September 30, 2005
Nokia's ace new music phone
We were going to do a long post about Nokia’s new music phone the 3250, but ShinyShiny got there first. Suffice to say that it looks great, sports a really cool twisty design that makes it easy to use both the music player and the camera, features a cool two mega pixel camera and has one Gigabyte of memory – which mobile spotters will tell you is twice as much as the Motorola/Apple ROKR and the Sony Ericsson W800i Walkman phone. It also has a neat 262k colour screen, Bluetooth and an FM radio. Music playback is ten hours per charge and users drag and drop tracks on to the device (hurrah).
Doh! That’s almost a long post. Over to your Sony Ericsson and Motorola/ Apple…
06:03 AM in Cell Phones, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
September 22, 2005
Belkin Prepares To Release The TuneFM
Our friends at iPodStudio.com are reporting that iPod accessory company, BELKIN, is about to release a new device known as the TuneFM.
TuneFM is a FM Transmitter that allows you to listen to music on your iPod via any FM stereo receiver.
Belkin explains: “Proximity switches give you total control at the touch of your fingertips, and the LED display indicates FM frequency and memory preset, eliminating the need to use the iPod interface for frequency selection; because the TuneFM is powered by the iPod no batteries are required.”
No price info is available at this point.
06:05 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
September 13, 2005
375 tunes in your pocket
Would you believe it if we told you a market research group polled 1,062 owners of portable audio devices and found that on average each person was only carrying around 375 songs in their pocket? Granted, the study found that half the users polled were carrying devices only capable of playing 100 or fewer songs (i.e. >512MB capacities)—but the interesting bit was that the iPod users polled only had 504 songs loaded onto their players on average, compared to the 246 songs of non-iPod owners. Without needlessly getting too much into the iPod shuffle’s market penetration and all that, we think it sounds like they either caught a group of early sub-10GB iPod users, or some particularly lazy lazies who didn’t feel like making the most of that capacity. Or maybe they’re just jamming to some serious 25-minute heavy psych jams, guess we’ll never know.
06:05 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
September 09, 2005
Bamboo iPod Shuffle Cases
This is probably the most original iPod case I have yet to see. A handmade bamboo case produced in Japan may be the latest contemporary trend. Available in Kuro, Tennen and Aka, the cases are said to be available on Sept 6th. Produced by Temas Design, the cases will be selling for 6,000 Yen.
06:01 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players | Permalink
June 27, 2005
Sony XDR-M1 DAB FM WALKMAN
People are saying that terrestrial radio is dead, but don’t believe them. They’re crazy and they smell. DAB—a digital radio standard popular with people “in other countries,” if we’re to believe the media—is very cool and could possibly improve our general listening experience. However, it is not readily available here yet. That said, Sony has introduced a line of portable DAB players including the XDR-M1.
This digital radio has 40 preset stations and an FM tuner in areas that don’t have DAB reception. Now, if they could give us DAB over here instead of non-stop commercials for Trimspa, perhaps I’d turn on my radio every once in a while.
06:46 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
June 20, 2005
Three New iRiver Players: U10, T20 and T30
iRiver (ReignCom) showed at a launch event in Korea three new portable media players. Photos and specifications have been posted on the misticriver discussion board. The most interesting one is the new iRiver U10, which sports a cool thumb interface.
iRiver calls its new user interface D-Click. The buttons are on the borders of the screen. Only the border area is touch sensitive.
The iRiver U10 supports MP4 video, Macromedia Flash, MP3, WMA, OGG and ASF music playback. The U10 has a 2.2" QVGA (320x240) TFT screen.
Besides the nice look the iRiver U10 also features FM-Tuner, Voice recorder, Photo album, txt viewer, direct encoding and games. The iRiver U10 will come in 512MB and 1GB storage configurations.
No word yet when the U10 will be available. It looks like a winner.
06:28 AM in MP3 players, Music | Permalink
May 13, 2005
Sony Direct DVD Camcorder, the DCR-DVD7E
Sony has launched their new DVD camcorder which features an odd circular design and direct DVD recording. The DCR-DVD7E records your footage straight to a DVD disc so you can instantly watch the footage on your DVD player.
The DVD7E will feature a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lense with 10x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. DVD formats include DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW. No release dates indicated, but expect to the new camcorder to set you back approximately $1200.
06:08 AM in Digital Cameras, Gadgets, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
May 10, 2005
The best digital music players
It might be easy to forget that there are companies besides Apple Computer that make portable digital-music players. In fact, the market for portable players, which initially used flash memory instead of hard drives, was born way back in 1998.
FORBES Best MP3 players
• Zen Nano Plus Compare Price
• iPod Shuffle Compare Price
• iFP-799
• Rave MP Sport AMP: 1.0 Compare Price
• Rio Forge Sport Compare Price
06:09 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
May 05, 2005
MPIO-one micro media player
I don't know how practical the MPIO-one is, considering it's a movie player with a ONE inch screen, but it certainly solves the problem of
portable media players being too bulky to really carry around easily. It's flash memory so it's extremely lightweight, just over an ounce, but storage only goes up to 1 GB. The MPIO-one can play mp3 and wma
files as well as jpeg images and text. Of course you'll go blind trying to see anything on the screen, but it can be done. The MPIO-one, unlike so many other media players actually comes with software that will convert many types of video files (ASF, AVI, MPEG, WMV) into an MPEG-4 file that's playable on the device.
I saw lots of movie players of this size at CES in January, and while I was predictably blown away by their tiny size, they weren't exactly very useful. I am pretty skeptical about anybody ever getting the portable movie player right because I'm not sure there's a need. If you've got time to painstakingly convert video at home, you've got time to watch America's Next Top Model (not that I do). I latched on to the idea quickly and had an Archos Multimedia Jukebox with a 2 inch screen several years ago and watched half a season of Buffy on it, but because the battery life was so bad, I had to do it while the thing was plugged in, which, of course, defeats the purpose of having a portable. My niece has one of the newer players and while the battery life is a little better, rarely will it stay alive long enough to let you watch an entire feature-length movie.
MPIO-one will be available in May in Japan, no announcements for the rest of the world yet.
06:09 AM in Digital Cameras, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
April 18, 2005
Omisys 128MB USB MP3 Player for $34
PC Micro Store offers the Omisys 128MB USB MP3 Player for $34. With shipping starting at $1, that's the lowest total price we could find by $6. Features include a two-line LCD with ID3 tag support and both MP3 and WMA support.
06:21 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
EWT950 Wireless FM Transmitter for $10 shipped
Surplus Computers still offers the Emerson EWT950 Wireless FM Transmitter for $9.99. With free shipping, it's among the least expensive FM transmitters we've seen. Of note, the Griffin iTrip and iTrip mini FM Transmitters are still $24 each at Amazon.com.
06:19 AM in Apple iPod, Gadgets, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
April 11, 2005
ITmedia checks out Panasonic’ SV-SD90 and SV-SD100v
06:00 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
April 07, 2005
Dorothy Parker's iPod Shuffle range
So the latest influence on iPod accessory designs is err Dorothy Parker… Looking like an art-deco refugee from the Algonquin Hotel in New York in the 1920s the DecoDock
is basically a standard station for the iPod Shuffle. The only key difference is that its retro white columns illuminate when the iPod Shuffle is plugged in. It’ll be available in the US shortly for both Mac and PC owners at the pretty reasonable price of $28. Read.
06:00 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
April 04, 2005
Cowon's personal media player
Here at TD we like to feel we have a special relationship with Korean manufacturer Cowon as we were first to spot its fantastic super slim iAudio M3 hard disk audio player at CES way back in 2004. So we are very excited by the news that the company is now sizing up the personal media player market too with the impending launch of the A2.
From the look of the player and its line up of features it sounds as if the company has once again got it spot on. The A2 will play just about everything; including MP3, WMA, Ogg and WAV audio, DivX and WMV
video and JPEG, GIF and BMP image files. It has striking looking white and grey casing, boasts a four inch widescreen (16:9) monitor, is available with a 20, 40 or 60 Gigabyte hard disk and sports an input that enable it to record directly from a TV. The company's traditional UK distributors reckon it will land here in the summer. Can’t wait.
06:06 AM in Gadgets, MP3 players, Music, News | Permalink
April 01, 2005
Pogo sticks out AM/FM recorder*
Remember when you used to tape the Top 40 on your portable cassette deck in deathly silence so you didn't get the noise of granny coughing when playing back Kajagoogoo's Too Shy. These days it's all so much simpler. And don't have to buy one of those ridiculous looking Bug digital radios to be able to do it. American firm PoGo! Products (yes they really do have an exclamation mark in their name - how w***y is that!!) has just announced an AM/FM radio recorder called Radio YourWay LX in 128Mb and 512 Mb versions.
* That's a pun for our UK readers. Not sure if you got Pogo sticks over the pond
The US press release bangs on about being able to record Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or the James Brown Sports Show. Now I have no idea who these people are, though I'm guessing that it's not the same James Brown - the old sex machine doesn't look particularly sporty to me.
But I'm sure there's nothing stopping you buying the product to record Tony Blackburn, Jonathan Ross and Terry Wogan - though of course you shouldn't record the music as you could be banged up for copyright infringement, probably. The Radio YourWay LX comes with built-in MP3/WMA player, voice recorder and direct MP3 recording. Users can listen to live or recorded broadcasts through the built in speaker or headphones provided.
The RadioYourWay LX costs from just $199 ($199) - that's about £2.20 at the current exchange rate isn't it? The 512Mb version is $249.
Pogo!Products
Get more info.
Compare price.
06:04 AM in MP3 players, Music | Permalink
March 31, 2005
Sharper Image iPod Travel Soother
Sharper Image has come up with this Travel Soother that will work with your iPod. The Radio Alarm Clock will connect to iPods and other players, supplying an external speaker for you to listen to your music files out loud - although just how good the sound quality is going to be from one speaker remains to be heard. Not only that, the Travel Soother also has a built in Sound Soother which basically plays calming sounds to drown out noises that might disturb you. Sounds include things called "Fireside," "City" and "Wind Chimes." There's an FM/AM radio with a choice of alarm sounds with 6 presets for FM and 6 for AM. Not quite sure what to make of this, but if you're looking for some external speakers for your music player, it might make a decent solution - with the added benefit of the extra features.
06:07 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
March 04, 2005
Tatung's Elio iPod Photo alternative
We're trying to wean ourselves off referring to everything as an iPod "killer" since we - and everyone else - have been saying that with alarming regularity for many months, and it's now abundantly clear that the iPod family is far from being killed. But Tatung's elio player at least adds another option to the mix. The 20GB hard disk player is a photo jukebox that will set you back £230. The 2.2-inch screen displays 65,000 colours and the player supports MP3, WMA, and WAV music files and JPEG photos. Considering the 30GB iPod Photo costs just £19 more at £249, this isn't exactly a budget alternative, but it does at least offer direct transfer of images from digital cameras via a USB connection as well as an SD memory card reader.
06:22 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
March 03, 2005
Bluetooth stereo headset on sale
Shoppers at the the Carphone Warehouse will be able to grab themselves a pair of Bluetooth headphones as of tomorrow (1 March) in the form of BlueShark Systems' Sonorix headset. The headphones, which cost £175, aren't just able to direct music wirelessly from a PC to your ear, they can also play back MP3 music files thanks to the in-built 128MB of flash memory. The Bluetooth audio player also lets you make wireless phone calls, with the side mic picking up your every word. The headset looks reasonably small to us, and the inclusion of a charging dock and a USB Bluetooth dongle for adding wireless to your computer, makes the price
far easier to stomach.
06:20 AM in Gadgets, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
March 02, 2005
JVC's headphone selection
JVC has been taking the trouble to show us some of its new gadgets for the coming year. These Gumy earphones weren't the most top spec things on offer, but they certainly look nice and bright and that's good enough
for us. The idea behind the soft touch earbuds is that they'll be on point of sale displays in shops so that people will hopefully pick up a pair on a whim. Since they only cost around £3 this seems highly likely
to us. We've got a pair and they do the job nicely. Also on show were these HA-E200 headphones which will set you back a few quid more.
06:17 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
February 25, 2005
Sony planning another stab at the "iPod Killer"
A report on the Register suggests that Sony's set to try again with the grabbing of Apple's pie, plotting the launch of a portable music player to end all iPods. The company's president, Kunitake Ando, said that the new player, planned for the end of this year, will be "much more competitive than the iPod". Saddened by the loss of the top slot, Sony is hoping that an agressive plan will enough to win back its number one position. The key to Sony's success is simple: make a music player that's as easy to use as the iPod and it can beat Apple. This means developing new software that makes Sony's Walkman products more straightforward to use (preferably so that the app doesn't keep making my laptop cry, thanks Sony). The company has already gone some way to seeing the error of its ways by adding native MP3 support to its players on top of its own ATRAC format. Now it's planning on doing the same for its MiniDisc players, apparently. Speculation that Sony might one day buy up Apple has been one of life's constants over the years, but Ando attempted to put those rumours to bed, saying that Apple is now just too expensive to acquire.
06:35 AM in Apple iPod, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
February 11, 2005
Creative Labs Nomad Juke Box Zen Xtra 30GB MP3 Player
Featuring a large, hi-res, blue backlit LCD, the NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra builds on the industry-leading music features of the NOMAD Jukebox Zen product line. Simply transfer all your music into the player with Creative MediaSource™ or the new NOMAD Explorer™ using ultra fast USB2.0, press the play button and get set to enjoy high-fidelity music. With advanced features such as Quick Scroller Navigation, Find, Playlist Creation and automatic ID3 tag categorization, managing and organizing your music will be a breeze
And the NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra doubles up as an external hard drive for storing all your photos, documents and other data files. Simply open NOMAD Explorer (integrated into Microsoft® Windows® Explorer) and drag and drop data files into the data folder or music files into the music library. The Zen Xtra also is priced at up to 30% less than the Apple iPod!
06:15 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
Podwave iPod Portable Speakers
To share your sounds anytime, anywhere- PODWAVE tiny, portable, battery-operated stereo speakers
The Podwave is the ultra-portable, battery operated mini stereo system for your iPod. Enjoy your iPod music without headsets or large wired external speakers. Share music with friends anywhere, anytime. 500mW power ouput per channel delivers exceptional stereo sound. An On/off switch saves battery life while unit is not in use and a single AA battery provides up to 8 hours of continuous use. The Podwave works with iPod, iPod Mini or any audio players with a 3.5mm jack.
06:09 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
January 27, 2005
iTech XFM DAB Radio
We surely likes the iTech XFM DAB radio, a pleasant-looking mantis-headed radio with lots of features, including 10-minute live rewind and MP3
playback from SD/MMC flash memory cards. If it's got any shortcoming, it would be the 5 D-cell batteries it takes to power it off the wall—you'd be better off keeping it on mains power permanently.
Otherwise, though, for £130, it sounds like a keeper.
06:18 AM in Gadgets, MP3 players, Music | Permalink
January 26, 2005
MP3 Watch
Gadgets.co.uk is selling this MP3 playing watch to delight and entertain. The watch doesn't appear to have a name - unless you count MP3 Watch - but it's
capable of playing MP3 and WMA files. With 128MB of memory you might think it's not worth it, but being able to record your voice is an added bonus and it should provide enough battery life for 6 hours music
playback. We're still not convinced that we want to be seen wearing headphones plugged into our plastic watch, but for those that quite fancy the idea, this player can be had for £100.
06:14 AM in Gadgets, MP3 players, Music, Watches | Permalink
December 16, 2004
H2O Audio SV-iMini Reviewed
Sounds like the H2O Audio SV-iMini, the $150 underwater housing for Apple's iPod mini isn't worth dropping the money. The AP's Ron Harris says it works well to make the mini splash resistant, but a couple of dunkings into shallow water caused a few drops of water to make it through the casing and onto the player. Bummer.
REVIEW: Waterproof IPod Housing All Wete [AP]
06:46 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
November 26, 2004
IRiver's N10 goes up to 1GB
IRiver's N10 necklace music player has just been bumped up to 1GB over in Korea. The mugger-friendly jewellery MP3 player is already out in the UK, so we're expecting the 1GB version will reach us pretty soon as well. We've had one of the 256MB models in to have a go with and were pleasantly surprised. It's nice looking, small and does a pretty good job of pretending to be a pendant - although you'd have to be into big, bold, chunky jewellery if you wanted wear it just as a necklace.
Still, we're not quite convinced that people will be sporting these things as a fashion accessory. Then again, what do we know? We write about technology, not fashion.
06:16 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
November 23, 2004
Review of Motorola’s 5GB M500 MP3 player
Nah, we didn’t ever expect Motorola do a line of MP3 players, either, which is why it was such a surprise when we spotted two models, the 5GB M500 and 256MB M25 at their press event back in June. It took a few months, but both players are just coming out and we managed to get our hands on the M500 for a quick review.
06:14 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
November 08, 2004
Lexar two new flash-based MP3 players
Lexar has added two new flash-based MP3 players to their product line. The LDP-600 offers a built-in FM radio transmitter and comes in capacities of 256MB and 512MB with an extra 1GB via an SD card slot.
The LDP-400 is a compact MP3 player that comes in 128MB or 256MB sizes and will run for 12 hours on a single AAA battery. They seem quite small for players to be released this time of year, however adding the SD slot on the LDP-600 may allow it to make a place in the market. No prices on either player have been announced by Lexar, but they are already showing up allover retailers online for pre-order.
06:38 AM in MP3 players | Permalink
