To Add An FM Tuner, Or Not To Add An FM Tuner…

That is the question.

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to wait, suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and add one now?

The device I speaketh of is my iPod Touch, and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that I suffer is that when I’m out and about, like today, and the Pats (insert your favorite team here) are on, I need to carry my little micro AM/FM radio with me. Apple didn’t see fit to bestow upon my Touch an FM tuner, so I have little choice in the matter. They added one to the latest generation Nano and iPhone, but sadly, not to the Touch.

Luckily, there’s an FM tuner that works with the Touch, iPhone and 3rd gen and up Nanos, The Griffin Navigate. It’s a slick little inline remote with an OLED screen, and it doubles as an FM tuner. It can also be used with Griffin’s free iFM Radio Browser app that will look up all the available stations in your area and auto program them into your Touch or iPhone. Pretty cool!

Ay, but here’s the rub; 9to5Mac and other sources are reporting that there’s a dormant chip in the 3rd gen Touch, that when activated will allow both Wireless N and FM receive and transmit. Hmmm, sounds a little like their Bluetooth chip that an upgrade, for a price, to OS 3 gave greater functionality to. It’s been hypothesized that Apple may unveil this little on board extra as soon as this January.

So, is it worth shelling out 50 bucks for FM tuner functionality today, when the device may be unnecessary in a couple of months?

For me, yes. I have a 2nd gen Touch and a 3rd gen Nano. The Navigate works with both devices and neither has the dormant onboard capability, but if you own a new 3rd gen Touch, nuh-uh. Wait awhile, and you may save yourself some money. 50 bucks will buy you a pretty decent dinner, or a couple of my T-shirts!

By the way, the Patriots bested those knaves from Miami today, and I would have missed our plucky knight's great moment of victory, were it not for the lowly FM broadcast.

What say you now, Master Porter?

Apple’s March Madness, the good, the bad, and the meh.

March has been a busy month for Apple. They introduced the new 3rd gen Shuffle, rolled out iTunes 8.1, and unveiled a beta of iPhone OS 3.0. Man, do these guys ever sleep?

As is usually the case, their flurry of activity has been met with joy, anger and plain old indifference in the user community, and as usual, each stance has its valid points.

I’m actually pretty excited about the upcoming release of OS 3, and that’s good, but I’m also a little indifferent because it won’t be released until mid July, and just a tad bit miffed, because most of the cool improvements just unlock features that have been on board all along, like the Bluetooth chip in the 2nd gen Touch, which currently only communicates with the Nike Sensor. I’ve got to admit, it’s pretty savvy marketing to charge me $9.99 to turn on something I’ve already bought. Savvy, but also a little bit sleazy.

I’ll pony up though, because the improvements promise to be dramatic. Stereo streaming via Bluetooth is my favorite; I’m hoping I’ll be able to sync my Touch with my car stereo. Wouldn’t it be the nards to lose the old FM transmitter? And how about transferring contacts and streaming audio to other iPods via Bluetooth? Too cool.

There’s also the long awaited cut and paste, MMS messaging, tethering, encrypted backup, the list goes on and on. Of course, iTunes 8.1 will be needed to take full advantage, so I’ll be sure to download it, after the prescribed incubation period.

So, lots of good stuff is coming, we’ve just got to wait a bit.

The real disappointment here is the new 3rd gen Shuffle. Yes, it’s cute, but come on guys; you couldn’t have added a couple of tiny buttons? Like I’m going to buy a device that can’t be used without a proprietary headset, or a yet to be released accessory. Please.

So, what were they thinking when they came up with this? “Ooh, think of all the accessories we can sell” sounds about right. Wrong time for that line of thought, if you ask me. I’m already sick of seeing the “Charging is not supported with this accessory” message on my 2nd gen Touch when I plug it in to something. If I didn’t still have my 3rd gen Nano, most of the devices I currently have would be useless for their intended purpose. Now, I like accessories as much as the next guy, but I’m not going to keep shelling out good money for things that will be rendered obsolete within a year by the very people who caused me to need the accessory in the first place, and I’m hearing the same sentiment from others.

Speaking of accessories, there is one new thing on the market that’s really cool and has a great price point. The Thumb Tacks Micro Microphone from SwitchEasy. This is a must have if you’ve got a 2nd gen Touch and are interested in using it for VoIP or applications like Shazam or voice memos, and it’s only $13. Check it out.

That is all.

Problems With The iPhone 2.2.1 Firmware Upgrade?

Whenever I get a notice that there’s a new version of iPod firmware or iTunes software, I postpone downloading until I’ve Googled for issues. Such was the case today, when Apple offered me the newest firmware for my 2nd gen Touch.

After seeing this posting on MacRumors.com, I was glad I did. It seems that some people are unable to sync their iPhone or Touch after the upgrade. iTunes freezes when the sync fails, and the system needs to be rebooted.

There’s a fix, which includes deauthorizing and reauthorizing your computer, and then downloading and running a free app, but as I prodded deeper in the forums, it appears that the problem may not be limited to the iPhone and Touch. Some users are reporting the same symptoms are plaguing standard iPods also, which would mean that the root cause may not be the 2.2.1 firmware. There’s conjecture out there that the problem may be due to changes in some of the tracks available in iTunes that have been upgraded to iTunes Plus.

Whatever the case may be, I’m definitely not downloading 2.2.1 yet. I’m also going to refrain from any track downloads until there’s more info available, and I suggest you do the same.

If you’ve been bitten by this bug, it would be greatly appreciated if you would post the symptoms, corrective actions taken, and whether or not you had success. Thanks!

Give Your Geek A Cool Yule With A New Nano Or Touch

This year’s crop of iPods have all been tweaked up a bit, especially the 4th gen Nano and the 2nd gen Touch, and either one would be a great gift choice for that discerning geek on your Christmas list.

The Nano has been redesigned, again. It’s gone back to (roughly) its original size and shape, but with a few new curves. It’s also got a longer screen coupled with an accelerometer chip that allows you to flip it sideways and view it in wide screen mode. The chip also makes it possible to shuffle your music with a shake of your hand, and control game play with a simple tilt of the device. Too cool!

Once again, Apple has doubled the memory of the Nano, this time to 8 and 16GB, while retaining the same price points, $149 and $199, and introduced yet another palette full of weird and wonderful colors.

The new 2nd gen Touch has undergone a few changes also. It’s my personal favorite, and by far and away the slickest personal media device on the market this holiday season. It’s still a bit pricey, but if you’re looking for a gift with wow factor, this is the one. Billed as “The funnest iPod ever” by Apple, it lives up to that claim and more.

From a design standpoint, the biggest change is that it’s grown external volume controls and an internal speaker, and yet gotten even sleeker than the previous model. Add in improved video, ultra responsive touch screen, push email, and the availability of a dazzling array of applications, and you’ve got quite the package.

From a pure media player standpoint, the audio and video on the 2nd gen are excellent, but this device is as much a handheld computer as it is a traditional MP3 player. The WiFi has outstanding range and response time, and the device is loaded with useful apps right out of the box. Google an actor while you’re watching a movie, find out what channel the big game is on while you’re parked on the couch, look up a recipe on the web while you’re cooking, or check and respond to your email without having to boot up, pay for a monthly plan, or worry about running down your cell phone. How sweet is that?

The add-on apps are pretty amazing also. Download Shazam, and you can hold the player up to another music source and it will identify the music being played and retrieve it from iTunes Mobil, or store the info until you’re in WiFi range, or until your next sync. Stream Internet radio with the Pandora app, or grab a game that takes advantage of the accelerometer like Labyrinth or Super Monkey Ball.

The Touch comes in 8, 16 or 32GB models. Its OS takes up about 1.5GB, so if you have a large media library and plan on downloading a lot of apps, you’ll want the 16 at least.

Check out the video review here on Cnet, and be sure to forward the link to Santa!