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MTV and Real flesh out a few Rhapsody America details
Cross-marketing is great and all, but we'd rather know how we factor into this new partnership between MTV, Real and Verizon Wireless. Turns out a few things will be changing from the get go. For one, Urge customers can dive into Rhapsody starting today, using their existing login info to get their feet wet in the #1 subscription service. Rhapsody users will also be enjoying a bit of MTV, VH1 and CMT content, but it's not perfectly clear what or when they'll be getting it. Real also confirmed that it'll be keeping its current partnerships with the likes of Best Buy, SanDisk and TiVo. For Verizon's part of the action, they'll be giving you Rhapsody versions of your over-the-air purchases in a few months. Otherwise, the future is unclear. According to the press release, Rhapsody is "the exclusive digital music service for Real and for MTV Networks' premier music and pop culture brands in the United States." That said, MTV hasn't really said anything too solid on its exit from Microsoft cahoots with its current Urge offering, so we'll just have to wait and see how this all pans out.
MTV, Real and Verizon Wireless join hands for new music service
According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-mart's welcome entry into DRM-free MP3 sales isn't the only thing going on in the online music space this morning. Apparently MTV and Real have decided to team up against Apple's juggernaut, and will be announcing a merged online store at 11AM ET today. They've even got Verizon and Vodafone signed up for mobile distribution, says the Journal. At this point it's still unclear how this will impact MTV's Urge partnership with Microsoft, and Real's Rhapsody service, but we just hope they're aware of the fact that things are basically looking DRM-free or bust at the moment, 'cause the market really doesn't need too many more also-rans.Update: We're tuning into the press conference call as we speak, so standby for updates. MTV, Real and Verizon are launching a new integrated music service. MTV and Real are spinning off a new company called Rhapsody America, partnering with Verizon Wireless. V CAST as mobile platform. Rhapsody America will by run by Urge's Michael Bloom. Kicking off marketing at MTV Video Music awards September 9th. Verizon promises 8GB of phone music storage this year, and 16GB in 2008. Most likely refers to removable storage via (micro)SDHC, since they mentioned a current 4GB cap, and don't offer any 4GB phones. Not just songs, the service will also include ringtones, album covers, ringback tones and music videos. Urge is sticking around on Windows Media Player 11 until further notice, they're currently in talks with Microsoft. Over-the-air downloads likely to be "important part of the service going forward." Emphasis is on being able to access your music collection wherever. All of Real's DRM-free efforts (including the Universal DRM-free trial launch today) will be included in Rhapsody America. They think 2008 is when DRM-free will start to go mainstream. Will most likely support subscription and purchase models. No word on price or when the service is going to be available.
Sonos adds support for Microsoft-DRMed music files
Today, Sonos announced a software update for its music setups, which will allow users to listen to Microsoft DRM-encoded music. Version 2.1 includes tracks purchased from AOL Music Now, URGE, Napster, Wal-Mart, Yahoo! Music Unlimited, Zune Marketplace and adds "improved playlist and volume normalization support" for iTunes 7.0. It also brings full compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows Media Player 11. So for the small group of you out there who have all your music constrained by Microsoft DRM and wished you could buy a Sonos system, Christmas has come very early for you.
Digital Music Vendor Showdown
Wired has a good article up about the various digital music vendors: Urge, Napster, Rhapsody, eMusic and iTunes. They compare and rate the services. In the end, they chose iTunes as their editor's pick, pointing out that although iTunes has no subscription plan at this time, its combination of easy-to-use shopping plus the huge catalog of music, TV and video makes iTunes the most compelling digital vendor. At the bottom of the pack was Napster with its three-device playback restrictions and limited device compatibility. eMusic won on pricing (about $0.25 apiece, if you buy all the tracks you're allowed) and their DRM-free tunes.
Dell CEO jabs at Apple, forgets how to count
Michael Dell, amidst lackluster growth reports and a dismal earnings warning, has fired a couple more potshots across Apple's bow. During a recent Q&A, Dell's CEO cited MTV's new URGE music service as one reason why he is skeptical of the iTMS market dominance over the next ten to twenty years. I guess we'll have to see how well Microsoft irons out their Plays for Sure, er URGE, er Zune project (indecisive, anyone?), and how upset users get when the Zune crashes with a BSOD right in the middle of a wireless purchase, accidentally charging their credit cards for 5 additional albums that weren't even in their shopping cart.Going further, Mr. Dell also bragged about Dell's market share statistics, stating that Apple isn't a threat because they haven't broken into the list of top five market share holders. All debates as to whether Apple is trying to, or even should, dominate the world with their shiny computers aside, Michael is only half right: Apple's market share in the U.S. has actually jumped high enough to rank them 4th in PC manufacturers (again, in the U.S.).How many times do we have to tell you this, Mr. Dell? Insulting Apple won't make them open up OS X for you.[via MacNN]
The Engadget Interview: iriver America President Jonathan Sasse
We recently had the chance to sit down with iriver America President Jonathan Sasse, who gave us an refreshingly candid take on the company's recently relaunched clix portable media player, its close relationship with MTV's new URGE music download service, and the uphill struggle to increase share in a market dominated by the iPod:Thanks for sitting down with me this afternoon. There's a lot to talk about, but the big news is that iriver just re-launched the U10 as the clix and announced a relationship with URGE, MTV's new music download service. Could you give us an overview of both the launch and the relationship with URGE, and how it came about? The launch is going well and the response has been great. Obviously there's been a lot of great reviews. The interesting thing with the clix is that it's a lot more than a new name for the U10. I've noticed some improvements in the UI. Yeah, the UI's been changed a lot. The hardware's actually different, too. We upgraded the processor, and obviously the memory and the price are different, too. It all goes back to late last year. Microsoft came to us and let us know that they we're going to do a new version of Windows Media Player that's gonna be dramatically different than Windows Media Player 10 in a much more visual way and from an experience standpoint. They also said that they would have a new service partner, though they didn't say who at the time. They said, "We've got somebody that's pretty big and can make a big impact in this space and we'd like to bring you guys on board to help be a great device on that system." They knew the service had to be really good, but at the end of the day they couldn't just have a smattering of devices that they just grabbed any type of device and plugged it in and said, "There you go."
Think Secret dishes on Zune, future iPods
Apple rumor site Think Secret has been busy chatting it up with all those company insiders whom Misters Jobs and Gates would love to get their rich and powerful hands on, and turned those leaks into an article which dispels some of the recently-circulating iPod rumors, along with providing a few more tantalizing deets about Microsoft's upcoming "iPod killer." For starters, it looks like we shouldn't be expecting the "true" video iPod until at least the annual MacWorld Expo in January -- though larger capacity 5G 'Pods may arrive in the interim -- and apparently the long-rumored iPhone also won't be coming anytime soon, as that project has reportedly been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, when the 6G iPod is finally released, it will likely lack both the wireless capabilities and talking interface that some people have been anticipating; Apple is said to believe that the former feature would have too much of an impact on battery life, while the latter would only feed what's seen as a marginal consumer demand. Finally, Microsoft's so-called Zune -- which is rumored to sport WiFi for communicating with MTV's Urge service -- may also come equipped with a powerful 400MHz processor suitable for gaming, as well as a built in tuner for receiving satellite radio broadcasts. Obviously all this info is just speculation from unnamed sources for now, but if the Zune does end up duping your iTunes tracks, playing high-quality games, and giving you access to Sirius or XM on the go, then Apple may be facing its first real marketplace battle in the iPod's brief but influential existence.
Sources confirm Microsoft's work on iPod/iTMS rivals
Remember those "cringingly blurry" photos we published a few weeks back that supposedly depicted Microsoft's long-rumored iPod-killer? Well it looks like our tipster may have been right on the money with his assessment, as Reuters is reporting that "sources familiar with the plans" have confirmed that Redmond is indeed working on a portable media player, along with an iTunes-like service to feed it content. Although the informants didn't give much info on the hardware (none at all, really), the service is apparently looking to differentiate itself from the iTMS by encouraging users to hang out and community-build (how Web 2.0), and while it will offer a subscription option a la other PlaysForSure-powered sites, the main focus will be on the pay-per-download model. A Microsoft-branded service may come as a bit of a surprise to some folks considering past licensing issues the company's had with the labels, along with its recent involvement in launching MTV's Urge, but we know at least one person who's seen this coming all along.P.S. Not that this helps you out much, but we can say that we actually caught a glimpse of whatever this device is, and so far, we like what we see.
Microsoft confirms the 'iPod killer' rumors are false
Yesterday, Engadget posted some less-than-clear images with rumors of an iPod killer coming soon from the Microsoft camp. Today, PC Magazine has confirmation from a Microsoft rep that these rumors were nothing more than hot air. In fact, they were simply the result of a mis-translated Japanese press release about Microsoft's new Windows Media Player 11 software; they had nothing to do with hardware.So for those of you who might have developed a chronic nail-biting habit, worried that Microsoft's new '#1 with a bullet', MTV-infused music service and killer new hardware were going to usurp Apple's iPod and iTunes overnight (ironically, the only time MTV has anything to do with music these days), I think it's safe to say you can give your nerves a rest.[UPDATE: Microsoft was setting other rumors about an iPod killer straight; their announcement wasn't tied to these images that Engadget posted yesterday. Those could be shots of a Gigabeat-S portable media player from Toshiba, for all anyone knows.]
MTV pimps branded MP3 players in Europe
Just a few weeks after the launch of their Microsoft-supported music service Urge, MTV has tapped European company Mini Media to produce two MP3 players emblazoned with branding from Viacom franchises such as South Park and Pimp My Ride. The lower-end MIVI-P1GB sports 1GB of storage (expandable with SD), WMA playback, an FM tuner and a voice recorder, while the higher-end MIVI-P1GBV1 adds photo/video playback on a 1.5-inch CSTN screen. Yeah, the specs are nothing special but MTV is hoping the wacky rubberized finish and cheesy graphics will be enough to separate consumers from their cash after the European release slated for September. No word on price or plans for a US release yet, but we're betting we'll see these before we ever see that other MTV player again.[Via I4U]
MTV and Microsoft launch URGE
Some six months after first announcing it, Microsoft and MTV have launched their URGE music service. The new service will be fairly similar to other subscription-based services that rely on Microsoft's PlayForSure DRM, and will offer 2 million songs, and have a monthly fee of $9.99, or $14.99 for a "to go" version that will work with PlaysForSure-compatible audio players. Of course, URGE will have one advantage that will inevitably help it make up for its late entry to the market: integration into the next version of Windows Media Player. That may cause some grumblings from the likes of Yahoo and Napster, though Microsoft has already settled with Real, so we suspect we're not going to hear them crying foul (besides, Real has been focusing most of its ire on Apple lately, something we think Microsoft will be perfectly happy to support).
iRiver Clix (U10) hits the US
Farewell iRiver U10, hello iRiver Clix. It's the same device (well, this one's 2GB), but it looks like iRiver finally caught on to the fact that named products brand better and seem to sell faster than arcane alpha-numeric character combinations. Other than that this thing doesn't appear to be too different than its predecessors; CNET's got a review of it up (as well as one of Urge and Windows Media Player 11, here and here, respectively if you're interested).[Thanks, Jenn]
