--- Forwarded Message from "Margo Burns" <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 14:59:14 -0500 >Subject: Re: #8430 Apple's just-announced iPod phone (and then some) (fwd) >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]> >From: "Margo Burns" <[log in to unmask]> >References: <[log in to unmask]> >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]> Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]> writes: >Apple's just-announced revolutionary new product -- combination video >iPod, mobile phone, Internet communicator, web browser, and camera with a >patented multitouch user interface (senses and responds intelligently to >multiple finger touches and gestures on display screen -- awesome!). >$499 (4GB) or $599 (8GB); ships in June. The product looks great -- I watched the Quicktime of the hour-and-a-half keynote with Jobs describing all his new stuff -- but Apple has entered into an exclusive multiyear contract with Cingular for the iPhone. That's a major down-side of this product for me: Cingular's service in my area is awful. Those prices are only if you sign a 2-year Cingular contract. No word what it will go for if you just want one for the wide-screen iPod/WiFi web capabilities and the touch-screen scrolling. The double-finger "pinch" for zooming in and out is brilliant from a design stand-point. Any indication of iChat being available for it it, or are they staying exclusively with SMS for text messaging? The interface for that looked and sounded like iChat, but Jobs never mentioned iChat. And the fact that the 2-megapixel camera aims out the rear of the device precludes video chatting, which seems unfortunate. No mention of using Skype with it, either. They are claiming its OS is OS X, but they only mentioned running "widgets" (mini webpage "applications") not actual applications on it. As for the AppleTV Jobs also announced, that looks interesting for classroom use. Sync the videos, photos, audio you want to share in class from iTunes on your computer to the 40GB HD, just the way you would sync content from your laptop to your iPod, then play them on any TV or data projector. It can even stream video live from other non-synched Macs or PCs, so students could bring in their own computers with videos on them to share in class. $499. It uses b, g, and the new n. Any word about PAL support? It's interesting things have been coming in this week from TiVo, too: on the 8th, the day before this Apple stuff was all unveiled, TiVo announced its partnership with Comcast, the Broadband service provider, and on the 7th, TiVo announced announed that its TiVoToGo capabilities are now available for Mac users through a contract they made with Roxio, the folks who make Toast, so that you can put your TiVo recordings onto your iPod using a Mac. (Software to do this has been available for Windows for over a year.) So many gizmos, never enough time... *sigh* Cheers, Margo > Margo Burns, Technology Integration Specialist Greater Manchester Professional Development Center Room B109 at MST http://www.gmpdc.org 530 South Porter St., Manchester, NH 03103 (603) 628-6144 Office: E121 at MST [log in to unmask] http://fcmail.mansd.org/~Margo_Burns *********************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning (http://iallt.org/), and The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (http://www.languageconsortium.org/). Join IALLT at http://iallt.org. Otmar Foelsche, LLTI-Editor ([log in to unmask]) ***********************************************