iPods OK for Pacemaker Patients, Study Says

(NEWSER) - Apple tried to silence an angry British father and daughter with a gag order after the girl's iPod Touch exploded and "went 10 feet in the air," said the dad. The company offered a full refund of $275 for the music player, but only if the two agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement about the settlement—which threatened a lawsuit if they talked, reports the Times of London. "We didn’t ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back," the father said. More»

Teen trades his Apple for a Sony for 1 week

(NEWSER) - In honor of the debut 30 years ago this week of the Sony Walkman, 13-year old Scott Campbell tried using the device for a week in place of his iPod. Campbell found the gadget took some getting used to, he writes for the BBC: “It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape." More»

Video game retailer will no longer sell Microsoft's feeble mp3 player

(NEWSER) - GameStop, a national chain of video game stores, has announced it will no longer carry Microsoft’s floundering Zune digital media player, TheStreet.com reports. "We have decided to exit the Zune category because it just did not have the appeal we had anticipated," a spokesman said of the iPod competitor, on shelves since late 2006. Microsoft seemed unfazed. More»

Competitors cry monopoly, but consumers seem enthusiastic

(NEWSER) - Don’t expect a subscription music service bundled with iPods anytime soon: that’s the consensus emerging from the news flurry since last week’s report Apple was considering such a move. Still, the flurry made two things clear, declares Nate Anderson in Ars Technica: Apple would need to tread carefully to avoid antitrust complications if it did go there, and consumers finally seem ready to “rent” music. More»

FLA to audit working conditions at Apple suppliers

(NEWSER) - Apple, facing worldwide protests over conditions for workers who make its gadgets, says it has opened up its supply chain to a level of scrutiny unprecedented in the electronics industry. An outside group, the Fair Labor Association in Washington, DC, has been asked to audit conditions at the plants where most Apple products are made, and to make its findings public starting next month. More»