After a long needed rest recovering from pancreatic cancer and a hormone imbalance which left Jobs weight in a severe state, Jobs has been spotted at the Cupertino headquarters as you see in the image his infamous AMG without a license plate as usual. Great news for Apple fans as we can only hope this is permanent and not just a pass by. In Jobs announcement of stepping down Jobs said he would be back in late June. Well thats around the corner and with yesterdays reports by Steve Wozniak that Steve Jobs looks great this is very likely the return of the Apple prodigal son.

- Joe

So it is not officially confirmed but the guys over at Fortune have reported that the new Palm Pre will sync “seamlessly” with itunes. The only issue they say is older DRM laced files are not so friendly. Allegedly the Appstore will even treat the Palm Pre the same as an iPhone. Tim Cook already did set out the warning that he will come after ANYONE that would dare “rip off Apples intellectual property”. If this capability to sync up with itunes is true and it crosses into Apple iTunes intellectual property (which it seems to), we may see a ugly court battle in Apple vs. Palm Pre.

- Joe

[Source: Engadget]

It has happened again. Another leaked photo of a 3rd generation iPhone. The big difference with this iPhone leak is it is in the real world. Not in the sense of the Reality TV show but it is an actual manufactured iPhone unlike the other “computer renders”. The image here shows an iPhone that looks to have a nice bezel around the edges and the ear speaker now moved up. Also where the old ear speaker was on the 2g/3g there is now a green light. Very similar to some of the leaked renders released last week. Is this green light perhaps the front camera to make video conferencing possible as we heard many analyst make assumptions about months ago. Seems the networks are not ready for such a feature but you never know with Apple. Overall the image seems pretty legit. Same body design which makes much more sense than the previous ridiculous renders.  Simple black as Apples track record shows it is not time to change colors yet. Overall not to much changed in the cosmetics and looks to be the most logical step for Apple.

*Update*

MacRumors has reported the image as photoshop. If so, it is really a great job adding the bezel. The bottom left corner does seem a little suspect though on second look.

- Joe

[Source: iClarified]

A new site has emerged: http://appft.com/ . Hilarious new little spoof of the Apple commercials.  Im sure you know the Apple iPhone commercials Im talking about. “Need to find your car in the parking lot there’s an app for that too” (video below). Well if you have a hilarious “app for that” punch line to share you can now do so thanks to Nerduo Mike Essl & Robb Irrgang. Check out the site.

- Joe

Is this legit? It is an image from the chinese manufactures China Ontrade. They claim to be the first to sell accessories for the “iPhone 4g“. In the image above  the red arrows signify the new tabs needed for the new iPhone 4g. Possibly true? Yes it is very possible, as assembly of numerous products including iPhone/iPhone 3g are put together in good ol’ China. This image does not say to much though about the next-gen iPhone. It is possible they are just doing some shady marketing to get the company name out there.

- Joe

These are just a few of numerous renders thrown around by T3  UK tech force T3 commissioned a series of writers/designers to mock up future products covering everything from shoes to televisions. And of course, they couldn’t resist rendering the rumored iPhone Nano.

[Source: T3]

Nearly two years after Apple took off with its iPod Touch device, Microsoft has decided to release its Zune HD into the mix.

Surprisingly it has some impressive specs, and this coming from an iPhone fanboy.

So lets jump into the break down.

Screen

The Screen on the new Zune HD is OLED while iPod Touch’s 2nd Generation uses LCD. Very new to the mobile market, OLED has shown that it has the capability of lowering power consumption for much longer battery life. I would have to give the screen technology and perhaps even the battery life to Microsoft’s Zune HD. Aspect ratio is matched, but screen size and resolution is slightly larger on the iPod Touch still.

Features

Wifi is still matched as the Zune has always carried Wifi, but the big breakout for Microsoft is the HD Radio. Many have been wanting an FM receiver internally in there iPod as I do but Apple had never answered.. Microsoft has one upped that request and and made another selling point with HD Radio.

Software

Now to the software, which I personally think is what makes or breaks a Media Player. I would say confidently that Microsoft for the first 6 months will not be able to come close to the software on the iPod Touch. The Appstore developer community size is amazing and Microsoft has a  lot of catching up to do if they want to compete. From the Screenshots of the Zune HD it seems to be running a revised Zune OS which is likely but some rumors have been coming that this is new form of Windows Mobile. Does that mean a Zune Phone may be coming?

Pricing

This is a chance for Microsoft to shine and they have came out publicly and said they plan to do just that. They are looking to price the Zune HD $99 less than the iPod Touch 2g’s equivalent capacity. Talk about another selling point.

Apple, still in my eyes has been a company of quality over quantity. Yes this may put a small dent in the iPod Touch sales,  but Apple will still be dominating the Media Player market in a year I predict.

Also Don’t forget WWDC around the corner (June 8th)and you never know what Apple will unveil that may just up-show Microsoft again.

UPDATE: 08/31/09

If you have not heard apple has announced “It’s only rock and roll,” event which is practically guaranteed the release of the new iPod Touch 3rd Gen, and the rumored iPod Nano 5th Gen which will be the true device to compare side by side. Rumor has it that these badboys are sporting a new fancy 4 MP camera, with video recording features.

*UPDATE*

Check out our new ZUNE HD VS iPOD TOUCH 3G in-depth side by side comparison.

- Joe

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Apple really is getting tired of those Microsoft commercials pointing out the price difference from a PC to Mac. Some have reported internally that Apple is feeling the promo hits in there pockets. Looks like they are combating the problem with a price drop and increased specs! Entry-level white Macbooks will now have a 0.13 GHz  processor increase and a 133MHz increase to the ram. This is great for us (the consumer). Who says capitalism doesn’t work. Competition is always  good as it gives us the best product for a great price as always. Now if you do not mind I will be shoppin for a  new MacBook Pro.

- Joe

[Source: Engadget]

Capcom Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe has announced that they have already queued up 10 more titles to be released in the appstore for your iPhone and iPod Touch alike. This is following 3 other large publishers diving into the appstore scene: Electronic Arts, Konami, and Gameloft. 11% jump in profit growth since the anticipated release of Street Fighter 4 and Resident Evil 5 opening the door for the new Resident Evil App that is doing quite well for itself.  Along with the new Resident Evil Degeneration app, Capcom has also had successful apps such as Who Wants to be a Millionare, Are you smarter than a 5th grader, and MegaMan 1 & 2. No news on the new titles at this time but it would be interesting to maybe see a Streetfighter game on the iPhone.

- Joe

[Source: PCWorld]

W: Laura my dang ear buds are evildoers too. They sent a shock wave up to my uh.. [long pause]um thinkin’ parts.

Laura Bush: George you know your no good with those electronics. Not your thing George.

W: I know Lo- I just wanna be cool like Obama. Him and his fancy Blackberrys and iPods dangit..

Oh Bush, even out of the White house we still love to tease. Yes this story is some what true. There is a man named Bush that is not so clever with his vocabulary, and yes Apple is saying they are aware of there iPod and iPhone earbuds causing a slight shock. Check out Dereks link to read more.

- Joe

[Source: Secret Service insider]