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Who would honestly expect Microsoft to rest on their laurels and let Apple hog all the limelight with their latest range of iPod, iPod Nano and the brilliant iPod Touch?

Well, the fresh new product off the Microsoft drawing table is the hard-drive Zune 80, which carries 80GB worth of storage and the flash based models, Zune 8 and Zune 4, with 8GB and 4GB storage space respectively.

Zune 80 specifications

- New Zune Pad with four-way touch sensitive 'D-pad' (with up, down, left, and right buttons)
- Storage capacity: 80GB
- Available in BLACK only -- at least for the time being
- 3.2" QVGA screen (up from 3.0")
- Dimensions are 61.1 x 108.2 x 12.9mm (2.4 x 4.25 x 0.5-inches)
- Premium headphones included in package
- Display resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
- Audio support: AAC, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA
- Picture support: JPEG
- Video support : WMV, h.264, MPEG-4
- Song capacity: Up to 20000 songs
- Picture capacity: Up to 25000 photos
- Video capacity: Up to 250 hours
- Wireless connectivity: 802.11b/g
- Wireless range: Up to 30 feet
- Power supply: Built-in rechargeable battery, AC power adapter (not included), via USB port

- Battery life (music): Up to 30 hours (wireless off)
- Battery life (pictures): Up to 4 hours
- Battery (video): Up to 4 hours
- Charging time (AC adapter): Approx. 2 hours (full), approx. 1 hour (90 percent)
- Charging time (via USB): Approx. 2 hours 15 minutes (full), approx. 1 hour 15 minutes (90 percent)
- Ports: Dock connector, headphone connector with video, USB
- FM radio: Built-in
- Languages: English, French, Spanish

Zune 8/4 specifications

- New Zune Pad with four-way touch sensitive 'D-pad' (with up, down, left, and right buttons)
- Available in pink, green, black, and red
- 1.8" QVGA screen
- Dimensions are 41.4 x 91.5 x 8.5mm (1.6 x 3.6 x 0.33-inches)

The new Zune allows integrated Wi-Fi so that owners can wirelessly exhange music tracks between devices, which on paper, sounds like a brilliant idea but the song can be played only THREE times by the person you've 'Zuned' it to!

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Posted By: Arnold - Category: Audio, Gadgets

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iPod Touch

October 30th 2007 17:45

The iPod Touch is the latest in a long line of iPod portable MP3 players from computer giants Apple.

With a gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display plus multi-touch interface, controlling the iPod Touch is easy and you can do so using only your fingers. By manoeuvring your fingers in different positions, you can flick through photos stored on the album and enlarging them requires only a pinch of your finger tips.

To watch a demonstration of the iPod Touch and its unique features, click on the following video clip.

To prolong the usage time of the iPod touch, the display has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness to suit the ambient light in your surroundings. Clever!

Better yet, an accelerometer detects when you rotate the iPod touch from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page, your music in Cover Flow, or a photo in its proper aspect ratio.

Other features of the new iPod includes Wi-Fi browsing with built in Safari browser that allows you to watch your favourite You Tube videos or browse the iTunes store for the latest music.

Available in 8GB or 16GB, the new iPod Touch retails for $419 and $549 respectively at all Apple and good electronics stores.

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Posted By: Arnold - Category: Audio, Gadgets

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Listen to music underwater

October 27th 2006 07:35

Bring the audio experience with you the next time you head out for a swim with the SwiMP3 player. This device is 100% waterproof and offers a very different method of input. There are no headphones to contend with - instead, you use a couple of pads that rest against your cheek bone to transmit the sounds into your ear with unprecedented clarity via bone conduction technology.

Too bad the SwiMP3 is extremely expensive for a 128MB digital audio player, chalking up $250 at the cash register. The 4 hours battery life is also questionable, but chances are you won't be swimming for four hours in a row.

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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Woofer redefines speaker design

October 25th 2006 00:51

Don't go running to the SPCA just yet - what you're seeing is actually a rather grotesque design for a speaker system. Known as the Woofer for obvious reasons, these headless speakers weigh 5kg a pop and has a living room friendly measurement of 21.5" x 17.6" x 9.8". Sound quality is pretty good at 60 watts R.M.S. being "barked" by each. The Woofer consists of a a co-axial two-way speaker system and will definitely set tongues wagging whenever a stranger steps foot into your house. They're not cheap though, and will cost you €599. You can pick up an obedient guard dog for less.

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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Cowon unveils iAudio N2

October 2nd 2006 03:02

Koreans are extremely blessed as they seem to get the latest and greatest in terms of gadgets and gizmos. Cowon has released the iAudio N2 in Korea, and this no-nonsense piece of portable media player come with a long list of features that are bound to captivate the attention of a fickle-minded audience. It runs on the Windows CE 5.0 operating system and is powered by an AMD Alchemy 500MHz processor which is ably assisted by 128MB of RAM.

Features include a generous 7" WQVGA LCD display with touchscreen capabilities at a resolution of 480 x 234 pixels. This is as big as portable DVD players which are available in the market, making the iAudio N2 a viable portable entertainment alternative. Media formats supported include MP3, OGG, WMA, WMV, DivX, AVI, XviD, JPEG, and MPEG amongst others. If you're worried about storage space, fret not. The iAudio N2 boasts a couple of SD memory card slots which should be able to hold up to 8GB of memory in total theoretically. Data can be transferred via the USB host port

[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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Intempo brings you Digital Radio

September 30th 2006 22:32

First we have customizable cellphones and even consoles with the vast array of faceplates available, and now there is the PP01 Intempo Digital Radio that allows you to change the speaker cover according to your taste, giving you virtually an unlimited number of combinations.

The PP01 resembles a closed Nintendo DS Lite in some way, coming in a slim design coupled with flat panel speakers. It is capable of picking up Digital Audio signals as well as FM signals to give you a healthy choice of music. Hooking up any portable audio player via the stereo line-in jack will automatically turn the PP01 into a speaker system on the go. The PP01 boasts a battery life of up to 20 hours for continuous audio playback

[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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When your powers combine...

September 29th 2006 20:26

No, this is not a post about Captain Planet and his cohort of jewelry loving teenagers. The MODE Keypad is actually a control solution for households with more than one iPod. Why not know your family members better by accessing their music and playlists over the MODE Keypad? This nifty device from in-wall speaker specialist SpeakerCraft can control up to half a dozen iPods simultaneously, and even comes with additional functions such as AM/FM radio, XM radio, and SpeakerCraft's very own jukebox music server.

A 3.5" colour screen displays all the track and playlist information, and you navigate through the MODE Keypad primarily via a scroll wheel which breezes through a long list of files and channels. The volume knob utilizes a graduated backlight effect in order to convey the level of music. You can pick up the MODE keypad in either black or white

[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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iBag Turntable for iPod toting people

September 29th 2006 20:03

Uncommon Goods is currently offering the iBag Turntable which lends an alternative taste to all you iPod accessory lovers. This cute little bag comes with a pair of amplified stereo speakers as well as an iPod dock, enabling you to share your love of Backstreet Boys with the rest of the people on the bus. Additional features include external volume controls and an integrated FM radio to keep you occupied when you've grown sick of the tunes on your iPod. It requires four AA batteries to run, and the iBag Turntable will cost you approximately US$160 a pop.

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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Microsoft Zune price fixed

September 28th 2006 16:22

Microsoft have literally bought themselves into the video game market with the introduction of the Xbox, and have gained a pretty strong foothold in North America since then - a position that was further strengthened by the debut of the next generation Xbox 360 last year. It seems that this mega corporation wants a piece of the lucrative digital audio business and are prepared to pour hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years in order to cannibalize the almighty iPod's sales.

The first step in doing so would be introducing a digital audio player of their own, and Microsoft has this down pat with the upcoming Zune. This digital media player will share roughly the same price as Apple's recently revamped 30GB iPod Video and will go the same way as the Xbox when it was originally launched - Microsoft will lose money on each sale

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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Logitech updates FreePulse Wireless headphones line

September 27th 2006 01:20

Logitech refreshed its line of its FreePulse Wireless headphones by making them louder and lighter than its predecessors. Weighing a mere 60g, these headphones slash off half the weight of the original and comes with a high-carbon spring-steel headband that is more flexible.

The inclusion of Bluetooth 2.0 Enhanced Data Rate ensures rock-steady performance, with enhanced bass pumping out courtesy of special boost features. Each headphone is equipped with a 30mm neodymium driver for richer, more authentic audio

[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Edwin - Category: Audio

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