Sony's Walkman line has temporarily passed the iPod for sales in Japan once more, researchers at BCN claimed today. Basic players like the S640 helped Sony creep past in August with 47.8 of sales where Apple dropped to 44 percent. While the Walkman overtook the iPod briefly a year ago, the new figures mark the first time Sony managed to hold an overall lead for the month....


Apple - Peripherals - Hardware - Audio - iPod

Two new Apple patent applications have appeared in listings at the US Patent and Trademark Office. The first, Method and User Interface for Accessing Groups of Media Assets, is directly linked to the Apple TV, and describes an interface for browsing media sources such as YouTube. By way of a remote, people can scroll through categorized lists of information that can be expanded to include new media....


Apple - Macintosh - IPhone - App Store - MacNN

Just after the two-year anniversary of its Chrome browser, Google on Thursday released a new Chrome 6 stable build for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. Its engine is faster than for Chrome 5 and a full three times faster than the 2008 browser originally was in JavaScript performance. Google has also made Chrome simpler, with a more minimalist interface....


Google Chrome - Google - search - Search Engines - Clients

Toshiba after months of teases confirmed its launch into the mobile tablet space through the Folio 100. The 10-inch tablet runs a heavily modified version of Android 2.2 and is one of the first major shipping devices to use NVIDIA's Tegra 2. The dual-core ARM chip is powerful enough to play 1080p over a mini HDMI output but is still efficient enough to give the tablet a meaningful, if short, seven hours of battery life....


Toshiba - Android - Tablet - Nvidia Tegra - Operating system

Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier T-Mobile will soon lose its exclusive hold over German iPhone sales, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. O2 and Vodafone are expected to begin selling iPhones in the country in time for the Christmas shopping season. Negotiations are allegedly still ongoing, but already at an advanced stage. Launch times are contingent on the end of T-Mobile's exclusivity agreement, which could come as soon as October....


IPhone - Smartphone - Vodafone - Handhelds - Android

Samsung will downplay its Windows Phone 7 devices in favor of Android and its in-house Bada platform, its mobile marking head YH Lee said in an interview Thursday. He promised Reuters just one device using Microsoft's OS as there was some "professional, specialized demand" for it but stressed that Android was more important. Google's platform is not only friendly to Samsung's customization, as it's "open and flexible," but is more popular as well, the executive said....


Android - handheld - Shopping - Google - Apple

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Camcorder - Touchscreen - Image - 1080p - Graphics

Links to Facebook have been excluded from Ping because of "onerous terms," according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. When Ping was launched yesterday, it was promoted as having Facebook Connect support; the language is still present on Apple's official page. For a short time on Wednesday night, the option existed to invite new friends to Ping through Facebook....


Facebook - Apple - Steve Jobs - Social network - Online Communities

iPhone - Handhelds - Smartphones - Apple - IPod

Apple - IPhone - MacNN - Windows - Shareware

Philips and OíNeil have teamed to develop a range of headphones and earphones for people who like to get outdoors. The premium range includes The Stretch, The Snug, The Covert and The Specked. The Stretch and The Snug are over-ear headphones that use 40mm drivers designed with an emphasis on delivering deep bass. The Stretch is also made of an extra-rugged nylon polymer. The Snug, as it name implies, is more oriented towards delivering comfort and includes soft cushions for long use; the set also folds flat for travel....


Philips - Handhelds - Ambilight - Palm PC - Windows CE

A new IDC study today has put Apple at the top of environmental friendliness for phone makers. It managed to challenge other, ostensibly greener companies through the scale of its iPhone efforts. It offers recycling in 95 percent of the countries where the iPhone is sold; the company also has tighter control over the efficiency of its supply chain, and its co-founder Steve Jobs is often directly involved....


IPhone - Apple - Smartphone - Nokia - Handhelds

(Updated with official info on Nano and iOS) A brief check of the Apple TV's technical specifications reveals that it is actually based on an A4 processor, like the iPad, iPhone 4 and the new iPod touch. The architecture is an ARM design customized by Apple, nominally with mobile products in mind. In the Apple TV it replaces a relatively low-grade Intel chipset....


Apple - AppleTV - Macintosh - IOS - Companies

Ultimate Ears today unveiled its 100 series noise-isolating earphones. They have been given a highly individualized flavor with each of the five models inspired by one of five different musical genres. Providing up to 24dBs of passive noise isolation, they also come with four sizes of ear cushions designed to provide a comfortable fit....


Noise Pollution - Environment - Sports - Headphones - Apple

Samsung this morning finally took the wraps from the Galaxy Tab, its first tablet and the first major competitor to the iPad. The device revolves around its seven-inch, 1024x600 LCD and is Samsung's first handheld to ship with Android 2.2 -- and Flash 10.1 -- out of the box. Although traces of Samsung's TouchWiz are evident, most customizations have been for apps tailored to the larger screen size: Media Hub serves as a video portal, Music Hub handles audio, and a Readers Hub follows in the footsteps of iBooks....


Android - Samsung i7500 - Samsung Group - Recreation and Sports - Sports

Twitter tonight posted its long awaited iPad update (free, App Store). The now universal app borrows the side navigation bar of Tweetie for Mac but has its own unique interface elements rarely or never seen in an iPad app, including slide-out panes. Tapping an update not only provides full information about the user but will show any relevant content to the tweet in-line, such as a website or an HTML5 video....


Twitter - Social network - Online Communities - Trending and Popularity - Browser Plugins

Apple has released iTunes 10, a major update to the media utility that was introduced today alongside several new iPods. The update features a social networking feature, Ping, that allows users to follow friends and artists. Users can post music they like, concert attendance, genre interests, and a variety of additional information....


Apple - Macintosh - Articles - Hardware - Mac

NewerTech has announced that it has lowered the MSRP for its entire line of battery charging/conditioning stations. The savings, which ranged up to 33 percent off the previous prices, applies to chargers for a variety of 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBooks or MacBook Pros, several iBooks and a range of PowerBooks. The charging stations are designed to keep the batteries in optimal charged condition for maximum runtime. All of the chargers are available exclusively from Other World Computing....


Charger - Dodge - Recreation - Autos - Makes and Models

In sync with the launch of the fourth-generation iPod touch, the FCC has posted Apple's filing for approval in the US. The shots show that the iPod touch manages to have a completely internal antenna despite the lack of the black plastic covering from the back. It also notes that the antenna has an insulator to reduce interference, though this is more likely to be for internal interference since the steel back isn't known to be used for reception....


IpodTouch - Apple - Peripherals - Apple iPod - Hardware

SkyFire has announced that its self-titled browser has been submitted to Apple for approval on the App Store. The browser brings indirect support for a wide range of Flash content, working around Apple's prohibition of Adobe's multimedia platform on iOS devices....


Skyfire - App Store - IPhone - Apple - Flash