In a revealing story at the Touch Arcade, research has shown that the iPod Touch 2G sports a faster CPU clock speed and possibly some GPU tweaks that make it not only superior to the previous generation iPod Touch, but also the iPhone 3G. 

“The most clear difference is that fact that the iPod Touch’s processor was quietly boosted to 532MHz (up from 412MHz) with the 2nd generation model introduced in September. Meanwhile, the iPhone 3G, Original iPhone and 1st Generation iPod Touch continue to run at the original 412MHz.” says the report on Touch Arcade.

Backing up a bit, we find that the iPhone’s ARM processor is actually capable of a speed of 620Mhz, but is downclocked to 412Mhz. This is most possibly to reduce heating and battery life issues. While we have no idea whether Apple will increase the clock speed via a firmware update or as a brand new device, we have one instance where Apple has pushed the Mhz via a firmware update.

Apple better do something about this, as developers are having a hard time developing games for the varied configurations. Tests have shown that there are performance differences between even those with the same clock speed. 

“Where we can easily display two 1500 polygon tennis players with 32 bones each on the iPod touch 2G and maintain fast and fluid game play, the original iPod touch just chokes, and in some instances so do the iPhones.” Thomas Fessler, a game developer, reports to Touch Arcade.

To all those who have been wondering why their friend’s iPod Touch 2G provides better frame-rates than their iPhone, know that Apple has been discriminating under the hood. Well, at least this will please those users who are bummed about the missing Street View on the iPod Touch.

The festive season is here in India, and Diwali, the festival of lights, is around the corner. Apple doesn’t want to miss out on the corporate & personal gifting and festival season sales. 

Apple India is now offering the iPod Nano 4GB with a “special festival pricing” of Rs. 6900 (inc. of all taxes). Note that it’s 4GB and not the 8GB but it’s still the new Chromatic iPod Nano that was recently launched. So now we know where Apple is disposing off those 4GB 4th-Gen Nanos that were spotted some time back.

The 4GB version is 21% cheaper than the 8GB model which costs Rs 8,200 (plus taxes). Hurry up and call your local iPod dealer as the offer is valid for a limited period till stocks last. And considering that the 4GB Nano isn’t even an official release, that might just be true.

Now if only Apple India could have a similar offer on their new MacBooks, we might just be able to afford one.

Co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, or just plain Woz gave an interview to the Telegraph, discussing Apple, and the future of the iPod. 

The interview begins with the usual story of how Apple began and what happened at Hewlett Packard. We’ve all heard that before. Then, with proof that Apple has absolutely no hold over Woz’s words, he goes ahead and says that the iPod is dead!

“The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one,” he says. “Things like, that if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while.

At first this looks like an absurd statement, something only a fool would say. How can the iPod, which holds 75% market share and is Apple’s major cash cow, be called ‘dead’? Give it a second thought and the answer is obvious. Of course the iPod in its current state won’t last very long. That’s why Apple’s engineers are already working on the next iPod, and maybe even the one after that. It doesn’t take an engineering degree to figure that out.
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First it was rats and now it’s the turn of cockroaches. And even though they give me the creeps, these Pixar people have managed to make them look cute.

I saw the movie ‘WALL·E’ a few days ago (released here on Aug. 31st) and I’ve got to say it was brilliant. I always look forward to the short film that is aired before the start of the movie. I had a chance to see one of these gems last year at Disney Movie Festival in Dubai, where I watched Knick Knack (screened before Cars). I then went on to see One Man Band & Boundin’ (before Finding Nemo & Ratatouille respectively). Presto was the short released with this movie.

The movie has got romance, humour, and good screenplay. You get a feel of the brilliance during the sequence where WALL·E & EVE have their little space adventure and we hear the definition of dance. EVE can express emotions with just her eyes (and she’s a robot). The animation is top notch (didn’t I mention it was a Pixar movie?) and I got the feeling that I was watching a live action movie.

WALL·E and the Apple Connection

There are so many references that you might be led to believe that the movie was directed by Jobs himself. WALL·E’s video tapes are played on an iPod Classic. He watches his favourite movie every day (one of which happens to be Hello Dolly). Whenever he boots up, he does so with the familiar chime you hear every time your turn your Mac on. EVE was designed in consultation with Apple’s top product designer, Jonathan Ive (the guy responsible for the design of the iPod, the iMac, the iPhone, and the rest of Apple’s products). EVE’s sleek design was touted to be an evolution of the iMac’s design—it looks like Automator’s icon, doesn’t it? The autopilot’s voice (Ralph’s) is provided by Apple’s text-to-speech system, MacinTalk. And, of course, Steve Jobs is the largest single shareholder of Disney and ex-CEO and founder of Pixar.

Did you know that WALL·E made his debut even before this movie? He was the driver of a van in a short Your Friend the Rat released with the DVD of Ratatouille. Here’s a good article listing the easter eggs in WALL·E.

9/10. Awesom·e, and for everyon·e!

[Ed note: Wait, when did we turn into a movie review website? Someone ought to keep me in the loop around these parts.]

For all those in India who are wondering what the juicy new iPods are gonna cost, Apple has announced the prices! The new iPods will not arrive in stores for at least another week, so this gives you ample time to get that cash ready.

These prices are on the higher side. Of course these are MRPs so you might be able to work your way into getting a discount if you know the store well. 

As you can see, the price of the 8GB iPod Touch has dropped to 15,100 from its earlier price of 17,100. The classic and the nano’s stay at the same price point as earlier, except now with twice the capacity. Watch out for deals though, as you might even be able to snag a new 3G iPod Nano for a lesser price. The iPod Shuffle stays at the same price point of 2,700 for the 1GB, and 3,800 for the 2GB. 

The Imagine Store (Goa) has offered to do nationwide shipping for the higher-end iPods, so if you want to get it delivered home, just get in touch with them.

Apple Events are a very dangerous affair, especially if you are low on finances. The new iPod Nano and iPod Touch look so delicious, you would want to eat them like Halloween candy. Luckily for you, Apple has released high quality tours for both these gadgets. Remember to drink lots of water and clean your screen before hitting the links, lest you get dehydrated licking the dust off it. 

The iPod Nano 4G Quicktour shows you the delicious interface, which now includes support from the built in accelerometer, the Genius playlist feature, and the shake to shuffle. There’s also an ad to follow up on that, where dozens of Nanos are floating around until they line up and the colours start melting. ‘Nano-chromatic’, they call it.

The iPod Touch Guided Tour is a bit longer due to the 2.1 software features, and comes in five different sizes that will please anyone. Watch as the Genius feature carries on from iTunes 8 to the iPod. And if you still need more iPod Touch goodness, check out the TV ad “Funnest iPod ever” featuring a whole lot of games from the App Store. Whether ‘funnest’ is the best word to use is debatable, considering it doesn’t even exist in Apple’s own dictionary. 

And, if you don’t have any patience, you can get a hold of the streaming video of the Keynote itself. Presented in crappy quality, with poor bandwidth, this keynote is best left alone. The video will eventually show up in the Apple Keynotes podcast, as well as a better quality (possibly HD) download on the Apple site itself. And you can be sure we will let you know when that happens.

The rumours were spot on with this one, as Apple releases the iPod Nano 4G, the iPod Touch 2G, and to go along with that the iPhone software 2.1. The Macs were not even mentioned at the event. 

The Nano departs from the fatty tag and goes back to the earlier long design, a stunning one at that. Featuring a curved body, a larger screen, and 9 different colours to choose from, the nano seems like an awesome upgrade. To add to that, it features a new spiced up UI, featuring the Genius Playlist feature introduced with iTunes 8. The nano also features an accelerometer for Coverflow mode and video. The nano comes in two sizes, 8GB and 16GB priced at $149 and $199 respectively.

Next up is the iPod Touch. Going curvy like the iPhone 3G, the Touch get some minor additions in the form of volume buttons, a built in speaker and a Nike+ receiver. The Touch also adds the Genius playlist feature, similar to the one on the Nano. A minor price drop is also effective, with the 8GB at $229, 16GB at $299, and 32GB at $399.

And to go with the iPod Touch is the 2.1 software update. A $9.99 update for previous iPod Touch users, but free for iPhone users. “iPhone owners get a 2.1 software update that “fixes lots of bugs.” Significantly improved battery life, fewer call drops, crashing problems, increased speed for iTunes backups and various other fixes.” The update is not going to be available until Friday this week.

The iPod Classic on the other hand received little attention at the event. The 80GB has been bumped to 120GB, but surprisingly they have discontinued the 160GB version. Priced at $249, this is in direct competition with Microsoft’s recently announced 120GB Zune.

Apple also silently refreshed the iPod Shuffle’s colours. They started off with silver. Leaving behind the subtle colours, the Shuffle is back with flashy red, green, blue, and you guessed it, pink!

For more pictures and information, visit the Apple Website.

Are you satisfied with the new iPod lineup? Or were you hoping for something else. Shout out in the comments.

The 9th of September cannot arrive soon enough. It’s that time of the year when days just seem to drag and every one of them seems like another one backward. An Apple Special Event is more anticipated, at least by a seasoned Macboy (keep reading Smoking Apples and you’ll get there too), than even Christmas.

It has been a tradition for the past year that we get together, gather a few folks from outside, and organise an IM conference during these events. But this time round we will take it one step ahead. Join us in our Live Chat right on this blog using just your browser. It will be a very personal chat and everyone’s voice will be heard. You may, of course, follow up on any live-blog of your choosing while the event is live, whilst chatting with us about the various announcements as they happen.

(Download iCal event)

So be it iTunes 8, iPod Touch 2G, a new slimmer iPod nano, or, heck, even a shiny new MacBook pro, we here at Smoking Apples will be lively and chatty. Enter your email address in the form below to be notified right when the Live Chat begins, or download the iCal event on the right to get alerted by your PIM (not necessarily iChat). The event starts at 10:30 PM IST and the chat kicks off an hour in advance.

Pack your bags, folks—we’re traveling to San Francisco. Join us in the special celebration where Santa Steve distributes those shiny gifts he and his elves have been cooking up at the north pole—which, of course, is situated at the Apple headquarters in California. 

If none of that made sense to you, here’s the dumbed down version: Apple has just about sent out invites to the press, informing them about an Apple Special Event, to be held on September 9th, 2008 in San Francisco. The event will go live at 10:00 a.m. PDT, which is 10:30 p.m. for folks out here in India. 

The event seems to be focussed on Apple’s music department, involving iTunes, iTunes store, and the iPods. It is practically guaranteed that new iPods are going to be released. That being said, let the rumour mongering begin…

If the advertisement in today’s The Hindu and the iPhone’s upcoming launch in India are any indication, the days of Apple’s ignoring us might finally be coming to a close. The following are two promotional offers run by Apple in The Hindu today.

Exchange your old PC and get Rs. 6,000 off on a MacBook or iMac purchase

Unhappy with your PC?
Here’s a reason to smile.

Tired of all the hanging, frequent crashes and, not to forget, the never-ending virus attacks? Simply exchange your PC or laptop in any condition for an Apple MacBook or an Apple iMac and get Rs 6,000/- off. And take home peace of mind.

Runs OS X, Windows XP and Vista. Runs Microsoft Office 2008. Seamlessly exchanges files with PCs. Virtually Virus free. Includes iLife, to enhance your digital Lifestyle.

The offer ends on the 28th of June this year.

Note that they’re focusing on the shortcomings of Windows rather than drumming up the advantages of a Mac. “Runs OS X, XP and Vista?” Wouldn’t it sound more compelling if it advertised that it ran OS X, Windows and Linux? “Runs Microsoft Office 2008?” Don’t they sell iWork, their own office suite? Why would anyone want to buy a Mac only to run Windows or Microsoft Office?

They have another advertisement for the iPod nano as well. Until 30 June 2008, all customers will get a free Levi’s gift voucher worth Rs. 1,500 with every purchase of an iPod nano (on both the 4GB and 8GB variants). This seems to be a good deal to me. An excuse to buy that iPod you’ve always wanted—and a pair of denims to carry it in (not that you don’t have any right now, but you get the drift).