Swarovski disease now officially a pandemic

As we've been reporting for some time now, Swarovski disease has been spreading fast. But with the arrival of iRiver's Swarovski-encrusted Mickey Mouse-shaped audio player (site in Japanese), we fear the affliction can now officially be called a pandemic. Does the World Health Organization know about this?!

Swarovski disease, as defined by the Physicians' Desk Reference, is a condition in which Swarovski crystals attach themselves to every gadget known to man--even those that would seem most incompatible with shiny jewels, such as cable connectors.

In the latest outbreak, the glitter is appearing on a version of iRiver's Mplayer, a cute little kids' product that's licensed from Disney and shaped like the head of its iconic mouse. At 1GB and weighing about three quarters of an ounce, it can hold 240 songs. Users can change tracks, add shuffle, skip folders, and adjust the volume by rotating the gadget's ears.

The Swarovski editions come studded in 133 to 210 crystals in colors including pink, blue, green, black, and silver--and OMG, you can even get them with ribbons attached! They sell online for about $135.

In trying not to be too cynical here, we acknowledge that young gearheads will likely find the bejeweled version of the Mplayer quite charming. At the same time, we have to worry about exposing consumers to this highly contagious ailment at such a young age.

Via Crave CNET

Plantronics gaming headset puts a Dolby theater in your ears

Here's a way to have surround sound audio, but still keep it all to yourself.

Beginning later this month, peripherals maker Plantronics will start shipping its Gamecom 777 headset, which simulates 5.1 channel audio through just two channels--your left and right headphone speakers.

The intention is to enable PC gamers to play games with the sound happening around them, and not directly in their ears. That enables longer listening time--less "listening fatigue," to use industry parlance--and therefore longer gaming sessions.
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PSP 3000: Another minor PSP upgrade

Sony officially unveiled the PSP 3000 Wednesday at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany, confirming rumors that had popped up online in recent weeks. But before you get excited (or--if you just bought a PSP--exasperated), note that this appears to be an even more subtle upgrade than the slimmed-down PSP 2000 that debuted in September 2007. The main changes, according to Sony:

• An antireflective screen, "which enables users to see the screen more clearly in well-lit places, even when used outdoors."
• A built-in microphone, which will allow users to use voice features in certain games and use the PSP's built-in Skype functionality without the need for a mic-enabled headset.
• The addition of 480i output for gameplay when the PSP is connected to a TV screen via a composite or S-video cable. (The previous model allowed playback at only 480p, effectively restricting the usefulness of the feature to newer HDTVs with component video inputs.)

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Apple finally ready for iTunes subscriptions?

Three Mac rumors sites have received anonymous tips that Apple is getting ready to introduce a subscription iTunes service in September.

We were already pretty sure that September would bring new iPods, but Apple might have something more ambitious up its sleeve. MacRumors, MacDailyNews, and The Unofficial Apple Weblog are all saying a tipster spilled the beans about a US$129-a-year iTunes service that would piggyback on Apple's MobileMe service.

The reports are all eerily similar, suggesting that accurate or not, all the sites heard from the same source. Under the new service, Apple would offer unlimited access to half of its iTunes Store--as of an October launch--for US$129 a year, or US$179 for an iTunes/MobileMe combo deal, in the US only. If you're already a MobileMe subscriber, you'll only have to fork over US$99.99 for the subscription service, perhaps as a mea culpa for this summer's disastrous MobileMe launch.
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Retail moves suggest new iPods are coming

Apple's global stock of iPods is dwindling, in line with widespread expectations that the company will introduce new models next month.

AppleInsider brings the latest news suggesting new iPods are around the corner, this time pointing to a switch in the status of various iPod models from "active" to "discontinued" in Target's inventory-management system. That suggests that new models are coming to take the place of the old ones, since it doesn't seem very likely that Apple is getting out of the iPod business.

One almost sure bet for September--which has seen an iPod event take place each of the last three years--seems to be a cheaper iPod touch. With the decision to subsidize the price of the iPhone to US$199, the iPod touch seems a tad expensive at its current price of US$499 for the 32GB version.
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