What's a man to do after a thrilling career in music? Invent an MP3 player is an unlikely guess, but it's the winning selection in today's Q&A. Neil Young is a name well recognized around the music universe, and at SXSW this week, he is introducing the PonoMusic streaming store as well as the $399 PonoPlayer...Read more...
After eight years of terrible webcam singing, nut shots, illegal backyard wrestling, skateboarding accidents, adorable puppies and babies, Photoshop tutorials, and on and on (and on and on), YouTube will stop accepting video submissions and will declare a winner for best video ever. “We started YouTube in 2005...Read more...
Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to learn of music stores closing shop nowadays, but when a major retailer with stores across the UK, Ireland and Canada goes into administration - the situation almost seems dire. HMV isn't just some regular music store - its seeds were planted in the late 1890s alongside the disc...Read more...
In an effort to make CDs more attractive, Amazon is adding a new service known as AutoRip. If you purchase an AutoRip CD through Amazon, the retailer will now give you a free MP3 version of that same album. The MP3 version will be delivered to your Amazon Cloud Player library so you can access it from your computer...Read more...
And just like that, on the eve of Apple's iPhone 5 event, the Zune was no more. Microsoft's valiant effort into the world of portable media players seemed to have a snowball's chance in summer at making it, even from the start. Despite a huge marketing effort and a name like Microsoft, trying to crush the iPod, or...Read more...
It was SanDisk's own CEO who confessed years back that no one could "out iPod the iPod," but the company is still plugging along with their Sansa line of MP3 players. Granted, these simplistic players don't exactly compete with the iPod touch, but still, it's a little strange to see the company introducing a new rival, in any sense. The newest...Read more...
Given the lackluster success of the Zune line over the years, would anyone really be shocked if Microsoft pulled the plug? We sort of doubt it, and according to reports, the company may be on the verge of doing so. Numerous sites are noticing that Microsoft executives have been hesitant to use the Zune word in discussions, and it's unusual...Read more...
If you have an iPhone or iPod, a large collection of MP3s and a great home theater system, Ubuntu has an app for you. The Linux distro maker has introduced a way to stream the music from its cloud to your home system using Apple's AirPlay. You'll also need an audio/video component that supports AirPlay such as an Apple TV, or one of the...Read more...
It's the end of an era. You can shed a tear if you were a child of the 70s or 80s, as you probably grew up wishing for a Walkman cassette player from Santa. Sony's Walkman line still lives on today, with the digital versions outselling the iPod in Japan for the first time last month. So there's no question that Walkman units are still in high...Read more...
The good folks over at market research firm iSuppli picked apart Apple's latest iPod Nano, going through the parts piece by piece to come up with a true cost of materials. The final tally? Just $43.73, which only applies to the parts, and not the cost of labor, the so-called Apple Tax, and everything else that jacks up the price more than...Read more...
Is SanDisk back in the portable media player business? It looks like the answer may be "yes!" The company's Sansa line has faltered in recent years, with the last unit to come from it being introduced so long ago that most of you probably don't even remember it. The company's CEO once admitted that no one could "out...Read more...
Sony recently introduced a new line of Walkman MP3 players that the company says will offer "outstanding sound quality, advanced audio technologies, extreme battery life, and more." What's even better, the company is promising these features for less than $100. The new Walkman NWZ-E350 Series Video MP3 Players will support up to 50 hours of...Read more...
A new streaming media software solution called Jamcast is now available. Jamcast has a Virtual Soundcard feature that captures audio from your computer and streams it over a wireless network to DLNA and UPnP-compliant devices. With Jamcast, you can stream audio to HDTVs, smartphones, media adapters, home theater components, and more. Jamcast...Read more...
LiveWire Mobile is introducing a new DRM-free mobile music service for wireless carriers and online service operators. The company plans to launch the service with two North American operators later this year. With the service, customers will be able to purchase DRM-free music directly from their handsets. LiveWire Mobile Offers New DRM-Free...Read more...
Apple's iTunes service has revolutionized the music industry. There's little debating that. Since it was introduced in 2003, CD sales have continued to slide, while iTunes sales have continued to soar. Apple has somehow managed to not only beat out Wal-Mart in overall music sales in the United States, but trounce it...Read more...
Samsung announced two new portable media players that promise high quality movie and video capabilities as well as a superior audio experience in a compact design. The new R1 has a 2.4-inch TFT LCD touch screen and supports up to 50 hours of audio and four hours of video playback. The R0 has a 2.6-inch LCD and tactile...Read more...
The replacement of the MP3 has been coming forever, or so we've heard, but the ubiquitous file format has yet to really be toppled by anything else. Apple's AAC format is highly popular amongst iPod and iPhone users, but by and large, the de facto music format when it comes to digital is MP3. One has to assume that...Read more...
Like rock 'n roll? Classical? Jazz? Heavy metal? Yeah, heavy metal. Whatever your style of music, all you need to enjoy BOSS' new is a desire to thrash and a guitar. The eBand Audio Player with Guitar Effects (JS-8) is a new portable audio player that's designed for guitarists who yearn to play along with their...Read more...
When you think of ViewSonic, you probably think of LCD monitors. Believe it or not, this company is actually pretty diverse, and its easily-recognized monitor division is just one of the many aspects where it to the larger realm of consumer electronics. Take the VPD400 for example, which is a rather robest media player that actually...Read more...
It's a good time to be in the market for a portable media player. From Apple's iPod lineup (the obvious choice) to Microsoft's Zune HD to Archos' range of media-centric players, you've got options galore. But just in case you still weren't confused enough as to which device was right for you, Creative has just added...Read more...
As the newest addition to Samsung’s BEAT line of portable media players, Samsung’s new R1 is the company’s first DivX Certified MP3 player. The R1 is also the slimmest player in the Samsung BEAT line.The R1 features a 2.6-inch screen and 8 or 16GB of storage space. DivX technology produces highly compressed video that is designed to be played...Read more...
We haven't a clue why Sony would choose today to introduce its S Series Walkman--after all, the company's Reader Daily Edition was also just announced, and it's undoubtedly the show stopper of the two. At any rate, those more interested in portable music than portable words just might find this tidbit more interesting. As rumored, the S Series...Read more...