Apple today announced the results of an investigation by its board of directors into the company’s stock options. Apple initiated this investigation after a review discovered irregularities in past stock option grants.

Apple found that stock option grants made on 15 dates between 1997 and 2002 appear to have grant dates that precede the approval of those grants.

The investigation found that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was aware that favorable grant dates had been selected, but he did not receive or otherwise benefit from these grants and was unaware of the accounting implications.

“I apologize to Apple’s shareholders and employees for these problems, which happened on my watch. They are completely out of character for Apple,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We will now work to resolve the remaining issues as quickly as possible and to put the proper remedial measures in place to ensure that this never happens again.”

Organizers have announced another PodCamp event, PodCampWest, scheduled for November 18-19th, 2006 in San Francisco. PodCamps are free unconferences in the tradition of BarCamp, an ad-hoc gathering to share information in an open manner.

PodCampWest will be free to attend and is inspired by the PodCamp Boston.

Here is a list of sessions that organizers expect to be offering:

• Panel Discussion – Podcast Formats
• Panel Discussion ‚Äì Videocast (or VLogging) Formats
• Panel Discussion – Content Networks are the new blogs
• Podcasting and Guerrilla Marketing
• Podcasting with Garageband
• Skypecasting & Phone interviews
• Corporate Podcasting – being the mouthpiece of a company for fun and profit
• Video Podcasting with iMovie
• Podcasting for Business – Beyond Adsense.
• Audio Drama Podcasts: Producing and Acting Tips
• Video Podcasts, VLogging –
• Gear Sharing/Discussing
• Portable Rigs and Techniques
• Meet the Band (talk with a podsafe band)
• Music Podshows
• Mashup Cast- a live podcast demo with more than one show!
• Teaching through Technology – Podcasts and Education
• Interviewing techniques
• Audio engineering basics for dummies
• Power listening – how to manage and listen to as many great podcasts as possible
• Podsearch – how do you find great podcasts?

More information is available at the PodCamp West site.

Nokia has introduced an new wireless technology, Wibree, that promises to significantly expand the range of portable devices that can be networked. According to Nokia, the technology extends network connectivity to small, low-power portable devices such as watches, wireless keyboards, toys and sports sensors.

This new radio technology complements other local connectivity technologies, but consumes only a fraction of the power of other such radio technologies, enabling smaller and less costly implementations. According to Nokia, “this technology increases the growth potential in these market segments.”

Nokia is proposing Wibree an open technology standard.

“Wibree technology is an important development that opens up new market opportunities and a whole new range of possibilities for mobile users,” says Dr. Bob Iannucci, head of Nokia Research Center. “Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an interoperable solution that can be commercialized and incorporated into products quickly.”

Struggling digital music service Napster has announced that it’s taking its digital music service to Japan, the largest music market in the world outside of the U.S.

The Napster Japan service is a product of the company’s joint venture with Tower Records Japan (“TRJ”). The launch of Napster Japan marks the introduction of the digital music subscription model to Japanese consumers, who until now have only been able to experience digital music by paying for each track and album individually.

“Our joint venture with Tower Records Japan, the nation’s largest and most successful music retailer, has enabled us to deliver a product with a deep focus on local tastes and programming that also happens to offer the largest digital music catalog available in the market,” said Chris Gorog, Napster’s chairman and CEO.

Napster recently announced that it was looking for interested buyers.

The Podcast Peer Awards, a podcasting award chosen by members of the Podcast Peers site, have been announced. The most honored show was Digital Flotsam, which won in three categories: Favorite, Best Production, and Best Storytelling.

“I am thrilled, amazed, and grateful for the votes I received,” said P.W. Fenton, the creator and producer of the show.

“Anyone can win an award where they let anyone vote daily over and over. But to win an award where your peers recognize you means a lot more,” commented Dr. Grant, who won the Family Friendly category for The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd.

Other winners include Comedy4Cast for the Best Comedy Podcast and Podcast411 for the Best How-To/Education Podcast.

Seattle-based Divvycast this week unveiled a podcasting portal dedicated to “connecting musicians with advertisers.”

Divvycast lets musicians create and upload podcasts and gain sponsorship from interested advertisers. Musicians can generate income by posting these podcasts with the top podcast aggregators and social networking sites across the internet. Through music clips, live concert recordings, and interviews, artists can reach fans through Divvycast, using it as a forum to promote their latest album release or concert dates.

Divvycast offers three subscription tiers, ranging from $10 – $30/month (or $100 – $300/year).

At the Podcast and Portable Media Expo, Samson was showing off its H4 Handy Digital Recorder.

The device fits in your palm and is designed to record live musical performances, interviews, podcasts, meetings, classes and seminars. The H4 can record 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio as well as in MP3 format with bitrates up to 320kbps.

The H4 has two built-in “studio-quality” electret condenser microphones configured in an X/Y pattern for true stereo recording. It also includes 2 combination XLR-1/4-inch input jacks with phantom power for use with any external microphones of your choice. The H4 also includes onboard studio effects such as compression, limiting and mic modeling. An 1/8-inch headphone jack is also provided for monitoring.

The H4 records on to Secure Digital (SD) media. A smallish 128MB SD card is included with the unit.

With a 2GB SD memory card, the H4 provides up to 380 minutes of recording in 16-bit mode (CD Quality), and 34 hours in MP3 stereo mode. And to move your recordings to a PC or Mac, the H4 includes a USB mass-storage interface.

The H4 provides four hours of continuous recording operation from 2 AA batteries. A back-lit, 128√ó64 pixel LCD provides the visual interface. An AC adapter, USB cable, windshield cover and tripod adapter are also included.

The H4 ups the ante in the area of portable media recorders, offering a broad range of features for about $300.

Fōnpods has announced a new platform designed to provide access to podcasts and other digital audio content through mobile phones

The service provides users with PC and Internet content optimized for an on-the-go mobile experience, and lets users access it from a landline, mobile or VoIP phone.

A Web-based interface lets users create and customize their own listening “channels,” as well as produce their own content, share content, or collaborate with friends and colleagues. Additional functionality allows users to organize, tag, or rate podcasts Рfrom any web-access device Рwith all major browsers being supported.

“Fōnpods enables consumers to access their favorite podcasts at any time, without being tethered to a PC and without the complication of downloading in advance,” said Ted Heieck, founder and CEO of Fōnpods. “Our offering expands the usability of the mobile platform by focusing on a simple, convenient user experience that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of consumers.”

Details on the service are available at the Fōnpods site.

At the Podcast & Portable Media Expo, held Sept 29-30 in Ontario, California, Expo organizers announced the winners of their “Best of Show” awards for the 2006 event.

Winners included Podcast Station, for Best “All-Inclusive” Podcasting Software; Adobe Audition, for Best PC Podcast Audio Editing Software; and Bias Peak Pro 5 for best Mac Podcast Audio Editing Software.

Winners were selected by a committee of attendees, and are intended to recognize outstanding products, software and services for creating and consuming podcasts and other portable audio and video content.

San Francisco Opera and MobileCast Media have announced a joint podcast project, the first of which features an interview with opera icon Deborah Voigt.

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley’s interview with Deborah Voigt was recorded live on the stage of San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, offers a personal glimpse into the life and talent of the opera star.

In the interview, Ms. Voigt talks candidly of her recent weight-loss surgery and discusses topics ranging from her international singing career, her dating life, and the love she has for her dog, Steinway.

The podcast series will also include San Francisco Opera’s 2006 – 2007 Season Preview — a synopsis of each opera written and narrated by David Gockley.