Apple Camera Connector

If you can't wait a month until it hits the stores, Apple Insider has a photo of the upcoming iPod Camera Connector.

Announced last week with Apple's iPod lineup changes, the Camera Connector will allow you to connect an iPod Photo directly to a digital camera and move the photos onto the Photo's harddrive. [Via MacRumors]

Related Links:
New iPod Photo Gets Digital Camera Download
Apple Rolls Out New iPods

Apple Cuts Firewire Cable from New iPods

CNet has an article on Apple's decision to stop shipping FireWire cables with the latest generation of iPods.

Whether Apple does or does not include a cable for a technology that is dwarfed in popularity by USB may not seem to be that big of deal, but for Apple it is. Apple is has long been the driving force for FireWire adoption and only recently has Apple been including USB connections for Mac desktops and laptops. It is telling then that Apple's own cost-cutting measures negatively affect a technology that it is a big proponent of.

The new 5G iPods still have FireWire capabilities, you'll just have to buy the $19 cable from Apple before you can use it. [Via Digital Media Thoughts]

Entempo Rubato

Entempo has announced a new 20GB audio player, the Rubato. Like most devices introduced in the last year or so, it has an FM tuner and digital recording capabilities in addition to support for Microsoft's WMA music protection technology. Unlike an increasing number of new devices, it has a monochrome rather than a color LCD screen.

ShoX is what Entempo says sets the Rubato apart from the pack. ShoX is Entempo's patented technology for making the player's fragile harddrive more shock-resistant.

No word on the device's size or weight, but the Rubato is available online now and the retail price is $239.

iRiver H320 Review

Omar Shahine has written up his thoughts on the iRiver H320 and how it compares to the iPod.

Omar is a Microsoft employee and his review reflects a more Microsoft-centric mindset. For example, he pays special attention to Microsoft's PlaysForSure and MTP. Not to say that this is a bad thing, but it is worth pointing out.

Unfortunately for the H320, Omar didn't like it:

Lame- fails in some areas. Do not hand over your money for this device.

Seriously, I did not enjoy debugging and trying to fit this device into my lifestyle. I figure the 2 or so hours I spent hacking TDT to support WMA DRM'ed files was well worth it as I learned something new, but if you are looking for a device to replace your iPod or you are on the market for a new device I would wait till iRiver works out the issues above (or some one else ships a comparable device).

Previously we reported that most Microsoft employees own iPods and here is Omar's review adding anecdotal evidence to the idea. [Via Digital Media Thoughts]

2G iPod Mini Review

When Apple ships a new audio player, iPodLounge wastes no time in getting one and getting that review written. Two days ago Apple, among other lineup changes, launched a revised, second-generation (2G) iPod Mini and iPodLounge has already posted its review:

Though the second-generation iPod mini is very similar to its predecessor, there's no doubt that its extended, 26-hour battery life alone is a major improvement, fully remedying perhaps the only gaping performance hole left in the mini by advances across the rest of the iPod family. By adding a 6GB option and putatively dropping the 4GB model's price by $50, Apple unquestionably elevated the initial attractiveness of the iPod mini, and will win many new iPod owners as a direct consequence. We underscore that point, and further note that Apple could have gotten away with just dropping the old iPod mini to a $199 price point and achieved similar results. That they did more - if only a little more - surely deserves some commendation.

Under the Hood with the Sony NW-HD3

It's been a while since we've had a good dissection of an audio player. The Sony NW-HD3 gets the treatment from Head-Fi user cykalan. [Via DAPReview]

Mossberg on the iRiver H10

This week in his Wall Street Journal column Walt Mossberg trys out the iRiver H10. Unfortunately unless you're a WSJ online subscriber, you won't be able to read the column.

Like just about every review now, it's framed in terms of how the H10 stacks up against the iPod Mini. We'll try to excerpt some of the key points here:

We liked the iRiver H10 a lot, and consider it the best of the iPod mini competitors. It has some drawbacks, and on balance, isn't quite as easy to use as an iPod. And it costs more. But it is a plausible alternative.

...

Overall, we found the iRiver H10 fairly easy to use, and its interface was vastly improved in comparison with previous iRiver players. We liked its color screen.

But the photo, radio and recording features are clumsy, and navigation isn't up to the iPod's standard. The H10 is a good choice for somebody with a little extra cash who wants to use the Microsoft-based music formats, or Napster To Go's rented music. But, for everyone else, it doesn't top the iPod.

New iPod Photo Gets Digital Camera Download

Among the changes that Apple made to its iPod lineup today there really weren't any new features, just price and capacity changes. There was oneone notable exception however. Today Apple also announced the iPod Camera Connector. The Camera Connector will let you connect an iPod Photo to a digital camera and import photos directly from the camera onto the Photo's larger harddrive.

This comes as good news for iPod Photo owners since the lack of digital photo importing was a glaring omission for a product touted for viewing and transporting digital photos.

The iPod Camera Connector will be available in March and will retail for $29.

Apple Rolls Out New iPods

As expected, Apple pulled the covers off changes to its iPod lineup today. They weren't exactly what we thought, but at least a few of the rumors were correct.

Here's the lowdown:

• The iPod Mini will come in 4GB and 6GB flavors (this was expected) at $199 and $249
• The iPod Mini did not get a color LCD (it was thought that it would)
• The 40GB iPod has been dropped (expected), but the 20GB is still available at $299 (unexpected)
• Photo iPods will now come in 30GB and 60GB models at $349 and $449 (expected)
• The gold iPod Mini color choice has been dropped (expected)
• iPod Mini battery life is reported to be 18 hours now

Most at Microsoft Carry an Apple, Just Not Bill Gates

According to "a high-level manager who asked to remain anonymous", around 80% of Microsoft employees own an Apple iPod. It shouldn't be suprising that well-paid, high-tech workers carry the popular audio player, but it is ironic. Apple and Microsoft are direct competitors and the Apple iPod is the most notable MP3 player that is not compatible with Microsoft's online music store technology PlaysForSure.

There is at least one notable exception to the iPods-at-Microsoft rule. Bill Gates carries a Creative Zen. [Via Engadget]

More Apple Rumorage

More Apple rumors are floating about now. MacShrine is reporting that on Wednesday Apple will make sweeping changes to the iPod line:

• The current iPod line will be dropped and replaced by the color iPod Photo
• New 30GB ($349) and 60GB ($449) iPod Photo models will be announced
• A new 6GB (not 5GB) iPod Mini ($249) will be announced and the 4GB iPod Mini will remain, but get a $50 retail price drop to $199
• The new iPod Minis will also have color screens
• The gold iPod Mini color choice will be dropped

More bits at AppleInsider and ThinkSecret

5GB iPod Mini Coming Next Week?

Through the last few Apple rumor mill cycles, it's been apparent that Apple would update the iPod Mini with a 5GB harddrive. Bumping up from 4GB to 5GB would finally bring the Mini up to par with all the other 5GB audio players currently on the market (such as the iRiver H10 and Creative Zen Micro).

According to AppleInsider this may happen as early as next week.

No word on whether there will be any new features in the Mini and presumably the retail price will stay the same.

Introducing NCD Screens

Since the early days of digital calculators and watches, LCD (liquid crystal diode) screens have been a familiar technology for building displays. The Irish company Ntera, however, is looking to displace LCD displays in favor of its own technology, NCD (NanoChromics Display). According to Ntera, NCD displays will deliver a paper-like image that remains readable at any viewing angle, a notable limitation of LCD screens.

Extreme Tech has an article on Ntera's debut at the DEMO 2005 show, which featured an iPod with an NCD screen in place of the original LCD. [Via Uber Gizmo]

New Philips and Nike Players Coming

Tech Digest UK has the word on new players that will coming from Philips later in the year. First up is the PSA610 which will be co-branded with Nike. The PSA610 will be a 3GB harddrive-based player for using while running or working out. Typically audio players designed for use while jogging have been flash memory-based. Flash memory means no moving parts to bash. A spinning harddrive disk can't always take this sort of punishment. The PSA610, on the other hand, will buffer enough audio to keep from choking while you run.

Also coming up from Philips are the HDD095 and HDD093. Both will also have a 3GB capacity like the PSA610, but the HDD095 will have a color LCD while the HDD093 has a monochrome display. [Via Engadget and Gizmodo]

Cephal-iPod Case

Welcome your new squidy overlords in style with this Cthulu-shaped, felt iPod cover.

Do note that the Cephal-iPod is "guaranteed to be real", but is "not meant to protect your iPod if it crashes to the ground". [Via Gizmodo]

The iPod Get Its Own Search Engine

In hindsite we guess it was inevitable, but the iPod is so big that its got its own search engine now. FINDiPod is a searchable archive of iPod articles, tips, reviews, accessories and generally all things iPod. [Via The Uber-Review]

Making Drive Time More Productive

You're probably already aware of the availability of CD audiobooks from retailers and libraries that can be easily ripped to MP3 for use on your audio player. Now text-to-speech software company NextUp has taken this concept a step further. They just announced version 2.0 of TextAloud which will "read" text into MP3 audio files that you can use with your MP3 player.

Theoretically you can "listen" to just about anything online: newspapers, eBooks and even (heaven forbid) work-related documents.

If you want to check it out, there is a free demo of TextAloud.

Also, even though the demo doesn't include it, you can get additional AT&T Natural Voices to read your docs. AT&T has several different male and female voice styles that do an impressive job on your text.

PS: here's this post read by the TextAloud Mary voice.

iRiver H10 Troubleshooting

Jeff, maintainer of iRiver community forum Mistic River, has posted threads dealing with two common issues that are plaguing new iRiver H10 owners.

The first problem is the H10 not being recognized when it is connected to the computer. If you're seeing this, there is a workaround but it requires two Windows computers.

The second pertains to severe distortion when using the "Custom EQ" setting. Unfortunately with this issue there is no workaround. The problem has been reported to iRiver and they've promised to address it. Unfortunately, though, iRiver doesn't have the best track record when it comes to delivering timely firmware fixes. [Via DAPReview]

Lotsa MP3 Players Playing in the US

According to a recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than 22 million Americans have an MP3 player. That's about 11% of the population, but the actual number is certainly higher since the survey did not take into account people under 18.

Any guess what the number will be this time next year after the 2005 holiday season?

iPodlounge in Wired

If you've ever wondered about the people behind MP3 player websites, Wired News can fill you in. They've writen an article about Dennis Lloyd, founder of iPodlounge.

The site was started in late 2001 by Dennis Lloyd, a web designer form Irvine, California, just a couple of weeks after Apple Computer launched the iPod. Shortly after starting the site, Lloyd became unemployed.

"I turned it into a full-time job because I got laid off," said Lloyd. "I was just sitting at home collecting unemployment. I had this site, so I started working on it every day."

These days iPodlounge gets 2 million visitors a month, Dennis has 2 employees and iPodlounge is still the best place to get assistance and information on all things iPod.

Apple Shuffle: 'A Gift to Mankind'?

Singaporean reporter Ian Tan has written a thought-provoking article on Apple's ability "to make a no-frills gadget 'a gift to mankind'". The gadget in question is, of course, the Apple Shuffle.

Don't miss the reactions of the CEOs of Creative Labs and iRiver...

Marlboro iPod Mini Case

For the chain-smoking nicotine addict in your life comes an iPod Mini case made from a pack of Marlboros. We're not so sure about being happy that school-aged children are excited to find empty cigarette boxes, but here's a chance to get the original.

iRiver H10 Review

Design Technica has published a review of the iRiver H10. The H10 gets mostly high marks, but Design Technica does have some useful feedback for iRiver [Via Digital Media Thoughts]:

The H10 digital audio player is definitely a step in the right direction, and is a very strong first offering of this kind from iRiver. We did not experience any real problems throughout the review process. The H10 did not lock up on us, battery life is above average and it works seamlessly with Windows Media Player 10. The overall usability of the H10 is second to none. That's also one of its shortfalls.

We love the color screen, but have to question its usefulness since it doesn't show album art and the player does not output stored images to a TV. We also love how it interfaces with Windows Media Player 10, but other than Napster To Go and maybe MSN Music, those are the only services iRiver actually acknowledges the player works with. And lastly, while the ear buds fit comfortably, they just do not sound as good as those that come with the Apple iPod or Creative Labs Zen Micro. We also wish the H10 had more power output per channel to help eliminate the massive distortion we encountered when playing anything with bass. As it stands though, the H10 is a great player that you should consider.

Rio Carbon Review

The Saskatoon Sun (via Canda.com) has a brief review of the 5GB Rio Carbon. Like all reviews of mini-sized audio players, the Carbon is reviewed in terms of how it compares with the Apple iPod Min. Often the non-Apple device comes up short, but this time around the Carbon wins over the iPod Mini [Via DAPReview]:

The Carbon is a 5GB player that's been designed to compete against the 4GB iPod Mini. Having looked at both devices quite closely, the one for me would definitely be the Rio Carbon.

No Satellite Radio in the iPod

If you pay attention to it, the Apple rumor mill never seems to leave high gear. One of the many recent rumors was that Apple would somehow integrate Sirius satellite radio capabilities into the iPod.

This one, at least for the near future, won't turn out to be true. According to Orbitcast, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin spoke to Apple CEO Steve Jobs about just such a deal, but Steve said no. Karmazin says that Apple thinks "they don't need to put a satellite radio in their box." [Via Gizmodo]

Creative Zen Micro Review

Everything USB (which we guess includes USB-enabled audio players) has a review of the 5GB Creative Zen Micro. Everything USB gives a nearly-unqualified yes vote [Via i4u]:

The Zen Micro is fast, colorful, and has a wonderful interface that allows for quick access to all functions. If you don't encounter any of the defects we did, the Zen Micro is a good choice that outperforms the competition in almost every aspect.

Related Links:
Creative Zen Micro Review
Creative Zen Micro Review
Creative Zen Micro Review
Four Creative Zen Micro Reviews

Dell DJ30 Debuts

Dell has supersized a new version of its DJ line of audio players with the Dell DJ30. Since the DJ20 had a 20GB capacity, you can safely and correctly assume that the new DJ30 has a 30GB capacity.

The DJ30 will retail for $299, but not replace the $249 DJ20. But besides the extra 10GB of space, that extra $50 gets you a docking cradle which can charge the device and lets you plug the DJ30 into a PC or external speakers.

Related Links:
CNet Dell DJ Review

Sony NW-HD3 Review

Pocket Lint's Gizmo Girl has written a review of the Sony NW-HD3, the much-maligned 20GB audio player. Sony has taken a beating over its recent line of harddrive-based audio players for their lack of support for the overwhelmingly popular MP3 audio file format. The NW-HD3 was the first Sony to add support for MP3, but Sony seems to have earned a black eye in the US marketplace and will have to do some significant work to earn back consumer trust.

In any case, Gizmo Girls still liked it and gave it a 9/10:

We suspect that the addition of MP3 is more to do with marketing and being able to sell this device in China where MP3 is king than any serious desire to make this a truly compatible device. Nevertheless, the NW-HD3 is both nicer and better than its predecessor. Its focus remains on being a cool music player, whereas other hard drive based players are increasingly display (but aren't able to take) pictures and videos, which can be a distraction from the original reason you bought them. If you like gadgets designed to do one thing very well, then Sony's NW-HD3 is well worth considering.

Related Links:
Sony NW-HD3 Review
Sony NW-HD3: Sony Finally Gets on the MP3 Bandwagon
Sony Acknowledges Existence of MP3 Format

iRiver H320 Review

Dev Hardware has posted their review of the iRiver H320. While the 20GB color LCD device isn't the newest audio player on the street, it is currently one of the few Plays For Sure-compatible ways to listen to Napster on the Go tunes. Dev Hardware liked it a lot:

This is a great player, but it has a few problems. iRiver packed many features into the H320. The H320 can do more than just play music. It has built in radio, voice recorder, and text. While all these features work great, the overall software is lacking. Scrolling through an entire library of music becomes a tedious task. Getting to know how to access everything requires that the user thoroughly read the manual, and even then you will need to play around with it. My only other complaint is the current firmware. This lacks many of the great features offered in other countries, which would place the H320 in a category of its own. Overall I really liked this player; the positives overwhelm the few negatives of this player.

Napster iRiver H10 Deal: Over in the Blink of an Eye

For a very short period of time, Napster was offering a free iRiver H10 to the first 1000 people who subscribed for a year. Since a year of Napster to Go costs about $180 and an H10 retails for $280, this was pretty much a no-brainer. Needless to say it didn't last long and 1000 lucky people are getting an iRiver H10 on the cheap.

As with most other hot deals, keep an eye on eBay as people start to auction off their lucky catches.

Even if you missed it, Napster does have a few specials for new Napster to Go subscribers. If you subscribe for 3 months, you get $45 off the retail price of the iRiver H10 or the Creative Zen Micro. Of course, this isn't much of a deal unless you were going to subscribe to Napster to Go in the first place.

In Depth iRiver H10 Review

Jeff, the maintainer of iRiver community forum Mistic River, has written a lengthy in depth review of the new iRiver H10. As a bonus, he's also got video (7MB WMV file) of using the device.

Not surprisingly, Jeff liked the H10 a lot:

The iRiver H10 is a great player. Easy to use, great sound quality, easy to navigate, 5gb of storage, on the fly playlisting, photo viewing, slideshow, color screen, great styling. Both power users and everyday consumers will enjoy using it's many features. It stacks up very well against the competition and if viewed side by side should come out on top.

Justifiably though, Jeff dings iRiver for a pretty significant bug in the H10 firmware. In a folder it plays tracks alphabetically by filename instead of using the track number tag stored in each file. Even if your songs start with their track number ("01 - Song A", "02 - Next Song", "03 - More", etc.) it STILL sorts them alphabetically so that "03 - More" would play first! Ouch iRiver.

Also, there's been some question about using the H10 as a portable harddrive. Apparently our original supposition was correct. The H10 will not be compatible with non-Windows computers (Macs, Linux, etc.). To many this may not be an issue, but it's good to be aware of this and the fact that previous iRiver devices were compatible.

Napster to Go Superbowl Commercial

Why wait until Sunday? Napster has bought commercial time for Napster to Go during the Superbowl. If you'd like to see the commercial now, it's available online here.

As an added bonus, Napster included exciting shots of people jogging with their MP3 player and listening to music on their laptops!

Napster To Go Launches

Online music store Napster launched its Napster To Go service today in the US, Canada and the UK which allows members to download an unlimited number of songs per month onto both desktop PCs and compatible MP3 players. The service costs $14.95 per month and is the first to use Microsoft's WMA-10 digital rights management (DRM) technology, also known under the label Plays for Sure.

Napster to Go isn't like other music stores such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, which charges $0.99 per track but lets you use the song perpetually. Rather, Napster to Go doesn't charge per track, but you can only listen to the music while you continue to pay the monthly subscription fee.

Also, since the service uses a brand new technology, only a few, select devices are currently supported: iRiver H10, Creative Zen Micro, Gateway Photo Jukebox, iRiver H320 and a few others.

Presumably iRiver, Creative and Rio are working to update their older devices to be compatible as well.

Don't look for the iPod to join list, though. Apple has its own store and iPod devices are the only ones allowed to use it. Generally, every other MP3 player vendor has lined up behind Microsoft to use their song protection technology.

More bits at Tech Digest UK, Yahoo! News and Engadget.

Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox Review

CNet has taken a look at the seemingly little-known Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox. Like the iRiver H10, the Photo Jukebox is a mini-sized 4GB (or 5GB in the H10's case) MP3 player with a color LCD for displaying photos. Also, the Gateway retails for $30 less than the $279 iRiver.

CNet gave it a 7.3/10:

Affordable way to display pictures, listen to digital audio, and download pictures from compatible cameras or via a USB memory-card adapter; compatible with subscription-based downloads and protected WMA files; compact and easy to use; removable battery.

Dell Pocket DJ Review

PC Magazine's Bill Machrone has written a review of Dell's mini-size MP3 player, the 5GB Pocket DJ:

Excellent audio quality, small size, and sophisticated looks help set the Dell Pocket DJ apart. It's a fine, affordable, no-frills, 5GB digital audio player.

It's odd that Machrone says that the Pocket DJ is both "sophisticated" and "no-frills", but at only $179 the Pocket DJ might be the best budget-conscious choice.