Apple has just brought out a brand-new third-generation iPod shuffle that is almost twice as small as the previous model. The device also has an exclusive new feature called VoiceOver that allows your shuffle to speak song, artist and playlist names to you.

The new iPod shuffle looks nothing like its predecessor. It comes in two shades – silver or black – and has no more buttons! (It looks a bit like a fancy cigarette lighter.)

The new shuffle is truly tiny: smaller than an AA battery and the redesign means that all of the controls are now placed on the earphone cord instead of the body.

The VoiceOver feature speaks 14 languages, including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish, and even tells you how much battery life you have left.

Priced at 75 Euro including VAT, the new 4GB shuffle holds up to 1,000 songs and starts shipping today.

Source: SiliconRepublic

A U.N. report published today states that six in ten people (60%) of the world’s population has a cell phone subscription. The driving growth trend is coming from poor, developing countries. This 60% figure is up from just under 15% in 2002.

Internet use has more than doubled to 23% in 2008 up from 11% in 2002. Only 1 in 20 people in the same poor countries have Internet access, however in rich countries the fixed broadband services increased to almost 20% market penetration, while on average only 1 in 20 worldwide have high speed Internet. Mobile broadband has also shown its fastest increase, with 3% of people worldwide having it on average, compared to 14% in rich countries. Fixed line subscriptions (home phones) have increased at a slower rate, from 1 billion in 2002 to 1.27 billion in 2009, meaning cellular phones outnumber direct-wired phones in excess of 3:1.

The 106-page U.N. report also ranked countries by how advanced their information and communications technology (ICT) is. The order went as follows:

1) Sweden
2) South Korea (getting nation-wide Gigabit broadband by 2012)
3) Denmark
4) Netherlands
5) Iceland
6) Norway

The United States came in at #17, with Hong Kong at #11, China at #73 and India at #118, both of which have a high technology base but whose ranking was affected by their large populations and poor, rural areas. Myanmar’s militaristic government gave that country the only cited decline over the same period, with Internet bandwidth dropping 90%. This came following the Internet being shut down at times, along with several bloggers being jailed for published content.

Source: TG Daily

Its seems like the financial crisis over the world really has not affected to the Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson,because he created a record for himself by designing the world’s most expensive phone Apple iPhone 3G Kings Button.

The Apple iPhone 3G Kings Button’s main operating button is integrated with high quality 6.6 carat diamonds, this impression itself of the phone is very attractive. This exquisite phone is made of solid 18-carat yellow gold, white gold and rose gold. It flaunts a white gold line encrusted with a total of 138 brilliant cut diamonds of the best quality.

The new Apple iPhone 3G ‘Kings Button’ is the most luxurious phone to date. The phone is definitely for those who dare to defy the current credit crunch. The Apple iPhone 3G ‘Kings Button’ for 1,636,000 ($2,517,345) (approx. Rs 12 crore). I’m going to start saving up right now. ;)

Sony’s big news announcement at CES involves a very tiny package. But don’t call it a netbook. Sony spokesfolk were adamant that–even though the newcomer packs an Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM–this superslim P-series computer is a lifestyle machine. The distinction sort of makes sense, too: At the $899 starting price that Sony expects the unit to command when it ships in February, it had better do more than be small.

Small it’s got down: Weighing 1.4 pounds and measuring about 1 inch thick, the pint-size PC can slide snuggly into a coat pocket or purse. But inside the P series are such impressive components as a 60GB hard-disk drive (you can invest in a 64GB or 128GB solid-state drive if you prefer), a battery that promises 4 hours battery life (8 hours with the optional battery upgrade), 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Qualcomm’s Gobi chip set for wireless broadband. That’s on top of what you’ll find inside any computer that sports an Atom processor: two USB ports, a headphone jack, a display/LAN adapter connection, a Webcam with built-in mic, an SD Card slot, and a Memory Stick card slot. Technically, I think that outdoes the MacBook Air. And all of this goodness sits inside a slim, screwless case that will be available in several colors.

I was surprised to see that now a 1 GB Apple iPod costs just Rs. 2,700. Yes, you can get an MP3 player from eBay for less than Rs. 1,000 but it’s an Apple buddy! I was looking for a Macbook in their Apple Store but I didn’t see any model which is priced below 50k. So I decided to choose one from HP, Compaq, Dell, or Sony Vaio (my preferred brand).

So what exactly are you waiting for? Get your Apple iPod today!

I was reading 5 Uncommon Uses For a Simple USB Thumb Drive by Skellie and I found her first point very useful. She explains how we can use Flash Drive as a Digital Business Card. You can buy a Flash Drive for less than $10 and then copy your portfolio, your resume, your contact details, PowerPoint presentations, or any other projects (as there is enough disk space to be used). And handover the flash drive to a prospective client. Keep in mind that you need to pay $1 (or more depending upon the keyword) a click if you go for Pay Per Click advertising on Google. So this idea makes sense.