Maximum PC MP3 Player RSS Feed

Sony Reveals Walkman A-Series

Jason Barry — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:43:10 -0500

Sony announced their latest in the Walkman line of players, the NW-A840 series. The new Walkman comes in at 7.2mm, a touch thicker than the latest iPod Nano (6.2mm). However, it also sports capacities up to 64GB. You are going to pay for it though. The 64GB A-series Walkman (NW-A847) will set you back almost $450.

What does that hefty price tag get you? A 2.8in OLED display (no touch screen) with TV-Out capability, FM radio, digital noise cancelling and premium MDR-EX300SL ear buds in the box. The device also boasts on-screen lyric display. Further, it offers a smattering of popular format compatibilities as well as battery life lasting for 29 hours of music (at 128kbps) and 9 hours of video (at 384kbps).

It could be a tough sell in the US, especially where iPods dominate the portable-player market. The new line is due to be available on October 31st. Do you think it has enough appeal to edge out some iPod Nano market share?

How-To: Install RockBox on your MP3 player

Alex Castle — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:51:18 -0500

For most people, an MP3 player serves a pretty narrow purpose: it plays music, maybe a video here or there if you’ve got a newer model, and might have a handful of applications. All in all, though, MP3 players are rarely treated as anything more than tiny, portable jukeboxes, which is a shame, because as gadgets they’ve got the potential for so much more. That’s why, in this article, we’re going to show you how to install custom Rockbox firmware and breathe new life into your trusty old MP3 player.

Rockbox is an open source replacement firmware for MP3 players. It supports a wide range of MP3 players, including many (but not all) players from Apple, Archos, Cowon, iriver, Olympus, SanDisk and Toshiba. Before reading any further, check out the chart at the top of the Rockbox homepage to see whether your specific model is supported or not. If it’s not, you are sadly out of luck, for the time being.

Why Rockbox?

The big question on your mind is probably “why should I install Rockbox on my iPod? The standard interface works pretty well.” Well, aside from the simple nerd cred associated with “hacking” something you own, RockBox affords you with a whole bevy of additional features, including the following:

Customizable User Interface

RockBox lets you pick from a big list of user-created themes for the various supported MP3 players. These changes are both cosmetic, with custom fonts and backgrounds, as well as functional, including the ability to select the contents and layout of the “now playing” screen. You could, for instance, decide that you want an omni-informative display setup, with meters for volume, battery life, a “next track” display and everything else under the sun, or you might want simple display, with nothing but the artist and track name.

Additional Functionality

Rockbox allows you to expand the functionality of your MP3 player in several core ways. For instance, with Rockbox firmware, an old iPod photo (the one before the iPod video) is actually capable of playing .mpeg video files. Many players can play music and video in more formats and containers than are supported by default, such as FLAC and Matroska. Additionally, Rockbox can add voice to menus, and supports voice recognition, to make it easier for people with impaired vision to use MP3 players.

Apps, Apps, Apps

Like the game consoles we’ve already discussed, most MP3 players don’t allow you to run any homebrew code, confining you to apps which they’ve approved (and, in some cases, which you’ve paid for.) With Rockbox, you get access to an enormous catalog of apps, written mostly by hobbyists, which you can load onto your player for added functionality or just to have some fun. The standard Rockbox install includes a bunch of apps and games, including classics like minesweeper, Sudoku and Doom.

Doom

Did we mention that you can play Doom? On a funky, old school iPod? Sure, trying to play Doom on a greyscale iPod screen is enough to make your eyes commit ritual seppuku, but the novelty factor alone is sure to keep you blasting demons with a click wheel for a few minutes at least. Also: remember that nerd cred thing? This is how you get it.

I’m sold. How do I install it?

First, you’ll need to go to the Rockbox website and download the Rockbox Utility, which includes an automatic installer tool which works with any of the supported MP3 players.

Simply run the utility, and it will automatically detect that this is the first time it’s been run and will ask if you want to install Rockbox on a new device. Plug your device into your computer, then select whichever drive letter has been assigned to it, and specify what model it is. Click OK.

The Rockbox utility will now allow you to customize your Rockbox installation. Generally, clicking Complete Installation is advisable, as it will also install the full set of extra plugins to allow you to get the most out of your hacked MP3 player.

Sit tight for a bit while the installation completes, then select whichever theme you want installed on your MP3 player.

And that’s pretty much it; you’ve now got a hacked MP3 player. You can change your theme whenever you feel like it, using the RockBox utility, and you can read the official documentation for your player to find out how you can customize your player using the extensive options menu.

Light from MP3 Player Helps Rescuers Locate Lost Tourists

Paul Lilly — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:55:22 -0600

Didn't get that iPod, Zune, or other portable music player you had written down on your holiday wish list? Perhaps you need to work on your pitch. When making your plea to your parents, significant other, or whoever it is you're hoping will buy you an MP3 player next year, be sure to let them know it could be a matter of life and death. Let us explain.

Things were looking pretty grim for a skier and a snowboarder, both from France, who managed to get lost late Friday near the resort of Savognin in southeast Switzerland. Being lost in the cold and and snowy Swiss mountains is reason enough for panic, and though the two were able to call for help on a cell phone, the battery died soon after, leaving the two tourists in a chilly predicament. Lucky for them, their MP3 player gave their location away.

"The two winter sports enthusiasts were found by the crew of the Rega helicopter shortly after midnight -- thanks to the faint light of their MP3 player," said Gery Baumann, spokesman for mountain rescue service Rega.

Reuters reports the two men escaped with only mild hypothermia.

Image Credit: Flickr blacklord

Obama Briefly Rescues Zune from Oblivion

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:37:39 -0600

Microsoft’s Zune is seldom in the news, for its much feted rival, the Apple iPod, hogs all the limelight. Now, Philadelphia City Paper’s Neal Santos has revealed that he spotted soon-to-be-President Barack Obama with a Microsoft Zune in a gym. Although Santos was too mesmerized to talk to Obama, he did notice the President-elect hop onto the “machine next to me and broke a mean sweat while reading a copy of USA Today and listening to his Zune.”

He later claimed in a subsequent blog that he knows exactly what a Zune looks like and that he was sure to have spotted Obama with one. However, he isn’t sure whether it was his personal Zune. The blogosphere allows scribes to freely dump such harmless stories, though of no real import, on their blogs.

Don't Expect a Dell MP3 Player This Holiday Season

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:00:32 -0600

Dell has decided to pass on releasing their MP3 player this holiday season. With no real reason cited for the delay, it looks like Apple can sit back and let their iPod dominate the sales charts once again.

While the release of the MP3 player has been put on pause, their work on the planned entertainment software, Zing, has continued and is expected to release sometime this fall. Zing is purported to organize downloaded music and movies on PCs.

With any luck, this will give Dell more time to finely tune their product. Jumping into an Apple dominated market isn’t something that… anyone has succeeded at. But with 2003’s DJ Ditty failure behind them, perhaps Dell has learned their lesson.

Image Credit: Dell

SanDisk Announces the Perfect MP3 Player for Ongoing Economic Lean Patch

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:20:27 -0500

About a month after SanDisk announced its SlotMusic MicroSD memory cards with preloaded MP3 music, the flash memory manufacturer has extended its nascent SlotMusic brand to MP3 players as well. The newly announced SlotMusic MP3 player can play music stored on a MicroSD card.

You will have to part with a paltry sum of $20 to own the SlotMusic player. Price alone won’t decide the fate of the SlotMusic player, though. It will hinge, eventually, on the success or failure of SlotMusic cards. The MP3 player comes with batteries and earphones.

Image Credit: TMCNET

Microsoft Talks about the New Zune and the Possibility of a Phone Version

Justin Kerr — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:22:38 -0500

The Zune, just like every other Microsoft product is a very functional and feature rich device. Unfortunately, it simply lacks the cool factor that seems to come bundled with every iPod ever shipped. Despite the intense struggles it has faced however, it seems pretty clear at this point that Microsoft is ready to stay the course and is content to scrap it out for the number two position. At least, this is the impression Joe Belfiore gave CNET News in a tell all interview on the future of the Zune. In the interview Belfiore recants his dream of a future where media flows seamlessly from Zune to Xbox or even a Mediaroom IPTV. On the subject of a Zune phone, Belifore didn’t have much to say other “stay tuned”. It’s hard to read much into that, but clearly it’s a lucrative market that could really help push the brand forward if executed properly. For those who haven’t been following the lineup, Microsoft just recently released new Zune hardware. They include a 120 GB hard drive based player to compete with the iPod classic, and an 8 GB flash drive based device to take on the iPod Nano. Both have been priced aggressively to compete with Apple going into the holiday season and in many ways are still a better value. From the interview it also seems apparent that Microsoft will continue to push hard on the value of the Zune as a social experience. Zune owners have the option of sharing playlists with friends and can even create profiles so everyone on the web will always know your favorite songs. The interview doesn’t reveal any new information, but presumably Microsoft must be carefully looking at devices such as the iPhone and iPod Touch. Both represent products they can’t currently compete with under their current lineup.

Microsoft Updates Zune Despite Competition

Florence Ion — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:18:41 -0500

Despite its diminishing popularity, Microsoft still plans on releasing new Zune models in 120GB and 8GB (flash-based) capacities. We’re unsure what colors will be released, but we do know that you’ll at least have the option of a black 120GB and a blue 8GB.

Though the Zune never bumped Apple’s iPod out of first place, it managed to make its mark in the digital audio player (DAP) market with wireless syncing and a bigger screen. The player became a little played out though, with weak sales making the Zune an after thought in the DAP market.

Engadget reports that the old 80GB and 4GB were discontinued at Wal-Mart, just in time to pave the way for their successors. The new Zunes will cost $249 and $149, respectively, with the 80GB iPod Classic costing the same as a 120GB Zune. Though the price tag may seem a little steep, the Zune’s features, such as the built-in FM Tuner and wireless capabilities, give consumers a little more bang for their buck.

Image from Engadget