So now the new year has dawned, it’s time for me to get back in shape. I had planned on using my iPod Touch as the usual ever faithful companion on the long runs on the treadmill- I came across an interesting article on the iPod Touch by Mike Martin. He goes into some detail on the playlists- and even reminded me of a feature I haven’t been using but should. That timer will come him handy. You can read the full article on the iPod Touch as the ultimate exercise gadget here.

The iPod touch is taking over by storm. It seems that everywhere we go; people are listening to their MP3 players, watching portable movies, or playing portable games. We are living in an age where we crave constant entertainment and lucky for us, this entertainment is readily available. Right now, the iPod touch is capable of providing us with music, movies and games!

The iPod touch, just like the original iPod, stores all of our favorite music so we can listen to it anywhere. Remember in the olden days when we had walkmans or Discmans? In order to listen to a variety of music, we had to make our own mix tapes or burn our own CD’s. That seems like ancient history now. The iPod touch gives us the ability to listen to all of our favorite music in any order we like. We can make playlists that range from show tunes to death metal. The possibilities are endless.

In addition to music, the iPod touch is great for watching videos and playing games. The touch screen is large enough for individual viewing and the speakers can be used with or without earphones. The 3D graphics make it even more fun to play games. While you may not be able to play the latest games available for platforms such as the PSP, you can certainly enjoy thousands of different games available for download on your iPod touch. With the iPod touch, you will never be bored again.

It is also important to consider the make-up of the iPod touch. It is super slim and fits beautifully into the palm of your hand. It is stainless steel and lightweight. As previously mentioned, you can listen from the built-in speaker or use earphones. In addition, Apple has given the iPod touch a longer battery life. This seems only appropriate considering how much you will be using your iPod touch to watch videos and play games. Heck, you may never allow your iPod touch out of your hand!

When comparing all of the possible devices out there that could provide you with some of these capabilities, the iPod touch comes out ahead of the pack. You have your entertainment needs wrapped up in one small package and the price is perfect. Really, the iPod Touch could become an obsession!

The second you get a new iPod, it becomes a necessity to get iPod accessories as well! Of course you need that pink carrying case and yes, you need an arm band to work out with. Most importantly, you need an iPod dock! This is non-negotiable. An iPod dock will play your tunes through speakers even as it charges! The options are many and the costs are just as varied. Check out these options for your own iPod dock.

Many people choose the simplest option and that is the Apple Universal Dock which is pretty basic but also cost effective. This will work with any iPod. Sure, there are no bells and whistles, but if you want something and want it for a decent price, then this is what you need.

A personal favorite is the iHome IH9 Alarm Clock. Again, this will work with all iPods. There is nothing like waking up to that horrific beeping of an alarm clock. It just starts the day off wrong. Instead, it would seem more enjoyable to wake up to your favorite music. This iPod dock allows you to wake up nice and easy to your jams and start your day off right. Plus, you won’t be late for work or school or even the dentist! This is also pretty affordable considering it is a docking station and alarm clock all in one.

The Bose SoundDock digital music system for iPod is what you need if you have some money to spend! This system will give you the highest quality sound for listening to your iPod throughout your home. These are more than just speakers, but not surprisingly, you will pay more. But come on, it is Bose!

In this era, an iPod is nearly as essential as oxygen and water. Along with your cool new toy, you need to choose which docking station is right for your situation and your wallet. Whether you have enough money for the Bose iPod dock or just enough for the Apple iPod dock, rest assured that you will be able to listen to your favorite tunes wherever you are! However, I do highly recommend the Sony Clock with iPod dock just for the sake of waking up in a good mood!

I admit it, I’m an Amazon junkie. I get a lot of what I need off the web, and Amazon is one of the best ecommerce sites out there. I was skeptical when I heard about Amazon Prime and their free trial. Two day shipping free- one day shipping for $3.99. Nope, that’s not a typo, for four bucks you can ship millions of eligible items (items Amazon stocks, as opposed to it’s partners) to your house. Free for a whole month. After that they bill you an ANNUAL fee of $79.
Here’s what Amazon has to say:

Amazon Prime members enjoy the following benefits:
Fast Delivery
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items
• Upgrades to One-Day (Overnight) Shipping for just $3.99 per item

Simple Shopping
• No minimum purchase required
• Members-only 1-Click buttons on product pages
• No need to think about shipping charges

Convenient Sharing
• Members can share benefits with up to four family members living in the same household

Free Trial
• Amazon Prime new subscribers are invited to try Amazon Prime free, for one month.
After the Free Trial period, customers will be automatically charged the $79 annual fee unless they choose not to upgrade to regular annual memberships at or before the end of the trial period.

So I signed up for the free month, figured I’d order a few things and then cancel. Well the membership paid for itself when I ordered a big piece of exercise equipment. I paid an additional $4 for next day service, figuring I’d get an email explaining I couldn’t do that. Nope, next day it showed up on my doorstep. Suddenly I was able to expect 2 day delivery for free. I find myself upgrading to next day service quite a bit, it’s just nice to have what I need exactly when I want it. A month goes by, I did some math and my shipping last year was already over what a prime membership costs- so I took the plunge. I’ve been happily ordering for months- if you regularly order from Amazon it’s worth your time to take a close look at Amazon Prime.

If you’re a “technophile,” you probably already know that the mp3’s full name is Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3. If you’re an ordinary person who just wants to listen to great music – and lots of it! – then you’ll find that the mp3 is the most revolutionary media system available today. Mp3 players are top-sellers at virtually every local and on-line electronics vendor in the world. If, like some of us, you still fondly recall your vinyl records, eight-track tapes, and cassette tapes, you need to get with the program; the mp3 program, that is! Even music CDs, a technology that was once considered state-of-the-art, is falling into a distance second place compared to the meteoric rise in mp3 technology.

A brief history of the mp3 and how it works in layman’s terms may be helpful to curious new users. Simply, the mp3 is a digital audio encoding format that uses a form of lossy data compression to greatly reduce the amount of data needed to produce top-quality sound. The mp3 technology was developed in the US and Germany in 1991. Since then, these small, hand-held devices have truly revolutionized the world of music. For example, new model cars still come equipped with CD music systems, but also have an auxiliary plug-in for an mp3 device. If all this isn’t mind-boggling enough, the updated mp4 is already in some devices!

In terms of mp3 player sales, the Apple iPod remains firmly at the top of the list. This mp3 device is available in 16gb and 32gb and doesn’t stop at musical capacity; it also allows the viewer to watch recorded television, movies, music videos and podcasts. This mp3 player, according to reviewers, has a 65% brighter screen display than its competitors and has a slimmer, stronger design of a variety of dazzling colors.

But the Apple iPod isn’t the only mp3 player in town; reviewers also cite the Sony Walkman 8gb, the SanDisk Sansa Fuze and the iRiver E100 as good buys. Mp3 accessories that enhance the quality of both sounds and videos are an essential part of all these systems. Regardless of the brand of mp3 player you choose, reviewers favor headphones like the Koss PortaPro, the Sony MDR series, and the Audio-Technica QuietPoint. A sturdy carrying case is necessary to protect your mp3 from the bumps and bruises of being portable devices. Cases to suit every taste are readily available locally or on-line. Make sure you buy the right size case for your particular mp3 player. Also, a carrying case should be more than just attractive; it must be hardy enough to truly protect your valuable mp3 even from being accidentally dropped or from adverse weather if you’re caught outside jogging in a sudden rainstorm.

With today’s ever-advancing mp3 technology, you can not only download your favorite music, from Aerosmith to ZZ Top, but also catch up on a missed episode of “Boston Legal,” relax with the music video of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Dreamer,” laugh with daily podcasts from “The Bob and Tom Show”, and mesmerize yourself with Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Sweeney Todd! Mp3s are rapidly becoming “must-haves” regardless of your age, personal tastes, and degree of techno-sophistication.

CNET has an article that Wolfson (they make audio chips) would not get a lucrative contract for the next generation of media players for a major customer. What makes this interesting is that the customer has to be Apple, and it reveals they have plans to release a new generation of iPods 3rd Quarter 2008. Which makes sense, they’ve done this for the last couple years. Then Gizmodo dug up an apple patent on the Nike/iPod mash up, which looks incredibly cool. It’s an iTunes type application that allows you to integrate a fitness coach and some hardware which records your progress. The two items may not be connected, but it would be really cool if they were. Imagine being able to work out in the gym while listening to your favorite tunes, all the while staying in your target heart rate. Or maybe one day you want to run cross country- no sweat, just take your iPod and go. Be interesting to see what hits the shelves this year!

Scientific American has an interesting article on a brief study conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration that proves iPods won’t interfere with your pacemaker. They used a saline bag as a human analog and tested the electromagnetic emissions, and determined that they were at a safe level for pacemaker users. Granny is safe to listen to her music on that iPod Classic again.

Apple has just introduced a 32GB version of the Touch. You can now store about 7,000 songs, or 40,000 pictures, or 40 hours of video. All the terrific features of the 8/16GB models are retained, including:

• Wireless Support - (Wifi B/G)
• Safari Web browser, with touch screen integration
• Accelerometer enabled so when you turn the unit 90 degrees and it flips the screen, and you can read in a landscape view.
• YouTube Videos
• Search, browse, preview, purchase, and download songs and albums from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store directly
• Download photo albums, and see a list of thumbnail images, and create a slide show

Here’s our full review of the iPod Touch.

Full Press Release

Quick Links

• You can Read More Reviews or Order it Now here.
• Here’s a quick look at 32GB iPod Touches live auctions:

Apple iPhone 3G 2.0 iPod Touch Unlock 8GB 16GB 32GB A US $14.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 0:00:21 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

ACCessory lot Bundle for iPod TOUCH 8GB 16GB 32GB APPLE US $16.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 0:18:05 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

ACCessory lot Bundle for iPod TOUCH 8GB 16GB 32GB APPLE US $18.99 End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 1:43:05 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

Ipod Touch Screen Digitizer + Glass Lens 8GB 16GB 32GB US $19.99 End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 2:16:52 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

BRAND NEW & SEALED APPLE IPOD TOUCH 32GB US $308.59 (35 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 3:00:11 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Apple iPod Touch OEM LCD screen for 8GB 16GB 32GB US $49.99 End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 3:18:05 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

ACCessory lot Bundle for iPod TOUCH 8GB 16GB 32GB APPLE US $16.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 7:55:15 PST Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Apple iPhone 3G 2.0 iPod Touch Unlock 8GB 16GB 32GB A US $14.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 8:00:32 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Apple iPhone 3G 2.0 iPod Touch Unlock 8GB 16GB 32GB B US $14.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 8:12:16 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Apple iPhone 3G 2.0 iPod Touch Unlock 8GB 16GB 32GB C US $14.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 8:24:28 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

• See the current iPod Touch auctions here.

So you either love Bose or you hate them. Some people think their systems sounds terrible, some think just the opposite. I was skeptical of the hype myself, until I received a Bose Wave Radio as a gift. The sound is phenomenal and it is on the SoundDock as well. So the way this works is you cradle your iPod (no more hanging it off an outlet- admit it, you’ve done that) and it charges while it plays. They also have an infrared remote control, so you can change the track, turn up the volume, etc. I would have liked to have seen a radio remote like their home theater systems (line of sight versus changing tracks from another room), but over all it’s a great package. Bose See if you can find one in a live auction.

Mike Elgan at Computerworld Blogs has an interesting article on how the army is using the iPod to aid it in missions in the Middle East. The iPods are loaded with special software (VCommunicator), which allow the soldier to play phrases through speakers or a megaphone. A civilian version is forthcoming, so next time you travel the world your iPod may be doing more talking that you are.