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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
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iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
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Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

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Discover New Music

  • Mystics Anonymous

    • 8 out of 10
    • Mystics Anonymous
    • Mystics Anonymous is the brainchild project of Jeff Steblea, a fantastic songwriter and good friend of mine, as well. In fact, I even played the drums on all but one of the tracks on this album. Jef
  • Album Of The Year

    • 10 out of 10
    • Brother Love
    • Killer grooves, catchy riffs, edgy vocals with oh-so-just-right layered harmonies, and a drive that will move even YOU out of your chair, Brother Love's initial release is what rock and roll should be
  • The Wall (Deluxe Packaging Digitally Remastered)

    • 10 out of 10
    • Pink Floyd
    • Okay, someone had to say it, and though others on the iPO staff are more qualified to review this album, I decided the time was now. This is the quintessential concept album. Though others came before
  • Rock Spectacle

    • 8 out of 10
    • Barenaked Ladies
    • These guys know how to put on a live show, and whomever recorded this knows how to capture one. Rock Spectacle is one of the warmest-sounding recordings I've ever heard, and totally fills a room at a
  • Playing the Angel

    • 8 out of 10
    • Depeche Mode
    • Oddly enough, Playing The Angel is a return to form for Depeche Mode, even though it may well be argued that they never truly deviated from their roots in their more recent offerings. In the

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News

NYT: Cell Phone Design is Back to the Drawing Board

Companies that design and manufacture cell phones are going back to the drawing board and rethinking what customers want in a phone, according to the New York Times on Friday. Of particular concern is that younger customers can be more influenced by their peers than by the company’s marketing. They’re looking at how Apple has been so successful.

LG is one company using focus groups and listening well to customer feelings. "Our job is to be behaviorists and psychologists," said Ehtisham Rabbani, LG’s vice president for product strategy and marketing. "We constantly have to be reminding ourselves that we tend to be geek types and our customers are not."

All of a sudden, millions of dollars are at stake for companies that don’t execute well with their mobile phones products. Most notable has been Motorola who went for market share by devaluing their RAZR and lost the gamble. Even more troublesome is the rate at which customers switch allegiance and influence their friends. "The world has changed," said Jeremy Dale at Motorola. "There is more relevance in what other consumers say than what the company is saying."

Another trend is the rate of innovation. If a company can’t keep up in the innovation war, they get bad word of mouth in an increasingly connected social network.

Carriers are customers too, and the vendors have to make sure they understand what the carrier needs to make those teenage girls happy. With so much at stake and with the technology moving so fast, companies can’t afford to get it wrong. AT&T’s ROKR was one example. "At the end of the day it’s a judgment call," said AT&Ts; Steve McGaw. "We don’t always get it right."

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