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MP3 Player News & Headlines
Google's Android platform poised to take on iPhone
(Reuters)
Reuters - One of the most important developments of the past 18 months has been the iPhone's emergence as a breakthrough platform for music applications. But thanks to Google's Android platform, Apple's iPhone will face some meaningful competition this year in the mobile music app market.
Music downloads giving way to streaming services
(Reuters)
Reuters - Apple remains the world's dominant digital music retailer, but it's a distinction that might be of decreasing significance as the digital market transforms from a model based on a la carte downloads to one of streaming access. Indeed, Apple's late-year acquisition of streaming music provider Lala points to the company's own expected shift in that direction.
Simon Cowell, Sony sign new TV, music, film deal
(Reuters)
Reuters - Music mogul Simon Cowell has formed a long-term venture with Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment to produce music, television and film, beginning with the U.S. version of hit British show "The X Factor".
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....
E-reader makers seek bestseller but may end up duds
(Reuters)
Reuters - Remember the Dell DJ MP3 player? Or Sony's Clie digital assistant? It's likely dozens of the electronic readers debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show may go the way of these defunct gadgets by next year.
Griffin Intros 2007 Line Up
Griffin Technology today announced their 2007 lineup that will debut next week at the MacWorld Conference & Expo.
The Strangest iPod Accessory Ever?
Thanko has introduced a bizarre iPod box speaker that may be the strangest iPoc accessory ever.
MP3 Tech Commentary
The Tablets of CES 2010 While 3D TVs and eBook readers dominated the Consumer Electronics Show, tablets didn't fare too bad either. In fact, I haven't seen this many tablets since the last time I played Pac-Man. From Lenovo and HP to Dell and Sony, several companies featured their take on the tablet or slate concept. Even Microsoft's Steve Ballmer devoted time in his keynote speech to tout the touchy-feely devices. Check out some of the more interesting tablets to grace the show in our CES 2010 Tablet Round-up. Photo © Freescale The Tablets of CES 2010 originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 00:01:04.
Fight Like Apes Thank Loyal Fans With Free MP3 Album Irish alternative/punk rock band Fight Like Apes (FLA) are thanking their music fans for their support by offering up an exclusive free album download via their website. The 11-track festive freebie is a live album of FLA songs recorded this year at the Eurosonic festival 2009 in Groningen, Holland. If you intend on backing up your free music album by using CD Burning Software, then you might also be interested in the accompanying album artwork that can be downloaded from the FLA website. You can then print out this artwork for your CD jewel case; or alternatively design your own artwork using Free CD/DVD Cover Design Software. As an added bonus, there's also the MP3 track, Lumpy Dough, that you can get for free when signing up to the FLA newsletter. Related Articles:
Fight Like Apes Thank Loyal Fans With Free MP3 Album originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 06:08:40.
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CD Repair Kits: Are They Really Worth Buying? Under normal usage most optical media (CDs and DVDs) pick up minor surface abrasions that don't affect them. However, accidents can and do happen which can cause more severe scratches which cause problems; skipping for example is a common symptom. If the damage is bad enough then it can even stop a disc from playing altogether. So, are CD repair kits really worth buying? As long as the scratch to your disc isn't deep, there's a good chance that a CD repair kit will be able to successfully resurface your damaged CD or DVD. They can't fix cracks but generally have a high success rate repairing moderately damaged discs. Many of the basic kits can typically fix up to 50 discs, while the more advanced ones can have added features like being able to fix deeper scratches or doubling as a disc cleaner -- this makes them even more useful if you need the extra features. If you consider how much money it would cost to replace your damaged discs, then purchasing a CD repair kit is a worthy investment. If you've got rare or expensive music CDs for example, then a repair kit makes perfect sense -- especially if you want to use a CD ripper to convert them to digital audio files. This will enable you to keep your valuable music collection in a safe place while still enjoying them as MP3s on your computer, MP3 player, or portable media device. If you're looking for a repair kit for your CDs and DVDs, then our CD/DVD Repair Kit Guide will show you some of the best kits for your money. Related Articles:
CD Repair Kits: Are They Really Worth Buying? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 11:04:45.
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Soundcheck Offers Free Corinne Bailey Rae MP3 Download Walmart's Soundcheck service, which showcases select artists by providing exclusive content, is offering up a free Corinne Bailey Rae MP3 download. The free track, I'd Do It All Again, is taken from the British Singer/songwriter's new album, The Sea, which is due for release 26. Jan, 2010. To get your free track, simply go to Soundcheck's Corrine Bailey Rae page and click on the highlighted free download button. You'll have to be quick though -- there's only a limited number of downloads available. Related Articles:
Soundcheck Offers Free Corinne Bailey Rae MP3 Download originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 15:59:06.
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Lockheed Martin Locks, Loads and Fires New USB Drive Now what is this we have here, hmm? Aeronautics and weapons firm Lockheed Martin took off the stealthy shroud from its latest project and it's ... a USB drive? To quote one lady I saw at Pizzeria Bianco after being told the wait was three hours: "Huh?" Now, try as hard as I can, I can't seem to see a hidden missile bay or laser in this thing. Which can only mean that this thing truly is a USB drive. More specifically, it's called the "IronClad," which is exactly the opposite of the excuse one of my buddies had after his girlfriend caught him staring at another woman. ("Um, I was thinking about you the whole time?") Anywho, the IronClad USB is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and IronKey and is supposed to shrink "a laptop's hard drive - including the entire operating system, software applications, and files - onto a secure flash drive." Now that sounds a bit more Lockheed Martin-ish. Of course, given the company's haughty claims about the security of its new "PC on a stick," they're pretty much inviting every enterprising hacker to create a bug that could infect the darn thing. It's like walking around with a huge bullseye at a darts tournament. Then again, Lockheed Martin wouldn't be Lockheed Martin without the bravado. Photo © Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Locks, Loads and Fires New USB Drive originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 00:01:18.
New eBook Readers From CES 2010 If there were two things that slapped you in the face when you walked through the Central Hall of the Consumer Electronics Show, it would be 3DTV and eBook readers. Talk about sheer, unrelenting volume. Now since this is a portable electronics site, we'll obviously be touching on the latter. There certainly was no shortage of eReaders at CES, ranging from sleek, high-priced offerings to more affordable devices for value-minded consumers. For those interested in a sneak peek at some of the new eBook readers featured at CES, I've put together a CES 2010 eReader roundup. Happy eReading. Photo © enTourage New eBook Readers From CES 2010 originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 04:49:07.
The Apple-like DigitalRise X9 Tablet When you've made a name for yourself making iPhone knockoffs, it only stands to reason that you'd also want to make a knockoff of Apple's "alleged" tablet — or at least a representation of what you might think it will look like. On that note, the folks at PMP Today spied this listing for DigitalRise's X9 multi-touch tablet at Chinagrabber.com. There's just something about an Apple-ish knockoff appearing at a site that sounds like a knockoff of Pricegrabber that makes my easily amused self giggle. But I digress. A look at the X9 will likely make some people think, "Hey, it kinda' looks like an iPhone." Now check out the price of this baby: $999.99. (Though the site currently has it on sale for $779.99.) My keen powers of observation also tell me the X9 comes with Windows 7, 3G and GPS. I don't know why but I just know... Other specs not discernible from the above photo include a 10.2-inch 1024x600 TFT screen, Atom N270 1.6G processor, 2GB DDR2 memory, 160G SATA2.5 hard disk drive, and Intel 950 Integration video card. Speaking of the real Apple tablet/iSlate/whatever-it-is, I couldn't help but chuckle at Valleywag for giving first prize for its Apple Tablet Scavenger Hunt to an Apple lawyer warning them about said contest. Apparently, the site considers the legalese-filled letter as the best proof it's gotten so far that the mysterious Apple tablet actually exists. So much for my chance at winning $100,000. Photo from Chinagrabber The Apple-like DigitalRise X9 Tablet originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 01:04:10.
Asus Joins Fray with DR-950 eReader And the eReader party keeps getting bigger. The Interweb was aflutter today after word broke out about computer maker Asus' new eBook reader, the DR-950. Given the plethora of eReaders unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, you basically have what amounts to a feeding frenzy for the sector. According to Web site Electricpig, Asus' DR-950 sports a 9-inch touchscreen with a 1024x760 resolution display. It's also only 9 millimeters thin and will weigh less than the juggernaut in its sights — Amazon's Kindle DX. Other features include either 2GB or 4GB of internal memory, SD slot, Wi-Fi, USB port, an audio port, RSS feed software and text-to-speech. (The juvenile in me now can't wait to test the text-to-speech function by typing "To get passed around like a bad cold, please press one. To get stuck in an endless loop of pressing buttons, please press two. If you think Jason Hidalgo is da bomb, press three...") With the latest addition to the eReader fray, I can't help but wonder if the market is truly getting oversaturated. Seriously, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if McDonald's released its own eReader, the eMc-Squared (Get it? eMC squared as in — um, just forget it). Yeah, laugh all you want now but I'm telling ya... Photo © Asus Asus Joins Fray with DR-950 eReader originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 00:01:18.
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