Category: Tech

PepsiCo announced today that it has chosen Fanfeedr as one of 10 start-up companies for the inaugural PepsiCo10, an innovative incubator program that matches technology, media and communications entrepreneurs with PepsiCo brands to activate pilot programs in digital media and social marketing.

“The PepsiCo10 are an inspiring group of entrepreneurs, who represent the best in emerging trends in technology, media and communications. With the inaugural PepsiCo10, we are creating a new conduit for digital R&D within PepsiCo and for the industry broadly—an important endeavor as we continue to seek innovative and meaningful ways to connect with our consumers and to transform communications into a business driver.” — B. Bonin Bough, Director of Digital and Social Media at PepsiCo

Among the 10 selected were start-ups, we find gaming platforms for consumers in restaurants, amusement parks and retail stores, mobile couponing solutions, and niche social networking platforms that bring consumers together around common interests, such as music, TV and sports. FanFeedr was the only sports-focused company picked, which says a lot about the platform.

The PepsiCo10 pilot programs will bring targeted consumers of Gatorade, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Quaker Chewy granola bars and Pepsi beverages in restaurants new digital marketing activations as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Seth Kaufman, Director of Media Strategy and Investment for PepsiCo North America Beverages, PepsiCo10 is all about leveraging “outside innovation” and “cultivate emerging start-ups” while refreshing the Pepsi brand and bringing “new perspectives and inspiration.”

The rigorous selection process began in June with an open call for submissions focused on one of four innovation segments. More than 500 applicants were cut down to 20, who gave a two-day oral presentation to PepsiCo brand and marketing teams, agency partners and venture capitalists at PepsiCo headquarters.

FanFeedr stood out in the Social Media & Marketing category, being described as “a real-time personalized sports feed platform, which allows users to pick favorite teams and players, and supplies them with the most-up-to-date collection of relevant news, videos, tweets, scores and information.”

The PepsiCo10 will get support from a PepsiCo mentor and other partners, including Mashable. A spokesperson from FanFeedr shared with us that they, “are all very excited —this is a big honor.”

Two important events have occurred that will make Apple and iOS a little more open. First and foremost, there is already a jailbreak technique for iOS 4.1 that has been reported to be in working order. Secondly, Apple has reversed their position on the restrictions placed on iOS developers. This means you may soon be able to easily jailbreak your iPhone and the App Store may see a plethora of new applications.

This is a different type of jailbreak technique than what we’ve seen before. It doesn’t rely on a simple software bug, but gets right at the lower level code. This makes it impossible for Apple to “fix” with a simple software update.

“[I]t will require Apple to release a revised hardware version of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad and the iPod Touches with new bootroms in order to patch the bootrom exploit. This is the reason why iOS devices (like iPhone 3GS (new bootrom), iPhone 4, iPad, iPod touch 3G / 4G) which shipped after November 2009 are currently not jailbreakable via PwnageTool because it uses the 24kpwn bootrom exploit, already patched by Apple.” — Redmond Pie

It’s unclear when this exploit will be available to the masses, but those with jailbroken devices are advised to skip the 4.1 update for now.

On a related note, Apple just released a statement today on developer restrictions put in place earlier this year. In response to some applications being developed using third-party development tools (namely, Adobe), Apple changed their policy so that you absolutely had to use Apple’s Objective-C tools to publish software for the iOS platform. Nothing else was acceptable.

Developers protested as this killed any projects which were developed using cross-platform tools. Suddenly, you had to own Mac hardware and software to develop for iOS. Game developers using platforms like the Unity 3D Engine were left out in the cold. Jobs himself said, “intermediate layers between the platform and the developer ultimately produces substandard apps and hinders the progress of the platform.” Which made no sense at the time and makes even less sense given that Apple has changed their minds. In their press release, they say:

“We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year.

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.”

One side-effect of this change may be that we see more apps and games showing up consistently across all platforms. Developers may be able to code once and compile for everything. Another interesting twist in the story is that Apple is, for the first time, posting their App Store Review Guidelines. This may be a major step in transparency and avoiding hard work going to waste with no explanation from Apple. Why have they changed their minds here? Probably because the Epic Citadel game, with its stunning graphics and gameplay, was developed using the Unreal Engine 3, which is absolutely not part of Apple’s official Objective-C development tools.

Apple’s latest update their iOS software was just updated to 4.1. This release was aimed at fixing a bunch of bugs while also adding a few extra features to the OS that were announced last week. At the same time, Samsung is unleashing the Fascinate on Verizon customers.

iOS 4.1 is available for download now. One of the more pressing features that it addresses is fixing an issue with the proximity sensor. This sensor tells the phone how close it is to your face so that it can shut off the screen while you’re talking and prevent you from doing fun things with your cheek. Here are a few issues Corvida and others have faced (pun intended):

• Pressing the number pad in the middle of several calls
• Putting myself on mute
• Ending calls

According to Corvida, the problem with the proximity sensor is still unresolved even after the update, so your mileage may vary.

Another exciting feature is Game Center. This is something like Xbox Live, but for your iOS device. It makes it easier to find people to play with in multi-player games. It also stores achievements and helps you discover new games.

Other features include:

• The ability to upload HD quality videos to YouTube
• TV Show rentals from iTunes
• And HDR Photos

While the demo for HDR photos was interesting, it seems the actual implementation and user experience is not. This is another feature where your mileage may vary. Many are describing the difference in quality between standard photos and HDR photos as “meh.”

As many Apple fans are updating their iPhones, some Verizon customers are looking to snag a new Android device. The Samsung Fascinate is one of the latest in the Android line. It stands beside other Galaxy S phones like the Vibrant and the Captivate, sharing the same basic design as most Android phones.

There is really nothing new and fascinating about the Fascinate. It’s simply a decent phone with competitive specs and fits right into the Samsung lineup. One interesting quirk pointed out by Engadget is that it uses Bing as the default search and there is no way to change it to anything else. They also site problems with the TouchWiz skin, which they describe as a “pale and often buggy imitation of iOS.”

The Fascinate might work fine for someone who has never used an iPhone or any other Android device, but it would probably frustrate anyone else.

Are you still having problems after the iOS 4.1 update? Does the Samsung Fascinate intrigue you? Tell us about it.

via SheGeeks, Engadget

During their search event today, Google launched a few extremely important features they say will save you a lot of time when it comes to searching for what you want. Not only do you get results faster than before, but Google almost seems to read your mind as you type your search queries. It’s called Google Instant. No more clicking to search. Just type.

Instant Search

Google Instant Search is a simple concept to understand, but brings tremendous power to the user. Rather than typing in a search query, pressing Enter, and waiting for you results, you get the results instantly. As you type your query, the search page updates dynamically to bring you the most relevant results.

Predictions

We’ve all had a lot of fun with Google’s search predictions. As you type your search, Google tries to figure out what you are going to type. Predictions are show in gray and help you immediately refine your search. This is a lifesaver when you don’t really know what you’re searching for. For example, the title of a movie or name of a band.

Scroll To Search

This refers to the fact that you can scroll through Google’s drop-down predictions and see the results of those queries instantly on the page. It’s the cooperation between Instant Search and Predictions. Scrolling through your predictions and seeing the results immediately makes it that much quicker to find exactly what you want.

Feedback

Immediate feedback is what makes Google Instant so useful to you. As you type, Google suggests what you want. Not only will this save you some typing, but it may also help jog your memory about what you were really looking for or give you a suggestion for your next search.

Links and images show up on the page immediately via the magic of AJAX, which frees you up to continue your train of thought and finally get what you needed. How many times have you started out searching for one thing and got totally side-tracked somewhere else? Maybe you ended up doing so many searches that you even forgot what you were searching for.

The user benefits of Google Instant are many—but the primary one is time saved. Our testing has shown that Google Instant saves the average searcher two to five seconds per search. That may not seem like a lot at first, but it adds up. With Google Instant, we estimate that we’ll save our users 11 hours with each passing second!

Google Instant is rolling out now at Google.com for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE 8.

via Official Google Blog

After a keynote speech to the IFA consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin, Google CEO Eric Schmidt told journalists that Google is looking to launch a free TV service which will allow full Internet browsing via your television. “We will work with content providers, but it is very unlikely that we will get into actual content production,” said Schmidt.

If you recall, Apple just launched a $99 version of their Apple TV product with 99 cent rentals and full Netflix integration. It looks like Google wants to avoid creating their own device entirely and just embed the right software directly into your television. It looks like the cat is officially out of the bag as Samsung has also said today that they are looking to integrate Android software into their TV’s. “We will have to see, but we are reviewing,” said head of Samsung’s TV business Yoon Boo Keun.

Sony, exclusive HDTV partner with Google, has already integrated Android into at least one model. In May, they unveiled a prototype of a TV set that will deliver video and music over the Internet. It should be on shelves just in time for the holidays and the exclusive partnership means that Samsung may have to wait until next year. At that time, Google TV source code will be released with support for the Android Market. LG has also thrown their hat into the ring by licensing Plex and planning to offer their own version of Google TV.

This looks like a sneak attack by Google on the TV market. Everyone seems intent on developing yet another box that you have to buy, connect to your TV, and pay for service on. Google’s approach is more direct and to the point: get rid of all the extra boxes and play video and music directly from the Internet. Did you catch the part where the service will be free?

With direct access to the Internet, the possibilities are endless: Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and whichever niche video site tickles your fancy will all be at your fingertips. Google is branching out all over the place looking for new revenue streams. Even as they battle with Apple in the mobile and now entertainment markets, the TV makers themselves will be going at it to see who can create the best “smart” TV. Not only will this be a win for the consumer, but it looks like Netflix is going to make out like a bandit.

via Reuters, Bloomberg, Korea Times, Crunch Gear

Proctor & Gamble is announcing the success of their Gillette Fusion ProGlide and ProSeries razors by launching the first Web series dedicated to African-American men’s grooming. These products represent the latest shaving and skin care products from the world’s leading male grooming brand. The Web series is broken up into five parts. Participants compete in a challenge to see who is the best at shaving their beards, heads, armpits, chest and…uh…legs. While it aims to be informative, the webisodes should also be fun and entertaining with comedian JB Smoove hosting.

“We’ve already seen that the surest way to turn guys into ‘believers’ of our new Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor is simply by having them try it,” said Michelle Potorski, Associate Marketing Director, Gillette North America. “The Gillette Fusion ProGlide FaceOff Challenge highlights the significant advancement in shaving performance that Fusion ProGlide delivers.”

Gillette says they understand that “most African-American men are looking for a way to get a more comfortable shave” and that we don’t “discuss the tools and techniques needed.” It seems this Web series will be a chance to begin that discussion and have a little fun at the same time.

This isn’t the first time that Gillette and BET have worked together on a web series. Earlier this year, they did Shop Talk, a documentary-style Web series in a barbershop setting. Gillette worked with BET and Malik Yoba, who said the goal was to “stimulate dialogue within our community about issues from a male perspective rarely seen in mainstream media, although the female perspective is also important since they care about many important things as beauty products, you could Visit Truffoire for learning more about it.” and “to push the viewers to think beyond the obvious ideas that they just saw and create discussion on the blog.” Before Shop Talk BET did Buppies, a tale of LA’s young black professional élite, starring Tatiyana Ali.

It looks like BET and Gillette are trying to hit a sweet spot in niche marketing, here. They are offering an informative program on a subject that black men and even men in general don’t really discuss. By partnering with BET and reaching out directly to the African-American community, Gillette may be able to gain some loyal customers. It’s rare that we see a brand like Gillette market their products to the AA community in a way that isn’t offensive or patronizing. Editor’s Note: This post previously credited BET.com with the current Gillette advertising push featuring comedian JB Smoove, however the campaign is being run in partnership with Complex.com. Gillette has previously worked with BET.com on the Shop Talk webisode series featuring Malik Yoba.

Contestants had to shave on the spot in front of a live studio audience, which keeps things real and honest. Rather than being force-fed some message pumped out by a marketing team, viewers will get to see real results and responses from average people. The host, comedian JB Smoove, and panel of judges keep things fun. The show is also directed by Robert Townsend, who said:

“The beauty of the show is that this is the first time that there has been a discussion about grooming that is this fun and informative. We are having fun and doing something that’s never been done before. It’s a unique series and I don’t think that anything like this exists. (Men) don’t generally talk about their grooming techniques and, so, I’ve learned a lot just in listening to what everyone has to say.”

The online series launched on Complex.com on September 6, 2010. A new release comes out every Tuesday for the next four weeks. Check out the exclusive behind-the-scenes footage below.

Just a few days ago, Google changed the logo on their search page to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the buckyball or carbon dome. The second ‘o’ in the logo was replaced by a spinning buckyball which you could manipulate with your mouse. While many marveled at the animated doodle, others complained that it slowed their computers and, in some cases, crashed their browsers entirely.

This morning, Google is at it again with another doodle involving balls. Upon visiting the search page, you may see the standard logo has been built entirely of multi-colored spheres. It seems this version was first launched in the UK, but is now also available in the US. I didn’t see it at first, but noticed a small cluster of 4 balls next to the standard logo. When I clicked it, I saw what all the fuss was about.

While Google has done doodles since the late 90’s, this marks the 3rd interactive one. The first was the fully functional Pacman game to commemorate the game’s birthday. The big question this time is, what’s up with the balls? Google’s doodles are usually used to celebrate some event, but there is no hint as to what is being recognized this time. No link to related search terms. No official word from a Google representative.

The primary theory going around is that this is simply to demonstrate the power of HTML5. This is the technology that we have previously discussed in relation to Flash. Besides playing video, it allows for some very advanced things to be done in the browser. HTML5 also made a splash in the mobile arena when YouTube updated it’s interface on Android and iPhone, providing a more advanced interface in the browser and not relying on a native mobile app. This is further supported by the fact that the doodle behaves differently in Google’s Chrome browser than in others.

Of course, this is just speculation. One Google spokesperson did say that “Today’s doodle is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be. So, watch this space.” Google is scheduled to hold a press conference in San Francisco tomorrow.

via Gizmodo, Webuser

The New Digg Is Alive and Kicking

The majority of the Digg community has been actively revolting against the new Digg now that it has opened up. While there have been reports of instability, it seems the primary concern is with certain missing features. What’s interesting about that is that these are the very same features used to game the Digg site in the past. Digg v4 is trying to keep it moving, growing out of the niche site it used to be and becoming something more useful to the average person. It’s more social and focuses more on your network of friends rather than being controlled by a tight group of elite users.

Apparently, those users don’t appreciate the changes. About 3 days ago, the Digg front page was flooded with links from competitor Reddit. Users chose to digg all links auto-submitted from Reddit. Digg is in a tough place. If they don’t change, they’re doomed, but any changes they do make will be met with harsh actions and criticism. via Mashable

Android Going Hard Into the Tablet Market

The Samsung Galaxy Tab dazzled and impressed when it finally became official. It’s 7″ of Android Froyo goodness that will definitely give the iPad a run for it’s money. It is also capable of many things the iPad may never do, including Flash support and multiple video formats. If that wasn’t enough, Archos just launched a complete line of 5 Android tablets of various sizes and features. All will ship with Android 2.2 and you can get one for as little as $99. I’m pretty sure this is only the beginning.

The 2010 Black Weblog Award Winners

The results are in for this year’s Black Weblog Awards. 27,000 people made their voices heard and, in some cases, the judges and the popular vote disagreed. For the first time in BWA history, there was a tie in one of the categories. Also, Black Web 2.0 won the “Science or Technology” category.

The staff of Black Web 2.0 would like to extend our congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this years award. We would also like to send a special thank you to everyone who voted for us in the “Best Science of Technology Blog” category. All our accomplishments would be nothing without you our readers. We are honored and humbled by our win and remain committed to bringing you the best of blacks in technology.

The 200 Most Powerful Black People on Twitter

Controversy erupted as we first listed the 100 Most Powerful Black Women on Twitter, followed by the 100 Most Powerful Black Men on Twitter. This was a quantitative analysis based on scores from Klout and Twitter Grader. Many were disturbed or angered by the fact that athletes and entertainers dominated, especially in the mens’ category. The lists were meant to spark discussion, not as a guide for who to follow on Twitter. As the discussion brewed, some very interesting points came up. One comment that stood out was by Elon James White:

“How do we as Black people change the national conversation on race and perception when we AS BLACK PEOPLE aren’t even aware of the different voices that are out there.”

He went on to say how important it is to “be open to change and share our information readily.” We can mostly agree that the media will not highlight many of those black leaders who deserve it, so it is up to us to promote them, share their content, and try and change things.

The launch of the Ping social network at Apple’s recent media event isn’t really something most of us expected. It’s an interesting service which uses your social network to help you discover new music within iTunes. Of course, in order for it to be of any use, you need to have a social graph for it to pull data from. Most sites would simply connect to your Twitter and Facebook to give you a base to work from, but this isn’t possible for Ping because Facebook decided to block Apple’s API access.

Why the Block?

Most of your up-and-coming applications that connect to Facebook do so without any formal agreements. This is because they are usually small and won’t cause much of a dent in Facebook’s resources. For companies like Twitter and Apple, Facebook requires some type of agreement in place just to cover their bases. That many users trying to sync up their entire social graph from Facebook could be a problem.

In Apple’s case, they had all the functionality in place and the Facebook feature worked for a day or so, but was promptly blocked by Facebook at the API level. This is because the two companies never reached any agreement. Apple hasn’t commented on the matter, but Facebook did give a canned response:

“We’re working with Apple to resolve this issue. We’ve worked together successfully in the past, and we look forward to doing so in the future”

Can They Squash It?

Why does this canned response sound familiar? Hrm… Oh! Because this is the same message we got from Facebook after a similar situation with Twitter: “We are working with Twitter to resolve the issue.” Facebook and Twitter were never able to get it together, so it’s not really looking good for an agreement between Facebook and Apple. This is especially true given that Jobs himself says Facebook wanted “onerous terms that we could not agree to.”

While a simple partnership would benefit both companies, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Both companies are well-known for being stubborn. However, if Ping can’t get the social ball rolling on its own, it may need a boost from Facebook to fill in the blanks.

via AllThingsD, TechCrunch, NYTimes

Snoop Dogg is hooking up with Symantec to promote a contest against cybercrime. Contest participants simply have to display their rap skills in an anti-cybercrime video.

The “Hack is Wack” contest challenges the public to upload their best two-minute rap video on the subject of cybercrime to a website by Sept. 30. The entries will be judged on creativity, originality and their message — the winner will receive round-trip airfare for two to Los Angeles, two nights of accommodations, two tickets to a Snoop Dogg concert and a new laptop with Norton security software.

I guess Snoop Dogg really is into everything. In a video interview he says, “We’re trying to get people to raise awareness by making a rap song about cybercrime because a lot of people don’t even realize that this is happening.” Snoop is confident that using his name will help raise awareness about cybercrime.

Not only will the winner of the contest probably get covered on tech blogs across the web, but they also get a chance to step their music game up. They will get a chance to meet with Snoop’s management team and learn how to take their music career to the next level. Snoop also hinted that he might jump on a track with the winner if the song is hot enough, saying “If the song is good enough, I might throw a verse or a hook or something like that.”

This definitely looks like a good deal for some aspiring artist who can also articulate the dangers of cybercrime in a hot 16. I would suspect that Snoop may take a more involved role depending on how good the winner of the contest is. We all know how much he likes doing online video.

As far as Symantec goes, even though they’re the makers of the popular Norton Security software, this will definitely raise awareness for their brand. Teaming with Snoop exposes Symantec to a new audience that might have known of the company, but really didn’t understand their purpose. In the meantime, cybercriminals beware because Snoop is on the case. When asked about starting a security team, he said “Come on man, you know when my team come after you, we gonna get you.”

via Snoop Dogg, Symantec team up on cybercrime

The Samsung Galaxy Tab became official today after Samsung announced it at a press conference at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin. They are calling it a “smart media device.”

“Samsung recognises the tremendous growth potential in this newly created market and we believe that the Samsung GALAXY Tab brings a unique and open proposition to market. There is a new and emerging consumer demand that Samsung can satisfy since mobile is in our DNA. This demand continues to grow and develop as users tap its limitless potential. The Samsung GALAXY Tab has been designed to enable consumers to maximise their online experience wherever that may be. The Samsung GALAXY Tab is pushing the market in new directions and Samsung believes this is only the beginning of its innovations as pioneers in smart media devices.” — Simon Stanford, Head of Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland

The Tab looks a bit like the HTC Evo, except that it’s 7-inces and will definitely not fit in your pocket. It’s running Android 2.2 (Froyo), is powered by a Cortex A8 1 GHz processor, has 512 MB of RAM and 16 or 32 GB of internal microSD memory. Samsung claims that the 7″ screen is the “perfect” size for enjoying all types of media content via a PC-like browsing experience.

Getting to the point, the Tab is definitely a worthy competitor to the iPad. It has dual cameras and supports 3G and WiFi, so videochat is a possibility. Flash is fully supported and it can handle a bunch of video formats, including DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, and H.264.

In addition, Samsung has unveiled both an e-reading application and a media hub. These make it easy to get new content on your device and seem to be Samsung’s answer to iTunes.

The ‘Readers Hub,’ Samsung’s unique e-reading application, provides easy access to a vast digital library – from classical literature to the latest bestsellers and reference materials. At the same time, Samsung unveils ‘Media Hub,’ a gateway to a world of films and videos, and ‘Music Hub,’ an application giving access to a wide range of music tunes.

It may not be a real iTunes competitor, but with the other features packed into the Samsung Galaxy Tab, it should be enough to make the device more than useful.

via Engadget, Mashable, Gizmodo

It looks like Apple still has a few tricks up their sleeves. While completely redesigning their entire iPod lineup and finally molding Apple TV into something resembling a useful consumer product, they also managed to make some important tweaks to iTunes. There are a few small design changes, but the most important feature addition is a social networking component called Ping.

Ping allows iTunes users and artists to follow each other and to be followed. The concept is much like the type of network you would find on Twitter. Thinking ahead to avoid any major privacy problems, you have to opt-in or “raise your hand” (as Jobs put it) to be followed. Jobs is hoping that most artists do choose to be public and followed.

Just as you might find on Facebook and Twitter, Ping revolves around an activity feed. You can post videos, photos, comments, opinions, and songs. You can comment on anything that has been posted. Of course, songs can be purchased with a single click.

When viewing an artist’s page, you will be able to see their upcoming performances. On your own page, you’ll get a look at concerts near you. Ping is attached to your iTunes just like Buzz is stuck inside your Gmail. The difference here is that you can get at your Ping network from your mobile device. In your iTunes app, check your recent activity to see what your friends and favorite artists are up to. You also gain access to custom song and album charts created from you and your friends’ activity.

iTunes has served up 11.7 billion songs, 450 million TV episodes, 100 million movies, 35 million books, and has 160 million accounts. That’s a lot of people you can follow, and a lot of music that can be passed around. Especially since Ping will be available on the iPhone as well. — Gizmodo

This is definitely not the cloud-based music streaming service that many were pining for, but it is definitely an interesting step for Apple. I think iTunes may have put a huge dent into the profits of many smaller startups that focus on sharing what you’re playing.

iTunes 10 is available now for Apple customers and is coming soon for Windows.

Apple TV never quite found its footing, but this latest update may take it to the next level. One important design choice is to eliminate storage. Apple TV is streaming only, eliminating the need for users to worry about how much space they have left. This also means Apple doesn’t have to worry about storage management.

It has a built-in power supply, HDMI, ethernet, and 802.11n wireless. No local storage means no purchases, only rentals. It also means that the device is tiny and silent. Everything is streamed in HD quality when available. You can also stream directly from your computer, which is probably where you store all your purchased items anyway.

New releases will be available for $4.99 in HD on the same day they’re available on DVD. You can stream ABC and Fox offerings for $0.99 each. They’ve also integrated reviews from Rotten Tomatoes so that you can avoid ruining family night with a bad movie choice.

Apple TV now comes with full Netflix integration, which makes it a win-win for consumers. This also highlights the strength of the Netflix service for instant streaming. As it stands, you either need a gaming console or a computer to watch Netflix movies and shows instantly. With Apple TV, you simply hook the tiny box up to your TV and gain access to the Netflix instant library. It requires minimum setup and configuration, and the device is targeted for one specific task. With a price tag of $99, this makes Apple TV almost a must-have device.

As Gizmodo puts it, “they are getting the message: It’s not all about their iTunes store. That’s good.” It most certainly is. If Apple TV can eliminate the need for many of the home theater hacks and custom configurations we see in many home theater setups, it could earn a full-time position in many homes. Not only that, it can transcend from a hobby or niche device to something that lowers the bar for the average user.

No more tinkering with software and custom hardware. Just plug in the box and go. For $99, I’m sure many would give it a try. Not sure how the cable companies are going to feel about it, though.

Apple has sold 275 million iPods. Even though iPod sales have always done well, Jobs says they’ve never sat back on their laurels. Every year they keep pushing for a better product. To that end, they have completely redesigned each iPod model.

At the heart of many of these changes is iOS. Not only has it brought some amazing features to the iPhone 4, but it has also been used to enhance the iPod lineup. iOS 4.1 brings many bugfixes to the iPhone 4, fixing the proximity sensor, bluetooth, and iPhone 3G. Other features include:

• HDR Photos – Switching on HDR causes your phone to take three separate photos: One regular exposure, one under exposed shot, and one over exposed shot. They keep both the normal photo and the HDR photo, which is combined from all 3 exposures. This results in being able to pick out detail you would otherwise miss out on.
• Game Center – the ultimate in multi-player gaming from the palm of your hand, including a new title codename “Project Sword” developed by Epic and running the Unreal engine (think “Gears of War”).
• TV Show rentals and purchases.
• Upload full HD to YouTube directly from your phone.

It will be available as a free download next week.

iPod Shuffle

The iPod Shuffle initially had buttons, but did away with them in favor of the Voice Over feature. This let you control and interact with your iPod Shuffle by talking. Even though many loved the feature, others still missed their buttons. The newest incarnation of the iPod Shuffle brings the best of both worlds, bringing back the buttons and keeping the Voice Over feature. This is the smallest iPod ever. They’ve also integrated Genius mixes as well as your standard playlists. You can get the Shuffle in 5 different colors for $49. It holds 15 hours of music.

iPod Nano

There are two major changes in the iPod Nano. It is 46% smaller than before and you can clip it to your clothes like an iPod Shuffle as it’s about the same size. To compensate for the lack of buttons, you can now control the Nano via a touch screen. It also includes the Voice Over technology from the Shuffle, Multi-tasking, ping+twist to change screen orientation, FM Radio, and holds 24hrs of music. You can get an 8GB for $149 or a 16GB for $179.

iPod Touch

The iPod Touch has become the #1 portable gaming device. Jobs says, “The iPod touch outsells Nintendo and Sony’s portable game players combined. It’s been amazing.” How can they make it better? By giving it all the features of the iPhone 4 without the actual phone. The new device is thinner than before and includes a Retina display. It has a 3-axis gyroscope to improve gaming and is integrated with Game Center to make multi-player gaming easier. It comes with iOS 4.1 and has dual cameras so you can now FaceTime from your iPod Touch. The rear camera records in HD and you can edit video right on the device. It holds 40hrs of music and comes in at $229 for an 8GB, $299 for a 32GB and $399 for a 64GB.