MP3

Water Resistant Aquadock MP3 Dock AM/FM Radio

By Mike Hanlon

July 16, 2006 This is one of the most cost effective iPod accessorioes we’ve ever seen, and it’ll look after your iPod at the beach or the pool or anywhere outdoors where your pride and joy might get wet, sandy, dirty, dusty or damaged. It’ll service any MP3 player and comes with an AM/FM radio built-in as well as the stereo speakers - the Aquadock MP3 docking station is water resistant and costs just US$29.95. Read More

MPEG Surround: quality multi-channel audio with backwards MP3 compatibility

By Mike Hanlon

May 19, 2006 We’re bullish about the prospects for MPEG Surround and see it as inevitable it will be adopted by the mass market. MP3 Surround enables high-quality surround sound at bit rates comparable to those currently used to encode stereo MP3 material. It is backwards compatible to stereo MP3; a legacy MP3 device plays back MP3 Surround as high quality stereo. Most importantly, it comprises a full set of tools enabling the representation, reproduction and rendering of multi-channel audio for a broad spectrum of applications, from digital broadcasting, to mobile entertainment, to Internet music distribution. It brings true surround sound to any media system at next to no overhead in transportation and storage, and preserves consumers' investment as existing home stereo equipment can stay in use. The Fraunhoffer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS invented the MP3 and is working with Agere Systems, Coding Technologies and Philips, to demonstrate the full potential of the new Surround Sound system at AES (Audio Engineering Society) Pro Audio Expo which begins in Paris tomorrow. Wanna try for yourself? Go here to download a free evaluation version of the Fraunhofer IIS MP3 Surround player. Read More

H2O Audio Waterproof Housing for Apple iPod nano (and any other MP3 player)

By Mike Hanlon

May 3, 2006 We’ve mentioned this capability before but we’re still so tickled about it, the shipping release of H2O Audio iPod nano waterproof housing gave us the ideal excuse. Anyone who swims knows the solitude of the water and the semi meditative state that can be achieved. There are those among us though, who crave the rhythm offered by music and this ingenious waterproof housing/headset combo enables one to listen to most mp3 players underwater. The H2O housing also offers safe sanctuary to your MP3 player during adventure sport activities such as surfing, wakeboarding, water skiing, snowboarding and probably anything else you can think of other than perhaps diving and the diminutive iPod nano design ensures users it can be strapped on and simply won’t get in the way. With the nano housing, absolute waterproof protection is not at the expense of access to Apple’s interface – the casing has a unique full-function Commander scroll-wheel assembly that provides users with ready access to all of the iPod nano's proprietary click wheel functions even when fully submerged in water. will be able to take their playlist with them regardless of outdoor conditions or recreational environment. Excellent action piccies with the housing being tested to the extreme!! Read More

The world’s cheapest MP3 player

By Mike Hanlon

April 15, 2006 If you’re in any doubt about how ubiquitous the MP3 player will become, think about this. Japanese company Evergreen has released the DN-2000 onto the Japanese market. The DN-2000 has no internal memory and no display, but takes SD cards up to 1GB and like most MP3 players, doesn’t need a display because the standard interface of buttons is entirely adequate. We’re not going to put the price in the heading or first paragraph so you can decide for yourself just how cheap it might be possible to sell such an MP3 player for … with earphones, after design, manufacture and marketing. Read More

The MP3 sports shoe to grow into full body network

By Mike Hanlon

April 10, 2006 “Like many great ideas, this one grew out of my frustration with existing products on the market,” says LL International’s President and CEO Lavetta Willis. “I love to work out to music but also wanted to be hands free and wireless. When hiking or running, I want to reach for a water or cell phone without the complications of an mp3 player strapped to my body, never mind the wires always getting in the way.” The initial application under the Code M System product umbrella is a shoe that delivers music to a wireless headset. The delivery system consists of two key components seamlessly built into Dada shoes, offering easy access to your music with no wires and no digital music device to carry on your person. Willis adds, “Hands free working out! Hands free living!” Read More

The World's Most Expensive MP3 Player - US$20,000

By Mike Hanlon

April 5, 2006 German audio and storage company TrekStor, has received an order from Russian-Canadian billionaire and owner of the Midland Formula 1 team, Alex Shnaider, to develop the world's most expensive MP3 player. This luxurious piece of jewelry, valued at approx. US$20,000, is cast in 750 gold and adorned with numerous diamonds and a valuable chain. The idea to develop the world's most expensive MP3 player came to Shnaider while negotiating a sponsorship deal with TrekStor CEO, Daniel Szmigiel. Shnaider was so fascinated by the i.Beat organix – a handy, 40g player with full-bodied sound and winner of eleven accolades – that he placed a special order for the unique, custom-made device on the spot. Read More

The mobile phone quickly becoming the MP3 player

By Mike Hanlon

March 10, 2006 Desire for mobile music is growing at a considerable rate with new products such as mobile music phones, iPod and other music players driving consumer demand. One third of the 945 million phones expected to be sold worldwide in 2006 will have digital music playback functionality. By 2008, it is estimated this will rise to almost 70% of the billion phones sold globally. With this in mind, Jabra used the CeBIT opening to announce the launch six new products for music lovers, giving consumers a comprehensive range of products for use with the mobile phone, MP3 players and the PC. The products launched at CeBIT include the Jabra BT325s Bluetooth headset with stereo headphones, Jabra C820s high-performance noise cancelling stereo headphones and two music adaptors including the Jabra A125s iPod Bluetooth adaptor and the Jabra A120s Bluetooth adaptor for standard music players. In addition, the recently announced Jabra BT620s Bluetooth stereo headset and the Jabra A320s Bluetooth stereo USB adaptor are also part of the new Jabra music line up. Read More

Swiss Army Knife gets a built-in MP3 player

By Mike Hanlon

February 7, 2006 The Swiss Army Knife has been one of the most sought-after gadgets by technophiles for 115 years, and it’s pleasing to see that Victorinox is still updating and innovating. Not long ago it added USB memory to one of the variants and has now gone one step further. The new s.beat digital audio player is an all-in-one 4GB digital audio player and USB storage device incorporated into a full-metal Swiss Army Knife. Built with the same level of precision the Swiss are renowned for, the knife and MP3 comes with a lifetime warranty. Now go try to peel an apple with your MP3 player! Read More

EDIROL R-09 WAVE/MP3 stereo recorder

By Mike Hanlon

January 30, 2006 With podcasting emerging onto the media landscape with so much promise of recent times, new tools for the phenomenon are emerging at a rapid rate. Software tools such as PhoneValet Podcast have simplified the process and now professional hand-held audio recording has a new poster child too – the EDIROL R-09. The unit is absolutely tailor-made for creating podcast fodder, not to mention enabling broadcasters and journalists to trash their antiquated cassette recorders and the ability to record live music events, recitals, rehearsals, samples out of the studio … it’s one of those devices that enables new methodologies by being freely available and afforable. The ultra-small recorder has a built-in, high-quality, stereo microphone, time-stamp capability, and captures sound at a crystal-clean uncompressed 24-bit resolution with your choice of 44.1 or 48kHz sample rates. It’ll also record and play back in MP3 format (up to 320kbps) and can be monitored through headphones or exported to a computer via USB. Expect the R-09 in Q2 for around US400-$450. Read More

FlashPoint M3 SharePlayer a new generation in MP3 Players/Flash Drives

By Mike Hanlon

December 16, 2005 Given the culture of digital sharing which has evolved in a short period of time, we think the capabilities of the FlashPoint MP3 SharePlayer are significant and will certainly gain it a devoted following. The SharePlayer empowers the user with the ability to copy MP3 files, data files and folders from one MP3 Player to another by simply plugging the male USB connector into the female USB on the SharePlayer. With the MP3 SharePlayer users have the capability to upload and download files while mobile and away from laptop or desktop computers, but they also have the ability to share media whenever friends meet in person. Read More

Personal amplifier delivers amplified, 3-D surround sound from MP3 players

By Mike Hanlon

October 6, 2005 One of the problems with most MP3 players is the lack of volume and lack of power to enable high quality headphones to be used, preventing the players from being used in many circumstances where there is high ambient noise. This new pocket-sized audio amplifier and two-way splitter called the Boostaroo Revolution overcomes the low volume and flat sound problems as it has the power to drive two sets of high-end headphones (greater than 60 ohm impedance for best results) or mini-speakers, quadruples their volume, and images high-definition 3-channel surround sound. Read More

Toshiba Methanol Fuel Cell MP3 player

By Mike Hanlon

September 18, 2005 Toshiba’s rapidly developing expertise in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology has been regularly reported in Gizmag over the last year or two, - when the portable power revolution begins, and batteries begin to give way to miniature fuel cells, Toshiba will be one of the significant global contenders. This week the Japanese giant announced that it has developed two prototype direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) units and begun tests to validate their operation with mobile audio players. Each unit integrates the DMFC that Toshiba announced in June 2004 (the world's smallest), bringing its practical use a major step closer. Read More

SIRIUS Wearable Satellite Radio with MP3 announced

By Mike Hanlon

August 25, 2005 SIRIUS Satellite Radio has announced the debut of its first wearable satellite radio, the SIRIUS S50, which allows users to capture and store up to 50 hours of SIRIUS content, or a mix of SIRIUS programming and MP3/WMA files, enabling listening on the go. The SIRIUS S50 measures a diminutive 48 x 99 x 12 mm (1.9 x 3.9 x 0.7 inches), and includes a full colour display, sleek black exterior and voice-assisted channel navigation. When attached to a home dock, car dock or executive docking station, the SIRIUS S50 provides easy access to live content, and captures and stores both scheduled and unscheduled SIRIUS programming. This feature allows users to listen to SIRIUS' unique programming anywhere.The SIRIUS S50 is scheduled to be available at retail in October for a suggested retail price of US$359.99. Read More

The Boston Audissey: The MP3/iPod Walking Tour of Boston

By Mike Hanlon

August 21, 2005 The MP3 player began its surge of global popularity based on its ability to play high quality music in a portable form factor and we estimate 20 million MP3 players will be sold globally in 2005. Interestingly, the rise of the MP3 player has also caused the birth of podcasting and now we’re seeing peripheral and associated markets dependent on the MP3 player begin to emerge – such as downloadable personal trainers and now downloadable audio tours. Last week Audissey Guides announced the release of The Boston Audissey, an MP3/iPod compatible walking tour through one of America's most legendary cities. Combining a downloadable and printable on-line map, the tour combines haunting sound effects and musical scores with fourteen different Bostonians narrating the tour through 27 sites with vivid accounts of historical events that happened at each spot. No doubt there'll be more interesting uses of the MP3 player but we like this idea and the implementation. Read More

Creative's Magnesium 30GB Zen Vision MP3 Player with 3.7 inch Hi-Res Colour Screen

By Mike Hanlon

August 5, 2005 Another MP3 player? Well yes, but the Zen Vision has a magnesium casing and comes with a 3.7-inch SharpPix high-resolution 640x480 262,144-colour screen for photo viewing and digital video playback. Featuring a transflective screen that provides excellent image and video quality even in bright sunlit conditions, the 30GB Zen Vision is "the business", at least for the next week or two. Available in either pearl white or black, the diminutive Zen Vision measures 4.9 by 2.9 by .8 inches and weighs 8.4 ounces and will cost US$399.99 which makes it good value compared with an iPod, heh! Read More

New York Public Library begins lending MP3 Audio Books over the internet

By Mike Hanlon

June15, 2005 The New York Public Library has launched a digital audio book collection allowing cardholders to download audiobooks from the Internet, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, further progressing the public’s embrace of portable audio and the convergence of media. The 700 title collection includes fiction, narrative nonfiction, business, biography, self-help, and language instruction which library members can play on portable devices, CD players, or via their PCs and laptops. Check-out is much faster than with real books and does not need a visit to the library after sign-up. NYPL cardholders simply enter in their existing card number and a 4-digit PIN. Up to ten digital audio books, or a combined total of ten e-books and digital audio books, may be on loan at one time. After 21 days, the materials are automatically checked in and made available for other users. And if the requested title isn't immediately available, users can place a hold on it and will receive email notification when it becomes available. Read More

Hard disk versus Flash MP3 players

By Mike Hanlon

June 10, 2005 The global love affair with the portable digital music (aka MP3) player continues to flourish with more players, larger capacities and cheaper prices, all the while fueled by more of the population exploring digital music and podcasts, and encouraging and showing their friends to try them. If you’ve noticed a proliferation of smaller, cheaper flash memory-based MP3 player siblings of larger Hard Disk Drive (HDD) MP3 players (usually with a mini or junior added to the name), it’s because flash memory has in recent times got MUCH cheaper. But while HDD MP3 players are now approaching 100GB, it’s the flash players that are emerging as the stronger growth segment. Read More

MP3 watch from Mercedes Benz

By Mike Hanlon

June 1, 2005 Merchants of people mobility (also known as auto manufacturers) have been a little slow getting their brain cells wrapped around where the MP3 fits into the grand scheme of selling automobiles. The unanimous first step appears to be offering an iPod integration/interface kit, as VW, GM, Volvo, BMW, Mini and Mercedes have all done and we expect more to follow. Curiously, Mercedes Benz has just released a wristwatch incorporating an MP3 player, voice recorder and 512Mb of flash memory capacity, becoming the second auto manufacturer to have such a watch. Read More

Infusion WiFi Internet Radio, FM Radio and MP3 Player

By Mike Hanlon

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

By Mike Hanlon

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

MP3 player AND voice recorder could develop a new market

By Mike Hanlon

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

Multi-channel MP3 Surround sound launched

By Gizmag Team

December 14, 2004 MP3, the world's most popular audio compression format is about to go multi-channel. Scientists and engineers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, who developed MP3 together with colleagues from Thomson and Agere Systems, have joined to launch MP3 Surround into the consumer and commercial markets. This technology will enable 5.1 channel surround sound for a broad spectrum of applications including web-based music distribution, broadcasting systems, PC-related audiovisual or gaming applications, consumer electronics and automotive systems. Read More

Excentrique MP3 music necklace

By Gizmag Team

November 5, 2004 Jens of Sweden has released the ultimate music jewellery with Excentrique - a 24 carat gold MP3 player that is worn around the neck and can store up to 300 tunes.

"We live in an age when jewellery increasingly has more than one function. Jens of Sweden is not an electronic product to keep in your pocket, it is an accessory to adorn your neck, and this is the most exclusive music jewellery in the world today," says Jens Nylander, founder and CEO of Jens of Sweden.

The thumb-sized MP-400 Excentrique has a high-gloss, black polycarbonate front with sides and back in gold. When switched on, the backlit button at the front means that you can see the player in the dark. Excentrique weighs 34 grams including the battery, which gives a play time of 20 hours. It is the market’s smallest player with an OLED screen. Read More

Waterproof MP3 Player uses Bone Conduction Tech

By Gizmag Team

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

World's first 100 GIGABYTE MP3 player

By Gizmag Team

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