We had doubts that Apple had actually overtaken Wal-Mart as the number one music retailer in the US, but it looks as though the rise of iTunes gift cards sales and new iPod owners made Apple succeed. Apple is not doing much to celebrate but is still going to offer “4 billion songs to 50 million customers”, but it says iTunes was the big dog January and February. Of course, there’s a lot of 2008 left, so Wal-Mart may surpass iTunes again.

iriver showed off some great new gadgets at CES, but our favorite was the E100. It’s looks and great specs, make it a choice player for those looking for a solid MP3 player and it’s hitting the market well before most of those fancier players. The iriver E100 features a 2.4-inch QVGA display, built-in stereo speakers and a microSD slot for aditional memory. There’s also a mic, FM radio and line-in for acquiring audio. The E100 is available now, with prices starting at €79.00 ($119 US) for a 2GB player, and €129.00 ($194 US) for the 8GB.

Via Generation MP3

Drink to this news: the 2GB iPod shuffle is shipping starting today. The price is set at a sweet $69, go get it!

Designer Alexei Mikhailov found himself inspired by the iPhone’s design, making him create a smaller version of the iPhone. Meet the iStick concept, he says it is the perfect mobile convergence device. Alexei Mikhailov came out and told us the iStick isn’t for viewing movies and the screen is too small for effective photo viewing, but we love the concept because it visually replicates the iPhone/Touch within a device the size of a lipstick tube.

Amazingly, all four sides are touch screen sensitive, so it will take some time to find ways to make all of the sides useful. Features include built-in WiFi for easy iTunes download sessions. We want one!

Via Yanko Design

Today Creative made a good choice in dropping the 32GB Zen’s price from $349 to $299. Right now the 32GB Zen costs the same as the 8GB iPod touch making it a better choice for bargain hunters. Looking at the features of the Zen it is more comparable to the iPod nano, priced at $199 for the 8GB model. For an additional $100 you get four times the capacity and an FM tuner. We still love the iPod better, sorry Zen.

Out of all the iPhone knockoffs we have seen the C-002 HiPhone is simply the best. It’s body is almost identical to the iPhone’s and the software interface is the best reproductions we have ever seen in a knockoff. When we unboxed the C-002 HiPhone we were surprised at how the packaging was identical to the iPhone’s. The differences between the real iPhone and the C-002 HiPhone were actually improvements: removable battery, dual SIM cards and a microSD slot.

Features:

1. 3.5″ big screen
2. Dual SIM slots
3. Triband GSM 900/1800/1900MHz that supports USA GSM standard.
4. Web addresses entering; web browsing, WAP setting, web address management.
5. Unlocked to any major network carrier.
6. SMS, MMS, voicemail and cell broadcast
7. MP3, MP4, file playing, recording, phone call recording.
8. Capturing, video capturing, photo viewing, playing
9. Hands free speaker phone. 3D sound.
10. Bluetooth supported.
11. TF card supported.
12. Diversified screen switch
13. One-Key return
14. Automatic screen rotation

Video:

Apple has just released a 16GB iPhone and also a 32GB iPod touch, besides the new increased capacity, nothing else has changed. The 16GB iPhone will cost $499 while the 8GB model still cost $399. The 32GB iPod touch will cost $499, and the 16GB model will still cost $399.

Will this change make you go buy an iPhone or iPod touch?