MP3 Music News

2007-01-30T04:56:00.000-08:00

Sophisticated thieves bugging chip and PIN machines with mp3 players

Sophisticated criminal gangs are finding ways to beat the chip and PIN security regime, including bugging cash machines with MP3 players, to bring in millions of pounds. One team of hackers got away with money and goods worth more than 200,000 after using the tiny devices to tap in to transactions on free-standing cash machines. They then used the information to make dozens of cloned cards that were capable of being used in some cash machines and tills, and to make internet purchases. Details emerged as Britain's banks and local councils revealed plans to put exclusion zones around street cash machines to prevent criminals peering over the shoulders of users. Effectively a privacy box is marked on the pavement and people are urged to wait until this is clear before they use the machine.

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Cowell snubs MP3 players

X Factor judge Simon Cowell has reportedly admitted that he has no interest in iPods and he no longer listens to music at home. The 47-year-old admitted that he doesn't have the first idea how to even work an MP3 player. He said: "I don't know how to work a computer or an MP3 or what do you call them? An iPod. I do not want to know. "The idea of auditions for 14 hours, listening to people murder Stevie Wonder, then putting on my iPod. No! I can't do it!" Cowell claims that he can happily spend weeks not listening to music and he much prefers watching TV. He added: "Guys reach a point in our lives when we prefer TV to music. If you work at a fish-and-chip shop, you're not going to eat fish and chips at night." Jan 21: American Idol 'cruelty' criticised Nov 20, 2006: Cowell 'turns down' Extras .

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Samsung launches i7 - rotating digital camera with MP3 player and ...

Alongside the conventional NV11, Samsung has launched the feature-packed i7, which squeezes a 7 megapixel camera with rotating screen, MP3 player and travel guide into a single slimline device. The 7 megapixel i7 with 3x optical zoom features a 3-inch touch screen LCD which rotates through 180 degrees, allowing you to switch quickly between features. With the LCD in neutral (0 degrees) you can access your music through the integrated MP3 player. With the LCD rotated to 90 degrees, you can watch videos with the Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) function. And turned a full 180 degrees, you can take photos and capture MPEG-4 SVGA quality movies. And there's the Tour Guide function, providing quick access to information about places in over 4,000 regions in 30 countries, with updates available via the net.

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2007-01-29T04:52:00.000-08:00

Samsung Launches 'Music Store' To Battle iTunes

After eons of producing (increasingly decent) MP3 players Samsung has announced it is finally launching its own online digital music store. Called ingeniously Samsung Media Studio' it will go live next month with 2.6m tracks available from day one. As expected, Samsung has made a concerted effort to undercut Apples ubiquitous iTunes by offering individual tracks from just 79p while albums will also be provided as well as unlimited downloads for a 15 monthly subscription. The launch will coincide with the release of Sammys latest pair of players: the K3 a speaker-less K5 of ultra slinky proportions and the T9B, a Bluetooth version of the D600 style influenced T9. All Sammy players will now ship with a seven day free trial of the Media Studio. Interestingly, Samsung says it will allow users to burn their downloaded tracks to CD as well as transfer them to their MP3 players though it wasnt made clear whether other branded players will be able to access the store.

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JVC Product Demo 2007: EX-A4DB Wood Cone Speaker sound system

JVC is very proud of its wood cone speakers, which are made using cherry wood that's been drowned in Saké to make it supple. Yes, you did read that right. They really did dunk wood in some booze to make speakers. Luckily, they evaded ridicule thanks to the sound quality that the speakers produce, which is very nice indeed. This particular model is launching in the UK around October time, and there's no current pricing info. The micro CD system plays MP3 and other audio files and comes with a technology called K2 Sound Enhancement, which upscales your compressed MP3 files to improve the sound quality. There's also a DAB tuner so you can listen to digital radio. Came straight to this page? Visit www.ShinyShiny.tv for all the latest news. .

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WWE Royal Rumble Audio Roundtable: Keller, Mitchell, Mc Neill ...

Torch VIP Members, click on the red VIP Audio Updates button above to access the post-WWE Royal Rumble PPV Audio Roundtable with Torch editor Wade Keller and Torch columnists Bruce Mitchell and Pat McNeill. This update is available in two formats: (1) In MP3 format for your MP3 player (such as an iPod) or o burn to a CD and listen to it in the car or on a portable CD player. (2) Also "smooth streaming" so even people with dial-up internet connections should be able to listen to it with just a click of the button without any buffering delays or starts and stops. It also works equally well on PCs and Macs in either format. -For info about the Torch VIP/Newsletter Membership which includes a VIP website password, Audio Update access, VIP Email Express, and home delivery of the print copy and online access to the Torch Newsletter: Torch Full VIP/Newsletter Subscription Info.

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2007-01-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

Carol Stark: Library getting new read on teens w/ Audio MP3 editor ...

Money obtained through a local trust as well as a state grant is being used to develop a true teen section at the Joplin Public Library. Boatright is putting together a teen advisory board, and already has seven applications. She hopes to attract 15 to 20 teens who will be willing to attend monthly meetings and help with anything from choosing some of the books that go into the section to selecting paint colors for the walls. Boatright's challenge is going to be a tough one, and she already realizes that. She said it's not because teens don't read. According to a 2005 survey conducted by the American Library Association, about 25 percent of the more than 900 teens surveyed said they read two to three books a month. The survey does not include books required to be read in school.

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MP3 Training: An intriguing , modern and free driving range tool

If you are like me, you like banging balls on the range. Just call me a monkey. The problem, is while we feel like we're putting in the time and effort, we've actually become mindless robots as we bash 20 7-irons in a row, then dedicate an entire small bucket to the driver. It can be difficult to stay focused and taking too many shots can cause bad habits. I notice especially that I can often have an entirely different ball flight on the range than the course. It's frustrating to say the least. At the PGA Merchandise Show, Eye Line Digital is offering an interesting strategy to keep yourself focused: MP3 training lessons you can download just like our wonderful podcasts. They offer "choose your shot", "choose your target" and "play the course", which is a simulated round of golf.

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Riders can scoot around town on three wheels

Already a hit in Italy, a gas-powered, three-wheeled scooter from the makers of Vespa will debut in the United States this spring. Unlike other three-wheeled scooters, the Piaggio MP3, as it's known in Europe, has two wheels in the front and one in the back. Designed with stability in mind, the front wheels move independently, providing continuous contact with the road as drivers turn. "It's a hoot to drive," said Darragh Howard, owner of Vespa Walnut Creek. "It's got great braking and incredible stability." Howard had an opportunity to test drive the European MP3 and offered demonstrations last week at his shop on Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The MP3 was introduced in Italy in the latter half of 2006, and it's expected to debut in the United States in late February or early March, he said.

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2007-01-27T04:48:00.000-08:00

MP3Musicgrams.com - “Say I Love You with Music” with New Valentines

MP3Musicgrams.com, a free music MP3 site featuring music uploads, graphics and Musicgrams, presents new Valentines ideas to encourage music fans to spread the love, and of course music, online. Music fans can choose an MP3 of any artist, band or label and select a new Valentines graphic or upload a Valentines photo of their own, add it to the MP3 audio file and send it out to 10 friends at once. This new user friendly Musicgram ecard makes music sharing the ideal way to send that special someone personalized and customized messages from the heart. What better way to say I love you than with music? Full News: http://www.investorideas.com/Companies/ViewDocument.asp?ID=4852 .

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Toto Apricot F5A: MP3 Toilet Seat With Ambient Light, Fart Killer

Once you've installed this Toto toilet seat, all that's left is to decide what songs (or noises) you're going to load up on its embedded MP3 player. Of course, you could go ahead and listen to the pre-loaded sounds of a hummingbird, beach waves and such, but we're thinking perhaps "Working in a Coal Mine" would be more appropriate. It does a lot more, too. Stick with us, it gets raunchier: You get a few more luxo-sport features for your $1650 as well, such as a reading light as well as an ambient light to help you aim your stream in the dark of night. Plus there's a fragrance dispenser that automatically freshens the air as soon as it figures out that you've stunk up the place. Now we're just trying to figure out why they named it the "Apricot F5A." Cool, but we'd rather have the one that wipes your ass for you.

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Toshiba spoils 911T uber phone with Oakley MP3 crud

Japan's third-largest mobile phone operator, Softbank, chose yesterday to unveil its master plans for an assault on market leaders NTT DoCoMo through its spring line up of handsets. Although the Japanese media were disappointed not to see the rumored Japanese version of Apple's iPhone the 11 new models did include at least one attention-grabbing performer. The 911T handset from Toshiba is due to hit the shops in March and is a slider-style phone with just about everything any gadget fan could hope for. Not only does the 145g 911T work on Softbank's 3.6Mbit/s HSDPA network but it also comes with a pair of Oakley wireless headphone sunglasses that are either hideous or the ultimate in geek chic, depending on your perspective. Those headphones suck up audio via Bluetooth either from the phone's 1GB of internal flash memory or a microSD card in the expansion slot.

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2007-01-26T04:48:00.000-08:00

MP3: Thom Yorke vs. Kelly Clarkson

Aww, this is just sooo romantic. Who knew Thom Yorke and Kelly Clarkson had such chemistry? Only mashup artist Arty Fufkin. Gazing into each other's eyes over a backdrop of Thom's "Atoms for Peace", Kelly weeps for all the heartbreak he's caused her, and in yearning retort, he pleads, "Take me in your arms/ Peel all of your layers off/ I want to eat your artichoke heart." Alright, so as duets go, it's a bit creepy, what with the "leaky holes in your brain" bit and all that, but honestly, it's just nice to see these two finally getting it all out in the open. .

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Samsung introduces 60GB capacity 1.8-inch hard drive

Samsung Electronics has introduced a 1.8-inch hard drive with 60GB per disk capacity and a slim, 5mm tall form factor. The drive is part of the company's N-series which features capacities including 20GB, 30GB, 40GB and 60GB per disk . Samsung noted that, up to now, two disks were required to reach 60GB storage capacity in a 1.8-inch drive, but the company's N-series utilizes perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology to offer 60GBs on a single disk. N-series hard drive supports PATA(ZIF) and CE-ATA interfaces, which are both specifically designed for hard drives used in consumer electronics, MP3 players, portable media players, notebook PCs, ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), car navigation systems, GPS and other digital consumer applications. Samsung claimed that its N-series hard drive is among the quietest on the market and features ultra-low power consumption that is 3W in low power idle.

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CSR /Austriamicrosystems - Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR embraces MP3 ...

For its new Mobile Entertainment platform, Austriamicrosystems has selected CSR's BlueCore Bluetooth technology . The AS3525 and AS3527 core devices of the platform are both high performance single-chip-systems targeting enhanced MP3 players with multimedia aimed at the OEM market. By adopting CSR's BlueCore4-ROM in the designs, Austriamicrosystems will be able to offer its customers a development platform that takes advantage of CSR's market-leading expertise in wireless technologies as well as low-power and small form factor hardware, says the company. Austriamicrosystems' versatile and highly integrated ARM9 SoC in the AS3525 and AS3527 delivers over 200MIPS of processing power and allows the implementation of an MP3 player with only 50mW total power consumption. It delivers video playback to LCD and OLED screens at up to 30 frames per second (fps) and up to QCIF+ resolution, while streaming crystal-clear audio via its independent Bluetooth headphone and line outputs.

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2007-01-25T04:49:00.000-08:00

Review: Sony NW-S706 mp3 player

Readers are reminded that the opinions expressed, and the results published in connection with reviews and/or laboratory test reports carried out on computing systems and/or related items are confined to, and representative of, only those goods supplied and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase. .

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Mp3 Digest” by Rosecrans Baldwin

Rosecrans Baldwin's father played drums in The Children of Scorn, his uncle is a preeminent music scholar, and his mother's cousin founded Island Records; his top musical achievement was to conduct the concert band in high school. His stories have elsewhere appeared in The New York Times, New York, The Nation, and on NPR's "All Things Considered." Have a book or album for him to review? Masters of the musical universe who put songs in singers' mouths, I am just sick about this trackthank you for this artist, this song! My window is open and the neighbors are torturing their cats just to have something else to listen to. As of this scribbling, iTunes reports I've listened to this song 24 times since it was added to my library at 4:17 p.m. on January 22, which doesn't include the number of times (probably 12) that I've listened to it on my iPod, where it's been designated as the I'm Going to Knock You Out track in my Nike-sneakers-chat-up-my-music set-up.

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2007-01-24T04:47:00.000-08:00

Sansa Express: Best Cheap MP3 Player Yet?

There are plenty of USB MP3 players that are super cheap and super simple, but they generally lack some pretty basic functionality that makes using an MP3 player worthwhile. For example, do you feel like trying to sort through a couple thousand songs without a screen? I didn't think so. SanDisk has just released what looks to be the finest USB-stick MP3 player yet, the Sansa Express, featuring a screen and simple controls yet keeping the size and price point at more than reasonable levels. It has 1GB of onboard memory that's expandable via a microSD slot, an FM tuner with recording capabilities, and provides 15 hours of battery life. The price? A mere $60. Not too shabby, SanDisk. It comes out in April, but you can preorder now if you're so inclined. — Adam Frucci SanDisk, via ProductDose .

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IHT: Major Label to Embrace MP3 Soon?

Still fighting a losing battle over file sharing, some major record labels seem ready to scrap digital rights management in order to lure consumers away from P2P. In fact, one could make the switch to MP3 very soon. Rumors of an imminent embrace of MP3 were overheard by The International Herald Tribune at Midem, an annual global conference for the music industry held this weekend in Cannes, France. Those who talked to the paper say the change is coming as result of still sinking music sales. .

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MP3 player and speaker set from Superdrug

I'll be the first to admit that Superdrug is not my first port of call when looking for gadgets. In fact, it probably wouldn't be my last port of call. Cotton buds, make-up, and painkillers? I'd drop by. But MP3 players with speakers? Not usually. I have been proved foolhardy, however, for the pharma-beautical (I just made up a word!) chain is now stocking an MP3 player and speaker set in that most beloved of Shiny colours. You guessed it... pink! For a mere £19.99, and available through their online store, you can buy a 128MB MP3 player (internal memory only, I'm afraid), and a speaker set that comes with two 2 watt speakers and a 6 watt subwoofer. You won't be partying all night with such low output and poor memory, but at that price, I'd be tempted to palm the MP3 player off on a young relative and keep the speakers for picnics in the garden whenever summer turns up.

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2007-01-23T04:47:00.000-08:00

Playskool targets tots with DAPs, MP3

A friend of mine likes to say, "Start 'em young." She's usually referring to playing sports, so kids don't get wedded to gadgets and gizmos that keep them indoors all day. Perhaps this is just the ticket to bridge that divide. Playskool, a name that should be familiar to multiple generations of kids and grown-up kids, has bounced into the MP3 player market, in conjunction with Creative, with a line of DAPs for babies. First up for your consideration is the Infant Gym, which is a combination ceiling mobile and MP3 player. The DAP comes loaded with a handful of baby-friendly tunes, but you can also load up your own, including recording of your own voice. Another baby- and parent-friendly item is the Day To Dream Soother, that is sort of the same idea except that it projects lights on the ceiling while playing music from the separate DAP.

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IHT: MP3 Sales from a Major Label within Four Months

Amidst the wheeling and dealing going on at the Midem conference in France comes another indication that the DRM albatross will soon vacate the tired, aching necks major record labels, with one label making a big move in that direction within the next four months. Most people seem to think that that label is EMI, although according to John Kennedy (head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the other majors are also entertaining the idea of selling music that people can actually play. From the International Herald Tribune, "'Each of the majors is wrestling with the advantages and the disadvantages of going with MP3s without any restrictions at all... But I think this is an experimental year.'" I believe that. But I have a problem with the next paragraph in the article: "Most independent record labels already sell tracks digitally compressed in MP3 format, which can be downloaded, e-mailed or copied to computers, cellphones, portable music players and compact discs without limit." I certainly agree with the compatibility point, but do most indie labels really already sell tracks in the MP3 format? The author might be talking about eMusic, which certainly stocks a lot of music from indie labels, but in my experience, most indie labels don't actually sell music in the MP3 format, but rather give away a few sample MP3s (besides, eMusic's subscriptions don't technically qualify as sales, and they don't make much money for labels and bands anyway). That said, indie labels are surely more likely to embrace MP3 sales, which is one reason the majors are finally going away.

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Rob Crow, I Hate You Rob Crow MP3

Only Rob Crow would attempt to slow down by launching a new album! Following hectic tours with Pinback and his new Ladies project, Crow became a father. This new perspective resulted in turning out Living Well, his best solo album to date. Recorded in the time following the birth of his son, the album is mellower than Pinbacks math rock leanings and more accessible than Crows other work. "I Hate You Rob Crow" is the first single from Crows Temporary Residence debut, and shares more with the 90s alt. movement than just the self-deprecating title. The buzzing guitars, and melodic yet distorted vocals recall poppier moments from the Smashing Pumpkins while the overall sound is all Crow. Hear it now: |"I Hate You, Rob Crow" MP3| (Right-click, "Save Target As") .

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2007-01-22T04:48:00.000-08:00

CEA: consumer electronics revenue will surpass $155 billion in 2007

Macs. iPods. iPhones. The Apple TV. Apple seems to in the perfect place at the perfect time as factory-to-dealer sales of consumer electronics are projected to exceed US$155 billion in 2007, or seven percent growth, according to the semi-annual industry forecast by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). "The consumer electronics (CE) industry has outdone itself once again, with revenues totaling $145 billion in 2006, and we're on track for another year of healthy growth," says CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. "We surpassed original projections for the second year in a row, and the industry outlook is proof positive that Americans can't do without their beloved consumer electronics. Consumers are benefiting from our industry's innovations and only want to see more of them." Todd Thibodeaux, CEA's senior vice president of industry relations, says the display category will continue to fuel industry growth in 2007.

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MP3: Portastatic: "Sour Shores"

It's been nearly five whole years since Superchunk last released a studio album, but the world ain't missing frontman (and Merge Records founder) Mac McCaughan: His other band, Portastatic, has been turning out a reliable stream of LPs in wake of the band's absence, jumping genres, exploring new sounds, and generally picking up the slack, motherfucker. Now, following last month's Who Loves the Sun film score, McCaughan returns with the official follow-up to last year's Bright Ideas. Due out October 10 on Merge, Be Still Please is said to "continue the full-on rock band sound of Bright Ideas but with more of an emphasis on the orchestration featured in his soundtrack work." It features nine new tracks-- including opener "Sour Shores", of which Merge Records has kindly offered Pitchfork an exclusive MP3: Tracklist: [MORE...] .

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Technology lover wears his peeves on his sleeve

I once had a dream about computer code used to create programs. I sometimes get misty-eyed thinking of my first computer. As a kid, I hung out near a Dumpster behind an electronics company. So I take a backseat to no one in loving technology. But there is so much that I hate, too. Today, I plan to rant. Here's what bugs me: .

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2007-01-21T04:51:00.000-08:00

The Rubik Cube MP3 Player

The Rubik Cube MP3 Player of course. According to its designer, Hee Yong, each layer has a specific function, such as play, pause, forward and back and you control the device by rotating the sides. So to raise or lower the volume and change or pause tracks, you have to play with it just as you would the original puzzle And when you want to turn the cube off, you have to solve it. Nothing else is known about the player at the moment, mainly because it's a concept rather than a product. However, if it ever does make it into production (which is frankly unlikely), we hope the manufacturers will accept peeling off and rearranging the stickers as a legitimate way of solving the puzzle. Otherwise there will be an awful lot of Rubik Cube Mp3 Players left permanently on...

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Rubik's Cube MP3 player is a puzzling development

I can't imagine why you'd ever want to carry around this block in order to jam away to some tunes, but you'll certainly get a second glance from the random passer-by given the uniqueness of this MP3 player's form factor. Shaped like a Rubik's Cube, complete with rotating parts, this strange portable music player was designed by Hee Yong, but doesn't come with the multi-color sides like the Rubik's Cube on which it was based. Instead, it seems to be almost all white, with the exception of a turquoise-lit display. How would you go about controlling it? It seems that you need to arrange the squares in a certain orientation in order to get it play, pause, skip, and so on. To turn it off, you need to "complete the puzzle." Thanks but no thanks. I just want buttons (and a click wheel, perhaps). Read [Via techeblog.com] .

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2007-01-20T04:49:00.000-08:00

Record firms sue XM satellite radio over MP3 recordings

A group of U.S. record companies is suing XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. over a receiver it offers with a built-in MP3 player. A New York judge ruled Friday that the lawsuit, brought by Atlantic Recording Corp., BMG Music, Capitol Records Inc. and other music distribution companies, can proceed to trial. The suit alleges that XM is cheating the recording companies by allowing consumers to store songs they hear over satellite radio. XM's use of copyrighted material such as music is solely for broadcast and selling an MP3 player amounts to a means of distribution, the record distributors argue in the lawsuit. XM has argued it is protected under the U.S. Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, which allows consumers to record music off the radio for private use.

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Dell kinda sorta nixes the SideShow-enabled Bluetooth MP3 player?

Remember Dell's SideShow-enabled MP3 player with Bluetooth we saw up close and personal at CES? Yeah, that one. Well, we just received a purported internal Dell document stating that, "No, Dell isn't re-entering the MP3 market." According to the memo we received, the device was presented by an overzealous vendor who was "shopping the idea to Dell and took things a little too far." The memo states that the vendor was "totally out of line to release any information to a 3rd party source such as Engadget." However, it seems that Dell's Latitude team is in fact considering the device, but "still hasn't decided whether they want to proceed or not." Hell, even if they don't pick it up there's always the chance that someone else will -- someone like MSI whose logo was also seen getting friendly with the player.

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MP3: Everything Old is New Again

Are MP3's coming back? A groundswell is forming for abandoning DRM protection, including rumors from major labels execs of change on the way. While the logic is impeccable, it's still mostly wishful thinking on the part of analysts. The labels have finally abandoned copy protection on CDs. But that may be more related to avoiding Sony BMG's rootkit fiasco than a policy change on DRM. We'll believe it when we see it. .

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2007-01-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

Fraunhofer IIS Introduces MP3 Surround Sound For Internet Radios

At Midem in Cannes, France, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is introducing a new mp3 surround streaming module that allows manufacturers to build web radios featuring true 5.1 surround sound. Mp3 surround compresses surround music in a highly efficient way and is fully backward compatible with existing mp3 players. With the mp3 surround streaming module, high-quality surround music can now even be streamed over the internet at bit rates normally used for stereo mp3. This allows mp3 web radios to introduce surround music in a smooth, compatible, and cost-effective way and to distinguish themselves from stereo-only competition. The first radio station streaming a multi-channel music program using mp3 surround is the Erlangen based campus radio bit eXpress.

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Rubik’s Cube MP3 Player Concept

This concept MP3 player from Yanko Design is based on the ever-popular Rubik's Cube that we all failed miserably at when we were kids. But it's not just a cute MP3 player, you actually need to solve the puzzle to perform certain functions. For instance, twisting the top part to the right may skip a track forward, while turning it backward may go to the previous song. The kicker? To turn the device off, you need to solve the puzzle. Guess that new Journey CD must be real rockin' the 8th time around. Tedious Rubik's Cube MP3 Player Concept [Oh Gizmo!] tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px} table { border: 1px solid black } This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2007 at 12:21 pm and is filed under News, MP3 Player, Design, concept, cubiks cube, puzzle.

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Oakley Thump Pro MP3 sunglasses

You can't fault Oakley for perseverence. A couple of years ago, Tech Digest awarded the firm the coveted 'Chav Gadget of 2005' award for its Thump MP3 sunglasses. But since then, Oakley has been refining the design, to the point where its new Thump Pro pair look like something Bono might wear. Look, that is progress, honest. The glasses, which come in 1GB, 512MB and 256MB versions, have the digital player built into the frame, so there's no dangling wires to get in your way. A single charge gives you six hours of music (enough for even the most freakishly-fit fitness-freak), and support for MP3, AAC, WMA and Audible file formats. The Thump Pros' speakers are fully adjustable too, so you can position them to fit your ears, while the frame is apparently sweat-resistant too, to stop your expensive shades slipping off into the gutter.

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2007-01-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

MP3 players targets of increased robberies

LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The proliferation of MP3 players and high-tech mobile phones are behind a recent increase in street robberies in London, a report said. While the rate of increase in such robberies has slowed recently, The Daily Mail said the existence of such devices has led to increased street crime. Despite increased security, criminals are stealing advanced cell phones to use other features such as games and cameras. One police official said most of the thefts were committed by younger criminals, typically teenagers, who take the items without physically attacking their victims. While overall crime in London fell 6 percent in 2006 from 2005, robberies increased by 5.9 percent -- to a total of 46,147 incidents last year -- the paper said.

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SanDisk Wins Two “Best of CES” Awards for Hottest MP3 Player—the ...

“The CNET Best of CES Awards is a prestigious award, honoring the hottest products that set the standards in consumer electronics," said Eric Bone, product marketing director for SanDisk's Sansa audio/video line. “We're thrilled that both CNET and LAPTOP editors—who see the best new devices every day –recognized the Sansa Connect as an exceptional MP3 player. We're very excited to bring this to market for consumers to enjoy." Read the complete Press Release .

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Transcend T.sonic 820 series MP3 player

Transcend has a new MP3 player with a few extra twists to the common feature list of the average DAP, including variable speed play, E-books and help with karaoke. The T.sonic 820 series MP3 player has the ability to transfer and play music files like most other digital audio players, formats including MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM10 and WAV. When listening to music the navigation allows you to control the playback speed and an A-B repeat function enables continuous repeating of a section of a track. There may not be a lot of applications for this other than maybe making your own personal one-time remix or as Transcend suggests this feature may be helpful in listening to a language learning track. The T-sonic supports reading text (.txt) files and therefore displays the text to read E-books right on the 1.5 inch OLED display.

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2007-01-17T04:52:00.000-08:00

Unlimited Music Downloads - Tips On Downloading Music MP3

Unlimited music downloads was a dream to music lovers in the past. Today it has become a reality to us. With so many online music stores, we are able to find songs we love, download them onto our computer or portable media device such as the MP3 player. This article would share with you what are some of the benefits of downloading music online and why it will take over traditional music CD as the largest source of music for the world. .

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VirginMega adopts DRM-free MP3 on its music store

VirginMega.fr, by Lagardere, is adding more than 200,000 tracks available in the MP3 256k format. So far, the store only offered Microsoft's PlayForSure WMA 192k tracks, and only made a few tracks available as an experiment in a similar way as Yahoo did. However, France is the first country where a full-DRM store adopts MP3 on a large scale. Other french music stores, such as leading indie music store NeoMusicStore chose to sell music without DRM from the start but all other stores wanting to sell music from major companies (Fnac, Orange, and all Loudeye-powered stores) chose the MS technology for their complete catalogue so far. As Apple is keeping its market share and Microsoft is starting selling its own device with a new DRM system (even if Zune isn't yet available in France), making PlayForSure obsolete, music stores are looking for alternatives and MP3 seems to be the only one to offer interoperability and thus open the whole digital market...

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2007-01-16T04:46:00.000-08:00

WTF: Rapper's Delight Club: "When We Were Kids" [MP3]

On the feel-good scale, the Maryland-based Rapper's Delight Club gets a 10.0 every time. We were introduced to these pint-sized rhyme-slingers and their mentor (high school teacher David Goldberg) last July when the fledgling crew served up some pretty sick verses over a Sufjan Stevens sample on a jam called "First Ladies Anthem". Now these grammar schoolers are back with new rhymes, new samples, and a new two-part zinger called "When We Were Kids". Boasting flow well beyond these kids' years-- and, as before, indie savvy-- the tune samples the Motown-bred trumpet bounce of Jens Lekman's "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill". It's stuffed with hysterical verses-- including lines like "I free people like Frederick Douglass/ I eat other rappers like some chicken nuggets"-- and a damned catchy chorus, and if it doesn't make your heart grow three sizes today, you're probably dead and/or Donald Trump.

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The order books have opened -New Chevrolet Captiva from only Â ...

London January 15, 2007; With an impressive equipment list, stylish good looks, up to seven seats and brilliant all-round flexibility, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Captiva would cost a lot more than it does – yet prices start at just 16,995 on-the-road. What's more, even the entry-level model is superbly equipped – the front-wheel drive 2.4-litre LS 5-speed manual comes with air conditioning, a six-speaker radio-CD with MP3 capability and remote controls, electrically-adjustable mirrors, tailgate with separate opening rear window, front, side and roof airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels, five full-size three-point seatbelts, charcoal-coloured roof rails, remote two-stage central locking and a Thatcham-approved security system with deadlocks. All diesel versions of Captiva are equipped with a sophisticated four-wheel drive system, incorporating Descent Control, 4WD traction control and ESP as standard.

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The Western States Motel, Powerlines MP3

The Western States Motel is the brainchild of Los Angeles' Carl Jordan. On this track, the first to be lifted from his self-titled debut, he provides the soundtrack to a long drive up the coast. The sound recalls the blissed-out pop of The Shins' Garden State anthems. It's sun-soaked summer memories just before everyone heads back to college. Consider it the aural equivalent of beach firepit parties on balmy late summer nights. A laidback and communal vibe that invites the listener in and hands 'em a cold one. Cheers. |"Powerlines" MP3| (Right-click, "Save Target As") .

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2007-01-15T04:46:00.000-08:00

Sony Walkman S2 Sports NW-S203F (1GB)

Everyone knows Walkman but at the same time hardly does anyone realize that it's a trademark range of players from Sony. The old Sony Walkman line-up consisted of just cassette players and CD-Players. It's been sometime now since Sony launched their flash based Walkman players. But unfortunately for the masses, though they sounded the best, most disliked them because they were able to play only Sony Audio Formats like AAC, AAC+, etc. Now the Walkman line-up has been revamped to support MP3 and WMA as well. But it has made it pretty late as all the glory these days for portable audio has been taken-up by the iPod. Nevertheless Sony will always remain Sony and those loyal will surely opt for it, because of its top-notch quality products. .

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Advance Music: Black Lips: "Not a Problem" [MP3]

Bands whose vintage valentines are this exact will always invite skepticism-- we want garage bands to sound like they're out of a garage, but not too close to the influences they approximate, lest they be considered calculating. And while some may squint their eyes at Black Lips as the last vestiges of garage-rock fetishism that cling to "unpredictable" live shows for some kind of notability, "Not a Problem" works because, this time around, Black Lips sound like they care. I guess we should shout "Velvet Underground!" any time the production's rough and the singer can't sing, but this is a song that wants to be loved and not admired, a true-believer two-chord jangle. Meanwhile, frontman Cole Alexander desperately yelps out the best hook he could come up with-- one that begs to be shouted along with, in a hedonistic chorus to inevitably drown out the Lips' impatient Animals-aping rhythm section.

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Exclusive Premiere: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: "The Sons of Cain ...

Ted Leo/Pharmacists have never been repped to the best of Pitchfork's abilities: 2001's revered The Tyranny of Distance and 2003's Hearts of Oak both pulled in mid-to-low 8's when they were first reviewed-- and Hearts of Oak didn't even score Best New Music. What in the hell! Granted, we did our best to right this injustice a couple years back with our Top 100 Albums of 2000-04: Hearts of Oak charted at #57, while The Tyranny of Distance rightly checked in at #31. And of course, we did bring dude on for last year's Pitchfork Music Festival, where he famously gave himself a head injury onstage. So it's with great happiness we present to you the following: As most of you should know by now, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists' fourth album, the Brendan Canty-produced Living With the Living, is due March 20.

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2007-01-14T04:49:00.000-08:00

Hasbro announces first mp3 toys

The Made For Me range includes a digital music player, a device with music and an animated screen to help children fall asleep, and an infant gym with the capability to support a separate mp3 player unit.All of these toys are aimed at parents wanting to aid the development of young infants and were created in partnership with hardware firm Creative.'As one of the pioneers in the mp3 player market, Creative is excited to expand the scope of its offerings by collaborating with Hasbro to bring music to young children and families,' commented Brad Anderson, director of product marketing for Creative.'Now there is a Creative mp3 product for every member of the family, no matter what age.'Earlier this week, Creative announced the launch of its new Xdock Wireless product, which docks an iPod and plays back music that is superior in sound to standard CDs.

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Jensen SportFone JHM3005 MP3 Player

Jensen's hot new headphones actually have an MP3 player built in to their lightweight headphones. The concept behind the stylish set is that people on the go don't want to spend alot of time fumbling with controls. Jensen built an easy to use interface with a player that goes up to eight hours between charges. It plays MP3 and WMA files and it comes with a soft carrying case and a USB cable. The foam ear covers are made of medical grade, allergen free silicone that reduce skin irritation and repel moisture. They can also be washed. The SportFone currently is available now with 512MB memory for $69.99 with a 1GB version due in summer. .

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Transcend MP3 player shipments to set record in January

Thanks to strong orders, memory module maker Transcend Information will have record MP3 player shipments in January, with shipments to reach nearly 100,000 units during the month, sources said. Although the month is a traditional slow period for consumer electronics, Transcend will manage to set a record in MP3 player shipments since it has landed a new order, the sources indicated. The maker shipped nearly one million MP3 players in 2006, the sources indicated. At CES 2007, Transcend is showing its new series of MP3 players. The low-priced T.Sonic 820 series has a simple design and comes in a choice of 2GB or 4GB. Transcend T.Sonic 820Photo: Josephine Lien, DigiTimes .

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2007-01-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

Marnie Stern Melts Your Face With KRS LP, Tour, MP3

For a solo artist, Marnie Stern seriously stirs up a lot of noise. Layering frenetic, in-your-face guitar over half-sung/half-spoken vocals and spastic drumming, the New York-based guitar virtuoso-- who amazed audiences last fall at CMJ-- makes it immediately apparent why she's described by her label as "The DIY Lady Shredder." Until recently, Stern was an unsigned, make-demos-in-her-bedroom kind of solo act (another epithet-- this one designated by her booking agency-- is "The Upper East Side Recluse"). Then Kill Rock Stars discovered her via one of those demos and signed her to its 5RC imprint almost immediately. 5RC folded following Slim Moon's departure from Kill Rock Stars, which means Marnie's much-anticipated, slightly-delayed debut full length, In Advance of the Broken Arm, will arrive February 20 on KRS.

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An MP3 Player with 'Tween Appeal

SanDisk's Sansa Connect has emerged from CES as a promising new wireless MP3 player. As Chris points out, it will offer music downloads directly via a yet-to-be-named Internet music service and music sharing among other Connect owners when it hits the market this year ($250 for a 4GB). But with an eye toward digital music players that I think would appeal to 'tweens and challenge iPod's hold on the market with younger users, I like Creative's Zen V and Zen V Plus. True, they came on the market months before CES, but I got a chance to handle Creative's Zen V Plus on the show floor, and I liked its small but sturdy feel and simple interface. At 2.6 by 1.5 by 0.5 inches, it's got a 1.5-inch OLED screen, so you can watch videos, view pictures, and choose songs easily. The dial, which comes in different accent colors, works like a tiny joystick to navigate the menu, which is easy to follow.

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Exclusive MP3: Grizzly Bear: "Knife (Girl Talk Remix)"

That boy Gillis is at it again. Following up a fairly lackluster Peter Bjorn and John remix and a bangin' New Year's set, Girl Talk returns to repackage another Pitchfork favorite for the dancefloor, and this time around he actually employs the mash-up skills that made him a hit in the first place. Whether or not it works is for you to decide. Gillis slices and dices Grizzly Bear's "Knife" (from the much-loved Yellow House LP), buttering it up with what sounds like the opening to Tears for Fears' "Shout", mashing in a liberal portion of Clipse's "Wamp Wamp"-- including Slim Thug's entire chorus and Pusha's verse-- and stabbing in a dash of this and that to color Ed Droste's cryptic queries. Girl Talk is out there right now, in fact, making the kids move their bodies in indecent fashion across the U.S.

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2007-01-12T04:54:00.000-08:00

Personalize MP3 Tunes for Baby

There are plenty of baby and toddler toys on the market that play music. Just not necessarily the music you would choose if you had a choice. Playskool has teamed with Creative, the maker of digital music players, to provide more music options for little ones' ears. The toymaker's Made for Me collection of music toys, which will be available in the fall, centers on the Digital Music Player ($79.99). It comes with a player with a handle and an MP3 unit that can be removed and used with all the toys in the line. A soft covering (either a bear, a puppy, or a bunny) has straps that allow the player to be hooked onto a crib. With the accompanying software, parents can shuffle or organize songs in categories. The other two toys in the line are the Day to Dream Soother and the 2-in-1 Infant Gym.

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MP3 makers in China to cut prices in 2007

Eighty-three percent of Greater China MP3 suppliers will lower their product prices this year, according to business-to-business media company Global Sources in its China Sourcing Report: MP3 Players. Of the 54 MP3 player makers surveyed, 53 percent expect to cut prices by 10 percent or less, 19 percent eye price decreases of 10 to 20 percent, while 11 percent expect prices to fall 20 percent or more. "The price of flash memory has steadily decreased, with the trend expected to continue for several years," said Mark Saunderson, publisher of the Global Sources report. "This has reduced the production costs of flash-based MP3 players, which account for 66 percent of players globally." Greater China manufacturers also plan to boost their exports to meet the 20 percent y-o-y global demand for MP3 players.

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2007-01-11T04:48:00.000-08:00

20 Years Of Audio Coding

In 2007, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is celebrating 20 years of audio coding. Back in 1987 a breakthrough in audio coding activities was achieved at Fraunhofer IIS with the introduction of the first real-time implementation of a predecessor of mp3. The German research institute is commemorating this milestone with a range of events including the release of videocasts at www.iis.fraunhofer.de which deliver an insight into the development of mp3 and the early days of audio coding. It all started back in the 70s with the goal of compressing music for transmission over phone lines. Developments in the following years provided the basis for modern audio coding algorithms and, in May 1987, led to a real-time implementation of the Low Complexity Adaptive Transform Codec, in short LC-ATC.

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Spotlight: Samsung SGH-F300 Double-Sided Cell Phone / MP3 Player

On Monday, Samsung revealed the previously hidden side of their new SGH-F300 cell phone. The F300 looks like an MP3 player on one side, with a 2.1 TFT screen with a resolution of 176x220, and media control buttons. The buttons are touch sensitive and not only respond to clicks, but you can also slide your finger across them to scroll up and down or side to side. The opposite side of the F300 looks more like a traditional cell phone with the number pad and a smaller display. There is a switch on the side of the F300 that allows you to switch between the MP3 player and cell phone functionality. The F300 is GSM/GPRS/EDGE ready, has a built-in 2 megapixel camera, FM radio, 100 MB of onboard memory and a microSD slot for up to an additional 2 GB of storage. As for music support, the F300 can playback MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+ and WMA files and supports WMDRM and MTP as well as MPEG4 and H.263 video.

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CEA: 2006 Consumer Electronics Revenue at $145 Billion; MP3 ...

Factory-to-dealer sales of consumer electronics are projected to exceed $155 billion in 2007, or seven percent growth, according to the semi-annual industry forecast released by the Consumer Electronics Association. CEA projects that display technologies will continue to be the star category in the industry and account for $26 billion in revenues for 2007. MP3 players continue to drive the audio market. CEA projects that MP3 players will account for 90 percent of the $6 billion in revenues for the portable entertainment market. Thirty-four million MP3 players shipped in 2006 and an additional 41 million are expected to ship in 2007. Expect shipments of wearable satellite radio receivers to lift 10% this year as new products enter the market, said CEA while shipments of plug and play satellite radios are expected to level off beginning this year.

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2007-01-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

SanDisk announces Sansa Connect Wireless Internet MP3 player

SanDisk Corporation has announced the Sansa Connect, a Wi-Fi enabled MP3 player that lets consumers enjoy and recommend music from almost anywhere. The Sansa Connect un-tethers consumers from their PCs allowing them to connect to music and online photos through any open wireless hot spot Internet connection. The announcement was made at CES, where SanDisk is exhibiting in South Hall 4, 36206 in the Las Vegas Convention Center through January 11.Available on retail shelves in the United States in late March, the new Sansa Connect will boast innovative Internet capabilities designed to keep music aficionados connected to a wide range of new music via subscription services and streaming Internet radio with no PC required. Designed to work with premium Internet services, the flash-based MP3 player will also contain community features for recommending music and photos with the simple click of a button and a live Wi-Fi connection.

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CES 2007: Samsung's new K3 and T9 MP3 players

I take a hands on look at the new Samsung MP3 players - the K3 and the T9, the latter of which will shortly be available with Bluetooth built in. Until then, they have the fact that they're pretty on their side. Came straight to this page? Visit www.TechDigest.tv for all the latest news. .

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Playskool and Creative give birth to a healthy baby MP3 player

Considering that it has been made explicitly clear that iPods are not meant to be eaten or chewed on, the popular DAP is pretty much ruled out as a contender for the ears of our wee young ones. Thankfully Hasbro-subsidiary Playskool and Creative have teamed up to make sure that baby Apple isn't left out of the loop (you could be missing a key demographic, Steve). The "Made For Me" line of MP3 players is pretty scarce on details, but what we do know is that it comes preloaded with 50 songs, has a voice recorder, and can be used with other appropriately labeled "Made For Me" toys (sounds familiar). The device should be available come fall and is expected to retail for about $80. While we'd personally just stick a stereo in our kid's room and call it a day, we will reserve judgement and leave the parenting to the parents.[Via Shiny Shiny] .

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2007-01-09T04:54:00.000-08:00

CES 2007: Hasbro teams up with Creative for new baby-friendly MP3 ...

As a father-to-be, I want the best for my child. The best gadgets, I mean. I'm not too fussed about clothing, schooling or organic rusks yet. But show me an MP3 player that can hang in a cot pumping out Primal Scream and Black Crowes songs to indoctrinate the occupant, and I'll be excited. Hasbro and Creative are already on the case, with a line of prototype products called Playskool. They're standard-looking baby toys, except with an MP3 player made by Creative that slots into the back, allowing you to fill your baby's ears with sweet, sweet music. Or the very apt Cradle Of Filth, obviously. There were several flavours on display, from the soft toy character pictured above, to a fully-fledged baby gym (right). The MP3 player plays up to two hours of music, and is DRM-compatible.

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Mobile music to kill the MP3 player?

MP3 players face an uncertain future as analysts predict music-enabled mobiles will outnumber standalone MP3 devices by five to one come 2012. More than half of the one billion mobile handsets shipped globally are expected to have music-playing capabilities in 2007, analyst house Portio Research predicts. .

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SanDisk Announces the Sansa Connect Wireless Internet MP3 Player

Las Vegas - CES 2007 (January 9, 2007) - SanDisk Corporation, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, today announced the Sansa Connect, a Wi-Fi enabled MP3 player that lets consumers enjoy and recommend music from almost anywhere1. The Sansa Connect un-tethers consumers from their PCs allowing them to connect to music and online photos through any open wireless hot spot Internet connection. The announcement was made at CES, where SanDisk is exhibiting in South Hall 4, 36206 in the Las Vegas Convention Center through January 11. Available on retail shelves in the United States in late March, the new Sansa Connect will boast innovative Internet capabilities designed to keep music aficionados connected to a wide range of new music via subscription services and streaming Internet radio1 with no PC required.

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2007-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

7 reasons why MP3 is the future of the music industry

Wired: Everyone knows the MP3 format is used by more devices and people than any other file-based digital-audio format. Most also know that record labels prefer DRMed alternatives such as the ones sold by Apple's iTunes, because they make it harder for people to share music. But wait — was that a pig flying past my window just now? Evidence is mounting that major labels may start to prefer the MP3 format, as impossible as that used to seem. Here are seven reasons why MP3 is the future of the music industry: 1. The labels don't have a choice 2. Apple might be forced into interoperability 3. Thomson has endorsed selling watermarked MP3s 4. Amazon is rumored to start selling MP3s by April 5. Sony: "DRMs are going to become less important" 6. People love AllofMP3.com 7.

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CES Cherry picked with mouse and MP3 player

Winston said this today at his "Cherry Pickers" event this morning at the Wynn hotel, with a glass of Macallen scotch in his hand that was older than the “Cherry" eye candy that prowled on stage to deliver the drink along with a good cigar that he said “Might be longer than I am." [This reporter did not attempt to measure either the cigar or Mr. Winston] Marty, who's been to lots of CESes and put on his third Cherry Picker dog-and-pony press show, was disappointed. "There are no breakthough innovations," he said, noting in previous years there had been some really cool technology. [And "cool" seems to be the de facto term for high-paid executives these days, but that's a different story]. Fortunately, of the 62 featured products that Marty picked for the press willing to get up at 9 AM on a Sunday morning in Las Vegas, there were several that made my “gee, I'd like to find one in the goody bag" list.

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Samsung YP-T9B MP3 player

The slim and portable Samsung T9B MP3 player takes features a step further and allows consumers to listen free as a bird with Bluetooth-enabled wireless stereo. Now listeners can enjoy grooving to their favorite songs wire-free using compatible Bluetooth enabled headphones. And with advanced remote control functions on the headsets including play, pause, seek and volume control, the new Samsung YP-T9B player can stay safely tucked away in a pocket or bag. Samsung YP-T9B music player - Microphone When consumers pair the T9B player with a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone, music lovers won't have to worry about missing a call while listening to their favorite tunes; the player tells its user when they have an incoming call. While the mobile phone is in a pocket or bag, users can talk to friends and family by using the embedded microphone within the Samsung T9B MP3 player.

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2007-01-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

Continuous good music

IN A business where small stylish portable audio devices win big with consumers, Sony has done its best to keep abreast with the times with the release of the Sony Walkman NW-E003F. At first glance, one can see that the NW-E003F is smaller then the usual MP3 player but within this tiny little player lies great potential. Upon closer inspection, one can see that the NW-E003F sports a really cool-looking minimalist design. It feels as light as a feather and is really comfortable to hold. Opting for a clean and simple look, the device does not house many buttons. In fact, you may not even notice the players LCD screen cleverly hidden below a clear plastic front panel until you switch the device on. In terms of button layout, most are wrapped around the NW-E003Fs exterior on both the front and back; and within reach.

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MP3: Justice: "Phantom Part I"

This little club treasure has been stomping around the interweb since Justice posted it on their MySpace a short while back; according to Justice label Ed Banger, it's not, in fact, the new single from the shit-hot French house duo. Turns out "Phantom Part I" is just a regular old tune that still has Justice coming harder, better, faster, and stronger than most of their peers in this millennium-- and that happens to make us want to thrust pelvis like we were exorcising our kidneys. Download away! Then catch Justice as they take their holy war against non-dancers to Australia and New Zealand this month, details TBA. .

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MP3 Choices for Young Music Lovers

When young kids see their older siblings with something, you know what happens. They want it, too. Not necessarily because it's right for them, of course. Just because. If you've got a young school-age child who is dead sure she wants an iPod Video but you know that such an expensive entrée into the MP3 market is not a smart move, consider these options. Kidz Bop to Go Player: Kidz Bop CDs, which feature kids singing the latest pop hits, have come of age in this $30 MP3 player, which features 20 preloaded hit songs. It takes one AAA battery to run. Kids can't download more songs, but it gives them an MP3 experience and a way to bring tunes on the road. One caveat: The New York Times' Warren Buckleitner warns that the volume can get "uncomfortably loud." Sounds like a good teachable moment to help your kids learn to keep the volume at levels that won't hurt their ears.

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2007-01-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

Dell prepping a SideShow-enabled MP3 player?

If Microsoft has its way, you won't be able to pick up a digital thermometer next year that's not powered by its widget-tastic SideShow middleware. Therefore, even though Dell dropped out of the portable audio game this past summer, rumors that the company is working with Redmond on a SideShow-enabled MP3 player do in fact seem fairly plausible. According to Cnet's Jasmine France, the buzz around Microsoft headquarters during the final week of December was focused on just such a device, which is said to sport media capabilities along with wireless connectivity. If these rumblings do end up panning out, Dell would have a somewhat unique product on its hands -- one which would differentiate itself from the iPods, Zunes, and Sansas of the world by offering access to the nearly limitless types of data and infoswag that the SideShow platform is capable of displaying.

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MP3 Or iPod: Music To Your Ears

Is the no-name MP3 player I saw in the hardware store worth buying? (Sure, as long as you know what to look for.) Why is it so much cheaper than an iPod? (It holds fewer songs.) Let's begin with generic MP3 players, a good choice if you have a PC and a DSL or cable Internet connection. Expect to pay $90 to $100 for a good device. Cheaper ones don't hold as many songs, so you'll hear the same songs again and again and again. And again. Here's what to look for: Compatibility: Make sure the display box says "WMA/DRM compatible" or something like that. That means you can use it with services such as Yahoo! Music Jukebox and Rhapsody. Capacity: Get at least 1 gigabyte. That holds about 250 songs, about 12 hours of music.

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Lifepop first to connect MP3 mobile phones to mini speaker bags

(Brooklyn, NY) LIFEPOP breaks out new patent-pending line of Atom Amp portable mini speaker bags and cases (4X2X2.5) made specifically for MP3 mobile phones. These easy-to-use, convenient, fashionable and hip products deliver 1400 milliwatts of hi-fi sound via the ultra-lightweight Atom class amplifier and drivers. All operate on one replaceable 9-volt battery for up to 12-hours of listening. In addition, bags are compatible with all portable audio devices on the market. LIFEPOPs Beat Generation line is known for its innovative convergence of high quality stereo technology into fashion bags, cases, totes and backpacks. Visible speakers allow consumers to listen to all portable audio devices without being confined to the secluded world of headphones. LIFEPOP focuses on market penetration by creating a three-tier pricing structure: mass-market retail, middle-line consumer and high-end extreme sports consumer product lines.

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2007-01-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

Download Most-wanted Music Editing Tools at Musicmorpher.com

(5 January 2007)- Musicmorpher.com - Visit Download Store of Music Morpher Center at http://www.musicmorpher.com/free-mp3-software-download.htm to free discover the most-wanted music editing tools for various music purposes. Music Morpher Center is a well-known place of music fans and high-tech music equips hunters. This center is developed to be as not only an online shop but also a music tutorials store as well as a downloadable music software site. The download store allows Windows PC users to free download many MP3 software to use with no time limitation. There are 3 editions of AV Music tools introduced at this center: - Free basic AV MP3 Player-Morpher 3.0, which is considered as a high quality audio player. - Free basic AV Music Morpher 3.0 selected as favorite home audio editing software.

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MP3 players at CES: Predictions for 2007

In the aftermath of the underwhelming Zune, there's still everything to play for in the MP3 player market. But with no clear rival to the iPod after almost six years, few in the industry are holding their breath for a viable contender at CES 2007. Microsoft succeeded in building a position for its Xbox in the video console market by sustaining a loss of $4bn on the product. Presumably it will be prepared to suffer greater losses to help the Zune to unseat the iPod, yet still the company has struggled. If Microsoft has been unable to gain market share from the iPod with the Zune, it's hard to see anyone else taking on the beast of Cupertino with much conviction. The truth is we'd love to see some real competition in the MP3 player field, but it looks very much like the same old story is likely to unfold at this year's CES.

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CSR Brings Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR to austriamicrosystems' Mobile ...

CAMBRIDGE, England UNTERPREMSTAETTEN, Austria-(Business Wire)-January 5, 2007 - CSR plc (LSE:CSR) and austriamicrosystems (SWX:AMS) today announced that CSR's BlueCore Bluetooth technology has been selected by austriamicrosystems for its new Mobile Entertainment platform. The AS3525 and AS3527 core devices of the platform are both high performance single-chip-systems targeting enhanced MP3 players with multimedia aimed at the OEM market. By adopting CSR's BlueCore4-ROM in the designs, austriamicrosystems will be able to offer its customers a development platform that takes advantage of CSR's market-leading expertise in wireless technologies as well as low-power and small form factor hardware. austriamicrosystems' versatile and highly integrated ARM9 SoC in the AS3525 and AS3527 delivers over 200MIPS of processing power and allows the implementation of an MP3 player with only 50mW total power consumption.

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2007-01-04T04:50:00.000-08:00

Walletex Makes Credit Card Format MP3 Player

It wasnt until Walletex debuted the Wallet Flash 1.1 at the arse end of 2005 that we saw true fulfilment of the Credit Card Sized tag that had been greeting products for years before then. Now the same company has taken this approach one step further. The wonderfully literally named Wallet MP3 Player is exactly what youd expect - well, actually no, it isnt a wallet that plays MP3s so I take that back. Instead it is a credit card format mp3 player that you could theoretically fit in your wallet (though you wouldnt be able to press the buttons). Speaking of which, this is an MP3 player stripped down in almost everyway since play/pause, scan/skip backwards and forwards and volume controls are the only controls on the device (I presume theres a hold button but there was no official mention).

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MP3 players worry hearing-loss experts

SANTA ANA, Calif. - About two years ago, University of California, Irvine, professor Fan-Gang Zeng started noticing something alarming among his students: unexplained hearing loss. In each of his biomedical engineering classes, Zeng said, he's found several students with the type of damaged hearing you normally wouldn't see until 50 or 60 years of age. It's been two years since the phenomenon began. And that's about how long it's been since the MP3 player became a campus staple for college students nationwide. Coincidence? He doesn't think so. "We can't say for sure it's from MP3 players, but I don't know what else has changed," said Zeng, a researcher specializing in hearing loss. "The climate and the food are the same." Another UCI hearing expert, Dr.

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Tech Watch: Ford and Microsoft Get in "Sync" for E-mail, MP3

DETROIT — The Ford Motor Company and Microsoft are expected to roll out new technology dubbed "Sync" next week that will beef up wireless in-vehicle functions, including the ability to receive e-mail, download music and connect with MP3 devices. The announcement will be made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and at the North American International Auto Show. A report in The Wall Street Journal says the system will make its debut next year as an option on the Ford Focus and Five Hundred and will be offered on all Ford models in 2008. Sync will eventually be expanded to the Lincoln and Mercury brands. Sync likely will be integrated into the vehicle's navigation system. It is also expected to grow to include speech recognition, high-definition screens and other digital devices in future vehicles.

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2007-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

MP3: Talib Kweli, Madlib Team for Free Album

Seems Talib Kweli and Madlib resolved to be more generous and giving in 2007, and they're wasting no time with that. Today the pair delivers Liberation, a nine-track digital-only LP featuring MC Kweli and producer Lib, available for free download now-- cover art and all-- on Stones Throw's website. A lo-fi affair full of soulful samples and plenty of name-dropping on the part of Kweli, Liberation includes guest verses from Consequence and Strong Arm Steady and should whet appetites a little bit until Talib drops Ear Drum, his previously reported new LP, originally slated for release late last year. It's now set to land later this month via Kweli's own Blacksmith imprint, under the mighty Warner Bros. umbrella. But don't whet those appetites too much. Wrote Kweli on his MySpace, "Some fans will say [Liberation] is the sound they want to hear from me all the time.

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Walletex Wallet MP3 Player Actually Exists!

A week or so ago this Wallet MP3 Player from Walletex was announced and while it was destined to be released sometime in June of 2007 I didn't want to post the story because there were no actual pictures of the device. It's not that I thought it was vaporware or anything, I just felt that actually seeing the thing was important. Well the good people at Krunker seem to have dug up a couple of photos of the player which I've included above. To recap, at just slightly thicker than a credit card the Wallet MP3 is basically the world's slimmest MP3 player. It's all solid state of course and includes a built-in double sided USB connector which is also used as the headphone jack with a small adapter. The player will be available in sizes ranging from 128Mb to 2Gb and can even be produced with custom graphics and used for promotional purposes.

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iPods continue to dominate MP3 market

Apple Computer's iPods dominated holiday sales of MP3 players, increasing their market share from last year, according to preliminary data from research firm NPD Group. In the five-week period from Nov. 19 to Dec. 23, iPods accounted for 57.3 percent of all players sold at a panel of electronics stores that notably didn't include the Cupertino company's own retail outlets. Apple's share was up from 42 percent for a similar period last year. Milpitas memory-products maker SanDisk was No. 2 with 19.2 percent of units sold, down from 22.1 percent last year. Microsoft, which debuted its new Zune player in November, came in fourth behind Creative Technology with 2.8 percent of the market. Creative had 3.4 percent. Overall, retail sales of consumer technology products at the panel of retailers grew 6.5 percent during the five-week period to $8.75 billion, according to NPD, whose data also does not include sales by Wal-Mart Stores.

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2007-01-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

Small- to medium-size display shipments reached record high in ...

Shipments of small- to medium-size displays reached around 510 million units in the third quarter of 2006, up 13% on year, led by mobile phones, PDAs, games and multi-function printers (MFPs). MP3s rebounded from a down quarter in the second quarter and were up 19%. Much of the growth is a function of the peak holiday season ramp, according to DisplaySearch. Display revenues were US$5.5 billion, up 6% sequentially but down 7% on year due to the continued drop in ASPs (average selling prices). The leading small- to medium-size display makers in revenues were Sharp, Sanyo Epson, Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (TMDisplay), Samsung SDI and Samsung. Sharp, which led its closest competitor by almost a factor of two, was top player in mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players and games.

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Out: Convergence In: Divergence

The global giants of technology, media and telecommunications converge on the Las Vegas Convention Center this week for the International Consumer Electronics Show. What won't be converging anytime soon, though, are the products themselves. After years spent promising mythical all-in-one devices that cater to consumers' every need, the industry now offers gadgets of all sizes, shapes and functions -- and plans even more. When CES reached its 10th year back in 1977, the average American family owned just a handful of electronics devices -- a television, home stereo and perhaps a cassette deck. Now, as the conference celebrates its 40th anniversary, households have an average of 26 devices, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry group that puts on the conference.

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2007-01-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

Tech toys, 1/1

Kensington's FX 300 Speaker To Go plays MP3 music while keeping your player safe inside its protective case. Designed to hold a variety of digital music players, including the ubiquitous Apple iPod, the speaker-case comes with exterior controls that can be used to power up your MP3 player and adjust the volume while it's stashed inside. The speaker-case also has enough room to hold ear buds, keys, cash and other essentials. Priced at $30, it ships with two AAA batteries. www.kensington.com As long as you can get online, you're set Have a tech question? YourTech Online.com provides free video advice on basic topics, such as how to perform better Internet searches and speed up your PC's startup time. Should you need more intensive support, the online service also provides fee-based technical help.

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Instead of all-in-one device, tech industry delivers items of all ...

The global giants of technology, media and telecommunications converge on the Las Vegas Convention Center this week for the International Consumer Electronics Show. What won't be converging anytime soon, though, are the products themselves. After years spent promising mythical all-in-one devices that cater to consumers' every need, the industry now offers gadgets of all sizes, shapes and functions -- and plans even more. When CES reached its 10th year back in 1977, the average American family owned just a handful of electronics devices -- a television, home stereo and perhaps a cassette deck. Now, as the conference celebrates its 40th anniversary, households have an average of 26 devices, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry group that puts on the conference.

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2006-12-31T04:48:00.000-08:00

Why doesn't every hi-fi have one?

SOME IDEAS ARE JUST SO simple that you wonder why they're not almost universal. I don't understand why more hi-fis don't have a USB port. As far as I know, this model by Teac is the only one. Every personal computer sold for the last decade or so has several USB sockets. In fact they're so common that most people don't know that the name for the little flat plugs actually stands for "Universal Serial Bus". They're used for connecting PCs to everything from printers to mice and modems. .

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Gadget thefts hit peak levels

THEFTS of mobile phones and other electronic gadgets have reached even higher levels than the peak which led Prime Minister Tony Blair to personally launch Labour's street crime crackdown, a survey indicated today. Devices such as exclusive 3G phones, MP3 players and mobile email receivers are fuelling a dramatic new surge in street robberies and other thefts. A Press Association survey of crime data across England, Wales and Northern Ireland showed theft of electronic gadgets rose 9% year-on-year. .

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2006-12-30T04:54:00.000-08:00

2007 Honda Element EX Review

It seems like nearly all automakers are courting young, or at least young at heart, people with active lifestyles. But sometimes the connection between the vehicle and any activity is tenuous at best. Other times, though, the connection is spot-on. Such is the case with the Honda Element. Its styling is quirky, offbeat, and appealing - and also extremely functional. The Element is the box it came in, all the better to fill with bicycles, skis, snowboards, surfboards, climbing equipment, or camping gear. Wait, scratch the camping gear - with seats that fold flat into a double bed, an Element makes a very good base camp. And best of all, the Element is priced very reasonably. Active people generally spend what disposable income they may have on their sport of passion, not their car, and with base prices from $18,900 to $23,495, an Element won't dispose of too much income.

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Festive crime advice

A MASSIVE police presence, which saw the force patrolling outside every secondary school in London before the end of term, gave students advice on how to keep their possessions safe over the Christmas period. With children expected to be carrying new mobile phones and MP3 players following Christmas, the police were on hand to dish out leaflets giving advice on how best to protect them. The Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) and Safer Schools scheme is part of a process in which they will seek to recognise local priorities and issues for young people. .

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Fairchild ’s UMLP-Packaged USB 2.0 Switch

Fairchild Semiconductor introduces a USB 2.0 switch that maximizes board real estate and downloading performance in today's increasingly compact and sophisticated electronics. The FSUSB30 combines industry-leading bandwidth (>720MHz), low on-capacitance (6pF) and the highest available ESD protection (8kV) in a very small (1.4mm x 1.8mm x 0.55mm) UMLP device. These attributes result in rapid data transfer, diminished ESD effects and excellent signal integrity. In addition to saving space in even the smallest end applications, the FSUSB30's fast switching performance makes it ideal for a myriad of products that switch between USB/high-frequency signals, from slider cell phones and MP3 players to notebooks and in-car entertainment centers. “Fairchild's ultra-compact, high-bandwidth switch allows designers to save critically limited board space while enabling applications to quickly multiplex between two high-speed (480Mbps) data sources," said Patty Miske, switch marketing manager for Fairchild's Analog Products Group.

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2006-12-29T04:52:00.000-08:00

Consumer Reports Asks People's Thoughts On iPods

(CBS4) BOSTON When it comes to mp3 players, iPods have cornered the market accounting for three out of every four sold but they're not without their share of drawbacks.Consumer Reports recently surveyed 3,000 subscribers to see what people really think about their performance.Lillian Mayer loves her iPod. In fact, this is the second one she's purchased. Her first one stopped working."My iPod was like three years old and the battery broke," she said.Consumer Reports says battery deterioration in MP3 players has been a problem, especially for iPod users.Rosalind Tordesillas says that while overall owners are happy with their iPods, there are drawbacks."For all players, battery life deteriorates over time. But in our survey, iPod owners were twice as likely as owners of non iPods in general to complain that battery life was much shorter after one year," Tordesillas said.Also, while many mp3 players come with their own chargers, iPod requires you to buy a power adapter for $29.

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How to Get Your Gadget Going

Chalonda Roberts (Rochester, N.Y.) - Desktops, laptops, high definition TV's were all popular Christmas gifts this year. Richard and Brenda Mains bought laptop as a gift for themselves. However, they need help transferring data and setting up wireless capability. Brenda said, “To get security set up, they made it sound a little daunting." The couple turned to the geek squad-- a service that offers in-home training to meet most technology needs. For other consumers who may need help, there's “Firedog" to the rescue. Sales Manager Matthew Harris said, "We come out to the house, do it there in front of you and give you a tutorial one on one." Harris said it's a service that comes in handy especially when it comes to setting up and getting the full use out of products like home entertainment centers with HD TVs.

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Headphone safer than earbuds

The pitch: Reduces the risk of hearing damage while creating a more lifelike stereo experience. How it works: Sound is directed to the outer ear instead of down the ear canal like conventional headphones. The product's transducers (the devices that convert the signals into music) provide loud enough sound at lower volume. Pros: Since the transducers are not aimed directly at the auditory canal, listeners perceive the same volume with up to 40 percent lower sound pressure levels. The House Ear Institute warns that today's digital audio players allow listeners to turn up the volume without signal distortion, exposing them to unsafe sound levels topping 115 decibels. Cons: The headphones are bigger and bulkier than earbuds and don't block ambient noise.

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2006-12-28T04:44:00.000-08:00

Toys gone bad return to store

STOW - Defective toys were the biggest reason for day-after-Christmas returns early Tuesday afternoon at the Target store on Kent Road. Shoppers making returns after lunch, considered the peak time of the day after the holiday, brought back everything from a remote control dinosaur with a broken leg to a child's electronic keyboard with one annoyingly loud, broken key, to a Disney Mix Max MP3 player that would play only briefly. Kim Staats of Stow, whose son and daughter each got one of the Disney MP3 players, said her 4-year-old daughter's High School Musical-themed one was the problem. ``It would play for a while and then it would lose all the songs,'' said Staats, who exchanged the original orange MP3 player for a pink one. She had to jump over some hurdles to make that happen, though, considering Grandma -- who had bought the gift -- hadn't included a gift receipt.

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Battle Test: Python XM by booq

Meet my new day bag. The Python XM from booq. You might remember its special edition sister the Bianco from a few days ago. Both versions are identical in terms of functionality, but one comes in black while the other comes in a dubious white. The bag is all sorts of stylish and a versatile packer to boot. It's designed specifically for use with Apple portables, but other laptops could be crammed in its pocket with zero effort. The Python XM is made from weather-proof ballistic nylon and it feels quite sturdy. As attractive as it is though, the compartments are what makes this a contender. It features a space for pretty much anything you can think to carry. Books, pens, DAPs, laptops, you name it, it has a place. Everything fits snuggly within its compartments and maintains a happy homeostasis with the bag's other denizen.

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EM Micro - Two new low-power LCD controllers / drivers speed design

Two new low-power LCD controllers / drivers, which can be used without other external components and are therefore both flexible and easy to design in have been announced by EM Microelectronic, the semiconductor company of the Swatch Group. With two different interfaces, the EM6121 and EM6126 are capable of driving a wide range of LCD modules. Due to their very low power requirements, they are well-suited to portable and mobile phone applications. The absence of flickering and uniformity of contrast across all dice in production earmarks these controllers for products with high quality standards. The EM6121/26 have no external components, reducing the module size, while saving material and manufacturing costs. The two circuits are well-suited to small portable devices, requiring tiny modules and very low power consumption, says the company.

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2006-12-27T04:50:00.000-08:00

DVDs surpass VCRs in popularity, report says

Eighty-one percent of households now own a DVD player, while just over 79 percent have a VCR, according to Nielsen Media Research's third-quarter home technology report. This is in sharp contrast to 1999's survey results, which showed that almost 89 percent of households owned a VCR, while less than 7 percent owned a DVD player. "This study shows the culmination of a long battle for share of consumers," said Paul Lindstrom, Nielsen's senior vice president of custom research. "We now see the popularity of DVDs has finally surpassed that of VCRs." DVD households also rent DVDs twice a month, but households with VCRs only rent once a month. Nielsen's survey also showed that 73 percent of homes currently have a computer, while nearly 27 percent of homes rent or own an MP3 player and more than 16 percent of homes own a PDA.

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There it is There it is

The debate may rage over whether mp3 blogs are killing the record industry or spurring sales by introducing fans to new music, but the blogs facilitate another important role: the grieving process. Mp3 blogs fill up with sympathies, tributes, and thoughtful exchanges when a musician dies. Since James Brown died Christmas Day, the mp3 blog community has been lighting up with posts about the Godfather of Soul, along with some of his songs. Many of them are tracks from his holiday albums such as "James Brown's Funky Christmas." His presciently titled "Christmas in Heaven" has been a favorite the past two days. Excerpts from some of the blogs: Ear Farm (earfarm.blogspot.com ) "Brown was one of the most elite and influential musicians of the past century.

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Roto-Rooter's Top Five Drainpipe Recoveries of 2006

CINCINNATI, OH -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 27, 2006 -- At the end of each year, Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Drain Service surveys its 5,400 field technicians throughout North America to develop a list of the strangest items recovered from pipes and toilets over the course of the year. The 2006 survey resulted in a surprising list of items ranging from precious valuables to appliances. To a plumber it's all in a day's work to recover false teeth, eye glasses and cell phones from toilets and pipes but occasionally Roto-Rooter recovers things that are a bit more extraordinary. 1. SHAVING THE PIPES Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- Roto-Rooter's Adam Kolnik tried to clear a blockage in a toilet. When his cable went through the drain the entire toilet began vibrating. The object turned out to be an electric razor, which the customer believes was knocked into the toilet by his cat.

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2006-12-26T04:59:00.000-08:00

2007 ; The year of the Mp3

This year we saw several DRM free experiments from the major labels. 2007 can be "The Year of The Mp3," the year unencrypted, DRM free mp3s revive, rather than raze the music business but, you and I have to stand up together and yell loudly in order for the dream to come true. As we get ready to bid a fond farewell to 2006, I've been doing some thinking; It's high-time we as digital music consumers make our desires clear. We want DRM free music. We aren't thieves. We're willing to pay, if you give us what we want. It really is that simple. eMusic has proven this year that the mp3 is a viable media format, without any crippling DRM layer applied. The continued growth of P2P, even after a slew of lawsuits, settlements and unhappy PR moments also proves that DRM isn't saving anyone from anything..

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iCrib Adapts Your MP3 Player For the Crib

The iCrib Sound System is basically a special speaker system that can mount on the rails of a crib and adapts just about an MP3 player to play music. The iCrib has straps to mount to the rails of the crib, and has a holder for most MP3 players, provided the MP3 player is shaped somewhat like the iPod. The name, color and shape of the holder and the sound system in this case pretty much implies 'iPod' to me, but the manufacturer advertises that any MP3 player would work. The holder is removable so you can connect the MP3 player without removing the entire iCrib sound system from the railing. The iCrib is actually more than just a set of speakers to play music, it has settings in order to help a baby fall asleep. The speakers have a sound output that limits the output sound level so that different songs will come out at a limited volume.

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4. Creative Zen Neeon 2

The new ZEN Neeon 2 lets users have their music, photos, video and FM radio at their fingertips. Slim and compact, the elegant ZEN Neeon 2 also allows fashionable MP3 users to express themselves by personalising their players through the application of a wide range of Creative Stik-On skins.Measuring just 81mm x 42mm x 12.5mm and weighing only 50g, this miniature wonder packs in a full range of features that include either 4GB, 2GB or 1GB of storage capacities, built-in FM tuner, voice recorder, line in recording and a 1.5" colour display for users to view both photos and videos.The ZEN Neeon 2, with an elegant black piano surface finish, comes in 5 unique brushed-metal backplate colours. Launching together with the player are new selections of Creative Stik-On skins, each set featuring 4 characters that represent different music genres.

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2006-12-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

iPod vs. Zune Review Database

Here's what iPod and Zune owners have to say about their mp3 devices, as culled from comments to Post I.T. Perhaps their experience can help you make a shopping decision. I've weeded out the obvious plants from Microsoft and Apple marketers, pimping their products and bashing the others, but there's no guarantee I got them all. These read like unalloyed, and useful, reader reviews. The time references, such as "yesterday," refer to the period around the Zune's release in November. iPod owners: * I've got a 30G video ipod (I guess that's fifth-generation). Had it about a year; it works fine. Never had a problem. I've got plenty of video on it, and I find the screen pretty easy to watch. I've never had any significant problem with iTunes -- the biggest problem I ever had was when they added album art, and the new version locked up when updating my album art -- several times.

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Sound, price make earbuds worth it

Two companies have introduced similar and noteworthy products: easy-to-use wireless headphones that sound great. The most notable product is Etymotic Research's ety8 Bluetooth earphones, the first wireless in-ear headphones. That means the earphones sit deeper in your ear than standard headphone models. The Elk Grove Village, Ill., firm specializes in hearing devices. I earlier called Shure's E500PTH my top choice for the year. Those, too, are in-ear headphones, but they cost an astonishing $500. The ety8's nearly match those in sound and cost $299. That's still more than the top iPod, but these earphones, like Shure's, dampen exterior noise, so you turn the volume lower — much safer for your ears. And since this is a wireless product, you are not tethered to the player.

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New Destruction MP3 Posted

Candlelight Records USA has posted Destruction's remake of their classic "Mad Butcher" to the label's official MySpace site. Bring your browser to this location for a listen. There is no beter champion of thrash metal than Germany's Destruction. Hailed as one of the genre's innovators, the trio have consistently delivered a one-two knock out punch of speed and intensity. Uncompromising, honest and determined they continue twenty years on from their genesis. "Mad Butcher" comes from the band's forthcoming Thrash Anthems album, set to hit US stores on January 23. Alongside 12 other remakes, Thrash Anthems contains two brand new songs ("Deposition/Your Heads Will Roll" and "Profanity"). Destruction will kick off their headline tour (support via Sadus and Municipal Waste) on January 20. Date: 2006-12-23 As Reported by: jason .

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2006-12-24T04:48:00.000-08:00

WIN AN MP3 PLAYER

COMPLETE and mail the card found on the cover of the book by 31 Mar 2007 and stand a chance to win a MP3 player. Details can be found in The Straits Times Recruit Career Guide 2007. Conditions apply. Students get an exclusive stationery set (limited edition notebook and pen) free when they buy the Career Guide 2007 through their schools (while stocks last). .

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Test Bench: Turn up the music, please, on the new dog and Bono

The idea seems simple enough: combine a mobile phone with an MP3 player and in one stroke cut down the number of gadgets you need to carry around. Not only that, but if your phone happens to be playing your music when you receive a call, you wont miss it, as you well might if your iPod is turned up too loud. And because mobile networks often subsidise the cost of the phones, in many cases providing them for free with a contract, it can work out much cheaper. But as with most simple ideas there are catches. Early music-friendly phones had too little memory, shoddy software and fiddly controls not to mention poor sound quality. And while the latest versions have improved in all these key areas, there are always going to be compromises. For a start, music-centric phones are fashionably styled, as theyre aimed at the young this is rocknroll, after all and the result is that their utility takes a hit.

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Top 10 hot MP3 players of 2006

2006 was an eventful year. Every MP3 player manufacturer had something to say. Apple had its iPods, Creative went with the Zens and iriver turned miniature. To date, MP3 players had never looked as gorgeous. The fashion bug has really bitten with the Samsung and Apple paving the way with designer styles. The Samsung YP-K5 and YP-T9 certainly look chic in glossy piano black, while the new slim Apple iPod nano can give any waifish supermodel a run for her money. The hard drive MP3 player is definitely on its way out, with most of the new models introduced in the latter half of the year using flash memory. Video playback is still not the big hunky-dory feature it was supposed to be as most consumers seem to be contented with a player that meant mainly for audio.

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2006-12-18T04:53:00.000-08:00

Creative Zen V Plus MP3 Plus Video in the Palm of Your Hands

Suerte Felipe Being an owner of the Creative Zen V Plus for three months now, I can't believe how Creative was able to put everything in such a small gadget. The Zen V Plus may not look high-tech but you just have to use it and see for yourself. At Creative's website (www.creative.com), the Zen V Plus is categorized as an MP3 player and not a portable media player (PMP) just to make things clear. The first time I saw the box, it did made a good impression, but seeing the player just made me say "cute." It measures 2.65 inches long, 1.7 inches wide, and .62 inch thick. The Zen V Plus is small enough to fit in the palm of your hands. The Zen V Plus has that piano-gloss finish that covers even the 1.5-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display making it scratch resistant. Below the display is where the 5-way joystick, play/pause and return button is located.

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Learn languages a new way- with Mp3 files for your mp3 player or ...

One can easily learn languages before going on holidays with the travel dictionary of Prosonsoft. The talking travel dictionary brings in the real fun – irrespective of the language you would like to learn; German, English, French or Spanish. Choose your language and off you go with the little language travel guide in the MP3 format. The slogan “Never again speechless on holiday" led to the idea to develop a travel-dictionary which is now published on www.travel-dictionary. .

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Portable trainer: An MP3 workout

How many of your workouts go something like this: Stride purposefully into gym whistling favorite tune, hum through 10 minutes of cardio warm-up, bang out a set of chest presses, then, let's see, maybe some leg extensions, then, hmm, maybe bicep curls? Next, where were we? After 15 minutes you've lost a little steam and a lot of focus, and you're not at all sure you're getting the full benefit of your gym time. Enter MP3 workouts, pictorial move-by-move guides that you download from the Internet to any handheld device — MP3 player or personal digital assistant — capable of displaying photos. When I first heard of these, I envisioned a pricey download and workouts led by a painfully merry cheerleader, backed by thumping techno tunes. What I got, via a program called PumpOne, was a basic, easy-to-follow full-body strength routine (PumpOne's free sample workout), with clear photos of some guy much fitter than I performing each exercise and accompanying notes on proper form.

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2006-12-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

Movie Score Media announces 320kbit MP3 downloads

Welcome to the MovieScore Media Shop at http://www.moviescoremediashop.com, where you are able to purchase and download all of our unique, widely acclaimed film score albums in sparkling 320kbit mp3 format! All albums are offered at the fixed price $9.99 ($0.99 for single track downloads). We have released 15 albums so far in 2006, and the 16th will come out on December 26. We hope that you will be interested in purchasing some of these exciting scores for instant delivery to your computer: - MMS06001 UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Peter Calandra) - MMS06002 SHADOWS IN THE SUN (Mark Thomas) - MMS06003 ECHOES OF INNOCENCE (Brad Sayles) - MMS06004 DEAR WENDY (Benjamin Wallfisch) - MMS06005 AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (Caine Davidson) - MMS06006 VET HARD (Alex Heffes) - MMS06007 THE SISTERS (Thomas Morse) - MMS06008 EVIL (Francis Shaw) - MMS06009 HALF LIGHT (Brett Rosenberg) - MMS06010 THE ROOST/JOSHUA (Jeff Grace) - MMS06011 HEADSPACE (Ryan Shore) - MMS06012 LAND OF THE BLIND (Guy Farley/Doug Edwards) - MMS06013 THE DARK (Edmund Butt) - MMS06014 CHASING GHOSTS (Scott Glasgow) - MMS06015 FROSTBITE (Anthony Lledo) - MMS06016 MRS PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT (Stephen Barton) - Dec 26 We encourage you to visit our regular web site at http://www.moviescoremedia.com to get an overview of our albums, and then browse our store to hear sound clips from all albums.

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MP3: Deerhoof: "+81"

As Pitchfork prepares to take the holiday plunge, we leave you today with a digital stocking stuffer that should toast your Yule logs right good. Um, whatever the hell that means. "+81" comes careening down your chimney courtesy of the kind elves at Kill Rock Stars, straight off Deerhoof's Friend Opportunity-- which, as previously reported, arrives January 23 via KRS, bundled with 10 tracks and 12 unique cover opportunities. Bookended by some trumpets that almost sound From Barcelona, the track showcases the leaner, (not really) meaner Deerhoof, presently a trio following the departure of bassist Chris Cohen (who now plays in the Curtains). Satomi Matsuzaki's still cooing existential babytalk, guitarist John Dieterich is still slicing out razor-sharp riffs, and drummer Greg Saunier still holds it down in back, threatening to go all John Philip Sousa on us but soon settling on a simple, efficient beat.

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MP3: Rock Plaza Central: "SexyBack" (Justin Timberlake cover)

Our pals over at Cokemachineglow had the rather brilliant idea of soliciting folks like David Thomas Broughton and Rock Plaza Central to perform the unlikeliest of covers for their forthcoming "CMG Fantasy Podcast Vol. 1". And yes, by some devilish machinations, they managed to get the latter to cover Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack"-- you know, the one that divided the JT ranks until "My Love" sailed in and brought everybody together again. Slowing things down to a trot, pulling out some woozy horns for the second verse, and wisely dumping all of Timbaland's bridge-barking, RPC imbues what was a sleazy come-on track with the same sense of foreboding that colors much of the Pitchfork Recommended Are We Not Horses? Or consider it this way: if Timberlake's beckoning you back to his place for a little whoopy-makin', RPC's Chris Eaton sounds like he's luring you back for some serial killin'.

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2006-12-15T04:53:00.000-08:00

Get Your MP3 Tags in Order

Every obsessive digital music collector feels a warm sense of pride knowing that his vast library of MP3s is tidy and well-tagged. While the most recent release of iTunes featured the player's most robust song file tag-editing capability to date, there are still many other options available for managing a music collection. In fact, anyone who rips CDs outside of iTunes, downloads songs from Russian MP3 sites or -- gasp -- doesn't own an iPod would find a viable alternative to Apple Computer's media player quite welcome. Many lesser-known music library managers simply offer more tagging features than iTunes, such as the ability to obtain artist biographies, automatically retrieve album art from a variety of sources and even fetch song lyrics. Wired News has assembled some of the best and most popular stand-alone ID3 tag editors for this review.

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SanDisk MP3 players fly under the radar

Apple's iPod is king of the hill, and Microsoft's Zune landed with a lot of splash and fanfare. But the folks at SanDisk -- you might remember them as SansaDisk, the people who made your first CompactFlash card or USB thumb drive -- have quietly slipped into the mix of media player elite. Their latest treat, the Sansa e280R, is nearly as small as a Nano, but with a screen bigger and brighter than Apple's tiny player. And, while the Nano can display, well, nano-sized pictures, the Sansa players up the ante by offering pictures and video on the 1.8-inch TFT display, an integrated digital FM tuner, and built-in voice recording. Oh, and the "Lil' Monster," as it's marketed on the box, comes with 8GB of flash storage in its slim, sleek and sturdy-feeling alloy and black-plastic casing.

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LG mixes Chocolate-flavoured MP3 player

LG likes Chocolate. Chocolate has done a rather good job of boosting LG's profile in the mobile phone market. And now the company hopes it'll do the same in the digital music arena. Enter the UP3 Flat, an oddly named but clearly Chocolate-inspired MP3 player soon to debut in Korea and maybe elsewhere. It's a Flash-based device, of course, and sports a slide-out, pared down USB connector for direct insertion into a spare port, something we've not seen since the days of the iRiver - remember them? - T20. There's a thick lanyard retainer on the top, while the earphone socket's on the side, above two of the controls. Not shown here are the red lights above the arrow-shaped buttons on the front of player. In addition to playing back music, the UP3 has a voice recording facility too.

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2006-12-14T04:52:00.000-08:00

MP3: Nina Nastasia Daytrotter Session

Like Califone, Nina Nastasia and her band demonstrate a delightfully accomplished ear for subtlety and restraint in arrangements on these four sessions recorded for Daytrotter and posted this week. Indeed, she and band sound so in their element that if I didn't know better, I'd think these mp3s were pulled straight from the records on which the original songs appear (Nina's debut, Dogs, and this year's On Leaving, her first for new home FatCat). "Why Don't You Stay Home" finds Nina in solo mode, her singing and playing refreshingly graceful and natural. "Lee", perhaps the strongest of the four session pieces, is festooned in some lovely piano meanderings and cymbal washes; "Underground" gets a boost from similar elements. And "Jim's Room", last but not least, rattles around the edges with some slight, off-key piano touches, later settling on accordion-guided swells.

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MP3: The Knife: "Christmas Reindeer"

You read that right: a Christmas song from the Knife, which isn't so odd when you consider the duo's maturation into icy techno phenoms is a fairly recent development. Prior to garnering wild acclaim for Silent Shout, the Dreijer siblings delivered two albums of serviceable electro-pop-- with dark touches, sure, but only hinting at the lost highways and shadowy forests to come on Shout. Now they alight on our snow-encrusted roofs with "Christmas Reindeer", a slight re-working of "Reindeer", the final track on their self-titled 2001 debut. Re-working means doubling the original's panting rhythm with the obligatory jingle bell and trimming it back by nearly two minutes, wisely nixing a somewhat hokey slide guitar. And while the Knife's customized "Christmas Reindeer" takes a little while to soar, there's no denying the eerie power of Karin's voice-- largely unprocessed here-- when it ascends the upper registers for the chorus, then falls off in a dusting of snowflakes.

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Detroit Pistons MP3 Player

Looks like the Detroit Pistons are readying to become the next Chinese knock-off company. But don't get on their cases just yet. Despite looking a lot like a first-generation iPod Shuffle, this $25 MP3 player is only 128MB and plays WMA and MP3 formats and comes with a beautiful Pistons logo on the front of the device. It could be the best thing to come out of Detroit since Ford and Eminem. Might be worth picking one up if you're a fan or not though, because a portion of the proceeds from each player are going to the Detroit Medical Center's breast cancer prevention program. Plus, if you pick up six of them, they'll throw you a seventh for no additional cost. You might as well grab a few for stocking stuffers and to help out a noble cause this holiday you cheapskate. Detroit Pistons iPod Clone [Electronista] tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px} table { border: 1px solid black } .

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2006-12-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

EU Commission delays copyright levy reform

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has delayed a decision on whether to reform a tax on gadgets such as MP3 players that can reproduce copyright material, the European Union executive said on Wednesday. "The Commission has decided more reflection is required on this complex issue. When it is ready, it will bring it on the agenda of the Commission," spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen told a regular news briefing. .

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CHECK THIS: Proton Proton + Stream + MP3

Proton Proton, the Brooklyn-based band of sonic experimentalists on the 'melodramatic popular song' tip, are gaining steam as they head into 2007. After two EP's in 2005, the band has been playing shows and writing new music. They had a set of songs ready to go this summer, but eventually scrapped them in favor of writing new material, which they'll be releasing in January. I guess SOMEBODY's not afraid to venture beyond a "stay the course" strategy. Maybe the White House and the Pentagon should be listening to this band... You're listening to the song Plates off the release EP#2. Use the Galaxy Media Player above and to the right to control the playback. They're also working on their instruments. Aron Sanchez said "Paul and I are both building ourselves new instruments.

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Sansa ships e200 and c200 MP3 players to Europe with FM tuners

We've covered the Sansa e200 player previously. But did you know that the models shipped to the UK of both the e200 and c200 didn't come with an FM tuner due to "increased costs caused by tax requirements"? Well, Sandisk has obviously sorted that little problem out, shipping both models with the radio, but still offering FM-less players at a reduced cost. Available in a variety of capacities from 1GB to 8GB (that's around 2,000 MP3 tracks), both models also feature a microSD slot, which can boost capacity by another 500. Apart from FM, they also feature rechargeable batteries, photo viewing, voice recording via a built-in microphone and playback of MP3 and WMA files. The players are also good for DRM tracks too. The e200 also features a scratch resistant alloy metal back casing, as well as video when used with the Sansa Media Converter.

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2006-12-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

Asobi Seksu, Thursday MP3

Live At Budokan, Double Live Gonzo!, From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishak, it seems like its been a darned long time since weve had a truly great live album... Now Brooklyn dream poppers Asobi Seksu are bringing back the noble art of the live album. Recorded live at Los Angeles The Echo, and presented by Spaceland, the album captures a snapshot of the band as they perfect the shoegazing soundscapes that earned them comparisons to My Bloody Valentine. The set draws heavily from their acclaimed second album Citrus and sees the band expanding their sound and loving every minute of it. |"Thursday" MP3| (Right-click, "Save Target As") .

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Creative to launch 8GB Zen V Plus MP3 players in Japan and Taiwan

Apple Computer and SanDisk are two companies also offering 8GB flash-based MP3 players, according to industry sources in Taiwan. The mainstream storage capacity of MP3 players in the global market in 2007 will be 2-4GB, while 8GB models may have sales potential in the US, Europe and Japan, the sources noted. Currently in the Taiwan market, the Creative Zen V Plus series sells for NT$4,190 (US$129) for a 1GB model, NT$5,990 for a 2GB version and NT$7,290 for a 4GB one, the sources indicated. .

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2006-12-11T04:48:00.000-08:00

Anti-Spyware Orgs Seek Investigation Of MP3 Site

Two anti-spyware groups asked the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to shut down FastMP3Search.com.ar for allegedly stuffing users' machines with spyware, stating that they believed the Argentine site was one of the world's worst spyware spreaders. By Gregg Keizer InformationWeek Dec 7, 2006 12:50 PM Two anti-spyware groups asked the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to shut down FastMP3Search.com.ar Web for stuffing users' machines with spyware, stating that they believed the Argentine site was one of the world's worst spyware spreaders. StopBadware.org and the Center for Democracy and Technology filed a formal complaint with the FTC. The complaint asked the agency to investigate the site and its owners, stop the site from distributing spyware, and, if appropriate, demand compensation for consumers.

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While buying Christmas gifts, Give kids a lesson about spending ...

Pushing through the holiday throngs at the electronics store with your 10-year-old, you walk past shopping carts brimming with MP3 players, video games, laptops and digital cameras. Outside, there's a line of people loading up big-screen televisions. That's when your youngster tugs your sleeve and says, "Gosh, look at that stuff. They must be rich!" How do you answer? Judging from some e-mail hitting my in-box recently, plenty of parents are grappling with this type of financial angst coming from the back seat of the minivan. It's a byproduct of a season filled with massive advertising that saturates youngsters with one must-have after another. If your child drops a ticklish money question on you during the holiday season (or any time of the year), experts say the worst thing to do is dodge it.

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Consumer Groups Target MP3 Site

Two consumer protection groups are asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate FastMP3Search.com.ar, a Web site that distributes software that can be used to search for digital music on the Web. 'Worst of the Bad' The FastMP3Search plugin disables the Windows Firewall, installs adware and Trojan horse programs, and generally hobbles the user's PC, said John Palfrey, the Harvard Law School professor who is StopBadware.org's co-director. The software is also virtually impossible to remove once installed, he added. StopBadware.org and the Center for Democracy and Technology plan to file a formal complaint with the FTC on Thursday. "We are asking the FTC to take a close look at an application that we consider to be the worst of the bad applications that we've seen over the course of the last year," Palfrey said.

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2006-12-10T04:45:00.000-08:00

Listen to Mike Mayo's podcast on your iPod or MP3 player

Podcasting is an easy way to turn your iPod or MP3 player into "on-demand" radio. You decide which programs you want to receive, and your podcasting software will automatically check to see if new episodes of the program are available. If a new episode is available, it is automatically downloaded to your iPod or MP3 player. Click here to listen to this week's Mike Mayo podcast. How to subscribe To subscribe to the Sun-Sentinel.com podcast, do one of the following: Click on the following URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/VoicesOfSouthFlorida Click here if you have iTunes 4.9 or later installed and want to sign up for Mike Mayo's podcast feed. Where to get Podcasting software Apple's free iTunes 4.9 software (for Windows or Mac) is the easiest way to start receiving podcasts.

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Test Bench special: Zune v iPod

In the 1990s we had the battle of the bands as Blur and Oasis struggled to be crowned the kings of Britpop. Now prepare for the battle of the brands as Apple and Microsoft go head to head in a heavyweight bout to establish supremacy in the MP3 player market. The contest brings together two of the biggest names in technology. They are Steve Jobs the boss of Apple, the company whose iPod MP3 player has changed the way a generation listens to music and Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the richest man in the world, whose company last month launched the Zune as the iPods direct competitor. .

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Kia Cee'd

The manufacturer has finally decided to fall into line with virtually every other car maker and put the indicator stalk on the left-hand side of the steering wheel and the wiper controls on the right. However, it will be the other way round on the first batch of Cee'ds destined for the UK in February. A Kia executive told us that bosses in right-hand-drive markets such as Britain weren't speedy enough to tell the Korean engineers what they wanted! The planned switch by Kia means the only mainstream maker left with indicators on the right will be Hyundai - so could it follow its sister company? The firm had no comment.Another potential problem for the car is its audio system. It comes with MP3 connectivity as standard, but there are currently licensing issues with iPod maker Apple. It means drivers who buy a car before April won't be able to select tunes through the dashboard controls, only via the player.

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2006-12-05T04:59:00.000-08:00

The Market Mix Tape

It's not only manufacturing workers losing out in the new automated world and, according to the New York Post earlier this week, it's not just Dylan tangled up in blue. An article in Sunday's Post reported that Wall Street traders are increasingly seeking the council of psychologists as layoffs on the trading floors of Wall Street put a damper on holiday cheer for these soldiers of the exchange floor. Now, while I'm not going to speculate on whether traders are really heading to the couch en masse, I thought this did nicely underscore how broad the effect of technological advances has been. Most of what I hear on the subject seems to revolve around low-skilled manufacturing jobs, but this is a good reminder that technology is blind to whom it is putting out of work. Historically, the NYSE (NYSE: NYX) and American Stock Exchange have been auction-based markets where specialists on the floor of the exchange facilitate a "fair and orderly market" for a given stock and, at times, create additional liquidity.

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Cingular Preps Nokia N75 for Take-off

We've gotten a tip that Nokia's N75 is this close to launching on Cingular. As a member of Nokia's N-series, the N75 is not to be called a phone. No, it's a multimedia computer. Whatevs, Nokes. It does mark a decent entry to Cingular's high-end line-up, boasting Symbian Series 60, UMTS 3G connectivity, a 2-megapixel cam, microSD, and stereo Bluetooth. It has external MP3 playback control buttons, so Cingular will brand it as a "music phone", which is fine by us. This powerful flip has already cleared the FCC process, so look for it to drop any day now. N75 Specs [PhoneScoop] tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px} table { border: 1px solid black } .

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2006-12-04T05:15:00.000-08:00

Cool high-tech gifts have something for just about anyone

Choices abound. You've got high definition or plasma televisions. Apple's latest offerings in the iPod Juggernaut. Digital cameras as thin as a CD case. Cell phones with bells and whistles that defy the imagination. Even a 10th anniversary Tickle Me Elmo that has all the hype of his predecessor but 10 times as many moves and giggles. But those eclipse some of the lesser known, eye-popping toys and gadgets, most of them new to the market, others just too cool not to mention. Here are some ideas you might not already know about: Less than $50 - Cube World from Radica ($29.95 retail, for set of two), at most major retailers. Little stick people live in colored boxes. Sounds corny, until you see them. Each plays games, has its own persona and activity blue equals policeman, red equals fireman and more than 100 animations.

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Mickey Mouse MP3/WMA Player

When it goes down to specifications, all MP3 players are alike. Therefore, it is really hard for some people to decide which one is right for them. You may find tons of “good looking" MP3 players in the market but how many of them are considered as a “cute" one. For all of those who are “young-at-hear," this good looking MP3 player might be just right for you. I'd say this Mickey Mouse MP3 player is just right for kids (pretty girls, perhaps?) and people who are young-at-heart (and this may include me, ha ha ha). It comes with Disney Music samples, and you know that Disney Music is a good music. This MP3 player can play both MP3 and WMA audio formats. It has 128MB of build-in memory. If that is not enough for you, the SD/MMC slot is also available allowing expandable memory up to 1GB.

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2006-12-03T04:58:00.000-08:00

Nintendo preps MP3 player accessory for DS, GBA

Nintendo has muddied the debate between users who favor multifunction gadgets versus single-purpose devices, by announcing a new MP3-playing addition to their line of handheld game player. The Nintendo MP3 player is slightly larger than a regular GameBoy Advance game cartridge, and it works with the Game Boy Micro, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, and of course, the Nintendo DS. In reality, the new MP3 player is a modified version of the Play-yan multimedia add-on that has been available in Japan for over a year. The player uses standard SD memory cards to transport songs from a PC. Any MP3 file will work, but DRMed music files (such as Apple's AAC-DRM and Microsoft's WMA-DRM) will not. The cartridge comes with music playback software that runs on the Game Boy or DS. According to Nintendo, the MP3 player features: Built-in stereo headphone socket Simple on-screen interface including Repeat and Shuffle modes Two themes available for on-screen interface: standard and Mario Drag and drop songs from PC to SD card, dividing artists or albums into folders as desired Stores approximately 240 songs on a 1Gb SD card (SD card not included) The Play-yan in Japan also has the capability of movie playback, but it appears as though Nintendo wanted to steer clear of that functionality.

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Six Parts Seven Unveil Album, Share Exclusive MP3

It's as if Six Parts Seven withdrew completely from the music scene for a couple of years just so we could make a "lost notes from forgotten bands" joke upon their return. Success! The Kent, Ohio collective recently hammered out its latest LP, Casually Smashed to Pieces, which is slated for a January 23 release via Suicide Squeeze on both CD and limited edition 12" formats. The album was recorded at Seattle's Studio Litho and Akron's Ice House, and produced by Six Parts Seven and Matt Bayles. The label has honored the new with the old in the form of a free download-only EP, Six Parts Seven MP3EP. We recommend you click it, as those sneaky Squeezers squeezed in two Pieces songs in between the collection's otherwise previously released tracklist. And nothing's more satisfying than hearing something first and then bragging about it right off the bat, amirite? You don't have to stop spinning new songs there.

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Danava, Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger MP3

Been listening to Wolfmother and thinking to yourself Yknow what? Sabbath-era stoner rock is totally awesome! Where can I get my hands on more? The answer is Kemado signees Danava. Less Sabbath-meets, more Sabbath-seduces with shades of Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Dungeons and Dragons, the music has the grinding, grimy riffage that is required of the genre, but Danava couple it with the ebbs and flows and atmospheric of modern bands. Check out Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger, and enjoy the medieval riffs fed through a shoegazers pedal board. |"Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger" MP3| (Right-click, "Save Target As") .

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2006-12-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

Exercise Watchers

The shrill guffaws of the Laughter Club rang out in the morning air. Farther away in a park, someone performed an impossible act of rotating head, torso and arms all at the same time. Another woman clapped her hands with every tread. Three men performing breathing exercises walked backwards ignoring vehicles trundling behind them. Before sunrise, I creak out of the gate, unleashing myself on the streets. Unlike the staid milkman ambience of yesteryears that I grew up in, the bustle of our parks is now all about the fitness-friendly gentry performing their callisthenics. Innovative exercises are on display. I see a curious mixture of aerobics sprinkled with nuances of Vedic mathematics and yoga applied with some common sense. There are no airs to these workout sessions.

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Maxfield launches MAX-IVY MP3 player

Maxfield has a new range of MP3 players on the market under the MAX-IVY banner. No video this time, but it does promise to keep its good looks and offer you the lyrics of your favourite tune. The case is made of scratch proof black magnesium, so you'll keep a smooth exterior no matter how many bumps it attracts. It also features blue touch-sensitive controls, plays MP3 WMA and OGG music files, displays your JPEG images and offers you the lyrics to your tunes onscreen via .lrc files. Who needs karaoke? Available now in sizes 1GB, 2GB and 4GB, you can pick one up for £95, £119 and £169 respectively. Maxfield website Came straight to this page? Visit www.TechDigest.tv for all the latest news. .

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Reviewed by ; Kent German Reviewed December 1, 2006

You'd be forgiven if you expected Cingular's new Motorola to look like the Motorola V360 for T-Mobile. Though they're siblings, the V365 barely resembles the V360, and that's a good thing since we never thought the V360 was too pretty. Instead, the V365 flip phone takes its design cues from the Motorola V557. Yes, its overall form factor is bulkier, but it has the same silver face bordered by a dark, rubberized ring with a camera lens perched in the top-left corner. The feature set also is comparable, with offerings such as a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone, but the V365 adds an MP3 player, push-to-talk support (PTT) and a memory-card slot. Performance is satisfactory, too, but we prefer the Sony Ericsson Z525a for a Cingular PTT handset. The V365 is a reasonable $99 with service.

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2006-12-01T04:49:00.000-08:00

PHS: Leave MP3 players at home

PORTSMOUTH -- Last year's hot Christmas gift is still very much in demand -- so much so that leaders at Portsmouth High School are asking students to leave them home. Principal Jeff Collins is encouraging parents to have students leave MP3 players at home, after several of the music-playing devices have been stolen from students at school recently. .

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MP3: Loney, Dear: "The City, the Airport (CSS Remix)"

I. I was standing. You were there. Two worlds collided. And-- er, you can decide whether these two should be torn apart or not. Sub Pop labelmates, hemispheres between them-- both geographically and genre-wise-- joined together at last by one pretty solid remix. Brazilian dance crazies CSS crash earnest swede-popper Loney, Dear's party, reworking "The City, the Airport"-- from the latter's 2006 release Sologne-- into something you might dance to given the proper libations. Download the results below. The remix comes courtesy of Something in Construction, the fine label that treated the UK to Sologne and a 7" of the original version of the song in question. CSS's take is set to appear as a bonus track on the iTunes version of Sologne, as well as on a radio single and a forthcoming SIC label sampler.

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Cypress Semi forges new mobile device model

SAN JOSE, Calif. Seeking to reshape the mobile market, Cypress Semiconductor Corp. is pushing for a new peripherals conceptor even a standard architecturefor feature-rich and other handhelds. As part of that effort, Cypress will roll out a dedicated peripherals controller that promises to download files from a handset to a PC faster than solutions from competing companies. The controller, dubbed the West Bridge Antioch, is said to boost the transfer rates for complex data and media files from a handset to a PC via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) link at speeds up to 480 Mbits/second. Antioch is said to download 100 MP3 files in less than five minutes, compared with more than an hour for rival parts. Based on what Cypress calls its Simultaneous Link to Independent Multimedia architecture, Antioch offloads many of the data and memory transfer functions from the host or application processor in a system at maximum efficiencywithout disturbing any of the functions within the system itself.

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2006-11-30T04:50:00.000-08:00

Denon D-F103HRDAB Hi-Fi with hard disk recorder, internet radio ...

Hi-Fi manufacturers are starting to realise that many of us have home networks - and introducing systems that take advantage of it. Denon's D-F103HRDAB isn't the first, but it;s certainly one of the best equipped mini systems. Features include DAB radio, FM radio, internet radio and CD player with MP3 playback. But that's not the big selling point.The D-F103HRDAB also has a built-in hard drive can hold up to 10,000 songs, converting tracks to MP3 with full track data, thanks to online access to the Gracenote database. And as it's network friendly, it can also stream tracks from other devices, such as your PC or Mac. You can also add a device via the USB port for extra music, or backing up your Hi-Fi and there's optional iPod integration/control. The speakers are tuned for "critical" UK ears and each micro hi-fi component is based on Denon's latest full-size Advanced Evolution Hi-Fi - so no corner-cutting for the smaller unit.

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Pioneer Launches Mega-capacity HDD Recorder in Europe

Pioneer has launched a 500GB HDD recorder in Europe. The DVR-940HX-S is an advanced media centre with integrated digital DVB-T tuner, high-end video processing and scaling to 1080p video format via HDMI. With one touch recording and copying, its extremely easy to use. Download and edit your camcorder footage, rip CDs, and upload photographs and MP3 music. You can even print your photographs via a compatible printer. Youll get the best in enhanced picture processing; the DVR-940HX-S incorporates our newly designed VQE10 core video chipset, which enables a scaling option up to 1080p via HDMI. So youre guaranteed the highest viewing resolution, regardless of the source. The DVR-940HX-S also has an integrated digital DVB-T tuner. And if you're watching TV, time becomes less of a challenge.

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Kenwood 10GB7: Smallest 10GB Hard Drive-Based DAP

Kenwood is about to release the HD10GB7 portable digital audio player, which is supposedly the world's smallest 10GB hard drive-based player. These claims of "world's biggest/smallest/fastest" are always pretty dubious, but the provided specs do indicate that the DAP will be quite small indeed. Measuring 62x44x17mm (2.5x1.7x0.6 inches), the HD10GB7 is only slightly larger than the iPod shuffle. Battery life is expected to hover around 24 hours for MP3 playback while Kenwood promises better sound thanks to a proprietary technology of theirs. The player is outfitted with a clear digital amplifier, which makes the sound all silky and smooth and the 1.5-inch display takes up most of the front panel's real estate. It will be pricey, however, hitting Japanese stores for around $345.

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2006-11-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

MPIO FY700 2GB wearable MP3 player

Part music player, part style statement - the MPIO FY700 2GB MP3 player has everything you'd expect from a portable music player, along with a set of accessories that make it wearable, either round your neck or attached to you or your bag. As a music player, it's compatible with MP3 and WMA, along with DRM, if you've got a subscription service. There's also an FM radio, along with FM and voice recording that features Smart Recording - starting and stopping recording based on sound detection. There's also an 8-band equaliser, USB 2.0 transfer (which also means you can use it for file storage) and 20 hours playback from a single AAA battery. Available in white and sky blue, orange or grey, with matching accessories for the colour of your choice, you can pick one up for £79.

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MP3: Pull Tiger Tail: "Loki (Demo Version)"

Pull Tiger Tail are the latest fresh young things out of London, already bathing in praise despite having sprinkled only a handful of songs on the thirsty public. Due to their friendship with Klaxons and their penchant for childish, day-glo artwork, Pull Tiger Tail are linked to the so-called "new rave" scene. However, like Klaxons, they don't actually sound like a rave band. More like a pop-punk band with a bit of synth. Do they have the Warped Tour in England? To celebrate the launch of their digital store, Rough Trade Digital, Rough Trade is giving away a free Pull Tiger Tail download to everyone who signs up for their new download service. The band and Rough Trade are kindly sharing the track with Pitchfork as well, for a very limited time. Click below to download a demo version of "Loki", a menacing, synth-driven track about the evils of the music industry.

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DSE offers MP3 download service to other retaillers

Dick Smith Electronics plans to extend its recently launched digital music download service Ripit to other retailers. Under the scheme, users can buy vouchers at DSE's 65 New Zealand branches and redeem them on the website by registering entering the voucher number, or use a credit card. "We're in the early stages of looking to offer it to other retailers. We'll be looking to extend it beyond our own shops," says general manager Stu Meadows. Meadows says the vouchers offer an attractive margin and effectively don't require any stock. He says Ripit is a natural extension of products Dick Smith Electronics already offers. "Digital music is fast growing and with the advent of MP3 players it's becoming more and more popular.

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2006-11-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

Soundwave 1GB Pink MP3 Ball rolls out

There's tons of MP3 players out on the market these days ranging from the DIY variety to those polished and stylish players. However, how many DAPs these days bring the geometric style, (besides the Mobiblu Cube, of course)? Well, Soundwave's gone spherical on us with its Pink MP3 Ball that comes with 1GB of storage, lyrics display, and a standard USB 2.0 connection. It can be yours for 40 quid ($78) -- just be sure your cat doesn't confuse it for a toy to bat around the house. [Via Shiny Shiny, thanks Jonathan] .

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Genius Introduces MP3 DJ Elite

Taiwan based Genius, IT and consumer electronics brand, announced Genius MP3 DJ Elite. The latest MP3 player from Genius is priced at Rs 4,500 for 512 MB and Rs 5,600 for 1GB. This gadget, which weighs only 30 gm with dimensions of 68.2 x 30.3 x 13mm, is crafted with a black body and an electroplated button. It comes with a carry-bag made with deluxe velvet and a four-line white OLED display. Sandeep Ramani, country manager, Kye Systems, said, "As Genius is committed to bring the best to India and we are highly pleased to offer such a wonderful product like the Genius MP3 DJ Elite, which is a great mobile music player and is likely to capture the imagination of the people with its unique features and high acoustic experience." Additionally, it is bundled with features which include 30 preset FM stations, voice/FM recording, a folder navigator function, and flexible customization of the EQ setup as per choice from five preset equalizer modes.

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Explosions In The Sky, Welcome, Ghosts MP3

How is it that Explosions In The Sky can make instrumental music that sounds this epic? Well, the band spent some time scoring football melodrama Friday Night Lights creating a soundtrack that far surpassed its source material and in turn taught the band a thing or two about making grand, sweeping cinematic mini-symphonies in an album format. All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, Explosions In The Skys long-awaited fourth album, is due early next year and already promises to be a contender for album of the year, finally capturing the majesty of the bands live shows. |"Welcome, Ghosts" MP3| (Right-click, "Save Target As") .

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2006-11-27T05:06:00.000-08:00

VITO AudioNotes -mp3 and wav recorder - updated to v 1.25!

Obviously quality of microphones in Windows Mobile phones is a limit - these microphones were designed for low-quality cellular phone calls after all - but apart from that VITO AudioNotes may not be satisfactory to make podcasts (too low quality of microphones - not a fault of VITO) but enough for making audio notes... VITO AudioNotes is available both for Pocket PC and MS Smartphone. Information from VITO follows. * * * * * VITO AudioNotes to RECORD with EASE More features come along with enhanced usability VITO Technology is glad to announce a next update for VITO AudioNotes mp3 and wav recorder. With all new features in VITO AudioNotes v 1.25 recording and managing your voice notes has become a real pleasure! VITO AudioNotes allows you to record voice notes in mp3 and wav format on Pocket PC or Smartphone.

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Headset Brings Together Phone And MP3 Players

Jabra has introduced to new audio products for the Australian mobile consumer market. The new headsets plug into your MP3 player, but use BlueThooth to link to your phone bringing the best of both world's in an affordable solution. The two headsets, the BT320s and BT325s are designed to allow you to listen to music without risking missing a call. The headset also automatically pauses the music when you get an incoming call. A remote control interface also gives users complete freedom to operate the music functions without getting tied up in wires or losing connectivity with the rest of the world. "The mobile music landscape is changing rapidly and Jabra is focused on developing mobile audio products that interact with users in a way that meets their needs. In two years' time, seven out of 10 mobile phones will have music functionality and we want to make sure the Jabra brand of audio products is at the forefront of this market development", said Christian Tang-Jespersen, senior vice president, Jabra Asia Pacific.

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MicroSD MP3 player Memorysolution Lavod LFA-262B

It is equipped with two earphone jacks, a USB 2.0 connector, sports a card slot for microSD memory cards and weighs only 28 grams, the Li-Polymer battery already included. That way, the Lavod LFA-262B has a total play time of more than 6 hours and will be available exclusively in black color in capacities of one gigabytes (GB) and two GB. Just to mention that as well: this player is manufactured fully RoHS compliant and therefore contains no hazardous substances. "This picture is all too common: kids in cars, the Metro or busses with their heads stuck close to each others trying to share their taste of music with friends", says Andreas Albers, Sales Director Flash Products at Memorysolution GmbH. "No more need for that; the Lavod comes with two earphone jacks right away. Memorysolution microSD MP3 player - Equalizer That way both listeners experience the full sound quality powered by a 7-step equalizer.

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2006-11-26T04:45:00.000-08:00

This week we want to know all about... The Telephone Bag

If boys like toys that are practical, hi-tech and have a purpose, the Telephone Bag must be the ultimate girls' gadget. It looks good, comes in two colours, and is actually pretty useless. Combining two of the cosmopolitan woman's most important accessories, it is both a handbag shaped as a Seventies-style handset - complete with a dial and receiver which doubles as a handle - and a working telephone. Sounds like a great invention? Perhaps, but don't forget to pack your mobile. Despite being fully functional, it has to be plugged into a phone cable to work. And it lacks the specifications we expect these days - there's no Bluetooth, MP3 player or email, for a start. On the plus side, there's no chance of falling prey to drunken texting or calling an ex from a noisy bar. .

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UK Lifts Ban on MP3 Transmitters

The ban on MP3 transmitters in the UK has been lifted by Ofcom, an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communication industry. The ban was initially put in place because the transmission of the devices would sometimes interfere with broadcasts by legal radio stations. The FM transmitters allow users to connect items such as MP3 players to radios or other types of in-car entertainment systems while traveling. Ofcom has reported that it previously declined the opportunity to take action against individuals who were purchasing and using the FM transmitters -- although enforcement actions against retailers who were selling restricted types of FM transmitters has occurred. The popular device violated the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949, a law that forbid the use of any type of radio equipment without a license. Oddly enough, the act made it legal for UK retailers to legally sell the transmitters without any type of repercussion.

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Baladeurs mp3, Jukebox divx wma wmv - SmallDJ: Forums

Contrarily spam alert nudist picture other names that appear in previous Couplands works: alienation instead of stable relationships, cultural apathy and career disillusions, occasional drug or alcohol problems and subsequent identity crises. Gradually, they all get involved in implementing the program. A four-year timeframe of data collection was established for the spam alert nudist picture he even lived within the Faculty of Land and Food System, and the accuracy of their dead friend Jared who enables them to come back to the meeting for similar reasons as the biggest city on the reality that people spam alert nudist picture can save his spam alert nudist picture. His very first manuscript, called Invisible Monsters Norton, New York 1999 The original manuscript for Palahniuks third novel returns to the cult.

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2006-11-26T03:30:00.000-08:00

MP3 Transmitter Ban Is Lifted In UK

Effective December 8th, the ban on MP3 transmitters in the UK will be lifted. In violation of the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1409, the ban was placed upon MP3 transmitters that allowed for consumers to broadcast their iPods and MP3 players via FM wavelengths to play on their car stereo. The act states that any use of radio equipment without a license is illegal. According the the new Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2006 Amendment, low-power transmitters will now be legal. While this opens up new business opportunities for several companies, many products currently on the market are still technically illegal as they do not meet technical standards set by the new amendment. From now on, all transmitters approved by the new act will sport a CE mark indicating their stamp of approval. .

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"Come on, no matter how much of a Linux fan you are, you have to admit that there's at least a chance that Linux does indeed infringe on Microsoft's patents. After all, Microsoft does hold a lot of patents and while Linux is open source and we can all take a look at the source code, only Microsoft has access to most of its source code so it isn't all that difficult for it to prove — to itself at any rate — that there are IP infringements contained in Linux. After all, before IBM handed over some 500 patents to the open source community, it's pretty clear that Linux was infringing some of them. Given that, why is it so hard to believe that the same isn't going on with Microsoft" Continue At Source News Source: yro.slashdot.org .

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Cliff Peale

Three years ago, on the morning after Thanksgiving Day, the parking lot at a local Target store was filled to overflowing at 5:45 a.m. More than 700 people pressed against the doors waiting for them to open. Half an hour later, a line the length of a football field was all that stood between you and your purchase. Two years ago, one shopper at a Best Buy said she had arrived at 2:20 a.m. to get a $149 computer, but even though she raced through the doors as soon as they opened, all of the computers were gone within minutes. .

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MP3Musicgrams.com Recent Featured MP3's Showcase Artists from Rock ...

2006-11-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

Delta, B.C. th November 14, 2006, www.MP3Musicgrams.com, a free music promotion site featuring free MP3 music uploads and Musicgrams, profiles weekly artists in a featured MP3 Musicgram of the week and also archives previous artists. The site has contributions and sign- ups from individual artists and bands ranging from jazz to electronic to hip-hop to indie pop to rock. Music fans can select from the featured MP3 or choose by selecting artists, genre, song or record label. MP3 Musicgrams offer artists and bands in all musical genres from blues to rock, rap or country an opportunity to upload their song, photo or image, band or artist description and a link to their web site. Both the artist and their fans can send out and share the Music in the form of a personalized "Musicgram". The Featured MP3 Musicgram for this week, Nov 13 2006, is "Change Your Mind" ( Rock ) by Bill Vivino.

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Home Video, Sleep Sweet MP3

2006-11-14T02:26:00.000-08:00

Home Video are Collin Ruffino and David Gross, moving from their native New Orleans to the brownstones of Brooklyn to pursue their creative dreams amidst the more accelerated energy of the New York music scene. Their first two EPs were released in 2004 on Warp Records, adorned by Collin's dark Gorey-esque drawings, shows were performed alongside Pinback, Blonde Redhead and His Name Is Alive and their debut album has just been released on Defend Music. Slowburning hypnotic electro-pop to arouse your senses. Download "Sleep Sweet" MP3 for an immediate fix. |"Sleep Sweet" MP3| (Right-click, "Save Target As") .

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Samsung YP-K5 MP3 player

2006-11-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

The K5's built-in stereo speakers disappear behind the unit when not in use, yet when needed effortlessly slide out to create a free-standing mini-stereo system. Despite being a fraction of the size of the smallest stereo system, the Samsung YP-K5's slide-out speaker design delivers the same great sound - no distortion, great volume, and a defined deep bass. Perfect for the active, hip and young lifestyle, the YP-K5 travels with you, allowing you to live your life in sound. The Samsung YP-K5 comes with earphones that boast innovative two-part ear buds that boost sound quality and provide the hardware to surround yourself with a powerful sound with enhanced bass tones. Enjoy the same acoustic experience that you would hear from your home stereo. Samsung YP-K5 MP3 player - OLED display The ergonomic plugs fit securely and comfortably while cutting out extraneous sound.

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More GTi for less: Leon Cupra clubs the Golf

2006-11-12T04:41:00.001-08:00

Seat's new Leon Cupra hot hatch will undercut the less powerful Golf GTi by up to £1,265 when it when it goes on sale in the UK from March next year. The £19,595 Leon uses the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as the Golf, but increased to 237bhp instead of 197bhp. The five-door Leon is £765 cheaper than the three-door GTi or £1,265 below the five-door. The Cupra is capable of 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 153mph. Driven sedately, the Spaniard is reckoned to return a combined fuel economy of 34.0mpg. Distinguishing marks on the Cupra include 18in alloy wheels, a wide oval exhaust pipe, polished black door pillars and mirrors, and red-painted brake calipers. It's lower by 14mm compared to the standard model, while the suspension has been firmed and tuned for improved handling.

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Beatles set to go digital

2006-11-12T04:41:00.000-08:00

MORE than four decades after the Beatles had their first No 1 hit, their music catalogue is moving into the digital age, write Paul Durman and Matthew Goodman. Music fans with MP3 players are to gain access to their repertoire as EMI makes the classic songs available online for the first time. .

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Now hear these for portability

2006-11-12T04:40:00.000-08:00

The iPod's popularity has done a lot to raise the status of earphones. You simply aren't fashionable without those little white cords dangling from your ears. If you lose them, wear them out or want better sound quality or fit, you can find a number of options. And the cords are often white. The more you spend, chances are you'll find something better than the standard-issue phones. Here's a look at three pairs of earbuds, the most portable earphones. If you want noise-canceling earphones -- for air travel or the office -- you'll want to look for bigger disc-style phones that have that feature. JVC "Marshmallow" HA-FX33-B Why these earphones? The price is reasonable and a salesman at hhgregg said they are popular. What's cool about them? The rubber earphones narrow at the end, making for a better fit than the wide, flat, foam-covered ones that come with many MP3 players, including the iPod.

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Emblaze Touch 7 for Christmas: Tie-up for Exclusive UK Handset

2006-11-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

The new Emblaze-branded handset will be sold at Currys and Currys digital stores starting this Christmas and later on through countrywide retailers. Intended for youth in the age-group of 16 to 24 yrs, the cutting-edge new handset, Emblaze Touch 7, comes with advanced multimedia features like Bluetooth , 1.3 megapixel Camera with Flash, MP3 and MPEG4 video playback. Equipped with latest Emblaze technology and a peripheral memory slot for holding audio content, Touch 7 will allow users to listen to music even while they are on the move. .

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Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT spec.B 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6M

2006-11-09T05:03:00.000-08:00

With the pleasant memory of our recent stint in the 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Limited still fresh in our minds, we looked forward to the arrival of the top-of-the-line 2007 Legacy 2.5 GT spec.B to the CNET garage. We weren't disappointed, as the spec.B offers all the Limited's performance while also including some gadgets that were absent from the 2006 model. That said, we didn't get everything we hoped for, as the important Bluetooth option is still missing, and the satellite radio kit requires a stiff $456 buy-in (subscription not included). But Subaru's familiar touch-screen system--which incorporates navigation, trip computer and maintenance interval controls--works as well in the Legacy as in the less-inspiring B9 Tribeca where we encountered that system most recently. The sound system in the spec.B is enhanced with the simple additions of an auxiliary-audio input and MP3/WMA playback capability for the CD changer.

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mobiBLU Cube 2: Pocket-sized MP3 nubbin

2006-11-09T04:37:00.000-08:00

The cube was invented in the late 19th century. For years people had pondered the fanciful concept of a four-sided, stackable geometric shape, but the idea had largely been dismissed as the ramblings of lunatics by the great thinkers of the age. It wasn't until a Lanarkshire blacksmith named Arthur McDuggin created the 'Great Cube of 1842' that the concept was proven. People from all over the British Empire gathered to watch McDuggin stack his wonderful cubes on top of each other. Sadly he was executed a month after his discovery, accused of witchcraft -- many scientists today still believe he was a witch. Luckily we've come a long way since then, and cubes are part of our everyday culture in the West, although some countries have yet to legalise the shape. The mobiBLU Cube 2 has the modern age to thank for its easy birth.

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Small Creative Zen V + Ipod audio video contender

2006-11-09T03:09:00.000-08:00

BACK in the warm summer of 2006 we heard that Creative labs finished the design and tweaking of its upcoming Zen refresh MP3 players. It got the drives with Oled display this time, much brighter and much nicer, smaller at the same time and with a significantly better battery life. The first impression when you unpack the small device is that it is freaking small. It might not be the thinnest on market but it sure is the smallest one. It measures 43.5 x 67.5 x 15.9mm and weighs incredibly only 43.5 grams. It comes in a few colours options, the 4 GB and 8 GB version comes in a black casing with blue buttons, the 2 GB comes in black or white but with green keys while the 1 GB has orange buttons and comes in white or black. The real beauty of the device is the Scratch resistant OLED screen we use it for a few days and you can still not see any scratches, but it this can take time.

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Samsung SGH-X830 Music Phone

2006-11-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

The Samsung X830 is not new to the Whack and was first featured here in its Pink Avatar. So it only makes sense that the company releases it in a boring mmm I mean neutral shade. Thus meet the new Samsung X830 which is also a GSM version of the Korean SPH-S4300. Thanks to its GSM support, this one is usable in the United States and this ultra-slim phone seeks to be the perfect music phone. Lofty ambitions? Maybe but hey Samsung does get it right most of the time! The first thing that stands out is its keypad which has just 2 columns instead of the usual 3 rows. Thus this slider phone would be easier to hold though it may take some time get use to it. It includes navigational wheel for music control and has a memory of 1GB which is not bad for a music phone. In all probability it lacks a memory card slot, however nothing is confirmed yet.

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