DIY iPod Dock

Coming to the rescue of dockless iPoders, Piers of Lists and Diagrams has devised a creative (and cheap!) way to make your own iPod dock.

Learning Japanese Through your MP3 Player

If you've considered learning Japanese (or any language foreign to you), using your MP3 player to help might be a novel way to go. A recent Ask MetaFilter question has several good answers.

Note that even though the original poster mentions the iPod specifically, any audio player should equally useful.

iRiver Fixes Some Annoying H10 Issues

iRiver community forum Mistic River brings word of a major firmware update for the new iRiver H10 (available for download here).

As we reported previously, the H10 had a annoying bug that made it play tracks in alphabetical order, even if track filenames started with numbers or had track number ID3 tags. If you upgrade to the v2.0 firmware, you have to refresh the H10's track database to get it behave properly. To refresh, go to Settings > Extra > Database Refresh > Yes.

Note that this firmware update is for the US version ONLY. The EU and Asian versions of the H10 use different firmware and should be released by iRiver shortly.

Related Links:
In Depth iRiver H10 Review

Napster to Go Review

Endgadet has written a review of the new Napster to Go music service. Unlike other online music stores, such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, that let you buy specific tracks for a flat rate, Napster to Go is "buffet style". As long as you continue to pay the monthly fee, you can download as much music as you want. When you stop paying, the Napster DRM technology won't let you play the music you downloaded anymore.

Which style, if either, is right for you is a personal choice, but the Engadget review (and the many comments that follow) should help you decide.

Related Links:
Napster To Go Launches
Napster to Go Superbowl Commercial

New Creative Zen

Creative has quietly added a new player to its lineup, the Creative Zen. Not Zen Micro, Zen Xtra, Zen Touch, Zen NX or Zen USB 2.0. Just the Creative Zen.

Essentially it's a Zen Micro that has been enlarged to accomodate a 20GB drive (compared with the 6GB max capacity of the Zen Micro). The looks and the controls appear to be the same as the Zen Micro.

Creative has not listed the dimensions, retail price or when it will be available as of yet. [Via Engadget]

The JamPod: Play Along With Your iPod

DVForge has announced an interesting new iPod accesory, the JamPod. The JamPod lets you plug your guitar into your iPod, jam along to tunes and hear the mixed result in your headphones. Perfect for when the neighbors are asleep and you feel the need to exercise your inner Jimmy Page.

Any instrument that has a 1/4" output (guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.) can be used so you can exercise your inner Geddy Lee and Vangelis too. Also, it runs off the iPod's battery.

The JamPod retails for $29.99 and is supposed to be available April 8th.

iPod Photo Camera Connector Available

Apple has just added the iPod Photo Camera Connector to its online store. The $29 accessory lets you connect your digital camera to your iPod Photo and import photos directly from the camera. A nice touch for the photographer who needs the extra capacity of the iPod Photo's large drive. However, it's been mentioned more than once that Apple should have built this functionality into the iPod Photo rather than charge an extra $30. It is called the iPod Photo after all.

Even though you can order it now, Apple says that it will be 1 to 3 weeks before the Camera Connectors ship.

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

GM to Add MP3 Player Input Jack to New Models

Playlist is reporting that GM will begin adding an MP3 player/AUX input jack to select vehicles in the upcoming 2006 model year. First to get this welcome addition will be the new 2006 Chevy HHR SUV, Impala and Monte Carlo; the Saturn Vue and Ion; Pontiac Solstice; Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS. After the 2006 model year, additional vehicles will get the AUX jack as well.

This is very good news for everyone who owns an MP3 player. Let's hope it starts a trend among both automobile and car stereo makers. [Via Engadget]

End of the Line for the Rio Karma?

According to the Rio community forum Riovolution and DAPReview, Rio has stopped selling its longtime mainstay, the 20GB Rio Karma. The product pages are still up on the Rio website, but you can no longer buy it.

Apparently this is the end of the line for the Karma, which circa 2003, was a very competitive and compelling choice. In fact even today it is one of the only devices that supports less-common audio formats such as lossless FLAC.

The hopeful are saying that this is a sign that the Karma's loooooong awaited successor, the Chroma, is nearing release. We say don't hold your breath.

Related Links:
More on the Rio Chroma?
New Chroma from Rio?
Rio Chroma Details: Color!
Rio Chroma Appears?

Aye Caramba: the AK-MP3

Online audiobook publisher Audio Books for Free has announced what is easily the scariest MP3 player yet made, the AK-MP3 Jukebox. According to Audio Books for Free, the AK-MP3 is made from an ammunition magazine from the AK-47 assult rifle.

Not content with the usual features of other devices, such as a 20GB capacity or USB 2.0 connectivity, the AK-MP3 "could be used on its own or it could be attached to the Kalashnikov machinegun instead of the ordinary magazine" and the "[s]tainless steel body makes this new player uniquely suitable for outdoors".

Somehow we don't think that Belkin will be releasing an iPod/AK-47 connectivity though any time soon, though. And we decline to comment on the "Triple Kalishnikov Girls" on the product page...

Creative Zen Micro Now Plays For Sure

Creative has released a firmware update for the Zen Micro that adds support for Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM technology. Napster to Go, among others, uses PlaysForSure to protect music, so the Zen Micro is now compatible with Napster's newest service. [Via Nomadness]

To install the firmware, download the file from the Creative support site, connect the Zen Micro to your computer, run the download .EXE and then click Upgrade.

New iPod Speaker Trifecta

The avalanche of accessory posts continues with 3 brief reviews of iPod speaker systems by iPodlounge.

First up is the Altec Lansing inMotion iM4 (review here). Shown at right, it kind of looks like a briefcase with speakers. It retails for $99.99 and reportedly gets 18 hours of battery life from 4 AAs.

Also reviewed is the Macally IceTune, shown at left. Powered by a wall outlet only and retailing for $69.99, the IceTune's speakers and dock can be piled into one big stack or separated for stereo sound.

Speaker review number three looks at the Logitech mm22, shown at right. The mm22 retails for $79.99, runs on 3 AAA batteries and folds up nicely into a zippered nylon bag.

DLO iDirect Remote Control Review

MediaBlab has a brief review of yet another iPod accessory, the Digital Lifestyle Outfitters iDirect. The iDirect is a wireless remote control system for the iPod that has all the basic controls (play, pause, track and volume) on the remote.

According to the review, they got at least 30 feet of usable range from the remote, which should be sufficient for most household, line-of-site purposes.

The iDirect retails for $49.99.

iPod iBeam Review

Out of the hundreds of different iPod accessories now available, the Griffin iBeam is likely one of the oddest. For only $19.95 you actually get two separate attachments. The first is an LED flashlight and the second a laser pointer.

But in case your wondering "is the iBeam the right flashlight/laser pointer combo for me?", Pocket Lint has come to your assistance with their iBeam review.

iRiver H10 Accessories

Mistic River has the lowdown on new H10 accessories that iRiver is producing. Unfortunately they're available only in Korea right now, but we assume that some or all of these will end up in other markets eventually.

The new H10 toys are a cradle, an LCD-less remote and a proprietary-to-iRiver USB cable.

iRiver H10 Review

Tom's Hardware is the latest source for another review of the H10, iRiver's new 5GB, color audio player.

Virgin Electronics is No More

It's only been 5 short months since we first reported on the creation of Virgin Electronics and the Player, a compact 5GB audio player. Now it looks as if sales figures didn't pan out the way Virgin planned, because Engadget and others are reporting that the company has been shuttered.

Ah the Player, we hardly knew ye...

Related Links:
Virgin Player Review
Virgin Electronics Player Now Available
Virgin Electronics Player

Olympus m:robe 500 Review

DAPReview has just published a mega-review of the new Olympus m:robe 500 personal video player. It's got everything you could ever want to know about the device. Austin's verdict: 75%

The MR-500 is a cool toy, no doubt. It's fun to play around with the touch-based interface and show it off to friends. Pretty much everyone likes it, and why not? The MR-500 is packing a big and bright, high-resolution color screen. The GUI is stylish and easy to use. It's a 20gb MP3 player, digital photo album, and snapshot-style camera wrapped up into one pocket-size gadget. People who've seen it want one for themselves... until they hear about the price. $500 is a big chunk of money for most of us to blow on a toy, which is exactly what this is considering the limited functionality.

To recap:

• As a digital audio player, it's capable, but nothing special. Playtime is below average.
• As a digital camera, it's not much good. Image quality is about the same as your typical camera-phone.
• As a digital picture-viewer, it's one of the best. Pictures are very sharp.

Is the iPod Dock Worth It?

More answers, opinions and goodness from Ask MetaFilter.Today's topic is whether it's worth spending an extra $40 on a dock for your iPod. The general consensus: probably not.

Guide to iPod Diagnostics

PC Magazine's ExtremeiPod site has published a guide to the iPod's diagnostics system. This isn't something you'll need every day, but if you'd like to test out your iPod, this shows you how to do it. [Via LifeHacker].

Public Libraries Can Now Offer Downloadable Audiobooks

In what may be a first, the Great River Region Library system of Minnesota and other public libraries have begun offering free audiobook downloads to their patrons. Currently 700 titles are available and 30 new titles will be added each month.

The audiobooks come from Recorded Books and are licensed to libraries by NetLibrary. Even if you don't have a NetLibrary account, you can still browse the audiobook collection.

Unfortunately the DRM protection technology NetLibrary uses isn't compatible with the Apple iPod. It does, however, work with Microsoft WMA-compatible devices, which includes just about every modern MP3 player except the iPod.

If you don't have a NetLibrary account, check your local library's website. If they're a NetLibrary member, you can probably login or create your own NetLibrary account through their website.

Once you're logged into NetLibrary, you can either download CD or radio quality copies of the audiobook. Once downloaded, the files will be accessible for 21 days, but you can renew them once.

Note that even though your public library may be a member of the NetLibrary system, you may not have access to the audiobooks. If that's the case for you, contact your library directly and encourage them to subscribe to the audiobook plan.

Creative Cuts Prices on the Zen Micro

Creative announced a series of price cuts on their Zen Micro line today. This is clearly a reaction to Apple squeezing prices downward last week with the new iPod Minis, which are $199 for 4GB and $249 for 6GB now.

The "incredible new pricing" from Creative brings the 4GB model down to $180 (after a $20 rebate), $230 for 5GB and $250 for 8GB.

Does Creative really need 3 capacity choices here? That 5GB model really seems to be in no-man's-land. But then again, this is war.

Repairing a Scratched iPod

If your iPod has taken a beating and you'd like to erase the scratches, this Ask MetaFilter thread has several suggestions.

However, don't miss the recommendations for scratching it more.

iRiver H10 Review

Another iRiver H10 review checks in today, this time from Everything USB:

All in all, the iRiver H10 is makes for a well rounded MP3 player that is sure to last through the unintentional abuse we give all handheld electronics. The color screen is vibrant, the audio quality is great, and the battery lasts. About the only things lacking are the interface and data partition. For $279, the iRiver H10 is a bargain.

Playing the iPod's Firmware

Nils Schneider is one of the hackers working on the iPodLinux project that is attempting to bring the open-source operating system Linux to the iPod. Nils's fourth-generation iPod is not currently supported by the project, but he's documented a pretty amazing story of how he and some others managed to reverse engineer the 4G iPod's bootloader code.

Essentially, Nils programmed his iPod to beep the 1s and 0s of the code, recorded the sound as it slowly "played" its bootloader and then decoded the results. It took several trys, but their persistence paid off in the end. [Via Engadget]

Related Links:
Linux Comes to the iPod