Engadget

YouTube 'Merch Store' makes your artist channel a one-stop shop for the groupie goodies

Joseph Volpe — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:42:00 EST

Know what beats selling CDs (or USB sticks) and swag out of the trunk of your struggling band's party wagon? Striking a deal with Google to pitch those wares on the interwebs, that's what. Rolling out to official YouTube partners over the next few weeks, the newly created Merch Store will offer fans from all across the globe an opportunity to purchase MP3s, tickets for concerts and gatherings, and, of course, merchandise straight from your dedicated page. Helping ol' Mountain View make these coffer-filling goodies available are a handful of established online retailers like Amazon, iTunes, Songkick and Topspin. So, if you just can't wait for the Rebecca Black arena rock tour to blitz through your small town, keep clicking refresh on that artist channel for the inevitable slew of merchandising, merchandising.

Continue reading YouTube 'Merch Store' makes your artist channel a one-stop shop for the groupie goodies

YouTube 'Merch Store' makes your artist channel a one-stop shop for the groupie goodies originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ad-supported Kindle 4 has built-in $30 "upgrade", gets rid of embedded special offers

Mat Smith — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:48:00 EST

Was it too cheap? Well, here's some great news for fourth-generation Kindle users already tiring of its embedded ads looking cheap alongside their Vertu phones. You can now pay Amazon the requisite fee and unsubscribe from built-in advertising and offers. Visit the Manage your Kindle webpage and you can edit your subscriptions for the newest entry-level e-reader. There seems to be no option, however, to do the reverse just yet. Would Amazon hand over $30 to push those special offers into our currently ad-free Kindle?

Ad-supported Kindle 4 has built-in $30 "upgrade", gets rid of embedded special offers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Kindle (2011) impressions

Brian Heater — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:35:00 EST

Price was one of the recurring themes at today's Amazon event in New York City, and nowhere was that factor more present than with the new Kindle. At $79, this truly is an entry level device, and certainly the company made some sacrifices to hit that price point -- most obviously, the reader doesn't have the touchscreen featured in both the Kindle Touch and the latest Nook and Kobo devices -- though like those products, the Kindle did lose its physical keyboard, giving it a much smaller footprint than the last generation. In place of the infrared touchscreen are a series of buttons: Home, Menu, Keyboard and Back. In the middle is a toggle button that lets the user scroll through menus -- that activity can be performed pretty quickly with the physical buttons, and flipping through pages is not problem with the familiar buttons on either side of the screen. Where one really misses the presence of touch, however, is with the on-screen keyboard -- typing is performed by clicking one's way through the virtual keyboard, a familiar task for anyone who has ever entered their name at the beginning of a video game with a console controller. Of course, typing is a secondary task on a device like this, so for many users this may not be a deal-breaker. For those who foresee the need for such functionality, however, $20 will buy you an upgrade to the Kindle Touch.

Gallery: Kindle 2011 impressions

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Amazon Kindle (2011) impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC EVO 3D review

Myriam Joire — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:41:00 EST

The first time we saw the rumored Supersonic we were blown away. HTC and Google had just wowed us with the Nexus One, and here we were looking at something even better -- a 4.3-inch phone with WiMAX wrapped in a white body. This prototype was buggy and had abysmal battery life, but it was real. Four months later it landed in our hands at Google I/O. We're of course talking about the EVO 4G which went on to become a runaway hit for HTC and Sprint as the first ever 4G smartphone in the US. And here we are a year later with the HTC EVO 3D, the legitimate heir to Sprint's mobile kingdom -- at least until the Motorola Photon 4G comes along. When we first played with the 3D-capable handset at CTIA we were suitably impressed, but we left with a lot of unanswered questions. How do the 1.2GHz dual core processor and qHD display affect battery life? Is 3D a compelling feature or just a gimmick? What is 2D camera performance like with the lower specced camera? Is the EVO 3D a worthy replacement for the EVO 4G? Find out in our review after the break.

Gallery: HTC EVO 3D review

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HTC EVO 3D review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon launches 69-cent MP3 store for chart-toppers

Donald Melanson — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:51:00 EST

Those with more obscure tastes may not find much to their liking, but we're guessing Amazon's latest move to sway customers from a certain other music store will please plenty of folks. The company's just launched a new $0.69 section on its website, which offers best-selling tracks for (you guessed it) 69 cents apiece. That's down from $0.89 before, which already had iTunes handily beat in terms of pricing -- Apple is still asking $1.29 for many of the same songs. Hit up the source link below to check out the current chart-topping singles available.

Amazon launches 69-cent MP3 store for chart-toppers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon MP3 app hits BlackBerry phones

Donald Melanson — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:56:00 EST

It may not quite be enough to bring non-BlackBerry users into the fold, but RIM has finally scored one long awaited coup to keep its current users happy -- it's just announced that the Amazon MP3 application is now available for download from the BlackBerry App World. While still technically in beta, the app will let you purchase and download music both over WiFi and over the air, and it includes plenty of BlackBerry-specific functionality, including sharing via BBM in addition to the usual social networking features, and full integration with BlackBerry's Universal Search and Media Library. Hit up the link below for a closer look, or simply download it yourself to try it out first hand -- it is free, after all.

Amazon MP3 app hits BlackBerry phones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoJ making preliminary inquiries into Apple's music endeavors while iTunes dominance continues

Darren Murph — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:44:00 EST

It's all just noise right now, but the United States Justice Department is purportedly having a "very preliminary conversation" with Apple regarding the company's music business, wondering in particular if anything it's doing (or has done) would violate antitrust legislation. According to unnamed sources familiar with the situation, DoJ staff seem most interested in whether or not Apple's dominance in the market enabled it to unfairly prevent Amazon's music service from exclusively debuting new songs. Beyond that, details of the investigation are few and far between, but it's coincidentally coming down on Cupertino when its iTunes numbers are on the up and up. The latest NPD research figures show that over a quarter of the music purchased within the US is now procured through iTunes -- 28 percent, if you're looking for specifics, which is up 4 percentage points from Q1 2009. Meanwhile, Amazon has pulled into a tie with Walmart for second place, which may or may not coerce Wally World to ditch its morals and finally start stocking that uncensored version of My World 2.0.

DoJ making preliminary inquiries into Apple's music endeavors while iTunes dominance continues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications

Darren Murph — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:53:00 EST

There's no denying that the Mini 5 is real, but up until now, we've had to provide all of our own promotional material. At long last, it seems as if the suits in Round Rock are finally getting around to crafting the first advertisements for the upcoming slate, and while we knew about the 5-inch WVGA (800 x 480) touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, capacitive touch front buttons, front-facing VGA camera (for video chatting) and the 30-pin docking connector, we weren't aware of Dell's plans to reveal a slew of vivacious color options. If this here flyer proves legitimate, we could eventually see the Mini 5 available in an array of premium finishes and hues (thanks, Design Studio!), and we're hoping for a few different spec builds as well. So, are you opting for the pink, or are you crossing your fingers in hopes that Dell allows you to print that embarrassing shot of you and Mr. T on the rear of one?

Update: Oh, snap! We just landed a few more official slides from an internal Dell document, and it's safe to say that the company is going to call this beauty the Streak. Or, at least that's the internal codename. Better still, it looks as if it'll launch with an Amazon content partnership, which will bring a Kindle e-book reader app, Amazon MP3, Amazon video streams and pretty much any other material that Amazon sells in digital form right to the slate. C'mon now -- how's about a ship date and a price?

Gallery: Dell Streak leaked internal documents

Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon MP3 swings open doors to UK in Android 2.1

Chris Ziegler — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:34:00 EST

Direct access to Amazon's MP3 store from Android is old hat for American customers -- it's been preloaded on the time-weathered G1 since day one -- but it's still a foreign concept for users in a host of other countries, notably the UK where they've been enjoying Google's platform for nearly as long as the Yankees have. That looks poised to change, though, with the introduction of Android 2.1 now that Brits running Nexus Ones have played around with their handsets long enough to discover that the Amazon MP3 app is preloaded and quoting prices in -- yes, you guessed it -- pounds sterling. There's yet to be official word from Amazon on the matter so it's unclear whether pre-2.1 phones will ultimately be able to get in on the action -- but in the meantime, anyone desperate for access had better cobble up the quid for a Nexus import.

Amazon MP3 swings open doors to UK in Android 2.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store

Thomas Ricker — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:27:00 EST

Here's the choice promised by DVD Jon last week: Amazon MP3. Doubletwist is now powered by Amazon's 5 million strong music store in support of its vision to connect consumers with all their media across any device. The interface is bare-bones simple to navigate (no apps, TV shows, or Movies to clutter the experience) as you preview and purchase music with your Amazon credentials -- tracks are downloaded into your doubleTwist library where they can be synced with BlackBerry or Android handsets, the Palm Pre, PSP or hundreds of other devices. Amazon access is only available to US users from the Mac-only software at the moment. A PC version is "coming soon" along with more country support. See it in action after the break.

Continue reading DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store

Filed under: Portable Audio

DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pre User Guide: the highlights, so far

Laura June — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:31:00 EST

When word that Sprint Gurus had gotten hold of the Palm Pre User Guide came across our desks yesterday, we couldn't wait to get our eyes all over it... and then we saw that it was almost as long as Infinite Jest. Okay, we kid, it's not as bad as all that -- just 344 pages of heretofore unseen glorious tidbits. So here's what we've culled thus far: first, the Pre's main musical squeeze, Amazon MP3, will queue your music downloads when on the 3G network for later download when the device is on a WiFi network -- which is sure to cause annoyance and dismay the whole world over (and by "world" we mean the Pre's world, which is the US only). There is however, plenty of good news: the Pre will, in fact have IMAP IDLE (AKA Push) Gmail capabilities, meaning that you'll get your spam nearly the moment it hits Gmail's servers. Finally, the previously spied Reminder field in the Pre's Contacts has been found out, and it's a really awesome feature allowing you to make a note and attach it to a particular contact, so that the next time you are in contact with that person, the reminder will pop up and... remind you. For anyone suffering mild memory loss (like us) little touches like this are sure to make the Pre a more attractive proposition. Hit the read link for the full manual, and let us know what you find. Warning: the user's manual is a PDF, and has an insanely huge Sprint Gurus watermark across every blasted page.

[Via Pre Central, My Pre]

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint

Palm Pre User Guide: the highlights, so far originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 May 2009 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pre User Guide: the highlights, so far

Laura June — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:31:00 EST

When word that Sprint Gurus had gotten hold of the Palm Pre User Guide came across our desks yesterday, we couldn't wait to get our eyes all over it... and then we saw that it was almost as long as Infinite Jest. Okay, we kid, it's not as bad as all that -- just 344 pages of heretofore unseen glorious tidbits. So here's what we've culled thus far: first, the Pre's main musical squeeze, Amazon MP3, will queue your music downloads when on the 3G network for later download when the device is on a WiFi network -- which is sure to cause annoyance and dismay the whole world over (and by "world" we mean the Pre's world, which is US only). There is however, plenty of good news: the Pre will, in fact have IMAP IDLE (AKA Push) Gmail capabilities, meaning that you'll get your spam nearly the moment it hits Gmail's servers. Finally, the previously spied Reminder field in the Pre's Contacts has been found out, and it's a really awesome feature allowing you to make a note and attach it to a particular contact, so that the next time you are in contact with that person, the reminder will pop up and... remind you. For anyone suffering mild memory loss (like us) little touches like this are sure to make the Pre a more attractive proposition. Hit the read link for the full manual, and let us know what you find. Warning: the user's manual is a PDF, and has an insanely huge Sprint Gurus watermark across every blasted page.

[Via Pre Central, My Pre]

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre User Guide: the highlights, so far originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 May 2009 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Advantageous auto-checks Amazon MP3 pricing from iTunes

Nilay Patel — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:19:00 EST

So now that iTunes variable pricing is live, cross-shopping with Amazon is going to be a Thing -- and while we're certain slicker utilities will pop up soon, for right now we'd install Advantageous, which is just a little script that automates an Amazon search query from within iTunes. Yeah, it's not perfect -- it fails if you're logged in with iTunes store credit and it's far from bulletproof otherwise -- but it's a fine way to at least have kids or the less computer-savvy stop and check prices with at least one competitor before laying down an extra thirty cents on each purchase. This is has been a public service announcement... with guitars.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Advantageous for Windows
Read - Advantageous for Mac

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

PSA: Advantageous auto-checks Amazon MP3 pricing from iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iTunes Store now infected with variable pricing, Amazon still $0.99

Thomas Ricker — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:34:00 EST

As promised, variable pricing has now been implemented at the iTunes music store. Already, we're seeing most of the top 10 singles and 33 of the top 100 hitting the top price-point of $1.29 (encoded as DRM-free 256kbps AAC). Interesting as Amazon's uncomfortably similar top 10 list has all these tracks priced at $0.99 (encoded as DRM-free 256kbps VBR MP3). A handful of tracks (nine in the top 100) do hit the higher $1.29 price further down Amazon's list. Now, if you believe Steve (someone who originally postured against this price structure), then it appears that the music labels are charging Apple more for the rights to sell its music than Amazon based on this quote attributed to Jobs in the Apple press release from January:

in April, based on what the music labels charge Apple, songs on iTunes will be available at one of three price points-69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29-with many more songs priced at 69 cents than $1.29.

Regardless, we know where we'll be purchasing our Miley Cyrus from now on.

[Thanks, Jesse]

Read -- January "Changes Coming to the iTunes Store" press release
Read -- iTunes top songs [Warning: iTunes App link]
Read -- Amazon top songs

Filed under: Portable Audio

iTunes Store now infected with variable pricing, Amazon still $0.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:23:00 EST

Dovetailing dreamingly with the company's SDK announcement today, Palm's chosen CTIA to show off a round of third-party apps for the Pre, and the good news is that they're definitely dispelling some doubts we had about the robustness of webOS' development platform and its ability to deliver compelling software. We were emphatically reminded that everything here is strictly for the sake of preview -- it's all beta, just like the Pre itself -- but that being said, it all looked smooth and relatively crash-free (as best as we could gather anyhow without giving it a more ruthless hands-on beating of our own).

First off, we saw a NASCAR app, perfect for die-hard fans (but really, even more perfect for Sprint's track record of sponsoring NASCAR events) that culls video highlights, driver profiles, and more. Next, we were treated to a brief look at the Pre's Google Maps implementation, Pandora, Amazon's music store, and FlightView, a trick little flight status app that every frequent traveler will likely want loaded. We also saw a Pre version of the Sprint TV player -- a staple service on most of Sprint's devices -- proving that the Pre has the stones to handle multimedia within its development framework. Video was just a little bit choppy, but they're not making any claims that this is final, optimized code at this point. The best part of the whole demo, perhaps, is Pandora's notification implementation, which brings up a mini-player by tapping on the "P" visible at the bottom of any Pre screen; from here, you can play / pause, rank tracks up and down, and see a full track name, all without leaving the comfort of whatever app you might be in. Try that on an iPhone, eh? Follow the break for video!

Gallery: Palm Pre third-party app demo at CTIA

Continue reading Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:23:00 EST

Gallery: Palm Pre third-party app demo at CTIA

Continue reading Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

Filed under: Software, Palm, Sprint, webOS

Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Android walkthrough on T-Mobile G1

Thomas Ricker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:33:00 EST

Google just posted a few videos showing all the Google applications loaded on the T-Mobile G1. This includes Search, Maps, Gmail and Contacts, Calendar, Google Talk and You Tube all enabled with a single sign-on -- no further logins are required. The fact that these are fully synchronized to the web negates the need for a desktop application. Nice. Amazon MP3 store, IMing, Street View compass mode and plenty more highlighted in the videos posted after the break.

Continue reading Video: Android walkthrough on T-Mobile G1

Filed under: Cellphones

Video: Android walkthrough on T-Mobile G1 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon: 6 million DRM-free songs on T-Mobile G1

Thomas Ricker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:40:00 EST

It's true, Amazon just announced that its MP3 music store will be pre-loaded as an application on the T-Mobile G1. Users will be able to search, download, buy and play music from Amazon MP3 -- that's a selection of 6 million DRM-free MP3 songs from all four major labels and many independents. The pre-loaded Amazon MP3 application provides G1 owners with a phone-optimised view of the Amazon MP3 store -- WiFi is required to download music, but searching, browsing, and listening to samples can be done over 3G the T-Mobile network. Tracks cost around $0.89 with most albums priced between $5.99 and $9.99. How you like them Apples, Apple.

Filed under: Multimedia

Amazon: 6 million DRM-free songs on T-Mobile G1 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon: 6 million DRM-free songs on T-Mobile G1

Thomas Ricker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:40:00 EST

It's true, Amazon just announced that its MP3 music store will be pre-loaded as an application on the T-Mobile G1. Users will be able to search, download, buy and play music from Amazon MP3 -- that's a selection of 6 million DRM-free MP3 songs from all four major labels and many independents. The pre-loaded Amazon MP3 application provides G1 owners with a phone-optimised view of the Amazon MP3 store -- WiFi is required to download music, but searching, browsing, and listening to samples can be done over 3G "the T-Mobile network." Tracks cost around $0.89 with most albums priced between $5.99 and $9.99. How you like them Apples, Apple.

Amazon: 6 million DRM-free songs on T-Mobile G1 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon music, movie downloads coming to T-Mobile G1?

Chris Ziegler — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:08:00 EST

Amazon's always looking for creative new ways to distribute digital media -- and in light of its recently-launched Video On Demand service and the decent head of steam AmazonMP3 has managed to build, it'd probably just love to shoehorn its way onto a high-profile mobile device right about now. VentureBeat is reporting a juicy rumor of a G1 that made an appearance somewhere in San Fran's seedy underbelly over the weekend bearing an Amazon music and video app designed to dole out media for cash, suggesting that Android's first commercial hardware might come out of the gate ready not just to lock horns with the iPhone's WiFi App Store, but also to straight-up beat it by throwing in movie and TV download capability. Then again, no 3G network -- particularly one with as small of a footprint as T-Mobile's -- is mighty enough to effectively do feature-length movie downloads over the aether, so it remains to be seen exactly how this would all play out. Get a good night's sleep this evening, folks, because if everything goes according to plan, we'll have some solid answers in just a few short hours.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Amazon music, movie downloads coming to T-Mobile G1? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon music, movie downloads coming to T-Mobile G1?

Chris Ziegler — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:08:00 EST

Filed under: Multimedia, HTC, T-Mobile, Android

Amazon music, movie downloads coming to T-Mobile G1? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon's MP3 store nearing global launch?

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:30:00 EST

While Amazon's quest to take its DRM-free, MP3 store global is public knowledge, the where and the when of that maneuver are closely guarded secrets. The UK's Telegraph is reporting that execs from Amazon's MP3 store were in London last week to "thrash out details of the launch with British record company bosses." Of course this says nothing about timing. On one side of the impending launch is DRM, that hot button of nastiness favored by the music industry and not offered by Amazon MP3. On the other, iTunes, and the music industry's desire to usurp Apple's digital dominance while inversely strengthening the bargaining power of its music execs' over Cupertino. In other words, we may be looking at an imminent launch of a global Amazon MP3 store... and we may not, though we're leaning towards the former.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Amazon's MP3 store nearing global launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon MP3 store to spread DRM-free love global in 2008

Thomas Ricker — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:14:00 EST

In perhaps the biggest threat to Apple's global dominance of digital music, Amazon just announced the international rollout of Amazon MP3. Right, the on-line storefront offering DRM-free music from all four major labels. That's 3.3 million songs (priced at $0.99 or less) from over 270k artists encoded in 256kbps MP3 files for playback on any PC, any Mac, and pretty much any portable device you might own. Sure, it's beta but so is that gMail account you've been using for the past 4 years. Unfortunately, the best that Amazon can commit to is "this year" which leaves plenty of time for the house of Apple to get their DRM shiznit together.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Amazon MP3 store to spread DRM-free love global in 2008 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon starts dishing out DRM-free Warner Music MP3s

Donald Melanson — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST

We're not sure if Amazon's forthcoming DRM-less Super Bowl promotion has anything to do with it or not, but the company has just announced that its finally brought Warner Music Group into its MP3 fold, with a slew of music from the label now available for download without any of those pesky restrictions. According to Dow Jones, the pair also plan to offer other "digital music products," including album bundles with exclusive tracks, although details are few and far between beyond that. Still no word from Sony BMG on its intentions to go DRM-free (with Amazon or anyone else), but it sure looks like things are increasingly stacking up against them.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Amazon starts dishing out DRM-free Warner Music MP3s originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple officially cuts DRM-free track prices to $.99

Joshua Topolsky — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:52:00 EST

In a move which can only be described as unsurprising, Apple has officially announced plans to lower the price of its iTunes Plus offerings (AKA iTunes sans-DRM) to $.99, instead of the higher-priced premium of $1.29. Old Jobsy claims that the decision was made due to the popularity of the unlocked, higher quality tracks with customers, saying, "It's been very popular with our customers, and we're making it even more affordable." Of course, it also seems likely that iTunes and Apple are feeling the burn from the new wave of DRM-free music providers, like Amazon, and the persistent rumors / news of former playmate Universal amassing an "anti-iTunes" which could seriously compete with the Cupertino monolith's business. Sure, it's the third-largest retailer of music in the US, but there's always someone creeping up from behind -- just ask Irv Gotti.

Update: Apple press release makes it really, really, super duper official.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Apple officially cuts DRM-free track prices to $.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon launches DRM-free "Amazon MP3" music downloads

Joshua Topolsky — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:13:00 EST

If you're into DRM-free music, you have a reason to get pretty excited today. As speculated, Amazon has launched the public beta of its new digital music portal called Amazon MP3, which will feature two million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels, all without the painful and annoying restrictions of DRM. The press release claims that the site, which will include EMI and Universal tracks (take that, Jobs), will make separate songs available for $.89 or $.99, and boasts that all of the "top 100" tracks will be priced at the former, lower amount. Albums will range in cost from $5.99 to $9.99, with the best selling albums coming in at $8.99. Of course, since there's no DRM, users are free to throw the 256Kbps MP3s on any player they like, as well as burn CDs, copy to MiniDisc, and dump to 8-track.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Amazon launches DRM-free "Amazon MP3" music downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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