, the story appears to have been allowed to gather pace this time round by newspaper and website editors eager to generate attention-grabbing headlines.

Although it’s nigh on impossible to point to one all-important reason why The Beatles' back catalogue has not yet been put up for legal download, a large part of the delay could be attributed to the inordinate amount of contract, copyright and ownership bungling that’s gone on since 1962 when The Beatles penned their first contract.

The history behind who owns The Beatles’ songs is long and complicated. Suffice to say that since the inception of Northern Songs in 1962, through to the majority buy-out by ATV in 1969 and Michael Jackson’s shock purchase of ATV in 1985 (and its merger with Sony in 1995), there are now an awful lot of cooks standing around the pot with a vested interest.

Add to this a well-publicised copyright dispute between Apple Corps (The Beatles' media company) and Apple Inc, and the end result is a collection of companies and individuals without a great deal of trust for each other. This may have changed for the better in recent years with a string of legal settlements, but the path to full agreement remains precariously rocky.

Nothing planned

In fact, the present situation is that nothing immediate is about to happen.

A spokesperson from Sony/ATV yesterday told CNET that while EMI holds recording rights, Sony/ATV owns full publishing rights to The Beatles’ back catalogue. The spokesperson is quoted as telling CNET that had any deal been cut then Sony/ATV “would absolutely be informed”.

Another complicating factor is that Paul McCartney, Ringo Star and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison will also need to agree terms. It certainly isn’t as simple as Sir Paul simply giving the ‘thumbs up’ as implied by the Daily Mail.

Until Sony/ATV, Apple and those representing the original ‘Fab Four’ are in full agreement over fees, terms and conditions, The Beatles won’t be appearing on iTunes.

In other words, forget anything you read in the press – only believe it when you can see and hear and download it.

BBC happy to go DRM free?

Adam Hartley — 1205241213

Following the news earlier this week about the BBC's apparent decision to allow iPhone users to access its programming in a non-DRM-protected H.264 format – potentially allowing users on desktop computers to download and keep unrestricted videos – TechRadar polled a number of developers and Apple specialists for their response.

"The problem is that [the BBC] has used a simple web page/media player combination to play the videos, basically iPhone iPlayer is a bit of a hack," we were told by Marcus Dyson, CEO of developer eleventeenth.com. "They rely on the 'user agent' to identify that it's an iPhone, and then they deliver DRM-free content, because the iPhone does not support DRM video.

“What they need is to use the SDK to create an iPlayer client application, then work with Apple to get a list of all iPhone MAC addresses - the client would need to verify the MAC address before the site delivers content,” he added.

Alternatively, Dyson continued, “they could just make the client support DRM... However, the web-page version of iPhone iPlayer seems to present an insurmountable problem for the BBC and their only obvious solution right now is to live with the issue - which their charter may not allow them to do (as it makes content paid for by the UK license-payer freely available to foreigners) - or pull the iPhone iPlayer.”

The iPhone, of course, does support DRM - the FairPlay DRM that Apple attaches to some of the content bought from the iTunes Store. And that includes some BBC Worldwide programmes, like Ashes To Ashes, which are available to buy for £1.89 per episode. What the BBC wants - and what Apple doesn't yet deliver in the UK - is the ability to offer time-limited downloads, although these are expected to spring up later this year when Apple launches its iTunes Movie Rental Store.

Back-door testing of DRM-free content?

MacFormat’s Christopher Phin has a different take on what he feels are the real issues at stake here, telling us today:

“I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the BBC is using this to test out the reaction from the industry and consumers to DRM-free content.”

As for the suggestion that this contravenes the BBC’s charter, Phin disagrees: “I’d be interested to know if they’ve had the go-ahead from the programme makers to do this, but I wasn’t aware that the charter mandates the use of DRM. I would assume that the appetite for DRM comes from the content providers, not the BBC itself.

Phinn added: "It’s possible that the BBC will build an app for the iPhone or iPod touch, possibly just an optimised browsing engine like the existing YouTube app, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be an entirely web-based system, particularly given the iPhone’s ability to add quick links to websites directly to its home screen.”

Currently in beta

TechRadar spoke with a BBC spokesperson earlier today who informed us that the iPlayer workaround, "is not unusual or surprising” and that the BBC is “working with our partners to ensure that our content is delivered to users in a secure way.”

The BBC spokesperson added: “We have made it clear that BBC iPlayer on iPhone and iPod touch is currently in beta, which enables us to pick up on such issues and find a solution before we roll the service out in full in due course."

Apple was not available for comment at the time of going to press, but we have requested a response so watch out for an update shortly

Twisted iPod speakers as feeble as they look

J Mark Lytle — 1205221595

Unless you’re 12 years old or don’t give a hoot about how your tunes sound, there can’t be much reason for wanting to hook a weedy DAP up to unpowered speakers, yet the market is somehow flooded with the blighters.

The latest Japanese add-on is, at least, slightly novel in that it’s a stereo speaker set that clips onto the back of a full-sized iPod, hiding flush against its silvery rear when not in use.

Click to play

Greenhouse’s ¥4,480 (£21.75) GH-SPA214CC jacks into the headphone socket and comes to life when rotated up though 90 degrees to place one tiny speaker on each side of the iPod’s screen.

There’s a fold-out stand in the rear and a built-in 8-hour battery that charges via USB when the iPod is plugged into a computer. It probably won’t be sold outside Japan and, with an output of 770mW per channel, who – quite frankly – cares?