MP3 Insider

As Jasmine France battles yet another cold, she defaults to Donald Bell for most of the talking, though her monotone voice intervenes at a few soothing intervals. On deck for this week: an unpopular story about popular gadgets, talks about Apple acquiring music cloud site LaLa, tips on how to ditch the iPod for the Zune (without hurting anyone's feelings), and a brief look at a new video service. Also: a listener looks for a mom-worthy MP3 player.

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The Microsoft Zune HD is a beautiful device and truly one of the best alternatives to the iPod we've had the pleasure to use. But if you're really thinking about hanging up your iPod and going Zune, you'll need to think about how to take your iTunes library with you.

I'm not going to lie to you: some stuff just isn't coming with you. Your DRM-ed AAC audio files, iTunes movies and TV shows, and even those iTunes audiobooks, just can't survive outside of the iTunes/iPod universe. So quell those fantasies of uninstalling iTunes, because you'll still need it to play your protected iTunes purchases.

The good news is, most everything else from iTunes is fair game, including your unprotected AAC and MP3 files, podcasts, unprotected videos, and playlists. Even your iTunes Smart Playlists can be reconstructed with a decent resemblance.

To see how it all works, check out the video guide and slideshow I created to ease the transition.

If you're a Zune veteran with more tips to share, please feel free to add them in the comments section.

Make the switch from iTunes to Zune (screenshots)

The Rihanna kitchen scale from ADE Germany includes an iPod dock and integrated speaker.

(Credit: ADE Germany)

Do you love listening to music as much as you love to precisely measure cooking ingredients? Of course you don't. But that's not going to stop ADE Germany from slapping an iPod dock onto a kitchen scale early next year, with an expected asking price of $103.

The scale, which is curiously dubbed "Rihanna," includes an LCD that measures 1.7 inches by less than an inch and an integrated iPod speaker that plays beneath the glass measuring area.

The scale itself handles loads of up to 11 pounds, graduated in .04-ounce steps. It cannot, however, distinguish between kush or schwagg.

(Via Gizmag)

In spite of its unassuming size, the Apple iPod Shuffle is a surprisingly sophisticated MP3 player. With voice feedback, headphone control, playlist management, and podcast support, the iPod Shuffle is in many ways more advanced than the original brick-size iPod.

You don't need a PhD to get started with your first iPod Shuffle, but even seasoned iPod veterans could use a few pointers on this buttonless beauty. Just as we did with the iPod Touch and the iPod Nano, we've put together a video and a slideshow tutorial on setting up the iPod Shuffle.

If you have any additional tips to share, feel free to plug them into the comments section.

How to set up an iPod Shuffle--photos

New 3D games are available for Zune HD owners, and they're all free.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Zune HD owners have something to smile about today. The latest firmware update, version 4.3, not only brings a handful of general fixes (including accurate playcounts), but also ushers the Zune HD into a proper 3D gaming device.

To celebrate the new capability, six new games have been added to the Zune Marketplace software, which users can download to their updated Zune HD at no cost. Games include PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano, Checkers, and Audiosurf: Tilt. We're not exactly jumping out of our seat over Piano and Checkers, but the rest of the titles look genuinely fun--and did we mention they're free?.

Just like the existing games available for the Zune HD, the new titles also show a brief advertisement upon start-up.

A news release e-mailed to us from Microsoft also states "we will be delivering additional applications for Zune HD including Facebook and Twitter in the future."

The Apple iPod clinched an early success over the MP3 player market by making it dead-simple to load and manage music onto a portable device. Ease of use still defines Apple's products, but when you're talking about a do-it-all device like the iPod Touch, there's only so much you can do to keep things simple.

As Apple's hottest-selling iPod, there are a lot of newcomers to the iPod Touch who may be a little surprised at its complexity. Compared with the iPods of yesteryear, the Touch is practically a handheld computer.

Last week I gave you an overview of setting up an iPod Nano. This week, we're giving the third-generation iPod Touch the same video and slideshow treatment.

If you have your own tips to share, feel free to add them in the comments section.

How to set up an iPod Touch--photos

This week, Donald and Jasmine talk up the new iAudio players from Cowon and how they're going to have Apple shaking in its boots (not), and also take an inordinate amount of time to espouse upon something that has very little to do with digital music: a possible monthly subscription plan for online video from iTunes. Plus, some very unsubtle earbuds from Stonedcandy--er, Skullcandy--and some listener feedback on iPod usage.

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In recent statements, Apple reports 50 percent of new iPod sales are going to customers who are buying their very first iPod. That means millions of people are setting up an iPod for the first time. Personally, I'm a little scared for them.

The iPod celebrates its 8th birthday this month, and it has come a long way. What started out purely as a digital music player has evolved into a video-recording, movie-renting, fitness-tracking, do-everything device. For first-time users, I can imagine the experience of setting up a new iPod is as overwhelming as it is exciting.

To help make the most of your new iPod, I'm putting together a series of How-To guides for setting up each of the current iPod models (Nano, Touch, Shuffle, and Classic). I'm kicking things off with the iPod Nano--a deceptively simple-looking, candy-colored device loaded with more new features than any other iPod this season.

The video version of my iPod Nano setup guide is available for download from CNET TV, and an accompanying slideshow can be found below. If you have any other tips for first-time iPod Nano owners, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

How to set up an Apple iPod Nano--pictures

An Apple patent design shows what would happen if its iPod Shuffle and Bluetooth headset mated.

(Credit: United States Patent Application)

In a future where we're all walking around wondering how our iPod brain implants came to exist, historians can point back to this Apple patent application from 2008 and glimpse the missing link: an in-ear iPod.

Of course, others may see this as simply a Bluetooth headset with integrated memory and audio playback capabilities (music, voice mails). The Orwellian in me, though, is fairly certain this gadget will mark Apple's slow crawl into our skulls. Read the patent's abstract to judge for yourself:

Additional functionality in a wireless headset allows it to be used during times that the external device with which it is wirelessly coupled is not being used, but when the headset is nevertheless being worn. This is accomplished by integrating a media player into the wireless headset. The media player may be an audio player, capable, e.g., of playing audio files such as MPEG-3 ("MP3") files. Optionally, the media player may include a recording function as well, so that a user can record voice notes. In addition, if the external device is a telephone (mobile or landline), the availability of a recording function could make it possible for the user to record all or part of a conversation. Similarly, voicemail messages received on the user's telephone could be uploaded into the headset for later off-line playback. Media files recorded by the headset also could be downloaded to the external device.

Apple headset with media player patent--photos

(Via Electronista)