MP3 Insider

Workout-worthy MP3 players

Arguably, the only reason standalone MP3 players still exist is to keep people entertained at the gym. After all, no one wants to sweat all over a fancy smartphone.

If you just need some motivational background music for a morning jog, you'll want something small enough to clip onto your shirt, and cheap enough to easily replace if it gets trampled.

We rounded up five fitness-friendly MP3 players that are all small, relatively inexpensive, and attach to you in one way or another. Some, such as the iPod Nano or Haier Trainer, also use a pedometer to keep track … Read more

Replacing crappy earbuds--Jasmine's Tech Dos and Don'ts

Regardless of whether you elect to upgrade your iPod to one of the newest models or decide instead to purchase another MP3 player, one thing is undeniable: the earbuds that come packaged with your new device aren't going to provide the best possible listening experience. To that end, I've compiled several tips aimed at helping you ditch crappy headphones in favor of a pair that will treat your ears the way they deserve to be treated.

First things first: DO pay attention to the design of a headphone. For those who want ultimate portability, earbuds are going to … Read more

Crosley Revolution resurrects the Sound Burger

The Crosley brand is known for creating vintage-styled radio and stereos with modern day features, such as CD players and USB connections. Typically, its designs hearken back to the '50s, complete with wood grain paneling, oversized knobs, and the golden glow of an analog radio dial.

With its latest USB turntable, the Crosley Revolution, the brand turns its retro sensibilities to the '80s, reviving a portable turntable design from the Walkman era.

Specifically, the Crosley Revolution looks like a spitting image of the Audio Technica Sound Burger, a unique portable turntable from the early '80s that has become something of a collector's item … Read more

Slacker Premium Radio to offer on-demand music

Slacker Radio first launched in 2007 as an intuitive online music player that let you stream a variety of preprogrammed and custom-made radio stations based on your favorite artists and songs. Since then, the service has added a continuous array of new features, from its own short-lived devices to apps for your Blackberry and iPhone to Twitter feed functionality. Tonight at an event in New York, Slacker, Inc. will show off its latest offering: Premium Radio.

Slacker Premium Radio will offer all the features of Radio Plus--no ads, no skip limits, mobile station caching--with the added benefit of on-demand functionality. … Read more

Shure announces new single-driver earphone

At the beginning of the year, we saw the first stirrings of an update to Shure's sound-isolating earphone line with new high-end models, the SE425 and SE535. Although those made an appearance at CES back in January, they didn't make it to retail until recently. Now, the company is wasting no time adding a new midrange offering to the lineup. Today, Shure unveiled the SE315, a $199 pair that uses a single high-def MicroDriver promising to offer balanced sound with an optimized low-end response.

Like the other earphones in the line, the SE315s come in a choice of … Read more

iPod upgrading--Jasmine's Tech Dos and Don'ts

You may have noticed that this column enjoyed a hiatus last week. You may have also taken note of a little announcement from Apple about some new iPods. That was no coincidence; I spent the first several days of September up to my neck in the related iTunes 10 news.

Still, the new MP3 players didn't escape my attention, mainly because I'm eager to replace my essentially ruined second-gen iPod Touch. But more importantly, should you upgrade to one of the new iPods? To answer just that question, I spent some time with all three players.

The first … Read more

Apple 2010 iPod lineup, reviewed

Maybe you thought Apple's latest unveiling of iPods was the best refresh the product line has seen in years. Or, perhaps you're a little burned out after a year of iPads, iOS, iPhone 4, and antenna-gate. Personally, as CNET's resident expert on all things portable audio, it was nice to get a new crop of iPods to play with and put through their paces.

Call me a geezer, but I still carry an iPod separate from my phone. One of these days, I'm sure I'll bite on a new smart phone to make my iPod … Read more

Apple iPod Touch, the best gets better

As a portable media player/gaming device/minitablet computer, Apple's iPod Touch has been blowing us away since 2007. The only thing really to say about the fourth-generation model unveiled Wednesday is that it is predictably more awesome, yet still not quite a match for the capabilities of the iPhone 4.

The pricing is the same at the high end, with a 32GB model going for $299, and a 64GB version for $399. The 8GB entry model is $229, which is pricier than the $199 8GB version they kept around last year, but has the advantage of sharing all … Read more

Apple iPod Shuffle (fourth-gen), a return to form

The iPod Shuffle is back to the design that made it famous, only better and cheaper than ever.

With five colors (silver, green, pink, orange, and blue), one capacity (2GB), all the features of last year's VoiceOver model, and one low price ($49), the fourth-generation iPod Shuffle seems to be the best model yet.

There's very little new to report on the latest Shuffle. The navigation controls, clip, and power switch are taken right from the second-gen design, while the internal features, such as VoiceOver navigation of your playlists, music collection, audiobooks, podcasts, and so on, are all … Read more