Tag Archives: update

iTunes 9 Review – A definite improvement

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As most of you will already know, the Apple conference on the 9th of September brought a lot of news to iPod users. As well as the new iPod Nano and “new” iPod Touch (I can’t say it’s new, all they’ve done is made a bigger size), Apple also released the new iTunes 9. Sadly I wasn’t able to get it right away as I’m going through small problems with internet bandwidth, which also explains why I haven’t been able to post reviews on the new iPod Touch/iPhone firmware yet – don’t worry I will get round to it as soon as I get my unlimited bandwidth back which, as far as I know, should be next week.

Anyway, as for the new iTunes, I am surprised to say that I’m actually very impressed with the new release. The new features aren’t ground breaking, but the new performance upgrades have finally arrived.

The new iTunes packs new features such as Home Sharing, which allows you to share your music between other computers in your home, and a brand new redesigned iTunes Store. Both of which work very well. I haven’t checked out the Home Sharing yet but from what I’ve read online it looks very good. The new iTunes Store is certainly very tidy and works very efficiently and I much prefer it over the previous version.

But I’m happiest about the much smoother performance. The load-up time has improved dramatically and actually browsing through the application is much more speedy.

What used to be a misery is now much easier to use and much less time consuming. I still don’t think iTunes is brilliant, but the new version has definitely made syncing my iPod much less of a chore.

Well done Apple, this is a big improvement.

If you’d like to download the new version, open up iTunes and click Check for Updates in the Help menu. Otherwise, you can head over to apple.com and download a copy from there for free.

iPhone/iPod Touch 3.1 already in the making!

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Yep, just a couple of weeks after the release of the might 3.0 software, Apple is already handing out beta code for OS 3.1.

There’s very little information about it at the moment, but as far as GEEK! is aware, Apple is testing the new software and handing it out as a beta to developers.

Hopefully it will iron out a few of the bugs in OS 3.0, because I have found a few and they really annoy me. For example, I have quite a few buffering issues with the YouTube app on the iPod Touch. It seems to work for a while and then stop buffering altogether unless I close and reopen the app. It’s not me loosing WiFi signal or anything… it just seems to be a little bug.

Ah well, hopefully it will be released before too long.

There is a little information about what’s included in the update on Wikipedia, if you are interested. Looks like some interesting stuff…

iPod Touch OS 3.0 Full Review!

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Apple’s 3.0 OS for iPod Touch and iPhone was released earlier this evening, and GEEK! was of course right at the front of the queue. I’ve downloaded the update and installed it to my 8GB iPod Touch, so now everything is going fine and I’ve had a little time to play around with the new firmware, I thought I’d write a review for it.

Please note that this is a review for the 3.0 OS for the iPod Touch, not the iPhone. iPhone-specific features are not reviewed in this post.

Well the first thing you are going to notice is the price – £5.99 in the UK and £9.95 in the US. Personally I don’t think that is too bad, but I’m a little annoyed that iPod Touch users have to pay at all. Never mind, I’m not going to make a fuss of it.

Once you’ve paid the price, you then need to accept the terms and start the download. It’s thereabouts 240 megabytes and on a good broadband connection will take about 15 minutes to download. Once you’ve downloaded it, iTunes will proceed with an install.

The install is fairly simple. iTunes will back up your current iPod’s settings and then install the firmware. The process takes about 20-25 minutes depending on how much data is currently being stored on your iPod.

Providing everything went through smoothly, you’ll be able to use your iPod as soon as the update is complete. You can unlock your iPod and it will be ready to use.

Here’s a quick run through of the main new features in OS 3.0:

  • Spotlight search means you can search your entire iPod for data – whether it is music, videos, notes, photos, or emails. You can find it on the very left tab in the home screen.
  • New search bars in music, video, email and notes. Get it to it by scrolling up to the very top of the screen in each section.
  • Bluetooth music streaming means you can stream to bluetooth audio devices.
  • Upgraded onboard iTunes store means you can buy and rent movies directly on the iPod. You can also download TV shows directly from the iPod.
  • Upgraded Youtube browser means you can now sign in to your Youtube account. You can now browse your uploads and subscriptions, as well as rate and comment on videos.
  • The iPod Touch now supports Shake and Shuffle. This means you can shake the iPod Touch and it will shuffle the track.
  • Voice Memos is now on the iPod Touch, which is basically a dictaphone for the iPod Touch. You will need a microphone supported by the iPod Touch for this to work.
  • Restrictions can now be put in place as to which applications can be used.
  • Safari has been upgraded under the hood, so the web support is now better.
  • There have also been some bug fixes and minor software improvements.

That’s a basic round up of what’s in the update. In my opinion it is well worth the £5.99, so go ahead and get it if you have the cash to spare.

Thanks Apple, a good update there.

Why should we pay for major iPod updates?

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Now I am the proud owner of my iPod Touch, I try to keep up with the news to do with it. And the biggest thing that springs into mind at the moment is the upcoming 3.0 update for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The only thing that does annoy me a little is the fact that iPhone users will get the update absolutely free and us iPod Touch users will have to pay about 10$ (about £6.60 at time of writing) for it.

Now I know that there are some cool updates in it (bluetooth being enabled as a feature being just one of them) but compared to other popular mobile devices, Apple are just trying to drain us of our cash.

For example,  the PSP is a similar mobile device (not physically, but in terms of hardware) – and it’s cheaper to purchase plus all those updates Sony have provided in the past haven’t cost a penny.

There are ways to get round paying for the iPod update, but I don’t really want to go breaking the law and certainly don’t want to encourage it.

I think no matter whether they make us pay for it or not I will go and get it, mainly because it’s too much to miss out on, but it does seem like Apple just want to drain that little bit more out of us. Especially in these credit crunch times, most people are trying to save the pennies and not go pouring them into Steve Job’s pocket for a small update.

So yes – small rant there – but come on Apple, I can think of countless companies that don’t charge for updates to mobile devices and I don’t think it’s 100% fair.

iTunes 8.1 released

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Apple released iTunes 8.1 yesterday, with reported updates for performance and stability. Plus, the new iTunes version supports the latest iPod Shuffle.

According to Apple, new features include a new Genius sidebar that supposedly now does TV and move recommendations, speed improvements when importing large libraries, improves speed and handling of iTunes Plus songs and many accessibility improvements.

So it looks like this may be a worthwile updates and I suggest you go ahead and get it. If you already have iTunes on your computer, you can just get the new version over Software Update. If you don’t have it, head over to apple.com/itunes for the free software.