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BenQ launches a slew of Joybees
We're glad BenQ's not trimming the fat on their portable audio division the way their optical drives business got the boot this week (it was bought by LITE-ON), but a couple of their new Bluetooth-enabled Joybees are definitely hat-tipping BenQ-Siemens as possible accessories. So let's get to the players, already (clockwise from top left): the E520 (no, not that BenQ E520) with Bluetooth / call features not dissimilar from Samsung's SBH-300; their ET50 with the same Bluetooth call features, but also a data transmission profile, presumably for file swapping (so it'd probably be OBEX / FTP); the Game Boy Micro-esque EG10, which comes bundled with ten Sega Game Gear and Master System titles (like Sonic Blast and Columns) and an SD slot; and finally the E105 (no, not that E105) clip-on MP3 player. No word on when or if these'll be States-bound, so keep those fingers locked and loaded on your favorite importer.[Via The MP3 Players]
Samsung releasing Helix and Nexus this month?
Well, looks like 25th of April will see the official release of Samsung's Helix and Nexus XM sat rads at the Samsung Experience in the Time Warner Center in our fair city of New York. We've been kind of expecting the release of the Helix (which was announced at CES) any day now, but the Nexus is way overdue, having been announced last September. For those thinking of swooping in to make a purchase, the Helix is Samsung's portable with live streaming XM and an FM transmitter. The Nexus doesn't have the same live sat capability, but does have 512MB and 1GB versions for playing back pre-recorded XM streams; both feature MP3 and WMA playback, and can use the XM / Napster service. You can already pre-order the Nexus for $219 / 270, but don't forget that you can pre-order that Pioneer Inno for $399, too.
JVC XA-F57, XA-F107 flash audio players
JVC is making another effort to stake out some turf in the digital audio player market with two new flash models, the 512MB XA-F57 and 1GB XA-F107 (which are, basically, US versions of the Alneo models the company showed in Japan a few months back). Both models support MP3, WMA and PlaysForSure, and also include a line-in for direct encoding. They also include everyone's favorite feature du jour, a lanyard with an integrated headphones (of course, that could get in the way if you don't want to wear the player around your neck, but then if that's the case, you're probably not JVC's kind of customer). The players also have a mono LCD display, come in pink, silver, white and black, and support mass-storage mode for non-DRM'd files. The F57 is expected to sell for $99, and the F107 should go for about $149.
Airlines want to offer iTunes for inflight iPod downloads
Companies that develop inflight entertainment (IFE) systems for airlines have been in discussions with Apple about integrating the iPod and iTunes into IFE systems, according to several of the companies. Proposed applications include seatback-based iPod docks with USB and charging ports, allowing passengers to charge song and video purchases to frequent-flyer miles, and adding other ecommerce applications. "Our interests are wider – not just Apple, but enabling any e-commerce on the aircraft. Music is one thing in that category we are working on," said an exec with Panasonic Avionics. However, numerous obstacles stand in the way of inflight downloads, including changing Apple's licensing, so that songs downloaded directly to an iPod in the air could later be copied back to a customer's hard drive, and the issue of licensing and payment while a plane is in international airspace. Then, there's the issue of getting Apple to participate in the first place. When asked for a comment by editors at Flight International, the company issued what has to be one of our favorite "no comment" lines, especially for a technology company: "Apple never talks about the future." We'll keep that in mind.
iRiver N12 pendant MP3 player with OLED
If you've already read the headline of this post, you can pretty much skip the rest. The iRiver N12 pendant MP3 player looks a lot like the N11, with the main change being that the new version has headphones integrated into the lanyard, N10-style. It also apparently starts at 1GB capacity, while that's where the N11 maxed out. We assume it will continue to support MP3, WMA and PlaysForSure, like earlier models in the series. Oh, and it'll be about W198,000 ($209), and will probably never be released in the US. There, aren't you glad you read the whole post?
Sonos launches ZP80 in $999 bundle
If you've been waiting for Sonos to break the $1000 barrier before you "unwire" your home music setup, today would be the day. Sonos is launching a new bundle for $999 which includes two of their new ZonePlayer 80 units, along with the standard Sonos controller. We saw the ZP80 at CES, and it's the same box as then: an amp-free version of the ZP100, which also includes optical and coaxial digital outs, along with two fewer Ethernet jacks. Just like its big brother, the ZP80 still doesn't have PlaysForSure or FairPlay support, though you can still use your Rhapsody or Audible.com files. The ZP80 is shipping now and goes for $350 by itself, compared to the $500 ZP100.
Evergreen's $8.50 DN-2000 MP3 player
Japanese Co. Evergreen is no stranger to the cheap and crap-plasticy product. Now they combine their love of the two and apparent hatred for human-kind in this $8.50 DN-2000 MP3 player targeting the ill-fated shores of Japan, and perhaps, beyond. It runs for 5-hours on a single AAA battery and supports 1GB SD cards. You realize of course, that we are now at the dawn of disposable MP3 players don't you? Gawd save our souls.
Pioneer Inno XM2go DAP reviewed
We've had our eye on the Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix combination DAP/XM2go receivers ever since they were announced at CES, and although the devices certainly looked to have a winning combination of features, we had several concerns that we were eager to see addressed in a hands-on. Well our wait is over, as a fairly gushing, and very thorough, review of the Inno by satellite radio enthusiast site Orbitcast has allayed all of our fears, and convinced us that the Inno, which both plays and records XM streams as well as handling your MP3's, is really as hot as the specs make it sound. Orbitcast is particularly impressed with the ease of managing content on the device, with powerful search functions, automatic track separation (when recording streams), and intuitive controls helping Inno achieve that delicate balance of features and simplicity. With reception actually better than older XM2go models, pretty decent battery life, excellent stock earbuds, and improved playback control, the only downside here seems to be the way in which the Inno partitions its memory: during the initial setup you must choose from only two configurations -- 100% storage devoted to XM content or a 50/50 split between XM and your own tracks -- and if you want to switch modes at a later date, your entire library of recorded swag gets wiped.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung's YM-P1 20GB PMP available for pre-order
It's hitting our shores a little later than expected, but you can finally queue up for the US version of Samsung's hot little YM-PD1 personal media player (pictured), the YM-P1 (the absence of the "D" refers to the lack of a DMB over-the-air DTV receiver). Since we've been following this model for some time, you'll no doubt recall that it features a 4-inch widescreen TFT display, sports in-line recording to a 20GB hard drive, and supports a gaggle of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, AC3, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, AVI, WMV, JPEG, and BMP. You can also jack up the memory a bit via the SDIO slot, listen to and record FM radio, and even play some videogames (although the controls don't look all that well-suited for serious gaming). SamsungHQ spotted the P1 available for pre-order on Datavision's website at $370 (where "Our prices are too low to advertise!"), although there is no mention of when the devices will actually be shipping, so don't toss your Archos aside just yet.
U.K.'s 3 helped Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" top the charts
In a completely shocking and unprecedented move, a corporate entity is trying to latch on to the latest "big thing" by taking partial credit for the phenomenon's success, which in this case is the first song to top the U.K. singles charts without ever having been sold in stores. Wireless carrier 3 is claiming that its network was responsible for up to 20% of the total downloads of "Crazy," the first single by Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo collaborative Gnarls Barkley (no relation to the Round Mound of Rebound), which sold 31,000 digital copies and 0 CDs in the week ending April 2nd. 3 offers songs for 99 pence apiece and also allows a copy of the track to be downloaded to a user's PC, which would seem to make it a strong competitor in not only the mobile arena but the traditional online music market as well.
TUAW Podcast the 8th
It's that time again! We've put together our eighth podcast, and in this edition Jan Kabili, Damien Barrett and Dave Caolo bring you some of our best posts from last week, in-depth details on Apple Computer vs. Apple Corps, a couple April fools jokes, new Apple stores and some interesting iPod accessories. It's all hosted by me, David Chartier, and is available in a variety of formats and channels: enhanced AAC MP3 our iTMS podcast and vidcast link our own RSS feed of podcasts Please let us know what you think of the new format in the comments.Enjoy!
New DS801 musicphone from DNet
DNet's new DS801 music-centric slider might not be the most exciting thing around, but it seems a large improvement over their crazy-go-nuts DM751 iPod mini phone. The handset sports a 1.8-inch 176 x 220 LCD, 1.3 megapixel camera, and tri-band GSM radio, along with a bit of MP3 music and MPEG video playback functionality. You can add memory via miniSD, and scroll through your music with that convenient, if slightly "familiar", scroll wheel. No word on price or availability.[Via MobileMag]
Sony's new E-series flash Walkmans get real
Not that we really had any doubt at this point, but those new Sony E-series flash players from last week? Yeah, they're real. No new info on Sony's official site though, not so far as we can tell: same 512MB / 1 / 2GB capacities as before with optional FM tuner, MP3 and WMA playback, and a 28 hour battery (using ATRAC, of course) with a 3 minute quick charge for 3 hours playback (again, probably using ATRAC), and black, violet, pink, blue, silver, and the "very exclusive lime green." Yeah, whatever. So where are our CE-Ps, Sony?[Thanks, Colin]
Samsung gets their PMP-ish Digimax i6 out the door
We have yet to see quite how well Samsung's Digimax i6 compact shooter will hold up to PMP duties, but Samsung is billing it as the "world's first PMP slim camera," so hopefully it does something right. The 6 megapixel i6 is now available in Europe for £200, while US pre-orders are available at a reasonable $300. Along with your average camera features like a 2.5-inch LCD and a 3x optical zoom, the i6 includes a mini headphone jack for enjoying MP3 files, along with video playback capability for XviD files made using an included converter. Not exactly groundbreaking, but we can't fault this sexy, 0.7-inch thick shooter for trying.[Via SamsungHQ]
Sony CE-P MP3 players with color OLED, MP3/WMA
Sony has a new series of flash-based players, though for now, it looks like you may have to go to China (where it was apparently designed) to get one. The CE-P series includes a 1.5-inch color OLED display, MP3 and WMA playback (no word on PlaysForSure, but we're not holding our breath), FM tuner and voice recorder. Capacities and prices include the 256MB CE-P13 for about $100, 512MB CE-P15 for about $125, and the 1GB CE-P15 for about $150. No word on if or when they'll be available on a continent near you.
Convert WMA files into something useful
I thought we'd posted on this before, but I couldn't find anything so here you go: EasyWMA is a simple little tool that can convert WMA files into m4a, mp3 and wav audio files. It supports DnD (drag and drop), even with entire folders of songs to convert. Other features include: Input formats : wma, asf, wmv, wav Manual or automatic bit rate selection from source (32-320kbps) Batch processing ID3 tags support One catch I've found so far: I'm not sure if EasyWMA can handle the latest WMA 10 format, and it doesn't state anywhere on the site. Either way, this looks like a handy little app for those who are trying to convert their WMA files into a format that's actually useful. It sells for $10 and, as of its last update, is a Universal Binary.http://www.easywma.com/
M-Bird's XZ-22 flash media player
It's been a while since we last heard from M-Bird, but it looks like maybe, just maybe, they've shed their egregiously awful stylings for a milder, more Cingular 8125-ish looking enclosure. Their XZ-22 media player features 2.2-inch 260k color display, USB On-The-Go, and 512MB / 1 / 2GB capacities in 1.9 x 3.5 x 0.6-inch body. Nothing mind blowing, but it's an aesthetic step forward for one of the worst habitual offenders of taste in the audio player world, that's for sure.
Get your iTunes music onto other devices with Thrupp
While I've been a happy iPod owner since the very first 5 GB model, I realize that we live in a world with plenty of other devices that can play music. Fortunately, a company by the name of "utsire" realizes this as well and has created Thrupp, a handy utility for sending your iTunes music (sans iTMS purchases) to virtually any other MP3 player that can be mounted as a drive in the Finder, including music phones.Thrupp is smart too, as it not only can convert AAC songs to MP3 for your device on the fly in the background while you work, it can also display all file sizes and free space, letting you keep an eye on exactly how much space each song is going to take up. Now I haven't grabbed a copy since I don't have any music playing devices besides an iPod, but Thrupp's screenshot looks like it can display your entire iTunes music library as well as your playlists, making it easy to track down just the songs and albums you want.Overall this looks like a good app for all those non-iPod devices out there. A demo is available, and a full license is $14.95.
TUAW Tip: Trimming tracks in iTunes
Ever had a song that had blank space at the beginning or end, just enough to annoy you? Sure, those "bonus tracks" on CD's are cute with their 5 minutes of dead air before the last song, but not when your iPod is on shuffle. Luckily, you can trim off the beginning or end of any song in iTunes right within the app. Go to a song, Ctrl-click on it (that's a right-click for you Mighty Mousers), and go to Get Info. A dialog box will open, with several choices at the top. You'll want to go to Options, and you'll see a Start Time and Stop Time well where you can specify when the song should start or stop. It's that easy! As you can also see, there are controls for the star rating, volume and EQ adjustments, and two handy items involving playback... "Remember playback position" makes any song like an audiobook or podcast, allowing you to jump back to the time you left off when you stopped playing that song. "Skip when shuffling" is good for those old iTrip's with the FM bleeps on them (or any other items you don't want interrupting your workout). Lots of other wacky tidbits on this Apple page.
Mac OS Tones.com
Mac OS Tones.com is a place you get Mac system sounds for your cell phone. They have classic system sounds, eWorld, and Newton sounds. You can even get the chimes of death, including the 6100/7100 breaking-glass car crash death chime! For a $9.95 fee, you gain unlimited download access to their sounds and can use their WAP-push tools to send the MP3's to your phone. You may also transfer the MP3's via Bluetooth or data cable. Of course, your phone has to support the use of MP3 as ringtones and have some way of receiving the files.
