Applications for your Apple Device

After the release of the iPhone and the iPod Touch , there has been a growing interest in adding all kinds of cool applications to these devices. There are games, coin flippers, handy tools. All kinds of neat little add-ons to your digital device. Some are free, while others have to be purchased.

The following are some of the most popular free applications-
1) Bubble Wrap

This application gives you a virtual sheet of bubble wrap. Via the cursor, one can pop the individual bubbles. There are time constraints, and the goal is to pop as much of the wrap as you can. A score is then given according to the amount popped. It is quite simple, but some people may feel a sense of relief or destressing by doing it. It could be great for keeping young kids occupied some as well. Lol.










2) Freebird

This is a neat one. With the Freebird application, one can have a virtual lighter, candle, or glo-stick emanating from their screen. The description says, "A fun little app that helps you out in any concert situation." The lighter is very realistic because it moves and appears as a real live light. Have the coolness of a full, glowing light without the heat or danger.












3) Google Earth

One can get all of the access to the satellite imagery and mapping of Google Earth. Never will you be lost for long again with this on your digital device. Parts of maps also have "W" logos. When these icons are clicked on, you get the Wikipedia entry for that specific place.












Popular pay applications-
1) Car Finder

This application will mark where you have parked your car. When you are ready to leave, you can then find your parking spot and car by getting exact directions to it, or by tracking where it is via a map. This could be real handy for people who are very busy, or for those that are a little more absent minded.












2) Flight Status

You can now check all of the flights around the world with this application. This program has access to over a thousand carriers and about 4,200 airports. One can search flights by many different items- number, airline, time, airport... For the busy traveler, this could be a very essential program to throw on the iPod.












3) iDrink

The regular alcohol consumer will love this application. There is a library of over 4,500 cocktail recipes available in iDrink. One can create a favorite tab of drinks. Also, edits can be made to recipes if you want one to be slightly different. A very handy program for deciding on or mixing a new drink.












This is just a "tip of the iceberg" for iPod applications. There are tons more out there, and tons more being created all the time. There is so much that we can now do on these little digital devices. It is truly amazing when you compare it to the technological devices we were using only a couple decades ago. To see an extensive site on Apple iPod applications, go to the following link: appstoreapps.com

iPod Photoshopped- messages and examples.

With the popularity of the iPod device, there has been numerous photoshopped pics relating to Apple and their famous iPod's. I decided to try to find the most interesting of these created. Many of them are sending a specific message to the viewer, while some are just for fun and humor. While weaving through some of the WWW, I came to a site- Worth1000.com. This is a large site that has contests, galleries, forums, and tutorials all about photoshopped images. One could spend a lot of time here browsing these changed images on all kinds of topics. After searching for "iPod", I was returned 428 results. I knew I would find some serious writing and thinking material off of all of these pictures.

Exhibit A














This picture is titled "Supernano". Once cell phones and mp3 players were here to stay on the market, many companies strove to make their products smaller and smaller. This helped for portability and for being able to slip devices into your pockets. Just with the iPod, there are nano's and shuffle's. This is an exaggeration of course, but "predicts" the next step in completely miniaturizing these new technologies for people.

Exhibit B



















A young Mozart pictured listening to his iPod while near his keyboard. This picture makes one think of the history and progression of music. What other masterpieces could have talented composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn written if they had the iPod and sharing of music technologies??? Nowadays, one can find nearly any piece or genre of music they want, and then incorporate it into their personal library. If this was available in the further past, we would have seen more experimentation, more collaboration, and all kinds of new, interesting music.

Exhibit C














Here is a scene shot from the famous movie Casablanca. It is modernized of course with an actor on an iPhone, and the other using his Apple laptop with earbuds. This use of anachronism was a common theme I saw throughout some of the photoshopped pictures. People will take scenes from the past and infuse them with the things of today. Also, some cleverness was placed in this work too. There is an Apple logo in the background smoke, and the man sitting in the back left has a striking resemblance to Steve Jobs.

Exhibit D



















This is a clever creation here. A couple interesting things I would note about this picture, is that they use bright, vivid colors for the cigarettes. These are the kind of colors that Apple likes to use in its advertising, and on some of their devices. Also, they say that there is an "interchangeable USB filter". LOL. Everything Apple creates, and most all digital devices nowadays have a USB port integrated into them. This has become the standard way of connecting and transferring information for our technological devices of the modern day. Some expensive smokes I would guess.....

Exhibit Humor














Maybe this would make those moody and angry felines more approachable.















The iPod is ubiquitous, so someone has now created a prototype to have it as their bathroom wallpaper.

Positives and negatives of iPods on college campuses

I ran across two very interesting articles on the net here about iPods and their uses on college campuses. We will start with the "positive" article first.

iPods are now known to be used a study aid for some college students.
Excerpt- "Six schools — Duke, Brown, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Missouri School of Journalism — recently participated in a pilot program with Apple called iTunes U."








Above: Two highly ranked schools intergrating iPods into their academics. Duke and Brown.

This format of iTunes allows students to download and organize lectures from professors. Some teachers have said that providing these lectures and materials has not hurt class attendance. There are noted incidents where class attendance was better because students enjoyed conversing more about what they watched and studied. I am sure there is a group of students that would use these technologies to not go to class as well. If I was short on time, I would bet I'd fall into that category to be honest. Since the iPod device has become ubiquitous among younger people, this is a great way to use it in an educational manner on campuses. Some think this is just a fad, while others think it is something that will last and stay. We will see...
Link- USA Today- "iPods now double as study aids" by Ken Fuson

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Apple has recently made deals for consumers where if they buy an Apple computer/laptop, they will also then get a free iPod mp3 player. This can cause some problems for college students though. iPod use in the classroom can really disrupt the learning process. Also, many people will be "plugged in" to their iPod in between classes or while walking across the campus. This puts them in a virtual world of their own, removing them from the people and surrondings right in front of them. There were a couple very noteworthy quotes from this article in the Boston College paper-
1) Greg Johnson, student, said he usually prefers to listen to music while walking through campus. "I usually don't talk to anyone in between class," Johnson said. "It's nice to listen to music while you're walking. It's like a soundtrack."
2) Whether in the classroom or on the school grounds, a student body that remains checked out could minimize interaction, and communication could thereby suffer. "We must remember the virtual communities we create for ourselves cannot stand in place for our real communities," Lang said.
Link- BC Heights Student Paper- "iPods on campus may hurt classroom learning" by Jeff Davis.

This second article directly ties into our course book Interpersonal Divide by Dr. Michael Bugeja. There is a whole chapter titled The Blurring of Identity and Place that deals directly with this subject. Bugeja states, "Many have lost that sense of security due to the blurring of place." Also, there is a "blurring of identity that occurs when technology places an individual in two or more places at once." All of this iPod use should be thought about by my generation so we make sure we don't become isolated or disembodied from all that is in the "present, real community".Above: A younger lady tuned into another world via her iPod.

Songs and Bands on iPod ads

This video features the song "Technologic" by Daft Punk. This group is a duo of French musicians specializing in electronic music. They have numerous dance/pop hits. Their hit song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was used as the basis for the huge hit "Stronger" by Kanye West in the US.


Similar to the first video. Apple likes to use the solid color backgrounds and the shadows of people dancing in the ads. A cool effect. Simple, but effective, like their designs and devices... This features the band Jet. They are from Melbourne, Australia. My favorite song of theirs is "Look What You've Done". More laid back than the song used on the commercial ("Are You Gonna Be My Girl"). Good stuff.



All I can say is to watch both of the above videos to fully understand. The ad is based off the AWESOME dance scene from the movie Napoleon Dynamite. Music by Jamiroquai. Nice!!


And the final video you can view is of the famous American rapper Eminem with his hit "Lose Yourself". He is also known as Slim Shady, and as I like to call him at times, Marshall Mathers. This is his actual name that you rarely ever hear.
Apple has made some of these ad songs hot items to download and purchase. Their ads are appealing to the consumer and have helped to spur on certain hit tracks and groups.

Apple Environmental Report

The heads at Apple placed an environmental update and report on their site for the public to view. Apple has been making strides toward being more and more environmentally friendly over the last few years.

They have vowed to remove mercury and arsenic from their displays. They are going to be replacing this with more efficient LED technology. They are also working on eliminating PVC's and BFR's from all of their products (see links below to learn more about these abbreviations).

Here is a quote describing Apple's stance on its products and the environment- "The new MacBook family features only LED displays and continues our progress representing the greenest notebooks we’ve delivered to date."

They have become involved much with recycling of products. They have product take back options almost everywhere. You can give back your old or worn out Apple products to the company and they will recycle of them in a positive way. Dell supposedly was a company that pioneered some of these greener ideas.

Apple and other companies are becoming more aware of the environment, which is great. They are focusing on keeping down greenhouse emissions from their factories and devices. Apple has made all of their info. on this "green work" available to the public via the web.

Links- 1) Apple Environmental Update from Steve Jobs
2) Apple 2008 Environmental Performance















"Going Green"

Toys R Us and Apple.

While searching the net, I came across an interesting site. The site, called iPodNN, is an extensive site relating to this media player. There is a wealth of information on the site. Its main headings include: iPod News, Podcasts, Reviews, Blogs, Forums, Services, and Contact. Check it out....

Anyways, I came across an article about an agreement between Toys R Us and Apple. Who would have thought that the ultimate toy store geared towards younger kids would be a seller and avid supporter of the iPod? The new media is passing down to younger generations pretty quickly.

Toys R Us is a dedicated toy and baby product retailer. They have over 1500 stores throughout the nation. There are also some stores titled Babies R Us that are strictly geared toward the younger ones. The company began in 1978 and is based in the state of New Jersey ("joo-sey" if your from the East Coast).
The company has a huge store in New York's Time Square. It has a giant Ferris wheel (above), and is a favorite tourist attraction for some NY visitors.

To my news (lol), there is one of their stores located here in Fargo:
TOYS"R"US - FARGO [9538]
4603 13TH AVENUE SOUTH
FARGO, ND 58102
Phone: (701)281-8697

Anyways, the products of Apple that Toys R Us will carry are: the iPod Touch, the Nano, and the Shuffle in blue, pink, or silver. There will of course be accessories as well, such as: cases, car adapters, iTunes gift cards, and some iHome goods. The store plans to create "iPod Boutiques" sections. This will be the specific Toys R Us zone for everything iPod.

Check out the iPodNN article mentioned above.

Also, according to this article, it has been rumored that Wal-Mart will soon begin to carry the iPhone. We will see......

iPod Ecosystem

Again, I will talk some about accessories for the iPod. They have acquired quite a market. This makes many companies happy because they get a large profit margin for these add-ons. A study found that the global sales on iPod cases, car chargers, and docking stations last year was up to 850 million!! This in turn makes the player even more popular of course.

All of these extras for iPods has been coined the "iPod ecosystem" by some. The straightforward, "bland" style of the iPod has possibly aided in people acquiring more of these add-ons as well. Some smart people over there at Apple.

There have been some quite luxurious add-ons. Here are some to name a few:
- $200 python iPod case by Coach.
- iJoy massage chair from the Sharper Image catalog.
- and my favorite, the TuneBuckle belt for the iPod nano.

A quote from a NYT's article sums some of this ecosystem up:
Mr. Humphrey of Kensington, which makes about a dozen iPod accessories, called the accessory market "a real phenomenon," adding, "I've never seen anything like it in my career."

A link to this excellent NYT's article by Damon Darlin.- "The iPod Ecosystem"

Check out these wild pictures (iPod add-ons in visual):
















Coach's Python cover.













THEE TuneBuckle for the iPod Nano.

This post's information is all possible because of collective intelligence. Over the last few years, the site Wikipedia has become more and more popular. There is a wealth of information on this site because its encyclopedia-like entries are created and updated by the public. This is a true example of modern collective intelligence at work. Henry Jenkins (below, in all his glory.) would be proud of all of this.

On to the real stuff now. I printed off the thirteen page Wikipedia entry on the iPod. With this much length, I was bound to find information that you and I both didn't know. The following is some very interesting material on the beloved iPod.

Apple's reasoning for making the iPod was because the company found existing digital music players as "big and clunky or small and useless". These players also had interfaces that were "unbelievably awful". I was quite young at the time, but I am sure this was definitely the case from viewing some of those older players. The first generation iPod was developed in under one year by a team of engineers. The greatness of this device is now clearly known. As of September 2007, there had been more than 150 million iPods sold worldwide. This made it the best-selling digital audio player series in history!

The iPod has been known for its ease of functions and graphical interface. This was not all developed in-house though. Apple originally contracted Pixo to help design and implement the user interface under the supervision of Steve Jobs. The interface has been described as "uncluttered and minimalistic". With time, Apple began to refine this interface on their own. Another way that the iPod is so user friendly is in the variance of file types that it supports. For audio, the devices support MP3, AAC/M4A, AIFF, WAV, and more. For pictures, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG formats are all supported.

The creation of the iTunes store in 2003 helped pushed popularity of the device as well. Here, one can find a huge collection of mainline and rare music. They can purchase individual songs for 99 cents a piece, or full CD album's for $9.99. Eventually, movies and other forms of media were for sale in the iStore. All of the audio files purchased off of Apple's store contain added encryption. The encryption only allows the file to be put on a few # of computers. For some, this is a negative, but it does help to prevent illegal p2p sharing. One is not limited to the program of iTunes or its store though, there have been many third party applications created that can serve all of these functions for your iPod use.

A few other bits of material you may find intriguing:
-There is a huge market of accessories for the iPod. The main companies for these are Belkin and Griffin.
-iPods originally connected and charged using FireWire. All models now use USB for this.
-The first car company to have iPod integration in their vehicles was BMW.
-There have been three different generations of the earbuds that come along with your iPod. The first two generations have been described as too bulky and not as comfortable.
-iPods have gained popularity for use in education. In the fall of 2004, Duke University offered all incoming freshman an iPod. This has also been done at Abilene Christian University in TX with the iPhone and iTouch models (*see previous post*).

To learn more and use collective intelligence- Wikipedia: iPod entry

Noteworthy Recent iPod News

Lawsuit
Luxpro Corporation recently filed a lawsuit against Apple in Arkansas for supposedly holding a monopoly in the digital media player market. They claim that Apple knocked their own shuffling model player off of the market. Luxpro's player was unveiled in Germany in the year 2005.

According to the lawsuit, "Apple sent warning letters to other companies doing business with Luxpro demanding that they cease doing business with Luxpro. For example, Apple placed significant pressure on InterTAN, a subsidiary of U.S.-based consumer electronics giant Circuit City, to drop Luxpro's MP3 players from its retail shelves."

Luxpro is asking for 75,000 US dollars in return. Apple has supposedly not commented on the suit.

Even in Luxpro won, Apple wins huge. Their own sales in the shuffle players is in the millions compared to a measly 75 thousand. I would hope that these claims are not true. I would think much less of Apple as a company if they conducted business in this manner.

An article about the lawsuit.
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2009 Automobiles
The year 2009 will be a notable year for Apple. Over half of the vehicles driving in the US, will now have iPod integration. This is a much more stable and reliable way to connect your iPod in the car, unlike an FM transmitter. Previously, this was an option in only some of the higher end/luxury models. Several car companies are now making iPod integration standard for all of their models. A large contract that was signed a couple years ago has aided much to this statistic. Apple had signed a contract with US Mazda, Ford, and General Motors to have the majority of models contain "bona fide iPod integration". Things are still looking quite high and up for the iPod and its control of the digital media player market.


A couple articles on this topic to peruse:
1) Apple iPod Integration coming to Ford, GM, Mazda
2) American vehicles offer iPod support
Above: iPod integration in a recent American made Chevrolet model.

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Campus Connection- literally!
Abilene Christian University in my home state of Texas recently had a technology change for incoming freshman. In addition to forms and papers, and parking permits, each freshman received an iPhone or iPod Touch. The choice between the two was theirs. The payment for these was calculated into tuition and student fees.

Students from the school say they get plenty of use out of the devices. Some teachers ask the students to pull them out in class to look up pertinent information. Students also have access to a campus document system on their devices. Through this, they can see syllabi's, spreadsheets, podcasts, and other things. Many students used a 3D campus map and list of their classes to figure out when and where to go at the beginning of the semesters.

This is a very clever and modern approach this school has taken. I hope to see this pop up more throughout the US. This can be a very good way to keep the level of connectedness fair and constant, and it gives the school a way of always being in touch with their learning students.

An article about this technology policy at Abilene Christian.







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The negative side of mp3 player earbuds

Apple CEO Steve Jobs listening with his Apple iPod earbuds.

Many people use earbuds to hear music from their personal audio devices in the modern day. They can give the sense of drowning out the chaos outside of yourself, but not all positives come from this. According to tests and studies, most people listen with earbuds at too high of a volume. An article that was recently placed in the NY Times was titled, "Study Warns of Hearing Loss From Music Players". This information originated from Brussels. This shows that this is a worldwide problem. The following is an interesting excerpt from the article:

It also threatens permanent hearing loss for as many as 10 million Europeans who use them, according to a scientific study for the European Union that will be published Monday.

The report said that those who listened for five hours a week at high-volume settings exposed themselves to more noise than permitted in the noisiest factory or work place. Maximum volume on some devices can generate as much noise as an airplane taking off nearby.

This entire article from the NY Times may be viewed HERE.

For many, including myself, this is shocking and disturbing information. I am now going to be much more aware of volume controls on my earbuds. Since I want to be a classical musician, the last thing that I want to go for me is good hearing!!

Another disturbing bit of information regards the generation that I am in. So many young people have grown up with, and listen to portable music players all the time. This means there will be high occurrences of hearing loss when these people get older. Unfortunately, the loss is gradual and can be most noticeable years after it has happened.

According to John Pavlik in his book Digital in the Media Age, he states, "More than half of teenagers surveyed report at least one symptom of hearing loss. Most parents are unwilling to put limits on the amount of time their children use earbud devices. Adults tend to use earbuds for longer periods of time, but teens tend to turn up the volume higher.

As a rule of thumb, if a person standing near another person listening via an earbud can hear sound from the earbud, then the volume is too loud and can cause hearing loss, either temporary or permanent."

This is very wise information to keep in mind. These earbuds are not only used in mp3 players. People regularly use them for laptops, portable DVD players, cell phones, and other devices. The modern society must become more aware of this news about earbuds (aka- in the ear headphones). If not, we will be suffering from much widespread hearing loss throughout the world in the years to come. Young people who are going into the medical field may want to think about being an "ear doctor". There will most likely be plenty of work to do in the future.

Below: WE DON'T WANT THIS.

More iPod items and options

The iPod Nano Chromatic was recently unveiled by Apple. New/updated features include: 24 hr. battery, new hot colors for the player, a "genius feature" in the playlists that groups similar songs together, and more memory and space for your dollar.

Check these out at the Apple Store (iPod Nano Chromatic), and also a quick article from when the device was released.
Above: A new promotion ad for the new model of the Nano.

There are some very cool innovations that Nike and Apple have collaborated on as well. If one buys a Nike kit and sensor sold by Apple and a pair of Nike+ shoes, they can track all of their workout status through their iPod device. There is a Nike menu that will appear on the iPod, allowing you to do custom and past favorite workouts. One may also do a workout according to distance, time, or burnt calories. Nike has even created Sport Music listening playlists that are great for workouts. During the exercise, your device continually updates you with various information regarding the workout. After workout completion, you can sync your iPod to the computer and store and track information via nikeplus.com.

Some exercise companies have now been manufacturing machines that are compatible with iPod/Nike hardware. In these cases, you simply just use a connector to link to the machine. All info. is tracked and saved to your device. Very cool. Maybe if I purchase some of these cool gadgets it will get me in the gym some more...

Apple website link to Nike/iPod collaborated technology.

Above: Nike/iPod collaboration.

Interesting iPod Technology Add-Ons

Griffin is a technology company that makes all kinds of accessories and add-ons for the iPod.

The iTrip is one of their big sellers. This is a small device that plugs into the bottom of the player. It syncs up with an open FM frequency on the radio in your car/home (wherever...). Now, you can play your iPod music through your speakers using this open frequency. The ticket price is only 50 dollars. The device is capable of auto-tuning to ensure you are connected to a frequency with a strong signal. There are ports on the iTrip which allow you to charge the iPod while using the device. There is also a back lit display for seeing clearly in all situations.

Another handy device that couples or families would especially enjoy is the Griffin PowerDock.

This item is a charging base for the iPhone and any form of the iPod. They plug into the wall, and are available in 2 or 4 slot docks. The body of the charger is made of brushed metal, and the bottom has grippy rubber for stability. This is a very handy, visually appealing way to charge all of your Apple "iDevices".

Above: The Griffin PowerDock (4 slot)

The Griffin Journi is another add-on that caught my eye. This is a personal mobile sound system. There is a slot that your iPod slips into. It is like a new age boom box you could say.
The following is how Griffin describes this device:
"Journi, Griffin's personal mobile speaker system, has great sound wrapped up in a rugged, go-anywhere package. Charge Journi up, slip your iPod into the Dock, and hit the road.
Journi evolved from a simple idea. Apple's go-just-about-anywhere iPod deserves a set of portable speakers that don't sound like they ran your music through a meat grinder. Journi rises to the challenge with great-sounding portable speakers in an ingeniously designed, easy-to-use form factor."
Great for traveling, and a supposed excellent sound quality. Only for 130 dollars. This would be a great addition to your iPod equipment. I could think of many uses or occasions where this item would come in real handy.

Above: The Griffin Journi in upright standing position.

Congrats to Griffin Technology on their great products. There are more on their company website. Check it out...

Independent Artists making it big via the iPod

In a recent article in the NY Times, the iPod was discussed because of how it has spurred some independent and lesser known bands to stardom. The author, Jennifer Lee, compares this to what Oprah has done for some authors in her well known book club. There have been the famed artists like Wynton Marsalis (world great trumpeter) and the band Coldplay featured on Apple ads, but also independent groups such as CSS (a band...not cascading style sheets, sorry), Asteroids Galaxy Tour, and Brooklyn-based Chairlift. With the popularity of Apple and the iPod, when the company uses a band's song on a commercial, it is nearly destined to be a hit. Some of these bands refer to the device that helped them so much as the "iGod" according to Lee.

(Awareness of this article makes me give thanks to our NDSU/USC fan professor)
A link to the article from the NY Times:
Is Apple the Oprah for Indie Bands?


Listen to Chairlift, and watch the new iPod nano commercial here .

iPod on YouTube

I did a search for "iPod" on the famed website YouTube. As usual, I came up with some interesting results. Check out the following for some cool information on the Apple iPod...

1) Apple iPod Touch- this is the official video made by Apple to introduce their new model of iPod. This movie is from September '08 so it is fresh off the press. Very cool device. Will be next iPod purchase most likely.

2)Will it Blend?- Check out this hilarious video from a show. A man takes all kinds of everyday devices and materials and sees if they will blend. He's got his old iPod and ready for a new model, so see if he is able to blend the old iPod into a "smoothie".

3)Apple iPod Original Introduction- this is the video of the original introduction of the iPod. The presentation is from 2001. Looks like they did succeed in going for the market leader of playing digital music.

4)W's iPod- Here is a short bit from Fox News with Brit Hume. "Off the air", President George W. Bush talks about the iPod he owns and some of the artists he likes to listen to. We sure do have a unique president :)-

5)Coldplay and Apple- This is my favorite Apple iTunes ad they have aired. This specific ad features the current hit song of Coldplay, "Viva la Vida". Some of those British guys know good music :)

The "competitors" (not really) with the iPod

The closest competitor with the iPod is Microsoft's mp3 player called the Zune. Of course, the "monopoly" of Microsoft had to have some response to Apple's success. Lol. The Zune plays music, videos, and displays pictures. It is available in 4, 8, or 80 GB versions. There is built in FM radio and it syncs to your computer wirelessly. These last two features I know are not on my iPod. My iPod is about two years old though. Far better models and technologies are available on the more recent models. The Zune comes with some software which contains its own media player to install on your personal computer. Like the iStore, there is a Zune marketplace where users can purchase music and videos, and have access to podcasts. The Zune has all of the options available on a basic iPod. There product came on to the scene a little late though. The iPod has clearly gained the stronghold on the mp3 player market and it doesnt look to be changing anytime soon.
For more info on the Zune, go to their site here.

I will mention a couple other players that may be of interest to you. The Creative Zen and the San Disk Sansa.
The recently released Zen X-Fi is available in 16 and 32 GB versions but allows for extra memory via SD cards. It has wireless connectivity to devices, has FM radio with 32 presets, allows instant messaging with friends, comes with high quality earbuds, and the X-Fi technology supposedly makes the music play with more detail and clarity. Check out this player here.
The San Disk Sansa is obviously made by San Disk, the manufacturer of the often used memory cards/disks. As with the other players, the Sansa is available in various models according to what you are looking for in your digital experience. The Sansa View has larger screen and is best for viewing pictures and watching video. It is very thin, fits in your pocket, and also allows for more memory storage via SD card slots. The Sansa players work along with the media program Rhapsody. This can be installed on your computer along with the player when purchased. On their website, there is a "marketplace" as well with access to music, videos, and games. Check out their site here.

There are many great mp3 players out on the market nowadays. You could not go wrong with any of the above mentioned, but remember, iPod has the stronghold on this type of electronics. Apple continues to grow in popularity and I don't think they will be going anywhere but up in the recent time to come.

iPod Tech.---my wish list.

iPod's have become hugely popular over the last few years. Since I am a music major, I am a proud owner of an iPod that stores lots and lots of mp3's. There has been so much technology and new devices created that go along with running the iPod. For my first post here, I would like to highlight a few cool items that I would "wish" to go along with the iPod that I own.

iHome iPod Dock
-The following is a link to a very cool iPod dock. These are mini stereo systems that you can charge and play your iPod on. They have become very popular for home/apartment use of your iPod. Other functions are present like radio and an alarm clock.



The picture above is a sweat resistant and flexible rubber band that you can place your iPod in. This is great for use when being active or working out at the gym. This is yet another cool add-on device to use with your iPod.