Pardon our French, but we have to push the limits of our TV-PG rating for a second here and say "aw, fudge muffins." (Alert the FCC and parent watchdog groups everywhere.) Just when we'd finally rationalized not blowing several hundred bucks on third-generation iPods because we'd rather have the extra battery life of our original 5 GB models than any of the new features, faithful viewer Alberto P. Oyarvide Cano had to go and crush all our hard-crafted denial into dust. He pointed us toward an article on iPoding which describes an undocumented 3G iPod feature currently sitting buried in diagnostic mode: these suckers can record.

Yup, no joke. Apparently this feature is officially lying dormant for now until Apple ships audio-in hardware and an accompanying iPod firmware update, but if you're lucky enough to have one of the new models in your grubby little paws, the article explains how you can test the recording capability yourself by using the left earbud as a rudimentary microphone. (Science is fun.) The experiment as described only allows six seconds of monophonic recording, but if you give it a shot, during playback apparently you will indeed be able to hear yourself shouting into your earbuds like a doofus.

Looks to us like the Extras menu will eventually include options like "Record Memo" (hence the six-second mono deal) and "Record Stereo" (given the presence of a LIN REC test that appears in addition to the RECORD entry used for the mono experiment). This is pretty significant stuff, given that one of the time-honored criticisms leveled at the iPod is that while competing products (like those from Archos) may be butt-ugly and bulkier than Steve Ballmer carrying two twenty-pound Christmas hams, at least they offer recording capabilities.

That got us thinking (jump back, Loretta); if Apple had seen fit to include a recording mode in the new iPod, what other perceived missing features might the company have tried to wedge in? Well, we did a little experimenting of our own with a 3G iPod that we, um, "borrowed" from some poor soul who won't be needing it for a while (at least until he recovers from his newly-sustained blunt force head trauma), and we discovered that it's possible to listen to FM radio stations. So, without further ado, here's an AtAT exclusive: how to listen to FM radio with a third-gen iPod.

1. Start playing any song on the iPod over four minutes in length.
2. Press Pause at any point in the playing time past the halfway mark.
3. With the song paused, navigate to Extras -> Games -> Parachute.
4. Start a new game.
5. Stand next to any radio.
6. Turn on the radio and tune it to the desired station.

Wow, it works! Between that and the recording stuff, maybe we're going to have to upgrade after all. According to faithful viewer Sam Chenkin, PowerMax is offering a hundred clams off any new iPod with the trade-in of an old 5 GB model. Hmmmm...