Okay, so apparently we totally misunderstood: back when Apple and Motorola announced that they were teaming up to make certain Motorola mobile phones capable of playing songs purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Music Store, we certainly never took that to mean that there'd actually be some sort of "iPod phone"--possibly even an Apple-branded one-- eventually hitting the shelves. But hey, don't blame us; if you go back and read the press release again, you won't find even the slightest hint of any Apple-related phone development other than the creation of a phone version of iTunes-- all references to the hardware are to "Motorola's next-generation mobile phones." So what's with these reports of Apple's nonchalant comments to the press about some iPodesque cell phone slated for an early 2005 release? Did we miss a memo or something?

Check it out: an anonymous viewer passed along an Engadget article claiming that Apple has now "officially announced" a phone that's not just "iTunes-capable," but actually "something users could call a proper 'accessory' to their iPods," complete with an industrial design and human interface hatched in Apple's labs, not Motorola's. And Mac OS Rumors adds that it'll have "full Bluetooth wireless connectivity support" to allow it to sync with a slew of standard Mac OS X applications, and also to grant super-speedy Internet access via its mobile phone network to any Mac connected to it. If any of this is true, it certainly sheds some light on the Mysterious Commuter Dude whom TreoMac recently claimed spilled the beans about a prototype Apple-branded phone making the rounds at Motorola headquarters.

Then again, is any of it true? Because we're having trouble finding this alleged "official announcement" anywhere; faithful viewer Goliath Pudding tipped us off to the Forbes article that seems to be the source of all of these "Apple said" reports, and it's not nearly as clear on the matter as we'd hoped. Yes, it does contain a few nice quotes by Apple appveep Eddy Cue, but he never once says anything about the phone's design or whose logo it'll pimp. Indeed, when he says "we've said we'll have something coming on this in the first half of 2005 and we're definitely on schedule for that... hopefully you'll be able to see more about it soon," that doesn't even imply that Apple's involvement in the project goes any further than dumbing down iTunes for a mobile phone platform.

Still, following that TreoMac report, our hopes are running high that these latest rumors of a more-Apple-than-Moto cell phone really do have some heft to them. After all, doesn't it strike you as somewhat likely that if Apple had agreed to bring iTunes to someone else's phone, Steve would probably have insisted on having a little influence on the device's overall user experience? And given how the public is currently snapping up any and all things iPodian, Motorola would be smart to make the phone guts, write Apple a blank check for the look and feel, and get the heck out of the way. We can't say for sure, of course, but if Apple's already talking publicly about the project and saying "first half of 2005," then an iPhone guest stint onstage during next month's Stevenote doesn't sound out of the question.

Or are we just setting ourselves up for more disappointment? Actually, don't answer that.

Speaking of people snapping up iPods, it is 2004, right? We just thought we should make sure, because sometimes we screw up little things like the proper application of the infield fly rule, how to spell "noticeable," what year it is, etc. And really, on the year thing, who could blame us right now? After all, it's barely a week 'til Christmas, last-minute shoppers are just now getting revved up to do battle at the mall-- and while iPods are in heavy demand, they're sold out everywhere you look. Tell us that doesn't sound exactly like 2003 to you.

Okay, fine-- actually, they're not even close to being as hard to find as they were at this time last year, but the Wall Street Journal claims that neither are iPods as simple to locate and purchase as such a popular item should be. Reportedly "shortages... are common at major retailers across the country," with the most in-demand models being out of stock at Amazon, Buy.com, Best Buy, several Target stores, J&R Electronics, and other resellers. So pardon us if we experience a little déjà vu, because we thought Apple was supposed to have been prepared for the onslaught of "immense demand" this time around.

To be fair, though, "immense demand" is probably an understatement. Last holiday season Apple made and shipped 730,000 iPods-- twice the number it thought it would need-- and the rapacious hordes devoured them in no time flat, leaving shelves bare for iPod-hungry stragglers who found themselves relegated to buying novelty footwear as gifts for friends and family instead. This year some analysts (and, if the rumors are true, Apple's own forecasters) are expecting sales of four million units, and according to the Journal, "the holiday season seems to be exceeding even the bullish expectations of many retailers and analysts." So while it's certainly possible that Apple refused to learn from last year's shortfall and woefully underestimated iPod demand, it's probably far more likely that the company made-- and continues to make-- as many as it can as quickly as possible and is simply butting heads with certain physical limits of the universe, like the speed of light or the number of available teensy hard drives.

For what it's worth, Apple has issued a statement assuring customers that it's "making and shipping iPods as fast as [it] can," and so "if one store has run out, you may find iPods in another authorized iPod reseller." By all accounts, your best bet for where to score an iPod would be Apple's own online and retail stores, who seem to have less trouble keeping iPods in stock than third parties. (Not that we're implying anything, of course.) Even so, you're witnesses to a prime example of supply and demand in action; hard-to-find iPod models are reportedly commanding bids on eBay of up to 50 percent above their retail prices. And Buy.com was evidently feeling enough heat from its iPod shortage to send email to all registered customers with the subject line "iPod Alert: New Shipment Just Arrived." (They're HP models, but hey, it's better than nothing.)

In all, we can't wait to see the official December quarter sales numbers, because it looks like they're going to be downright scary. In fact, we've already started wrapping our heads in duct tape to prevent them from popping when we hear the news-- and if you value the structural integrity of your cranium, we suggest you do the same. Anyone got another roll or two?

Man, after years of getting shafted, Canadian Apple fans are on the lucky streak of a lifetime! A couple of weeks ago, Canucks finally got access to their very own iTunes Music Store-- complete with the lowest absolute pricing anywhere. Apple retail stores haven't migrated north just yet, but Apple has officially confirmed that it'll open its first stores in Toronto sometime in the middle of 2005. And just to make it a hat trick, now it looks like the price of iPods is about to drop sometime soonish, too. Geez, what's next? The January Macworld Expo officially moving to Vancouver in 2006?

That's right, we said cheaper iPods. Remember way back when Canada passed a levy on recordable media in order to collect a bunch of extra money to give to recording artists, ostensibly to offset revenue lost to music that was stolen instead of purchased? The theory is that people use the recordable media to store downloaded music, so they should pay a tax on said media to reimburse the artists whose music they've swiped. You don't need us to enumerate the four dozen holes in that plan's premise and execution; the relevant bit here is that hard drives in MP3 players count as recordable media under the levy plan, meaning that iPods up north currently have a $25 surcharge added to their price. (That's $25 Canadian, so it's not quite as bad as you think, but still.)

Well, here's where the latest good news comes in: faithful viewer Graham Walker sent us an article in The Globe and Mail which reports that "Canada's Federal Court of Appeal ruled that special copyright levies applied to digital music players are not legal." Apparently the wording of the Copyright Act, which is what gave the Copyright Board of Canada the right to impose levies on recordable media in the first place, doesn't actually grant it any authority to extend the levies to MP3 players like the iPod. As a result, the Board must immediately cease collecting the levy on such players, which will presumably drive the price of iPods down for consumers-- assuming that Apple lowers its prices accordingly instead of just pocketing the difference itself. When last we checked, the Apple Store Canada was still charging $429 for a 20 GB iPod, alongside a bright red note that the "price includes CPCC's Blank Media Levy - $25," so if you were planning to order an iPod there, you might want to hold off until Apple catches up with the judge's ruling so you can save a little cash.

So now that it's been revealed that anyone who's bought an iPod in Canada since the levy was passed a year ago was overcharged by $25 because the CPCC overstepped its legal authority, what are the odds that the CPCC will reimburse customers who send them a bill? Slim, sure, but given the luck of Canadian Apple fans lately, who knows? Maybe it's worth a shot. After all, if you get your money back, you can hop on over to the iTMS and feed your iPod another couple of albums-- thus handing your money right back to the music industry who took it from you in the first place. See? Everyone's happy.