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MP3 Player News & Headlines
Sony bets MJ fans won't stop 'til they get enough
(AP)
AP - The man who spearheaded the record-breaking deal in which Michael Jackson's estate will get up to $250 million in the next seven years said Tuesday that Sony Music Entertainment bought a treasure trove of new Jackson music, some of it recorded "quite recently," some in collaboration with other artists.
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.
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.
Thumbplay appoints Apple exec as technology chief
(AP)
AP - Thumbplay Inc., a company that provides content such as music and games for cell phones, said Monday it has named Apple Inc.'s Pablo Calamera its first chief technology officer.
The Soundtrack to My First Semester
(BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek - A first semester in business school is probably best summed up through some sort of interpretive dance.Refusing to be confined to words only, I am supplementing this entry with music."My B-school Playlist" (downloadable here) is a song collection recapping my first semester. 1) Jordin Sparks, Battlefield Business school is the most intense thing I have done -- and that includes fleeing a war-torn country. The pace of classes is brutal and the amount of learning intense. As a career-switcher, I've had to add researching companies and pursuing informational interviews to my plate. ...
Griffin Intros Hi-Way Case for iPod Hi-Fi
Griffin Technology today announced Hi-Way, a versatile, custom fit, roadworthy carrying case for the iPod Hi-Fi compact stereo.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Free Music Downloads This Week The free music downloads in our spotlight this week are: Artist/Band: Stacy B Artist/Band: Motor Artist/Band: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Related Articles:
Genre: Pop / R&B / Club
Free Music Download: Do It Now (download Code: 1688).
Genre: Techno / Alternative / Electro
Free Music Download: Kick It (4:46)
Additional MP3(s): Kick It (Malente Remix) (4:25) via RCRD RBL
Album: Hyper Machine (Dim Mak Records) available from top digital music services.
Genre: Electronic / Pop
Free Music Download: The Sun Ain't Shinning No More (33 Hz Remix) (5:55)
Additional MP3(s): 2 more versions via RCRD RBL
Album: Fruit (Small Giants Records Ltd.) now available digitally
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 09:00:40.
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Apple iPad Release Date Now April 3 Just updated the iPad Central and iPad Availability sections with the official release date from Apple, which is now April 3. According to Apple, folks can start pre-ordering the iPad from the online Apple Store or making reservations at retail outlets starting Friday March 12. With talk about a launch delay panning out, albeit by just a smidgen (the iPad Wi-Fi version was originally slated for a late March launch), does this mean that rumors of a May launch for the iPad Wi-Fi+3G version — originally slated for an April release — have some credence as well? Photo © Apple Apple iPad Release Date Now April 3 originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 13:12:14.
Universal Music Group Loses Legal Battle With Dancing Baby Even though Universal Music Group (UMG) has annouced an 8.4% increase in its digital music sales this week, this financial achievement has been somewhat eclipsed by news in the blogsphere that it has been defeated by a dancing baby. For those of you who aren't familiar with the case, Stephanie Lenz posted a video on YouTube in 2007 of her toddler which contained Prince's Lets Go Crazy song playing in the background. UMG promptly issued a takedown notice to YouTube who removed the 30-second video clip. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) then argued that the video was in the realms of 'fair use'. Over two and a half years later, the legal battle has now been resolved with Judge Jeremy Fogel granting Lenz's partial summary judgment. This will now enable Stephanie Lenz (and her dancing tot) to recover the appropriate fees and costs from UMG. Related Articles:
Universal Music Group Loses Legal Battle With Dancing Baby originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 07:19:34.
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Sony Sets Sights on Apple's Turf Remember when Sony was the electronics company in terms of consumer mindshare? Fast forward to today and you have Amazon grabbing the reins of the eReader sector Sony pioneered while Apple's iPod has replaced the Sony Walkman as the music-playing phenomenon of this generation. (And we haven't even touched on the Playstation brand's fall from the No. 1 overall spot for video game consoles.) In fact, Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Companies list has Apple No. 1 while Sony is ranked 38th. Well, like Twisted Sister, Sony is apparently not taking it anymore, with the company setting its sights on countering Apple's rise as an electronics juggernaut. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Sony is planning to release two new portable devices — one aimed squarely at the iPhone and the other at the upcoming iPad. The first device is something Sony is working on with Ericsson, which is basically a phone that can download and play video games. The other is a hybrid device that incorporates features from netbooks, eReaders and handheld game machines (sounds like PSP content might feature prominently in both devices). Sony will also be launching sonyTunes, er, Sony Online Service — an "online media platform" that features music, video and, of course, games, later in March. Will Sony's latest moves be enough for it to regain its mojo? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Sony Sets Sights on Apple's Turf originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 00:01:48.
iPad Available for Pre-Order Starting Today If the kajillion articles aren't enough of a reminder, Apple officially starts taking pre-orders for the iPad starting March 12. Hey, that's today! To pre-order, you can either visit Apple's online store or reserve the device for pickup at an Apple retail store. Then it's time to play the waiting game until the Wi-Fi versions are officially released on April 3. (For the Wi-Fi+3G versions, you'll have to wait a wee bit longer.) For more information, visit our Apple iPad Central section. Photo © Apple iPad Available for Pre-Order Starting Today originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, March 12th, 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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Omniphone to Use Dolby Laboratories' Cloud Music Format Omniphone, which provides cloud-based music services for major consumer electronics vendors, has annouced that it has struck a deal with Dolby Laboratories to use its new Dolby Pulse audio format. Boasting up to 4 times more bandwidth and data rate efficiency compared to other file formats, Dolby Pulse is a multi-platform file format especially suited for music delivery from the 'cloud'. If you're not familiar with this buzzword, then it's simply just another term to describe Internet-based solutions. In the case of Dolby Pulse, this file format is particularly suited for delivering streaming music to mobile devices, and other consumer electronics that use streaming audio -- home computers, in-home or in-car devices that use digital music services are examples.
Omniphone intend to use the software that Dolby Laboratories supply (Dolby Media Generator) to encode their entire music catalog that currently contains over 6.5 million tracks. Looking at the inner-workings of Dolby Pulse, the file format is basically the same as the HE-AAC (High Efficiency AAC) format, but differs by the integration of Dolby metadata -- this ensures the quality and consistency of the broadcast is maintained. Kevin Yeaman, who is the president and CEO of Dolby Laboratories said, "As digital content services and networked devices become part of our day-to-day lives, the ability to deliver digital content in the most efficient file format becomes increasingly important." So far this is the second article this year concerning new music formats --will this year see the largest change in how digital music services deliver audio? Related Articles:
Omniphone to Use Dolby Laboratories' Cloud Music Format originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 07:36:14.
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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.
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