The latest rumour reads like it’s August all over again, but it does have one particularly disappointing aspect. According to the source, the iPod touch camera will match the not-so-hot quality of the nano’s.

Here’s to hoping the engineers can somehow stuff the iPhone’s camera into an iPod Touch. Sure, there’s not much space to work with in the Touch, but we can believe. [The Examiner via 9 to 5 Mac]

Anyone with Zune HD 4.3 should be able to mosey on over to the Zune Marketplace where they’ll find a few new surprises. Or what would have been surprises, if I wasn’t about to totally ruin them right here:

• PGR: Ferrari Edition
• Lucky Lane Bowling
• Vans Sk8
• Piano (it’s a piano toy, not strictly a game)
• Audio Surf: Tilt
• Checkers

It’s not quite the same as having an open marketplace with a full SDK — presumably Microsoft’s actively helping push these things along to keep Zune HD users interested — but it’s a start. [HelloFromEurope — Thanks Korneel!]

We’ve told this story plenty of times before, but on the iPod’s eighth birthday, I think it’s time to think about administering the Last Rites. Three years ago, Charlie White wrote a piece about everything that was wrong with the iPod, and nearly everything that could be solved was. From 2006: There’s no FM, Scratches, Battery life, DRM, iTunes is janky, No Bluetooth, Thief magnet, My kid wants a new one every six months, No widescreen, No WiFi.

So many of these problems were fixed, but is that good news? Yes, for us, but not for the iPod.

Because the problems weren’t fixed by the release of the perfect iPod, but a whole new species: the iPhone and its non-phone-y sidekick, the misnamed iPod Touch. (There’s a good reason why many people prefer to call it an iTouch.) Apple themselves expects the iPod’s trajectory to chill out as iPhone sales eat into the big picture. And it’s not because of these small fixes as much as the fact that while the iPhone and iPod Touch apps collections get bigger and more useful, there’s been a quick shift from the regular iPod as a consolation prize in a time where if you don’t have a network connected pocket computer, you’ve got a toy. A toy that is an island. Or something.

So yep, iPod, you’re eight, your sales are in the toilet, your shrinking click-wheel has gone from genius to nuisance, your very existence robbed the Touch of a camera it deserves, and apparently nobody cares about hard drive players anymore, no matter how much they can hold.

You’ll make it to year 10 and 11, and maybe beyond that. But you’ll never be as important as you were. And so if you went away tomorrow we’d swipe a touchscreen in solute but without much remorse. [iPods on Gizmodo]

Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer defended notorious products like Windows Vista and Windows Mobile throughout our interview, but when it came to Zune, he did seem to admit that Zune HD nailed what previous Zunes simply couldn’t.

When I asked if he gave an order to make Zune better, he replied:

Sometimes you get it the first time you cook the soup, sometimes it takes till the second time you cook the soup…You get better every time.

However you interpret that, it’s the closest Ballmer comes to saying that product improvement was needed, that it wasn’t just revision for the sake of the sales cycle.

Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?

For about $US122, the HD8800 will play back your media in glorious HD on its 4.3-in. screen. Or on a TV, where you can boost the portable’s 800×480 image all the way up to true 1920×1080 HD.

The player supports *deep breath* RMVB, MOV, AVI, VOB, MKV, MP4, WMV, TS, TP, MPG, Flash, and can play MP3, WMA, FLAC and APE music files. [Ownta via PMP Today]

It’s tough to know just how often this particular problem is occurring, but we’ve heard a fair share of reports on the Zune HD’s otherwise gorgeous OLED display having performance glitches. And needless to say, you’d notice it.

Here, the touch controls are 100% intact; the problem is that the bottom majority of the screen is completely washed out in a bright, white filter.

Study the clip at 28 seconds in. You’ll see that the display is working fine before the white mask flashes back in. While OLED engineers in the audience can feel free to correct us, we think there’s a strong possibility that the problem is software-based (and thereby firmware-fixable through a patch). But obviously, make Microsoft give you a new Zune right away if you’re encountering such an issue.

Amazon has both the 16GB and 32GB versions backordered, as does Best Buy, while Newegg and Buy.com both have only the 32GB left (and it probably won’t last too long). Looks like the place to get it is Microsoft’s online store, where both versions are available (and you can get those sweet Zune Originals engravings). Great to see the Zune HD getting the attention it deserves.

Less than an inch at its widest point, the Micro Sports MP3/WMA/WAV player weighs just 8g and comes ready to store 2GB ($US55) and 4GB ($US75) of tracks. Syncing and charging over micro USB, the Micro Sport can run for about four hours before giving in. But honestly, if you’re enjoying outdoor activity for more than four hours at a time, chances are you’re taking part in risky activities that could lead you to fall on your head and have this thing permanently wedged into your ear canal. During the next several years of painful, costly operations, even a 24-hour battery would have proven inadequate in overpowering the cacophonous buzz of saws grinding against your skull, let alone the very sad, very internalised song that is your life. [Geek Stuff 4 U via Akihabara News via UberGizmo]

The first Zune HD commercial came out today, and it’s an extremely brief look (more like a list, really) at a few of the PMP’s main features. I really like the Zune HD, but this ad doesn’t get me excited.

This is especially disappointing not just because the Zune HD is a great device that deserves a great commercial but also because Microsoft is definitely capable of pumping out interesting, memorable advertising. This older Zune ad has great visuals, a killer soundtrack (”Lake Michigan” by Rogue Wave) and a high adorability factor. The new Zune HD ad glosses over the killer design of the device and very prominently (and mysteriously) features “Games”, accompanied by a racing game that definitely isn’t actually available.

The ad is so short that I’m sure it’s just a teaser, to be upstaged by a legit ad soon, but seriously, Microsoft: The Zune HD has a ton of personality. Show it off. [YouTube via Engadget]