News Archive for 06/04/28

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iPod garments ship in May

04/28, 4:20pm

Made for iPod garments to ship in May

Koyono is due to begin shipping some of its "made for iPod" garments in May, which feature washable fabric control with built-in access to iPod functionality. The fabric interfaces that enable embedded controls are made from ElekTex -- a unique five-layer laminate of electrically conductive materials that transforms fabric into an electronic touchpad. The BlackCoat Sport is a hybrid sport coat/jacket/overcoat designed to weather the elements, and is expected to ship on May 2nd for $225. Koyono's BlackCoat Surf Edition is a short sleeve shirt/jacket that offers the benefits of outerwear with a shape and weight that can be worn throughout the summer, and is due to ship on May 20th for $170. The company also plans to ship its BlackCoat Work (shown at right) hybrid jean jacket/sport coat on May 2nd for $250, made from either Nextec nylon or stretch cotton with encapsulated fiber waterproofing.

Sony sued for royalties

04/28, 1:10pm

Sony sued for iTunes royalties

Sony is being accused of underpaying music artists' royalties for digital downloads in a new class action lawsuit. The Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick are claiming millions of dollars in damages from Sony Music because the entertainment giant is not paying its recording artists half of the net licensing revenue received in connection with music licensed to digital download providers, such as Apple. The suit alleges that Sony Music handles each download as a sale of physical media, paying on only 85 percent of "sales" due to "breakage of product," and deducts another 20 percent for container/packaging charges associated with the digital downloads. Finally, Sony Music is reducing its payments by another 50 percent for an "audiofile" deduction, which results in a payment to recording artists of roughly 4 1/2 cents per digital download, according to Macworld UK.

iTunes in the air?

04/28, 12:45pm

iTunes may take to the air

A recent poll found that over a third of airline passengers would download songs from the iTunes Music Store, were tracks available to consumers during flights. The poll was conducted in response to recent talks between Apple and in-flight entertainment providers, who considered licensing iTunes media download software in early April. Flightglobal.com found that 38 percent of flyers would download songs from iTunes during a flight, while 62 percent would not, according to a report from vnunet.com. A deal between in-flight entertainment providers and Apple could allow passengers to download videos and music to iPods while in the air, and several airlines have requested building iPod docks into seatbacks.

Black myPower ships

04/28, 9:55am

Black myPower rechargeable dock ships

Tekkeon today unveiled a limited edition black version of its myPower rechargeable battery and portable dock for iPod. The accessory adds more than nine hours of extra video playback for video iPod owners, and up to 42 hours of extended music playback, according to Tekkeon. The rechargeable lithium polymer battery built into a portable dock case includes FireWire and USB 2.0 ports to sync an iPod, a line out port for connecting to an external output device, and a 5V charging output port to simultaneously charge a mobile phone or any device that requires up to 5V. MyPower for iPod is compatible with third-, fourth-, and fifth-generation iPods, as well as iPod mini and iPod photo. The limited edition black myPower device ships with a USB 2.0 cable, five sets of sizing pads for different iPod models, a clip for the iPod mini, and a user guide for $70.