Archive for the ‘MP3 Players’ Category
The newest line of Sony Walkman’s have hit the New Zealand website, giving us a sneak preview of what’s to come. The three new models (NWZ-E435, NWZ-E436, and NWZ-E438) are all equipped with a 2 inch QVGA LCD screen, FM tuner, and are capable of playing MP3, AAC, WMA, and Linear PCM formats. The device itself is rather small, maxing out at 8.5mm with a total weight of 50g and comes in three different sizes: 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB.
Besides the NWZ-E438 coming in only black, you can have your pick of color variations for the new Sony Walkman line to give your device a bit more of a personalized/customized feel to it. As is normal with the Sony Walkman line, these PMP’s work very well with both Windows Media Player and iTunes, allowing you to easily drag and drop your files onto the device.
No final word has been issued regarding prices and release date as of yet.
It’s only been one short month since the launch of the iTunes App Store adn we’re already seeing that the projected number of downloades (including free and paid apps) have reached over 60 million. That figure also comes with an estimation that Apple has earned over $30 million from the sale of iPhone and iPod Touch apps in this short period of time. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs felt encouraged enough by these figures to say that “[the app store] will be a $1 billion marketplace at some point in time.”.
Jobs has high hopes of future apps being the customization that people need to make their phone unique enough to be their own in the same fashion that newer models and different physical styles had done for past phones. Only time will tell if this theory will catch on.
Just like the Nintendo DS, the iPod tends to be dressed to commemorate or simply take advantage of people willing to buy something just because of it’s pretty new exterior. So adding to the line up of Harry Potter, Madonna, and Tony Hawk, we can now safely exhale as the 90210 iPod nano is now available. The CBS store is apparently the only place that you can buy this 8GB nano for $269. There aren’t a ton of them, so you better act fast if you’re interested!
The color choices are black, pink, green, blue, or silver and they each include up to a 30 character engraving on the back.
I’m just waiting for the Get Smart iPhone!
Itunes competitor and music subscription service, Rhapsody has shoveled a little more dirt on the coffin of DRM.
DRM, for those who don’t know, is what prevents you from actually owning the iTunes tracks you pay for – which is totally awesome, by the way.
Well Rhapsody has just launched a new version of its service that is DRM-free. Tracks run the standard $.99/song and albums cost $9.99. But wait, there’s more! The first 100,000 sign-ups before July 4 get an album for free. Getting a sweet deal and sticking it to the man? Sign me up.
If you’ve got $400 to spend and you’ve already purchased your Eee PC and a PS3, then perhaps you’d be interested in the Sony Rolly. What apparently is the most shortsighted and expensive gadget to hit the shelves since gas prices were under $3 per gallon, this 2GB MP3 player boasts one unique ability.
IT CAN DANCE.
Apparently, it has it’s own unique choreography software installed with it to give you some custom dance moves depending on the song playing. Don’t expect this device to serve any other purpose though, as it’s missing a headphone jack and it also has less storage space then your cellphone probably does.
Microsoft has just announced that they will be releasing a limited edition Joy Division Zune player over the summer. There has been no official word on exactly what the Joy Division Zune will look like, but it is expected to have a design based off of the band’s Unknown Pleasures album.
The Joy Division Zune is scheduled to be released somewhere between June 5th and June 10th of this year so that the player will be available around the same time as the upcoming DVD documentary about the band that is expected to release on June 10th.
No one likes paying taxes so it is pretty much a given that most people are not going to appreciate paying taxes on digital products such as music from iTunes or books from eBooks or Borders. Unfortunately, it appears that if a group of lawmakers get their way, those tax-free digital downloads from eBooks and iTunes may not be tax-free much longer. In fact, due to the actions of a number of state politicians, many states have started to adopt new bills placing taxes on any digital goods sold to individuals within the state.
These bills have been appearing for some time now, but to date only the bills in Iowa and California have actually been defeated so it may not be long before almost every state puts these taxes into effect.
Rumors surrounding the next generation of iPhones to hit the shelves this year, have been flying around like crazy. Unfortunately,the only solid evidence anyone can confirm as of yet is that the new model will in fact be a 3G iPhone. Many individuals within the business world have publicly weighed in on their opinion on what else the phone will carry, the price, sizes, and additional features, but none have any solid evidence.
It does seem reasonable, however, that the new 3G iPhone will launch around the same time that the original did, and that the EDGE iPhones will receive a permanent price cut before being phased out. Looks like we’ll have to wait and find out.
Source: ArsTechnica
If you’ve ever bought an audio or video product from Best Buy or Circuit City, you’ve most likely been attacked by associates who relentlessly attempt to sell you Monster equipment. Personally, I don’t notice a huge deal of difference between Monster and other products and think they’re actually a huge gimmick. So when I saw the iSoniCast Wireless Audio Bridge I actually laughed out loud.
For $100 you get a two part device that will allow you to do the same thing you’ve been doing with your FM Transmitter all these years, but Monster makes it! You’ll probably get a little bit of a better sound, but be realistic, if this is how you’re playing MP3’s you don’t care that much about the small improvement.
I’ve had my fair share of useless equipment pass through my hands over the years, especially gimmicky speaker systems. So when I received my review copy of the SurroundXi from Rapha, I instantly stereo typed the little battery powered tube speaker system as another POS that’d I’d surely be disappointed with. Boy was I wrong!
The device has a USB input that’s meant to take advantage of devices like thumb drives and iPod Shuffles, where you just plug them in an play the music directly off it. The sound volume is amazing and with it’s 4 AAA batteries or power supply, you’ll get at least 4 hours out of the device.
At a store price as high as $39.99 at K-Mart and Target, it’s a bit steep, but check out what you can grab it for on Ebay.
Caveat Emptor - The device is not capable of directly interfacing with anything besides usb input or line in. The other pictures lie.