Fuzzy Lion

If you’re a fan of Regina Spektor, check out the Florida-based artist Emma. I’m really digging the song “Da Vinci II.”

iTunes has an exclusive “Live Sessions EP” for Yo La Tengo that features 4 tracks:

1. El Es Gay
2. Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind
3. The Weakest Part
4. Luci Baines

Get the EP here.

In case you’ve been living under a rock these past few months, rumors of Apple’s entrance into the world of mobile phones have been rampant. Today, with his keynote speech at MacWorld ‘07, Steve Jobs blew open the door on the long-awaited iPhone.

This thing is absolutely amazing. Runs OS X, plays music & video (in widescreen) and is all touch screen. Unfortuantely, there are quite a few faults:

1. Cingular exclusive. Cingular BLOWS in New York City. The phone would be much better off sold as an unlocked GSM phone that you can use on any network.

2. Price. For the 8 GB model, you’re looking at $599 WITH a 2-year contract ($499 for 4 GB). $600 and getting locked into a shitty company like Cingular is a total buzz kill. There’s no way I’m paying a $200 fee to jump ship from T-Mobile (who I couldn’t be happier with) on top of $600. Hell, for $200 more, I can buy a brand new MacBook! Steve Jobs used the point in his keynote that most current “smart phones” sell for about $500, but he left out the fact that with a 2 year contract, that number is almost always cut in half.
3. Only 8 GB?! Yup. I can only fit a fraction of my music collection on my 30 GB iPod. Granted, it uses flash memory, which isn’t really available in such high capacities in the mainstream yet, but it will come. I’d rather wait until the next model with higher capacity before dropping the cash.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have one of these, but there are too many factors keeping me away. The phone won’t ship until June, but the chances of the Cingular exclusivity going away are slim to none. There’s also no guarantee that all the features will work if one buys the phone unlocked. I’m sure we’ll learn much more about it as June approaches, but for the first time, I can say I’m a little let down by Apple. Perhaps I just don’t know all the dirty little secrets that go on behind closed doors in the mobile phone market, but a company of Apple’s status should have the clout to change the rules. Hell, they did so in the music industry!