MP3 Players

Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 player gives iPod touch some Android competition

Samsung's Galaxy S II smart phone and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet have been hogging the headlines this week at Mobile World Congress, and for good reason. With somewhat less fanfare, however, the company has also taken the wrappers off another Android-based device, the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 Smart Player.

It's a direct competitor to Apple's iPod touch, with a 4-inch 480x800-pixel touchscreen, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and the Android 2.2 Froyo software. It's essentially a non-cellular counterpart to the existing Galaxy S smart phone. Continue reading...

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Last.fm to charge for mobile app

Last.fm is introducing a charge for the streaming functions in its mobile app. We had a chat with Matthew Hawn of Last.fm to find out what the change means.

The various versions of the mobile app stream a personalised music feed of your favourite music and related recommendations. Up until now, this has been free, but it will soon be chargeable. The ad-free subscription costs £3. Continue reading...

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Kinect camera captures ghostly guitars in first music video

A Motown drumbeat strikes up, and points of light resolve into the ghostly shapes of a half-dreamt band. The clip for Echo Lake's Young Silence could well be the first music video filmed with a Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect motion controller.

Directors Dan Nixon and Dom Jones used the Kinect camera to capture the band in apparition form, recorded with custom software developed in the Cinder coding framework. Nixon continues, "The depth data was then manipulated to get the whole band in one 'space' and then the fun started." Hit play after the jump to see the hypnotic Echo Lake in action. Continue reading...

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Black Eyed Peas' new video is an augmented-reality iPhone app

When the Black Eyed Peas shoved a Daft Punk-esque rocket up Dirty Dancing's theme tune for their single The Time, it was deeply horrifying. The silver lining is it's now spawned one of the more nifty music apps for iPhone and iPad.

The app is called BEP 360, and it's just gone live on Apple's App Store. At its core is an interactive video for The Time that puts you in the middle of the action. Literally. "Physically look around to change the view as you experience the song in innovative 360-degree video," explains the App Store description. Continue reading...

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iTunes and Safari set to merge as App Store branches off?

Safari and iTunes could be set to merge, according to something we read on the Internet. We're not usually ones to pass on spurious rumours -- oh who are we kidding, it's one of our favourite pastimes -- but bear with us: this little nugget sparks an interesting question about the future of Apple's App Store and its related software.

Three Guys and a Podcast reckons Safari and iTunes will merge. The iTunes store would only be accessible online through the browser, with an iTunes sidebar becoming an element of Safari, allowing you to access cloud-based music, video and apps. Continue reading...

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Spotify and Logitech Squeezebox squeeze in together

It's a good day for Swedish music. Not only do Roxette have a new single out -- it's called She's Got Nothing On But the Radio -- but Spotify has a new main squeeze. The popular social music service is now available on Logitech Squeezebox streaming hardware, including the Squeezebox Touch and Squeezebox Radio.

Spotify joins assorted radio stations, the BBC, Facebook, Last.fm, Napster and more in the Squeezebox app. To get involved, you'll need to grab the Spotify app from the App Gallery. An unofficial plugin has been around since last summer, but this is the official version. It's currently in beta, but a proper launch is expected "in the very near future". Continue reading...

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Zeppelin Air streams music wirelessly from iPod, iPhone and iPad

Bowers & Wilkins has revamped its uber-popular Zeppelin speaker, adding Apple AirPlay support so you can wirelessly stream music from your iChum of choice.

The new Zeppelin Air will let you play music wirelessly from your iPhone, iPod or iPad. You can also stream songs wirelessly from iTunes running on a PC or Mac. Continue reading...

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CES 2011

CES 2011 is the most exciting consumer electronics show of the year. It's the first time we get to see the cool new products manufacturers are hoping we'll buy. We'll be on the spot reporting on the latest tablets, connected TVs and anything else the industry has to show off. The show officially kicks off on January 6, so bookmark this page and return to see all our stories from CES 2011 in one place.

Sony Music Unlimited streams tunes to your TV, PS3 or PC from £4 per month

Sony's new music-streaming service, Music Unlimited, works on your PlayStation 3, Sony Bravia TV or any PC -- but unlike rivals Last.fm and Spotify, it doesn't have a free option.

Music Unlimited has 6 million tracks at launch, from all four major labels and some indies. There are two payment plans: basic, which costs £3.99 per month, is like an ad-free radio channel, but you can skip tracks and customise the kind of music you want. It's basically Last.fm, but costs you money instead of having ads. Continue reading...

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Cowon 3D PMP adds the third dimension to 1080p in your pocket

The 3D bandwagon rumbles on, with Cowon the latest to leap aboard. It's just announced the Cowon 3D portable media player, a 4.8-inch thingummyjig for watching videos in three dimensions without glasses.

The glasses-free 3D plays 1080p high-definition video -- though we don't know the screen resolution -- as well as serving up a diet of music, ebooks and photo slideshows. Continue reading...

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iPod classic and Nintendo DS neck and neck in our Greatest Gadget contest

Our Greatest Gadget of the 21st Century competition is steaming to its inevitable, gory conclusion. 31 pieces of technology will be unceremoniously slain in service of finding the single most incredible gadget of the last ten years. The Nintendo DS and the iPod classic both have the potential to go the distance, but on Sunday night one of those top-notch pieces of tech will be forced to walk the plank.

Right now the voting lies on a knife-edge. The Nintendo DS leads, but with only 51 per cent of the vote. Maths fans will realise that's barely any margin at all. They're both stonking gadgets, but which one deserves to go through to round three? Continue reading...

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The Beatles are on iTunes but won't be here, there and everywhere until 2011

After years of anticipation, the Beatles have landed on iTunes -- but when will the Fab Four be available on the rest of the Web? And is anybody buying the back catalogue?

Apple will be the only game in town for downloading the Fab Four until some time in 2011, thanks to an exclusive deal with record label EMI. After that, other online retailers such as Amazon MP3, Sky Songs and Napster will presumably race to get a slice of Beatle pie. Continue reading...

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Marshall Major and Minor headphones are alive and amplified

You probably know Marshall best for making those iconic amps that rock stars like using. Well, if you ever thought to yourself, "Hey, I wish I could strap those amps to either side of my head and rock out like a crazy person," you're in luck, because the world-famous amp manufacturer has unveiled its first Marshall-branded headphones.

There's an on-ear pair called the Major, or if you prefer in-ear 'phones, there's a set available called the Minor (we totally get it!). Continue reading...

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Sainsbury's tries something new today with digital downloads for Christmas

Last-minute Christmas shopping just got even easier at Sainsbury's. Now you can leave it until almost literally the last minute before buying the latest saucy ditty from hip-hop pop-moppet Rihanna, as the supermarket chain announces a digital download service in time for Christmas.

sainsburys.co.uk/entertainment launched last week to pre-order and shop online for real-life books, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs and games. The digital download element will be added before Christmas, with Sainsbury's telling us it's aiming for around the end of November. Continue reading...

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Five high-tech music videos that put you in charge

Good evening Internet -- are you ready to rock? The power of our old friend, the World Wide Web, offers you the next best thing to rock glory with a recent spate of innovative interactive music mash-ups that you control, pushing the boundaries of the music video as we know it.

We've selected our favourite mash-ups that take you around the world with the Chemical Brothers, invade your childhood memories with Arcade Fire, and build Thom Yorke's face out of raw data. Crank your speakers all the way up to 11 for five of our favourite high-tech music videos that you control. Continue reading...

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Why the iPod is the Greatest Gadget of the 21st Century

It may be difficult to remember exactly what life was like before Apple launched the first iPod back in 2001, but one's thing for certain: it wasn't as good. Here's why I think the iPod is the Greatest Gadget of the 21st Century.

Try and cast your mind back to the beginning of the decade. If you wanted to hear music on the move, you'd be more or less limited to stuffing an ungainly CD player in your coat pocket and listening to one or two discs until you were on the brink of total insanity. Then the MP3 player came along and enabled you to slap a huge chunk of your music library -- or even the whole thing -- on a device that could slip into the pocket of your slender breeches. Finally you could keep boredom at bay wherever you were and whatever you were doing. Continue reading...

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Creative ZiiO tablets and Zen Touch 2 touchscreen MP3 players pack Android

Creative is combining Google joy with its established expertise in audio technology, with three new Android gadgets in time for Christmas.

The veteran MP3 player maker has 7-inch and 10-inch ZiiO Android tablets ready for December, along with a smaller Android 3.2-inch device called the ZEN Touch 2. Continue reading...

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Win an Arcam rCube in our Greatest Gadget of the 21st Century tournament!

You own an iPod or iPhone right? Come on, 'fess up -- we're pretty sure everyone on the planet is in possession of one of Apple's nifty little noisemakers by now. You probably like listening to music on it and all, you cheeky monkey! Old uncle CNET UK is here to pump up the volume -- we're giving away an Arcam rCube iPod speaker system as part of our Greatest Gadget of the 21st Century tournament.

Why do you want the rCube? Well, apart from the fact that it's built by Arcam, a company with over 30 years experience in the hi-fi market, it's portable, battery powered and even streams your tunes wirelessly. Oh, and it's worth £500. Did we forget that bit? Continue reading...

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Pizza Express puts iPods in tables to choose your tunes with your toppings

When the moon hits your iPod like a big pizza pie, that's Pizza Express. The restaurant chain for people who think they're too good for Pizza Hut has installed iPod docks in tables, and soundproof domes with your dough balls.

The iPod docks let you choose the music and lighting as well as your toppings. To stop your taste in music from putting other diners off their dinners, and keep ambient noise from disturbing you, sound-absorbing domes dangle from the ceiling above each table. They act as intimate acoustic chambers for your meal, blocking out the next table's conversation about last night's Mad Men, today's Guardian and the Ocado delivery making them late for Pilates. Continue reading...

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Apple iPod is 9 years old

The iPod is 9! Apple's revolutionary MP3 player celebrated its birthday over the weekend -- ironically, the same weekend the final ever Sony Walkman was produced.

It's not overstating the case to say the iPod revolutionised music, and possibly even opened our minds to the potential of digital technology as a whole. It wasn't the first MP3 player, but the public had yet to get its collective noggin around the new-fangled digital technology. The iPod, crucially, came with iTunes, making digital music easier than falling off a log. Continue reading...

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