September 07, 2005, 5:45 PM PDT
MP3s on the LG VX8100
Posted by: Kent German

As we said in our July review of the LG VX8100, we were somewhat miffed that LG and Verizon Wireless bothered to include the nifty multimedia controls on the phone when there was no workable MP3 functionality. And we weren't the only ones who noticed. Customers who bought the phone were perturbed as well, judging by the number of confused e-mails I received. Fortunately, though, Verizon is now offering an upgrade that includes full MP3 capability at any of the carrier's stores. VX8100 owners will now be able to download their favorite CDs to standard memory cards, insert a card into the phone, and listen to music. While we like to think our complaints had something to do with the upgrade, it's more probable that Verizon is getting nervous about Cingular's new Motorola Rokr E1 iTunes phone.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Cell phones
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 5:37 PM PDT
Hello iTunes phone
Posted by: Kent German

Just when I was about to wash my hands of the whole thing, the Motorola iTunes phone is finally here. Cingular customers can now get their hands on the most anticipated cell phone of the year, which will sell for $249 with a two-year contract. Apple, Motorola, and Cingular unveiled the Motorola Rokr E1 at a boisterous event in San Francisco today that included a performance by Kanye West and an iChat with Madonna. The Rokr will hold 100 songs that are downloaded via a USB cable and played on an iTunes interface. Other features include a speakerphone, Bluetooth, and a VGA camera. We have our reservations, however, especially after this long a wait. See our First Take for a complete report.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Cell phones
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 4:33 PM PDT
Google Talk + $1.67 = your own streaming radio station
Posted by: Tim Moynihan

Once upon a time, Web sites such as Live365 allowed you to build your own radio station and stream your musical selections across the Internet. It was awesome, and it was free.

Then came Metallica, the RIAA, and Web sites realizing that in order to make money, they needed to charge for Web radio-station services. It was not awesome, and a little part of me died.

But now, thanks to Google Talk and a $1.67 headphone cable, building and streaming your own almost-free radio station is back. You can relive the glory days of subjecting Web-connected friends to your music library at volume level 11. You can even one-up Live365 by taking live requests.

To start your VoIP DJ career, perform the following simple hack:

1. Purchase a male-to-male speaker/headphone cable. It should have a 1/8-inch mini headphone jack on each end.
2. Plug one end into the mic-in port on your computer.
3. Plug the other end into your computer's headphone port. If you want to listen to music as you play it for your listeners (recommended), use a headphone splitter. Jack your headphones into one port of the headphone splitter, the male-to-male cable into the other port, and plug the splitter into your headphone port.
4. Launch iTunes (or any other audio player) and start playing songs.
5. Call up your friends over Google Talk. They'll hear whatever you're playing with surprisingly good sound quality.

You can also stream music directly from your MP3 player or stereo. Just plug one end of the male-to-male speaker/headphone cable into the headphone port of your player or stereo instead of your computer's headphone port.

A big thanks goes out to Baltimore's own Brian Kulak. He inspired this miniproject by placing his 1989 Koss PortaPro headphones next to his laptop's condenser mic to bump jams from coast to coast.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: MP3 players
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 3:54 PM PDT
Random notes from the Apple announcement
Posted by: James Kim

Three things we've come to expect from an Apple music event: a live performance, an iChat videoconference with a celebrity, and a stat- and graphic-filled PowerPoint, er, Keynote presentation by Steve Jobs. Today's Rokr event featured two songs by Kanye West (to a sober audience of journalists and geeks, which also included Yo-Yo Ma), a videoconference with a London-based Madonna, and the following statistics:

22 million iPods have been sold worldwide (from the iPod's introduction to the end of June 2005)

6.2 million were sold worldwide in the June 2005 quarter alone

2 million Sony PSPs were sold in the same quarter

The iPod franchise has 74 percent of the market share in the United States for all MP3 players

There are more than 1,000 accessories for the iPod

iPod connectivity as an option was introduced in the Honda, the Acura, the Audi, and the Volkswagen

30 percent of cars in the United States will have an iPod option in 2006

The iPod Mini is the most popular MP3 player in the world (in terms of players sold)

The iPod Nano is thinner than a No. 2 pencil

It's also 80 percent smaller than the original iPod

And 62 percent smaller than the iPod Mini

And 69 percent smaller than the Creative Zen Micro

And 58 percent smaller than the Creative Zen Neon

And 67 percent smaller than the Sony NW-HD5

And 66 percent smaller than the Motorola Razr

The iTunes Music Store has sold half a billion songs to date

It currently sells 1.8 million songs a day

It has an 82 percent market share for downloads in the United States

There are iTunes Music Stores in 20 countries

There are 7 million podcast subscriptions to date

There are 15,000 podcasts in the iTunes directory and a thousand new ones added each week

iTunes now has 2 million songs

The iTunes Music Store has 10 million accounts

The average number of songs downloaded by a user is 60

Permalink | 16 comments

• Read also: MP3 players
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 1:23 PM PDT
Google bests Yahoo in search engine tests
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

A recent Yahoo Search Blog entry boasting that Yahoo had indexed more than 20 billion sites as compared to Google's mere 8 billion sites appears to be an exaggeration, at best. Researchers associated with the University of Illinois put Yahoo's claim to the test and found the Yahoo search engine failed when put up against the venerable Google. Given that both search engines keep their databases a secret, the researchers were forced to devise a test that would query both databases fairly. Since each search engine limits queries to one thousand results, the researchers also had to confine their queries to keywords that would return fewer than a thousand hits. The study found that, on average, Google returned 65 percent more hits than Yahoo--hardly the response you'd expect from a service boasting more indexed sites than anyone else. The researchers concluded: "It is the opinion of this study that Yahoo's claim to have a Web index of over twice as many documents as Google's index is suspicious."

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Internet Services
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 1:02 PM PDT
Another Cisco router flaw reported
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

Cisco Systems warned today of a serious flaw affecting routers used primarily by universities and local dial-up ISPs. The flaw affects Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and/or Telnet services and could expose affected routers to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and execution of arbitrary code. The Cisco advisory includes patches and workarounds (depending on which Cisco IOS software is used). This firewall authentication flaw is not related to an earlier flaw reported in Cisco routers that was made famous at this year's Black Hat.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Software
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 12:19 PM PDT
Apple iTunes updated to version 5.0
Posted by: James Kim

Lost in the iPod Nano and Rokr phone shuffle was the latest update to iTunes. Apple iTunes 5.0 does not incorporate a subscription service as some of us suspected, and while there is nothing major to report, the new jukebox client does have some highly useful features that iTunes aficionados will appreciate:

• Interface has a refined look--not major but tighter--more square; elapsed time/total time of track on either side of meter.
• You can now organize playlists in folders.
• Convenient search bar--in your search query, you can hit a tab to find just All/Music/Audiobooks/Podcasts, then Albums/Songs, and so on. You'll see this in Music Store too.
• Microsoft Outlook syncing with iPod--autosyncing out of Outlook and Outlook express (Windows only).
• Smart shuffle--"make it less random" so that you're more or less likely to hear same artist.
• Album reviews--1,000 new iTunes reviews and counting.
• Parental controls--restrict explicit content, disable sharing/podcasts.
• New releases--you can see all new releases using tabbed-based section; we like this a lot.
• For the first time, you can get all of Madonna's albums and songs from an online music source. Originally a foe of digital music, Madonna has now embraced the world of downloads.
• The entire Harry Potter series is now exclusively available on iTunes Music Store as audiobooks.

We would loved to have seen line-in recording as well as an "up next" feature where you could play DJ, but maybe they'll be in version 5.1.

Permalink | 17 comments

• Read also: MP3 players
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 12:12 PM PDT
Gateway CX200: first wide-screen tablet
Posted by: Michelle Thatcher

At first glance, the Gateway CX200 convertible tablet seems a bit awkward; the 14-inch, 1,280x768 wide-screen display, balanced on a single central hinge, looks ready to tip over. But maybe that's because it's the first wide-screen tablet we've seen; drop the screen into tablet mode, and it seems more comfortable, like an electronic version of a legal pad. Add to that the cool stylus, which looks and feels like a felt-tip pen, and I was ready to write that novel by hand.

You can stock the CX200's wide magnesium case with a range of components to fit your budget: choose Intel Celeron or Pentium M processors; integrated Intel or discrete ATI graphics; an integrated optical drive (including a double-layer DVD burner option) or a second battery for the system's modular bay.

Get ready to do some heavy lifting, though: the CX200 weighs at least 6 pounds, and that's without the optical drive. (Our review unit, with battery and optical drive, weighs a honking 6.9 pounds.) It's obviously not intended for frequent travelers, but Gateway is betting that students and employees will pay a little extra for a wide-screen laptop that also lets them take handwritten notes in class or meetings. With prices starting at $1,099, Gateway may be right.

Would you dig a wide-screen laptop with tablet functionality? Let me know what you think, and expect a full review of the CX200 soon.

Permalink | 5 comments

• Read also: Laptops
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 11:25 AM PDT
Apple unveils the very tiny iPod Nano
Posted by: James Kim

According to Steve Jobs, the iPod Nano is the "biggest revolution since the original iPod." It's certainly a technical and design wonder at 3.5 by 1.6 by 0.3 inches and 1.5 ounces. That's 0.3 inch thick and 1.5 ounces! It's smaller than it looks in photos. The flash-based Nano (the name is curiously similar to Creative Zen Nano Plus) comes in classic white or black and in two capacities: 2GB and 4GB (the first 4GB flash player we know of!).

Some more details: The iPod Nano replaces the current iPod Mini line; it can store and display photos like its bigger mates; and users can view multiple clocks, which dim during evening local time. It has a dock connector, so it's compatible with lots of accessories; a lap timer; a stopwatch; a combination screen lock; USB 2.0; and a 14-hour rechargeable battery. And it ships today, although it won't be available in stores for a few days.

Our take? The iPod Nano is a design marvel with only a hold switch on top and a dock connector and headphone jack on the bottom. The headphone jack is actually in an awkward place; however, it's convenient for those who will use the new lanyard accessory. Battery life isn't outstanding, but the unit is incredibly small--so we're not too concerned. We love the fact that it is a miniature iPod Photo and that you can exercise with it guilt-free, thanks to a solid-state flash memory. Finally, the price: By today's standards, the iPod Nano is expensive at $249 for the 4GB version and $199 for the 2GB version. The 6GB iPod Mini costs $249, but it is going to sell big because of its size. Other 2GB models are selling for more than $200, so for a flash-based player, the Nano is not too bad. In addition, iTunes 5.0 was launched today, and it has some nice streamlined features, though no major overhauls.

Permalink | 116 comments

• Read also: MP3 players
• Email to a friend | Print this post

September 07, 2005, 11:23 AM PDT
It's the iTunes phone--and a really small iPod
Posted by: Molly Wood

So, the iTunes phone is real (meh), and the newest iPod, called Nano, is supersmall, replaces the Mini line, has a color screen, and comes in only black or white. Oh, and it doesn't do video. But it is really, really, really small, and black iPods are, it is universally agreed, awesome. Oh, and Madonna was there (on iChat).

Permalink | 6 comments

• Read also: Buzz
• Email to a friend | Print this post