That is the most requested feature according to Jacobs Media. The FM tuner feature appears to be a more popular option for the iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano. With many other players offering more features than the iPod, why hasn’t Apple included any of these features on their iPods?

I don’t know the real answer, but I can make a few intelligent guesses. There will probably be a slight size increase, especially if this feature were to be included on the iPod Shuffle; there can’t possibly be room for it. As for the Nano, they could probably squeeze one in.

The other problem with FM tuners in most MP3 players is poor reception, especially indoors and I spend a majority of my day inside; even though I do own an iPod, it’s mostly for use in my car. Most of my music is stored and listened to on my computers.

The point of an iPod is to listen to YOUR music when YOU want and HOW you want. I find the point of a FM tuner on any MP3 player a bit pointless. I do like Voice Recording features which can be added to your iPod through various third party accessories. If you really want a FM tuner on your iPod pick up the Radio Remote accessory.

While we are on the subject, instead of an iPhone, I would like to see a touch based widescreen iPod with wireless sharing capabilities and video playback; I would rather have those features than a silly FM tuner. It would be nice if Apple were to include the FM and voice recording features, if only to up the competition but Apple has proven that features are not a deciding factor.

Simplicity, ease of use and reliability seem to be at the heart of their products. Though, that’s not to say there aren’t horror stories regarding Apple products breaking but I’ve had nothing but good experiences when dealing with Apple Support, when I’ve had to…which is not very often.

The murmers were right on the money regarding the purpose of today’s early press release. Steve Jobs made the announcement official today that EMI would be releasing its DRM-free music, at the higher bit rate of 256 kbps, for all of 30 cents more than the DRM-equipped music.

Why leave both options available? Steve aptly pointed out that many people are quite satisfied using iTunes and an iPod to play all of their downloaded content, and might not necessarily feel like spending that extra 30 cents to play their tunes in some other player. Well put, Steve.

In regards to the Beatles, Steve said he hoped that the Beatles would be joining iTunes very soon, but didn’t sound particularly assertive that such an agreement was near fruition.

So, in brief, EMI Records’ music will be available on iTunes for either the standard price of 99 cents, or at the higher rate of $1.30, but DRM-free, and at a higher quality of 256 kbps. Also, Steve, Apple, and EMI all feel like this was the first step towards a completely DRM-free iTunes in the near future.

We certainly hope such is the case, and applaud Apple’s effort to actively combat DRM, as opposed to just hoping and dreaming. That’s the go-get’em attitude we’ve come to know and love from Apple.

As with any Apple news, we were happy to jump on the recent Apple announcement that Steve Jobs would be making some sort of announcement tomorrow in London, England, with a special guest appearance by an unnamed band. We automatically put two and two together, and thought lofty thoughts about the Beatles finally making an appearance in the iTunes repertoire.

Apple has announced that tomorrow will signify something fairly significant to the future of iTunes; EMI Records, the label who has worked with the likes of Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd, will be the first to allow much of its content to be available on iTunes, completely DRM-free.

Though many of us are devote Beatles fans, the first steps down the DRM-free iTunes path are enough to make us squeal like little school-girls. Steve, we’ll take it.

Who knows, we don’t want to jinx it, but maybe we’ll see a bundle package of EMI and the Beatles tomorrow in London. Get your basket of fish ‘n’ chips and key up Apple.Blorge.com for more announcements regarding Apple’s press release tomorrow!

Recent buzz surrounding the possibility of the Beatles’ tunes finally gracing iTunes has grown stronger over the last few weeks. Today, Apple notified certain members of the press that they would be making a press release in London, England tomorrow, April 2nd.

Though press release rumors are always better than gold to the Apple community, the general consensus (or wish) is that the Beatles will be adding their music to the iTunes library. Steve Jobs will be in attendance and there will be a “special live performance,” by a band that has yet to be named.

Hmm. London, England, musical guest performance…we’re betting this press release isn’t about Leopard.

The only other hot Apple topic that might be the press release’s focus would be the iPhone, though the Apple community’s somewhat flaky track on the iPhone’s progress wouldn’t point to any groundbreaking revelations tomorrow.

Either way, Apple always makes the most of press releases, and as long as the release doesn’t pertain to delaying Leopard until 2008, we’re sure it is bound to put a smile on Apple fans’ faces worldwide. Be sure to direct your browser to Apple.Blorge.com for the press release overview tomorrow.

A recent article by my friend Jonathan on the proper time to upgrade your Apple products got me thinking; sure, Apple likes to release new goodies to the market every time you blink, but how often do Apple consumers really need to upgrade?

We all have faced the grim news at one time or another that our new Apple product was just outdated by the latest Steve Jobs’ announcement; one of the more particularly painful stories I have heard was from a friend who saved all his meager earnings to buy a color iPod, and the day after his purchase, the video iPod released. Ouch.

What may not surprise those who love Apple is that my friend didn’t mind that his iPod was just “outdated.” He still had a great product, and he never complained once.

You see, the beauty of Apple is that the standard of excellence found in every one of their products doesn’t leave buyers needing to upgrade to the latest and greatest. Though the rest of the consumer technology market demands a steady budget for “necessary” upgrades due to planned obsolescence, Apple creates quality that has enormous longevity.

The two key factors that make Apple products last are quality and support, both of which don’t buy into “planned obsolescence.” I’m willing to bet all of you that are Mac users have friends or know of someone (or are the person) that still uses that Powerbook G4, or the older iPod Mini?

If you search for the classic iPod Mini on Ebay, you’ll find them still selling for over $50. Why? Because it is a fantastic product, regardless of newer models.

Similarly, I know plenty of Mac users who run OS-X Tiger on older G4-based systems. How many PC users are running Vista on Pentium 3’s?

The reason Apple users are able to use products that have been around for longer than the industry standard of 1-2 years is because Apple dedicates many resources to maintaining quality support for each product they release.

I keep coming back to iPods, because I feel the success of the iPod has been instrumental in the overall rejuvenation of Apple’s public image; Apple has maintained updates and support for all iPods that have hit the market.

Though usage and wear do eventually tire out some of the older models, Apple has never orchestrated the demise of any iPod model, or any product of theirs, for that matter. Much less can be said about other technology giants; poor customer support, infrequent support updates, and planned obsolescence are all demonstrative of what has become the face of the technology industry.

The perception of Apple and their products has been steadily on the upswing, especially since the turn of 2007; though, much of the public still perceive Apple as expensive and flashy. This, obviously, is because they don’t know what Apple is about.

When it really comes down to it, you can spend much less as an Apple consumer in the long run, in comparison to the competition. Not only that, you get the sexy chic and superior quality that Apple is known for. I suppose if the entire public knew that, Apple’s marketing team would be out of a job. Better to break it to them slowly, right?

Apple updates their product lines quite often, more often than other manufacturers of MP3 players, home entertainment devices and computers than I can name off the top of my head. Sure, you can buy PCs with the same processors, memory, motherboards and graphics cards from the likes of Acer, Lenovo or Dell. What you don’t get is the reliability of OSX.

If you want a Mac upgrade usually the answer is to just buy a new Mac. But when is the right time to buy that new Mac or iPod. MacRumors think they have the answers.

According to them the current generation of iPods and iPod Nanos are approaching their end of life cycle so their recommendation is only buy if you absolutely positively need one.

Since the iPod Shuffle was just recently updated, it’s safe to buy as it will be around for a while longer.

Updates to practically the entire Mac line are expected save for the MacBook so if you are eyeing that MacBook Pro, Mac Pro or iMac, don’t buy it. At the very least, wait for Leopard to come out, it is doubtful Apple will offer free updates to Leopard for even recent purchases of Macs with Tiger on them. I’m holding out for Leopard. It is rumored that when Leopard releases the MacBook Pros will be updated with quad core Intel processors. They’re stuffing quad-core processors in laptops? I’ll believe it when I see it.

Take this with a grain of salt, we know that MacRumors isn’t exactly the most reliable source on the internet but they do toss out some interesting thoughts. They were right about the switch to Intel processors but wrong about a new G5 processor. A new Power processor has materialized in the form of the IBM Power6 for use in servers but will probably never see use in Apple or any desktop computer.

Apple has just added a new feature to the iTunes market, known as “Complete My Album.” The aim of this new feature is to allow users up to 6 months to purchase the remaining album tracks from individual songs they’ve downloaded at a discounted rate.

The concept behind this new feature isn’t terrible; from time to time, I’ve been known to download a song I’ve enjoyed, and later investigated the rest of the album. However, as many of you have experienced and know, many times that one great song is..well..the only great song on the album.

That’s the whole great thing about iTunes in the first place, right? Sure, it would be nice to have a CD with lyrical and artwork inserts, but when you only like a few songs, why waste the extra money for the mediocre tracks?

That makes Apple’s move to allow users to purchase whole albums at a discounted rate curious; is there really that much of a demand from an army of iTunes users who can’t stand to go without the whole album?

Perhaps Apple isn’t the one behind it; sure, its their software, but perhaps they’re feeling the heat from the production studios to sell more of those mediocre songs the studios invest so much in.

Even you aren’t that familiar with the music industry, you still might not be surprised to learn that most studios produce a few “hits,” and then create filler to complete an album. That’s why most popular artists only have a couple popular songs per CD (Note, when I say popular I mean highly marketed mainstream artists).

That is why iTunes is so great. Get those few songs that are really great, and skip the fluff. I can safely say I won’t be completing too many albums online any time soon; however, options are always nice. Good lookin’ out, Apple.