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Griffin Intros Evolve iPod Speakers
Griffin Technology today announced the unveiling of its new lineup of powered speaker systems. Evolve is a speaker system with a flat charging base that holds your iPod in a Universal Dock.
Man Destroys iPod In A Blender
Blendtec, a company that makes heavy duty blenders, is destroying iPods to help sell $400 blenders.
Sony Moves To Open E-Book Market with ePub Format
(NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - The e-publishing market may be following the same steps as its relatives in the music industry as Sony announced Wednesday that it will adopt the open ePub format for its Reader e-book readers. The move could signal the beginning of a new phase of e-publishing for consumers and businesses.
Griffin Intros 2007 Line Up
Griffin Technology today announced their 2007 lineup that will debut next week at the MacWorld Conference & Expo.
Britain's Royal Opera wants you to make tweet music
(Reuters)
Reuters - Britain's Royal Opera House (ROH) wants Twitter users to help create the "world's first online opera."
MP3 Tech Commentary
Free Music Tracks This Week Here's another selection of free digital music tracks that you can either download, or listen to via streaming audio. In the spotlight this week we have:
Even though this first song isn't an MP3 download, you can have great fun by remixing it! It Don't Move Me by Peter Bjorn and John is an interactive track that enables you to use presets to change the way the song plays. The song is split up into 6 channels (vocals, drum, bass, keyboards, guitar, and percussions) which you can manipulate to create your very own remix. There's also a competition (closes Sept. 12) that you can enter for a chance to get your mix on the bands MySpace page.
- Pre-party Jamz Mixtape (28:07)
- Domino (3:01)
Related Articles:
Apple's 'iTablet' Touted as Revolutionary According to an article by the San Jose Mercury News, Apple is on the verge of launching a touch-screen device that could revolutionize digital music once again. The name of the new device isn't known for sure yet, but the most popular one floating around in the blogosphere is the iTablet. Apple's gadget, codenamed 'Cocktail', is expected to sport a 10-inch screen and will be a complete multimedia experience. The user will be able to watch movies, play games, read eBooks, and download albums that have extras like music videos and liner notes, etc. Currently, digital music albums can be purchased from the many music services, but the majority don't provide the extras that physical media offers. CDs and vinyl records for example offer artwork, liner notes, etc. which gives a more complete experience for the purchaser; this is something that the record labels want to include for digital albums. Whether Apple's new device will actually see the light of day remains to be seen, but it's important for the record labels to come up with a digital music album format to give music fans the same material that is offered when buying physical media. Related Articles:
Product Preview: Digital Foci Photo Book - A New Portable Digital Photo Viewer The Digital Foci Photo Book is a portable digital album with an eight-inch, 800 x 600 LCD display set in a soft leather-like case. This case, described as a portable album, doesn't completely address the desires of a more traditional photo album in digital form, but its design is better suited for passing around while sitting in a living room or during a business presentation...read more
Image copyright: Digital Foci
A problem some have with the look and feel of portable digital image viewers is that, as cold metal devices, they don't capture the warmth of the images they are displaying. Some hope instead a digital photo viewer could look a little more like photo albums of old. Digital Foci is trying to capture at least part of that sentiment in a new “digital photo album.”
Ultrasone Edition 8 headphones pop at $1,500 each The Ultrasone Edition 8 is a black and silver closed-back headphone which uses special acoustic technology to provide what Ultrasone feels is a very “spacious tonal perception.” Comfort on the interior ear cups is provided courtesy of Ethopian sheepskin.
Technical features of the Edition 8 headphones include an impedance of 30 Ohm, a frequency range of 6 – 42.000 Hz, 40mm drivers and a SPL of 96 dB. More details on these headphones, available now, can be found at the Ultrasone Web site.
(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)
(Photo Credit: Ultrasone)
Ultrasone, a maker of high end headphones, unveiled a couple of days ago some new special edition headphones which, considering the price compared to other Ultrasone models, may not actually be that different. It is called the Edition 8 and it prices for around $1,500.
Buying Guide: Before You Buy a Portable Ebook Reader
The age of the portable ebook reader is upon us. Though nothing will ever replace fully the beloved paperback, the idea of being able to take hundreds of digital paperbacks with you on the road has lots of appeal. A growing number of ebook readers are being released for your purchasing consideration. You should ask yourself first, however, which features are most important to you. Battery life? Screen size? How many books a reader can hold? Read Before You Buy a Portable Ebook Reader for must have ebook reader features.
Windows Media Player: Synchronizing Your Media Files Whether you've just upgraded to the latest portable media player, or still got your old trusty MP3 player, you'll need to synchronize it if you want to carry around your library. Depending on your device's capabilities, you can use Microsoft Windows Media Player to transfer music, video, photos, and other types of files. The great thing about Windows Media Player is that it examines your device and selects the best synchronizing method to use. If your portable device has more than 4Gb then the software will switch to automatic mode saving you having to manually sync your library; this can also be turned off if necessary. For more information, be sure to read our Windows Media Player Tutorial on syncing media files to your portable. Related Articles:
Publisher Hearst said to be preparing "periodicals" ebook reader Now comes word today, via the magazine Fortune, that mega-publishing empire Hearst is planning to launch a wireless e-reader of its own. What is reportedly different about this reader from other ones already offered is that it will be around the size of a standard piece of paper and targeted towards publishers like Hearst. The end result? A specialized, larger screen format reader which lets you subscribe to magazines and newspapers for wireless delivery.
It is said this new ereader, perhaps available by the end of this year, will be able to serve up ads mixed amongst the print content you are reading on the display. This may help throw a lifeline to print publications, most of which are seeing sharply declining revenues in the changing economy as well as how people look for information today. A number of well known publications have already folded, or are close to folding, so any additional ways for them to reach readers might be worth consideration.
Ebook readers continue to draw interest in the news and among consumers, mostly because of Amazon's newest model now available for purchase. The Kindle 2, which was previewed here recently, is drawing some early praise from consumers and reviewers alike. It has highlighted this product category so much, in fact, that we now have a buying guide for related products and features to consider.
Free Music Downloads This Week In our music discovery spotlight this week, we showcase another selection of free promotional tracks designed to broaden your musical horizons :
This MySpace Transmissions session spotlights the indie-rock band, Manchester Orchestra. You can download the free session as a .zip file which contains 5 complete tracks.
- Mistake (Yuksek Remix) (4:55)
Related Articles:
- Top 5 streaming music sites
- Free music download services
- Factors to consider when listening to MP3 music
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