Apple launches iTunes phone, iPod Nano

Apple Computer has unveiled a cellphone capable of playing music downloaded iTunes as well as a new iPod that will replace the iPod Min, and an upgrade to the iTunes software, reports News.Com.

Following the long-awaited launch of the Motorola ROKR E1 iTunes phone, Motorola Southern Africa says it is considering a local launch later this year.

The ROKR E1 features an Apple iTunes mobile music player that supports the MP3, AAC and protected AAC² music formats, camera, video capture and playback, games, PIM functionality and a colour display.

Alongside the ROKR E1, Apple launched the iPod Nano, which is thinner than a pencil, roughly the size of a business card, and uses flash memory.

The iPod Nano is available only in black or white in 4GB and 2GB versions, holding about 1 000 and 500 songs respectively.

The latest version of the iTunes software, iTunes 5.0, features enhanced search capabilities.

Texas-based Applied Nanotech and six Japanese electronics firms have created a prototype of a carbon nanotube TV they say is brighter and crisper than current technology can deliver, reports News.Com.

The report says Canon, Toshiba, Samsung and other consumer electronics companies are experimenting to see if carbon nanotubes, diamond dust and other materials could blend the superior picture quality of conventional cathode ray tube televisions with the slimmer designs of liquid crystal and plasma displays.

Applied Nanotech says TVs based on these concepts will begin to challenge rear-projection TVs and plasmas in the market for large TVs in a few years.

IBM has unveiled its Notes/Domino 7 platform to reveal interface improvements and server software changes aimed at lowering costs by using hardware resources more efficiently, reports PC World.

According to the report, the new edition also marks a step toward IBM`s goal of blending its legacy Notes/Domino architecture with its newer, Java-based Workplace platform.

Changes to the Notes 7 client application include support for Microsoft Office 2003`s SmartTags and smoother integration of IBM`s Sametime instant messaging software.

IBM`s back-end innovations include monitoring to alert administrators to performance issues and architectural optimisation intended to enable customers to increase the number of users they can support per server.

Samsung Electronics plans to release a DVD machine next year capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD if supporters of the rival standards fail to agree on a unified format, reports Reuters.

Reuters says competition between the two formats has hampered the launch of the next generation of optical disks, which will have greater capacity and higher definition, as movie studios hesitate to commit to either standard.

Samsung backs Blu-ray, but Reuters says supporting all standards could give the company an advantage in the multibillion-dollar market for DVD players.

The Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) has broken records to become the fastest-selling game console of all time in the UK, reports BBC News.

According to official Chart-Track figures, more than 185 000 PSPs were sold in its first four days in UK shops, compared with rival handheld, the Nintendo DS, which reached sales of 87 000 in its launch week in March.

To ensure the PSP has wider appeal than other gaming devices, it also plays films, music and browses the Web wirelessly.

Sony expects a million PSPs to be sold in the UK before Christmas.