Buy.com selling imported, unlocked iPhone 3G

Online retailer Buy.com has begun sales of “never-locked" iPhone 3G units, although it is unclear exactly where the units are from or whether they are protected by Apple’s standard one-year warranty. The units, which are listed as 16GB models but without any color specification, are priced at $800 each; a video accompanying the listing says the iPhones come from “overseas,” and may include instructions and other materials printed in Italian or some other non-English language. Confusingly, though both the video and the top portion of the listing indicate that the phones include the “Apple guarantee,” a separate block of text farther down the page indicates the phone “can only be returned to the distributor under” a “30 Day Limited Warranty.” Finally, although the page states that the phone can be used with T-Mobile in the U.S., T-Mobile’s 3G network operates on a different frequency than those supported by the iPhone 3G, meaning the device would be limited to standard EDGE connectivity when using T-Mobile’s network.

via ilounge

HP MediaSmart now streams to iPhone, iPod

A free firmware update to HP's MediaSmart Server has brought some nice improvements, providing remote video streaming and video conversion of unprotected content. The update enables the server to automatically convert videos (including unprotected DVDs) into two resolutions; the original, high-resolution file to stream to devices on a home network including PCs, Macs and gaming systems, and the mobile resolution file devices such as iPod touch, iPhone and PlayStation Portable (PSP).

The video converter will transcode most popular video formats into both high and mobile quality MPEG-4 (H.264) versions. "This new feature will help eliminate the frustration people experience when attempting to stream their videos to connected devices in the home or remotely to their mobile devices," said Jason Zajac, vice president and general manager, Worldwide Attach Group, HP.

Owners of an iPod touch and iPhone can download a new HP MediaSmart Server iStream application at no charge from the iTunes App Store, enabling them to stay connected to their digital media stored on the MediaSmart Server. Other software enhancements include an improved mobile streaming user experience, a more robust HP Media Collector, an improved Apple Time Machine configuration, and the ability to create public and private albums in the Photo Viewer.

via afterdawn

Play iTunes music on No-Apple players with AAC to MP3 converter

Apple on Tuesday followed through on its promise to remove all digital rights management (DRM) from music sold on the iTunes Store.

All songs on the iTunes Store are now available at 256kbps AAC encoding, which Apple says is virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings.



Why we need to convert AAC to MP3?



First, can we now just move the song purchased from iTunes to another player ?



Yes, but only if that player supports AAC. Obviously, iPods do, and some other players do as well, like the Sony Walkman NWZ-S738F, the Archos 5, and, yes, even the Microsoft Zune. But, if you want to play the music on other players that not support AAC, you need to find a AAC to MP3 converter to convert AAC to MP3 which can be accepted by almost all music players.



Second, what about the previously purchased iTunes tracks, does them still have DRM? If so, can I upgrade them?



Of course, and Apple is offering users a way to upgrade all of their existing music to DRM-free songs. Upgrading costs 30 cents per song. If you upgrade an entire album, it will cost 30 percent of the original album price and music videos can be upgraded for 60 cents. You can get to this upgrade link on the iTunes Store by clicking on "Upgrade to iTunes Plus."



But, if you purchased a lot of 99-cent tracks on iTunes over the years and want to find an more efficient way to remove the DRM, you can also try an AAC to MP3 converter, of cause it should be an DRM remover too.




How to convert AAC to MP3 with AAC to MP3 converter ?



First, download AAC to MP3 converter and install it.



Following is the screen shoot of a professional AAC to MP3 Converter called Aimersoft AlMusic Converter, it supports both protected and unprotected AAC to MP3 conversion and can also remove DRM from iTunes music.







Then, you can use it to convert AAC to MP3 and remove DRM with three clicks.



1. Click “Add” to load AAC files with the postfix .M4A (unprotected) or M4P. (copy-protected).

2. Click “drop-download” list at the bottom to select output format.

3. Click “start” to start conversion



And you can drag and drop all your music files to AAC to MP3 converter at a time, then do something else till it is finished.

DRM Ends, Variable Pricing Begins for iTunes Music

Apple on Tuesday followed through on its promise to remove all digital rights management (DRM) from music sold on the iTunes Store. The company also unveiled tiered pricing for individual songs and albums.
All songs on the iTunes Store are now available at 256kbps AAC encoding, which Apple says is virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings. Apple began the process of converting its music to remove DRM in January when Phil Schiller announced the move during his keynote address at Macworld Expo.
The other change to the iTunes Store involves pricing. Apple adopted new pricing options that include selling songs for 69 cents, 99 cents or $1.29. While there is no clear way to determine what songs will be priced at, Schiller did say that more songs would be priced at 69 cents than $1.29.
Of course, Apple is offering users a way to upgrade all of their existing music to DRM-free songs. You can get to this link on the iTunes Store by clicking on "Upgrade to iTunes Plus."

New iPhone to have 3.2-megapixel camera?

2-megapixel camera, an upgrade from the current model's 2.0-megapixel camera.
The sources claim that OmniVision has received orders for 3.2-megapixel CMOS sensors that are intended for upcoming iPhones, and add that Aptina and STMicroelectronics are also competing for the orders.
The reports also claim that OmniVision has secured orders to produce 5.2-megapixel sensors for Apple, although it is unclear what device they will be used in. The sources say the end product is expected to launch in Q3 2009 however.
Apple has been rumored to be working on netbooks, new iPods, and a new iPhone, all of which could use the sensors.

via afterdawn

Turn Your IPod or IPhone Into a Portable Drive

Whether you use your iPod or iPhone for entertainment, communication, or to amplify your cool quotient, all models share one thing in common: They can function as portable storage devices. Depending on the model, your device features either a hard drive or flash drive that allows you to read and write files to it just like an external drive once you enable it to do so. Here's how.

Enable your iPod

You can turn any iPod (except iPod touch, see below) into a portable drive using iTunes. If you manually manage your music instead of having iTunes automatically sync songs, you don't need to do anything-your iPod is already set to function as an external drive, and will mount and be accessible on your desktop whenever you connect it.

If you set iTunes to automatically sync music to your iPod, you'll need to enable disk use; connect your iPod to your Mac, open iTunes, and select your iPod in the Source pane under Devices. Click the Summary tab (or Settings tab for iPod shuffle) and then select the "Enable disk use" checkbox. Your iPod will now mount as a drive volume on your desktop whenever you connect it.

iPod shuffle users and those with any click-wheel iPod that can be synced over USB running iTunes 8.0 or later can additionally allocate the amount of disk space that will be reserved for storage when autofilling the iPod. To do this with an iPod other than an iPod shuffle, plug in the iPod, select it in the Devices area, click the triangle next to it to expose its contents, click on the Music entry, click the Settings button that appears at the bottom of the iTunes window, and in the resulting Autofill Settings window, use the Reserve Space for Disk Use slider to determine how much of the iPod's storage media will be reserved for data. Note that this slider works only when autofilling the iPod. If you sync data either automatically or manually to the iPod, this slider's settings will be ignored.

Enable your iPhone or iPod touch

Apple doesn't allow you to enable disk use on an iPhone or iPod touch, but that doesn't mean you can't turn either into a portable storage device if it's got space to spare. Here are a few iPhone apps that'll turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless (yes, wireless!) drive. You might want to look at the user reviews in iTunes first before you give them a try.

Avatron Software Air Sharing, $5 (iTunes App Store)

Magnetism Studios FileMagnet, $5 (iTunes App Store)

mAPPn Discover, free (iTunes App Store)

Veiosoft DataCase, $7 (iTunes App Store)

Aditionally, you can use Ecamm Networks' $20 PhoneView to copy files to and from an iPhone or iPod touch.

via pcworld

Convert MKV Files for Playback on PlayStation3

If you have some videos in the .MKV format you're itching to play on your PlayStation3, check out this simple tutorial for converting them using mkv2vob.


What you will need:
- An MKV file
- MKV2VOB
- A PS3

What MKV2VOB does is remux an MKV file with x264 video and AC3 audio into a VOB file which is playable on your Playstation 3. Before you ask...no, this will not result in the loss of quality because the audio or video are not touched. The streams are split and mixed into the VOB file.


So you've got your MKV file now and you are ready to start remixing it:
- First, you have to open MKV2VOB and select the file which you would like to work on and then select where you would like to save the finished file. When you have done this, click "Save".


- You will then have a dialog box pop up that asks if you want to enable automatic MPEG2 transcoding. It is recommended that you click "Yes".

- Another box will then pop up when you start the whole process. Do not close this box. Wait for it to complete what it is doing.

- When that box has closed, another box will open. Again, do not close or mess with this box. Wait for it to complete what it is doing.

- When that box has finished doing what it is doing, yet another box will open. Leave this alone and do not close it.

- When that box has closed the task is complete and you should be presented with a "Remuxing Complete" box.