Apple brings NCAA basketball to iTunes...

CBS Sports and Apple today announced they will bring the 2006 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship distributed by CBS Corp's College Sports TV (CSTV) to the iTunes Music Store. The companies announced that for the first time ever, college basketball fans can pay $1.99 per game for condensed versions of all the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball championship games. Customers can also choose the new "Season Pass" feature on iTunes for $19.99, and receive condensed versions of all 63 games the day after they are played for viewing on a computer or iPod. Full-length versions of this year's semifinals and championship game, as well as compilations of buzzer beaters, upsets and memorable championship games from past NCAA Tournaments will also be available on iTunes.

Research needed on earbud hearing loss

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today said additional research is required to determine whether portable music players--such as Apple's iPod--increase the risk of hearing loss. The statement was made in response to a U.S. lawmaker's request for a review of the issue. Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter on January 26th requesting that NIH review research to determine whether portable music players are contributing to premature hearing loss, as well as to recommend what people can do to prevent it from happening, according to a report from Reuters. The NIH said in a letter today that Earbud headphones, like those typically used iPods, project sound directly into the ear canal, while traditional earmuff-style headphones allow the sound to diffuse. "More research is required to determine if a particular type [of earphone] increases the risk," said James Battey, director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders in the NIH letter.

Guba adds video results to iTunes

Guba today implemented a new feature that allows users to add video to iTunes that is discovered on its service, which makes the content accessible via Front Row. The subscription-based video search engine enables users to search and download video content from Usenet, and is fully compliant with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Guba video content is automatically formatted for iTunes on both Macs and PCs, which is the same format supported by Apple's iPod digital media players. Users can create iTunes podcasts of video groups or searches on Guba, which can be automatically downloaded by iTunes, according to Macworld UK. "By combining Guba with the new Front Row feature, we have been able to reach a whole new level of video-on-demand," Thomas McInerney, CEO of GUBA said.

Wi-Gear unveils wireless Bluetooth heads

Wi-Gear today unveiled its iMuffs MB210 Wireless Headphones for iPod, offering support for the iPod nano and fifth-generation iPod with video. The iMuffs include Clear Voice Capture echo and noise canceling software for voice communications by separating out the voice signals of interest using proprietary signal extraction techniques. The headphones employ CSR's BlueCore3-Multimedia (BlueCore3-MM) silicon for enhanced Bluetooth connectivity and support for native music compression CODECS. BlueCore3-MM supports the advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP) and audio-visual remote control profile (AVRCP) which allow the wearer to control playback of their music via the ergonomic headset controls. The iMuffs ship with a compact Bluetooth dock adapter that allows users to stream music to the iMuffs from a range of 10 meters, and the earphones can simultaneously connect to both a mobile handset and an iPod via the adapter. The headset will automatically pause music playback to alert the user to an incoming call, who can then decide to accept or reject the call with a touch of a button on the headset. Once the call is finished, music playback automatically resumes.

iPod platform rivals mobile phones...

A new report from UK-based research firm Generator says that Apple's iPod business could soon put second-tier mobile phone makers in the shade. The report says that Apple could ship as much as $4.2 billion in wireless iPods (WiPods) by 2010. "A lot of people don't realise that Apple's iPod business is already bigger than Sony Ericsson. What's more, Apple is the market leader in a growth market while Sony Ericsson is a second-tier player in a mature industry," explains Andrew Sheehy, Research Director at Generator. The report says that Apple's growing industry and volume of shipments allows it to negotiate competitive deals with traditional mobile phone suppliers, such as miniature cameras, video recorders and wireless modems.