One of the (few) things I dislike about my wonderful iPhone is trying to use it in Iowa in the wintertime. The cold temperatures here necessitate the wearing of gloves, but operating the phone’s handy touch screen is impossible without bare hands. And often, by the time I’ve peeled off my mittens and exposed my hands to the bitter cold, I’ve missed the phone call.

Enter Dots, the iPhone-compatible knit glove. These are plain, functional gloves (available in wool ($20) or in an acrylic ($15) ) that sport little nickel and brass dots on the ends of the thumb and index finger. Hence the name. The smooth, curved shape of the dots enables the wearer to operate the iPhone touch screen without scratching it.

Engadget says they think the Dots gloves ought to also work with non-Apple touch screen phones, like the Storm or the G1.

At the moment, the gloves only come in one color (black), two sizes (medium for women, large for men) and two fiber types (wool or wool blend). Dots’ website says that leather, color, and child-sized gloves are coming soon.

Find out more about the gloves here.

Apple today introduced the new iPod touch, featuring Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface.

Highlights

• First introduced on iPhone, the multi-touch interface uses pioneering new software to present a different user interface for each application.
• The iPod touch also includes Wi-Fi wireless networking, the first on any iPod, and three applications that use it:
• Safari lets users wirelessly view web pages, and features Google Search or Yahoo! oneSearch;
• Apple‚Äôs YouTube application lets users wirelessly watch over 10 million free videos; and
• the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store lets users wirelessly browse, preview and buy songs and albums.
• The iPod touch is 8 mm thick, and is priced starting at $299.

“The iPod touch is a landmark iPod, ushering in a whole new generation of features based on its revolutionary multi-touch interface and built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “People are going to be amazed at how thin it is and how much it does.”

We’re wondering why it doesn’t have Google Maps, Stocks, Notes & Weather.

Details

With its 3.5-inch widescreen display, iPod touch is perfect for watching movies and TV shows, as well as viewing photos and album art. iPod touch has a built-in accelerometer that automatically senses when you rotate it into its landscape position. When you’re in music, it automatically switches to Cover Flow so you can browse your music collection by album cover artwork with just a flick of a finger. When in Photos, it automatically displays the photo in its landscape aspect ratio; and when in Safari it displays the web page horizontally. iPod touch also has a built-in ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the display’s brightness. iPod touch features up to 22 hours of audio playback and up to five hours of video playback.

The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store lets you browse the iTunes Top Ten lists of songs and albums overall or by genre, check out new releases and “What’s Hot,” or search for your favorite songs, albums or artists. You can preview any song for free, then purchase and download the ones you like directly onto your iPod touch over Wi-Fi. The music you download will be automatically uploaded into your iTunes library the next time you sync your iPod touch with your computer.

With Safari, the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device, you can see web pages the way they were meant to be seen, with the ability to zoom into any webpage with a tap of your finger. The Safari web browser includes built-in Google Search and Yahoo! oneSearch so you can quickly and easily find information you need. iPod touch also includes Apple’s incredible YouTube application that allows you to access, browse and search for millions of free YouTube videos over Wi-Fi.

Apple today also announced an exclusive agreement with Starbucks that allows you to access the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for free in participating US Starbucks stores starting next month. When you enter a participating Starbucks location, your iPod touch, iPhone, or PC or Mac running iTunes will automatically recognize the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. You can see what song is currently playing or has recently played in the store, and immediately preview, buy and download it over Wi-Fi.

The iPod is the world’s most popular family of digital music players with over 100 million sold. Today, Apple released its most exciting iPod lineup ever with the iPod shuffle in five new colors; iPod classic holding up to 40,000 songs; the incredible all new iPod nano with video playback; and the breakthrough iPod touch with a revolutionary multi-touch user interface. iPod owners can choose from a vast ecosystem of accessories with over 4,000 products made specifically for the iPod including cases, fitness accessories, speaker systems and iPod connectivity in over 70 percent of US automobiles.

Pricing & Availability

The iPod touch is scheduled to be available later this month. The 8GB iPod touch model is $299 (US) and the 16GB iPod model is $399 (US). iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.4; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.4. Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended, fees may apply. The iTunes Store is not available in all countries.