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MP3 Player News & Headlines
The Strangest iPod Accessory Ever?
Thanko has introduced a bizarre iPod box speaker that may be the strangest iPoc accessory ever.
Apple's iTunes Store Serves up 10 Billionth Song
(PC World)
PC World - Apple's iTunes Store hit a landmark on Wednesday with the download of its 10 billionth song.
Apple Intros 8GB iPod nano Red
Apple today announced a new 8GB model of the iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. The new 8GB iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition holds up to 2,000 songs and is available for $249, joining the 4GB model priced at $199.
New TiVo DVRs Blend TV and Internet Viewing
(NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - TiVo on Tuesday set out to reinvent itself with DVRs that blend television and Internet viewing experiences. The TiVo Premiere and TV Premiere XL combine access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music.
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.
NAMM Update: Numark Announces HDX HD/CD/MP3 player
Numark announced the HDX, a tabletop HD/CD/MP3 player with an high torque, motorized 12-inch platter.
New iPod shuffle Available Worldwide This Friday
Nearly half the size of the original, the new iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce and features a minimal aluminum design with a built-in clip, making it the most wearable iPod ever.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Apple to Sell iPad at Best Buy, Other Locations Looks like Apple isn't planning to fly solo when it comes to iPad sales. Like Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in Top Gun, Apple has apparently told Best Buy that it can be its wingman anytime when it comes to selling the iPad. As long as they don't start playing volleyball with shortened nets at the beach, then everything's still kosher... The comments were made by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook at the Goldman Sachs annual tech conference in San Francisco, according to media outlets such as Computerworld and AppleInsider. Cook also said that Apple plans to expand to more retailers in the future. For more info, check out our article on iPad availability and pricing. Photo © Apple Apple to Sell iPad at Best Buy, Other Locations originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 01:41:17.
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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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.
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.
Nintendo Gets on eReader Bandwagon Some people scoffed when Nintendo first announced its ginormous DSi XL. But all that extra real estate apparently comes with at least one benefit: better readability. This, um, "power up" apparently isn't lost on Nintendo, which will be releasing a DS eBook title on June 14, according to BusinessWeek. Called "100 Classic Books," the title will retail for $19.99 and put content in your DS that even your grandmother will love — or at least recognize. The eBooks should be especially fitting with the larger DSi XL, which will be released in the U.S. on March 28 for $189.99. Still, it's important to note that while the DSi XL screen looks particularly hulking compared to the old DS "phat," DS Lite and DSi, it's still relatively piddly compared to even the smaller dedicated eReaders. But hey, if people actually use an iPhone as an eReader, then there should be no reason why the same thing can be done with the DS, right? Anywho, get ready to start squinting in about four months. (For more info about the Nintendo DS, check out About.com's DS site.) Photo © Nintendo Nintendo Gets on eReader Bandwagon originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 00:01:28.
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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