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New free music sites learn from others' mistakes
(AP)
AP - Two new companies are giving consumers a way to download songs for free by watching a few ads. The idea has been tried before but this time it appears it might work, because the startups have found advertisers that are willing to pay around $2 to have a moment of your time.
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.
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.
Apple Pumps Down the Volume
Apple today announced a software update for the iPod nano and fifth generation iPod, that lets customers set their own personal maximum volume limit.
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
Free Music Downloads This Week The free MP3 downloads in our music discovery spotlight this week are: Artist/Band: Rich Hil Artist/Band: Groove Armada Artist/Band: Yes Giantess Related Articles:
Genre: Hip Hop / Rock
Free Music Download: Lady in The Hall (3:40)
Extras: More information and additional free MP3s from the official Rich Hil Website
Genre: Electronic
Free Music Download: Shameless (feat. Bryan Ferry) (4:47)
Extras: Free additional Groove Armada track (Pull Up (Crank It Up) (Mad Decent Remix)) via RCRD LBL
Album: Black Light (OM Records), slated for release March 2, 2010
Genre: Pop / Electronic
Free Music Download: The Ruins (3:04)
Extras: More free MP3 tracks (published previously) via our free music downloads blog
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 06:48:04.
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Wal-Mart Moves Into Video With VUDU Deal Retail giant, Wal-Mart, has announced via its Website that it has inked a deal with the VUDU video service. Since its inception in 2004, the VUDU media technology company has specialized in developing devices like the VUDU Box to deliver on-demand video such as movies. With the likes of iTunes and Amazon already offering multimedia content, Wal-Mart who also provide digital music downloads are hoping to muscle into the increasingly popular on-demand video market too. Edward Lichty who is VUDU's executive vice president said, "We are excited about the opportunity to take our company's vision to the next level, VUDU's services and Apps platform will give Wal-Mart a powerful new vehicle to offer customers the content they want in a way that expands the frontier of quality, value and convenience." Even though the official announcement doesn't reveal the financial value of the deal, a report by The Wall Street Journal puts the sum at 'slightly more' than $100 million. Related Articles:
Wal-Mart Moves Into Video With VUDU Deal originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 06:27:22.
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Netbook Ownership Sees Increase The last few times I tried buying a netbook, I ended up buying a small, low-end laptop instead. In both cases, I ultimately decided that a netbook was just overpriced and underpowered for me, even for travel purposes. I think that, in a nutshell, portrays one of the key challenges for netbooks. (It certainly doesn't help that PC makers in general seem to collectively nerf netbooks to push people to buy a laptop instead.) Nevertheless, it appears that more people are warming up to the devices. According to Twice.com, a Pricegrabber study found that the number of folks who own a netbook has gone up from 10 percent in 2009 to about 15 percent in January. Interestingly, the primary market for netbooks has gotten grayer, now creeping up to the 45-year-old to 64-year-old age range. Respondents also said they won't spend more than $750 for their next computing device (not sure if they meant any computer or just netbooks). Personally, I think some of the prices I've seen for netbooks out there are just way too high for the performance they offer. Fortunately, it appears that prices are starting to go down. The same survey found that the average price of mobile computing devices fell from $808 in December 2008 to $645 in December 2009. Hopefully, this ultimately translates to lower prices for netbooks. Netbook Ownership Sees Increase originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 03:38:59.
Free Kindle Readers? Plus LG Joins eReader Fray People love free stuff. Which makes it no surprise that a report from TechCrunch about free Kindle eReaders is starting to gain some traction on the Intertubes. As part of its efforts to soften the potential blow of Apple's iPad, TechCrunch cites a "reliable source" who says that Amazon is mulling giving free Kindle Readers to members of its "Prime" service. That would be customers who pay $79 a year to get free two-day shipping for their orders. Amazon, meanwhile, declined to comment on the rumor. In other news, another major Korean electronics manufacturer is slated to release a new eReader this year. Samsung has already thrown its hat into the eReader arena, featuring several products at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. Now LG is also entering the fray with its own eReader in April, according to Electronista. Given LG's dabbling with e-paper displays, I guess it was only a matter of time. Photo © Amazon Free Kindle Readers? Plus LG Joins eReader Fray originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 05:13:22.
Free Music Downloads This Week The free music downloads in our spotlight this week are: Artist/Band: Erik Hassle Artist/Band: Groove Armada Artist/Band: Scanners Related Articles:
Genre: Pop / Rock / Soul
Free Music Download: Hurtful (Penguin Prison Remix) (4:36)
Music Video: Hurtful (2010 Version)
Album: Hurtful single available from the iTunes Store.
Genre: Electronic
Free Music Download: Paper Romance (Clasixx Remix) (4:51)
Music Video: Paper Romance
Extras: More free Groove Armada tracks via our previous music download blog.
Album: Black Light due for release March 2010 (Om Records).
Genre: Alternative / Pop / Indie
Free Music Download: We Never Close Our Eyes (3:28)
Album: Submarine (Dim Mak Records) available now digitally from iTunes and other digital music services.
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 11:03:10.
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Alex eReader Delayed Until March; enTourage eDGe First Shipment The Alex eReader just can't seem to catch a break. First it gets blindsided by the appearance of the Nook e-reader from supposed partner Barnes & Noble. Now its launch is getting delayed just in time for the arrival of Apple's new 800-pound gorilla. Folks who were expecting the device to drop this week will be met with this message if they visit the official Alex Shop online: "Thanks for your patience. We're almost ready with our Alex store. Keep checking in and by the first week of March you'll be able to order your Alex online. — The Spring Design Team" The delay is not exactly good news for a device that likely wants to spread as much distance between itself and the iPad, which launches its Wi-Fi models sometime in March. Besides potentially being drowned by the glut of coverage that comes with an Apple product launch, the Alex faces the same issue I mention in an earlier post about IREX's $399 DR800SG: price and value comparison. At $359, the Alex is cheaper than the IREX and also offers a second color touchscreen in addition to the main E Ink display. But it's still close enough to the $499 price of the cheapest iPad, which still offers a lot more bells and whistles (not to mention brand-name recognition) despite its issues with Flash. What's more, the Alex's price is also about $100 more than a Kindle and Nook — the latter offering the same Android software and dual-screen layout that the Alex provides. Another high-profile eReader, meanwhile, appears on pace to make its February goal, at least for preorders. Shipments for the enTourage eDGe should be going out as we speak for folks who pre-ordered before Jan. 12. This according to a post on the official enTourage eDGe site on Feb. 19 (at 8:41 a.m. to be exact). There is also a note on the site that new eDGe orders will start shipping in March. At $499, the device lies smack within the iPad's entry-level price range. But the device does offer a full-size color touchscreen alongside its full-size E Ink display. For more on eReaders, check out our roundup of today's popular eReaders and the eReaders of CES. Photo © Spring Design Alex eReader Delayed Until March; enTourage eDGe First Shipment originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 00:01:36.
IREX DR800SG Now Available at Best Buy The eReader hot tub got a bit more crowded this week as IREX's DR800SG finally became available at BestBuy.com. According to a release sent out by the company, the IREX DR800SG wades in with an 8.1-inch E Ink screen, 3G connectivity via Verizon, and a touchscreen. For reading material, the DR800SG includes access to more than 750,000 books via Barnes & Noble's eBookstore plus access to newspapers and magazines via NewspaperDirect and LibreDigital. Formats supported are PDF and EPUB for eBooks and JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF and TIFF for images. So what's all this going to cost you? That would be $399, which pegs the DR800SG at the higher end of the eReader market. To put that in perspective, that's about $140 more than a Nook and only $100 less than the Apple iPad. Which begs the question: Will people be OK with paying $399 for what is essentially a one-trick pony or would they rather fork an extra C-note for an iPad, which — despite the justifiable criticism — can do a lot more than IREX's device? In IREX's case, they appear to be quite bullish about their prospects so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Photo © IREX IREX DR800SG Now Available at Best Buy originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 03:16:03.
Free Music Album: Download to Donate For Haiti The non-profit organization, Music Relief, which helps victims of natural disasters is offering a free 9-track music album for download. As part of the Haitian relief effort, Music Relief has released the album, Download to Donate For Haiti which contains previously unreleased tracks from major artists and bands such as: Linkin Park, Alanis Morissette, Enrique Iglesias, Slash, and others. Founded in 2005 by the music band Linkin Park, Music Relief is currently providing aid to victims of the Haiti disaster. If you do decide to download this free music album, please remember to be kind and donate whatever you can afford. Thank you. Related Articles:
Free Music Album: Download to Donate For Haiti originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 09:30:14.
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