| Ever new
This isn't a brand new bar; rather, momentum has been building at this neighborhood watering hole for several months. Which is to say that the owner's efforts are paying off, as she appears to be on a first-name basis with almost half of her customers. That personal touch provides an irrepressibly homey vibe. Indeed, one regular proudly told me that the evening's playlist came from his iPod and that the art on display was courtesy of another loyal patron. Thus, even with stiff Long Island Iced Teas (RMB 45) and a standing policy of 'buy two get one free' on all cocktails, Avenue stands far apart from the crowd of sleazy Jing'an bars. So if you're game to listen to a shuffled set of reggae and rock in the company of low-key locals and young, fresh-faced English teachers, well, this bar is right up your avenue.
NekFit, for the Running Man
A new iPod Nano accessory, called nekFit, places your iPod Nano or Shuffle on the back of your neck. The idea is to keep your cables away from your arms and chest. But unless you want to look like one of the enslaved Enterprise crew in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" episode of "Star Trek" or a prisoner in "Running Man," I'd stick with the traditional armband from Apple. NekFit really does look like a sci-fi shock collar. But the nuttiest thing about it is that it places your iPod controls behind your head, where most humanoids don't keep their eyes. Woburn-based NekFit Inc. (nekfit.com) has fitted the device with large, tactile buttons which help a bit, but controls take some getting used to. NekFit does a good job of tidying-up those cables along its frame, which resembles an eyewear frame you put on backwards.
Tok Tak MP3 Player Same Size As Audio Adapter
And you thought the clip-tastic iPod shuffle was small. Designer Tae-wan Kim has come up with an MP3 player that's about as tiny as it gets, looking more like an audio jack adapter than a full-fledged music player. To a random passer-by, it'll look like you just have a set of headphones dangling from your ears. Naturally, this is still very much in the conceptual stage, so you've got to wonder just how viable such a design could be. Both flash memory and batteries have miniaturized considerably in recent years, so it just might work. Dubbed the Tok Tak, this incredibly tiny MP3 layer also comes with a base station used to recharge its batteries and upload new music. Interestingly, the dock also doubles as a "joystick controller to listen to your turns [sic] externally." Ready for some crazy Atari-inspired action?
Via yankodesign.com
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Creative MP3 Player Share Falls 24% Over Last Year
"Creative Technology, the Singapore-based company that's a distant third behind Apple (AAPL) in the MP3 player market, full further behind last quarter. The company, which delisted from the Nasdaq earlier this year, posted Q1 sales of $185 million.That's down 24% y/y, while Apple saw iPod revenues increase 4%, and unit sales increase 17% in its last quarter. About the best you can for Creative is that it still has a larger market share (something in the single digits, according to NPD data) than Microsoft's Zune."That's some bad news for Creative - they've obviously struggling, being pounded by Apple on one side and Microsoft and Sandisk on the other.It's too bad, because I really do like Creative's products - my Zen Vision:M is still a great player in many ways.I think one problem Creative has always had is that they simply have too many products in their lineup - it's not easy to digest or understand which one you want to buy.Differentiation is of course also the big problem - people need to look at their products and understand why it's better than other players.Take the Zen Stone for instance: I bought one for use in an infrared sauna we bought this year, and not only was it a hassle that it didn't come with a built-in clip (come on, it's a no-brainer to copy Apple's Shuffle) it also couldn't take the heat in the sauna - yet the old Dell Ditty could.So now the Zen Stone sits here doing nothing.
Leopard expected to spur Apple sales
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Apple Inc.'s delayed update to the Mac OS X operating system hit store shelves as consumers increasingly snap up Macintosh computers to complement their iPods and iPhones. Dubbed Leopard, the upgrade went on sale Friday. It offers improvements to an operating system that already was praised for its ease-of-use and slick interface. Leopard boasts more than 300 new features, including one called "Boot Camp" that lets users install Windows on Macs, though both operating systems can't run at the same time. "Time Machine," an automated data backup system, and "Spaces," a way to simultaneously view open applications, are among other highlighted features. .
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