MP3 Player
May 26, 2005 As convergence rampages onward, the area of audio content and how we will consume it in the future has been one with no obvious outcomes. While podcasting has been a major trend of recent times, liberating content from the desktop en masse, live internet radio is only just beginning to become unwired and the jury is still out as to what devices we’ll use to listen to streamed audio content. One possibility is the Infusion, a compact portable Internet radio that connects to the Internet via WiFi without the need for a PC. It has a range of features including Internet radio, a timer recording, MP3 player, FM radio receiver, news / sport / weather ticker-tape banner, and more. Around the same size as a credit card (58mm x 71mm x 16mm), the Infusion will reach market in time for the 2005 Christmas season priced “between medium capacity flash-memory MP3 players and high capacity MP3 players with built-in hard drives." Read More
The ButterFly2 MP3 Player - integrated MP3 player and headphones
February 18, 2005 We really like this idea. Japanese company Thanko has integrated the MP3 player with a set of lightweight headphones to produce the ButterFly2 MP3 player. Ideal for gym, rowing, cycling and other activities where you just don't want wires getting in the way or the fear that your expensive Bluetooth headset might get smashed, damaged, lost of go for an inadvertent swim. Read More
Apple Introduces iPod shuffle - the first iPod Under US$100
MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO, January 11, 2005 Apple today introduced iPod shuffle, a digital music player based on iPod's shuffle feature which lets users experience their music in a million different ways. Smaller and lighter than a pack of chewing gum, iPod shuffle comes with its own lanyard so it's ready to wear right out of the box. iPod shuffle works seamlessly with iTunes' innovative AutoFill feature which automatically selects songs from a user's music library to fill up iPod shuffle with just one click. iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever and is available in two models: 512MB holding up to 120 songs for just US$99 and 1GB holding up to 240 songs for just US$149. Read More
January 5, 2005 Iriver's N10 hangs around your neck like a piece of jewellery and looks the part. The necklace also functions as a set of earplugs, and the N10 is an MP3 player with 512 MB of recording space. It is also a voice recorder and can be activated to record almost instantly. This makes taking lecture notes a breeze as the file can then be downloaded to your computer in Mp3 format, annotated and even transcribed. It also opens up the possibility of routinely recording verbal briefings, business meetings and instructions. Read More
UPDATED November 12, 2004 Oakley has announced the introduction of 'digital audio eyewear' - aka MP3 sunglasses. Named "Thump", the new sunglasses have the audio circuitry built seamlessly into the glasses frame. Oakley's digital music player mounts the speakers to the eyewear frame with miniature extendible booms, enhanced with pivots. They allow the wearer to adjust speaker position for optimal ear placement and to reposition the speakers away from the ears whenever necessary. Read More
November 2, 2004 A waterproof SwiMP3 player that uses bond conduction technology has been released for swimmers, triathletes, surfers and anyone who wants to listen to music whilst in the water. Unlike other waterproof players that rely on traditional air conduction technologies, often producing a muffled sound, the SwiMP3 player uses bone conduction (the direct transfer of sound vibrations from the cheek bone to the inner ear) to provide the swimmer with exceptional sound clarity. Bone conduction hearing is a safe, well-established hearing mechanism in humans that the SwiMP3 player leverages to enhance aquatic activity. Read More
October 29, 2004 Apple today introduced iPod Photo and iPod U2 Special Edition, the latter based on a partnership between Apple, pop-group U2 and music publisher Universal Music Group. The iPod Photo is sure to be the most popular MP3 player again this Christmas, and the new capabilities include the ability to display your digital images. Although not video capable, the 220 x 176 pixel, 65,000 colour screen and extended (15 hours) battery life are the major improvements. Read More
October 29, 2004 The publicity advantages of being the first MP3 player to reach the 100GB mark has pushed MP3 storage to breakthrough levels with the world's first 100 GB MP3 player announced recently from Digital Mind Corp. The DMC Xclef 500 can store up to 3,500 hours of music (based on Windows Media format at 64kb/s) - that's a whopping 145 days of recorded music or a whole summer of portable jukebox entertainment! Its internal battery provides over 20 of hours of play on a single charge and can be recharged 500 times to 100% capability. Its USB 2.0 interface also allows for data transfers of any kind at lightning-fast speeds. It is both PC and Mac compatible, and needs no software of any kind - just plug it in to your computer and it shows up as a regular hard drive. The DMC Xclef comes in five models, a base with no drive (US $149), 40GB (US $249), 60 GB (US $299), 80 GB (US $349) and 100 GB (US $449). Specs on the company website suggest the current design may extend to a further record of 132 GB in the near future. Read More
Music has been land-locked too long so we can all be thankful of today's announcement in the US by iRiver that it will launch, in conjunction with H2O Audio, the H2O Audio SV i700, a fully waterproof MP3 player accessory. The H2O Audio SV i700 is designed specifically for iRiver iFP-700 series flash-memory music players. Read More
June 3, 2004 This two-piece MP3 player is small enough to fit on a key ring and can store one hour of music as well as doubling as a storage device... Read More
