Columnist: "Print needs its own iPod"

The print media industry would benefit from an "iPod" of its own, says David Carr of the New York Times. "The newspaper business is in a horrible state. It's not that papers don't make money. They make plenty. But not many people, or at least not many on Wall Street, see a future in them. In an attempt to leave the forest of dead trees and reach the high plains of digital media, every paper in the country is struggling mightily to digitize its content with Web sites, blogs, video and podcasts." Carr talks about a device that would do for printed media what the iPod did for music. "Consider if the line between the Web and print matter were erased by a device for data consumption, not data entry - all screen, no baggage - that was uplinked and updated constantly: a digital player for the eyes."

ezGear rolls out ultraEars SX70 earphones for iPod

ezGear has rolled out its ultraEars SX70 earphones with "Direct2Ear" technology, designed to be used with all varieties of Apple's iPod. The in-ear earphones use a 9mm ceramic sound driver to offer clear treble sound and bass response. Soft silicon earpieces offer a conical shape that channels sound into the ear canal, increasing stereo separation and sound quality while reducing external noise. The earphones brandish a white and grey finish, and ship with three sizes of earpieces to provide a comfortable fit. ultraEars SX70 earphones are available for $50.

Splashpower debuts "splash pad" charging surface

Splashpower has unveiled its "Splash pad" wireless charging surface for Apple's iPod, as well as other electronic gadgets. Devices must have a receiver coil built-in, or have an adapter clipped to the back. An iPod mini and a Nokia mobile phone with a built-in coil have already been shown to work with the pads. Splashpower demonstrated the system in use and showed two prototype charging pads, one large enough to accommodate several devices, and one capable of charging just one device, according to a Macworld UK report. Lily Cheng, CEO and co-founder of Splashpower said the company is talking to auto makers about building pads into cars, and is also in talks with hotel chains interested in building the pads into room furniture. Splashpads will initially be sold in the UK and Europe, with the large models priced between $150-200 and smaller one-device pads costing between $30-40. Adapters will be priced around $15-20 each.

iPods to be sold at 7-11 stores in Japan

Users will soon be able buy iPods at 7-11, greatly increasing Apple's reach in the Japanese market. The company today announced that 7-11 stores in Japan will begin selling iPods, according to United Press International. Seven-Eleven "will start selling iPods in its stores later this month. Japan's biggest convenience-store group said that it will sell five types of iPods including the iPod Nano, the digital music device's latest and smallest product, in its stores nationwide. Prices for the product at the stores will range from around $200 to $330. Customers will be able to place their orders at a local store, and the iPod will arrive two or three days later."