MP3 Headlines & News for November 1, 2009

As much grief as Wikipedia gets due to questionable &mdash and at times, incredibly hilarious &mdash edits by pranksters, the site can be a treasure trove of information on all sorts of subjects.

But let's say you're out and about in the wilderness with no Web access and you suddenly notice a coral snake slithering around your campsite. That's when you might say to yourself, "Self. If only I could access Wikipedia right now, I could find out if this is the type of coral snake that can actually kill me."

Which brings us to the announcement from company Openmoko about its new WikiReader portable encyclopedia. The WikiReader contains more than 3 million English-language Wikipedia articles, which users can access without an Internet connection. The device is now available on Amazon.com and the device's official site for $99.

"We created the WikiReader to be fun, easy, informative and entertaining for all ages," said Openmoko CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz, in a statement. "WikiReader is a whimsical look at the joy of learning in the digital age."

Since updating is a key part of Wikipedia, owners of of the WikiReader can get free quarterly downloads to keep their device current. You'll definitely need an Internet connection for that part, though. More on the device after I get my hands on one to review.

Photo © Openmoko

WikiReader Brings You Wikipedia Sans Internet Connection originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 20:18:35.

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Semi Precious Weapons

• Magnetic Baby (2:51)

Steed Lord

• 3 Remix Tracks (14:31 Total playing time)

1. Dirty Mutha (Crookers Remix)
2. Dirty Mutha (DJ Mehdi Remix)
3. Sometime - Heart of Spades (Steed Lord's "Ja Ok!" Remix)

Wax Tailor

• Track (4:26)

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Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 09:49:55.

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Barnes & Noble is really laying on the heat on rival Amazon's Kindle these days as it steps up its marketing push via a launch party for its own Nook eBook Reader.

Right smack within B&N's cross hairs, apparently, is Amazon's Kindle 2. How do I know? Well, besides the eerily similar price of $259, B&N also has this not-so-subtle side-by-side comparison on its Web site pitting the Nook against a certain Amazon device. Let's just say B&N's comparison doesn't exactly have the Kindle 2 trumping the competition.

In addition to sporting the same electronic paper display and 6-inch diagonal screen size as the Kindle 2, B&N says its reader also throws in extra features such as a color touch screen, expandable memory and a wider range of supported formats. Nook owners get free Wi-Fi at all B&N stores as well. While the device lets you browse books online, I didn't see anything in the features list about a dedicated Web browser, though.

The official Nook blog says the device will be out on the market starting Nov. 30, with pre-ordering available online or at any B&N store. With Sony also throwing in a new line of readers into the mix, the race to grab eBook market share from Amazon is really starting to heat up. Will Amazon continue to keep its crown as the market matures (a la Apple's iPod) or will the increased competition bring more parity to the eBook sector? I can't wait for the next volume in this series.

Photo © Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Nook Nears Home Stretch originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 19:30:54.

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There's NPR radio. And then there's NPR Radio &mdash as in an actual device named NPR Radio. (Does that make it National Public Radio ... Radio?)

If you're an NPR fan, then you might want to check out Livio's "The NPR Radio," which provides listeners access to more than 1,000 NPR station streams along with hundreds of NPR podcasts and audio archives. Worldly individuals might also be interested to hear that the radio is Reciva Internet Radio-enabled, providing access to more than 16,000 stations around the globe.

The device gives owners the option for both a wireless and wired Internet connection, and can update itself without hooking up to a computer. At $199, the price tag may sound a bit steep for a radio. But broke college students and folks on a tight budget will be happy to know that all the programming you get is free. Part of the sales proceeds from the device also go toward supporting NPR stations and programming.

You can check out the device at the NPR shop or the Livio site .

Photo © Livio

NPR Radio Gets Literal originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 16:01:44.

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Ali vs. Frazier. Coke vs. Pepsi. Seinfeld vs. Newman.

Nothing stokes passion quite like a good, old rivalry. And in today's tech-crazy world, iPhone vs. BlackBerry is certainly a noteworthy clash among portable devices.

Which brings us to this Retrevo iPhone-BlackBerry survey. For this Gadgetology report, Retrevo decided to match up iPhone owners and BlackBerry owners against each other and see what makes them tick. For example, have you ever wondered which of the two is more likely to break up with their partners via phone? Well, scroll down below for the survey's findings.

• Guys and gals: The long ball apparently isn't the only thing that chicks dig. Women outnumbered men as iPhone owners by 53 percent to 47 percent. Men, on the other hand, outnumbered women by a larger margin for BlackBerry ownership &mdash 59 percent to 41 percent. Must be all those dudes in corporate America.
• Priorities, priorities: iPhone owners apparently find cool gadgets three times more attractive than a boring, old college degree while the reverse is true for BlackBerry owners. About 35 percent of iPhone owners also consider out-of-date gadgets owned by a potential romantic partner as a turn-off, compared to 29 percent for BlackBerry owners. At least the majority of folks on both sides are still sane on that front.
• A matter of perspective: iPhone owners rated themselves higher as intellectuals, extroverts and media buffs than BlackBerrry owners rated themselves. Amusingly enough, partners of BlackBerry owners rated their significant others a bit higher in those areas compared to how partners of iPhone owners rated their own partners. Can you say flame bait?
• Double standards? Although iPhone owners are more "addicted" to their phones, more of them are less forgiving of heavy smartphone use by their partners compared to BlackBerry owners. One in four iPhone owners have ended a relationship because their partner used their smartphone too much, compared to 17 percent for BlackBerry owners.

Now is it me or does it seem like more iPhone owners than BlackBerry owners come out looking like insufferable jerks in this survey? Then again, I always think surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, so I wouldn't take this stuff personally.

As for the early question about breakups by phone, the survey found that 33 percent of iPhone owners have broken up with someone "electronically" compared to 22 percent for BlackBerry owners. All I can say is, there must be an app for that.

Photo © Retrevo

iPhone Owners From Venus, BlackBerry Owners From Mars? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 18:33:16.

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The portable battery pack market is getting another addition to its stable come Nov. 1 with the release of Technocel's new $49.99 PowerPak.

The PowerPak is designed to work with devices that can charge via USB and is reportedly compatible with 95 percent of all handheld USB devices in the market. I asked the manufacturer what the power output was and I'm being told its 5 watts (5V/1A), which falls within the sweet spot of many USB-charged devices.

The PowerPak can also double as a direct charger when plugged to a wall outlet. As far as power storage, the device can hold enough extra juice for about 3 hours of talk time for smartphones (that typically translates to more than 30 hours if you're just listening to MP3s). Expect a full review once I get a hold of the device.

Photo © Technocel

Portable Power on the Go originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 17:32:58.

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The Prairie Cartel

• No Light Escapes Here (4:46)

The Toxic Avenger

• Toxic is Dead (5:11)

French Miami

• God Damn Best (2:48)

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Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 09:00:29.

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