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MP3 Headlines & News for December 11, 2009


MP3 Players today are extremely popular amongst everyone from teenagers to hip seniors. New and old companies alike are constantly releasing newer and better models.

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MP3 Player News & Headlines

NAMM Update: Denon DJ Intros DN-S3500 Tabletop CD/MP3 Player
Denon DJ introduced the DN-S3500 tabletop CD/MP3 player, featuring a powerful 12-pole Direct Drive motor, 7 on-board effects and intuitive control.

New iPod shuffle Available Worldwide This Friday
Nearly half the size of the original, the new iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce and features a minimal aluminum design with a built-in clip, making it the most wearable iPod ever.

Apple confirms purchase of music site Lala.com (AP)

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2009 file photo, the Apple logo is seen on an Apple store in San Francisco. Apple Inc. has purchased online music retailer Lala.com, a Silicon Valley startup that has threatened 'the end of the MP3' with its fast song-streaming application. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels, File)AP - Apple Inc. has purchased online music retailer Lala.com, a Silicon Valley startup that has threatened "the end of the MP3" with its fast song-streaming application.


Gadfly Boxee Takes Aim at Your Cable-TV Box (NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - What could be cooler than surfing the Web and watching your big-screen TV at the same time? Getting rid of your cable box, perhaps. The folks who brought you the free Boxee software that transfers streaming video, music and other media from a computer to a TV announced upgraded features this week and debuted the first piece of hardware: A little black box (of course).

Pink to headline 2010 Wireless festival in London (Reuters)
Reuters - American pop singer-songwriter Pink will headline the 2010 Wireless festival in London's Hyde Park on July 2.

Apple's Lala Acquisition: 5 Big Hopes (PC World)
PC World - Lala might've been the biggest threat to Apple's iTunes with its free full-song previews and unlimited streaming for ten cents per track, but not anymore. Apple has confirmed reports that it will gobble up Lala, but won't say how much it paid or what it will do with the startup's services. Here's how I'm hoping it'll play out:

Griffin Intros PowerBlock Travel, International USB Power Adapter
Griffin Technology has introduced PowerBlock Travel, a package designed to simplify charging your USB devices (including iPods) while traveling.

Apple Intros iPod Phone
Apple today introduced iPhone, a new device that combines a state-of-the-art mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and an Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device.


MP3 Tech Commentary

Talking Turkey: Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

By the time you read this post, your humble guide will likely be driving to California with a bunch of relatives in tow. I'm sure they're giving thanks for having a personal driver. (Somebody better be riding shotgun up front, darn it! My brother, for example, loves to sit in the back and leave the front passenger seat empty so I look like his "personal chauffeur." No wonder he's been cursed with always ripping holes in his socks.)

Being the pragmatist that I am, I figure this is as good a time as any to test some portable devices in my list of things to review. I got a set of portable DVD players designed for car mounting, a portable iPod speaker/case, an MP3 player, headphones -- my cup definitely runneth over. With so many "toys" to test, this is certainly one of those times I wish I could be a passenger.

Alas, I have to drive so it looks like my passengers will be the ones having all the fun. Plus I'm leaving late so that means no stopover at Popeye's Chicken for this trip. On the plus side, it looks like I won't have to deal with snow showers up in the Sierra Nevadas, which is always good. Snow + mountain road + crazy SUV drivers who think 4-wheel drive makes them invincible = screaming relatives all around me.

On that note, I hope y'all have a screaming fun Thanksgiving this year. 'Cause as bad as things can get, there's always something you could be thankful for. And to my fellow road warriors, I hope you have a safe trip!

Photo © Getty Images

Talking Turkey: Happy Thanksgiving Everyone originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 00:10:20.

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Top 10 Portable Devices: The Most-Searched Portable Electronics for 2009

iphone3gs

Human beings are driven to look for stuff.

Ponce de Leon searched far and wide for the Fountain of Youth. James Tiberius Kirk trekked across the stars in the search for Spock. Jason Hidalgo recently spent 15 minutes of his precious time looking for a matching pair of socks in his drawer of mismatched foot covering paraphernalia.

Great as they are, these three grand adventurers aren't the only practitioners of the grand art of the search. Even humble, old you — yes, you my wonderful readers, and all the denizens of the Interwebs are prolific searchers as well.

Here are the Top 10 most searched portable electronics devices according to AOL, complete with links for info and pricing seekers:

1. iPhone: Now there's an unexpected surprise (yeah, right). That clap-like sound you hear is the symphony of Apple fans applauding and Apple haters smacking their foreheads all at the same time. [Check prices]

2. iPod Touch: The Mini-Me of Apple's "Evil" portable empire. I will now officially change my name and add a small "i" at the beginning as a way to boost my popularity with the ladies. [Check prices]

3. Sony PSP: Nintendo's mighty DS line may have thoroughly outsold Sony's portable darling since they both hit the scene. But while the PSP hasn't won the war, it apparently won the search battle so far this year. I wonder how many of those searches were driven by PSP hackers looking for custom firmware updates... . [Check prices]

4. Palm Pre: Talk about a comeback. The former PDA has-been now has one of the more viable alternatives to the iPhone. Even old dogs can learn new tricks after all.

5. Microsoft Zune: Congratulations, Microsoft. Your perseverance has now gained enough mindshare for your portable media player to be the Tubbs to the iPod's Crockett — which certainly is eminently better than being Noogie Lamont (Who? My point exactly). Now if you can only drop your hatred for cash, I will be literally in your debt. (Sounds like somebody has a problem with leftover Microsoft Points!) [Check prices]

6. BlackBerry Storm: The Storm appears to have rebounded from that launch plagued by interface issues. Either that or plenty of folks kept searching all year for the firmware update that fixed said issues. True story: I was interviewing the president of a local Realtors association for a business story and she mentioned out of the blue that her Storm is much improved now. Just thought you'd like to know. [Check prices]

7. Garmin Nuvi: A search for stuff used for searching makes me chuckle for some reason. Yes, I'm that easily amused. [Check prices]

8. BlackBerry Curve: It's official. People love smartphones. And this isn't even the last phone on this list. [Check prices]

9. Sidekick: What is it with the Sidekick and its penchant for being involved in juicy news (e.g. the Paris Hilton hack and, more recently, the case of the missing user data)? Whatever the reason, it apparently helped the phone crack into the searchable top 10 for portables. [Check prices]

10. Amazon Kindle: eReading is apparently fundamental for searches, too. For more on the Kindle and other readers, check out our eBook reader section.

Top 10 Portable Devices: The Most-Searched Portable Electronics for 2009 originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 00:01:05.

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Paper Bag Records Celebrate Anniversary With Free Album Download

This week we bring you a whole album to download for free! The Toronto based music label, Paper Bag Records, is offering up a free 12-track album to celebrate their upcoming 7th birthday. The suitably named album, The Seven Year Itch, is a compilation of songs from some of the record label's artists - a few unreleased tracks have also been included.

To get your hands on the free album download, simply visit The Seven Year Itch download page on Paper Bag Records' website.

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Paper Bag Records Celebrate Anniversary With Free Album Download originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 05:13:08.

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Free Music Downloads This Week

In our music discovery spotlight this week, we showcase another selection of free promotional tracks that cover a wide range of genres designed to broaden your musical horizons :

Via Tania

For Via Tania fans, here's another free track following on from the promotional Wonder Stranger song that we covered previously. This track is also an example of her unique sound that mixes Björk-style vocals with dreamy melodies. Via Tania's new album, Moon Sweet Moon, (The:Hours) is now available from the iTunes Store.

Dragonette

This free track is a remix of, Pick up The Phone, from Canadian electro-pop band, Dragonette. The music video of this song can also be viewed on YouTube. Dragonette's new album, Fixin to Thrill, is due out early 2010.

Little Dragon

Taken from their new album, Machine Dreams, this promotional track showcases Little Dragon's electronic music style. Blinking Pigs serves up a mix of 80s-style synth and dreamy electronic effects to produce a unique futuristic sound. The Swedish band's new album is now available from leading digital music services.

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Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 09:00:14.

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So How's That Kindle 2.3 Update Treating You?

Kindle 2

Is the third time of the second time a charm?

With Amazon dropping its Kindle 2.3 update around Thanksgiving, Kindle owners have had plenty of time taking it out for a spin.

So is it everything you hoped it would be? Or was the update weighed, measured and found wanting?

Personally, I think native support for more file formats would've been nice. But that's just me.

If you happen to have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the quick lowdown on the Kindle 2.3 update.

So How's That Kindle 2.3 Update Treating You? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 00:07:49.

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This Clock Tells You the Time, Literally

moshi clock

Life can be lonely on the road.

Fortunately, Moshi's Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock can help make your travels less lonely and also more punctual.

For starters, you can actually talk to this clock and it will talk right back. Granted, you won't get the most intellectually stimulating conversation. Then again, I've had my share of life-sucking, droll conversations with real people, too. The biggest difference, of course, is that you don't have to worry about hurting this clock's feelings.

Anywho, you can go ahead and check my Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock review. All I can say is, it's about time.

This Clock Tells You the Time, Literally originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 01:57:18.

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Timing the Weather

ambient-flurry

Recently, the portables site featured a talking clock in this very space.

Certainly, a voice-enabled clock is nice and all. But if you equate the ability to talk with nagging, then perhaps you prefer the strong, silent type.

Enter, the Ambient Flurry clock. While this clock doesn't talk, it does offer a pretty neat feature — the ability to tell you the weather. Hey, isn't that how small talk usually starts?

On that note, feel free to check out my Ambient Flurry review.

Timing the Weather originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 00:01:52.

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Past News Headlines:
December 4 - December 5 - December 6 - December 7 - December 8 - December 9 - December 10

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