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MP3 Player News & Headlines
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.
Facebook to allow 10-cent Web song gifts from Lala
(AP)
AP - Facebook will soon allow friends to send each other 10-cent Web songs to stream online or 90-cent songs in the MP3 format that recipients can download as gifts from online retailer Lala.
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.
Mac Laptop Explodes Flames
Apple laptops are known for their tendency to run hot; apparently, they run hot enough that they sometimes burst into flames....
Two New iPod Games Announced
Electronic Arts today announced the availability of two new games for the fifth generation iPod – EA Sudoku and Royal Solitaire.
EU: breakthrough on online music rights
(AP)
AP - The EU's top antitrust official on Wednesday described a deal among Apple Inc.'s iTunes, music companies, distributors and online licensing groups as a "great breakthrough" that would roll out more Internet music sales across Europe.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Having Trouble Trying to Play Your Songs in Order? If your MP3 player or car stereo system refuses to play songs in order, then there's a few simple techniques that you can try to get your device to behave. These are:
If your digital music device is flash card based and still has problems (even after trying the above methods), then it could be the way the music is stored on the flash card. Believe it or not, some MP3 players read the tracks on flash storage cards in the order that they were saved - they don't sort in alphabetical order. In this case, a software program like MP3dirsorter could be the answer. This is a free program for Windows that can sort folders and files in alphabetical order - it's even good for alphabetically sorting other media too.
For more information on using MP3dirsorter, be sure to follow our tutorial on How to Make Your Songs Play in Order which uses this free piece of software.
Related Articles:
Having Trouble Trying to Play Your Songs in Order? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 09:06:09.
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Spotify Brings Music Downloads to Its Users The music service, Spotify, which streams music has revealed in its blog that users will now be able to download tracks. The new service will only be available to Spotify premium subscribers, who will be able to use a special 'offline mode' to store up to 3,333 tracks on their computer's hard drive. Spotify explain in their blog that a user's online playlist is synchronized for offline usage by downloading the necessary tracks - even if you have no Internet connection the music will still be accessible. The big question still to be officially answered is, "Does the music come with any DRM copy protection?" In Spotify's FAQ section, offline mode is restricted to three device and tracks can only be stored offline while you continue to pay a subscription. The other restriction mentioned on their website is that you need to login to your account at least every 30 days to ensure you are still subscribed. These set of restrictions could indicate DRM copy protection, but there's no official word on this at present. Currently Spotify is available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Spain, and the UK. According to a BBC News article, the service is due to roll out in the United States by the end of the year. Related Articles:
Spotify Brings Music Downloads to Its Users originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 15:12:23.
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Portable Power on the Go 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.
Free Music Downloads This Week Our music discovery slot this week features another set of free music tracks that you can either stream or download. These full-length tracks cover a wide range of genres and will hopefully help you to discover bands and artists that you might not otherwise have found. The free music downloads this week are :
This 'mixtape' from the record label, THE:HOURS, contains 10 full tracks from top artists such as David Bowie, Björk, Fever Ray, and others; the full track list can be viewed on THE:HOURS' blog. Their Podcast Vol. 2 compilation is in celebration of the release of Via Tania's new album, Moon Sweet Moon, that we covered recently in our weekly free Music Downloads blog.
- 2 tracks (6:08 total playing time)
- Yes Giantess Mixtape (59:51)
- Tuff N Stuff (Pirate Stereo Remix)(4:08)
- Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood Remix) - Little Boots (6:28)
- Don't Bring Flowers (Yes Giantess Remix) - Erik Hassle (6:54)
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, October 16th, 2009 at 09:00:08.
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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.
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.
Related Articles:
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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Do You Have The 'Audacity' to Make Your Own Ringtones? Instead of purchasing and downloading pre-made ringtones using one of the many services on the Internet, why not make your own for free? You may remember a while ago that we covered how you can Create Free Ringtones Using iTunes. But what if you don't use iTunes? Thankfully there are quite a few free audio editors that you can download to enable you to make MP3 ringtones. One of the most popular of these is a multi-platform audio tool called, Audacity. All you'll need is your existing music library and a little investment in time. It can be very rewarding to make your own free ringtones and you'll also save a lot of money too. If you've been frustrated by not being able to find the free ringtones you want on the Internet, then why not follow our tutorial on How to Create Ringtones Using Audacity. Related Articles:
Do You Have The 'Audacity' to Make Your Own Ringtones? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 09:35:06.
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