HTC today unveiled the Touch, a new smartphone directly aimed at the iPhone’s audience. Previously known as the Elf, the Touch earns its name through its natural input: owners control calls, media playback, and programs solely through the 2.8-inch touchscreen. Also similar to the Apple device is an intuitive navigation method that lets users swipe through media libraries and provides scrolling for web pages or documents. HTC’s phone, however, relies on Windows Mobile 6 Professional and includes Office Mobile for bulit-in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word editing.

The touch relies primarily on its microSD card slot for storage and ships with a bundled 1GB card for storing media, including photos snapped from the phone’s 2-megapixel camera. Wireless networking is provided through 802.11b/g Wi-Fi on local networks and through EDGE for cellular-only access.

Availability will vary by region. Currently only a 900/1800/1900MHz device, the Touch is shipping today in black and green to UK providers and will be available to Asia and Europe by the end of June. A version for the Americas with the requisite 850MHz support is planned for the second half of the year and should receive its pricing through individual carriers.

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Apple Inc. on Tuesday launched its annual back-to-school promotion offering students and teachers significant discounts on new iPods (or a free iPod nano) when they purchase of a qualifying Mac system through mid-September.

Qualified education customers who purchase a new MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro using their education discount and also purchase an iPod or iPod nano will receive up to $199 back after mail-in rebate.

To be eligible for participation, individuals must buy a qualifying Mac and a qualifying iPod on the same sales receipt or invoice from June 5, 2007 through September 16, 2007. The offer is available only on purchases of new products and includes all Macintosh computers except for the Mac mini.

Participants must also purchase the qualifying products from the online Apple Store for Education Individuals, a retail Apple Store, Apple Telesales, or a participating Apple Authorized Campus Store located in the United States or District of Columbia.

Apple is allowing participants to process their rebate online for fastest processing. Or download and mail the rebate form.

The Cupertino-based company on Tuesday also rolled-out a new line of professional MacBook Pro notebooks featuring Santa Rosa-based underpinnings and the industry’s first LED backlit displays (on the 15-inch models).

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The music industry is so desperate for new ways to make money that a Silicon Valley start-up is trying a counterintuitive approach: giving the music away as a way to jump-start sales.

Starting today, visitors to Palo Alto-based Lala Media Inc.’s Lala.com Web site will be able to listen for free on their computers to the digital catalog of Warner Music Group Corp. and hundreds of smaller independent music companies. Lala executives say they are working to secure licenses with the other three major music companies.

It’s like a subscription music service, but without the monthly subscription fee. Lala is betting that in return for getting all that free access to music at home, listeners will pay to buy the songs they want to take with them on iPods and other music players. The prices will range from $6.50 to $13.50 for an album. (For now, Lala plans to sell music only by the album rather than song by song.)

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