According to a Bloomberg report, Sony’s Walkman outsold the iPod in Japan last week for the first time in four years. It’s likely no small coincidence that Apple’s media event, the one at which they’re rumored to unveil a new line of iPod Touch and iPod Nano models with cameras, is just a week away.
One analyst thinks the shift came from consumers looking for less expensive devices. I’m calling bull on that one. It looks to me more like market forces aligned to give Sony the .9 percent jump over Apple in the week ending August 30th. Sony had recently released the W series Walkman, which got some good reviews, and again, Apple is almost certainly launching a new line.
I don’t mean to sound so vehemently fanboyish, but let’s be realistic. Sony has done anything big enough to really take back the market. Sure, the W series is one of the best looking devices they’ve designed, but you don’t just win back market share with a pretty device because it costs marginally less than the dominant competitor. I hope that analyst isn’t getting paid much, if at all.
Today, Apple sent out invitations to their September media event (if you’re reading this, Apple, you forgot the one with my name on it and that complimentary airfare/hotel stay). This year’s invitation looks like just about every other iPod advert. The invite reads, “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it.” Those aren’t exactly inspiring words for a tablet announcement, but there are plenty of other things 
Hidden within Yelp’s new app this week was an augmented reality feature called “Monocle.” Users gain access to the feature by shaking the phone three times on opening the app. It’s not the first easter egg we’ve seen used to 
