All About iPods

Weekend Project: Design your own iPod stickers

You know those wee little iPod stickers you can buy at horribly inflated prices? Bah. You can design your own kickass iPod stickers for a fraction of that.

All you need is some kind of graphics program and a full sheet of labels in order to pull off this quick project, and it's really fun to see what you can come up with - the design is pretty much up to you. — Wendy Boswell

iPodifier video converter (Windows)

Windows only: Freeware application iPodifier monitors user-defined folders for videos, automatically transcodes them to an iPod-compatible format, adds them to iTunes, and then syncs them with your iPod.

Awesome, right? There are a lot of to-iPod transcoding tools out there, but iPodifier has clearly had a lot of thought put into set-up-and-leave-it automation. iPodifier can watch any folder for new video, so that means you can keep an eye on your bittorrent directory, your DVR TV shows, etc. In fact, if you're a Windows MCE user, Rick has already detailed how to copy MCE-recorded shows to your iPod with iPodifier. If you do any transcoding to get videos on your iPod, you can't do any better than iPodifier. — Adam Pash

iNoPhone: Headset Made from an Apple Mouse

An enterprising modder has created his very own Apple Phone, dubbed the iNoPhone. It's not exactly as slick as the official version, but it's not without its charm. Made from an old Apple mouse and a Bluetooth headset, it's not really a full phone — it's a headset, and you need a real phone equipped with Bluetooth to use it.

Pretty cool, if you consider holding a 20-year-old computer peripheral up to your head cool. –Adam Frucci

iNoPhone [via NotCot.org

Get the Latest iPod shuffle Earbuds: Telling the Old Box vs. the New

Do you want to make sure you get Apple's updated earbuds with your new iPod shuffle? That'll be easy if you're getting one of the newly-technicolored models. But if you're getting a silver one, here's how to tell the difference in the packaging so you won't be stuck with those old-skool phones.

Take a look at the boxes above. If that swanky box has a green Apple logo and text, it's the old version. The new box has gray lettering, and you'll be taking home the latest earphones. – Charlie White

iPhone Roundup: True Cost, 3D, and Ringtones!

For the sake of not bombarding you with 25 iPhone stories today (too late?), here's a summary of all the goodness we've found in the last 48 hours.

First off, someone took all the images on the Apple site and modelled it up into a 3D gif. Neat, eh?

But how much will you really pay for the iPhone in the first year? Counting the $640 for the phone ($599 + tax), a $60 voice plan, a $40 data plan, and $8 worth of fees, you're looking at $1,936 in just the first year. Yikes. Then again, you're paying around that much if you get a regular smartphone with the same data plans, but this may be a shock to the "average" consumer who isn't used to getting data.

Think you're going to be getting the entire 4GB or 8GB on your iPhone for music and videos? Think again. Apple's going to be using 500MB of that to store the OS (slimmed down version of OSX), so you're only going to be getting 3.5GB or 7.5GB. Even less if you're considering the apps that are installed there—if the apps aren't considered part of the OS.

Also, more importantly, users won't be able to use iTunes songs as ringtones. At least, not at launch. We're sure Apple's gotta work out stuff with Cingular and the music industry, since using songs you already bought as ringtones makes it pretty hard to justify buying the same song again just to use as a ringtone—something that's turning out to be a pretty big money source for both providers and the music industry.

And has Cisco lost the rights to the iPhone? According to a trademark law expert, Cisco had to file a Declaration of Use for the trademark before the sixth anniversary of the registration date. Since they registered on 11/16/99, the sixth anniversary would have been 11/16/05. Since they didn't do so, they may in fact have lost their right for exclusive use of the iPhone trademark. – Jason Chen

True cost of the iPhone - CenterNetworks does the math! [CenterNetworks]

iPhone 3d [iPhone-3d]

Macwelt gets more iPhone details out of Apple [Ars Technica]

Cisco lost rights to iPhone trademark last year, experts say [ZDNet]

2007 iPod Buyers' Guide Ready for Download

The guys over at iLounge must be cruising around in their Deloreans a bit too much because they just released their 2007 iPod Buyers' Guide. Quick, someone shoot them an e-mail because it is still 2006. Joking aside, if you ever wanted to know something about the iPod—this is the place to go. The guide is 180 pages of pure iPod. Everything from the actual players, to accessories, history, reviews, contests, backstage and more. It is definitely worth checking out for any current or future iPod owners. Oh, and it's free! Hooray free! – Travis Hudson

2007 iPod Buyers' Guide [iLounge]

Etymotic Ety8 Wireless iPod Earphones

We've been waiting for wireless earphones for the iPod for a while, but these Ety8 earphones from Etymotic unfortunately look a bit silly. These earphones are wireless in that they don't need to be connected to your iPod, but they do have a cable running between the two that wraps around your head/neck. That's great, but how do they wear? Well, not so great.

If you thought people wearing Bluetooth headsets looked weird, imagine what someone wearing two of them—one in each ear—would look like. Also, they're shaped like a rectangle. Yeah, not too cool. Plus they cost $299 with an iPod connector and $199 without. ¡Gracias, pero no gracias! – Jason Chen

Etymotic to unveil Ety8 wireless earphones [iLounge]

Touchscreen iPod in December, Zune Slam-Dunked?

An "extremely well-informed exec" tells Trusted Reviews that the 6G iPod will be released in December, and it will be capable of 480p resolution. The source confirmed that it will be a touchscreen model with virtual click wheel control, but made no mention of whether wireless connectivity would be part of the package. Added the source, "This is why Jobs isn't afraid of the Zune."

We've seen the iPod touchscreen patent documentation, and we've entertained countless rumors and even reliable tips about the upcoming device; what we need to see now is a real picture of it. One thing's for sure, if this widescreen iPod is released in the next two months, the Microsoft Zune with its old-fashioned 4x3 screen and crippled WiFi will be slam-dunked. – Charlie White

Touchscreen iPod Comes This December [Trusted Reviews]

mi Lites: iPod Case with Lighting

If those white earbuds aren't doing their job to get your iPod stolen, you might consider the mi Lite. It's half protective case, half party in my pocket, and fully obnoxious to fellow commuters on the subway.

mi Lites are activated by a touch sensor on the case and provide their own "replaceable" power supply (we are guessing watch battery). The site claims future availability for all iPods but the mini and shuffle. We'll need to see mi Lites in person before any final judgments, but most of the designs on their page are ugly as sin - like sticking your iPod in a glowing pile of poo. But the model pictured here isn't bad for $19.98. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via popgadget]