Sony has introduced a new speaker dock for all iOS devices dubbed the RDP-X500IP. The $299.95 system is up for pre-order right now with an expected ship date on or around October 2nd. This docking stations has been improved over previous Sony models with dual passive radiators, an integrated subwoofer for deep robust bass, and Sony’s S-Master Digital Amplifier inside for more performance.

This week on the Free Apps Roundup, what a week it is for free apps! Eye-Fi’s Direct Mode enabling iOS app is finally available on the App Store. That means sending pictures direct to your iOS device from your camera without cords. Amazing. Also this week, Sony released Crackle, a free way for you to watch some great movies and TV shows. Qwiki also made its debut this week. It wants to make you smarter with over 3,000,000 topics full of information and media.

In order to righteously call yourself a geek, you need the appropriate technology in all areas of your life. Up until I received the iPhone compatible Sony Xplod Bluetooth CD System for my car, I was sadly lacking in that area. Now that I’ve had it and have been able to spend time using it, I don’t know how I went without it. While it certainly has a few issues like any product, my overall experience with it has been excellent.

Recent news from the recording industry and record labels is showing that there is possibly a new type of album on the horizon. Apparently, the four major record labels (EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner) have been working on a new file format called called CMX that will make albums more useful to consumers by adding extra content. As the story goes, they approached Apple with this format, and Apple declined to join with them. It now appears as if Apple is creating their own format to compete with that of the record labels.

The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is planning on releasing the long rumored “iTablet” device much sooner than next year as more recent rumors were pinpointing as the release date. No, apparently thanks to EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group, Apple will supposedly be releasing this device sometime around September.

It’s official: Microsoft has answered Apple’s challenge in retail store sales. Locations and opening dates have not been specified yet, but it appears the number of stores will be small, with a focus on building brand awareness and excitement for Windows products. The effort is being spearheaded by a former Walmart executive, David Porter, who was most recently head of worldwide distribution for Dreamworks SKG. It would appear that the Apple Store’s runaway success in luring consumers has finally made enough of an impact on Microsoft that they feel the need to respond—eight years late, but better late than never, right?

Most of us know that Apple has a fantastic core of animation. Most of us know that Apple uses top of the line hardware in all of their devices. Most of us know that the current generation of gaming consoles are 90% computer. It only makes sense that major manufacturers of both marry the two more »

According to BusinessWeek and the Boston Consulting Group, Apple is on the top of the heap when it comes to innovation. “The publication states the list is based on companies who nurture cultures that value creative people in good economic times and bad, as well as those that develop a diversified stock portfolio, and display more »

Sony label chief Rolf Schmidt-Holtz was recently interviewed and mentioned the possibility of Sony creating a new music subscription program. The way Sony is looking at this is very interesting, and could very easily compete with Apple’s iTunes Store if they gained support from major labels and could make the system easy to use. “We more »

We keeping hearing rumors about Apple moving over to Blu-Ray in laptops and desktop computers. I’ve got a few theories of why Apple will never use Blu-ray for Macs. Before I speculate of why the format won’t be coming, Apple signed up for Blu-Ray about 3 years ago! Since then, they haven’t done anything and more »