MP3 Insider

Cowon's iAudio 9 offers excellent sound, but is it enough to take on the iPod Nano?

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

Some people just can't stand the iPod. Maybe an iPod Mini ran over their dog or burned down the family farm, or maybe they just feel fundamentally offended by the idea of using iTunes. Whatever the rationale for rejecting the iPod, companies such as Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Creative, and others are all jumping at the chance to be your iPod rebound.

And then there's Cowon. A small company whose products are often available only through online retail channels, Cowon has maintained a niche following with customers who value sound quality and extensive format compatibility above all other concerns.

Cowon's latest portable media player, the iAudio 9, is the company's spin on the Apple iPod Nano. Sharing the Nano's same basic shape, with a 2-inch screen and 8GB ($129) and 16GB ($169) capacities, the arrival of the iAudio 9 probably won't be giving Apple any heartburn, but audio connoisseurs have good reason to take notice.

Cowon iAudio 9 -- photos

You can read up on my previous blog posts if you're looking for spec info. For the remainder of this piece, I'll just be giving my initial personal impressions.

Right out of the box, the first thing I noticed about the iAudio 9 was how light it feels. At just 1.4 ounces, you can barely tell this thing is in your pocket. Another impression I got right away was how much more masculine the iAudio 9 looks next to the latest candy-coated, rainbow-hued line of iPod Nanos. ... Read more

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."

This week, Donald and Jasmine discuss the firmware fix to the Zune HD, which can now count itself a feature short of one-upping the iPod Touch, thanks to a new Gigaware remote that adds HD radio to the omnipresent king of MP3 players. We also get to spend a little one-on-one time with the slick-but-confusing Cowon E2 and the boring-but-shuffletastic Haier America Video MP3 Player. Plus, we direct you to a couple of how-tos you may find worth your while, and we address some listener questions about earphones, podcast management, and iPod speaker docks.

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Give your keys the sound quality they deserve with the iAudio E2 MP3 player.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

Proving that good things come in small packages, the 4GB Cowon E2 MP3 player ($64.99) delivers outstanding, iPod-crushing sound in a space no larger than a key ring. In fact, the big metal ring built into the top of the E2 can literally attach to your key ring. It can't clip, though, so fitness types will need to find a way to get the E2 on a necklace, wrist strap, or carabiner (none are included).

Aside from the lack of a built-in clip, the Cowon E2 further distinguishes itself from the iPod Shuffle by including actual buttons for volume and track skip control. The right edge offers a small square power button along with a rocker switch for track skip control. The same button configuration is mirrored on the left side, only the rocker controls volume and the small button toggles the shuffle mode with a long press and flips through JetEffect EQ presets with short presses.

The buttons are handy compared with the iPod Shuffle's headphone remote, but Cowon didn't exactly go out of its way to distinguish the buttons from one another. Beyond a few faint, gray icons, there's practically no way to tell the buttons on the left side of the E2 from the ones on the right. Without squinting directly at the device, something as simple as a change in volume has a 50 percent chance of turning into a track skip.

Cowon iAudio E2--photos

Compared with the iPod Shuffle, the inclusion of Cowon's phenomenal EQ presets (eight in total) offers a distinct advantage in sound quality. In a nod to the iPod Shuffle's VoiceOver feature, each EQ preset is announced in a pleasant recorded female voice. Unfortunately, the same voice feature doesn't apply to song information, so the track, album, and playlist navigation available on the third-generation iPod Shuffle (or any Sansa Clip) isn't available on the E2--tracks are either shuffled or played in sequence--that's it.

All in all, though, the Cowon iAudio E2 packs great sound into a stylish design that's sure to turn some heads when people see you listening to your key chain. A rated battery life of 11.5 hours is just about what we'd expect from a player this small. We have a slideshow below. Stay tuned for a full review.

Whether it's a two-hour Grateful Dead concert or a 45-minute DJ mix, we all have an MP3 in our music collection that gets skipped for being too long. Tragically, there's usually one or two great songs in these recordings that would otherwise be in heavy rotation if they weren't tied to such a tediously long file.

Well, today we're going to show you how to cut these songs loose by opening up and editing your MP3s in Audacity. The whole process is relatively painless, and if you set it up correctly, you can easily drag and drop files directly from iTunes, chop them up, and spit them back out.

We have a video and slideshow with all the details. If you have any other techniques to share, please suggest them in the comments section.

How to edit an MP3 audio file

(Credit: Shazam)

The popular music discovery app Shazam is about to receive an Encore on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Shazam Encore for iPhone is a premium application, first introduced to Windows Mobile users last month at CTIA Wireless. Starting Monday, Shazam Encore will also be available for iPhone.

Shazam retrieves music information about a recorded song by listening to and recording from the music's source. The app returns details, links for buying a song, and social networking features that let you share the songs you had Shazam tag on Facebook and Twitter.

The premium Encore app--which will sell for about $5--adds music recommendations, trend charts, and the capability to search music by track, or by the artist or album name. According to Shazam, Encore also has speed improvements and a "car mode" that launches when you slip the iPhone into a vehicle dock.

As with Windows phones, Shazam Encore will remain an optional upgrade on the iPhone alongside the free version. New users of Shazam's free app will be limited to five music discovery calls. Shazam Encore offers unlimited song-tagging. Shazam Encore will be available in 22 countries, and in English (U.S. and U.K. varieties), Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Related: Shazam debuts in Windows Marketplace for Mobile

Slacker Radio on the Motorola Droid.

(Credit: Slacker Radio)

It's been about a month since we got a peek at the first generation of the for the Android platform. We liked what we saw. On Thursday, other Android users can also cast their own vote about Slacker Radio 1.0 for Android by downloading it for free from the Market application on their Android smartphone.

Like Slacker Radio on other mobile platforms--and also similar to other streaming radio and music discovery apps like Pandora and Last.fm--the app lets you stream music from pre-programmed genres and stations, or from stations you set up yourself online. You'll be able to view album art and bios, block a song or vote it a favorite, and skip ahead--this is limited in the free version and limitless in the premium upgrade. Like what you hear? You can share a link to that station on SlackerRadio.com via e-mail, SMS, or MMS via .

Upgrading to the premium Radio Plus subscription service brings you song lyrics in addition to those unlimited skips and no ads.

While the upcoming version will more or less mirror this Android build, Slacker Radio on Android makes one feature unique--the Now Playing home screen widget that shows you what's playing now. The widget, which you install by giving the home screen a long press and selecting Slacker Radio from the Widgets list, is embedded with pause, skip, favorite, and blocking controls. However, it currently lacks the capability to change stations.

Motorola Droid owners can also grab Slacker Radio in the Verizon channel of the Android Market. Slacker Radio has optimized the Android app for the Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, HTC G1, and HTC MyTouch.

Note: Last.fm and CNET share a parent company, CBS.

Correction: Updated 11/6 at 8:25 am. You can share a link to a station from Slacker Radio for Android, not a link to a particular song.

These days, there is a plethora of audio content available to stream over the Internet. Even traditional terrestrial radio often offers content streamed over the Web, diversifying the choices for how consumers can enjoy music and other audio. Although the legality is questionable, there are--and will always be--ways to record these streams. Streamed audio recordings for music are not going to offer the same sound quality as a ripped CD or even a purchased MP3, but it's a good option for talk programs and mixes that might not be available in other formats. This tutorial will show you how to record streamed audio as an MP3; just be sure to read the usage rules for any recording source before beginning.

Editors' note: This tutorial was completed using Windows XP.

Cost: Free

Time commitment: Varies

System Requirements: Windows

How to record streaming audio

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