scattered technology news

Apple Doubles iPhone & iPod Touch Storage - Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Earlier today, Apple announced new models of the iPhone and iPod Touch, both of which now are available in double their previous storage capacity. The iPhone is now available in a 16GB model and the iPod Touch in a 32GB version. (Previously 8GB max for iPhone and 16GB max for iPod Touch.) It isn’t a surprise that Apple made this move and it was even expected to have been announced during MacWorld last month. It would also be good timing on their part since competitors such as Creative plans to be pushing out their 32GB ZEN very soon.

“For some users, there’s never enough memory,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple VP of Worldwide iPod and iPhone Marketing. “Now people can enjoy even more of their music, photos and videos on the most revolutionary mobile phone and best Wi-Fi mobile device in the world.”

All new iPhone and iPod Touch units will now come pre-installed with the new software upgrade and all the new features that were released last month. Both the 32GB iPod Touch and 16GB iPhone will be available in stores and online for $499. The main reason for the high price is probably the cost of the NAND flash going into the device, but prices are dropping quickly. Despite this, I would assume many would be interested to purchase either device as it is the only way to get more memory on board since neither device supports memory expansion.

Links: Apple iPhone | Apple iPod Touch

One Step Closer To Vista Service Pack 1 - Monday, February 4, 2008

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista has been finalized and was released to manufacturers today. Unfortunately customers won’t have access to the upgrade which brings “enhanced reliability, security, compatibility and performance” until March. Consumer using the auto-update feature won’t receive the upgrade until April unless they manually download and install the patch. Microsoft claims performance improvements by as much as 50% for tasks such as moving large files around your machine or network. Today’s launch of SP1 to manufacturers indicates that new computers produced by companies such as Dell, HP, and Sony soon be available with the upgraded Vista pre-installed. In addition, new shipments of licensed retail boxes of Vista will come with SP1.

Hopefully the changes will help fix many of the major problems which a fairly large portion of customers are experiencing. SP1 for Vista will probably still not help it gain a lead over the performance XP will be offering with the upcoming Service Pack 3. Despite this, Vista users should be glad that at least some improvements have been made and will be available within a foreseeable date.

Links: Windows Vista Blog Post | Microsoft Vista