Looks like Apple store employees will be getting at least 3 exclusive and separate applications that will help with several important tasks. One of them will allow employees to swap iPhones or iPods on the store floor, which previously could only be done at the Genius Bar.

Another proprietary app will help employees in the stock room. The apps should make tasks done in all of Apple’s retail locations easier and more efficient.

Fitting your home or office with a multi-zone digital music system can be a very expensive proposition. The music server alone often costs thousands of dollars not counting installing speakers and wiring. CasaTunes today has unveiled a pair of new music servers that are low profile.

The servicer both allow the streaming of music from Windows, iTunes, and iPod devices as well as Internet radio stations. The XLi music server can handle a total of five streams and six zones. The XLe can handle up to nine streams and 12 zones with expandability to 48 rooms.

Speakal makes some of the stranger and more interesting speaker docks on the market. They have docks for the iPhone that look like pigs and some look like other animals. The company has announced a new speaker system today called the iPom.

The iPom is designed to look like an apple with two speakers that look like flowers. The device lacks an iPod dock and makes due with a 3.5mm headphone jack for connecting to devices. The speaker flowers are removable and can be positioned.

Olive’s Opus No. 4 is getting an update, The 4HD looks similar to it’s predecessor, but this 2TB music server now features 24-bit sound and a 192kHz sample rate thanks to a Burr-Brown PCM1792A DAC, which will deliver about 250 times the resolution of a CD.

You’ll also get a gigabit Ethernet port and an 802.11n WiFi module to set it up on your home network, and there’s a free iPhone / iPod touch application available that will give you full control via your apple device. This time around it will cost $1,999.

Today’s iPod dock of the day is the Maxell MXSP-D240 which comes in black or white colors and looks like a barrel. We can only assume that a Mario accessory is on the way.

This dock comes with a few 53mm driver units and should roll onto the Japanese market sometime this month for €76. Careful you don’t let this one roll off your shelf. Anybody digging this design? Maybe I’m being too harsh.

Google has updated it’s Google Earth iPhone app. The updates come about a year after the original Google Earth iPhone App was released. Google Earth 2.0 will play nice with the iPhone and iPod Touch, and the new version has a bunch of new features, like the ability to view maps that you create on your PC on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

That one should prove most convenient. Another feature is the updated icon selection, which makes it easier to use. When you touch an icon on the app it will glow, and if you touch more than one icon at once it will take you to a list of icons so you can select the right one.

At last, you can measure kitchen ingredients and dock your iPod at the same time. Because you can’t go anywhere without your iPod right?

And you no longer have to thanks to manufacturer Rihanna, who is working on this $100 kitchen scale due out next year. It sports an iPod dock and a 2W speaker under the glass platform. Your iPod displays the song while a black and white LCD displays the weight info.

After countless iPod/iPhone docks that are all pretty much the same, the XML8110 Mechless Mobile Audio system manages to be unique. It combines an iPod docking station with a car stereo. On the surface it looks like a standard car stereo, but when you flip it down, the integrated universal iPod dock is exposed.

It will let you dock your iPod, charge the device, and users will be able to access all the playlists and music on the device. It also comes with a built in FM radio, EQ presets and an AUX In for connecting other devices. It will also allow users to take calls from their iPhone. With a corresponding iPhone app that’s also in the works, the integration between these two devices gets better.

PhoneSuit has a new iPod/iPhone gadget called the Primo battery pack. The device is available in white or black and the compact battery pack will deliver an 800mAh lithium-ion battery, good for up to 45 additional hours of iPod nano audio playback or 3-hours of 3G talk time on the iPhone 3G or 3GS.

The PhoneSuit Primo features a miniUSB port and even a front-mounted LED battery charge meter. You can pre-order the PhoneSuit Primo Micro Battery Pack for $35 on November 23rd when it’s released.

The Panasonic MW-10 was announced last month and was available in Japan only, but here’s some good news for those of you who have been lusting after it. The device is now available in the States for $299.95.

To refresh your memory, the MW-10 has an integrated CD player, a FM/AM radio tuner with 45-station (30-FM/15-AM)m D.Bass function, a Universal Dock for your iPod, a 9″ WVGA LCD display so you can use it as a digital photo frame, 4GB of internal memory and an SD memory card slot.

One of the big reasons many users of the first generation iPhone upgraded to the iPhone 3G and then the 3GS was to get GPS capability. The problem for those that use the first generation iPhone or the iPod touch is that the devices lack a GPS receiver.

A new software and hardware system has been unveiled called G-Fi with Navmii software that allows turn-by-turn navigation on the iPod touch and the original iPhone. The hardware portion is called the G-Fi and is a device that acts sort of like a router and can support up to 200 Apple devices in range.

If you’re looking for an Apple handheld pico projector, you have one more option. Sparkz is a dock that is compatible with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPod video, along with other A/V and VGA sources. It features 640 x 480 resolution, a 60-inch viewing area, and stereo speakers.

How much would you expect to pay for this device? 250? 350? This can be yours for the price of $495. Is it worth it? I’ll let you be the judge of that. It will also charge your iPhone and it comes with a tripod.

Until now, if you wanted to get HD Radio in a portable, handheld you had to buy a Zune HD. But Gigaware is leveling the playing field by opening up HD Radio to every iPod touch and iPhone user in the US.

The adapter allows any iPhone or iPod touch with iPhone OS 3.0 or greater the ability to listen to HD Radio and local FM stations. It’s available now for $79.99 exclusively at RadioShack. The accompanying app has a manual tune wheel or auto-seek, social network integration, bookmarks and iTunes Tagging and can be downloaded for free.

Panasonic has unveiled their latest iPod docks from their D-Dock series. Dubbed the Panasonic SC-HC4 and HC3, these slim iPod docking stations pack in a digital amplifier delivering 20Watts × 2 channels output, an AM/ FM tuner, CD player and a SD card slot.

The speakers are made from high quality Bamboo fiber to make them lightweight and capable of delivering deep sound. The Panasonic SC-HC4 will be available in silver, pink and black for 40,000 Yen (or $450) and the Panasonic SC-HC3 will be available in silver for 35,000 Yen (or $400).

idox has a new range of cases for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPod Nano, dubbed the idox Traveler series. This range of cases is designed to be used as a case for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPod Nano, while acting as a stand so you can watch your favorite movies while on the go.

Pretty convenient while traveling. Just set it down and watch your movie on a plane, train etc. They start at $24.95 for the iPod Nano version, and both the iPhone and iPod Touch versions are $34.95.