Magpie Outfit Nano case debuts

Magpie today debuted its Magpie Outfit, a protective case for Apple's iPod crafted after the company owner's love of fashion and fitness. The Outfit features both a belt clip and a removable keychain, allowing users to carry the enclosure on a backpack or purse. Additionally, the belt clip orientation is designed to make it easy for users to see and work the iPod. The reinforced vinyl comes in six colors that consist of "Sunflower power" with green trim, "think pink" with blue trim, "banana cabana" with white trim, "juicy oranges" with yellow trim, "flamenco lace" with red trim (shown at right), and "rose garden" with pink trim. Magpie Outfits cover the screen and clickwheel with clear plastic, and are available for iPod nano for $25. The company said it plans to add covers for other iPod models in the near future.

Merriam-Webster's dictionary for iPod

IPREPpress and Merriam-Webster today released the Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary for iPod, the first all-text brand-named dictionary for the iPod. The downloadable dictionary includes 40,000 words and their definitions, a pronunciation guide, abbreviation guide, and a handbook of style. Under the partnership, the companies will produce a series of quality portable references for the iPod over the next two months, including: Merriam-Webster's Pocket Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary for song and hip-hop writers, Merriam-Webster's Pocket Atlas, and The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations. Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary is available with simple scroll and click navigation, and users can search for words on the iPod through a hierarchical menu and hyperlinked structure. Additionally, the iPod can play tunes in the background while viewing dictionary entries on-screen. The dictionary is currently available for $10.

Survey: Apple's iPod still dominates

A recent survey of teenagers revealed that Apple's iPod is still the dominant player [subscription required], and that iPod usage is continuing to rise. Analyst firm Piper Jaffray's eleventh semi-annual survey of teens found that 77 percent of teens who own a music player have an iPod, up from 74 percent from last fall. Of those aiming to buy such a player, 88 percent were looking to buy an iPod, versus 79 percent last fall. Online music stores showed similar increases, with 71 percent use iTunes, up from 64 percent from fall, according to the Wall Street Journal. "That's why we're still in the stock," Stephen Coleman of Daedalus Capital said. "It's had incremental growth in unit sales every quarter for the last 11 quarters. There was this thing people said about consumer electronics companies having a let-down after the holidays, but they said the same thing last year, and it didn't happen."

Creative warns of operating loss

Creative Technology today warned of an operating loss in its fiscal third quarter that ended in March, saying lower margins and inventory write-downs were responsible. The company's Zen and Nomad media players are in direct competition with Apple's iPod line, and while Creative's players work with Windows Media Player, the devices are incompatible with the iTunes Music Store. Creative warned in February that it would realize one-off charges of approximately $9 million due to graphic unit restructuring, and now the company expects an operating loss of $55-65 million on revenues of $220-230 million, according to Reuters. "The operating loss is primarily attributable to a drop in flash memory prices in the quarter," Creative said. "The sharp drop had a significant negative impact on sales in March and resulted in lower revenues and gross margins and inventory write-downs in the period."

Car makers ignore iPod market...

A new study shows that 47 percent of new car buyers across the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France already own an iPod or other MP3 player, and that 35 percent are planning to buy a digital music player within the next year. Despite this, 48 percent are uninterested in an iPod interface when they buy their next new car. Over a third of new car buyers who own MP3 players want to play their MP3 music collection through the car audio system, and although burned CDs are the most preferable method for bringing digital music into vehicles, 36 percent want to connect their MP3 player with their car audio system. Aside from regional differences, overall demand for playing in-vehicle MP3 music is very strong across the US and Europe, according to the Strategy Analytics automotive consumer report.

Jabra Bluetooth headsets, adapters

Jabra today launched the Jabra BT620s Bluetooth stereo headset, the A320s Bluetooth stereo USB adapter, and four new music products at CTIA 2006. The Jabra BT620s (shown at right) enables users to switch between listening to music and talking on the phone, and will automatically pause music when a call comes in. The BT620s features 14 hours of music playing time, 16 hours of talk time, and up to 240 hours of life on standby. The Jabra A320s USB Bluetooth stereo adapter enables users to stream music, transfer data, or talk wirelessly by bringing Bluetooth capability to a desktop or notebook. The company is also offering the BT325s corded Bluetooth headset ($90), Jabra C820s corded stereo headphones ($180), the Jabra A125s ($60), and A120s ($50) Bluetooth stereo adapters. The Jabra BT620s is priced at $130, while the Jabra A320s USB Bluetooth stereo adapter is available for $35.