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MP3 Player News & Headlines
iPods Pose Risk of Hearing Damage
Listening to iPods for as little as 5 minutes a day can cause hearing loss.
Man Destroys iPod In A Blender
Blendtec, a company that makes heavy duty blenders, is destroying iPods to help sell $400 blenders.
Microsoft Zune Media Player
(PC World)
PC World - TigerDirect is sweetening its offer of a refurbished Zune 4GB with an FM transmitter and charger, a dashboard grip pad, and a leather carrying case--all for $50 (you can find the new MP3 player by itself at Amazon for over $100).
Pink Floyd battles EMI in online royalties case
(Reuters)
Reuters - Pink Floyd on Tuesday launched legal action against record label EMI in a case that centres around royalty payments and how music is sold in the digital age.
NAMM Update: Denon DJ Intros DN-S3500 Tabletop CD/MP3 Player
Denon DJ introduced the DN-S3500 tabletop CD/MP3 player, featuring a powerful 12-pole Direct Drive motor, 7 on-board effects and intuitive control.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Arctic Sound E361 Headphone Review, Plus iPad Tethering Update Prior to getting a set of their headphones by mail, I've actually never heard of Swiss-based company Arctic Cooling. Formed in 2001, the company produces an interesting mix of electronics devices, including PC cases, CPU coolers, USB chargers and the aforementioned headphones. Since I wasn't familiar with the company, I wasn't expecting much after I unpacked the Arctic Sound E361 headphones and plugged them to my MP3 player. But after listening, well, let's just say that they've now got my attention. Check out my review of the Arctic Sound E361 with built-in mic. In other news, Steve Jobs — or whoever answers his e-mail — has apparently confirmed that the Apple iPad won't be tethering with the iPhone. According to site 9to5mac.com, Swedish DJ Jezper Soderlund got this answer after sending Jobs a question about iPad/iPhone tethering: "No. Sent from my iPhone." Short but perhaps not so sweet for our Mr. Soderlund. Hey, them's the breaks! For those unfamiliar, with the process, tethering is basically the use of a smartphone as a modem of sorts to connect a device such as a laptop to the Internet. Arctic Sound E361 Headphone Review, Plus iPad Tethering Update originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 00:01:51.
HP Talks Smack About Apple iPad Apple found itself taking plenty of hot lead from a competitor this week and — surprise — it wasn't from Microsoft. Getting some corporate smack talk from Steve Ballmer wouldn't exactly come as a surprise. But from Hewlett-Packard? That was enough to surprise folks such as Ashlee Vance of the New York Times, who's more used to the soft-selling approach from HP. Anywho, HP apparently took some shots at the iPad's omission of certain features — features that happen to be present in HP's own slate tablet. This includes support for multi-tasking and Adobe Flash and Air, something HP touts as part of the "full experience" it will offer on its yet-to-be released slate. HP says it has also been working on its slate for about five years now. So why is it coming late to this party? "We had it done a couple of years ago, but it would have cost $1,500," Phil McKinney, chief technology officer in H.P.'s personal systems group, told the NY Times. Interestingly, McKinney didn't say anything about how much the device would cost now (or when it's coming out). Photo © HP HP Talks Smack About Apple iPad originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 00:01:26.
Free Music Albums: Pretty Lights to Release Trilogy of Free EPs Colorado-based Pretty Lights (aka Derek Vincent Smith), has announced a trilogy of EPs due for release in 2010. The first album, Making Up a Changing Mind, is already available (released March 2) and can be downloaded from the official Website. Even though Pretty Lights' albums can be downloaded for free, there's also a donate button for each EP should your conscience get the better of you. This isn't the first time that we've seen bands and artists offering their music to the masses in this way. In 2007, British rock band, Radiohead, offered music fans their In Rainbows album for whatever price they wanted to pay. Nine Inch Nails also offered fans an exclusive deal for its Ghosts I-IV instrumental collection rather than going through the traditional route of using a record label. As well as Pretty Lights' upcoming trilogy of new EPs, there are also other albums that can also be downloaded for whatever you deem as a fair price. Related Articles:
Free Music Albums: Pretty Lights to Release Trilogy of Free EPs originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 09:00:00.
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iPad Availability Update: Launch Still a Go, 3G Delayed Until May? In response to ongoing talk this week concerning delays and non-delays of the Apple iPad, I've updated our iPad availability page with the latest information so far. This includes denials from suppliers about a delay and talk that while the Wi-Fi version should launch as scheduled, the 3G version might be delayed until May. iPad Availability Update: Launch Still a Go, 3G Delayed Until May? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 13:10:11.
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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Free Music Downloads This Week The free music downloads in our spotlight this week are: Artist/Band: Erik Hassle Artist/Band: One eskimO Artist/Band: The Disco Biscuits Related Articles:
Genre: Pop / Rock / Soul
Free Music Download: Following on from last week's free Hurtful track, here's another free track from Erik Hassle --
Be Mine (featuring Ellie Goulding) (2:44)
Extras: More cover song videos from Erik Hassle's offical YouTube channel.
Album: Hurtful single available from the iTunes Store.
Genre: Indie / Rock / Shoegaze
Free Music Download: Kandi (4:05)
Music Videos: Kandi (Band Version) ¦ Kandi (Animated Version)
Album: One EskimO (Shangrila Music LLC) available now from iTunes, Amazon MP3, and other digital music services.
Genre: Jam Band / Electronica / Experimental
Free Music Download: On Time (3:35)
Extras: You and I (The Juan MacLean Remix) (10:11) via RCRD LBL.
Album: Planet Anthem due for release March 16, 2010. You can get an autographed copy of their new album by pre-ordering.
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 08:41:35.
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Touchy Details on Microsoft Courier The iPad hogged even more attention last week after Apple revealed the official release date for its self-proclaimed magical and revolutionary device. But one potential competitor also managed to generate some buzz recently, thanks to some tasty morsels dug up by tech site Engadget. That would be Microsoft's clamshell tablet, the Courier, which is shaping up as a potential competitor for the iPad. According to Engadget, the tablet/eReader hybrid features a 5-inch by 7-inch touchscreen with a pen-based interface and handwriting recognition. Both screens also feature LCD displays, which means no E Ink a la the iPad. The "digital journal" will be powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor and has the same operating system used by the Zune HD, Pink and Windows Mobile 7 Series. Microsoft has apparently been mum on this subject so far, which means no details yet on pricing or a drop-dead release date. Rumblings so far, though, indicate a release sometime in the second half of this year. Either way, it looks like the Old Evil Empire and the New Evil Empire might have new devices competing against each other soon (cue evil laugh). Photo from Engadget Touchy Details on Microsoft Courier originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 00:01:46.
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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