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The Music Mug, for sale through the MoMA Store, is an iPod speaker designed to look like a white ceramic mug. The mug, designed by Masato Tokuno, has a mini plug you insert into the iPod’s headphone jack for audio playback. Power is provided to the Music Mug by the iPod. The product is currently selling for $42.

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Starz Entertainment is suing Disney’s Buena Vista Television unit for copyright infringement and breach of contract, claiming the company is allowing other movie download stores to sell titles that were exclusively licensed to Starz. “Under the terms of the 1993 and 1999 Starz-BVT agreements, extended by BVT in 2005, Disney is prohibited from selling its films for transmission over the Internet prior to Starz’s first exclusive license period and during all of Starz’s exclusive license periods,” Starz says in its announcement of the suit. “Despite this prohibition, the suit notes that Disney has ‘begun to sell over the Internet via services like Apple’s iTunes Store and Walmart.com the very same Disney films licensed to Starz.’ Such conduct, the suit adds, constitutes ‘a blatant breach’ of the licensing agreements between BVT and Starz.”

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In addition to posting our own Apple TV unpacking photographs—showing the unboxing of two Apple TV units—we’ve included comparison photographs of the Apple TV and a Mac mini computer, so that readers can get a sense of the dimensional differences between the two units. Additional details, photos, and videos of Apple TV are available in our repeatedly updated First Look; a review is coming soon.

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Best Buy has made an exclusive deal with Apple to sell the Apple TV device at its stores for two weeks before other retailers. Best Buy said the Apple TV will go on sale in its stores on Tuesday. Apple retail stores are obviously excluded from the two-week window, as most will be selling the device this week. Best Buy said it will have a limited initial supply of 3,000 units, which will be spread across its 822 stores.

Update: Best Buy is apparently backpedaling on its statements of exclusive availability. 

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Apple has added an Apple TV section to its Service & Support website. Currently offered are tips and troubleshooting information, how-to articles, a discussion forum, as well as a quick start guide. A downloadable PDF of the Apple TV user manual is also available. In addition, Apple has added further pages and details on the Apple TV to the product’s main section, including extended technical specifications and a QuickTime tour. 

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U.S. sales of music CDs plunged 20 percent in the first three months of the year, according to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan. “89 million CDs were sold from the start of the year through March 18 as compared with 112 million CDs sold during the same period in 2006,” reports AFP. “Purchases of digitized albums online failed to make up the difference—instead they dropped from 119 million during that time period in 2006 to 99 million during the first three months of this year, SoundScan reported. Meanwhile, sales of individual songs in digital format on the Internet rose from 242 million tracks during those months last year to 288 million this year.”

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First photographs of the Apple TV’s packaging and unboxing have been posted by our friends at Gizmodo. As noted in our First Look, the device comes without video or audio cables of any sort, so you’ll have to purchase them separately for $20-40, depending on the configuration of your home AV system.

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Case-mate has announced its CarryMe case for fifth-generation iPod models. The leather, pouch-style case features a contrasting elastic band with a clasp that can be used to attach the CarryMe to bags, belts and other items. The case—available in black/white with red band and orange/white with blue band—retails for $17.

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Elton John’s entire music catalog—more than 30 albums—will be available in digital format from the iTunes Store starting next week. “I’ve wanted my music to be available for digital download worldwide for some time, but I knew that the entire catalog not just the hits needed care and attention to be released in this way,” the singer said. “Now that it’s happening, I’m pleased for the fans’ sake. The world has certainly changed since Philips Records issued my first single on seven-inch vinyl 39 years ago this month.” The catalog will be available exclusively from the iTunes Store from March 26 until April 30 before being made available on other download services. The move will coincide with John’s 60th birthday and the release of a new, 18-track compilation of his work, “Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits.”

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Apple has provided The Wall Street Journal with an early look at the Apple TV. “Our verdict is that it’s a beautifully designed, easy-to-use product that should be very attractive to people with widescreen TV sets and lots of music, videos, and photos stored on computers,” write Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret. “It has some notable limitations, but we really liked it. It is classic Apple: simple and elegant.”

A buyout of Palm could happen as early as this week, according to reports. The Treo smartphone maker has hired Morgan Stanley to explore its strategic options, including a possible sale, and now the investment firm reportedly wants to close a deal by the time Palm releases its fiscal third-quarter results Thursday. Rumored potential buyers include Nokia, Motorola, and private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners.

Wine Spectator has released its Top 100 Wines of 2006 for free in iPod format at Mogopop. “Each year, Wine Spectator senior editors survey the wines they have reviewed over the past twelve months and select the most exciting for the Top 100. This year, using Mogopop, these Top 100 Wines have been compiled into a portable, take-it-anywhere guide for iPod.”

Google has denied that it is developing a mobile phone. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: “The search giant said it was more logical to form partnerships with existing handset makers instead… Google was keen on porting its search and other technologies to mobile devices, but it was not interested in entering the crowded handset market, as Apple has recently done with its iPhone.”

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Monster Cable has announced the availability of a new lineup of high-performance cables designed specifically for the Apple TV. The new products, which connect the Apple TV to televisions and A/V receivers, include: Monster iTV Component Video Cable ($40), Monster iTV Fiber Optic Cable ($30), Monster iTV HDMI Cable ($60), and Monster iTV Analog Audio Cable ($25). Among the features of the cable are 24k gold contacts, full-coverage shielding, and Duraflex protective jackets.

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Koloroo today announced two new widgets—TipKalc and KolorWheel—that run on any iPod with a color screen. TipKalc ($5) is a tip calculator with instant check-splitter, and KolorWheel ($8) is a color utility that provides color schemes for various uses. Both widgets can be loaded onto an iPod from either a PC or Mac, according to the developer.

“TipKalc is easy to use. Just spin your iPod’s Click Wheel until your bill amount is displayed in the center of the screen,” explains Koloroo. “Everything else is automatically calculated for you. It calculates recommended 15% and 20% tip amounts, grand totals, and even splits the check up to five ways. Using KolorWheel is just as easy. You select a base color by moving your thumb over the iPod Click Wheel. A suggested color scheme is automatically displayed in the four corners. If you prefer to match your base color to a particular object, you hold your iPod next to it. Again, a suggested color scheme will be automatically displayed in the corners.”

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Fastmac has expanded its “Just Say No To Crack” iPod rehab service to include Apple’s second-generation iPod nano. The program offers repair and replacement of scratched or cracked iPod LCD screens, either as a Do It Yourself (DIY) kit with tools and instructional videos, or via a same-day mail order service provided by Fastmac directly. The DIY kit is priced at $50, while the 24-hour installation service adds an additional $40. 

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DICE Electronics has announced that the HD DICE, its $200 HD radio receiver with iPod integration, can now support text display on select Honda and Acura models. The HD DICE with iPod integration allows an iPod owner to enjoy a variety of audio entertainment options through their DICE radio, including satellite radio. One can use the track control buttons on the radio to tune to HD Radio stations or control iPod audio selections. Text information is shown on the main display of your entertainment system as new text becomes available.

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MTV will release the full upcoming season of “The Andy Milonakis Show” on the iTunes Store a month before the first episode premieres on TV. The six-episode season is available for $9.95, or $1.99 per episode. “This show has a very sort of cult following, making it best suited to be exploited across platforms,” said MTV executive Brian Graden. “The look of the show also has a very much broadband type of ethos to it. We just thought this franchise seemed perfect for this strategy.” The third season of “The Andy Milonakis Show” premieres April 27th on MTV2. The iTunes Store also recently offered the first six episodes of Fox’s The Winner in advance of the show’s March 4th premiere.

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