Highlight:
Arik Hesseldahl jumped into the world of the iPod early and he is very happy with his portable music player. However, he was less than pleased with the headphones, which were uncomfortable and provided a tinny sound. Thus, he upgraded to Shure headphones, which he highly recommends.
Ranging in price from $99 for the E2c to $500 for the E5c, Shure headphones are everything he was looking for. They fit comfortably into the ear and they provide very good sound. Lately, he has been using the new E4c headphones and found them to provide very good sound while not hurting the wallet quite as much as the E5c's.
Summary:
* As an early iPod customer, I was one the first of what a weekly alternative newspaper dubbed the "iSnobs."
* They're easy to spot, the paper said, by the white wires dangling from their ears.
* Indeed I'm thankful--and maybe a little arrogant--for the tiny sound bubble Apple Computer's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people) miraculous little music box provides every time some panhandler or would-be preacher decides to give an unwanted speech on my subway car.
* But like many iPod owners, I've upgraded from the tinny-sounding, uncomfortable headphones that come standard with the iPod for a set from Shure, of Niles, Ill.
* The company's headphones--the $99 E2c, $180 E3c, and to a lesser extent the $500 E5c--have become some of the most popular iPod accessories on the market.
* They're popular because they sound excellent, and fit inside the ear like earplugs.
* For the last week I've been roaming New York with a set of Shure's latest headphones, the $300 E4c, which straddle the middle ground between the E3c and the E5c.
* They look a lot like the E3c but are slightly smaller, and fit inside the ear in an identical manner using the same soft attachments of foam, soft rubber and other materials.
* Sound quality is noticeably better than with the E3c.
* Listening to music I know well, I can definitely detect powerful subtleties, as on the Miles Davis album, In A Silent Way, I can hear Davis muttering instructions in the background.
* I own two sets of E3c headphones, and once sent both back to the manufacturer convinced that heavy use had damaged them in some way as one side was clearly playing more softly than the other.
* Nonsense, the company said, they only needed a good cleaning, and sent them back.
See more articles and news on iPod
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http://www.newstarget.com/004578.html
Friday, June 8, 2007
Apple computer reconfigures iPod digital music players to maintain music monopoly while inconveniencing users
Highlight:
After watching the monopolistic practices of Apple and its iPod product which is factory-rigged to inconvenience customers, I can't imagine why people still purchase iPod portable music players. Apple used to be a fun company. They used to actually care about customers. Now, they're just out to control the market, reduce the compatibility of the iPod, and limit customer choice.
With all the images of "freedom" found in iPod ads, it's sobering to realize that Apple actually wants customers to be chained to the monopoly music distribution channel it controls.
Summary:
* An unhappy iTunes online music store customer is suing Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), alleging the company broke antitrust laws by only allowing iTunes to work with its own music player, the iPod, freezing out competitors, court filings showed.
* Apple, which opened its online music store in April 2003 after introducing the iPod in October 2001, uses technology to ensure each digital song bought from its store only plays on the iPod.
* The suit was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court in San Jose.
* The key to such a lawsuit would be convincing a court that a single product brand like iTunes is a market in itself separate from the rest of the online music market, according to Ernest Gellhorn, an antitrust law professor at George Mason University.
* Since rolling out the iPod, which has sold nearly 6 million units and was a top Christmas gift this past holiday season, Apple has garnered 87 percent of the market for portable digital music players, market research firm NPD Group has reported.
* "Apple has unlawfully bundled, tied, and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players, and vice-versa," the suit charged.
* Apple's online music store uses a different format for songs than Napster, Musicmatch, RealPlayer and others.
* The rivals use the MP3 format or Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) WMA format while Apple uses AAC, which it says helps thwart piracy.
* While songs saved in the AAC format can be saved in the MP3 format and played on virtually any digital music player, songs bought from the iTunes music store have an added software tag, which Apple calls FairPlay DRM, or digital rights management, added to the file that contains the song.
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http://www.newstarget.com/000949.html
After watching the monopolistic practices of Apple and its iPod product which is factory-rigged to inconvenience customers, I can't imagine why people still purchase iPod portable music players. Apple used to be a fun company. They used to actually care about customers. Now, they're just out to control the market, reduce the compatibility of the iPod, and limit customer choice.
With all the images of "freedom" found in iPod ads, it's sobering to realize that Apple actually wants customers to be chained to the monopoly music distribution channel it controls.
Summary:
* An unhappy iTunes online music store customer is suing Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), alleging the company broke antitrust laws by only allowing iTunes to work with its own music player, the iPod, freezing out competitors, court filings showed.
* Apple, which opened its online music store in April 2003 after introducing the iPod in October 2001, uses technology to ensure each digital song bought from its store only plays on the iPod.
* The suit was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court in San Jose.
* The key to such a lawsuit would be convincing a court that a single product brand like iTunes is a market in itself separate from the rest of the online music market, according to Ernest Gellhorn, an antitrust law professor at George Mason University.
* Since rolling out the iPod, which has sold nearly 6 million units and was a top Christmas gift this past holiday season, Apple has garnered 87 percent of the market for portable digital music players, market research firm NPD Group has reported.
* "Apple has unlawfully bundled, tied, and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players, and vice-versa," the suit charged.
* Apple's online music store uses a different format for songs than Napster, Musicmatch, RealPlayer and others.
* The rivals use the MP3 format or Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) WMA format while Apple uses AAC, which it says helps thwart piracy.
* While songs saved in the AAC format can be saved in the MP3 format and played on virtually any digital music player, songs bought from the iTunes music store have an added software tag, which Apple calls FairPlay DRM, or digital rights management, added to the file that contains the song.
See more articles and news on iPod
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http://www.newstarget.com/000949.html
NY lawmaker wants to ban use of cell phones and iPods in crosswalks
New York state senator Carl Kruger announced on February 6 that he intends to introduce a bill that would ban people from using cellular phones, MP3 players or other wireless data devices such as Blackberrys, while crossing streets in Buffalo or New York City.
Three pedestrians in Kruger's district have been killed since September after stepping into traffic while distracted by such devices. In one case, bystanders allegedly shouted at the victim to "watch out," but were not heard.
"While people are tuning into their iPods and cell phones, they're tuning out the world around them," Kruger said.
The law would make using a banned device in a crosswalk punishable by a $100 fine, comparable to a jaywalking ticket.
Kruger has come under intense fire for the proposed law, with critics charging that he is interfering with freedom of choice. But the senator insists that he is motivated by public safety concerns, and that some devices are simply not appropriate in certain contexts.
"If you want to listen to your iPod, sit down and listen to it," he said. "You want to walk in the park, enjoy it. You want to jog around a jogging path, all the more power to you, but you should not be crossing streets and endangering yourself and the lives of others."
"I think it would make more sense to just ban stupid people from using crosswalks," joked consumer advocate Mike Adams. "The government can't jump in and legislate common sense."
"If you're blasting music in your ears and you fail to watch for cars, you simply become a candidate for the Darwin awards," Adams said. "People who don't use iPods also get hit in crosswalks on a regular basis. What will New York try to ban them from doing? Walking?"
New York City has previously banned using cell phones while driving and the use of trans fats as cooking ingredients in restaurants.
http://www.newstarget.com/021586.html
Three pedestrians in Kruger's district have been killed since September after stepping into traffic while distracted by such devices. In one case, bystanders allegedly shouted at the victim to "watch out," but were not heard.
"While people are tuning into their iPods and cell phones, they're tuning out the world around them," Kruger said.
The law would make using a banned device in a crosswalk punishable by a $100 fine, comparable to a jaywalking ticket.
Kruger has come under intense fire for the proposed law, with critics charging that he is interfering with freedom of choice. But the senator insists that he is motivated by public safety concerns, and that some devices are simply not appropriate in certain contexts.
"If you want to listen to your iPod, sit down and listen to it," he said. "You want to walk in the park, enjoy it. You want to jog around a jogging path, all the more power to you, but you should not be crossing streets and endangering yourself and the lives of others."
"I think it would make more sense to just ban stupid people from using crosswalks," joked consumer advocate Mike Adams. "The government can't jump in and legislate common sense."
"If you're blasting music in your ears and you fail to watch for cars, you simply become a candidate for the Darwin awards," Adams said. "People who don't use iPods also get hit in crosswalks on a regular basis. What will New York try to ban them from doing? Walking?"
New York City has previously banned using cell phones while driving and the use of trans fats as cooking ingredients in restaurants.
http://www.newstarget.com/021586.html
New PalmOne personal data assistant could put pressure on iPod
Highlight:
While digital cameras are in little danger of being replaced by cell phones with integrated cameras, personal data assistants (PDAs) with media players have a better chance of superseding dedicated mo3 players such as the iPod, if they can just get more storage space. In John Carroll's posting on ZDnet's Between the Lines blog, he mentions his PDA was useless until WiFi technology was a little more developed, and now he uses it often, although not for music storage due to a small amount of storage space. PalmOne has noticed this unexplored niche, and has released a 4 GB, hard-drive based device to pick up the slack, and Dell has one scheduled for release in November. These new technologies could eventually put pressure on the dedicated music device market if they can match the 40-60 GB storage space provided by the iPod and its competitors.
Original source:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=1354
Summary:
* I've had a HP PocketPC device for about a year and a half now, ever since I bought it at the 2003 Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
* It basically served as an expensive doorstop for about six months, as I lacked a Wi-Fi network, and handhelds are only marginally useful (at least for me) in the absence of a Wi-Fi network.
* That's been rectified, so now I use it daily as a cheap and fast way to check e-mail and surf the Web without going through the trouble of booting up my laptop.
* I wanted to use it as a music player.
* Unfortunately, with just an SD port, the limiting factor is the size of SD storage cards.
* That made handhelds poor music playback devices, leaving dedicated players to fill the void.
* Apparently, the industry has awakened to that fact.
* PalmOne has a hard drive-based device slated for release May 18, and Dell has one planned for release in November.
* I don't think handhelds are going to displace dedicated music devices, any more than integrated cameras in cell phones will displace standalone digital cameras.
* Then again, there is more room for handhelds to push back against dedicated music devices than camera phones against digital cameras.
* Integrated cameras are oriented around the sending of MMS (picture messages), which means there isn't much incentive to provide hi-res camera capability.
* Handhelds, however, can act like programmable iPods, and can perform all the functions of a dedicated player and then some.
* Nokia sells better than Ericsson due to well-designed handsets, and iPods own the portable music market for the same reason.
* Task-specific devices will always appeal to someone who wants something that does a simple task extremely well.
* Still, I see a future for handheld as music player, one that will start to put pressure on the market for dedicated players.
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http://www.newstarget.com/008167.html
While digital cameras are in little danger of being replaced by cell phones with integrated cameras, personal data assistants (PDAs) with media players have a better chance of superseding dedicated mo3 players such as the iPod, if they can just get more storage space. In John Carroll's posting on ZDnet's Between the Lines blog, he mentions his PDA was useless until WiFi technology was a little more developed, and now he uses it often, although not for music storage due to a small amount of storage space. PalmOne has noticed this unexplored niche, and has released a 4 GB, hard-drive based device to pick up the slack, and Dell has one scheduled for release in November. These new technologies could eventually put pressure on the dedicated music device market if they can match the 40-60 GB storage space provided by the iPod and its competitors.
Original source:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=1354
Summary:
* I've had a HP PocketPC device for about a year and a half now, ever since I bought it at the 2003 Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
* It basically served as an expensive doorstop for about six months, as I lacked a Wi-Fi network, and handhelds are only marginally useful (at least for me) in the absence of a Wi-Fi network.
* That's been rectified, so now I use it daily as a cheap and fast way to check e-mail and surf the Web without going through the trouble of booting up my laptop.
* I wanted to use it as a music player.
* Unfortunately, with just an SD port, the limiting factor is the size of SD storage cards.
* That made handhelds poor music playback devices, leaving dedicated players to fill the void.
* Apparently, the industry has awakened to that fact.
* PalmOne has a hard drive-based device slated for release May 18, and Dell has one planned for release in November.
* I don't think handhelds are going to displace dedicated music devices, any more than integrated cameras in cell phones will displace standalone digital cameras.
* Then again, there is more room for handhelds to push back against dedicated music devices than camera phones against digital cameras.
* Integrated cameras are oriented around the sending of MMS (picture messages), which means there isn't much incentive to provide hi-res camera capability.
* Handhelds, however, can act like programmable iPods, and can perform all the functions of a dedicated player and then some.
* Nokia sells better than Ericsson due to well-designed handsets, and iPods own the portable music market for the same reason.
* Task-specific devices will always appeal to someone who wants something that does a simple task extremely well.
* Still, I see a future for handheld as music player, one that will start to put pressure on the market for dedicated players.
See more articles and news on personal data
Stay informed
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http://www.newstarget.com/008167.html
Apple debuts video iPod
Highlight:
Television shows (including "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives"), films and music videos will be available at the iTunes store for playing on the recently released Apple video iPod. There are two versions, one for $299 and one for $399, both with a 2.5 inch-color screen.
Summary:
* Oct 12, 2005 --- Apple Computer Inc. introduced an iPod capable of playing videos on Wednesday, evolving the portable music player of choice into a multimedia platform for everything from TV shows to music videos.
* Videos will now be sold online alongside songs on Apple's iTunes store.
* Citing a groundbreaking deal with ABC Television Group, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said video offerings via iTunes will include episodes for $1.99 each of the hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," which will be available the day after they air on television.
* The purchased video can be watched on a computer or taken on the road for viewing on the new iPod's 2.5-inch color screen.
* The much-anticipated new iPods, available starting next week, will replace Apple's current 20-gigabyte and 60-gigabyte models.
* Apple hopes to repeat with Hollywood the coup it achieved with music labels: Ease an industry's piracy fears and transform its business models to include convenient, legal distribution of digital content over the Internet at reasonable prices for consumers.
* Short films from Pixar also will be sold via the iTunes store.
* But that's just the beginning, Apple executives say, noting that the iTunes store catalog has grown to 2 million songs from 200,000 at launch in 2003.
* More than 600 million downloads have been recorded since.
* "We've gained a lot of credibility in the industry in the past two and a half years with what we did with songs," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of applications.
* "And that's what we're trying to mirror in the video space."
* Analysts consider a video iPod a test of whether consumers would embrace video on such a small screen.
* Over-the-air TV services are already available for cell phones but the quality remains substandard.
See more articles and news on iPod
Track news on television at MediaWatch.info.
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http://www.newstarget.com/007909.html
Television shows (including "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives"), films and music videos will be available at the iTunes store for playing on the recently released Apple video iPod. There are two versions, one for $299 and one for $399, both with a 2.5 inch-color screen.
Summary:
* Oct 12, 2005 --- Apple Computer Inc. introduced an iPod capable of playing videos on Wednesday, evolving the portable music player of choice into a multimedia platform for everything from TV shows to music videos.
* Videos will now be sold online alongside songs on Apple's iTunes store.
* Citing a groundbreaking deal with ABC Television Group, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said video offerings via iTunes will include episodes for $1.99 each of the hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," which will be available the day after they air on television.
* The purchased video can be watched on a computer or taken on the road for viewing on the new iPod's 2.5-inch color screen.
* The much-anticipated new iPods, available starting next week, will replace Apple's current 20-gigabyte and 60-gigabyte models.
* Apple hopes to repeat with Hollywood the coup it achieved with music labels: Ease an industry's piracy fears and transform its business models to include convenient, legal distribution of digital content over the Internet at reasonable prices for consumers.
* Short films from Pixar also will be sold via the iTunes store.
* But that's just the beginning, Apple executives say, noting that the iTunes store catalog has grown to 2 million songs from 200,000 at launch in 2003.
* More than 600 million downloads have been recorded since.
* "We've gained a lot of credibility in the industry in the past two and a half years with what we did with songs," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of applications.
* "And that's what we're trying to mirror in the video space."
* Analysts consider a video iPod a test of whether consumers would embrace video on such a small screen.
* Over-the-air TV services are already available for cell phones but the quality remains substandard.
See more articles and news on iPod
Track news on television at MediaWatch.info.
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http://www.newstarget.com/007909.html
New MP3 player takes aim at iPod Mini
Highlight:
IRiver has released a new hard-drive based MP3 player to compete with players such as Apple's iPod Mini, the Rio Carbon, and the Creative Zen Micro. IRiver's H10 player has a 5 GB hard drive, a 1.5-inch color display, the ability to pick up FM radio , audio recording, and the ability to display JPG graphic files. The player retails for $280.
Summary:
* Apple's IPod used to be the benchmark for portable MP3 players, but now everyone seems to be gunning for the IPod Mini.
* Joining competitors like the Rio Carbon and the Creative Zen Micro is IRiver's $280 H10.
* The highlight of the H10 is an attractive 1.5-inch display that, combined with an improved hardware-and-software interface, makes the player a joy to use.
* Navigating your music library is easy with the touch-sensitive slider control, and IRiver has wisely abandoned the oversimplified folder structure that it used on previous hard drive players.
* Now you can easily browse by artist, album, genre, or song title.
* The player lets you add individual songs (but not albums or artists) to an on-the-go playlist called QuickList.
* I imagine that most people will prefer to create playlists on their PC and sync them to the device.
* The H10 does more than play music: You can also listen to and record FM radio, record audio with a built-in microphone, display text files, and even view JPG photos.
* Since the H10 lacks a video output, you can't display those images on a TV as you can with the IPod Photo; and if you want to move the photos to another PC, you'll have to carry around the proprietary USB and power connector.
* The H10's battery is replaceable and rechargeable (IRiver offers an optional second battery for $40 more).
* The company rates the battery's run time between charges at about 12 hours.
* Rounding out the package is an exceptionally functional case that protects the unit's elegant finish (it's available in silver, blue, red, and gray).
* The translucent, rubbery case has a great feel and fits snugly around the player while leaving the screen visible and all the player's controls accessible.
* So how does the H10 match up to the IPod Mini?
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http://www.newstarget.com/002076.html
IRiver has released a new hard-drive based MP3 player to compete with players such as Apple's iPod Mini, the Rio Carbon, and the Creative Zen Micro. IRiver's H10 player has a 5 GB hard drive, a 1.5-inch color display, the ability to pick up FM radio , audio recording, and the ability to display JPG graphic files. The player retails for $280.
Summary:
* Apple's IPod used to be the benchmark for portable MP3 players, but now everyone seems to be gunning for the IPod Mini.
* Joining competitors like the Rio Carbon and the Creative Zen Micro is IRiver's $280 H10.
* The highlight of the H10 is an attractive 1.5-inch display that, combined with an improved hardware-and-software interface, makes the player a joy to use.
* Navigating your music library is easy with the touch-sensitive slider control, and IRiver has wisely abandoned the oversimplified folder structure that it used on previous hard drive players.
* Now you can easily browse by artist, album, genre, or song title.
* The player lets you add individual songs (but not albums or artists) to an on-the-go playlist called QuickList.
* I imagine that most people will prefer to create playlists on their PC and sync them to the device.
* The H10 does more than play music: You can also listen to and record FM radio, record audio with a built-in microphone, display text files, and even view JPG photos.
* Since the H10 lacks a video output, you can't display those images on a TV as you can with the IPod Photo; and if you want to move the photos to another PC, you'll have to carry around the proprietary USB and power connector.
* The H10's battery is replaceable and rechargeable (IRiver offers an optional second battery for $40 more).
* The company rates the battery's run time between charges at about 12 hours.
* Rounding out the package is an exceptionally functional case that protects the unit's elegant finish (it's available in silver, blue, red, and gray).
* The translucent, rubbery case has a great feel and fits snugly around the player while leaving the screen visible and all the player's controls accessible.
* So how does the H10 match up to the IPod Mini?
See more articles and news on iPod
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http://www.newstarget.com/002076.html
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