South Korea’s Samsung Electronics will roll out six new models in the MP3 music player market in the second half of 2005 and plans up to 10 more next year in a bid to catch up with leader Apple Computer, an official said on Thursday.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s most valuable technology firm outside of the United States, introduced six new additions to its eight-model range of Yepp players in the first six months, in an effort to treble its annual sales to more than 5 million units.

But the target is still a sixth of the expected 2005 sales of rival Apple’s iPod player.

The thumb- to pocket-size gadgets of both Samsung and Apple also face growing competition from mobile phone makers who are adding MP3 music functions to high-end models.

“We will have a total of 12 new MP3 models this year and plan to introduce five to seven flash-type models and some two-hard-disk-drive models in 2006,” Park Hyun-joo, an assistant manager of the Seoul-based company’s marketing division, told Reuters.

Read more…

Mobile phone manufacturers and operators from Sony Ericsson to Orange are spending millions of pounds making the latest mobile phones capable of becoming MP3 players in their own right. Yet findings in a recent survey on gadget, gear and gizmo website Pocket-lint.co.uk suggest they might be wasting their money.

In the survey, which asked whether readers listened to MP3s on their mobile phone and if no, would it something they would consider doing, a whopping 72% of entrants said that even if they had the chance to listen to their favourite tracks on their mobile, they wouldn’t bother.

Over three-quarters (77%) of the entrants that took the survey said that they don’t currently listen to music on their phone with only 23% admitting that they do.

There is some hope though. Of those that said they don’t currently listen to music, 23% said that they would consider it with a further 5% not sure for the time being.

The news will come as a shock to the industry, which seems focused on creating mobile phones with music playing capabilities.

This week Sony Ericsson launched the W800 in the UK, it’s Walkman branded mobile phone designed to double up as an MP3 player when not being used to make calls.

The survey was completed by 4,184 people from around the globe who visited Pocket-lint.co.uk in July.

When London police raided the homes of a gang of suspected car thieves last year, they were surprised to find forged sale documents, bogus bank statements and other incriminating materials — all stored on an iPod.

To some computer security experts, the incident sent a message: Portable digital music players can no longer be regarded simply as entertainment machines. Those experts are urging law enforcement officials to better learn how criminals can obtain and conceal vast quantities of information using the devices.

Palm-sized MP3 players — the best-known is Apple Computer’s iPod, but dozens of brands are available — can hold any type of file, not just downloaded music. Some are capable of storing up to 60 gigabytes of information, the equivalent of 15,000 songs or 25,000 photographs.

“We want to get word out that these are great devices — I’ve got three of them — but they’re going to get perverted and used in ways that we haven’t thought of before,” said Marcus Rogers, a Purdue University computer technology professor and researcher at the school’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. “The bad guys are creative.”

In addition to the London car thieves, Rogers noted that pornography rings are using digital music players to store images hidden in downloaded MP3 files.

Read more…

One of China’s biggest internet portals has shut down its MP3 search facility over fears it may be held responsible for copyright violations incurred by file-sharers offering music via the portal.

The NetEase portal took the decision to shut down the service earlier this week saying it wants to discourage users from download illegal music, according to reports.

NetEase is also concerned that it could be held indirectly responsible for copyright violations – although the portal doesn’t sell music downloads, users have been using its search facility to locate and access illegal music files.

With most music available online in China now illegal, NetEase considers it has contributed to violations of intellectual property “to a certain degree”, according to the Financial Times.

The MP3 search facility will remain offline until NetEase has found a way to offer content without infringing on the rights of those in the music industry, the paper added.

China is among the countries with the highest rates of music piracy – now standing at some 85 per cent and worth $411m annually, according to music industry body the IFPI.

NetEase could not be reached for comment.

Times Online reviews the Walkman v iPod and wrote – ‘The W800i is only a small device (about 10cm x 4.6cm x 2cm). But it carries both the Walkman brand and the hopes of Sony and its future in the digital music market. So, how does it fare against the iPod?

First impressions are promising. The smaller Sony machine is not quite as sleek as the original iPod, but its cream and orange livery holds its own in the aesthetics stakes and Times Online found its preview model drawing nods of approval.

The Jukebox’s laundry list of near-miss design decisions would be easier to live with if the unit were simply more fun to use. Unfortunately, the interface is strangely unintuitive (due in part, perhaps, to the lack of any sort of Enter button), and the graphics look a bit cheesy.

Sound quality is decent, but Gateway doesn’t throw in any extras like an FM receiver or a voice recorder. Moving files (music or photos) onto the unit is a straightforward affair, but even charging the unit is onerous: You’re forced to connect the AC adapter cable to the USB cable through an add-on jack before you can plug the whole mess into the wall.

Overall, if you’re a music lover, you are unlikely to swap your iPod for the W800i anytime soon. That said, once you get to grips with it, Sony’s Walkman phone is a very nifty bit of kit.

Special mention should be made of the excellent FM radio and the 2.0 megapixel digital still and video camera included in the deal.’

Read more about an Apple iPod and Sony’s Walkman.

THE iPod may be the most popular MP3 player on the market. But is it the most stylish, exclusive and expensive?

Not if competitors have their way.

Extravagant options abound online, from sleek aluminium to 24-carat gold. Cassandra Chew shops around on the Net for some of the most innovative portable audio players

YOU could say that the Excentrique MP-400 is the Vertu of the portable audio player world. Believe it or not, this baby is made of 24-carat solid gold.

The exclusive edition by MP3 maker Jens of Sweden ( www.jensofsweden.se) is designed to be worn as a jewel around the neck.

At merely 34g, it makes a flashy companion, one which boasts a 20-hour battery life and 1GB memory.

It comes with a pair of high-performance Shure earphones and is packaged in a sleek black case.

Like other MP-400 models, it plays MP3, WMA, ASF and OGG files, records and has an FM radio.

But at US$1,100 (S$1,820), this bling bling is reserved for the gadget geeks with deep pockets.

The Sorell SF3000 ships with 1GB of flash memory and also includes an LCD for the playback of video so one might conclude that it might be bulky or larger than the previous SF2000 model but one would be wrong. The Sorell SF3000 is about the size of a pack of gum and incredibly lightweight. After tacking the player out we hooked it up to a USB 2.0 connection and allowed it to charge. A full battery charges takes about four hours as it charges from the USB connection, unlike the batteries that some smaller units require.

Sorell SF3000 Reviews

CNET Reviews reviews the Sorell SF3000 and gives it a ‘Very Good’ rating. They write – ‘The Sorell SF3000 is for people who want to hold the (1GB) digital universe in the palm of their hand and are willing to shell out a few extra bones for the luxury. Elegant, petite body; colorful, high-resolution LCD; multipurpose recording abilities; strong FM radio signal; compatible with WMA music stores.’

Tech Zone reviews the Sorell SF3000 and writes – ‘Looking at the SF 3000 as just a MP3 player, the price seems high. However, the SF 3000 is more than just a MP3 player – it’s a fully loaded video player that also plays and records MP3 music. Still I would like to see Medialine drop the price by $50. Then it’ll be a no brainer to get the SF 3000 over the 1GB iPod Shuffle‘

AMD Zone reviews the Sorell SF3000 and writes – ‘Sorell definitely have pushed technology far and fast with their SF3000, taking an MP3 player one step further with the ability to play both video and picture files and have done a good job at it. Couple this with a long battery life, a weight at just over an ounce with battery, features such as their lyrics database and the transcoding software, FM player, audio recording, MP3 encoding, and an included rechargeable battery and you have a good package overall.’

People who bought IPods when levies were being imposed on digital music players will soon be able to get their money back, Apple Canada said Monday.

“Apple is pleased that the Supreme Court of Canada let stand a lower court ruling that blank media levies on IPods are invalid, and will shortly announce a claims process so consumers can request a refund for the levies they paid,” the statement from Apple said.

Late last month, the Supreme Court of Canada backed the Federal Court of Canada decision quashing the levy on IPods and other digital music players.

The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) has collected a tax built into the price of the devices since December 2003. The group is a non-profit agency that collects such tariffs on behalf of musicians and record companies.

The CPCC stopped charging the levy in December 2004 when the Federal Court overturned the policy at the urging of the Canadian Coalition for Fair Digital Access, a group representing retailers and manufacturers such as Future Shop, Wal-Mart Canada, Apple Canada, Sony Canada and Dell Computer Corporation of Canada.

The tariff, while it was in effect, was $2 for non-removable memory capacity of up to one gigabyte, $15 for one to 10 GBs and $25 for more than 10 GB.

The CPCC had argued that since the new technology opened yet another avenue to make illegal copies of songs, a levy should be collected on behalf of music creators.

Approximately $4 million was collected from sales of digital audio recorders in the one-year period.

ctv.ca

It’s holiday time and if you’re one of the lucky ones to own an iPod, then Belkin has the way for you to take your tunes on the road with you.

Here’s where an iPod really shines – not that it doesn’t shine otherwise. If you’ve ever wondered whether it was worth it to buy a device with 20, 30, 40, 60 Gb or storage capacity Belkin’s TuneCast II, TuneDock and Auto Kit will provide the answer.

On a long drive or an extended camping trip you can fully utilize the storage capacity of your iPod and listen to your tunes or an audio book through your FM radio. You’ll never have to worry about recharging the iPod because Belkin’s Auto Kit takes care of that – just plug it into the cigarette lighter or power dock in your vehicle.

The TuneDock is a device used to mount your precious iPod securely in the cup holder of your vehicle. Several different sizes of cups are available and you can screw the holder into whichever one fits your vehicle’s cup holder. The sucker built in to the TuneDock holds your iPod solidly in place so you won’t have to worry about the device rattling around the car. There’s a little tab on the top of the sucker that you tug to release the iPod – you’ll have fun getting the iPod off the TuneDock without releasing the pressure by pulling the tab – the iPod is VERY well secured in place. The TuneDock costs under $40CAD and is widely available.

The Belkin Auto Kit keeps your iPod fully charged so you won’t have to worry about running the batteries down – crucial if you want to listen to the DaVinci Code on audio book. I wouldn’t go anywhere without this charger – for under $60CAD you too can get one of these chargers.

The key to the whole system (other than your iPod of course) is the TuneCast II from Belkin. The TuneCast II is the most expensive piece of the Belkin travel hardware I tested at about $70CAD, but you won’t hear a thing without it. The TuneCast II uses two AAA batteries for power and it is the device that lets you play whatever is on your iPod through your FM radio. The sound you’ll get through your radio isn’t as good as the sound you’ll get though earphones or headphones, but who cares? You’re able to play your music or listen to a book through your car stereo with more than just acceptable quality. You set the FM frequency on your FM radio and then set the same frequency on the TuneCast II and you’re in business – it’s pretty well that simple to use.

PROS: Being able to get even more use out of an iPod. On long drives you can listen to your music or books when radio reception is poor .

CONS: You need an iPod. There is a fair amount of equipment involved when you buy all three parts , so you might need a bit of extra room in the front of your car .

canada.com

After trying for almost three years to obtain a patent for the iPod’s software interface, we’ve learned that Apple’s application was rejected last month by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent application lists Steve Jobs and Apple VP Jeff Robbin as the two primary inventors.

AppleInsider reports that “Standing in Apple’s way appears to be a prior filing by inventor John Platt, who submitted a patent application for a similar software design for a portable device in May of 2002 – just five months before Robbin submitted his claims on behalf of Apple.” John Platt, by the way, is a Senior Researcher in the Knowledge Tools Group at a little company called Microsoft. His USPTO application describes a system that “generates playlists for a library collection of media items via selecting a plurality of seed items, at least one which is an undesirable seed item.” Yup… sure sound like the iPod to me!

The USPTO allows a 3 month period for Apple to appeal the final decision, so we might not have heard the end of this one yet.