Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Microsoft Zune HD Portable Media Player to be Released This Fall

The design of Microsoft's first Zune player was a bit chunky and cluncky, so it's great to see that the new Zune HD PMP will have a slim, modern look to go the next round against Apple's sleek i-devices. When it's released in Fall 2009, the new Zune HD will boast a Premium Zune digital entertainment service that will be available internationally on Xbox LIVE to its 17 million Xbox LIVE subscribers. The Zune HD is also the first portable media player to combine a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output, a 480×272 resolution OLED multitouch 16:9 widescreen display, Wi-Fi and an Internet browser.

Gizmodo has a hands-on video demo of the Zune HD, which looks very promising.

Creative ZEN Mozaic EZ300 Portable Media Player

Remember the first Zen Mosaic player from Creative Technology? Didn't think so. Maybe this new Creative ZEN Mozaic EZ300 portable media player for music, photos and video will get your attention. Announced in Asia, the plug-and-play ZEN Mozaic EZ300 PMP connects to a PC for easy drag and drop of songs, and it's bundled with Creative Centrale software to help manage music, photos and video between your PC and the player, or store files and documents.

It's available in 4GB or 8GB capacity, and features a 1.8" TFT full color display, a built-in speaker, integrated FM Radio, voice recorder and alarm clock. You can also view calendar, contacts and time on the Creative ZEN Mozaic EZ300. Customers in Singapore will see it first in June for S$109.00 for the 4GB model and S$139.00 for the 8GB model. Creative's US site lists the 4GB player for $59 and the 8GB version for $79.99.

Napster MP3 Digital Music Service Now offers MP3 Downloads and On Demand Music Streaming

Napster has updated pricing for its digital music service, now offering a combination of MP3 downloads and high-quality music streaming for $5 per month. It works like this, Napster users get five unrestricted MP3 downloads, along with unlimited access to Napster’s on-demand music streaming service with more than seven million tracks available. This is a deal worth looking into, so pass it on.

Napster users can now:

• Get five MP3s each month to download, with their choice of songs from the Napster MP3 library that covers all types of music from all the major labels and includes the largest catalog of independent artists available.
• Purchase additional MP3s at any time from 69 cents to $1.29.
• Listen to any track, as often as they like, in CD quality from Napster’s catalog of more than seven million songs.
• Choose from more than 60 commercial-free radio stations and more than 1,400 expertly programmed playlists.
• Discover new music and artists through personalized recommendation tools.
• Enjoy the top hits from more than 50 years of Billboard charts. Want to know what was popular when you graduated high school? Now you can.
• Play MP3s on any MP3 player, including iPod®, iPhone® and music-enabled MP3 mobile phones.

Related Napster news:

FREE Music from Napster

Napster MP3 Player - Plus

Napster MP3 Music Download Store Now Has 6 Million DRM-free MP3 Tracks for Sale

Sony X Series Walkman Player with 3-inch OLED Touch Screen

Who hasn't looked forward to Sony's slick X series Walkman player release since the device was announced in January?  Sporting a 3-inch Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) touch screen, the top of the line Sony X-series Walkman Video and MP3 player is wi-fi enabled, and it features Sony's Digital Clear Audio Technologies, integrated digital noise canceling technology, FM tuner, and embedded content from Slacker Radio and YouTube.

The ultra-sharp OLED touch screen has a 180-degree viewing angle, so friends can gather around and watch your videos and photos clearly. The player utilizes its touch panel and hard keys for navigating volume, play/pause, rewind/fast forward, with a very cool scene scroll feature also making for a nice way to navigate with a swipe of your finger as well. The X-series Walkman plays protected Windows Media Video (WMV) files, and supports AVC Baseline (H.264) and MPEG-4 video codecs, and it comes with Content Transfer software that lets you easily drag and drop non-DRM music, videos, podcasts and playlists from iTunes to the Walkman X player. Battery life is said to provide about 33 hours of music playback and up to 9 hours of video playback.

The X-series Walkman video and MP3 player is available now for pre-order, with the NWZ-X1051 - 16GB model going for $299, and the 32GB - NWZ-X1061 model priced at $399. Sony Style and other retail stores will have them by mid-June.

New 4GB Apple iPod shuffle Music Player Talks to You with VoiceOver

Apple has made the new iPod shuffle player even smaller, with the tiny new 4GB iPod shuffle showing up at about half of the size of the previous model. Also, the new shuffle music player has a feature called VoiceOver, which enables the device talk to you, or speak your song titles, artists and playlist names. Watch the demo video below to see exactly how this works.

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 5330 XpressMusic and Nokia 5030 Mobile Music Phones

Nokia announced the new Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 5330 XpressMusic and Nokia 5030 music phones that will go nicely with the Nokia Music Store where you can take advantage of Nokia's Comes With Music service which is offering unlimited music downloads for a year or 18 months. Apparently, during that period you can choose from millions of tracks to download and keep them forever. That's reason enough to take a closer look at these new Nokia mobile music phones.

Currently available in 15 markets across three continents, the Nokia Music Store lets people browse or purchase music, get recommendations or search for their favorite artists, songs or albums directly from their device. Nokia Music for PC software makes it easy to organise and transfer the music between a PC and compatible device, rip and burn CDs, as well as discover, stream and download directly from the Nokia Music Store. Today, Mexico was the latest country to launch a Nokia Music Store with additional markets such as Portugal, Norway and South Africa joining the fold in the coming months.

 

Samsung BEATDJ and Samsung BEATDISC Phones

Samsung Electronics has redesigned its original music BEAT phone, adding two new ones, the Samsung BEATDJ and Samsung BEATDISC. Both BEAT models feature a touch screen and Samsung's intuitive DISC UI, which is focused on mobile music functions. Bang & Olufsen audio technology is built-in for the best sound quality, and the phones incorporate an advanced music application for finding, purchasing and recommending music.

Sony X and W Series Walkmans

Sony's new WALKMAN X Series portable media player is looking good with its 3-inch widescreen OLED touchscreen. You can view videos and digital photos, and control music player buttons with the touchscreen's new Scene Scroll function, and use the on-board Wi-Fi connectivity to stream YouTube videos, download podcasts, and browse the Web. The player includes Sony's Clear Audio technologies, S-master Digital Amplifier technology, and Digital Noise Cancelling functions for the best audio quality.

WALKMAN X Series Video MP3 Player features:

- Super clear 3-inch OLED wide touchscreen

- Best-ever WALKMAN sound quality with S-Master Digital Amplifier and Clear Audio technologies

- World's first MP3/video player with Digital Noise Cancelling for the most effective noise reduction

- Open support for all popular music and video formats

- Hybrid controls (touchscreen plus buttons) for simple operation

- Wi-Fi connectivity for easy YouTube™ streaming, podcast direct downloading and internet browsing WALKMAN W Series MP3 Player

- Headphone-style WALKMAN keeps you free from cables

- Superior sound quality with 13.5mm EX headphones

- New function ZAPPIN™ for easy searching of and listening to songs

- Compact and lightweight means its comfortable to wear

- Sony's unique spiral form headphones for comfortable fit

Sansa slotRadio Player and Music Cards from SanDisk

After introducing the Sansa slotMusic Player and slotMusic Cards to the world in October, SanDisk has now announced the new Sansa slotRadio Player and the release of more music cards, including Albums from 40 top artists. The Sansa slotRadio player is described as "a portable music device that comes bundled with a slotRadio card that is preloaded with 1,000 songs handpicked from the Billboard charts, and professionally arranged into a variety of genre-themed playlists." 

8GB Sansa Clip MP3 Player From SanDisk

SanDisk's tiny Sansa Clip mp3 player just got better, and is now available in an 8GB version that can store up to 4,000 songs. The black 8GB Sansa Clip, shipping this week for $99.99, is a perfect little clip-on device for listening to MP3s, WMA, WAV, FM Radio, and Audible audio books on the go. It runs for 15 hours on its rechargeable battery, has a decent OLED color screen, and it supports music download and subscription services like Rhapsody To Go, Napster, eMusic and others. The 8GB Sansa Clip also includes a built-in microphone for voice recording. 

slotMusic Cards Now Available with Albums from 40 Top Artists

SanDisk Corporation has announced the line-up of albums and artists to be released on slotMusic cards, or microSD cards with pre-loaded DRM-free MP3 music. New releases from artists Coldplay, Katy Perry, Leona Lewis, Rihanna and Robin Thicke, as well as catalog titles from Elvis, Abba and others are set to hit shelves of Best Buy and Wal-Mart in the U.S. for $14.99. The slotMusic albums / microSD cards can be played on microSD slot-enabled mobile phones, portable media players, computers, or you can grab the new Sansa slotMusic Player for $19.99. 

Sansa slotMusic Player Launched by SanDisk

SanDisk has introduced its new Sansa slotMusic Player just in time to ship with a new selection of slotMusic cards by top artists. The MP3 player breaks new ground as a plug & play portable music player designed specially for the new slotMusic cards. Personalized, branded slotMusic players are also available with images of artists like Robin Thicke and ABBA covering the players. The slotMusic Player costs just $19.99, and the branded player comes pre-loaded with a DRM-free MP3 album on a 1GB slotMusic card for $34.99.  The MP3 player can also play songs from any microSD card with music encoded as MP3 and WMA DRM-free files.

ZEN Mozaic PMP Introduced by Creative

The ZEN Mozaic portable media player by Creative brings a new look to the Creative Zen family of PMPs. Sure, you'll be able to enjoy music, photos and video on-the-go with the Zen Mozaic player, but you'll also have a uniquely designed device (love it, or hate it) inspired by the artistic expressions of mosaic art, and wrapped in vivid pink, chic black or cool silver color choices. Creative ZEN Mozaic features include a 1.8-inch LCD, FM radio and voice recorder, and built-in speaker.

Napster MP3 Music Download Store Now Has 6 Million DRM-free MP3 Tracks for Sale

MP3 music download store Napster is claiming the title of "world’s largest and most comprehensive MP3 store" with 6 Million DRM-free MP3 tracks for sale. Since these are DRM-free MP3s, they are compatible with most any MP3 player or music phone. Songs are priced at 99 cents for single MP3 tracks and $9.95 for most MP3 albums, with most tracks available in high-quality 256kbps bitrate, and downloaded with high-resolution album art.

Monthly  unlimited Napster music subscriptions start at $12.95 a month.

SanDisk Sansa Fuze Player Officially Announced

Yesterday we had a sneak peek at the Sansa Fuze and today SanDisk made it official, announcing 2, 4 and 8 gigabyte Sansa Fuze players. Better than your average MP3 player, the multi-faceted Sansa Fuze is a sweet little digital music and video player that also includes an FM radio, voice recorder, and microSD card slot.  The device supports MP3, WAV, Audible, Windows Media Audio, JPEG photos, and MPEG-4 video which you can watch on a bright 1.9” color screen in landscape mode.

The Sansa Fuze players will hit stores in the U.S. in pink, red, blue, black and silver colors with prices starting at $79.99 for the 2GB (black), $99.99 for the 4GB (black, red, pink or blue), and $129.99 for the 8GB (silver) Sansa Fuze.