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MP3 Player News & Headlines
Citigroup sued by Terra Firma over EMI deal
(Reuters)
Reuters - Private equity firm Terra Firma sued Citigroup Inc, accusing the bank of fraud in connection with Terra Firma's purchase of music business EMI Group in 2007, court documents filed on Friday in New York showed.
iTunes Hits Two Billion Sold Milestone
Apple today announced that more than two billion songs, 50 million television episodes and over 1.3 million feature-length films have been purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store.
Borders Backs Kobo in E-Book Challenge To Amazon
(NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - Online e-book seller Shortcovers has changed its name and is in the process of revamping its web site to better compete with rivals Amazon.com and Sony. Operating under the name Kobo following its spin-off from Indigo Books & Music, the online seller is being backed by investors that include Borders, Instant Fame, and REDgroup Retail.
Otafuku Rex; Mix Them, Mash Them Up
The new band Otafuku Rex has debuted their music video, Do Me, I'm the Best, and is inviting fans to get in on the action and create their own remixes by mashing up the groups video and music, adding in their own music and video, and sending the results to friends.
Gemini Announces iTrax iPod DJ Mixer
The iTrax joins the Numark iDJ, to allow users to mix the output of two iPods, with basic dj functionality.
Apple Tries To Bury Stock Options Controversy
Based on an analysis of the findings of the independent investigation, Apple has recognized additional non-cash stock-based compensation expenses of $84 million.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Sansa's Latest Clip Player is a Plus Apple's iPod line typically gets all the attention. Being an iPod owner myself, you can even say I am somewhat guilty of drinking the Apple Kool-Aid. Still, the Cupertino-based company doesn't have a monopoly on solid music players. In fact, there are — gasp — some devices out there that beat some of Apple's offerings within the same class. Take the diminutive Sansa Clip+ (or Plus, depending on your typing preference). Head-to-head, I think this plucky portable beats the iPod Shuffle hands-down (and yes, I happen to own a Shuffle, too). For one, it actually allows you to easily pick what music to listen to. You can even adjust your equalizer settings on the fly. In short, it's a control freak's dream come true (which, ironically, means Steve Jobs should be loving this thing — well, except maybe for the decidedly non-Apple looking outer case design). For more, check out my Sansa Clip Plus review. Photo by Jason Hidalgo Sansa's Latest Clip Player is a Plus originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 02:08:12.
Hercules XPS 2.140 'Slim' is No Lightweight Back in the day when mullets and acid-wash jeans didn't cause people to point and laugh, boomboxes were the hot thing when it came to moving your music from room to room. My, how times have changed. With the advent of digital music, yours truly has since switched to listening to music via a laptop or MP3 player connected to portable speakers. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Which brings us to our featured review for the day, the Hercules XPS 2.140 Slim (I dare you to say that really fast 10 times). Yeah, the "Slim" feature for the left and right satellite speakers is nice and all. But being the typical guy that I am, it's that subwoofer that really has my testosterone flowing. So did the speaker set fulfill my oh-so manly, Herculean expectations? Find out in my (take a deep breath) Hercules XPS 2.140 Slim review. (Boy, that's quite a mouthful to say.) Photo © Guillemot Corporation S.A. Hercules XPS 2.140 'Slim' is No Lightweight originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 01:52:25.
Gadget Sales Down; eReaders the Exception Just in case you didn't know, the economy isn't exactly in the best shape. But for those of you holding out hope, market researcher IBISWorld is throwing some cold water onto your head with its Holiday Gift Sales report. Out of eight categories tracked by the report, seven are predicted to see drops. That includes gadgets and electronics, which are expected to have a sales drop of 2.5 percent from $10.80 billion in 2008 to $10.53 billion this Christmas. While that doesn't sound like a huge drop, do keep in mind that last year's holiday sales weren't exactly a stellar moment in capitalism (you can basically thank the timing of the implosion of the not-so Super Lehman Brothers for that). One reason for the forecast for slow sales is that retailers are expected to reduce the number of significant discounts this Christmas, Apparently, a similar move last year really did a number on profit margins. Oops. One of the exemptions for electronics? That would be eBook readers, which are just doing gangbusters. Others include cheaper devices such as iPod Nanos and small point-and-shoot cameras. Oh, and that one category that is expected to see growth? That would be clothing. "Parents are using this Christmas season as an excuse to update their children's wardrobes, still filling space under the tree and ultimately saving money in the long run," said Toon van Beeck, senior analyst with IBISWorld. I guess we'll find out soon is Mr. van Beeck is correct. Photo by Jason Hidalgo Gadget Sales Down; eReaders the Exception originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 00:08:51.
Free Christmas Music Albums As Christmas day is nearly upon us, what better way to celebrate than with festive music playing in the background? For your enjoyment, here are a couple of free Christmas album downloads to celebrate the holiday season: Source: Amazon MP3 Artist/Band: Jason Lytle Related Articles:
Tracks: 7
Free Christmas Album: Sampler Claus
is a compilation of 50s and 60s classic songs by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Mario Lanza, and others.
Tracks: 7
Free Christmas Album: Merry X-Mas 2009
is an improvised Christmas album of piano songs produced by Ex Grandaddy member, Jason Lytle, as a gift for all his fans.
Free Christmas Music Albums originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 06:54:44.
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Borders to Launch New eBook Store, Also Targets Mobile Devices Amazon and Barnes & Noble may be getting all the eBook press these days thanks to their own eReaders, the Kindle and the Nook. But guess which book seller was partnered with Sony when it launched the first E-ink Reader in the U.S. market in 2006? That would be Borders. Borders may now seem forgotten in the wake of all the Amazon and B&N eBook hoopla. But the bookstore chain managed to re-insert itself into the eBook conversation after Borders announced plans to launch a new eBook store. More specifically, Borders Group Inc. will be partnering with Kobo, Inc. for the new eBook store endeavor, which will be integrated into Borders.com. As part of the deal, Borders will also launch an eBook service that targets multiple mobile devices. Devices included in Borders eBook delivery list include the iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm Pre and Android-powered devices. (Hey, isn't the Nook technically an Android device?) Unlike its two other rivals, however, Borders apparently has no plans to release its own eBook reader. "Kobo's global, device neutral and open approach will allow Borders-branded software applications to be downloaded on a variety of devices and is the right move for Borders as the digital market continues to evolve," said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall in a statement. As someone with a 6-year-old niece who always asks me to take her to Borders, I'm certainly intrigued to see what kind of impact Borders' latest plan will have on the company. Either way, it looks like Borders is finally starting to get serious about this whole eBook thing. Photo © Borders Borders to Launch New eBook Store, Also Targets Mobile Devices originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 00:24:16.
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 :
The free promotional track, Repetition, is a taster of the type of sound that garage rock band, The Willowz produce. This free music download is from their new album, Everyone, which is now available digitally from the iTunes Store; the physical will be available to purchase from stores on Dec. 15 (Dim Mak/Downtown Records). If you want to take a look behind the scenes, there's also an interesting video of the making of Everyone that you can watch via YouTube.
- You've Changed (3:10)
- Hand Me Down (3:22)
Related Articles:
- Top 5 streaming music sites
- Free music download services
- How to use iTunes to listen to thousands of free radio stations
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 09:18:32.
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Free Music Downloads This Week This week we bring you another selection of free tracks for your listening pleasure. As always, the free MP3 music is full-length and will hopefully give you a good idea about the sound that the artist/band produces before you purchase their music. This blog is also about trying to bring you new music that you might not have otherwise discovered; listening to the following free music will hopefully broaden your musical tastes and introduce you to some new undiscovered genres. The free music downloads this week are:
- Apple Jelly (4:17)
- Salvation (3:23)
Related Articles:
- Top 5 streaming music sites
- How to use iTunes to get free radio and TV shows
- Jamendo music service review
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 09:00:53.
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