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MP3 Player News & Headlines
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.
10 Billion Songs Sold by Apple's iTunes Store
(NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - The number-crunchers at Apple aren't counting just profits these days. Less than two months after it announced three billion applications had been downloaded from its App Store, the computer giant boasted Thursday that its iTunes Store has sold its 10 billionth song.
After 10 Billion Songs, What's iTunes' Encore?
(PC World)
PC World - Apple's iTunes Store reached a major milestone this week when it delivered its 10 billionth song, an event that highlights the great success of Cupertino's digital-download service.
How they work: FreeAllMusic and Guvera
(AP)
AP - The hardest part about both FreeAllMusic.com and Guvera.com is clearing the waiting list to get invited to join. After that, there are two different ways of finding songs to download.
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.
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.
EMI files "Down Under" royalties appeal
(Reuters)
Reuters - Record company EMI will appeal against a court ruling that Australian Grammy-award winning band Men at Work stole a section of the famous 1980s hit, "Down Under," from a popular folk song.
SpeckTone Retro Stereo Speaker System for iPod
The SpeckTone Retro is one of the few iPod accessories that has caught our eyes recently. The fifties look of the all-wood speaker cabinet is finished with a high-gloss lacquered piano finish, and is a surprisingly nice complement to the modern look of iPods.
MP3 Tech Commentary
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.
Will The New MusicDNA Format be MP3's Nemesis? A new music format called, MusicDNA, has been developed that could potentially replace the ageing MP3 format. Bach Technology, who co-developed MusicDNA with the Fraunhofer Institute of Digital Media Technologies (IDMT), say the new format will provide the user with a far richer media experience when compared to standard audio formats. The new technology makes use of an enhanced set of metadata tags to increase a user's interactive experience. Some examples of how these tags could benefit a consumer are: accessing the artist/band's latest videos; following links to related blogs; discovering related music on media-orientated services and social networks, etc. For a long time now, the music industry has been trying different methods to reduce online music piracy -- the most notable being (the almost defunct) DRM technology that prevents files from being copied, shared, etc. The problem with this however was it often restricted the user so much that even major music services like iTunes eventually phased it out. However, this new format potentially offers the consumer a great deal more entertainment for their money than just music. This could be just what the music industry needs to try to increase sales and reduce online piracy via file sharing networks. The big question now is, will the new MusicDNA format 'persuade' consumers to migrate from the trusted MP3 format with the promise of an enhanced multimedia experience? Related Articles:
Will The New MusicDNA Format be MP3's Nemesis? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 09:00:30.
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Does The New Apple iPad Make a Great Portable Music Player? Since the official iPad announcement from Apple last Wednesday (Jan. 27), there's been a lot of talk in the blogsphere and gadget world about its features. According to an article from AppleInsider, the Apple iPad can play music for up to 6 days if you turn the screen off -- not ideal when browsing your music library! So, how about its other features? Does it have the potential for being a portable device that you can use for your digital music collection? An article from CNET, highlights deficiencies in the iPad that impact on its capabilities for being a great portable music player. For one, the iPad runs a version of the iPhone OS and not Mac OS, so it isn't capable of running the full version of iTunes. Instead, it acts just like an iPod or iPhone which you have to connect to your computer. CNET's article points out that wireless sync should have been a 'no brainer' when dealing with music files stored on your home network. Another downside according to the article was poor music playback via the built-in speakers. So, in light of these reported deficiencies, you might want to hold on to your portable music player a while longer before trading it in for a shiny new iPad. Image Courtesy of Apple. Related Articles:
Many have pointed out the advantages that the iPad has to offer when performing visual tasks such as: surfing the Web; reading e-books; writing email; and watching videos, but is it any good for listening to digital music?
Does The New Apple iPad Make a Great Portable Music Player? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 09:00:17.
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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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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.
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.
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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