MP3 Headlines & News for March 23, 2010

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:

• Digital Music News: Will the new MusicDNA format be MP3s nemesis?
• Free streaming music services
• Digital music service comparison chart

Add to Technorati Favorites

Omniphone to Use Dolby Laboratories' Cloud Music Format originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 07:36:14.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Among the many eReaders I saw at this year's Consumer Electronic Show, one of the devices that stood out was Samsung's slide out eReader — largely due to its interesting design.

At the time, the device was supposed to be a prototype, although it looks like the same eReader was recently shown at New York's Time Warner Center.

According to PC World, Samsung also announced a deal with Barnes & Noble for eReader content. That would be the same Barnes & Noble that offers its own eReader, the Nook, although the company apparently doesn't see any conflict in inking deals with rival eReader makers.

"We want to enable e-reading everywhere," said B&N executive vice president of e-commerce operations, Kevin Frain.

In short any device that brings extra business to the B&N online store is more than welcome to do so. B&N is the second content provider announced by Samsung, which also made a deal with Google Books previously.

Anywho, Samsung's $299 slide-out eReader features a 6-inch E Ink display and is compatible with PDF, EPUB and TEXT files. It also throws in a MicroSD slot on top of its internal memory, a magnetic resonance stylus, and wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It even has built-in speakers.

No word yet on an actual drop date, although a release appears to be imminent.

Photo by Jason Hidalgo

Barnes & Noble, Samsung Announce eReader Partnership originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 04:29:33.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

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.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

We've documented the ongoing saga of Spring Design's Alex eReader on this site for some time now.

But after much drama, Spring Design has finally started accepting pre-orders for the Alex , with initial orders shipping on April 14.

For the uninitiated, the Alex features an interface similar to Barnes & Noble's Nook, which has a black-and-white eReader screen at the top and a smaller, colored touchscreen at the bottom. In fact, it was apparently so similar that Spring Design sued B&N for it (and decided to partner with Borders instead).

But while the Nook has enjoyed a sizable head start, delays have knocked back the Alex right smack in the middle of Apple's two-tiered launch for its iPad. As such, how the Alex does during launch would likely serve as a barometer for other new eReaders as far as the iPad's potential impact on their sales.

In the meantime, a Spring Design spokesperson said they will have media loaner units available for yours truly to try in about a month or so. Expect a full review of the device at that time.

For more on eReaders, check out our roundup of today's popular eReaders and the eReaders of CES.

Photo © Spring Design

Alex eReader Available for Pre-order; Ships April 14 originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 23:15:13.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Plastic Logic's high-profile -- and high-priced -- QUE eReader apparently won't be launching on cue as the company has delayed its release.

Media outlets such as Wired.com are reporting that the QUE's release has been pushed back to sometime this summer as Plastic Logic attempts to "fine tune" the product. The QUE was originally slated for an April release, which incidentally is right after the launch of the iPad Wi-Fi and around the same time as the launch of the iPad Wi-Fi+3G.

Speaking of yet another coincidence, the QUE also comes with a Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi+3G version, just like the iPad. But the QUE actually starts out higher, with its 4GB Wi-Fi-only model priced at $649 and its higher-end 8GB model costing $799. In comparison, the Wi-Fi iPad starts out $499 for a 16GB version while the Wi-Fi+3G version starts out at $629.

Now while the iPad certainly has its share of issues, it's certainly looking like the better option on paper as far as value and features. As such, it'll be interesting to see what tweaks Plastic Logic will cook up during the extra time it takes to fine tune its product.

Photo © Plastic Logic

Plastic Logic's QUE eReader Delayed originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 23:11:26.

Permalink | Comment | Email this