Entries from Manifest Tech Blog tagged with 'Players'
ColcaSac Fleece Sleeves for MacBook / iPhone / iPad
Doesn't your MacBook (and iPhone and iPod) deserve to sleep in comfort? Maybe nestled in a fleece-lined sleeve made of natural, sustainable materials including burlap and hemp -- like the ColcaSac naturally protective sleeves for MacBooks and portable devices. The...
Reading E-books on Your "iPad mini"
It's the weekend for the Apple iPad, and appropriately it looks like Steve Jobs has pulled another beautiful lust-inducing bunny out of his magic hat. Besides the legions of early adapters lined up outside stores, the iPad could make...
Lower Prices for Microsoft Zune HD
Microsoft has lowered the price for its Zune HD media players (see previous post). The Zune HD 16 GB model has dropped to $199 (was $219), and the 32 GB model to $269 (was $289) on the Microsoft site...
The Apple iPad as a Quick-start Netbook
Well, the news is out -- the Apple iPad tablet has been revealed. There's a lot of instant reaction, but you'll have to wait some 3 months to actually buy the Wi-Fi version, and another month after that for the...
New Display Technology for E-book Readers
While the obvious excitement at CES was around big screens with 3D TV, and small screens with smartphones (see previous post), there also was lots of action with new E-book readers in the middle range of screen sizes -- handheld...
Display Revolution: LED to OLED to E-Ink
Flat-screen LCD displays have swept the field, replacing CRTs as computer monitors and picture tubes for TVs. The revolution is complete, so it's time to move on to the next thing! At CES, Samsung was showing "LED TV" models, which...
New Unlimited Voice and Data Plans from AT&T and Verizon Wireless
AT&T and Verizon Wireless have announced new pricing plans for unlimited voice and data service. After all, we want mobile access to email and Web, and the carriers are happy to encourage more use of their networks for such...
Handheld Gaming as Convergence Devices - Nintendo DS
Apple iPod or Microsoft Zune? iPhone or BlackBerry -- or Windows Phone or Google Android? The portable device market seems to be framed in terms of titanic corporate battles, and emotional allegiances to our favorite products. But while media players...
Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android
What's all this about Android? Well, Android is Google's version of the software for portable Internet devices, as first shown on the T-Mobile G1 smartphone a year ago (see previous post), and then updated to Android 2.0 with the recent...
Zune HD Adds Games and Firmware
The Microsoft Zune HD is a touchscreen media player with radio, wireless, Web browsing -- and downloadable applications which can take advantage of its 3.3" screen and graphics performance (see previous post). Microsoft recently released a set of new games...
Zune HD AV Dock - Portable HD Video
The new Microsoft Zune HD media player has a bright 3.3-inch touchscreen OLED display, ready to tilt into landscape mode for showing16:9 widescreen videos (see previous post). And the "HD" in the name refers to the ability to store and...
Zune HD -- The Other Microsoft Mobile, and More
While Microsoft is making a major push with its Windows Mobile (now Windows Phone) platform to make it more "finger-friendly" (see previous post), it also has been developing a second and different mobile device platform -- the Zune portable...
Protecting Your iPod nano - Griffin iClear Cases
Apple's iPod designs are beautiful objects, particularly the iPod nano -- so clean and slim and graceful, and in happy vivid colors. It's almost a shame to actually use your nano, and risk getting it roughed up or scratched from...
Digital Content for Set-top and Handheld - Sony PS3 and PSPgo
The differences between today's console gaming systems can be reduced to sound bites: the Microsoft Xbox 360 is for hardcore gamers, the Nintendo Wii is for casual fun, and the Sony PlayStation 3 is for games and media. But the...
Apple Sees the Light: iPod nano Gets Camera, Speakers, Mic, FM Radio ... and Pedometer!
The power of the Apple iPod brand starts with the lust-inducing designs -- slim, sleek, smooth -- and simple. The iPod line has avoided the feature check-list competition of other players, as Apple has continued to reject even useful features...
Belkin Micra Cases for iPod nano
You love your iPod nano -- the style, the size, and especially the vibrant colors. You'd like to protect it from dirt and scratches, but don't like the idea of bulking it up with a traditional case and covering the...
Smartphone Potpourri: Apple iPhone and Palm Pre
The new smartphones are here -- the new Apple iPhone and Palm Pre are finally ready for action. The new Apple iPhone 3G S provides up to 2X performance improvement, plus several long-awaited features found in competitive products, including a...
Sharing Photos on Portable Devices
Got pics in your pocket? You don't need to carry snapshots in your wallet anymore, much less a photo album in your bag -- That's so last decade! Today's portable electronic devices can make great photo viewers, some with...
Slacker Internet Radio Adds Song Lyrics
Internet radio services like Slacker and Pandora extend traditional broadcast radio in two ways: with customized channels and with enhanced playback (see previous post). You not only can choose from a wide range of pre-programmed "channels" with a wide variety...
Apple iTunes Store Adds HD Movie Rental and Sales
Apple describes its iTunes Store as the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store, with over 250 million TV episodes purchased and over 33 million movies purchased and rented. Its catalog features over 10 million songs, over...
Apple 3rd Gen iPod Shuffle Loses Control
I'm running out of metaphors here, to describe the ever-shrinking size of tiny MP3 players. The original Apple iPod shuffle from 2005 was the exemplar of the "pack of gun" form factor (3.3 x 0.98 x 0.33 in., 0.78 oz.)....
The New Radio: Slacker G2 Player
Radio used to be about broadcast, and tuning in to one of your favorite local stations so you could choose the kind of music that you wanted to enjoy, depending on your mood -- maybe pulsing hard rock or calming...
Creative ZEN X-Fi -- with Wireless LAN
The Creative ZEN X-Fi is a step up from the ZEN Mosaic (see previous post) -- with a larger 2.5" color display, 320 x 240 pixels in landscape orientation. Yet it's still fits comfortably in a shirt pocket at...
Creative ZEN Mosaic Media Player
The Creative ZEN line of media players is an interesting counterpoint to Apple's minimalist iPod line. Creative offers a smorgasbord of more features -- like FM radio, voice recording, speakers to share the clips with friends -- in a much...
The Amazon Kindle as a Mobile Convergence Device
I write a lot about portable media players -- "MP3 players" for music and now video -- and how they are converging with mobile phones and smartphones, combining media and communications and Internet access and organizer features. But there's another...
SanDisk Sansa Media Players: Clip, Fuze, View
Over the past year, SanDisk has simplified its Sansa line of flash-memory media players to three products, while adding the new slotMusic / slotRadio concept and products (see Sansa store). The result is three models with clean designs that are...
OtterBox Cases for iPod, iPhone, BlackBerry, etc.
More and more of our lives have converged into our electronic devices -- MP3 players and smartphones, iPod and iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm. Yet these now-indispensible devices are rather fragile, just glass and plastic that is one drop away from...
SanDisk slotRadio - 1000 Songs on a Card
The new SanDisk slotMusic card format delivers music "albums" on microSD cards, ready to play on billions of mobile phones with microSD slots, and also free of copy protection so they can be transferred to PCs and other devices (see...
SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Player and Cards
I've discussed the new SanDisk slotMusic card format for selling music "albums" on microSD cards (see previous posts), and now I've had a chance to try it out. The slotMusic card format is designed for easy access -- it's just...
Daniel Schreiber of SanDisk on the slotMusic Format
Buying music on CDs (physical media, for heaven sakes!) is so 90's -- everybody knows that digital music is the future, right? But contrary to the hype, CDs are far from dead. Like other research companies, Forrester Research projects that...
Microsoft Zune Price Cuts and Software Update
Microsoft has cut prices on its flash-based Zune players and accessories for the US and Canada -- the Zune 4GB is now $99 (was $129), Zune 8GB is $139 (was $149), and Zune 16GB is $179 (was $199). The Zune...
SanDisk slotMusic - A New Music Format
The CD is fading away as a purchased music format, and digital music is growing, but it's still clumsy to manage digital music files -- rip or purchase songs, keep them organized, and then sync or download to the desired...
Microsoft Updates Zune Line and Software
The Microsoft Zune line of media players also has been updated, with increased capacity (matching the recent changes in the Apple iPod -- see previous post), and new 3.0 software with even more emphasis on music discovery features -- supported...
Apple Refreshes iPod Line
It's September -- and time for the annual refresh of the Apple iPod line, with new generations of the iPod nano and touch, tweaks to the iPod shuffle and classic, bright colors, and fun enhancements to iTunes 8 with...
Samsung Pebble - Mini MP3 Player
MP3 players have expanded way beyond music -- with photos and video, FM radio and voice recording, plus huge capacity to store your entire music library, podcasts, and videos. But there's still a place for simple music players -- small...
Market Share for MP3 / Media Players
The NPD Group has released new market share numbers for portable MP3 / media players. The Apple iPod line continues to dominate the market at over 70%, and the SanDisk Sansa line remains a clear second at around 10%. Meanwhile,...
Microsoft Zune Update - TV Show Downloads
Microsoft has announced new software features and content for the Zune online store, music community, and Zune Pass monthly subscription service. The Zune video store is expanding to include downloads of more than 800 episodes of popular television shows that...
Sneakernet PC Videos on TV: SanDisk Sansa TakeTV
(with Josh Page) It's a wired world -- or actually getting more wire-less. We're connected at broadband speeds, theoretically able to electronically access our data from the vast cloud of the Web, but yet we still need to physically...
SanDisk Sansa Video Players -- Fuze and View
SanDisk has made a nice business expanding from its roots in flash memory with its SanDisk Sansa line of MP3 music and now video players. With lower prices for larger capacity, it's quite feasible to use memory-based players for video...
ARCHOS Expands Media Player Connectivity
While the Apple iPod line defines portable media players, there are a lot of other options if you're interested in alternate features, form factors, and designs -- see, for example, AnythingButiPod.com. SanDisk is focused on portable flash memory players, Creative...
ZAGG invisibleSHIELD Protective Film
Is your portable media player getting banged and bruised as you carry it around? Is the beautiful "brushed metallic" surface looking bruised, or accumulating ugly finger smudges? Or, worse, did a key in your pocket scar the screen? You can...
Apple iPod shuffle Drops Price, Adds Capacity
Apple has followed up on adding more storage for the high-end iPhone and iPod touch by also updating the small end of the iPod line. The iPod shuffle with 1 GB is now $49 (down from $79) , and there's...
More Memory for Apple iPod touch and iPhone
More memory for portable media players -- Apple has added a 32 GB model for the iPod touch, and a 16 GB model for the iPhone. The iPod touch line now has 3 models: 32 GB $499, 16...
SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 Player -- Now 4 GB
If you like the idea of a tiny music player that's easy to carry, then check out the SanDisk Sansa Clip. It's not quite as tiny as the Apple iPod shuffle (0.9 ounces vs. 0.55 ounces for the shuffle),...
Tiny MP3 Player - iriver Mplayer
"MP3 players" are growing into "portable media players" -- with products like the Apple iPod nano growing larger screens for showing photos and playing video. But what's the minimum you need for a basic MP3 music player? As the iPod...
The Apple iPhone is a Holiday Delight
The Apple iPhone has been a tremendous success in revitalizing the smartphone concept. The iPhone combines phone, PDA, and Web usage -- with the full iPod player experience (syncing content with iTunes), mobile phone, plus Wi-Fi wireless networking. While...
Digital Holiday Trends 2007: Portable Media and Accessories
It's holiday shopping season again, and time to explore the trends and new possibilities in portable electronics and associated accessories. This first installment focuses on portable media and accessories, looking at trends in these areas, and some sample products that...
Npower Electronics Products for Kids from Imation and Nickelodeon
Portable MP3 players are wonderful for entertaining kids on long trips, and digital cameras are great for kids to get creative and have fun, but what parent wants to risk their digital devices for the kids to run around and...
Custom Zunes from Microsoft
The new Microsoft Zune players will be available tomorrow. See my previous post for a summary. Microsoft is offering some interesting options to customize your player -- not just covers or stickers, but permanent laser-engraving. Zune players purchased directly from...
New Microsoft Zunes
The updated line of Microsoft Zune portable media players is due to ship next week, with a disk-based player with more capacity, the first flash-based players, an updated software interface, relaxed restrictions on Wi-Fi sharing, and a new online community...
Samsung P2: Media Players Expand with Bluetooth
What's next for portable media players? Everyone does FM and voice recording and now video playback. But then there's wireless Bluetooth to play on headsets and even integrate with mobile phones, plus support for the AAC format to open up...
Creative ZEN -- Credit card video
Yes, the Apple iPod players are popular and elegant (see summary post), but the line has only three models, with a limited selection of capacities and colors. If you're the type who likes lots of alternatives when you're shopping, then...
Wi-Fi MP3 Player -- SanDisk Sansa Connect
Today's mobile phones are becoming music players -- you can sync songs from your PC music library, plus get the immediate gratification of downloading songs from online libraries over your wireless data connection, as with Verizon Wireless V CAST Music....
SanDisk Sansa TakeTV PC-to-TV Video Player
Today's multi-gigabyte USB thumb drives are a great way to move digital files between PCs -- including music and video clips. But to view those clips, you need to get back to a PC, or move up from a USB...
Apple iPod nano -- Stunning
I'm not a mindless cheer-leader for all things Apple, but the new iPod nano makes me sound like one... The iPod nano really is a stunning device -- beautiful in the subdued colors, light but not fly-away, small but still...
Samsung Music Players, with Style
Have you noticed Samsung lately? It has expanded from its core technologies including memory and displays into a major presence in the computer and consumer electronics businesses, including mobile phones, televisions, media players, cameras and camcorders, computers and peripherals, and...
Gallery: SanDisk Sansa View video player
SanDisk is comfortly settled in as the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, with a broad product line of flash-based Sansa media players. For music (plus display and FM radio), there's the Sansa Clip music player,...
New Apple iPods -- Pricing Comparisons
As you may have heard, Apple has refreshed its Apple iPod line for the second consecutive September. Apple iPods 07: iPod shuffle, nano, classic, touch -- iPhone - See my updated Portable Media Players Gallery for details on each...
Creative ZEN Stone -- Simply Music
The Apple iPod shuffle is the canonical tiny screen-less music player (0.55 oz., 1.07 x 1.62 x 0.41 in. with clip) holding some 240 songs in 1GB, for $79. But if you're more of an Anything But iPod type, you...
RCA Opal - Digital Media Player
RCA has introduced a new RCA Gem line of digital media players -- small portable devices based on flash memory (product information). The RCA Opal is small and light -- just over 1 ounce, with a 1.5 inch color OLED...
ARCHOS Generation 5 Portable Media Players
ARCHOS has just announced its new Generation 5 line of Portable Media Players (PMP), with prices ranging from $170 to $500, for devices featuring 2 to 160 GB of storage. The new line will be available at retail beginning in...
Archos 704-WiFi Update: Wireless Media Playback
After further discussions with Archos, it's become clear that the Archos 704-WiFi supports wireless playback of media files only from files on a local network, and not over the Web using the Opera Web browser -- but the details are...
Video Players Go Wireless: Archos 704 WiFi
Now that mobile phones are encroaching into the domain of media players with downloadable and streaming music (see the impending Apple iPhone), it's only fair that media players return the favor by also becoming connected devices. For example, the SanDisk...
Archos Portable Media Players
Archos has introduced a new latest Generation 4 line of hard disk-based media players focused on a larger-screen experience, video capture, and wireless connectivity. The Archos 404 has a 3.5 in. screen and 30 GB for $299 with a stereo...
Playing with the Microsoft Zune
Microsoft kindly loaned me a Zune player for a couple weeks to demo at some local events. There's been a lot of discussion about the interesting decisions made for this product, including the exclusion of support for Microsoft's own Windows...
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