Apple Releases iOS 4.3

This morning Apple released iOS 4.3 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, with some nice enhancements including, AirPlay Enhancements, Faster Safari, iTunes Home Sharing, and Personal Hotspot (for iPhone 4). Read all about the new features, here.

You’ll want to download iTunes 10.2.1 before updating, for full compatibility. And, as always, I suggest syncing your device before applying the iOS update in iTunes to make sure everything is backed up.

Griffin Simplifi: iPhone and iPod dock with built-in Media Card Reader and USB Hub

Griffin Simplifi

Right now I have an iPod/iPhone dock, a USB hub, and a Media Card Reader sitting on my desk. Apparently, those three things could all be replaced by the Griffin Simplifi.

This is an awesome looking little device. I totally see one of these in my future. I’ll probably wait to see if Griffin has any show specials at Macworld, in January. if you want one of these, you can get it for $69.99 straight from Griffin, or $65.99 from Amazon.

via TUAW

Apple’s new high-quality earbuds now available… as a suppository?

Apples high-quality earbuds

Those new Apple earbuds that Steve Jobs announced back in September are finally available for order on the Apple Store. I am actually interested in getting these. I’ve never been happy with the quality or the fit of Apple’s standard earbuds. These have 2 sound drivers for higher fidelity and come with 3 sizes of silicon tips, for best fit. They also have an inline remote and microphone.

The new earbuds retail for $79 and are currently listed as shipping in 7-10 business days. As of this morning the product page still says, “Coming Soon”, but if you click the Coming Soon button in the lower right of the page you are taken to the store.

Right now the new earbuds are only listed as being compatible with iPods, and not iPhones. This seems like a big oversight, and I’m hoping that changes with the next iPhone update. It’s been suggested that most of the remote functions will probably work with iPhones right now, but Apple typically doesn’t say things like, “mostly compatible”. I’ll probably wait until the first reviews show up online before I grab a pair.

On a side-note, Anne Marie saw me looking at the image above and said, “I don’t like that packaging… it looks like a diagram of a uterus and a suppository.” :)

via AppleInsider

UPDATE (12/08/2008): Here’s more info about compatibility with various iPod/iPhone models.

UPDATE (12/15/2008): AppleInsider has published a glowing review.

iPod Recycling Speaker

Speaker made from iPod packaging

The Bird-Electron EZ17-B iPod Recycling Speaker is a clever little speaker system that uses the plastic packaging your iPod came in as the enclosure for the speaker. What a great way to reuse something that would more than likely end up in the trash.

“Bird-Electron presents this one and only Recycling Speaker for iPod. The dimension is exactly the same as the plastic package for iPod Nano (1st & 2nd Gen.) and iPod Shuffle (2nd & 3rd Gen.). Simply just place the speaker panel on top of the open box, and plug it into the iPod and play. Bird-Electron’s recycling speaker does not require any power source. You can also customize your own recycling speaker with any small container like a water bottle. Easy to install. Available only from Bird-Electron.”

via Geek Alerts