Griffin Technology announces the iTalk voice recorder for the iPod. This accessory snaps directly on top of the iPod and turns it into a fully functional voice recorder and playback device. In addition to it's built in microphone and internal speaker the iTalk has a connector that supports both headphone monitoring and the use of an external microphone.

The iTalk has a preorder special price of 34.99 euro until it begins shipping in
April.

PSP announces some news and evolutions on three products : EasyVerb, MasterQ and MixPack 1.7.

PSP EasyVerb is a reverberation effect plug-in on VST, AudioUnit and RTAS formats for Mac OS X, and contains nine high reverb algorithms designed to simulate physical spaces. MSP EasyVerb costs 69 euros.

PSP MasterQ is a parametric equalizer designed to operate at sampling rates ranging from 44.1 to 192kHz. MasterQ is a VST plugin for Mac OS X and costs 149 euros.

PSP MixPack is a collection of 4 plug-ins processors (MixBass, MixSaturator, MixPressor and MixTreble) in VST for Mac OSX, VST and MAS for Mac OS 9. The downloadable version costs 149 euros.

Information regarding these three products are available on the PSP web site.

With a US$250 price difference (not including other bundled apps), it's understandable that recent purchasers of the standalone Soundtrack may be kicking themselves with Apple's announcement today of Garage Band. But there are important differences between the apps and their markets. Let's compare:

Steve anounced new Xserve G5 (2G or 2x2GHz), FinalCut Express 2, MS Office 2004, iLife '04 (iPhoto 4, iMovie 4, iDvd 4, iTune) and GarageBand, a new part of the iLife family.

Jam Pack is an additionnal $99 pack for GarageBand adding more virtual instruments, loops, amplifier models and effects.

Apple updated its low-end iPod model from 10G to 15G still prices at $299.

Apple also introduced iPod Mini , a mini 4G iPod sized like a business card, featuring Firewire and USB2. iPod Mini will ship from february in multiple colors for $249.

Live from San Francisco, Apple has just introduced GarageBand, entry level music production software -- a genre long-missing from the Mac platform. The software is being demoed by John Mayer (with the admission that he's "a guitarrist," hence playing only in C). You can use GarageBand as a 64-track audio/MIDI sequencer, loop-based tool (a la Soundtrack, complete with 1000 pro-quality loops), or simply take advantage of it as a 50-instrument virtual instrument. Export to iTunes bounces directly into a special iTunes playlist. The software instruments sound absolutely gorgeous. GarageBand is integrated into iLife for US$49, free with new Macs. (!!)