Posts filed under 'Portable Music'
Several month’s ago, Apple supremo Steve Jobs reached into the pocket of his jeans during a product presentation and, to the gasps of the assembled press, pulled out the iPod nano, an mp3 player so thin it didn’t even spoil the line of his trousers.
Now Levi Strauss have reversed engineered that showmanship by creating a pair of jeans built entirely around the iPod.
The Levi’s RedWire DLX Jeans, which will be available later in the year have a built-in docking cradle for the iPod which apparently ensures the bulge is “virtually eliminated” and retractable headphones, as well as featuring a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device. The iPod is connected to the jeans by a red conductive ribbon, so it can be removed to check playlists etc. while staying attached.
The jeans are, of course, machine washable but remember to take your iPod out first, because it sure isn’t watertight.
January 11th, 2006
X2 today launches the X2V, the next generation of its award-winning line of Portable Media Players.
Weighing in at a mere one half pound with a size smaller than a 3×5 photograph, this unit is the smallest, lightest and most versatile PMP (portable media player) on the market today, setting a new standard for design and feature set in the category.
Like its predecessor, the MEGA View 566, the X2V is a versatile device that functions as a video player, photo viewer, MP3/WMA music player, portable storage device, personal digital assistant with calendar and contacts database and a voice recorder plus it adds a 6-megapixel (interpolated) digital camera and MPEG-4 camcorder. Coming standard with a 30GB hard drive and a SD/MMC/Memory Stick memory card slot, the 8-in-1 portable digital entertainment device sells for under $400.
The X2V is the next generation Portable Multimedia Player allowing users the ability to play hours of MPEG-4 video with DVD quality video and CD quality audio using MPEG-4, plus it plays MP3/WMA audio all on a single device. X2V users can bring their favorite movie, TV shows, videos or music on the road plus with the digital camera and camcorder, they can record their own memories. With the large 30GB internal storage, users can record up to 120 hours of video so there is almost no fear of running out of tape. It can also be plugged into a TV or projector to watch and share movies, videos and photos on a bigger screen. The unit comes with a high-resolution 3.6″ LCD Screen offering a clear, vibrant picture and an easy-to-use, interactive video menu with convenient navigation buttons for easy access.
The X2V features a 6-megapixel (interpolated) digital camera complete with flash and 4X Digital Zoom as well as a 640 x 480 resolution MPEG-4 digital camcorder. Its 30GB hard drive can also store over 15,000 songs, 150,000 digital photos, almost 1,000 hours of digital voice recording and/or 30GB of portable PC data storage. With its built-in 3-in-1 SD/MMC/memory Stick memory card slot the X2V can be used to backup, store and view your digital photos and features a one-button backup feature allowing for effortless transfer of data and photos making it the perfect digital camera companion.
“As a 8-in-1 device, the X2V is a complete portable digital entertainment center which comes in handy for many situations,” raves Brandon LuTran, Vice President of X2 Corporation. “With the new digital camera and camcorder features, the X2V is ready to capture all your memories and play it back anywhere, anytime.”
January 8th, 2006
Creative today announced ZenCast, a new application for accessing, creating and transferring thousands of audio and video blogs for select Creative Zen MP3 players.
ZenCast provides quick and easy access to a wide range of interesting and entertaining audio and video content on the Internet. The experience begins at www.zencast.com. The ZenCast home page reveals different channels with subjects ranging from world affairs to tech gadgets to entertainment. In addition to providing categories of specific interest, ZenCast also offers a “What’s New” list of audio and video blog broadcasts, and a “Today’s Top 10″ of popular downloads.
“ZenCast provides your one-stop destination for breaking news, entertainment, sports — all available free for download to your Zen player,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “You can even host your own show. ZenCast is like having a personal Internet TV broadcasting station, where anyone can create their own program and broadcast it to the world.”
ZenCast Organizer, specifically designed by Creative, seamlessly integrates podcasts and video blogs with select Zen players or a PC. The application enables viewing and listening to content and can be set up to manually or automatically download content to select MP3 players such as the Creative Zen Vision:M. Users can subscribe to top name broadcasts from companies such as CNET, ESPN, RocketBoom and the Singapore Straits Times through the ZenCast Organizer, and they can specify how often fresh content is downloaded. ZenCast Organizer also enables users to browse and subscribe to channels from other online broadcast providers. A convenient Auto Sync feature can be set to immediately download content to the player or the PC.
A beta version of the Creative ZenCast Organizer is available free today for all Zen Vision and Zen Vision:M users. The Creative ZenCast Organizer will begin shipping with the Zen Vision and the Zen Vision:M in the first half of 2006. Download of the ZenCast Organizer will enable users to experience any content from www.zencast.com. For more information and software updates on Creative ZenCast, please visit www.zencast.com.
With exciting new relationships with Yahoo! Music Unlimited, Soundbuzz, DIRECTV 2Go and RocketBoom, Creative continues to provide compelling digital entertainment experiences for Zen MP3 and media players. Creative Zen players also support Napster to Go, Rhapsody to Go, and Music Now for music, and TiVoToGo and more for video.
January 4th, 2006
Ulead Systems, Inc., a 16-year industry leader in video, image and DVD software, today announced the Ulead VideoStudio 9 iPod PowerPack, a free update to the company’s consumer editing software allowing users to easily produce video for the new video-enabled Apple iPod.
“Watching video on mobile devices is an important step in the convergence of IT and consumer electronics,” said Eldon Liu, president of Ulead. “Whether users want to create or convert content for the iPod and other mobile devices, Ulead is uniquely positioned with a wide range of consumer-to-professional tools to do the job.”
The new iPod PowerPack makes use of the Ulead MPEG-4 Plug-in for VideoStudio 9 and includes templates for outputting standard and widescreen iPod movies. The MPEG-4 Plug-in enables the software to output video for a range of devices including the Apple iPod, Sony PSP and DVD players supporting MPEG-4 playback from disc. Advanced users can configure MPEG-4 output settings to meet individual needs.
Pricing and Availability
The Ulead VideoStudio 9 iPod PowerPack is available at no cost to all registered users of VideoStudio 9. Users can download the plug-in from the Ulead Website at www.ulead.com. The iPod PowerPack requires that users first install the Ulead MPEG-4 Plug-in for VideoStudio 9, also available free for registered users of the full version of VideoStudio 9. The iPod PowerPack works with all language versions of VideoStudio 9.
January 4th, 2006
Creative has unveiled the Zen Vision:M, a 30GB video player, photo viewer and MP3 player which has more than a passing resemblance to the new iPod.
The Zen Vision:M more than matches the iPod in a spec for spec battle. They both feature a 2.5-inch screen at 320×240 resolution, but where the Vision:M wins out is in the claimed battery life, number of songs stored and formats supported.
The 30GB iPod can hold 7,500 songs and 75 hours of video, but the Zen Vison:M packs in 15,000 tracks and 120 hours of those moving pictures we all love so much. Battery life for playing music is the same at 14 hours, but Creative have squeezed out double the battery life for video.
The Zen Vision:M wins hands down in the video format stakes, supporting WMV, MPEG4 and DivX, MPEG2, MPEG1, and Motion-JPEG. The iPod only plays H.264 and MPEG4.
However, once again, Apple wins in the design department with the iPod being almost identical in every dimension except depth where it is almost half the size. This certainly adds to the ‘wow’ factor with the iPod and Creative will be hoping that noone holds their player side by side with Apple’s.
However, Creative bosses are convinced they have a winner. “When people see the Zen Vision:M, they tell us it’s incredibly cool,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “We designed the Zen Vision:M with its mesmerizing 262,144 colorr screen to display four times the colour of the 30GB iPod that plays video, and to provide twice the battery life for video playback. Plus, we offer people the freedom to choose their video in a variety of different formats, and to get subscription music or download tracks from a number of different sites to their player.”
The last point is a definite sideswipe at Apple who are notorious for forcing iPod users to buy their music from iTunes.
There are a whole host of value-added features in the Zen Vision:M.
* FM radio and recording - with 32 preset options
* Intuitive Vertical Touch Pad and Tactile Buttons on the face of the player - including the new “My Shortcut” Button for quick access to favourite DJ functions
* Content password protection - Protects any content stored on the player
* Built-in Microphone - shows volume levels on screen for optimum voice recording quality
* Selectable themes, including Marine Blue, Sable Black, Ice Blue, Forest Green, Candy Pink and Pearl White to match the colour scheme of the player menus to any mood
* Organizer - Provides calendar, tasks and contact lists, and syncs with Microsoft Outlook
* Extras - Enables setting of Date & Time, plus allocation of Removable Disk space for dedicated storage
* A clock with wake-to-any-music alarm, colour themes and different languages for further customization
* A bundled AC adapter, valued at US$29.99
The new Creative Zen Vision:M will be available this month for US$329.99. It comes with an AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable, high-quality earphones, and a protective pouch. Optional accessories, including a docking station and an AV-out cable, will be available for purchase separately.
MediaCenterPCWorld believes that the reasons to buy an iPod, apart from wanting to have the same player as everyone else, have all gone away. If you’re looking for a video-enabled mp3 player, check the Creative Zen Vision:M out first.
December 9th, 2005
Video Without Boundaries, a provider of interactive, media-convergent home entertainment devices, today announced it was deploying a new portable media player/recorder device named CoPilot.
The new flash-based MPEG-4 portable will retail for under $200 and features AV input recording allowing for easy connection to DVD Player, VCRs, cable and satellite set-top boxes for simple recording of TV and Movies.
“VWB has experienced tremendous success with the introduction of the Flyboy,” said Video Without Boundaries, Inc. President and CEO Jeffrey Harrell. “Based on early feedback from the retailers and our existing Flyboy customers, there is a tremendous untapped market for the price point that CoPilot will address. Video Without Boundaries recently announced our Portable Media initiative and the announcement today of the CoPilot product is the first of many projects the company plans in regard to expanding our portable product line as well as the ability to download and stream content to the devices.”
The CoPilot features video playback and recording on either an internal 512MB or 1GB flash drive. The unit memory is also expandable via its SD card slot enabling the CoPilot to store more than 6 hours of video at 320 x 240 @ 30f/s resolution. The CoPilot also supports MP3, WAV, and WMA formats and Line In Audio for simple playback and recording of music.
Other Features include:
* Internal Microphone for Voice recording
* Photo viewing
* Video output for playback of video onto TV
* Games
* Calendar
* Clock
* Built-in speakers
* FM radio
November 22nd, 2005
SkipJam announced today support for Apple’s iPod, providing iPod docking directly to the SkipJam iMedia Center.
Using Firewire (IEEE 1394) or USB 2.0 users can connect their iPods directly to any iMedia Center or to any iMedia enabled PC and immediately play music, photos and video throughout their home. The SkipJam iMedia support for the iPod also allows SkipJam users to record audio or video content directly onto the iPod Storage, creating a plug’n'go recording solution which records shows directly onto the iPod drives for portability.
Users plug in the iPod and the iMedia system automatically recognizes it. No additional steps are required by the user, and there’s no need to “copy” content to or from the iPod. The iPod, once plugged into an iMedia Center, becomes a portable storage extension, and the iPod hard drive can be accessed and played from any TV or Stereo in the home.
For example, the SkipJam - iPod connection would allow a user to dock their iPod Video directly to a SkipJam iMedia Center or to any PC on the home network. Then pick up the iPod in the morning, fully charged, and full of the previous night’s TV content ready for viewing on the train or during lunch.
Alternately, an iPod Nano user in California could dock anywhere on their SkipJam iMedia network, and pick up the iPod the following morning complete with recordings from Internet Broadcasts of New York’s WNYC.
“The SkipJam iMedia Center is a universal audio video hub, with broad support for interconnecting a wide variety of media and formats,” said Michael Spilo, President of SkipJam. “We plan to continue to add functionality to support a wide array of products and platforms.”
SkipJam’s HomeView feature allows users to remotely access their entire home multimedia system, viewing any device or pre-recorded content remotely. The HomeView feature has also been enhanced to support the iPod. The new feature allows users to remotely convert content on the fly to iPod format and to stream any of their home multimedia devices or pre-recorded multimedia content directly to an iPod connected to their away from home PC.
This feature allows users to access high quality home recordings remotely, and download directly from home to the iPod for later viewing.
Complete Feature List
The SkipJam iPod support software provides iPod owners with access to their SkipJam iMedia house-wide multimedia network. This iMedia support opens a portal for iPod owners through which they can enjoy their content on a stereo or large screen TV:
* Play music from the iPod synchronized throughout the whole house
* Schedule automatic recording of TV shows directly to iPod Video drives
* Schedule automatic recording of any audio (e.g. FM or Internet Radio)
directly to iPod
* Access and convert ‘on the fly’ any media from home while away
* Locally convert high quality video recordings to iPod Video format for
portability
* View photos from iPods on any TV in the home
* Share iPod recordings and play them back on multiple TVs at once
* Aggregate content from multiple iPods for a shared multi-user experience
Price and Availability
The SkipJam iMedia Center to iPod interface software is scheduled for release in January, and will be available to existing SkipJam iMedia Center users as an upgrade free of charge.
November 22nd, 2005
TiVo has announced an expansion of its TiVoToGo service to include PSPs and iPods.
The move will be welcome news for TiVo users who own one of the popular video playback devices. Up until now, moving video from a TiVo box to a PSP or iPod, involved a complex chain of conversion software to get files into the required MPEG-4 format. Now the conversion will happen natively as part of TiVoToGo.
The TiVoToGo service was rolled out earlier in the year and allows TiVo recordings to be played back on compatible devices such as Portable Media Centers. However, the process is still a little cumbersome. Firstly the recording has to be moved to a PC which happens in realtime. Then the transferred recording is synced with the playback device, which happens a little more quickly. It could still take over an hour to get a one hour show from TiVo to a PSP.
TiVo officials said shows recorded via TiVoToGo will have digital watermarks. The extra encoding will follow the copied program wherever it goes, giving TiVo the ability to trace the origin of a transferred program that might get posted freely onto the Internet.
The PSP and iPod service is available now as a beta to existing TiVoToGo users, but will be rolled out to new users in January.
Source: MediaCenterPCWorld.com
November 21st, 2005
Alienware, the manufacturer of high-performance desktop, notebook , media center, server and professional systems, announces the launch of the company’s first-ever branded headphone - the Ozma 7. The Ozma 7 comes out of a unique partnership with leading German headphone manufacturer Ultrasone AG, and will be available for purchase with any of Alienware’s high performance desktop and notebook systems.
The Ozma 7’s use Ultrasone’s patented S-Logic natural surround sound technology and electro-magnetic field emission shielding to produce the most accurate sounding and safest headphones on the market for computer enthusiasts, gamers, and creative professionals. In addition, the Ozma 7’s have a sleek, silver design and the popular Alienware Alien Head logo in the center of the ear cups.
“Alienware continuously strives to enhance the experience for our customers”, explains Patrick Cooper, Director of Product Management for Alienware. “Ultrasone has worked with us for over a year now, offering the company’s unique technology and great sounding headphones to our customers. The Ozma 7’s take this experience to the next level as we have together developed a new headphone that matches the quality and look of our current desktop and notebook systems.”
Find the lowest prices on the tools you need.
click here to get the best priceDigital Cameras
Brand: Sony, Olympus, Canon, Fuji, Kodak, Vivitar, Nikon, More…
Megapixels: 6.0+, 5.0-5.9, 4.0-4.9, 3.0-3.9, 2.0-2.9, 1.0-1.9, 0.9
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Brand: Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Canon, Sharp, Samsung, RCA, More…
Price: Below $500, $500-$1000, $1000-$1500, $1500-$2000, Above $2000
click here to get the best priceIPod, MP3 and Digital Media Players
Brand: Apple, Creative Labs, Sony, Sonic Blue, Samsung, iRiver, More…
Storage: 40+GB, 20+GB, 6+GB, 1+GB, 128+MB, 32+MB
Price: $20-$90, $90-$120, $120-$160, $160-$250, Above $250
The Alienware Ozma 7 features…
1) Advanced S-Logic Natural Surround Sound Technology - S-Logic prevents sound from becoming locked in and makes it seem broad and detached. Directions and distances can be heard and perceived - just like being in a live concert.
2) Safer Hearing - The Ozma 7 headphones are easy on the ears, as the S-Logic technology produces up to a 40% lower dB output (3-4 dB) for the same loudness sensation, thereby reducing the risk of hearing loss.
3) Reduced Magnetic Field Emissions - The Ozma 7 Headphones have strongly reduced radiation. With Ultrasone’s patented ULE (Ultra-Low Emission) technology, these headphones offer a 60% reduction in electronic magnetic field radiation compared to ordinary headphones.
4) Character
These superior headphones are developed from the studio sector and are distinguished by a frequency response especially tuned for DVD . Movie and music enthusiasts will be overwhelmed by their extraordinary sound that makes it seem as though you are listening to speakers that are meters away from your head. Demanding PC gamers will also appreciate the Ozma 7 Headphones because of their impressive three-dimensional sound effects .
Technical Specifications:
* S-Logic Natural Surround Sound
* 3.5, 6.3 mm screw-on gold-plated plug/adapter
* Convenient Carry Case Included
* Frequency Response: 10Hz – 25kHz
* Impedance: 75 ohms
* Sound Pressure Level: 94 dB
* Nominal Headband Pressure: 5.2 N
* Weight (Without Cord): 265 grams
* Cord Length: 3m
For additional information about the Ozma 7 headphones and S-Logic technology go to: http://www.alienware.com/intro_pages/ozma7.aspx.
November 18th, 2005
Toshiba has announced its new line of gigabeat Flash digital audio players in two storage capacities and ‘trendy’ cosmetic designs.
“gigabeat Flash players are perfect for consumers who are looking for a
simple, compact player that allows them to listen to their music wherever they go,” said Yoshi Uchiyama, Group Vice President of Toshiba’s Digital A/V Group. “gigabeat Flash players offer stylish cosmetic designs and ample storage capacities that are ideal for music lovers who enjoy an active lifestyle.”
The two new gigabeat flash players offer a 1.1″ diagonally measured Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED) color screen with vibrant colors and sharp detail for displaying images. The new gigabeats offer ample storage capacities with the MEP-05FR offering 512MB and the MEP-10FK offering 1GB of
storage.
Catering to a more fashion conscious consumer, Toshiba is introducing both
models in appealing, new designs and compact sizes. The larger capacity MEP-
10FK has an elegant, clean design and comes in metallic black tones, while the MEP-05FR offers a trendy multi-colored pallet look — an ideal accessory for any outfit. Designed for maximum convenience and perfect for use on the go, gigabeat Flash models come with a bandolier to wear the device around your neck.
Offering various playback choices to consumers, the new gigabeat Flash players feature WMA, MP3, WAV playback capabilities as well as JPEG photo support. Flash models also come equipped with an FM Tuner and even offer a built-in voice recorder. gigabeat Flash players also include three different styles of clock designs that are activated when the player is not being used, and both models feature up to 14 hours of battery life for longer lasting music experience on the go.
In order to offer consumers the greatest flexibility and download options, Toshiba is working with Microsoft to provide Windows Media PlaysForSure compatibility. Via a USB port, gigabeat Flash players are able to download music and photos via Windows Media Player 10. This offers consumers a wider range of content options available from a wide array of supporting Websites.
November 14th, 2005
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