According to a new report, Apple may be planning to add camera functionality to a couple of its next-generation iPod models. The report also claims that upcoming iPhones will retain the handsets’ existing size and form factor.

Hardmac, the English-language version of France’s MacBidouille, cites that Apple’s new line of iPod touch and iPod nano players, when launched in September of this year, will have video recording capabilities. While a compact iPod nano with a built-in camera seems foolish, we try to keep an open mind around here.

One of the problems with the iPod is the lack of an FM transmitter, though there are dozens of iPod FM transmitters available from third party accessories manufacturers.

This device allows you to stream your iPod or iPhone music to any FM radio within a 10 meter radius, and with digital PLL it enables the reception to remain crystal clear even under extreme conditions. All you have to do is plug it in.

A recent report shows that the parts and packaging of the iPod Shuffle 3G cost only $21.77. That’s twenty-eight percent of the unit’s retail price. So with those numbers, you might be wondering where the clones are. According to Business Week, Samsung supplies not only the unit’s ARM-based processor ($5.98), but the storage ($6) on at least a few of the units as well. The lithium ion battery costs $1.20.

Maybe for some reason the pirates just can’t work that small yet. Who knows. Maybe they just don’t care about the Shuffle and have other gadgets to worry about.

This is similar to the Will it blend videos. The guys from Can Water Cut It use a Flow Waterjet to cut through a laptop, golf club and a blender. Here’s what happened when it was the iPod’s turn.

“What makes waterjets so popular? Waterjets require few secondary operations, produce net-shaped parts with no heat-affected zone, heat distortion, or mechanical stresses caused by other cutting methods, can cut with a narrow kerf, and can provide better usage of raw material since parts can be tightly nested.”

You just bought the new iPod Shuffle huh? Maybe that voice-over hasn’t gotten annoying yet and you still care for it. You don’t want it to get scratched up, before you toss it on the freeway once you’ve had enough. iLuv just announced their new iPod shuffle cases. Think of them as stylish jackets for that little talking voice in your device.

The iLuv Shuffle cases come in different colors, so you can play dress up in white, pink, blue or black from the four pack of silicone cases. Also clear and tinted black cases in the two pack.

Apple only offers up the new Shuffle in grey and black, but Computer Choppers will gladly do some custom color anodizing for you.

You can get any of the colors pictured for $129, a $50 premium over the stock iPod shuffle. Those aren’t your only options, you can also get copper, rose gold and platinum, which can push the price up to $200. You know how it goes, as soon as you buy one Apple will release some new colors.

Clearly inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and created using the first generation iPod nano, this victorian eye-Pod by Doctor Grymm will have you doing a double take. All of the functionality of the iPod remains intact, and the eye-Pod can even be worn on the wrist using a leather cuff, or placed on its custom Victrola dock, made of a brass lamp and bicycle parts.

Forget the scroll wheel, all seeing eyeballs are more user friendly. The base features a Victrola horn that acts as a speaker. To charge the eye-Pod, a USB cable concealed under the base is retracted, or you can use an AC plug.

So you like the new iPod Shuffle 3Gs voiceover function, but you hate earbuds. It would be nice if you could use any pair of headphones you wanted, but sadly the device is controlled by proprietary headphones, because Apple is greedy. Sadly third party headphones will cost you as much as the Shuffle itself.

What to do? Well, don’t be a sucker. You can get one over on Jobs and his cronies for only $8.99. BudFits convert your earbuds into headphones that won’t keep slipping out of your ears. They just snap in and you enjoy your music without having to buy Steve another yacht.

The iPod Shuffle 3G isn’t a week old yet and Klipsch wants a piece of the action. They’re working on a set of earphones designed for the third-gen iPod shuffle. The revision will give users the same controls as Apple’s stock and In-Ear headphones, including triggering VoiceOver and switching playlists.

The feature set is still unknown but we’re talking a $100 price point. So the audio quality should be good. We hope. That shuffle sure is expensive if you don’t like the stock headphones.

The new voice-enabled iPod shuffle. It’s like Stephen Hawking is there to guide you through your songs in between constantly touching your earbuds wire. I’ll be honest, I think it’s a lame move. A gimmick. One designed to get more money out of the consumer and give you nothing extra.

It has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, but it’s controlled by proprietary headphones. Non-Apple headphones will require a special adapter that includes the required three-button controller. According to Apple they are working with third parties to put other compatible ear phones on shelves.

Apple just doubled the capacity of the iPod shuffle to 4GB, but that’s not all. They’ve completely ditched the control wheel. The clip stays, but they’ve added VoiceOver, a new feature that tells you which song is playing and who performs it at the touch of a button on the earbud cable.

Great, now I’ve got Stephen Hawking palling around with me. It will also call out your playlists and let you navigate to others. The device is available in black or silver for $80. VoiceOver is available in English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. Check out the video tutorial below.

If your iPod is out of room and you don’t want to do the necessary surgery on it yourself to upgrade the hard drive, some pros are now ready to do it for you. Rapid Repair just announced the first 240GB iPod upgrade, which is available for all original iPod Video models.

They can replace your hard drive with a Toshiba MK2431GAH 240GB 8-mm hard drive, which gives your old iPod double the current iPod classic’s space. Apparently, they’ll do it for the iPod Classic and Zune 2G too. There’s no price listed yet, but since they’ll charge you $189.99 for a 120GB Samsung SpinPoint N2 hard drive, you can do the math.

Car stereos that are also iPod-friendly are nothing new. Thing is, we’re mostly talking about a dock, with your iPod sitting in front for thieves to spot. The CA-IP500 from Fusion Electronics is different. The face flips open so you can insert your iPod like you would a Cassette tape.

The device will work with the iPod Touch Gen1 & 2, the iPod Classic Gen5, 6 & 7 and the iPod Nano Gen2,3 & 4. Once in it’s slot, you control the iPod via joystick and touch wheel, just like on the iPod. You’ll also get a dot matrix OLED display, SRS Wos sound shaping, AM/FM tuner, 7-band equalizer, security code, aux-in port and of course it will charge your player while it’s inside. It will cost you $349, so while it isn’t cheap, it may help you avoid a broken window and a missing iPod.

Great news for MGS fans. Konami has decided to port several games, apparently lured by the 70% revenue share that developers get from the iPhone App Store.

The games are Metal Gear solid, Silent hill, Dance Dance Revolution and Frogger. I think it’s safe to say that they will sell well and generate a ton of revenue for Konami, so we expect others to follow their lead.

We’re used to shortages during the holiday season. The Wii comes to mind. And you are probably aware of Amazon’s kindle situation. The iPod may be next. Word is that Apple is having trouble keeping up with the demand for the iPod as more and more customers place purchases during this holiday season, they may run out. The information comes from a research note from Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu. The Amazon.com stock levels seem to confirm the notion as well, since it currently takes up to 5 weeks to get your 8GB second-gen iPod touch. It’ll take 3-5 weeks for the 16GB version.

It looks like the shortages may be model specific and color specific, as some are more popular. Wu concluded that Apple may very well sell 21 million iPods in the holiday quarter.