There is this great app called PocketTouch 1.2, made by Dr. S.E. Cantu, DFA, for the iPod Touch and the iPhone, which turns the whole device as a simple audio controller for iPod functions while in your pocket. Great when you’re otherwise occupied and don’t have time to take out the thing and look at it.

All you need to do to play/pause to tap the screen, forward and reverse tracks by swiping left or right, and change volume by swiping up and down. You can even get it to randomly pick a song by shaking the device.

Cool concept and I love it - although the instructions could use a bit of improvement.

On the Settings help page of the app (which is actually thorough), the Depth portion says:

DEPTH: Controls the amount of movement that must be registered before the device realizes it has been shooken. The higher the number, the more the device must be moved.

Hee hee.

Find out more about PocketTouch at www.touchrepo.com, or just run Installer on your device.

I love Product(RED) items. Particularly the ones from Apple - the red iPod nano has always been something I’ve wanted. I even got the matching V-Moda Vibe earphones ready and waiting. As Wayne Campbell said, she will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

The specially-made items are, if you don’t know, editions meant to generate charity funds to fight AIDS and HIV in Rwanda. A portion of the sales from the (RED) items like watches, cellphones, laptops, t-shirts, colognes, credit cards - and iPods - go to this fund. For example, Motorola contributes US$8.50 for each sale of the (RED) Razr, Gap gives 50% of their net profit from (RED) clothing items, and Amex gives 1% of all transactions from their (RED) card. A couple editions of the iPod nano have been made for this campaign, started a year ago by Bono.

After the first year, consumers have generated US$22M for Rwanda, but controversy is heating about the figures, which detractors claim is grossly misrepresented.

Advertising Age magazine reports that the entire campaign has raised only US$18M, but has spent US$100M in advertising collectively. People organizing the campaign claim that they’ve raised US$22M, and have only spent US$50M in advertising. Huh? Ex-squeeze me? Baking powder?

Whatever the case, it’s apparent that they spent more than they raised - and people say that the cause would have been better served if the money spent advertising was given straight to the cause in the first place. Of course, no one really knew this coming in a year ago, but maybe a bit of research and planning might have made the project a bit more worthwhile.

At least they made nice iPods, huh?

More on the issue from The New York Times.

In a no-brainer upgrade, Apple has just (belatedly) upped the iPhone’s storage capacity to 16gb, and the iPod Touch to 32gb.

At first, I got giddy with excitement, as a fanboy is wont to do with something new from Apple. But almost immediately that euphoria deflated as I realized how ho-hum the upgrade is. We’ve been waiting for this for at least six months now. No new and impressive features. No 3G, no better battery, no Air-type slimdown. Outside of the 1.1.3 Firmware, it’s exactly the same banana as the current models, only with more space. And they both cost US$499.

I’m stumped why they don’t go whole hog on the phone and bump it all the way up to 32gb. There’s no reason other than they don’t want to kill the iPod Touch, but I think a high-capacity iPhone without the phone will always have a market. I’d buy a 32gb iPhone if they had one.

I’ve learned to live with 8gb on an iPhone. I’ve been idly ruing my decision to move up (down?) from a 16gb iPod Touch to an iPhone with half the storage; as a phone, the iPhone is actually mediocre and subpar in some areas (like I’ve said in a recent podcast I recorded; you won’t believe the ribbing I got). Now that they’ve doubled capacities, I’m just …underwhelmed. I’d rather get the 32gb iPod Touch than a 16gb iPhone, to be honest about it.

I’m sure fanboys who’ve got not much to live for after realizing the new ultrathin Mac is a lot of hot Air for the most part, will fixate on upgrading their phones to the double-capacity ones. Have fun, guys. I think I’ll wait for something a bit more substantial.

I got a new pair of earphones for the iPhone the other day: The V-Moda Vibe Duo Nero. Lots of contenders to the throne of the white buds, but all things being equal this is the only one worth getting.

iPhone buds are  the Holy Grail of accessories – while the white ones suffice, unfortunately they’re neither here nor there. To be fair they sound ok, but people keep them around because they have the mic and button on the cord. Those inclined to trade them right off for better ones tend to hang on for the functionality. Honestly, there aren’t any real compromise-free options available.

V-Moda previously released the Vibe Duo model which had the phone mic incorporated into it, but it didn’t have the all-important button that answered calls and stopped, started and forwarded tracks – just like the regular buds. The new models, which come in chrome, red and black, have this button, which is a trifle smaller than is convenient.

But the Vibe Duo is the only one that approximates the original buds in configuration and use without taking anything from the mix. The existing alternatives either have too many cords or have little growths and appendages that carry the mic or the button or both.

At US$99 the pair is the best option so far in terms of function and value. With some extras. Of course the plug fits, and the jack seems sturdily made with a knurled grip, as there are on the left and right buds themselves. The sleek chrome of the buds and jacks are well made, but the big surprise is the cords themselves. They are light, soft and pliable, and cloth-covered! The feel like well-made, durable string, and not prone to tangling or retaining odd shapes when they get wrapped around things. A self-sealing leather carry pouch comes in the box, which is a pretty classy bonus.

The buds are in-ears, which are acquired tastes. Some like it, some don’t. I belong to the former, having used many like them in the past. They come with six pairs of replaceable silicone fittings, in three sizes: S, M and L, and in clear or black. I’m most comfortable with the mediums. The in-ears seal out extraneous noise and amplify the sound; I’m glad I don’t have to dial up the volume to full all the time now. Two-thirds is plenty.

One of the comments is that the Bliss silicone fittings have a tendency to fall off their posts, and you find you lose one or the other in common use, forcing you to use the other color, or the other sizes. I own a pair of red V-Moda Vibes, and I was down to just four mismatched pairs until I figured a tiny droplet of glue on the rims when you pop the fittings on usually does the trick. You just have to settle on the size and color and stick with your choice.

Another usual comment is that V-Modas have tradionally been bassy buds; true, but not excessively so. Mids and highs don’t get buried, and the reproduced tones shine through the low lows. I’m prefer flat settings myself, but I can live with the V-Modas.

One of my friends who owns a pair already complains that it’s odd to use the V-Moda Vibe Duos as a handsfree headset, and having taken calls on it, I know what he means. The lack of the ambient noise is a bit disconcerting, since the in-ears shut everything out. But it isn’t a biggie; it’s just a matter of getting used to it,

I’m glad I got these, and can now set the white buds aside as reserves. Two Mac-A-Doodle thumbs up.

While not the most striking announcement by any measure, Apple’s newly introduced pink-colored iPod nanos are causing a bit of renewed interest in the obvious markets.

The iTunes Store went down for a couple of hours recently again creating a fierce hornet’s nest of speculation among the Mac faithful worldwide as to why. Ah, here’s the one more thing Steve forgot. The real sub-notebook? The Mac multi-touch tablet? The 3G 16gb iPhone? And then when the site came back, it was a …pink iPod.

The new Pink just comes in 8gb, and is available immediately.

Oh, well. Maybe I’ll get my wife one. Her pink iPod mini is looking a bit old.