MacShrine

We just discovered that there is a bug in the firmware now whilst playing with our new iPod classic and iPod nano. If you have the “Volume Limit” set on, play a song and then go play a game. When playing the game the volume limit will be deactivated and the song becomes much louder. When you quit the game it becomes active again.

Update: When we said “OS X” iPods, we meant the new range with the iPod touch which does have OS X on it. Guess we should clear the title up.

• Thinner than the iPhone - only 8mm
• Same multitouch pinch & spread zooming controls as iPhone
• Same coverflow as the iPhone
• 3.5″ diagonal screen
• Wi-Fi 802.11b & 802.11g
• Home button
• Slide to unlock - same as the iPhone
• Sensor for auto-landscape viewing
• Safari - connect to the internet via WiFi
• YouTube via WiFi
• 22 hours audio, 5 hours video playback
• Shipping worldwide this month
• 8GB - $299
• 16GB - $399

• 80GB - $249
• 160GB - $349
• 40 hrs music playback, 7 hrs video playback
• Available today

• Incredibly smaller
• New colors: (RED), silver, light blue, teal & green
• Full Metal design
• New User Interface - includes Cover Flow
• Three games bundled - includes Vortex
• Video-capable
• 2″ screen, with brigher, QVGA resolution (320×240)
• 4GB - US$149
• 8GB - US$199
• 24 hours of audio playback, 5 hours video playback
• Shipping today
• Both models compatible with Nike+ running kit

Cue new iPod nanos, iPod touch and the Beatles coming to iTunes. September 5th will be a date to remember. We’ve already put our iPods up on eBay!

You can tell we’re just a little excited over this. Apple has sent invites to sites (not us though, boo) for a “product presentation for Mac” at Apple Town Hall in Cupertino next week. What will we see? New iMacs? iPods? iLife? New apps? Totally new hardware?

Engadget reports that you can currently score a 30GB or 80GB iPod for about $20 off at Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City and J&R online stores. Could this be a sign of new iPods or are they just competing with Apple’s aggressive Back-to-School discounts?

Apple has released a new iPod game by Gameloft S.A. based on the TV show Lost. What next, a Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty game?

Join your favorite castaways in their quest to seek the truth and survive in the official iPod game of the hit television series Lost. Help Jack search for dynamite, tend to the wounded, and avoid the black smoke. Relive the crash scene, open the hatch, and ultimately try your best to escape from the Others. Immerse yourself into their mysterious world with authentic settings and a genuine storyline created by the writers behind the hit show.

ThinkSecret cites an unconfirmed source who believes that Apple may show the long-awaited touch-screen iPod tomorrow and ship the device alongside the iPhone in June.

Update: Nothing happened, oh well.

Not much is known except it’s going to be released some time in May, come in Black, White, Red, Lime, Pink, and Dark Blue and retail for $50 for the 1GB model. We can also safely assume it’s shaped like a small stone.

Following last weeks leak at the French iTunes Store, Apple today officially released their new iQuiz game for the iPod.

Get your trivia fix with iQuiz, the fast-paced entertainment trivia game designed in a portable format. Put your pop culture knowledge to the test with questions about music, movies and TV shows.”

French iTunes Store users have spotted a new Apple game for the iPod. It basically sounds like a rehash of the current music quiz game but now with fancy graphics. It’s not out on any other stores yet.

“Test your entertainment knowledge with iQuiz, a timed question-and-answer game for your iPod,” it reads. “Test your knowledge of the songs, artists and albums present on your iPod and take on the challenges of questions about movies, music and television. Create your own personalized Trivia Packs and play those created by others.”

Update: The game has now been removed from the French iTunes Store. Seems it was a mistake!

Apple has filed for a new patent titled “cosmetically uniform reflective border area in a transflective display,” relating to liquid crystal displays with a reflective border area when the display is turned off.

“One embodiment of the present invention provides a transflective display in which a border area adjacent to an active area has a reflectivity that is substantially the same as the active area when the display is turned off. This display includes a polarizer layer, a color filter glass (CFG) layer, a liquid crystal layer, and a reflector layer. The CFG layer contains color filters in the active area, while the border area of the CFG layer is designed to have a reflectivity that is substantially the same as the active area when the display is turned off.”

So basically… when the device is off, it looks opaque or solid. When the display comes on, it appears to shine through the once solid enclosure. If you’re still confused - it’s like the Sony A1000 walkman. It looks like there is no screen when the device is off and then voila - the screen appears when you turn it on. Like magic, eh!

Apple today unexpectedly released new colors to their iPod shuffle range - pink, orange, blue, green and the original silver. With the update, Apple has modified its iPod Shuffle slogan from “Put some music on” to “Put some color on”. The new colors, otherwise identical to the previous 1 GB shuffle, are shipping within 24 hours. Just in time for Valentines day…

Two new games - Sudoku and Royal Solitaire - have been released by EA for the 5G iPod. Based on the internationally successful Japanese grid number matching game, Sudoku is a 25.1MB download. Royal Solitaire features “10 of the most popular and well-known versions of Solitaire,” including Canfield, Klondike, Peaks, Pyramid, Beleaguered Castle, Aces Up, Yukon, FreeCell, Golf, and Scorpion. It is a 45.6MB download. Both titles are available from select iTunes stores including USA and UK.

Apple today has quietly released two new bug fix updates for the iPod shuffle (v1.0.2) and iPod video (v1.2.1). Simple plug your iPod into your Mac and open iTunes, the update should start automatic from there. The updates are not available from Software Update or the Apple website as of this moment.

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is set to launch three new iPod models during 2007. The first model is set to be a “video-centric” device, not the true iPod video we’re still waiting for. They make no comment on what the other two models will be. Analysts have recently said Apple could launch a 16GB iPod nano and also bump up the iPod shuffle specs.

Pembroke Pines police are investigating a complaint by Best Buy into the disappearance of more than $35,000 worth of iPods from the electronics retail giant. Managers of the Best Buy at 11450 Pines Blvd. called officers to the store Monday. A preliminary investigation revealed that there has not been a break-in or forced entry to the store, leading police and store managers to believe that the thefts could be an inside job.

Toshiba’s new 1.8″ hard drive can store 100GB of data whereas current models hold a maximum of 80GB. Toshiba plans to start mass producing the drives in January next year. Updated iPods at Macworld?

Apple is giving all Apple employess, right from senior workers down to the drones at the Apple Stores, the new iPod shuffle. They’ve been told to expect them at the end of the month - even though they came out yesterday. Still it’s the thought that counts.