Media Player News

Apple Announces New iPods

Apple has announced a complete refresh of their iPod music player range, from the $49 iPod Shuffle to the $229 iPod Touch.

MyRacer Lisse Q10 has 1970s Style

The Lisse Q10 is a recently announced media player with a 3-inch screen and an interesting 1970s style.

Creative Announces X-Fi2

Creative Labs has just announced an update to their Zen X-Fi player. The new X-Fi2 uses a 3-inch touch screen and is agressively priced at $130 for an 8GB model.

Apple Announces new iPods and iTunes

9 Sept 09 – In an event in San Francisco, Apple CEO steve Jobs announced the next generation of iPods, including a new Shuffle priced at $79 and a new iPod Nano with a camera. He also announced a new version of the iTunes software that connects them to PCs and Macs. The new version of iTunes is available now.

Sony Walkman X-series media player pricing and availability announced

U.S. Pricing and availability information for the Sony Walkman X-series media players first announced at CES in January is now available. The Sony Style site now lists the 32GB NWZ-X1061 model at $399 with availability on or around June 20. The 16GB NWZ-X1051 model is listed at $299 with the same availability as the larger-capacity model.

Get ready! 3rd generation iPod Shuffle ready for its review

We’ve got our hands on the latest iPod Shuffle that Apple announced last week and are getting ready to put it through its paces for a thorough review. We can report so far that it is indeed as tiny as you think and is noticeably longer and thinner than the previous-generation Shuffle. The consensus in the office is that it will be far too easy to lose given its Lilliputian dimensions. It comes in 2 colors, silver or black, and we selected the black one for our review unit. Its surface is matte anodized aluminum with no features to mar its sleek facade aside from the shiny clip on the back with the Apple logo front and center. Hit the break for some more photos and comparison shots with the previous-generation Shuffle…

Apple Announces New iPod Shuffle

Apple announced a new Shuffle model this morning, featuring 4GB of memory. At about half the size of the previous model, the new Shuffle has only an on/off/shuffle switch on the top with all other controls on a remote on the included headphones. Its 4GB of memory can hold up to 1,000 songs and it is offered in 2 colors – silver or black. Like the older Shuffle model, it has a built-in clip on the back, though it’s in polished stainless steel here instead of aluminum. Lacking a display, the new Shuffle uses some interesting technology to let you know what you’re listening to – hit the break for the details…

A quick look at the Sony NWZ-W202 and NWZ-X1051

At Sony’s press event last night we got to spend some quality time with their new X Series and W Series Walkman media players. The W-series looks a lot like in-ear headphones connected to an around-the-back-of-your-head band.

Samsung announces new touchscreen media player

Samsung is the latest company to jump on the touchscreen bandwagon this CES with their new media player. The P3 Widescreen Portable Media Player – "P3" to its friends – will feature a 3-inch touchscreen with haptic feedback. We’re guessing "haptic feedback" translates to "the device vibrates when you touch the screen," although we’re hoping they mean localized haptic feedback.

Sony media player to have headphone-independent noise cancellation

Sony is going to unveil a new media player at CES. At first glance it looks to be a new OLED touchscreen with a good-sized screen (3-inches), wifi, 16GB and 32GB sizes — nothing fancy, but a nice device nonetheless.

The more interesting feature is its headphone-independent noise cancellation. We’re guessing the device has a microphone and it listens to surrounding noise, then pipes back inverse sound waves to cancel out any ambience. This is definitely an interesting new technology that we look forward to testing. Actie noise cancellation typically focuses on low-frequency noise, which will be the same in your pocket as it would be at your ear. 

Look for more news on this piece later on, since Sony’s press release isn’t until later on tonight. 

[Via ZDnet.com]

Memorex announces new touchscreen media player

The first news out of CES: Memorex will make a handsome media player with a giant touchscreen. The TouchMP is going to have a 2.8-inch display, 8GB with a microSD card slot, an FM radio, and podcast support. The screen seems a bit on the small side – for comparison, the iPod Touch’s giant display is 3.5, and most free-with-plan cell phone screens are around 2.1 inches. This being said, the device is set to retail at $99. We’ll definitely try to get this on into our testing lab.

If you want to check out a bigger picture, click through.

[Via Engadget]

30GB Zunes suffering from "Y2K9" bug

In a zombie-less adaptation of Stephen King’s Cell, 30GB Zunes everywhere have simultaneously malfunctioned for no apparent reason. Users will find their device simply won’t boot up, freezing once the gray progress bar reaches its end. As of now there’s only speculation as to why the Zunes are committing ritualistic suicide. Is it due to the onset of 2009? Is it Apple-funded terrorism? A PMP EMP? Are Zunes like canaries in a mine, and this mass-freeze is simply a portent of some imminent evil? Time will tell. In the meanwhile, if your Zune is locked up, there is one solution: surgery. We’ve stolen the following method off onlydarksets:

WARNING: A hard reset will delete everything on your Zune.

1. Press and hold the back button

2. Press and hold up until it reboots

3. Depending on which Zune you have, immediately do one of the following:

   1. If you have a Zune 4 GB, Zune 8BG, or Zune 80GB, immediately press and hold the Back button Back at the same time as you press the right side of the Zune pad and the Play/Pause button. Continue to hold these buttons until the Zune device restarts and you receive the following message: “Clearing contents. Please wait.”
   2. If you have a Zune 30GB, immediately press and hold the Back button Back at the same time that you press the right side of the Zune pad and the center of the Zune pad. Continue to hold these buttons until the Zune device restarts and you receive the following message: “Clearing contents. Please wait.”

[Story via Gizmodo, solution via onlydarksets]

Zune changes their Zune Pass plan

Zune has made some changes to their "all-you-can-eat" music subscription service, as long as you’re a Zune Pass subscriber. It’s the same deal with the $14.99/month for unlimited streaming and downloads, only now you get to keep 10 songs for forever as MP3s. There are also bringing Universal Music Group into the fold, which will pad out their MP3 library considerably. Also, this Zune Pass deal is not just for Zune users; if you like this plan you can download and manage your music from your PC.

This is actually an intriguing plan. You can try out tons of songs and then choose the ten you like best to keep and cherish for all of time. Songs nowadays are $1, so that means you’re paying $5 for the unlimited streaming and temporary downloads. While this sounds like it’ll be a great plan for some, we’re not sure it’ll convince those pirates out there to stop tape recordering their FM radio.

You can read more about this new plan in their press release, here.

Zune 3.1 update is out

The Zune 3.1 software update is apparently out now. We went on Zune.net to check it out, but Zune.net is still hawking the 3.0 update. The main improvements are to the Zune Social feature. We have yet to get a Zune into our office for review, but we picture the Zune Social feature will allow the dozens of Zune users out there to join together in sighing in disgust at the iPod users they see. The Zune Social rehaul will fix the interface to make it more user-friendly. It will also add a new feature that lets you compare your music tastes with others, offically making the Zune a must-buy for hipsters. 

You’ll also get a few free games (sudoku, Texas Hold’em, checkers, and a top-scrolling space ship shoot-em-up). 

[Via Engadget and Zune Insider]

Hacha produces DAP for $15

Chinese manufacturer Hacha has announced the PF02, which is an audio player that should retail for $14.40 USD (99 yuan). Compare this device to the Shuffle, which offers nowhere near as much control, but has a similar storage capacity. Really, if you want to listen to your MP3s cheaply, we’re not sure you can do much better than $14.40. One thing we will point out, however, is that all the buttons are identical, which might make the player a bit hard to operate when it’s in your pocket.

Here’s some stats we’ve been able to figure out:

• The device will play MP3, WMA, and OGG files.
• It uses an SRS audio system
• Measures 2.79 × 0.97 × 0.39 inches (70.9 × 24.6 × 9.8mm)
• Weighs 18.5 grams
• Uses a USB 2.0 connection
• Has a lithium-ion battery with a stated time of 14 hours.

PMP Today states there are other models that have up to 8GB of storage, but we can’t find out exactly where they’re getting that number from. In any case, providing the thing works, $15 for a DAP is not bad.

[Via PMP Today]

Gears of War Zune the latest MS franchise to get Zune'd

Just in case your Halo Zune isn’t doing it for you, you can now pick up one that’s branded with the Gears of War insignia. In our opinion, the smartest move for Microsoft would be to get Nintendo’s permission to use Little Mac from Punch-Out!!, and photoshop a picture of an iPod onto King Hippo’s face. Not only is it nostalgiac, but it’s an appropriate analogy.

Is Microsoft working its way down the list of possible game franchise brands? Will we see a Fable-branded Zune? Really, the only Microsoft game branding that would spur us towards a purchase would be the Microsoft Entertainment Center Zune. We want our case blinged out with a mural that includes Chip from Chip’s Challenge high-fiving the rat from Rodent’s Revenge, while the yeti from SkiFree sneaks up behind them throwing JezzBalls. We’d buy that.

[Via Gizmodo]

Welcome to MediaPlayerInfo.com!

Hello and welcome to MediaPlayerInfo.com!

The media player market is one that’s dominated by marketing. It’s hard to look somewhere and not catch an iPod ad in your line of sight. Our job is to help readers sift through the hype and advertising and figure out which media player actually best suits them. Our goal is to offer the best, most objective media player reviews. To do this, we’ll break down all media players we review into different components, then review each component using the same criteria. This way we can provide comprehensive reviews that allow users to directly compare media players based on any given criteria.

We also test the audio quality of each media player, using a standardized scientific testing process. This process uses professional-grade hardware and software to provide accurate results.

Think of MediaPlayerInfo.com as your source for unbiased information about media players. Hopefully you’ll use our resources next time you’re shopping around for an iPod or looking for a media player that specifically isn’t an iPod.

If you have any questions, feedback, or ideas that would help our site be the best source for media player info, please use our comments system or email us here.

Like Starbucks, But Different

Well, the 3.0 Zune update came out today and so far, it’s just what we expected. But, lo, what is this we hear? We can get free Wi-Fi access on our Zune? At McDonald’s? Unfortunately, this courageous new partnership will only offer this opportunity at approximately 9,800 McDonald’s restaurants and we can’t be sure how exactly these select locations will be chosen. There’s a McDonald’s down the street from us and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

There’s something strikingly peculiar about the juxtaposition of Apple’s iPod pairing with Starbucks and Zune teaming up with McDonald’s. Isn’t McDonald’s supposed to be a fast food establishment? Isn’t the whole point to enter the premises, get your food quickly, scarf it down, and leave? By contrast, Starbucks seems to be all about savoring your cup of coffee and relaxing in the corporate-approved atmosphere.

We don’t expect Zune owners to rejoice over this exciting new collaboration… it’s likely to get the lukewarm reception of the short-lived McDonald’s Wi-Fi for Nintendo DS users. Unfortunately for McDonald’s, their establishments simply aren’t places for lingering. And they’ll need something more than Zune Wi-Fi to change that.

Fortunately for Zune, their partnership is really with Wayport, who could probably get Zune users a little more Wi-Fi access than browsing for tunes between Big Macs.

[Via Wi-Fi Net News]

The Media Player for Japanese Frat Boys

Just look at these slick new Kenwood "Media Keg" PMPs! Just like the previous generation, they’ve only been confirmed for Japan, but at least there are hints that they might eventually reach a global audience… the menu can be set to display in Japanese, but also English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch and Italian.

Why would we want another media player flooding the U.S. market? Well, we’ve always been fans of Japanese gadgets, but the Media Keg seems like a nice little player, if not exactly remarkable. It supports a plethora of audio file types and despite having just 4GB of internal memory, there’s a convenient micro-SD slot for expanding your capacity or looking at pictures from your digital camera.

It looks like the Media Keg is only Windows-compatible, but it’s a fair bet that no matter what your country of residence, if you’re using a Macintosh computer, you’ll buy an iPod before you buy a Media Keg. Then again, there’s something to be said for a PMP that is a keg… for your media.

[Via CrunchGear]

Phoenix Landing

Well, the upcoming XM Radio portable player (previously codenamed "Phoenix") is making its official media debut… in Popular Science magazine. We still don’t have an official price, but speculation suspects a release date around October 5, 2008.

XM is pushing the new XMp3’s ability to record five XM Radio stations at once. It never occurred to us that anyone would want to do this, but now that we can, how can we not? The XMp3 is smaller and looks a lot slicker than XM’s last player, the Inno. Plus, with an SD card slot for transferring mp3 files, it looks like the XMp3 is shaping up as an interesting contender.

In a market that seems flooded with media players trying to take a slice out of Apple’s share of the pie, at least the XMp3 is offering something different. Unfortunately, we doubt anyone but the most avid XM listeners will be thrilled about the five-broadcast simultaneous recording. Radio in general is still a niche audience and the XMp3 would have to be one heck of a media player to tempt new XM subscribers.

Meanwhile, we’re trying to pick out our four favorite decades to record while we’re listening to the next Red Sox game.

[Via Engadget]