Apple’s iPad mini was announced several weeks ago and went on sale in early November. Apple promised that LTE versions of the iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad (4G) would be available in late November and held up their end of the deal. On Friday, all of the major United States carriers, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint announced they will be carrying LTE versions of both the iPad mini and fourth gen iPad.

Many U.S customers reported that they had already begun to receive their devices earlier in the week, due to shipments and deliveries coming in earlier than expected. Apple has not made any official announcement on the availability of the LTE versions of the devices, however, will likely do so soon. It appears that Apple’s retail stores are currently stocking very few LTE models of the new iPads and will ramp up availability as the demand increases.

This is not the first time that Apple’s products are delivered to customers earlier than usual, as it also happened with the WiFi models of the iPad mini, as well as the iPhone 5 and the new iPod lineup. With all three of the U.S carriers officially launching LTE versions of the iPad mini and the fourth gen iPad, it won’t be long before Apple makes an announcement on the availability of the device and begins to deliver more units to its retail stores.

{Via MacRumors}

With Apple beginning to ship iPods in high volume this week, the Cupertino company aired their first television ads for the updated iPod lineup. The ad called, “Bounce” was originally shown during the media event in September where Apple unveiled the iPhone 5, 5th gen iPod touch (5G) with a taller screen and Lightning connector, and iPod nano with a larger 2.5 inch multi-touch screen and home button.

The ad shows off all of the new iPods in rapid succession, with the iPod touch bouncing along to music, which then “bounces” into two iPod nanos, followed by the iPod shuffle and so on.
Apple’s colorful and upbeat ad for the iPods captures the vision that the company has for the popular music players, to be fun, useful, and colorful.

Apple will likely create and air more ads as the Fall ends and the holiday season begins as it is crucial for Apple’s sales at that time.

Will you buy an iPod after seeing this ad? Which one are you planning to buy?

Apple’s head of iOS product marketing Greg Joswiak came on stage during Wednesday’s iPhone 5 media event in San Francisco to announce the new 7th generation iPod nano. Apple has experimented with the iPod nano various times over the past few years. The company has tried different form factors and features for the nano lineup, from nano with video and then slimmer longer nano and then multitouch nano which many used as a wrist watch.

The new iPod nano sports a much larger screen than its predecessor, has the new Lightning connector and separate hard volume buttons on the left side. The new design looks very similar to Apple’s iPod touch, with a home button included on the bottom, and a home screen to launch apps from.

In the latest generation, Apple has brought back widescreen video playback and retained features such as the FM tuner with live pause, pedometer built-in, and integrated with Nike+. The iPod nano has not changed much feature wise but has gotten a larger, more integrated design with Apple’s product lineup. The new 7th generation nano, will have over 30 hours of music playback due its larger battery and will be starting at $149 for a 16GB device. It will be shipping in October.

On Tuesday, Apple confirmed a media event for September 12th where the next generation iPhone 5 is expected to make an appearance. Now, 9to5Mac reports that the Cupertino company may also be introducing updated fifth gen iPod touch and other iPod models alongside the new iPhone.

Apple has not added any major changes to the iPod lineup in over a year, adding a white version of the fourth gen iPod touch, which is still technically on the its fourth generation and has not updated the design of the iPod nano. According to the report, Apple will be introducing multiple lines of iPods, in a variety of colors.

All these new lines will come in multiple colors, one of the lines will come in two size capacities, and the other two lines will come in a single storage capacity.

With the current iPod nanos and iPod shuffles both available in multiple colors (and with the nano currently available in two capacities and the shuffle in one), we think it is likely that new iPod nanos and iPod shuffles are launching next week.

However, it is possible that there is a third line as well (that, too, comes in multiple colors). With the iPod touch currently available in two colors and three capacities (black/white, 8GB, 32GB, 64GB) we don’t believe that the iPod touch is third line that comes in multiple colors.

While two of the updated lines will most likely be the iPod nano and the fifth gen iPod touch, it is unclear what the third will be. The iPod nano, in accordance with rumors over the past several months is expected to receive a taller screen, and even a home button. Rumors even suggest that this could end up being a whole new line of iPods.

The iPod touch, which has yet to be updated will likely match up with the next generation iPhone, as it has done in the past. This means that the fifth gen iPod touch could gain the same taller 4 inch screen, an A5X chip, a redesigned outer shell, and updated dock connector. Apple’s media event is scheduled for September 12th at the Yerba Buena Arts Center and coincides with the usual iPod/Music event, suggesting that iPods may very well be a part of this event.

{via MacRumors}

The release date of iPhone 5 and iPad Mini has been the cause of speculation for several months now. Multiple news sources and rumor sites have found images, mockups, and even parts of iPhone 5 and iPad mini. According to a report from iMore, Apple’s next generation iPhone 5, new iPod nano, and all new 7.85 inch iPad mini are all going to be announced during special media event on September 12th.

The iPad mini will be announced at the same September 12 event, as will the new iPod nano. We haven’t heard a release date for the iPad mini yet, but it could be the same as the iPhone 5. It seems likely the new iPod touch will make an appearance on September 12 as well, though we haven’t heard any specific information about that yet either.

The report also mentions that following the announcement on the 12th, Apple will likely release the iPhone 5 for sale on September 21st. Apple announced the iPhone 4S on October 4th last year, and released it on October 14th leading to speculation that the company may do the same again and release the iPhone a couple of weeks after announcement.

Although in reports, the next generation iPhone is referred to as “iPhone 5”, it is also very likely that Apple will simply call it “the new iPhone”, much like “the new iPad”, released several months ago. The report also notes that the 7.85” iPad and even iPod touch 5th gen is slated for announcement that day, although details on the 5th gen iPod touch are not confirmed. The iPad mini was entirely rumor based initially, a number of credible reports from NYTimes and WSJ have essentially suggested that there is indeed such a device in existence.

The sixth generation iPhone is expected to have a taller 4-inch screen, high speed LTE networking, a smaller dock connector and unibody construction. iMore has a proven track record with release dates, correctly reporting the launch date for the iPad 3 and the pre-order date for the iPhone 4S.

{via MacRumors}

9TO5Mac are reporting that Apple are starting to ship iPod touch (4G) fourth gen to customers today. Delivery is slated as the 14th of September on most orders.

So hopefully early next week we should see lots of YouTube videos as people try to figure out if the Retina Display in the iPod Touch 4G is really an iPhone 4 Retina display, or something else entirely!

We might also see some more tear-downs, other than the FCC one from over the weekend. Have you ordered a new iPod? Which model? Have you got shipping info yet? Let us know in the comments…

We’ve been tracking rumors of fourth gen iPod touch which is due this fall and among the predictable features which include higher resolution display and Apple’s A4 processor we have reported some pretty convincing reports which suggest that the new iPod touch will feature a front and back facing camera too.

FaceTime for iPhone 4 currently works between two iPhone 4 users. Apple would certainly be looking at increasing the number of devices which feature the new video calls feature so there is a strong possibility that the new iPod touch will finally feature a camera.

If you were wondering how would FaceTime calls work on an iPod touch then iOS 4.1 beta 3 provides us the details. It turns out that Apple will allow FaceTime to use email addresses to initiate video calls. This would enable iPod touch 4 users to use the service too.

MacRumors recently reported that an iPhone parts supplier sent them images of the front LCD and bezel of the upcoming 4th generation iPod Touch. The panel is labeled “Apple (c) 2010″ and has a front-sided hole which many are speculating to be in place for the camera.

iPhone and iPod accessories makers have often revealed details about upcoming Apple products and HardMac obtained illustrations of next gen iPod touch from an iPod case manufacturer. The website has claimed that their source has been very reliable in the past and the design seems to have a rounded back and will feature camera and flash too.

Do you think the new iPod touch will feature a camera to allow FaceTime calls? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.