Shola's Home Gadgets

The apple iphone has been out here in the UK for a while now, i haven't got one, don't really need one, as I recently won a 30GB Apple ipod from Current TV, and my Sony Ericsson K750i mobile phone while getting on in age, is still serving me well.

If you have however got an Apple iPhone and found it not quite what you expected, you can always ebay it, if not, there is another option, Blend IT!



Blending an Apple iPhone

The Apple iPod Nano is in the news again, and this time it's not the hype about how good and dazzling this gadget is, rather that there is a problem with the iPod Nano.

The full Apple Statement admits there is a problem with the screen on a limited batch of the iPod Nano multimedia player device.

Apple has agreed to replace all faulty iPod Nanos.

Users in the UK should know that their consumer rights allows them to ask for a refund if the item sold is not fit for the purpose it was advertised as being able to do, so if you think you want another brand of MP3 player instead of the Apple iPod Nano, then by all means demand a refund from the store where you bought the item. If you have any problems, contact the Citizens Advise Bureau and the Local Trading Standards office, who will be able to help you..

Even if you are reading this months after you bought the Apple iPod Nano, as long as you have the receipt, you can still get a refund if you have only discovered the flaw.

While this might be a minor set back for the company, I doubt this will not in anyway affect Apple's dominance of the portable MP3 player market.

Most of you by now are aware that Apple have added a new music home gadget to their iPod range, the iPod Nano

As with all companies, Apple wants to continue to dominate the MP3 player gadgets market hence the latest addition of the iPod Nano to their range, and those who might have resisted biting the first two products now have a sexier little temptress calling for their attention in the iPod Nano.

As always I continue to remind you that there are other very capable MP3 players on the market, most of these gadgets will work with various digital download sites, while the Apple's iPods only works with itunes, meaning you are restricted to paying their higher prices for your music.

This month has also seen various new entrants into the digital download market, a big welcome to Virgin Digital andHMV Digital who launched their services in September, and you still have Stelios's EasyMusic.com and the now reformed Napster.

I must confess, that the Apple iPod Nano is a well engineered little beauty of a home gadget.

Apple revolutionised the portable MP3 player industry with the introduction of the Ipod, and today the majority of the people I see listening to music while on the London Underground are using an MP3 player of some sort, with the Ipod being in the majority.

While most mp3 players are probably used to listen to music, a trend that seems to be gaining momentum on the internet at the moment is Podcasting. Due to the large storage capacity of a MP3 player, this could be a very useful tool in distance learning, where lectures can be podcast, and the subscriber downloads them as they become available and listens to them in their own time. The most popular use of podcasts at the moment seems to be audio blogs and individual radio shows,has even been a podcast from space.

I currently don't have a MP3 player as I don't like the thought of isolating myself while travelling on public transport, something I've never been comfortable with long before the London Bombings, however if I do get one, it would probably be used as a portable mass storage device rather than a music player.

If you are thinking of get a MP3 player, then do shop around, and also remember Apple iPods are not the only MP3 player around, other consumer electronic manufactures have their own gadgets as well.

One point that also needs to be noted is that you need a PC to download music to your MP3, so if you are buying it as present, make sure the recipient has a PC or access to one.

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