iPod Club

The MacBook Air is a Macintosh notebook computer produced by Apple Inc. It is part of the MacBook family and features an optional solid-state hard drive. Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed the MacBook Air at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008. It is 0.76 inches (1.93 cm) thick at its thickest point and 0.16 inches (0.4 cm) at its thinnest. Weighing 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg), it is Apple’s thinnest and lightest laptop.

To reduce the computer’s size and weight, Apple omitted certain features long standard on its laptops. It is Apple’s first notebook since the PowerBook 2400c without a built-in removable media drive. Users may purchase an external USB SuperDrive, or use bundled Remote Disc software to access the optical drive of another computer. It lacks a security slot and an Ethernet port, although a USB-to-Ethernet adapter may be purchased separately. Some have complained about the omission of these features. In addition, the Macbook Air only offers a single USB port (several USB ports are standard on nearly all laptops today). The Macbook Air also offers no Cardbus or ExpressCard slots, both standard features in older and newer laptops, respectively.

The MacBook Air is Apple’s first laptop computer to be offered with an optional solid-state hard drive. The 64GB solid-state drive was compared to the standard 80GB hard drive in tests, which led to the conclusion that the SSD was not worth the increased cost, although the solid-state drive was found to give a slightly more responsive computer.

The CPU is an Intel Core 2 Duo chip first appearing in the MacBook Air that was redesigned to reduce its physical size by 60 percent.

The laptop has the magnetic latch system of the MacBook and an aluminum casing like the MacBook Pro. The oversized trackpad offers iPhone-like Multi-Touch gestures, an improvement over previous MacBook trackpads. Among the gestures are pinching, swiping, and rotating.

We all new that the iphone would be a huge hit with apple lovers the world over. Let’s face it they make uber cool, sleek gadgets that are easy to use. Their branding is spot on and they have an extremely loyal fan base. What the iphone was launched to do, was convert normal phone users over to the apple platform. Many people said that it wouldn’t be possible, that the iphone would be too expensive and that people would be happy with a “normal phone”. To a certain extent this is true, people haven’t taken out mobile phone contracts for the iphone in the numbers expected, but this is mainly due to price and position of the exisiting model, but it has made the other manufacturers sit up and take note. So much so that Nokia has come up with the Nokia N96, a mobile phone with a built in digital TV tuner. This is a real step forward in terms of what can be achieved in a mobile phone. A slightly less expensive alternative would be the Nokia N78 on contract, you will be able to pick one of these handy little phones for free on contract when it is finally released later this year. Best Mobile Contracts is the best place we’ve found to get updates.

The iPod touch designed and marketed by is an iPod portable media playerApple Inc. The device, which features a multi-touch interface, was unveiled to the general public on September 5, 2007 as part of an event dubbed “The Beat Goes On”^, which featured the introduction of Cover Flow to the iPod line. The iPod touch uses 8 or 16 GB of flash memory. It also has Wi-Fi and includes Safari, Apple’s web browser. The iPod touch is the first generation of the iPod line to include wireless access to the iTunes Store. The iPod touch also has the capability to detect the current and last 10 songs playing in a Starbucks café within the vicinity of the device, and offers the user the opportunity to download the tracks in the iTunes music store. This feature will slowly be offered in limited markets. There are currently no plans to expand into stores other than those in the USA.

The iPod touch has a touch screen interface similar to that of the iPhone. Like the iPhone, it includes a physical home button separate from the touch screen. The home screen includes a headphone set, an alarm clock and also a list of buttons corresponding to the available applications: Music, Videos, Photos, iTunes on the bottom button row. Safari, YouTube, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator, and Settings are at the top. The iPod touch comes preloaded with 28 wallpaper photos, some of which are figures from the iPod advertisements.

On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted onto Apple’s webpage, announced that a software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008. Due to security concerns and Jobs’ praise of Nokia’s digital signature system, it is also suggested that Apple will adopt a similar method. The SDK will also apply to the iPod touch.

The iPod nano designed and marketed by is a mid-range iPod portable media playerApple Inc. It was first introduced on September 7, 2005, and combines features of both the iPod shuffle and iPod classic. It was intended to replace the iPod mini, which was discontinued on the same day. The replacement of the mini took Apple-related websites and the press completely by surprise since, although there were rumors about a new flash memory-based iPod, there was no prior notice of the popular mini being discontinued.Development work on the design of the iPod nano started only nine months before its launch date. The nano uses flash memory, like the shuffle, but with a miniaturized version of the color screen and click wheel found on the iPod classic. The screen also has the same resolution as the classic. The battery and other internal parts were also reduced in size from the mini.

model at On September 12, 2006, Apple announced the release of the second generation iPod shuffle, calling it “the most wearable iPod ever”. First shipments of the unit were slated for an October 2006 arrival, but actually started shipping on Friday, November 3, 2006. The new generation featured a lone 1 GBUS$79, GB£49, CA$89, AU$119 or €89 (France) in a silver brushed aluminum case similar to the second generation iPod nano and the older iPod mini. The new model is less than half the size of the first generation model at 41.2 x 27.3 x 10.5 mm (1.62 x 1.07 x 0.41 in), and is reminiscent of the iPod radio remote available for iPod nanos and 5th generation iPods. Apple branded it as the “world’s smallest MP3 player”. This size includes the new built-in belt clip; the actual unit itself is thinner, with the entire device weighing only 15.5 g (0.55 ounces). The power and shuffle/no shuffle switches were also separated into two controls to prevent accidental choice of shuffle when that may not be the desired mode of operation. The formatting of the iPod itself is new to Apple, as the 2G (2nd Generation) Shuffle will only format itself to FAT32. iTunes issues a warning that the iPod is incorrectly formatted if brought to the Macintosh format HFS+. All previous iPod models have allowed the usage of either the Mac format or the PC format.On the second generation iPod shuffle, USB connectivity is provided via an included dock, which transfers data through the headphone jack. The second generation iPod shuffle is also able to act as a flash drive, just like the first generation iPod Shuffle. However, unlike the first generation iPod shuffle, the second generation does not have a built-in USB connector. This means the dock is required for connection to a computer on the second generation model.

The second generation Shuffle can play MP3, MP3 VBR, AAC, Protected AAC, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV and AIFF, meaning that the only iTunes format not supported is Apple Lossless. (Note that using WAV or AIFF on a 1GB device will mean very few songs may be held.)

On January 30, 2007, Apple announced the addition of four new colors to the iPod shuffle line. In addition to the original silver, a pink, orange, green, and blue color has been made available via the Apple Store (online). Of the colours the blue, green, and pink are essentially the same hues as the second generation minis and nanos. The new orange color is a first for the iPod franchise. They also now come with the new redesigned headphones that were not included with the original silver model. The box was also changed to have gray text instead of the lime-green text, lime-green showing that the original headphones are included, and gray text showing that the new headphones are included.

On September 5, 2007, Apple refreshed the line with four new colors including a (PRODUCT) RED version. The new colors (turquoise, lavender, mint green, and dark red) replaced the previous colors (pink, orange, green, and blue).

During a special iPod-centric event on September 5, 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the sixth generation iPod and the retronym suffix “classic”. Featuring slightly thinner bodies, the sixth generation classic also sported dramatically improved battery life, reaching up to 40 hours of music playback and 7 hours of video playback. The front plate of the iPod is now made of anodized aluminum instead of polycarbonate plastic, and Signature iPod White has been replaced by silver. The sixth generation classic also introduced a completely overhauled user interface, incorporating more graphics and Cover Flow. The sixth generation classic is offered in an 80 GB (20,000 songs) model for US$249 and a 160 GB (40,000 songs) model for US$349. The U2 special edition has been dropped.

The fifth generation iPod was introduced on October 12, 2005, shortly after the introduction of the iPod nano. The fifth generation classic, known by many as the iPod video, featured a 2.5″ 320×240 QVGA screen and a smaller Click Wheel. The fifth generation iPod is the first classic iPod to be available in an alternative color scheme in a non-special edition form, as a black option was added alongside “Signature iPod White”, and marked the second full redesign of the iPod’s aesthetic with its re-arranged proportions, its return to a fully flat front plate, and its more rounded rear casing. The 10-pin remote port was removed as well, causing backwards accessory compatibility issues. A 30 GB model was offered for US$299 and a 60 GB model was offered for US$399. The 5G iPod was also offered in the U2 special edition for US$349 with 30 GB.The fifth generation iPod plays video in MP4 (up to 2.5 Mbit/s) and H.264 (up to 1.5 Mbit/s, baseline profile only) formats. Video such as TV shows, podcasts, music videos, and movies may be purchased from online stores such as the iTunes Store, or downloaded from Google Video and other sources, then imported to the iPod via iTunes software.

Videos or photo slideshows may be played from the fifth generation iPod on a television set, projector or monitor with the use of the Apple iPod AV cable or via a dock using an S-Video cable. It is also possible to do this using some camcorder cables with a RCA connection at one end and a three-banded eighth-inch (3.5 mm) A/V plug at the other, however the red and yellow plugs (normally the audio right and video signals respectively) must be swapped around in order to achieve the correct signal.

The fifth generation iPod was updated on September 12, 2006. This update included a brighter screen, a search feature, gapless playback, support for iPod games, and newly designed earphones. The refreshed iPod also had a longer video playback time. Support for iPod games and gapless playback were enabled on original fifth generation classics through a firmware update. An iTunes installation CD was also no longer bundled, requiring users to download iTunes from Apple’s website. During this update, the 60 GB model was replaced with an 80 GB model, and prices were cut by US$50 for both the 30 GB (US$249) and the 80 GB (US$349) models.