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MP3 Headlines & News for October 26, 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

Apple Intros New Mac minis; More Expensive, More Powerful
Apple today unveiled two new Mac mini computers with the Intel Core Duo processor. The new models are more powerful, and at $599 and $799, more expensive than ever.

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.

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.

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.

Jackson "This Is It" album to sell at iTunes (AFP)

Five-year-old Victor Chupina holds the first ticket sold for a special screening of Michael Jackson's AFP - Apple on Friday confirmed that Michael Jackson's "This Is It" music compilation will be available at online shop iTunes a day before the release of the compact disc version.


NAMM Update: iKey Plus Turns Audio Into MP3s
iKEY-Audio introduced the iKEY PLUS – a device that records live audio and converts it into high quality MP3 and WAV files and saves them directly to an iPod or another USB compatible storage device.

iriver clix: iPod/iTunes Killer?
iriver has introduced the clix portable media player, a new media player that integrates with the new Windows Media Player 11 and the public beta of MTV Networks URGE digital music service


MP3 Tech Commentary

FLO TV Expands Options for TV On-The-Go

FLO TV Personal Television

Just wait until the "Turn Off the TV Week" folks hear about this.

TV on-the-go has yet to enjoy the same widespread acceptance that digital music has experienced in the last few years. But that isn't stopping Qualcomm from continuing to aggressively push for the medium in its own way.

The company's FLO TV subsidiary announced today that it will be releasing a new portable TV just in time for the holiday season. Unlike FLO TV's previous mobile TV offerings, the FLO TV Personal Television won't be tethered to a cell phone service. Instead, the device will be a dedicated 3.5-inch TV player that offers both live and time-shifted programming.

Viewing that content comes at a price. Besides the $249.99 cost for the device, users also need to fork over some dough for a subscription package, which starts at $8.99.

The monthly subscription for a limited number of channels may not sit well with folks who already pay for cable or satellite TV at home. For one, you can just stream all your content from home to a mobile device or computer via methods such as a Slingbox without a monthly fee. The fact that the Personal Television is a dedicated device also means you pretty much can't do anything else with it except watch TV.

Still, you never know what the free market would be willing to pay for. Just look at bottled water. And given the number of people who love television, FLO TV's device just might fill a certain niche. Here's hoping this ultimately becomes one step toward more affordable mobile TV in the future.

Photo © FLO TV

FLO TV Expands Options for TV On-The-Go originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 20:11:46.

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WikiReader Brings You Wikipedia Sans Internet Connection

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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Free Music Downloads This Week

Here is another weekly helping of free music downloads designed to help you discover new bands and artists. These full promotional tracks can either be streamed or downloaded and will hopefully give you a good idea on the style of music that the artist/band produces before splashing that cash. The free music promo tracks this week are:

Via Tania

The free promo track, Wonder Stranger, is a good example of Via Tania's unique sound that blends Björk-style vocals with dreamy melodies. This free music download is taken from Via Tania's new forthcoming album, Moon Sweet Moon, (The:Hours) which is due to be released digitally on Oct. 13, and physically on Oct. 20.

Annie Mac

DJ and UK television presenter, Annie Mac, is offering an exclusive live mix download via her website. This mammoth electronic dance remix by Greenmoney has a playing time of over 32 minutes. There's also an exclusive Hot City Remix (5:30) that can also be downloaded via Annie's blog.

Black Whales

The Seattle-based Indie band, Black Whales, will be releasing their Origins EP on Oct. 15 (Mt. Fuji Records). The promotional track, Young Blood, showcases Black Whales' retro-style indie sound.

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Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 09:49:10.

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Free Music Downloads This Week

Our music discovery blog this week features another helping of free music downloads designed to widen your musical tastes. The free music this week is:

Semi Precious Weapons

The free music download, Magnetic Baby, is a promotional track from the Brooklyn-based band, Semi Precious Weapons. The song is a hard rock track that's typical of the band's 'rebellious' style of music. Their debut album, We Love You, is now available as a digital download from Amazon MP3, MusicSpace.com, or the iTunes Store.

Steed Lord

Here's 3 free music tracks by the Icelandic electro-band, Steed Lord, that blends electro-dance beats with vocoding (electronic manipulated vocals). The three remixes via Rcrdlbl.com are:
  1. Dirty Mutha (Crookers Remix)
  2. Dirty Mutha (DJ Mehdi Remix)
  3. Sometime - Heart of Spades (Steed Lord's "Ja Ok!" Remix)
Steed Lord's double-CD, Truth Serum Remix Project (New Crack City Records), will soon be available on Beatport and iTunes.

Wax Tailor

Jean-Christophe Le Saoût, otherwise known as Wax Tailor is a French music producer and DJ. This free promotional music download is an audio trailer for his new album, In The Mood For Life, (available on iTunes) which is a good example of the experimental Trip-hop genre that blends Hip-Hop with dance music. As a bonus for Wax Tailor fans, there's also the complete Say Yes track that is featured on his new album which can be downloaded via Spinner.com.

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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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These Speakers Are Paper-Thin

FleXpeaker

Yes, that paper-thin thing you see up there in the picture is a speaker. More specifically, it's Industrial Technology Research Institute's FleXpeaker.

ITRI sent over info about the speakers while company researchers demoed the product in the Bay Area and I must admit that it looks pretty cool. The Wall Street Journal apparently thought so, too, and named it one of its 2009 Technology Innovation Awards winners.

According to the company, FleXpeaker researchers basically found a way to create arrays of tiny, bendable speakers that can be put together to create high-fidelity speaker systems of basically any size. That gives the speaker plenty of potential for electronics devices, including tiny portable ones.

It can even be cut to any shape using scissors and incorporated to wearable clothing. So when somebody tells you that your shirt is loud in the near future, maybe it's because it actually is.

Photo © ITRI

These Speakers Are Paper-Thin originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 00:37:18.

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YACHT Celebrates New Single With Free Album

In celebration of the release of their new digital single, Psychic City, YACHT have released an instrumental version of their See Mystery Lights album for free download. The special instrumental album has been release under a non-commercial Creative Commons license. This enables their music to be used for a wide range of purposes such as Karaoke, soundtracks for student films, and other non-commercial applications.

If a free album isn't enough, then YACHT's souvenirs section on their website has a good selection of goodies including some freebies near the bottom of the page. To quench your appetite for a remix, there's also a special version of Psychic City that you can listen to or download from Rcrdlbl.com

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YACHT Celebrates New Single With Free Album originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 06:51:53.

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MP3 Tag Editors: Save Time by Tagging Your Music Files The Easy Way

In order for you to organize your music library and use it efficiently, it's essential to have the correct tag information (sometimes referred to as ID3 metadata) embedded into your files. Examples of this type of data include: artist, album, genre, and other information normally displayed on your MP3 player or software media player.

There's little doubt that manually tagging all your music files can be time consuming and a tedious exercise at the best of times. So, what's the best way? Even though most software media players come with built-in tag tools, they can be very limited in what they can do. If you've got a large selection of music tracks that need tag information added, then using a dedicated MP3 tag tool is often the best way. Not only are media tagging software programs capable of editing multiple files, but some of them even support metadata services such as Freedb - used to automatically add the data to your files.

If you're looking for software to tag your music files, then consult our guide on the Top 5 Free MP3 Tag Editors to start tagging the easy way.

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MP3 Tag Editors: Save Time by Tagging Your Music Files The Easy Way originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 09:00:25.

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Past News Headlines:
October 19 - October 20 - October 21 - October 22 - October 23 - October 24 - October 25

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