Gadgets able to help your iPod extend its array of features are always welcomed by most iPod users, so I thought it would be a good idea to tell you about a dual alarm clock radio featuring an iPod dock. Sounds good enough? Well, if it does, don't hesitate to keep reading, I won't keep you distracted from your vital tasks for long, I promise!


Coming from iHome, the iH12BR, priced at $79.99, offers the following features:

- Dual Alarm for two individual wake times
- Wake or sleep to AM/FM radio or iPod with Programmable Sleep
- Scan tuning radio with up to 12 station presets
- Battery backup maintains clock and alarm settings in case of power failure
- Full-function Remote Control
- Aux/MP3 line-in
- DST switch for quick, easy Daylight Savings Time adjustment

Unfortunately for those that still have 3rd generation iPods or even older, the iH12 is not compatible with them. The rest can enjoy the sound provided by the full range Reson8 stereo speakers with passive subwoofer, and charging the iPod while enjoying your favorite music is now a child's play with the iH12 and its dock.

Other than that, I don't know what to say... there are so many accessories for iPods, so I can't claim this is "the best" one, but it's sure worth checking it out.

Back in the PowerPC era, Apple didn't have to refresh its products line too often, but today, with this insane processors race between AMD and Intel, they have to keep up with Intel's latest releases, and now the rumors regarding the updated iMacs are here once again. Add an updated iPhone SDK and two software updates to the mix, and you obtain a large part of today's Apple news!


For now, this is only a rumor, so I will start with it - as Geeksugar claims, the refreshed iMacs should arrive before the end of the month, most likely next Tuesday. As Geeksugar says, the primary candidates for improvement are the processor and hard drive, and since it's no secret that Apple works on a Penryn-based refresh for its iMac and Mac mini, let's only hope the date of release we hear now is not wrong.

Next, we have the iPhone SDK, which just landed with a new Beta, the fourth one. Seeded this week by Apple to third party developers, this new SDK comes with OpenGL ES emulation, allowing OpenGL ES graphics to run directly from the iPhone Simulator software, so the developers won't have to attach a live iPhone or iPod touch to test their 3D software.

At last, you should know that Apple updated its Boot Camp and Common Criteria Tools programs. Boot Camp got up to version 2.1, and is available for Windows XP, Vista 32-bit, and Vista 64-bit - all these downloads have 220-230MB in size. The Common Criteria Tools for Mac OS X 10.5 has only 103KB, so downloading that one shouldn't be a problem.

This is it for now, but be sure we'll get back to the iMacs and iPhone as soon as we have something interesting for you. In the meantime, you can check back from time to time, or simply subscribe to our news by email, so you won't miss anything!

Apple reported record sales in the last quarter, with a net profit that exceeded $1 billion, but that's not as interesting as finding out that Belgium may soon receive the iPhone. Well, that's not such a big deal, after all, but if I say "unlocked iPhone," I am sure that makes a difference. A huge one!


After Italy, Belgium is going to receive the iPhone unlocked, but more expensive than iPhones purchased with a plan from Apple's chosen local carrier. Again, this is not official, since Astel.be is only a Belgian regional site, and not the official Apple Belgium one, obviously, so we'll keep this as a rumor for now.

Anyway, it seems this rumor is also backed up by facts, as it happens with Italy. While Italy is the largest consumer of prepaid wireless contracts, in Belgium there's a completely different thing. There, a law prevents carrier exclusivity, and since the result of a similar law lead to the unlocked iPhone available in France... the road has been opened already!

At last, the rumor says that Proximus, Mobistar and BASE, three Belgian carriers, are already working on setting up special data packages for the iPhone, with support for unlimited transfers and "visual messaging."

These being said, I'll close this article with the expected time of arrival of the 3G iPhone in Belgium - June, as it happens with Italy. There is also a very small chance to see "regular" unlocked iPhones arriving a bit earlier, but I wouldn't bet on that...

Big fish, little fish... this is the same old story, repeating itself over and over again everywhere around us. Sometimes, the little fish managed to evade, but in the end, it's all about the law of the jungle, maybe a little more "human" than you think when you hear about this. Oh, what's the story? Well, Apple just took over PA Semi, a US-based chipmaker!


The Santa Clara-based company has about 150 employees, and specializes in high performance, low energy chips. Considering this, it's no secret the purpose of this action - Apple's iPods will take full advantage of PA Semi's chip, and we may even see iPhones using it in the future.

The deal is worth $278 million, and Apple didn't say what they have in mind with the company, but it's worth mentioning that, as we speak, PA Semi's official site is down, displaying the following message: "www.pasemi.com Temporarily Unavailable This account has surpassed its bandwidth allocation at the present time. You may reach the account administrator at www@www.pasemi.com"

Well, Apple may have dropped the PowerPC processors for Intel Core Duo, but they will probably get back to them, at least for the mobile devices, since PA Semi's chip is based on the same architecture Apple deserted a few years ago...

Would you like your gadget to stand out from the crowd? I am sure you would, and I don't see anything wrong with it. After all, there are millions of iPods in this world, and every user wants his to be different. Well, if you have any chance to pass through Japan these days, I got some really good news for you!


This time, it's more than just a souvenir - it's a limited edition case, sold only in Japan, and for a very short period(the quantity is also limited)! As you can see in the image above, there are 7 cases available - Ginza, Shibuya, Nagoya, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka and Shinsaibashi, all made of hardened polycarbonate and coated in black rubber, featuring a special golden etching on the back.

If you are one of those avid collectors, then you may end up travelling all over Japan to get all 7 cases, because each golden etching belongs to the district where the Apple Store selling it is located...

These being said, I must also add that the Japanese limited edition cases are available for the iPod Nano and Touch, and the prices are 2,280 yen ($22) for the first one, and 2,680 yen ($26) for the last.