iPods designed to fail? An old rumor returns...

An opinion piece from the UK's Independent, claims that it's more than coincidence that the iPod fails after about 24 months. The author states that "the fact that these expensive devices rarely last for more than 24 months is hard to swallow. The problem is that as much as I'm frustrated with my Apple experience, I still love my iPod. Even though I know I should take my business elsewhere, it's an addiction."

Well, there's just a few problems with this claim. First of all, is the supposition that all/most iPods fail after about 24 months. I know for me personally, my 4th generation iPod is going strong after nearly four years. Not to mention the first generation iPod my parents still use. Granted, it's battery life is now nearly non-existent, but the thing is functionally sound. It can be unnerving to read these types of articles, and I can only imagine what it's like for the people who have worked so hard on the devices. Of the Apple engineers I've met, none of them seem to be tasked with ensuring product failure. Could the devices be made more reliably? Sure, everything can, or at least it's important to strive towards perfection. I don't know how anyone who uses Apple products could feel that isn't the goal.

That said, I have to say in my own experience, it seems like the build quality/reliability of the newer machines is not on par with "the good old days." While my G4 tower from 1999 is still humming along, I have no expectation for the Intel iMac to be doing the same in nine years. Sure, complaints on the user forums are up, but then again, so are the number of machines sold.

So while yes, there are horror stories of people having their iPods replaced multiple times, it's silly to think there's some sort of directive or intention on Apple's part to make things that don't work. I know when we would see multiple iPod returns when I worked at the Apple store, we became suspect that it may have been the pcs on the other end of the firewire/usb cables that were causing the issues. After all, most of those machines were coming from manufacturers with far less stellar satisfaction/quality ratings than Apple.

Exclusive: net4mac social networking for mac users only

Sure we Mac users can be seen as a bit of a snobby bunch, so it was probably only a matter of time until there was a special place just for us in the whole web 2.0 social networking world.

Well, that place just launched at net4mac.com Net4Mac, takes a different approach to social networking, requiring a software download to use the service. At first this can seem cumbersome, and frankly it does take some getting used to, but it makes sense, given the interesting features of the service. The application-centric nature of the site allows net4mac to take advantage of the great built-in OS X features. You can take a pic directly from your site, for example, or easily import/invite address book members.

For the service to work longterm, there will probably need to be some sort of web component to access the key features of the site. For better or worse, people are just used to sitting at any computer to access these types of sites. Think of the times you've accessed myspace or facebook from a work computer. Now imagine installing software first on those machines. However, at least in these early days (technically hours, since the service was officially announced about an hour ago) it looks like this will be a different kind of service. It will probably never reach anywhere near the numbers of those other sites, but it has a great potential to create an amazingly tight-knit group of Apple fans. Think of it more as a universal user's group than a facebook wannabe. Give it a whirl, and let us know what you think!

SO give it a whirl (it's free... what isn't online?) and be sure to join thedigitallifestyle.tv viewer's club group on the site.

Root Access: How does Apple handle damage repairs?

There was a recent hubbub about an email sent to Steve Jobs regarding a $300 price quote from Apple to look at his computer's water damage. Something sounded a little fishy, so it was time to ask our resident genius whether this was all just a tad bit suspicious:

iPod Game Review Video: Pole Position Remix

When we were handing out assignments for iPod game reviews, I was thrilled to get Pole Position Remix. The thrill was gone almost instantly.

From a nearly impossible to maneuver car, to bad music, to a poor design choice in making the steering wheel (click wheel) also control acceleration, there's a lot of disappointment in this game. Yes, it's cool to see some of your album cover art show up on billboards throughout the game, but the only reason you see them is that the gameplay is dull.

Here's a look at the video review of Pole Position Remix for the iPod:

iPhone V2 Prediction - Blackberry Pearl paving the way??

There has been a great deal of speculation on when we're going to get the next version of the iPhone and even more speculation surrounding its new features.  I'm going to add one more to the menu today based on the announcement coming out of the RIM & T-mobile camp.  RIM released the Blackberry Pearl 8120t.  WHO CARES

Well I do.  I think it's significant for several reasons . . . ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION APPLE??

Here goes . . . the 8120t does all the great stuff the other Blackberrys do, but it goes one more step and adds Hotspot @ Home to the list of features.  This means that the smartphone will use Voice Over IP (VOIP) when making calls from your home network.  This marks the first consumer focused smartphone to use this technology.  I can hear the screams already . . . yes there are several other Blackberry devices utilizing this technology, but the pearl is a consumer device so stick with me.

In the all you can eat world of cell phones today, consumers demand unlimited everything.  Currently AT&T offers unlimited data , texting (if you choose to pay for it), and voice (again if you choose to pay for it).  Should you opt for all 3 your monthly service bill before all those taxes is $140.  Pretty steep if you ask me.  In contrast Hotspot @ Home will run you $20 additional.  Assuming you make the majority of your calls from home you can get away with the $40 or $50 plan and pay $60 or $70 total each month.

Besides from the cost basis alone, VOIP is just plain old cool.  Apple likes to be the first to do everything.  They've missed the VOIP smartphone game just slightly, but it's not too late.  My prediction for iPhone V2, VOIP, and not just @ Home.  You heard it here first folks, Apple and AT&T are going to deploy technology that will allow the iPhone to make a call over any WiFi network it can join.  This would mean massive rollover minutes so AT&T better get those calculators and slide rules out to keep track of it all.

So there you have it.  T-mobile has decided that consumer smartphones should have VOIP technology, and I agree.  The cool factor alone will sell tons of phones and the industry once again will have to figure out how to keep up.