Can you believe that the history of the iPod may be near its end? I know, we didn't talk much about what happened so far, but one of these days I'll take a look back and tell you all there is to know about the history of the iPod, but now, we have to talk about its end, as seen by one of those who founded Apple, namely Steve Wozniak. So...what did the "Wonderful Wizard of Woz" say?

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Steve Wozniak said "The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one. Things like that, if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while," and I fully agree with him, especially since the iPhone/iPod Touch are completely shadowing the other iPods, in my opinion.<-125x125 Button - right->

He continued by stating the obvious a lot of companies don't want to see, including Apple - virtually everyone has 1-2-3 media players, and they also got extremely cheap, and sales are not as good as in the early days of the iPod.

Regarding the iPhone, he said that the limitations imposed on developers are keeping innovation pinned down - "Consumers aren't getting all they want when companies are very proprietary and lock their products down. I would like to write some more powerful apps than what you're allowed."

Now, let's get back to the iPod, with a few final questions. Do you have an iPod? What's still missing from these players, and what can do Apple with a next generation to really crush the competition? And the last one - how many portable media players do you own? A few words about your experience with each one of them won't hurt at all, so feel free to share your experience in the gadget world with the rest of us!

When talking about portable media players, people usually like them small. Sometimes, players can get ridiculously small, like the iPod Shuffle or the EZAV Pebble, also sold as Datasafe oomi. While there are people out there calling these tiny music players "wearable," I can only call them "loseable," and I don't have to explain why. Going right into the other extreme, we have large MP3 players, and the one I'll tell you about today will surely make you go "WOW," believe me!

So...this is it! You saw it, and that's all. Oh, wait, you think this is some Photoshopped image? Well, no matter how hard to believe may be, it's not. The WowPod is one of its kind, and it was born from passion for technology and art. Unfortunately, you won't be able to buy one, but...<-125x125 Button - right->

...you can go and touch this "interactive media sculpture" and play with it(all controls working!), since this large-scale iPod is available at the Winzavod art center, in Moscow. Created by Aristarkh Chernyshev & Alexei Shulgin, the WowPod may look like a twisted large copy of the original, but those that have seen it claim it works well, and it sounds pretty cool.

All in all, this is one unique piece of "gadget art," if I can put it this way, and if you're going to visit Moscow, you surely need to see it! If you're not...there's the website, of course, and it's better than nothing, but I would really like to see the WowPod in action... Any of you able to help with this?

Don't tell me you don't like freebies, because I won't buy that in a thousand years! No matter how far would go some people in saying they don't want anything to fall from the sky, freebies aren't exactly like that, after all. Even when I have to speak for myself, I must tell you that I always enjoy things I worked for more than freebies, but let's get to the point - iPhone 3G cases for free!

I know some may think "Wow! For FREE!!! Where do I sign up?" and start looking for some text entry fields to drop their personal data and receive their Shades for iPhone 3G, but things are not that simple... you will pay, my friends, you will pay, but that's what we'll find out more about a bit later.<-125x125 Button - right-> Now, pay attention, will you?

In my opinion, there's a point where you start looking for the right case to protect your iPhone 3G, iPod, or other device - price! If it's free, that's even better, but I think price is the first thing to have in mind, because there are a lot of products doing basically the same thing, but for completely different prices. If you miss these free Shades, you don't have to worry - one is priced at $16.95, so you won't have to break the porcelain pig to get it!

Next, there are only a few things I need to get from my gadgets' cases, like easy access to the ports and controls, decent protection to shocks, and a nice color. For me, anything goes, as long as it's black! I don't need them to be washable, because I am not rolling in the dirt with my gadgets on, but for those of you that really need to take their gadgets in dirty places, here's what the Shades for iPhone 3G is offering:

- Light Polyurethane build, with only 0.4 mm in thickness
- For those green ones of you, it should be a pleasure to find out that the Shades cases are 100% recyclable
- Easy access to iPhone's ports, so you won't have to remove the case when docking
- A wide range of color schemes available - Clearly Original for full transparency, Aqua, Serene Green, Rosy Red, Sunrise Orange, Sunshine Yellow, Midnight Black, Cool Blue, Hot Pink, Ultra Violet, and Black & Clear.
- Easily washable with water and soap.

Of course you'll still be able to use the touchscreen after gently sliding your iPhone 3G into the protective cover of the Shades, and once you've done that, your beloved iPhone will be as secure as a child in his mother's womb, but be sure not to use it for playing darts or football! After all, this is just a case for your iPhone, not a safe!

Now, the final part of the October giveaway - to enter, be sure to drop a comment below and tell us what's your favorite color from the list above, and why. A little story about that color, true or fictional, could also help!

At last, you can also try your luck with the Shades giveaways from our friends at TechPin and CameraPhonesPlaza. These being said, I only have to add one thing: Good Luck!!!

Sometimes, it seems the paint is worth more than the object covered by it. Can you believe such a thing is possible? Well, I am not talking about some car worth $500 with special paint on it, since I used "car" thinking about the iPhone, and "paint," thinking of all those Dior iPod cases in the wild. Whoops! What have I done? What have I done??

Oh, that's it - I must admit I ruined the surprise of introducing the Dior iPod cases properly, but how can you introduce a case that's more expensive than the device it is intended to protect? And if I think that I considered "expensive" getting a $20 hard case+screen protector+leather case kit for my $60 MP3 player...what can I say about a case for the iPhone worth more than $200???<-125x125 Button - right->

More than just an iPod case, the Dior Homme iPhone Holder, made of top-quality leather, can also serve as an iPhone case, since its target is the iPod Touch. Considering that the price is - hang on tight - $450(!!!), I think it would be better to get an additional iPod for the money, and two decent cases. Anyway, I don't know if Dior will also add a lifetime warranty that no harm will happen to your beloved gadget, because that way, the price would seem a bit more...human.

Just as a side note, if the above is not enough for you, you can try the Louis Vuitton iPhone case, the "alligator" version, for "only" $1,120! Now, back to the Dior iPod cases...

...with the less expensive Dior iPod cases, unfortunately only available through the UK Dior Online Store, as far as I can tell, like the Dior Sport Homme iPod Nano Holder, the Dior Sport Homme iPod Video Holder, both retailing for over $100...too much!

Just one final note - if you want to buy Dior iPod cases, it's your money, do as you wish, but I have to warn you that the Dior website is really hard to navigate, so I would rather go to my favorite local luxury goods store and grab some leather case for a less outrageous price!

You know what's the greatest issue with virtually everything today? Problems don't come right out of nowhere, because a very important percentage of the users of a certain car, laptop, or mobile phone, consider that, if something is not at least as good in every aspect as what they previously owned, then it has problems. For example, the iPhone 3G would be a very capable phone(with or without diamonds), but the BlackBerry did that, that, and that better(most important of all, for me - it has a keyboard!). Now, the iPhone 3G has another competitor offering some of the features Apple didn't manage to add into the package, but if T-Mobile's G1 will be a new and serious iPhone 3G problem or not, that remains to be seen...

First thing I want to tell you now is the iPhone 3G and its road to world domination. I know that most people think the BlackBerry is better for business purposes, but that's not the point - while the BlackBerry has a larger share of the business phones market in the US, you won't see many kids with BlackBerries...

...but the iPhone 3G is expanding its reach extremely fast, since the third and final stage of expansion during this year is getting near, and this time the list of countries to receive the iPhone on the white market includes Russia, Brazil and Egypt. <-336x280 Large Rectangle - right->It's interesting to notice that China and Korea are still being kept aside, and I think that when Apple decides to send the iPhone 3G there, it may be too little, too late.

Since I was even able to bet they won't send the iPhone 3G to Africa before Asia, it seems this is happening, because while China and Korea are waiting, countries like Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic or Kenya will get it!

All in all, this third expansion phase includes 29 countries, which will bring the total of "iPhone countries" up to 73, by the end of this year.

Good, so the iPhone 3G is spreading all over, and while the first Google Android phone is expected to became officially available through retail channels next month, analysts think this is going to have "little or no impact" on iPhone sales. These being said, let's finally move on to the Android, shall we?

"Curiosity is everywhere, but the answers are right at you fingertips" reads the headline of the official T-Mobile G1 website, and since the features of the long-awaited "Google phone" are no longer subject for speculations, here's what the G1 will offer to its users:

- built-in compass
- 3MP camera
- sliding touchscreen
- full QWERTY keyboard
- trackball for one-handed navigation
- Wi-Fi support
- 3G and EDGE capabilities
- accelerometer(take that, Apple!)
- Office and PDF documents viewing support

Priced at only $179 with a two-year voice and data agreement, the G1 may not be a phone capable to challenge the iPhone 3G, but it's surely going to be a great alternative to it, at least as far as I can figure out. If you ask me, I would gladly choose it over the iPhone 3G, but...worldwide coverage will be the first problem to solve for the Google Android-based phones, and that says it all, for now.

While we talked about the iPhone 3G coverage earlier in this article, let's point out that the G1 will become available in the United Kingdom beginning in November, and in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands, in the first quarter of 2009. Not quite enough, and a bit late, in my opinion, but it's surely better than nothing!

At last, there's something worth being mentioned, as a closing note - Apple's "Begin at Home" purchasing procedure was officially announced, so that shoppers can enter their billing info and qualify for the subsidized iPhone from their home computer, than simply go to a local Apple store and pick the new phone. Unfortunately, Apple still requires a final in-store activation...

This is all for today, folks, I hope this may clear some things out, or - why not - raise some more questions! Just be sure to remember we're here to help each other, so don't hesitate to drop your comments below! I may not be the Golden Fish, but I am doing my best to please you...