Back in September, we told you about a cool iPhone bracelet from the Bluetooth headset maker extraordinaire Jawbone. It captured our attention for its unique design and the ability to  track users¡¯ activity and meals 24/7. It¡¯s all-encompassing, really. The Jawbone Up can track your steps, distance traveled, pace and calories burned throughout a day, to name a few.Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Covers

It uses the proprietary MotionX engine, the result of years of research, and even vibrates when it¡¯s time to get active. Today, the company today formally announced availability of the Up band.Best iPhone 4S Covers

According to the website, the Jawbone Up costs $99 and can be purchased beginning November 6 in Apple and AT&T online and brick-and-mortar stores, the Jawbone.com online store and Target and Best Buy locations. It will also be available at 24 Hour Fitness and other major global retailers and carriers later this year. The Up by Jawbone app is required, available free from the App Store.Designer iPhone 4 Cases|Designer iPhone 4S Cases

Three sizes will be offered, along with seven different colors: Dark Black, Dark Brown, Dark Red, Bright White, Bright Silver, Bright Red and Bright Blue. The accessory requires iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad or iPod Touch with iOS 4.1 and greater. Two more promo videos after the break.

Everyone and their brother is working on toppling Dropbox these days, including Google which is said to be close to unveiling a solution named Google Drive, basically a Google Docs storage system lending itself to their other web properties. While Apple is yet to introduce something akin to Dropbox, turns out users can now sync files between Macs ¨C with a bit of trickery.Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Covers

MacWorld discovered that any file put inside the ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ folder gets synced between Macs via iCloud. This is interesting because this folder was meant only to sync documents in apps that support the Documents & Data feature. MacWorld explains:Best iPhone 4S Covers

This doesn¡¯t really matter. What is of use is that any files put into the ~/Library/Mobile Documents folder will automatically upload to iCloud and push to any other Mac you have that is signed in to the same iCloud account and has the ¡®Document & Data¡¯ iCloud preference checked. Lion even notifies you of version conflicts and allows you to resolve them when you open the document.

Of course, the finding isn¡¯t terribly surprising. The trick simply uses the iCloud documents storage but it¡¯s noteworthy because it indicates Apple has the backend file syncing infrastructure in place.Burberry iPhone 4 Cases|Burberry iPhone 4S Cases

With iCloud, Apple retired some of the less popular MobileMe services, including iDisk which enabled Mac and Windows machines to mount their MobileMe cloud storage as a local drive. Per conventional wisdom, it would be prudent if Apple introduced a file syncing solution for Macs (possibly including iOS devices) down the road. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to make this trick standard across all home folders, making a true Dropbox replacement - perhaps even allowing for the home folder roaming via the iCloud.Hermes iPhone 4 Cases|Hermes iPhone 4S Cases

When Dropbox founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi turned down an $800 million Apple acquisition offer, Steve Jobs reportedly fixed his gaze on the young Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, telling them with a mischievous smile that Apple was going after their market, dismissing their offering as ¡°a feature¡±. Fancy that.Coach iPhone 4 Cases Covers|Coach iPhone 4S Cases Covers

In a move that might drive more e-book-only tablet users to Amazon (opposed to iBooks or elsewhere), Amazon has announced a new book borrowing service called “Kindle Lending Library”.  The move is said to encourage Prime subscriptions, which are required for the service, but could be part of Amazon’s larger strategy as the $199 Kindle Fire prepares to enter the tablet market. Either way, Apple doesn’t seem to be too worried…Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Covers

The service will allow users to borrow from a selection of approximately 5,000 books (up to one a month) that have been enabled for lending by the publisher. You’ll be able to return the book at any time without due dates, and bookmarks and highlights will be saved in the event you borrow or purchase the book in the future. Included in the available content will be 100 current and previous New York Times bestsellers.

Not so fast if you’re hoping to borrow books on your iPad or Mac, however. The service will only be made available to owners of an eligible Kindle device that are also Amazon Prime subscribers. A Prime membership is currently going for $79 per year, a pricey ask for just the book borrowing service if you’re not planning on taking advantage of the 10,000 movies and tv shows, and free two-day shipping available to Prime users. The good news is the $199 Kindle Fire will come bundled with one free month of Prime.Louis Vuitton iPhone 4 Cases|Louis Vuitton iPhone 4S Cases

It appears Amazon hasn’t entirely convinced publishers of the long-term benefits of the service, as they note in the press release they are actually ” purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader” to provide a “no-risk trial” for publishers:Chanel iPhone 4 Cases|Chanel iPhone 4S Cases|Gucci iPhone 4 cases|Gucci iPhone 4S cases

“Titles in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library come from a range of publishers under a variety of terms. For the vast majority of titles, Amazon has reached agreement with publishers to include titles for a fixed fee. In some cases, Amazon is purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader under standard wholesale terms as a no-risk trial to demonstrate to publishers the incremental growth and revenue opportunity that this new service presents”

This is obviously a move to promote the Kindle Fire in anticipation of its November 15th launch, and yet another reason for Primes subscribers (those who mostly just want to read e-books anyway) to consider the 7-inch Amazon tablet over an iPad. Apple doesn’t appear to be bothered by Amazon’s push into the tablet market, however. Following a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer, analyst for Barclays Group Ben Reitzes says Apple isn’t worried about the Kindle Fire. In fact, they think it might be good news for iPad due to increased fragmentation among Android devices. Reitzes writes (via Business Insider):

“While the pricing at $199 looks disruptive for what seems to be the iPad’s most important rising challenge, the Amazon Fire – it is important to note that it could fuel further fragmentation in the tablet market—given it represents yet another platform. While compatible with Android, the Apps work with Amazon products. The more fragmentation, the better, says Apple, since that could drive more consumers to the stable Apple platform. We believe that Apple will get more aggressive on price with the iPad eventually but not compromise the product quality and experience.”

Everyone and their brother is working on toppling Dropbox these days, including Google which is said to be close to unveiling a solution named Google Drive, basically a Google Docs storage system lending itself to their other web properties. While Apple is yet to introduce something akin to Dropbox, turns out users can now sync files between Macs ¨C with a bit of trickery.Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Covers

MacWorld discovered that any file put inside the ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ folder gets synced between Macs via iCloud. This is interesting because this folder was meant only to sync documents in apps that support the Documents & Data feature. MacWorld explains:Best iPhone 4S Covers

This doesn¡¯t really matter. What is of use is that any files put into the ~/Library/Mobile Documents folder will automatically upload to iCloud and push to any other Mac you have that is signed in to the same iCloud account and has the ¡®Document & Data¡¯ iCloud preference checked. Lion even notifies you of version conflicts and allows you to resolve them when you open the document.

Of course, the finding isn¡¯t terribly surprising. The trick simply uses the iCloud documents storage but it¡¯s noteworthy because it indicates Apple has the backend file syncing infrastructure in place.Burberry iPhone 4 Cases|Burberry iPhone 4S Cases

With iCloud, Apple retired some of the less popular MobileMe services, including iDisk which enabled Mac and Windows machines to mount their MobileMe cloud storage as a local drive. Per conventional wisdom, it would be prudent if Apple introduced a file syncing solution for Macs (possibly including iOS devices) down the road. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to make this trick standard across all home folders, making a true Dropbox replacement - perhaps even allowing for the home folder roaming via the iCloud.Hermes iPhone 4 Cases|Hermes iPhone 4S Cases

When Dropbox founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi turned down an $800 million Apple acquisition offer, Steve Jobs reportedly fixed his gaze on the young Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, telling them with a mischievous smile that Apple was going after their market, dismissing their offering as ¡°a feature¡±. Fancy that.Coach iPhone 4 Cases Covers|Coach iPhone 4S Cases Covers

Research firm Nielsen today published its third-quarter survey of mobile users, confirming that the smartphone market remains a two-horse race between Android and iOS. Google¡¯s smartphone platform grew its share of the smartphone market in the United States by four percentage points, from 39 percent to 43 percent. Apple¡¯s iOS during the same period remained relatively flat at 28 percent, making them the nation¡¯s top smartphone manufacturer (Canalyis begs to differ).Best  iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4S Covers|iPhone 4S Cases

Nielsen¡¯s study has more than four out of ten mobile phone user, or 43 percent, reporting owning a smartphone in the third quarter. The numbers don¡¯t bode well for other players who continue seeing their share shrink as a result of Android¡¯s growth, unlike Apple. Microsoft¡¯s mobile platforms combined took a seven percent share, a two percentage points decline. Research In Motion¡¯s BlackBerry OS lost two percentage points during the September quarter, down to 18 percent from 20 percent. In other news, RIM¡¯s stock has fallen below book value.iPhone 4S Covers

And look what happened to Hewlett-Packard¡¯s webOS and Nokia¡¯s Symbian: Both are now filed under the Other category. The third-quarter survey largely echoes Nielsen¡¯s June data. While Android remains the king of the hill in smartphones, things change if you consider the broader mobile market.

Per another survey released yesterday by Net Applications, which monitors 40,000 web sites, iOS devices combined widened Apple¡¯s lead in October by seven percentage points to 61.64 percent web usage share. Android? Its usage share went up from 16.9 percent to 18.9 percent, barely one-fifth of the entire mobile market. Just as Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the October 4 iPhone 4S unveiling, smartphone penetration among various age groups is growing. More on that and another pretty chart after the break.Designer iPad 2 Cases|Louis Vuitton iPad 2 Cases|Chanel iPad 2 Cases

Smartphone penetration among the segment of consumers aged 25-34 has increased from 41 percent in the third quarter of 2010 to 62 percent in Q3 2011. Even though only 43 percent of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone, ¡°the vast majority¡± of those under the age of 44 now have smartphones, Nielsen noted. Specifically, 62 percent of consumers aged 25-34 own one and smartphone penetration among those aged 18-24 and 35-44 is about 54 percent. Around 40 percent of 12-17 year-old teens and 40 percent of 45-54 year-olds reported owning a smartphone.

According to sources for Digitimes within upstream supply chains, Apple is planning complete overhauls for much of their product lineup for 2012. This seems likely seeing that Apple did not re-design any of their hardware products for a 2011 launch. The publication is calling for an all new iPhone, iMac, MacBook Air and iPad. This all new iPad is likely the one Digitimes spotted for a Q3 launch in the supply chain. This completely new iPhone could be the teardrop-shaped device we¡¯ve heard so much about and rumors of an iMac redesign have yet to become specific.
Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Covers

Apple last overhauled the iMac in 2009 with larger, brighter LED displays, thinner unibody casings, and faster processors. The most recent update came in May with an HD FaceTime camera, improved graphics performance, and faster, quad-core processors across the lineup. In addition, the publication is calling for a MacBook Air overhaul, which seems unlikely given that brand new MacBook Air designs were launched in late 2010. If Digitimes is correct about a MacBook Air overhaul, we think 15 inch addition is what they are discussing. The report says that the new iPhone and iMac are scheduled for launch during the second half of 2012, but offers no launch details for the new MacBook Air line. (Image: The Verge)Gucci iPad 2 Cases|Burberry iPad 2 Cases

Samsung made waves last month seeking to ban sales of Apple’s mobile products with 3G capabilities in the Netherlands, meaning iPhones and 3G iPads. The Hague court was anything but impressed and today denied Samsung’s request. The news came as another blow to the South Korean consumer electronics conglomerate, right after the U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh this morning ruled in a preliminary hearing that Samsung’s products infringe on Apple’s patents. According to a Reuters report, the Dutch court also rejected Apple’s counterclaims in the case:Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4 Cover|Best iPhone 4S Cover

The Dutch court found that Samsung’s 3G patents were part of essential standards which should be open to license under FRAND and that the two companies should negotiate an agreement.iPhone 4S Cases

FRAND, an acronym for “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms” in patent law, assures no company takes unfair advantage in the marketplace by patenting widespread technologies that have become part of international standards. It exists to prevent patent holders from leveraging FRAND patents against rivals.
Samsung recently issued a software update for the Galaxy line of smartphones to avoid Apple patentsin the Netherlands. They also separately filed lawsuits against Apple in France and Italy, seeking a ban on iPhone sales in these markets. In addition, Samsung threatened to ban sales of iPhone 4S Cover in Korea ahead of the handset’s introduction earlier this month. The Apple vs. Samsung legal saga now involves twenty lawsuits filed in ten different countries around the world. According to Danish professor Gert Frølund Pedersen – the same antenna expert who predicted the iPhone 4 “Antennagate” – the iPhone 4S could infringe on wireless patents he apparently sold to Samsung in 2007. In question: A technology allowing the iPhone 4S to intelligently switch between the two antennas to send and receive calls, resulting in fewer dropped calls and more reliable network connectivity. Apple’s hardware chief Bob Mansfield can be seen claiming in the iPhone 4S introduction video that Apple’s handset is the first smartphone to feature this capability. True or not, Samsung has yet to hit Apple with those patent as the company hasn’t mentioned those in ongoing lawsuits.Designer iPhone 4 Cases|Designer iPhone 4S Cases

Readers are writing in to tell us that AT&T is backlogged on their iPhone activations while Verizon and Sprint Appear to be handling the load a little better.Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4 Cases|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cover

One reason is likely sheer numbers.  Our survey (below) shows that US users are picking AT&T over Verizon and Sprint by a significant margin (mostly for the Data speed).  We¡¯ve also heard that Apple was expecting this and stocking up to five times as many AT&T iPhone 4Ss as Sprint or Verizon iPhones.Louis Vuitton iPhone 4 Cases|Chanel iPhone 4 Cases|Gucci iPhone 4 cases|Burberry iPhone 4 Cases

So which iPhone did you pick up?

.

We are getting a lot of reports that those big lines are clearing and Apple Stores actually have some stock of iPhone 4S left over (the shot above is from Naples, Florida).  While the lines are much larger than iPhone 4 lines were during the Verizon launch, they aren¡¯t as big as the iPhone 4 launch lines according to a few reports.Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cover|iPhone 4S Cases|iPhone 4S Cover

Why?  Apple now has more points of sale (+Verizon and Sprint Stores, Sams Club, etc).  Plus, online pre-orders have been popular with 1 million being sold this year in the first 24 hours on 100 carriers ( vs. 5 countries last year).  Some analysts are predicting up to 4 million unit sales in the first weekend alone.Louis Vuitton iPhone 4S Cases|Chanel iPhone 4S Cases|Gucci iPhone 4S cases|Burberry iPhone 4S Cases

From our knowledge of the situation, we¡¯ve heard that Apple has thought ahead this time and ramped up production well ahead of the release.  In fact, Apple could have released the iPhone 4S hardware much earlier if the iOS 5 software had been ready.

But that¡¯s good news for those who are trying to get in early on the iPhone 4S but didn¡¯t want to camp out or pre-order.

The bad news? AT&T activation servers seem to be taking some time to activate phones with some users reporting 5-15 minute wait times.

What¡¯s the word on the street out there?

Ever wonder exactly what iPhone case manufacturers go through prior to an next-gen iPhone unveiling? When it comes to Tim Hickman and his company Hard Candy Cases, the process consisted of spending more than $50,000 to create cases based on a rumored iPhone 5 design that never came to fruition. He even started taking pre-orders on his site.Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4 Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cover|iPhone 4S Cases

Based on tipsters in China who sent Hickman 3D models claiming to be that of the, at that point, yet to be unveiled next-gen iPhone and sporting a widened Home button and tapered design, the company got to work. Unfortunately, when October 4th rolled around,iPhone 4S Cover  that design was nowhere to be seen. Bloomberg reports:

¡°After three separate manufacturing partners in China sent him detailed 3D models of an iPhone with a widened, pill-shaped ¡°home¡± button and a slightly tapered back, Hickman decided to roll the dice. He paid $50,000 to make steel moldings to mass-produce cases for the new design and, on the morning of Apple¡¯s announcement, began taking orders on his website. The gamble backfired¡­Hickman suddenly owned $50,000 worth of paperweights.¡±

Hickman is hoping his $50,000 investment will pay off with the design being incorporated into a future iPhone saying, ¡°The data we got came from somewhere.¡± It¡¯s not surprising that Hard Candy took the risk, however, as the company won big with the September 2010 iPod touch, with their cases hitting the shelf the same week of release thanks to leaked designs.Hermes iPhone 4 Cases|Hermes iPhone 4S Cases

Case manufacturers ramping up production early based on leaked case designs is nothing new, as Apple notoriously guards new product designs even from accessory makers prior to the public unveiling. Case-maker Speck CEO Irene Baran (a company Hickman previously worked for) explains:Coach iPhone 4 Cases Covers|Coach iPhone 4S Cases Covers

¡°We listen to the rumors like everyone else does and make intelligent guesses,¡± she continued, Hickman is ¡°known to take risky moves.¡± 

We told you a couple weeks back about Apple¡¯s Reuse and Recycle program offering up to $200 in exchange for your iPhone 4. We also reported that the devices were going for even more on eBay and Gazelle. However, with today¡¯s release of the iPhone 4S, it looks like those numbers are quickly starting to decrease.Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cover|Best iPhone 4 Cases

Gazelle has dropped their estimate down from approximately $250 to less than $200 for a mint 32GB model on AT&T (approximately $170 for Verizon),iPhone 4S Cases and NextWorth is still offering up $215 ($162 on Verizon) for the same model in perfect condition, but any cracks or bad scratches will leave you with around $115. Apple¡¯s program still provides a $200 estimate for the same model (estimate courtesy of PowerON), but we expect that price to follow suit with the other services shortly. Of course the 16GB model is going for a lot less, approximately $170 on Gazelle (AT&T), $135 on Verizon (even less on NextWorth).Designer iPad 2 Cases|Louis Vuitton iPad 2 Cases
If you¡¯re planning on trading in your iPhone 4, today is the day to do it, as prices will inevitably keep coming down as the iPhone 4S hits the market. The good news is if you have an iPhone 4 in flawless condition, you might still be able to get enough to purchase a 16GB iPhone 4S on a two-year contract (if you can get your hands on one).Chanel iPad 2 Cases

In addition to the Siri feature which has gotten a lot of air time, the iPhone 4S also boasts a redesigned camera system stemming from an eight-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor and all-new optics courtesy of the wider aperture and a fifth lens. In fact, the back camera is one of the prowess of Apple¡¯s new handset, which went on sale today in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Japan. In addition to shooting full HD video at thirty frames per second, the camera supports the image stabilizing feature to reduce shaky footage often associated with phone cameras.Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cover|Best iPhone 4 Cover

The difference compared to the iPhone 4 which lacks this feature is quite dramatic, as seen in the above clip. Also note the enhanced latitude (and disregard the flickering of neon lights, the video was captured in Europe). Avid photography fans who happen to capture clips on the go frequently will admittedly appreciate image stabilization and full HD video capture. Certainly some of them will upgrade to the iPhone 4S on the merits of these major improvements in the camera system alone, we imagine.Gucci iPad 2 Cases|Burberry iPad 2 Cases

Image stabilizing taps the power of the Apple A5 chip which comes with an image signal processor unit for advanced image processing such as face detection, white balance and automatic image stabilization. ¡°The gyro along with the incredible new software will stabilize your video as you shoot it. This will make your videos a lot smoother¡±, Apple¡¯s senior vice president of hardware Bob Mansfield tells us in the iPhone 4S introduction video. Swarovski Crystal Cases|Swarovski Crystal iPhone 4 Cases|Swarovski Crystal iPhone 4S Cases

CEO Tim Cook confirmed at the iPhone 4S unveiling shipments of 250 million iOS devices since the original iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007. The iPhone 4S, the latest and greatest new model, has marked a shift in focus from hardware to software and online services. Siri, the iPhone 4S¡¯s intelligent personal assistant advertised as its killer feature, requires significant computing power on the phone, but it also taps the power of the cloud.Best iPhone 4S Cases|Best iPhone 4S Cover|Best iPhone 4 Cases|iPhone 4S Cases

And with iOS 5 and iCloud now out of the gate, Apple¡¯s commitment to cloud computing will be put to the test as millions upon millions of users scramble to back up their devices and sync their data with iCloud. The bitterness of the MobileMe fiasco still fresh, Apple planned well ahead for today and ¨C hopefully ¨C into the future.

In mid-2009, Apple publicized plans to spend a billion dollars over the course of nine years towards a data center in Maiden, North Carolina, the company¡¯s third, after lawmakers had voted in favor of huge tax incentives to big businesses. In reality, the cost of hosting its own content stores anddata belonging to iOS users has dramatically outpaced initial projections.

Looking at Apple¡¯s Property, Plant and Equipment costs in their quarterly statements, Asmyco¡¯sHorace Dediu found out the company has already poured about $750 million into the North Carolina facility. What¡¯s noteworthy about this is that Apple spent this amount of money towards the building alone, prompting Dediu to call it the ¡°down payment¡±.

Apple originally planned to invest a billion dollars over nine years and they already spent three-quarters of the allotted sum on the building alone. This excludes costs related to servers, storage equipment, personnel, research and development, licensing, bandwidth charges and more. Only a few companies are willing to spend billions on cloud infrastructure, so Apple with iCloud has essentially created a substantial barrier to entry for competitors, Dediu;iPhone 4S Cover

Apple spent $1 billion on property, plant and equipment since mid-2006. Having paid an estimated $250 million for the old HP campus in Cupertino, the remaining $750 million is the down payment for the iCloud data center building in Maiden, North Carolina.

What this level of spending implies is that iCloud (and Siri and iTunes) are expensive. They may seem ephemeral and even trivial as services, but they require a staggering commitment few can make. Apple made that commitment and they made it early on, before the first quarter billion users were even on the horizon. If platforms are moving from local to distributed and if value moves from selling things to ¡°getting to know you¡±and if that knowledge requires infrastructure control then the number of companies that can participate in the market shrinks dramatically. Not only in terms of who has the capabilities, but who could even afford to acquire them.

The North Carolina facility went live ahead of the iCloud announcement at this summer¡¯s WWDC when Jobs acknowledged the North Carolina data center, half-jokingly adding the building houses¡°expensive stuff¡±:

¡°If you don¡¯t think we¡¯re serious about this, you¡¯re wrong¡±, Jobs remarked in a subtle hint at the MobileMe mess. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty large place and it¡¯s full of stuff ¨C full of expensive stuff.¡±

The North Carolina facility is Apple¡¯s third data center to date. Some analysts believe the company will build additional super data centers all over the world in support of a new video-related gadget, perhaps the rumored Apple television set. The company bolstered engineering talent by hiring Microsoft¡¯s data center wizard Kevin Timmons in April of this year. Tim Cook, Apple¡¯s new boss, last month appointed Tunes chief Eddy Cue the new Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services. Cue is charged with leading Apple¡¯s entire cloud-based operation which encompass the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore and iCloud services.

Remember when we brought you news way back in June that AT&T would be increasing its premiums on iPhone insurance on October 4th?  This was the very first indication that Apple¡¯s iPhone launch event would be on October 4th.Apple iPhone 5 Cases|iPhone 5 Accessory|iPhone 5 chargers

Deductible: A tiered deductible per the terms of your Mobile Insurance Coverage Certificate, will apply as follows:iPhone 5 Docks

Now that is out in the open.  Prices for iPhones will increase from $4.99 to $6.99.  Such an arbitrary date may signal that the new iPhones may be ready sooner rather than later after the announcement.  Perhaps as early as October 7th.  See new screenie below.Best iPhoen 5 Cases|iPhone Five Cases

So, the iPod classic…Chanel iPhone 5 cases|iPhone 5 screen protectors|Swarovski Crystal iPhone 5 Cases

Today brought us the news of the removal of the iPod click wheel games from the iTunes Store. Even casual observers ask themselves whether that’s another clue of the beleaguered music player heading to the technology graveyard. Last week, reports indicated that both the iPod classic and the nano are heading out to pasture. The current sixth-generation iPod classic has certainly seen better days. It was last refreshed two years ago and Apple had totally ignored it with last Fall’s redesign of the iPod family. They didn’t even bother upgrading the classic to Toshiba’s latest 1.8-inch 220GB hard drive so it could carry 55,000 songs in your pocket.

Worse, iPod sales as a whole have been declining due to some cannibalization from the iPhone and because everyone has an iPod now (see chart below). More than anything, the click wheel-based iPod is a dinosaur, a relic from the past. Apple launched its first iPod on October 23, 2001. It featured a 5GB hard-drive that held “a thousand songs in your pocket” (surely you remember that tagline?) and came enclosed in the signature snow-white casing.

Everyone from Bono Vox to teenagers drooled over its sexy metal back which caught grease and scratches all too easily, literally as soon as you picked it up or laid it on a table. Ten years later, the iPod’s once revolutionary click wheel is so last century and we aren’t lusting after the design neither. It’s OK to be sad. You probably have fond memories of the iPod classic – we do. And you likely don’t want to see it discontinued.

Be that as it may, the fact is the iPod classic doesn’t fit in anymore. It can’t live in an iCloud world. Heck, it’s not even an iOS device. We’re living in a post-PC world where all-flash storage takes center stage in ultra-portable gadgets. Would Apple really do away with its most spacious music player? Read on…Rhinestone iPhone 5 cases|Gucci iPhone 5 cases

You bet! Remember, this is a company that hadn’t blinked retiring the iPod mini at the height of its popularity to replace it with the iPod nano. What’s stopping them from discontinuing a hard-drive based iPod? It’s pretty inevitable at this stage of the game. So, which product might fill the void in the above-100GB storage range? Given that 9to5Macheard from manufacturing sources that Apple has been researching 64GB versions of the new iPhone, it’s quite plausible that a 128GB iPod touch is in the works. A 128GB all-flash iPod touch would be a perfect replacement for the aging 160GB hard drive-based iPod classic.Burberry iPhone 5 cases|Coach iPhone 5 cases

To be perfectly honest, some people probably hate the idea of paying more for the 128GB iPod touch if all they need is a big enough hard drive to carry their music library in their pocket rather than run App Store apps. And with that in mind, it’s also easily conceivable that the iPod shuffle and the iPod nano may fall prey of the iCloud/post-PC world, too – perhaps morphing into wearable/iWatches. If anything, Bluetooth 4.0 technology holds huge potential to breathe new life into those tiny iPod designs. What’s your call? Is it a high time for iPod classic to head out to pasture? Share your opinion with the 9to5 crowd in the comment section below.Best iphone 5 Cases|iPhone Five Cases

Three weeks after the previous beta, Apple just pushed out iTunes 10.5 beta 9. This leading up to their iPhone media event slated for October 4. The beta will be required for devs interested in trying out the upcoming iTunes Match service and of course includes the usual list of known issues.Chanel iPad 2 cases|Coach iPad 2 cases|iPhone 5 cases

MacRumors provides us with the list of known issues from the release:

- ¡°Scan and match¡± feature is not yet complete. Some users¡¯ tracks may not be recognized by iTunes Match even if the tracks are available in the iTunes Store, and those tracks will be uploaded to the users¡¯ iCloud storage. Some tracks may also be mis-matched to a different version of the same song on the iTunes Store. 

- Music can only be added to iCloud from one computer at a time. Best iPhoen 5 Cases|iPhone Five Cases

- Updating an iOS device to iOS 5 beta 7 may result in music failing to play. Users should turn off iTunes Match in settings and then turn it back on to restore functionality. Designer iPhone 5 cases|Louis Vuitton iPhone 5 Cases|Chanel iPhone 5 cases