October 12, 2006, 4:22 PM PDT
Red iPod Nano to benefit HIV/AIDS charity?
Posted by: Jasmine France

Apple Insider is reporting that U2 frontman Bono is pairing up with Oprah (and other celebs) to unveil a new red version of the iPod Nano. Purportedly, the special 4GB player will sell for $199, with $10 of every sale going to the Global Fund, which helps women and children affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa. The Chicago Tribune snapped a shot of the two celebs listening to the red Nano in Chicago's Apple store, and it's looking pretty legit. They are apparently filming a promotional segment that will air on tomorrow's The Oprah Winfrey Show.

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October 12, 2006, 2:07 PM PDT
Sony's noise-canceling MP3 player
Posted by: Jasmine France

Early this morning, Sony announced its latest digital audio player, the NW-S700, and dubbed it the best-sounding Walkman yet. This is apparently thanks to the device's built-in noise-canceling technology. Noise-canceling headphones are nothing new, but a noise-canceling MP3 player is not something I've had the chance to meet...and I thought I might not still: most reports cite only the Japanese release of the NW-S700. However, the press release I received clearly lists U.S. pricing ($169 for the 1GB version, $199 for 2GB) and availability (November).

The player looks like the love child of the NW-E000 and the NW-E500: it has the thumbdrive look (though not the built-in USB interface) of the former and the multifunctional control knob of the latter. It also comes in an three shimmery colors: violet and pink for the 1GB version, and black for the 2GB. And I'm happy to report that the special-edition brown model appears to be a Japan-only release. (What is it with brown gadgets lately? Ick--not for me, thanks.) I'm also pleased to note that Sony is straying from its monochrome displays in favor of a full-color OLED display that supports album art, though from the looks of it, the teeny tiny square isn't much to look at. But hey, at least it's something. The NW-S700 will also feature a built-in FM tuner for radio fans, and it boasts a marathon-esque 50-hour rated battery life. I can dream that a SonicStage update is in the works for this release, but I doubt that's very likely.

As for the sound quality, Sony's general manager for personal audio Koba Kobayashi "is confident that even audiophiles will be pleased with this Walkman digital music player." Well, I don't know about that. Noise-canceling technology by nature processes the sound even more than it has been already, and audiophiles already have gripes with digital music. But it's a forward-thinking feature, and I appreciate Sony's putting it out there--we don't see many new MP3 features nowadays.

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October 09, 2006, 5:27 PM PDT
LaLa.com revives WOXY
Posted by: Jasmine France

At 10:10 a.m. tomorrow, CD trading service LaLa.com will begin rebroadcasting popular Internet radio station WOXY.com in conjunction with a plan to allow members of LaLa.com to create their own radio stations for free public streaming. I had a chance to sit down with a LaLa rep and talk about the new relationship, as well as the changes that are taking place now that the service is out of beta and gaining steam.

A record store experience
If you take a moment to cruise around LaLa (if you don't want to register, just click on the album art to enter the site proper), you'll notice how nicely visual--lots of album art and a member image scroll across the top--the site is. But something is missing: music. Can you imagine entering a record store and hearing nothing but other shoppers flipping through albums? Depressing, isn't it? LaLa founder Bill Ngyuen, who, incidentally, has had some great ideas in the past and thus some disposable income to burn, started thinking about how to remedy this. In the process, he found out about a well-received alternative radio station called WOXY.

WOXY: A history
Ohio-based WOXY launched in September 1983, with the aim to be an independent alternative and modern rock station; it was quite successful. It received more than its fair share of praise from the music press and its listeners. (Fun trivia: Dustin Hoffman repeated WOXY's tagline--"97X--Bam! The Future of Rock & Roll"--more than 70 times in the movie Rainman.) In 1998, WOXY launched an Internet stream of the broadcast station and gained listeners from around the world. But despite this success and retention, the station owners announced in 2004 that they were selling the broadcast license and related properties and closing up shop. The day after the last broadcast, as the staff wandered into the parking lot prepared to say good-bye for good, two angel investors approached the group and proposed to keep the Internet broadcast on the air. Unfortunately, the funds dried up, and WOXY quietly stopped streaming last month.

LaLa.com + WOXY.com = BFF
Or "WOXY, the station that wouldn't die." Not so long after the off-the-air message popped up on WOXY.com, Bill posted a message on the boards entitled White Knight, expressing his interest in saving WOXY and creating a partnership with LaLa.com. The post has had more than 75,000 views and 71 pages of replies. The first pages are filled with skeptical yet hopeful messages, while the end pages are full of excitement for the upcoming relaunch of the station, which will have its own streaming link on LaLa.com as well.

But the WOXY DJs aren't the only ones who'll get to entertain the members at LaLa.com. The service is also launching its own station creator, which will allow members to create massive playlists that will act as radio stations that all other members--and eventually the general public--can stream from the site. An alpha group of DJs (a selection of established members) has already been given access to the tool, and those stations will be available tomorrow. Currently, the radio feature has a long way to go--the interface is imperfect, and there are only about 150,000 tracks from which to choose. Eventually, the radio interface will have a dial for tuning into your favorite members' stations, and many more songs will be available for adding to your station.

Trouble from the RIAA?
Actually, no. LaLa has been very careful about following the letter of the law, which includes obtaining the proper licenses and imposing certain rules on the DJs. The stations must be at least three hours long, you can only use two songs per artist, and you cannot listen to your own station (bummer). But, hey, it is free, so I'm not gonna complain too much.

LaLa.com has more cool music plans for the future. Stay tuned for a full review of the service.

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October 04, 2006, 10:56 AM PDT
Samsung YP-T9 details surface
Posted by: Jasmine France

OK, so maybe the details about Samsung's sleek T9 MP3 player were already available to our Asian counterparts, but I waited patiently to get the official product fact sheet from my U.S. contact so that I'd have accurate info for a stateside version of the device. Good thing that I did, too, because as it turns out the T9 that'll go on sale in the United States doesn't have the most touted feature: built-in Bluetooth capability. (Someone remind me again why Asia gets all the cool stuff?) Well, maybe I'm more than a touch disappointed, but the T9 still looks like a promising device. The slick black player features a cell phone-like design, much like its predecessor, the YP-D1, but it's slimmer and sleeker, measuring 1.7 by 3.3 by 0.4 inches. I'm also liking the player's graphical navigation icons (as with the K5) and adjustable menu colors--you can select from blue, green, purple, pink, and orange. What can I say? I'm a sucker for colorful lights.
As for the rest, here 'tis:

• Flash MP3 multimedia player
• Plays MP3, WMA, and WMA DRM 10
• Plays video (MPEG-4)
• JPEG photo slide shows with zoom features
• 1.8-inch TFT LCD color screen
• 2GB and 4GB available
• Subscription service compatible (Janus DRM)
• DNSe (Digital Natural Sound Engine)
• Digital clock
• FM tuner and recorder (variable MP3 bit rate)
• Voice recorder (variable MP3 bit rate)
• Built-in li-poly rechargeable battery: audio playback time--up to 30 hours; video playback time--up to 6 hours
• Text viewer, file browser
• Plays Macromedia Flash games
• Dynamic Macromedia user interface
• Easy five-button front control
• Shows album art, visualizers, screensavers, and custom wallpaper
• Firmware upgradable
• Supports playlists, delete from device, on-the-go (favorites) playlist

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September 29, 2006, 12:34 PM PDT
A note on the 8GB Creative Zen V Plus
Posted by: Jasmine France

I received confirmation from Creative's reps yesterday that an 8GB version of the Zen V Plus is imminent in Asia. It will be black with blue accents, like the 4GB model. The company is undecided on whether the 8-gig will come to the States, but considering the demand for higher-capacity flash players (especially with the disappearing microdrive market), I'm thinking it's a good idea. My money's on a stateside debut in time for the holiday buying season...of course, we have yet to see the already announced smaller-capacity Zen V Pluses, so I could be wrong.

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September 26, 2006, 12:03 PM PDT
Disappearing songs and other iTunes 7 woes
Posted by: Jasmine France

iTunes 7 is so not ready for prime time. In fact, it's hard to believe Apple has released such a buggy program. On my Windows machine at work, I have been battling iTunes 7 nearly every time I use it. From its just refusing to start up after several tries to requiring me to select new libraries every third time I open it, this little jukebox and I have not been getting along. Most of my problems have been related to sluggish performance--that is, iTunes freezing up and acting slow in general. I noticed that while this is happening, my CPU usage shoots up as much as 80 percent. And that's not even playing music or video--that's just navigating around. This just shouldn't be happening on a 2.6GHz Pentium 4 with a gig of RAM.

OK, so that's annoying. But more disturbing is a recent phenomenon I've been noticing, which I shall call "the disappearing of purchased content" (DOPC?) issue. This has happened to me on not one, but two different PCs, running in different locations (home and work). Over the weekend, I purchased four songs on iTunes and used them to burn a mix with some music I already owned. When I opened iTunes the next day, the songs were nowhere to be found. And when I selected the Check For Purchases option in the Store drop-down menu, I got this message: "All purchases have been downloaded for this account. Purchases can only be downloaded once." Well, that sucks, because I just spent my hard-earned cash (albeit--and thankfully--only four bucks) on some music, and it disappeared from iTunes for no logical reason. Yesterday, I bought a TV show and a movie on iTunes so that I could test out a new iPod accessory. Today, the files were missing from the iTunes library. Seriously...WTF? This is just getting ridiculous. I spent $17 for the privilege of easy and fast access to those files.

After a little searching, I was able to turn up my movie and TV show. It turns out that these two items--which are the only ones I've purchased since upgrading to iTunes 7--were saved in an odd location. While all of my previous purchases were logically saved to my general iTunes Music folder, under My Music > iTunes, the most recent ones were saved in an iTunes Music folder that the program created here: My Music > iTunes > Previous iTunes Libraries. Um, OK--why? I certainly didn't specify such a thing in my preferences. At least I found my files, but the whole beauty of iTunes is that it makes media management such an easy task, and version 7 is not doing its job.

Senior editor James Kim was a witness to my pain; he hasn't experienced such woes himself (luck?), but he is also baffled that a fix to iTunes 7 isn't priority numero uno over at Apple. After all, millions of people use the software and store. Are the rest of you as irritated as I am?

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September 26, 2006, 9:57 AM PDT
Logitech introduces next-gen wireless headphones
Posted by: Jasmine France

Wireless headphones aren't new, but portable wireless headphones haven't exactly flooded the market. And many of those that have been released have suffered from poor wireless reception, subpar audio quality, and uncomfortable or fragile designs. Logitech aims to remedy such problems with its second-generation wireless headphones, called FreePulse Wireless.

The FreePulse Wireless headphones use Bluetooth 2.0 Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) wireless technology, and they work with any MP3 player that has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Though built-in iPod control would have been a welcome feature for many users, I'm happy to see that the company went with a more universal design. The headphones feature a flexible, high-carbon spring-steel headband (or, more appropriately, neckband), which makes them lighter (2.1 ounces, to be exact) and more durable than Logitech's first-generation wireless headphones. And there are ear loops built in to offer a more secure fit. The rechargeable batteries in both the headphones and the adapter are rated for more than six hours of playtime, which is about average for this type of product.

I had a chance to use the FreePulse headphones at a Logitech sneak-peek event and was impressed by the audio quality. I didn't wander too far from the transmitter, so I'm not sure how accurate the purported 33-foot range is. But I was keenly aware of the headphones' open-style design--anyone within a few feet can hear what song you're rockin'. Personally, this isn't my preference in headphones, but some people prefer the open sound it provides. The FreePulse Wireless headphones are due out in October and have a suggested price of $99.99.

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September 25, 2006, 10:06 AM PDT
Coming soon: 8GB Creative Zen V Plus...and one in pink?
Posted by: Jasmine France

Epizenter, an aptly named Creative fan site, reports that they have it from a "reliable source" that Creative is set to release an 8GB version of the much-anticipated Zen V Plus. Perhaps this is the reason the release date on the player continues to be pushed back? A user on the site also pointed out that Creative Singapore's online store is selling a pink version of the 2GB Zen V Plus. Could this be a sign of things to come in the States? Stay tuned.

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September 18, 2006, 12:02 PM PDT
Price drop: Creative Zen V and Zen V Plus
Posted by: Jasmine France

Creative recently lowered the pricing on its newest flash MP3 players, the Zen V and the Zen V Plus. This is likely a strategic move to better compete with the 2G iPod Shuffle, and price drops are always welcome! The 1GB Zen V is marked at $89, the 2GB is $119, and the 4GB is $159. For the Zen V Plus, pricing is $99, $139, and $179 for the 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB versions respectively.

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September 18, 2006, 10:36 AM PDT
Sansa + Rhapsody = a seamless experience?
Posted by: Jasmine France

Only time will tell. This morning, RealNetworks launched its new Rhapsody DNA platform and announced a related partnership with SanDisk. Rhapsody DNA will be integrated with Sansa MP3 players this fall, starting with the e200 series. So what is Rhapsody DNA? It's hard to visualize precisely what the new platform will offer, but the gist is that it will provide a seamless experience (such as with the iPod + iTunes relationship, I would think) between Rhapsody and the Sansa e200. Here are some of the details from the press release:

• The RealNetworks/SanDisk partnership will feature groundbreaking new features embedded in a line of SanDisk's Sansa e200 series of portable players. The collaboration will allow consumers to personalize their devices and take full advantage of both Rhapsody's subscription model and SanDisk's flash-based MP3 player capabilities and capacity.
• The e200s with the special Rhapsody DNA platform will come equipped with nearly 32 hours of preloaded music from hundreds of the world's most popular artists on EMI Recorded Music, SonyBMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, as well as leading independent labels.
• The players also include unique capabilities, such as automatically updating with new music based on a consumer's personal tastes and historical music preferences.
• Rhapsody DNA gives OEMs and device partners such as SanDisk a world-class platform they can use to compete on a one-to-one basis with other end-to-end music experiences. Although Rhapsody DNA can operate on devices that are compatible with--and include--Microsoft's PlaysForSure platform, Rhapsody DNA does not depend on Microsoft technology in any way.
• The Rhapsody DNA platform is based on Real's Helix digital rights management and includes a number of enabling and optimizing technologies that allow partners to take full advantage of Rhapsody's unlimited access model. With Rhapsody DNA, users can access their music across different types of devices. Real and SanDisk cooperated closely to optimize SanDisk's Sansa e200 players to work seamlessly in the new Rhapsody DNA environment.
• In addition to SanDisk, Real is currently working with several other device manufacturers to integrate support for the Rhapsody DNA platform.

Sounds like a pretty good idea to me, especially since SanDisk ranks second in the U.S. MP3 player market, and Rhapsody--which currently has 1.625 million subscribers--is the leader in the subscription music service space. However, the success will depend on how well the relationship works in practice. Personally, I can't wait to get some hands-on experience with the new platform. Stay tuned for a review.

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