It happened pretty quickly.

Late Wednesday night, Apple quietly removed the fourth-generation iPod touch from their online store, replacing it instead with a modified version of the current generation. The new model features only a few differences from the fifth-gen, but the omissions are significant.

Per 9to5Mac, the updated music player features a 4-inch Retina display like that found on the current model as well as a dual-core A5 processor, but lacks the rear-facing iSight and loop attachment. Aside from those changes, the new model is identical to the fifth-generation. Unlike the larger models, the 16 GB iPod touch is only available in one color option: black and silver, as seen above.

The 32 GB and 64 GB models remain untouched, suggesting a possibility that Apple is phasing out the older hardware in preparation for iOS 7, which is expected to be announced at WWDC in June. The new model retails for US$229, which is US$30 more than the previous generation.

If you pick up one of the new units and have any feedback to offer, please let us know in the comments.

AT&T may drive you nuts at times, but they DO work on having a decent network…

Per AppleInsider, AT&T has announced its continued expansion of its 4G LTE network for customers in Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. This latest rollout is part of a larger effort on the part of AT&T to expand its network to 79 new markets over the course of the summer.

AT&T’s 4G LTE network provides data speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. In recent tests, PC World found AT&T’s network, which covers 288 million people across the United States, to be the fastest among all providers in terms of download speeds.

The markets now able to access 4G LTE connections are as follows:
- Asheville, N.C.

- Casa Grande, Ariz.

- Culpepper, Va.

- Dover, Del.

- Fredericksburg, Va.

- Goldsboro, N.C.

- Leonardtown, Md.

- Linglestown, Pa.

- Longview, Wash.

- Ocean City, Md.

- Port Townsend-North Whidbey Island-Camano Island, Wash.

- Prince Frederick and Calvert County, Md.

- Roanoke, Va.

- Salem, Ore.

- Schenectady, N.Y.

- Shelton, Wash.

If you’re in any one of these areas and have noticed AT&T 4G LTE access on your iPhone, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

You know that pixel count you love on your iPhone 5?

It could double with the next generation of the iPhone.

Per Weiphone and Unwired View, Apple is planning to increase the resolution of a future iPhone model to 1.5 million pixels — double that of the pixel count on the current iPhone 5.

The details come from a report by Chinese-language Weiphone, which claims that the next-generation Retina display will be featured on Apple’s next-generation handset, whether it be known as the “iPhone 5S” or “iPhone 6.” The report claimed that the next iPhone will continue to have the same 4-inch display as the iPhone 5.

In addition, the report claimed that the iPhone 5 will have an even thinner bezel than its current design, suggesting Apple will borrow design elements from its popular iPad mini. Finally, it was claimed that Apple’s next iPhone will begin shipping in September.

The current iPhone 5 has a pixel count of nearly 730,000 thanks to its screen resolution of 1,136 by 640 pixels. That works out to 326 pixels per inch on the 4-inch display.

Apple introduced the “Retina display” branding for its screens with the launch of the iPhone 4 in 2010. That handset featured a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 960 by 640 pixels, double that of its predecessors.

At the time, Apple’s Retina display was a market-leading feature for the iPhone. But since then, devices like the HTC One, with a 468-pixel-per-inch display, have provided intense competition.

The HTC One crams a 1080p-resolution screen, the equivalent of a full-fledged high-resolution television, into a 4.7-inch space. That’s more than 2 million pixels, putting it at a density substantially higher than Apple’s iPhone 5.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

If you were looking for hints as to upcoming Apple products, this might be one of them.

Per 9to5Mac, during his recent interview at the AllThingsD D11 Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook has for the first time talked at length about his view on wearable technologies as competitors like Google and others push ahead with Glass and other wearable projects. While noting that broad range appeal with a product like Google Glass is “tough to see,” Cook said he thinks “the wrist is interesting” while calling the form factor “somewhat natural” compared to head mounted products.

“Nike Fuel Band well made for the fitness category. Works well with iOS. The ones that do more than one thing aren’t great. They won’t convince a kid who has never worn glasses, a band, or a watch to wear one. There are lots of things to solve in this area, ripe for excitement. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this (won’t respond to Walt asking if Apple will). I see this as a very key branch of the tree… referring to the post-PC era,” said Cook during the interview.

Cook did note that “people want wearables to be light, unobtrusive, reflect their fashion/style” and that it would take some convincing to show people ‘why it’s worth wearing them’:

“I’m interested in a great product. I only wear glasses because I can’t see without them. People want wearables to be light, unobtrusive, reflect their fashion/style and so forth. From a mainstream point of view, glasses are difficult. I think the wrist is interesting. It is somewhat natural. I think for something to work [on the wrist], you have to convince people why it is worth wearing them.”

This isn’t the same as Tim Cook openly admitting that an iWatch is in the works, but a decent hint never goes unappreciated.

If you want to hurl your two cents in on this, please let us know what you think over in the comments section.

A bug fix ne’er goes unappreciated.

On Friday, Dropbox released version 2.0.22 of its cloud-based storage client for Mac OS X. The new version, a 29.3 megabyte download (via MacUpdate), which adds the following fixes and changes:

- Fixed a bug that might prevent Dropbox from auto-updating.

Dropbox 2.0.22 requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to install and run.

If you’ve tried the new beta and have any feedback to offer, please let us know in the comments.

Never doubt an updated printer driver.

On Tuesday, Apple released its FujiXerox Printers Drivers 2.4 package. The update, a 42.4 megabyte download, adds updated drivers for assorted FujiXerox printers, scanners and multifunction devices.

The update requires an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.6 or later and can also be located, snagged and installed via Mac OS X’s Software Update feature.

If you’ve tried the new drivers and have any feedback to offer, please let us know in the comments.

It’s understandable that you’d want to keep your personal stuff, well, personal. That being said, CNET’s mighty Topher Kessler has turned out a spiffy step-by-step guide as to how to encrypt certain parts of your Mac’s hard drive while keeping other parts open as needed using OS X’s Disk Utility and Terminal applications.

Take a gander here and if you know of any cool security tricks you’d like to share, please let us know in the comments.

OS X 10.8.4 is coming…eventually.

Per 9to5Mac, Apple seeded OS X 10.8.4 build 12E55 to its developer community. Once again, the build contains no known issues and Apple asks developers to focus on Safari, Graphics, Wi-Fi, and Windows File Sharing.

If you’ve gotten your mitts on the newest build and have any feedback to offer, please let us know in the comments.

Here’s your chance to snag the next-gen Opera browser a bit ahead of schedule.

Per iMore, Opera, is offering people a chance to download its latest desktop browser (version 15) for Windows and Mac, which typically happens ahead of a general release.

Dubbed “Opera Next” as per usual, this time the browser was “made from scratch” and given a revamp to offer users a sleeker and easier browsing experience, the company says in a statement.

Opera’s Speed Dial start page has been redesigned, as shortcuts to Web pages can be organized in folders and filtered, while the address bar now also serves as a starting point for search queries.

Perhaps more importantly, the desktop browser has been equipped with a new feature recently seen in Opera’s all-new Android browser: a curated content recommendation system called, simply, ‘Discover’.

This feature digs up content that’s supposed to be relevant for users based on their location and a number of pre-set categories such as food, technology and news.

Also new is the ‘Stash’ feature, which essentially lets people ‘pin’ items or entire websites for easy reference when shopping, doing homework or any other kind of research.

More than a fresh lick of paint and a handful of new (some overdue) features, Opera says the latest generation of its desktop browser has been “completely re-engineered under the hood”, with the most notable change being that it now runs on Chromium – as expected.

This gives users a standards-compliant and high-performance browser, Opera argues. The browser’s ‘Off-Road’ mode, previously called Opera Turbo, also now supports the open SPDY protocol and thus enables loading Web pages faster than ever.

The company has notably decoupled its internal e-mail client from the new desktop browser (“on popular demand”), and has pushed the ‘first release candidate’ of Opera Mail for Windows and Mac – snapshots can be found here at the bottom.

Opera’s browser has the smallest market share of the top five desktop browser, but the company has well over 300 million people using its range of mobile and desktop Web browser applications overall.

If you’ve tried the new browser and have any feedback to offer, let us know in the comments.

What a difference a next-gen architecture can make.

According to PCWorld, Intel’s next-generation processor in Apple’s MacBook line could see 50 percent greater battery life thanks to the processors expected to go into them, according to Intel.

In a media briefing ahead of the launch of its Haswell processor platform, Intel chief Rani Borkar said that the chipmaker had designed the line with notebooks and tablets in mind. That focus on mobile devices led to dramatic increases in battery life, with 50 percent longer operation in normal use and extending idle and standby battery life by up to 20 times.

That could mean that battery life for future MacBooks — already near the top of the industry — will see considerable improvements. A 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro’s battery life could jump from about six hours and 15 minutes to Apple’s seven-hour estimate under normal use.

The Haswell line is the latest in the chip giant’s instruction set architecture. The rise of smartphones and tablets has hobbled the PC industry, the main source of Intel’s sales. Increasingly, consumers are opting for mobile devices rather than traditional computing form factors, and Intel has struggled to gain a foothold in the mobile device segment.

The Haswell line, then, is intended to address both traditional computers and tablets as well. Some components of the line have had their power consumption reduced to as low as 7W. Intel’s tablet-tailored offerings are said to offer better performance than non-Intel chipsets, but with comparable battery life.

Intel has been talking up the possibilities of the Haswell line for months ahead of its launch. Most recently, the chipmaker released a document showing that Haswell will double or triple graphics performance compared to previous models.

Apple’s expected refresh of its MacBook line of devices is widely expected to feature Intel’s latest and greatest processor set.

Currently, retailers are running low on supplies of some MacBooks, and many Apple observers expect the company to announce the next generation during the keynote of its Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.