LS-HACKS

Could this be the new iPhone thats debuting in June of this year? Probably not, but it is an artist rendering of what he thinks the new iPhone will look like. Aluminum backing with a glass front and updated OS 3.0 seem to be present. Click the jump for another pic!

Here is another pic of an artist rendered iPhone idea. This one seems more logical as it adapts the same curved style as the iPod Touch

The webpage Apple will post to celebrate the billionth app download from the App Store has been leaked online.

MacMagazine.com.br reader JOSZé discovered a counter embedded in the Apple home page which detects if your computer's time and date is past the estimated time the billionth app is downloaded. Currently that estimated time is at 14:12.20 on April 23rd.

Apple has prepared a new homepage (see below) which will shown to celebrate the event.

A new ZuneHD image showing the user interface of the device has been leaked online by WMPowerUser.

They received the following details on the device from a source:
The ZuneHD will have a capacitive, multi-touch OLED screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and TV out, from what looks to be a HDMI port on the side. The radio will now be HD and the device will support HD media playback, which will be available from the updated Zune Marketplace.

The ZuneHD will also support 3D Xbox games, but it is unclear what form this will take.

The device will come in 16 and 32 GB versions, and will support wireless sync. It will also finally come with a browser that supports multi-touch.

It is believed that the ZuneHD will ship in September and be available to the US, Canada, UK, France, and possibly other European countries.

The image has also been confirmed by the ZUnited Zune Community site.

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An iSuppli teardown estimates the cost of the shuffle's components, the headphones, and the packaging it ships in at $21.77.

Business Week says 'that's about 28% of the device's retail price. The smaller the component cost as a percentage of price, the higher the potential profit. This suggests the per-unit profit margin on the shuffle is higher than on other iPod models. The component cost for the first iPod touch released in 2007, for instance, amounted to about $147, or about 49% of its $299 retail price. The component cost of the third-generation iPod nano, also released in 2007, amounted to about 40% of its retail price.'

The main application chip used in the device is made by Samsung. Other suppliers include Toshiba, Hynix Semiconductor, On Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductor, and Texas Instruments.

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A businessman who orchestrated a $50 million iPod investment scam on the University of Miami campus must spend 17 years in prison, a judge ruled.

According to the Miami Herald Andres Leonel Pimstein pleaded guilty to a dozen wire-fraud counts in December and now must turn over 5,540 of the Apple devices and a Fidelity investment account totaling $138,522.

According to the U.S. attorney's office in Miami at least 146 investors suffered losses totaling about $40 million.

Pimstein promised a return of up to 36% for investing in his business idea. He told investors that he was purchasing iPods at wholesale prices and reselling them to department store chain in Chile and that they were going to pay above market prices.

Unfortunately he was running a Ponzi scheme. Pimstein took the initial investors money and paid them back with money from new investors. He even recruited other investors to earn even more by acting as agents who recruited more people to back his venture.

Since no real revenue was being generated the money eventually ran out. Prosecutors said Pimstein used the funds to pay off a home mortgage, auto loans, and to pay child support.

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Accessory maker Switcheasy, which until now focused on cases and other protective accessories for iPods and iPhones, has announced ThumbTacks, a tiny, thumbtack-sized (and -shaped) microphone for the fourth-generation iPod nano and second-generation iPod touch.

The microphone plugs directly into the headphone jack of compatible iPods, letting you record audio using either the iPod's built-in voice-recording feature or, in the case of the iPod touch, third-party software. The microphone is just 1.2 inches long (including the miniplug) and less than a half-inch in diameter; once connected to an iPod, the microphone protrudes only half an inch or so from the iPod's headphone jack.

The $13 Thumbtacks microphone is available now in black, white, or red.

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Displeased with the new iPod shuffle?s shift from an extensive spectrum of colors to the monochromatic options of gray and black? If you?re prepared to spend a little extra cash, you can get your own buttonless media player in pretty much any hue of the rainbow (and a few others).

The folks at Computer Choppers already offer colorized versions of several Apple products, including the Mac mini, MacBook, and iPhone, so the new shuffle is a natural continuation. Colors for the shuffle include red, orange, yellow, light green, dark green, blue, lavender, purple, and pink. Each of those will run you $129?that?s $50 more than the stock shuffle (or roughly the price of a second generation shuffle)

If that's not quite flashy enough for you,  Computer Choppers will happily add metal plating to your iPod. Take your choice of chrome ($149), copper or black nickel ($169), 24 karat gold ($179), or white gold, rose gold, or platinum ($199). Though, frankly, at those prices, you really might want to consider the less blingy but far more capable iPod nano.

It doesn't stop there! they offer customization for many of apples most popular products.

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