iPod VS Zune

Competition is rising between iPod and Zune. Microsoft has just recently launched Zune but already, it is starting to gain popularity in the market. On the other hand, iPod has been around much longer and people have been enjoying the features and capabilities that it offers.

Because both Apple and Zune generally have much the same price range, it cannot be helped that people are comparing these two top brands with each other. In order to find out which one is really the better choice, perhaps we should take a look at the advantages that each has to offer.

Let’s see what people found great about Microsoft’s Zune:

• Better design. If you would interview people who have used both Zune and iPod, most will tell you that they absolutely love Zune’s wide screen. This makes video watching more enjoyable and makes more easy to read texts. In fact, Microsoft has noticed that this is definitely one of iPod’s weaknesses so Microsoft decided to make Zune’s screen bigger.

• Works with Xbox. If you love to play games then you might choose this capability over iPod. Zune can be integrated with Xbox and Media Center. Also, Microsoft makes it possible for Zune to get upgrades easily.

Now, let’s talk about the advantages that iPod users enjoy:

• Small and convenient. Probably one of the greatest advantages of iPod is its size. It’s so compact and light that it’s easy to carry around on your travels. Its small size is remarkably outweighed by its large memory capacity and loads of different features.

• Ease of use. iPod is so easy to navigate so anyone won’t have any trouble using it. In fact, if you take a look at online reviews and see what iPod users have to say, most of them commented that the best thing about iPod is it’s really easy to use.

• High range of memory. Anyone who loves to store music can really appreciate iPod’s high memory storage capability. The latest iPod today allows a user to store up to 20 gigabytes or even an amazing 40 gigabyte file size. This means unlimited capacity to store up and listen to all your favorite songs in all genre of music that you’d like, watch your favorite videos and upload tons of photos.

• Shuffle Songs. iPod’s Shuffle Songs feature enables its users to select only the song that they want to hear. If you’re listening to a radio station, you can skip every song that you don’t appreciate and just focus on your favorite selections

• Boost your studies. Yes, that’s right. You can definitely use iPod to access educational materials, references, audio books and online courses offered in the internet. Aside from listening to your favorite music, iPod can be great tool in enhancing your studies and researching capabilities, making learning more convenient and easier for you.

• Let’s you accessorize. There are various iPod accessories that are especially designed to enhance your iPod. Because iPod is compatible with a wide range of accessories, it is so easy to add new things to your iPod whenever you have the extra money to do so.

In comparing iPod over Zune or other mp3 players, most people would prefer iPod over other brands. While Zune have some likable features over iPod, but being new to the market, more people are understandably skeptical over Zune’s capability and reliability. In the coming years it can be expected that more and more enhancement will be made by Microsoft for Zune, and other manufacturers as well. In this matter, iPod has to take some actions as well to ensure that they will stay on top of the competition.

The variety of models that iPod has to offer as well as the many features that is included in each iPod truly makes it a favorite choice worldwide.

iPods come in different styles, sizes, colors and features. Examples of iPods are iPod videos, iPod with LCD screens, iPod Nano, iPod mp3 players, iPod shuffle, iPod mini, color iPod etc. Your choice of course will depend on your preference whether you would love to enjoy more music, or you’d like to use your iPod for watching videos or viewing and uploading photos. Whatever your preference is, there’s a unique iPod for you.

It is so easy to search for the specific iPod style and model that will be suitable for your lifestyle because iPod is generally offered in various online retail stores. You can browse through these online retailer’s websites and see compare the different iPod features that you like as well as the right iPod that fits your budget. Typically iPod ranges from $99 to $400 on leading stores. Apple provides all iPod customers a one-year warranty and 90 days of phone support for free.

http://www.frozenipod.com/2007/ipod-vs-zune/#more-23

iPhone VS iPod

The iPhone has been popping up in technology websites and magazines ever since it was only a concept with no real basis in reality. Years of speculation about the product have proved it to be the most intently followed unconfirmed product in the history of Apple. Finally, on January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, announced the iPhone, an Internet- and multimedia enabled mobile phone, in his keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo.

The iPhone’s functions combine those of three devices: a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and an Internet communications device. The iPhone also sports a slim and sleek form factor worthy of the Apple brand name. But by far the most striking thing about the iPhone is its huge touchscreen which almost completely takes up the front of the device.

The iPhone will not have a traditional keypad or even the iPod clickwheel, but will instead rely completely on a revolutionary new touch screen (dubbed a multi-touch display) for its user interface. The touch screen measures 3.5 inches or 8.9 cm, and is a 320×480 liquid crystal display. Unlike most current mobile phone touchscreens, the iPhone’s screen will not require a stylus, being designed for bare fingers.

This promises a new and novel way of manipulating the interface. Sliding motions can be used, as well as “pinching” or “unpinching”, which refers to placing two fingers (usually thumb and forefinger) on the screen and sliding them closer or farther apart. The interface will be designed to have a natural feel, and it is to be hoped that the whole touchscreen idea is implemented well.

The Internet browser of the iPhone is shaping up to be something special, as well. The bundled browser is the Safari browser that comes with Mac OS X, and this will display full web pages instead of the simplified versions usually seen on other Internet phones. The iPhone will have support for WiFi, EDGE, and Bluetooth.

An exciting feature is Apple’s agreement with Google – a specially optimized version of Google Maps will be available on the iPhone!

Generally, though, the iPhone will not be bringing any new mobile phone features into play, but will have support for most common phone features found on high-end units such as the various connectivity protocols (Bluetooth, EDGE, etc.) as well as the inclusion of a 2.0 megapixel camera with support for video capture.

The iPhone is indeed shaping up to be a formidable entrant into the mobile smartphone arena, with its typical Apple stylishness and (expected) well thought-out interface. However, as long as actual products are not yet out on the market, all this hype should be taken with a grain of salt. (Judge the iPhone for real when you have one in your hand, and not a moment before!)

http://www.frozenipod.com/2007/iphone-vs-ipod/#more-24

How to Extend your iPod’s Life

There are a few simple things you could do to keep your iPod playing for longer as well as extending its battery’s life and good performance.

First off, you should know that moving from one track to other costs more power if the two are not related by a play list. Moving among unrelated tracks requires the iPod’s hard drive to keep spinning, draining battery life. A solution to conserve power is to simply create longer play lists that you could settle in to, instead of jumping around your iPod music library.

The hard drive and the way the iPod accesses its memory cache also works more efficiently with smaller file sizes. Specifically, files larger than 9 MB would put more stress on the iPod. Typical songs do not usually reach this file size if they are in the compressed formats such as MP3 or AAC, but uncompressed AIFF files may prove quite large and unwieldy. Large file sizes may also be reached by tracks consisting of more than one song such as medleys. The only remedy to this is to try and keep your iPod library’s songs’ file sizes down to manageable levels (<9>

Another way to prolong the iPod’s battery life is to decrease the amount of time the backlight remains turned on, or even turn it off entirely. The backlight may be a great help in seeing the screen, but it drains the battery a whole lot. If you are interested in getting the most playing time out of a single battery charge, you should adjust the backlight timer settings accordingly.

It could also pay off to get into the habit of turning the iPod off when not in use. Or if you would prefer not to turn it off when not in use, at least use the Hold switch located at the top of the iPod. This switch, when engaged, will disable the controls and prevent the iPod from skipping through tracks or other unintentional behavior.

The iPod battery was not designed for extremes in temperature, and its performance might decrease noticeably in especially hot or especially cold conditions. So, avoid leaving the iPod inside a parked car that would be likely to heat up, or exposed to direct sunlight. If the iPod is left out in the cold for too long, on the other hand, be sure to let it warm back up to room temperature first before attempting to turn it on again - or it might flash the low battery signal even though it might have some charge left.

And lastly, even when the iPod is not getting used, its battery gets drained completely in a period of about two to four weeks. Recharge the iPod every 28 days or so, then, to keep it in optimum shape, as it shouldn’t be left with an empty battery for long.

http://www.frozenipod.com/2007/how-to-extend-your-ipods-life/#more-31

iPod-Playlist Community - Welcome Everyone!

Thanks for dropping in at www.iPod-Playlist.com. Our goal is to provide you with the most up-to-date news, reviews and gossip on the MP3 industry.

We encourage everyone to submit their own personal iPod (or any MP3) Playlist so other visitors can comment on them or just compare their own tastes.

You don't need to join to submit your playlist but you do need to join to comment on them.

Social Distortion's Live At The Roxy is one of my favorite live albums. Unfortunately, when I played it on the iPod, I found a glaring pause between songs as the album moved from one song to the next.

It's a classic problem that plagues portable audio players, but we've got a way around it in both iTunes and the iPod.

iTunes: Crossfade Playback

I didn't notice those gaps between the tracks when I played the live album in iTunes on my PC because it was set to crossfade playback.

Crossfade playback acts like a DJ, and blends the songs in your playlist together trunk to tail.

To turn on crossfade playback in iTunes:

Select File.

Select Preferences.

Click on the Audio tab, and select "crossfade playback."

You can customize how long the songs overlap, from 0 to 12 seconds. (The latter can be a bit much for anything but dance music with similar beats, while 0 seconds works well to string together songs without a pause in between.)

iPod: Join CD Tracks

Unfortunately, crossfade playback won't eliminate the pause between songs when they're playing on your iPod. There's only one known cure for that, joining your CD tracks, and it's a tad extreme.

First, it can only be done when you rip an album.

Second, it combines all the songs you select into one giant track. (A 1 hour 16 minutes and 41 second track for our Social D album.)

That means if it turns up in Shuffle mode, you're going to have one long listen before the next track comes up!

To join CD tracks:

Load the CD for the album and select it in iTunes.

Click the top of the first column so that the blue triangle points up and the songs are in order from first to last.

Select two or more songs that are next to each other.

Select Advanced > join CD tracks.

Click the Import button to add the songs.

But What If You Want To Shuffle Songs?

Want to have a joined album and still be able to play individual tracks? Rename the file with the joined album in it, or move the giant track into another folder, then rip the album again without joining the tracks. Voila: separate tracks for your mixes and the entire album without pauses.


http://ipod-playlist.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=23

Timex's iPod-controlling i-Control watch hits the FCC

Chalk another one up to the rumor mill, as it looks like the leaked PowerPoint slide we saw just last month was indeed referring to an actual product. Thanks to an FCC filing, we now know that Timex is actually cranking out a Made for iPod timepiece in its Ironman series. The i-Control isn't the most handsome of watches, but it will be available in a water-resistant casing, sport Indiglo backlighting, and play nice with your dock connecting iPod. According to the documentation, users will clip an included RF transmitter into their Pod, which will allow the watch to control the volume, track, and play / pause function so long as the it's within "about ten feet" of your wrist. Of course, it still sports the same alarm, chrono, recall, and interval timer modes as the rest of its siblings, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like you'll see any scrolling track tags on this one. As expected, there's no word on price just yet, but click on through for a more detailed shot of it all sprawled out.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/timexs-ipod-controlling-i-control-watch-hits-the-fcc/

iTunes Music Store

If you aim to update your music files or if you are planning to download more music for your iPod, you must be knowledgeable about the iTunes music store. The iTunes music store would the legal portal you must use when downloading MP3 or other types of music files for whatever version or type of iPods you may have.

There are many ways on how you usually download MP3 files online. And whether you admit it or not, for sure, there are illegal measures you inevitably take to download music. There are numerous Web sites that exist to distribute music downloads for lesser prices, or most of the time, for free. This is actually piracy and is a form of stealing.

Now that iPods are becoming too popular and widely used by electronic consumers from all walks of life, iPods are considered staple gadgets. Portable music listening anytime, anywhere, is never the same again since people started heavily patronizing iPod products.

Apple Computer Inc, the maker of the phenomenal iPods, wants to contribute to the industry’s battle against unauthorized downloading of music. Through its iTunes music store, which is actually the legal and prescribed portal for iPod downloading of files, piracy can be prevented.

ITunes music store surely helps make sure that every song to be downloaded into an iPod is legally acquired. Thus, iTunes transactions are not free most of the time. However, downloads from iTunes are sure to be of the highest standards and quality. There are no jumping parts of the song, nor are there unwanted sounds.

Your iPod would surely take its much-needed content through the iTunes. You can also facilitate for connectivity between the iPod and your personal computer. Thus, you could easily manage your files and make use of them through the computer.

Imagine if you are still resorting to the illegal way of downloading iPod music. You are contributing to the slow killing of the music industry. Plus, you are patronizing music downloads that are of low quality. You would surely not make use of the superior iPod music superiority if you keep on using such illegal download means.

Plus, Apple Computer is ensuring that iPods would not be able to download illegal files or music. There is a program in iTunes music store that would only authorize legal and permissible downloads. Do not patronize other download services for your iPods aside from the prescribed and appropriate iTunes music store.

http://www.frozenipod.com/2007/itunes-music-store/#more-34

iPod Software

Since the iPod became commercially available, many users have wished additional functionality, and those among those users savvy enough with software and programming were able to come up with unofficial iPod software to fulfill their wants.

The official iPod software itself is (as of the fifth generation) reportedly the Pixo OS 2.1 operating system, along with PortalPlayer’s Digital Media Platform. This Digital Media Platform is actually a “system on a chip” that comes with support for customizable firmware, audio decoders, and other software development tools. The iPod interface is also reportedly based on the Pixo Toolbox software (this software was available when Apple was just creating the iPod).

At present, iTunes and the iPod interface are not the only pieces of software that can be associated with and supported on the iPod. Third party software and programs designed to run on the iPod are commonly called iPod hacks, although unlike what the name implies almost none of these software have malicious intent. (However, use of third party software may indeed void the iPod’s warranty, meaning that the people at your local Apple Genius Bar might not be able to help anymore if you decide to modify your iPod’s software or hardware.)

One of the most drastic and effective hacks is getting Linux to run on your iPod. A group called the iPodLinux Project has come up with a way to port Linux to an iPod, as well as a Linux user interface they have called podzilla. Linux is a full-featured operating system, and with Linux on your iPod, it becomes much more like a portable PC than just a digital audio device.

Linux on the iPod allows for the playback of previously unsupported music file formats, such as OGG files. In addition, the appearance of the interface (podzilla) can be easily modified by downloading schemes to your iPod. And, lastly and most importantly, what are called modules can now be downloaded and used on your iPod. These modules are basically applications designed for use with the iPodLinux system.

Now, as can be expected, a lot of these modules are now available, with iPodLinux having been around for intrepid programmers to play with for quite a while. Among the most popular of these are ports of games that are now playable on the iPod. Such games as Doom – a first-person shooter, Bejeweled – a puzzle game, Space Invaders – a space shooter, and even classics such as Pacman have been ported over to the iPod. Other useful hacks include increasing the memory of an iPod Nano, turning the iPod into a universal remote control, and even support for the creation of text files!

Who would’ve thought that the iPod software and hardware would be capable of all these things? And these “iPod hackers” are far from finished.

http://www.frozenipod.com/2007/ipod-software/#more-33