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MP3 Player News & Headlines
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.
The Eight Thousand Dollar Piano-Shaped ipod Table
The Concerto Table, a piano-shaped table designed by Nicholas Lovegrove & Demian Repucci, has to be one of the most expensive and exclusive iPod accessories yet.
Apple: More than 70 Percent of 2007 Cars will have iPod Support
More than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles will offer iPod integration.
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.
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.
L.A. blogger sentenced for Guns N' Roses leak
(Reuters)
Reuters - A Los Angeles blogger who leaked new Guns N' Roses songs on the Internet before their official release on the band's first new album in 17 years, was sentenced to two months of home confinement on Tuesday.
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.
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.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Smart Playlists: Create Song Lists That Keep an Eye on Your Music Library If you've got a sizable music collection, then creating playlists is an essential task for playing, burning, and syncing your music in an efficient way. Most, if not all, software media players support the use of playlists which you can use to organize your music library in many different ways. The only downside to using normal playlists is that unless you update them manually, they never change. So, what's the alternative? Some software media players such as Windows Media Player 9 and higher, support the use of smart playlists that dynamically change depending on the contents of your music library. Windows Media Player uses Auto Playlists which intelligently follow rules that you set. For example, if you define an Auto Playlist to contain only a certain genre, then it will populate itself with tracks from your music library that meet that rule. Even if you update your library with more of the same genre, your Auto Playlist will keep up to speed by automatically updating - this saves time when compared to normal playlists which would need to be manually edited. If you regularly add music to your collection and want a consistent order to your playlists, then smart playlists are worth using. For more information on creating smart playlists in Microsoft Windows Media Player, be sure to read our guide on Creating Auto Playlists. Related Articles:
Voice Removal Software: Eliminate Vocals from Your Songs Have you ever listened to a song and thought, "love the music, hate the singing". In this situation, you can use a software audio tool that specializes in trying to filter out the frequencies of the human voice. Vocal removal can be a time consuming process that involves experimentation with various audio sources, but satisfactory results are achievable. The biggest stumbling block with voice removal is the nature of the music source. If you have a highly compressed song for example that has low quality audio data, then the chances of removing the vocals are poor. On the other hand, if you are working on a high quality audio file that has a good stereo image with vocals that are center-panned, then your chances of vocal removal are much higher. Overall, it really depends on how the song has been mixed and the frequencies involved.
There's a lot of fun to be had experimenting with the songs in your music library, and with an investment in time (and a little luck), you can produce some great results. For more information on removing vocals from songs, why not read our guide on Free Software for Removing Vocals. 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.
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.
Crossfading in iTunes: Seemless Non-stop Music
iTunes and many other software media players these days have a whole host of extra 'tweakable' features that you can use to enhance your music listening experience. Crossfading is one such technique that you can employ to blend the end of one track into the start of the next; this effectively removes the silent gaps between songs. DJs extensively use this technique to create a smooth transition between music tracks - the volume of one song is slowly faded out as the next song's volume is faded in at the same time.
If you're annoyed by the gaps of silence between your songs and want non-stop music, then be sure to read our step-by-step guide on How to Crossfade Using iTunes.
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