MOST MP3 players merely attempt to imitate their rivals and just compete on price. Not so with X-Micro’s latest offering, the Video MP3 400. This product majors on a totally different capability – convenience.

It’s the first MP3 player the INQ has actually come across with such a full range of capabilities that’s been squeezed into a tiny package. Yet it can run on just one AA battery.

So instead of having to remember to plug the MP3 player into the mains overnight, all you need to do is carry around a spare battery. In terms of size, it’s a mere 29.8 x 96.2 x 29.8 mm.

What does it do? Besides playing MP3 files with an impressively high quality for such a tiny device? Well it acts as an FM radio too, if you get bored of listening to your own music. It even comes with white earphones so you can look suitably trendy.

I’ve also seen other journalists taking advantage of another neat facility the Video MP3 offers. Namely, a digital voice recorder capability. You can discretely record whatever the marketing people tell you, just in case they try to deny it later. This, we’ve heard, is good for Spodcasting, at which the INQ already outperforms any other UK site.

As the name implies, however, this particular model majors on its video capabilities. It has a remarkably sharp 65K colour OLED screen. The chief purpose is to enable owners to watch their favourite pop videos – not just listen to music.

The very latest software even has a conversion utility, making it possible to convert videos into the popular AMV video format.

And if all these facilities weren’t enough, it’s perfectly possible to treat the Video MP3 player merely as a USB 2.0 compliant memory stick. Currently X-Micro offers 265MB, 512MB or 1GB versions – which should be enough storage space for anyone.

So where are the Video MP3’s weaknesses? Our biggest complaint is definitely the lack of a play list facility. In order to store MP3s sensibly, it’s necessary to put them into folders with carefully chosen names.

There’s also room for improvement in the user interface department. It’s not 100 per cent intuitive but you soon get the hang of how to work it. Which is more than can be said for the Samsung Yepp, the INQ once tried.

theinquirer.net

The Shure E4c headset is an upgraded version of the popular E3c, with better bass response and more sensitivity. It also comes with a fit kit that includes a variety of eartips, plus a pair of replaceable eartip tubes. The foam tips have the best seal, but they provide no more isolation than the rubber tips. They get dirty easily, but they can be washed.

Shure E4c Reviews

PCMag reviews the Shure E4c and wrote - ‘As for sound reproduction, the E4c’s are flat through the midrange and have a nicely extended high end, as good as that of the Sennheiser HD 280 Pros, but they’re unconvincing in the bass. They are, however, more responsive to bass boost than the E3c’s and are louder overall. Quieting: 10 dB; Frequency response: Slow start, strong finish; Comfort: Good.’

CNET Reviews the Shure E4c and gives it a ‘Excellent’ rating. They write - ‘Excellent sound quality; earpluglike design blocks environmental noise; thick, durable cable design; includes full assortment of accessories. Shure’s E4c earbuds are simply the best in-ear headphones we’ve ever heard.’

Shure E4c Press Release

From the Manufacturer
Shure E4c Sound Isolating In-Ear Stereo Earphones for iPod or MP3, CD or DVD Players The Shure E4c delivers unparalleled sound quality with a sleek, high tech look for your iPod or other MP3 or music devices. Sound isolating earphones feature a unique design to block outside noise. With the Shure E series, these professional-quality earphones are available for use with portable audio or video devices such as CD, MP3 and DVD players.
The E4c model improves the airflow around the speaker within the enclosure. It’s the perfect accessory for music lovers who are serious about sound quality and detail. Plus, the E4cs are the lightest in Shure’s family of E Series earphones and mirror the iconic design of the iPod. The natural design of the stereo E4c rests comfortably within the ear, providing both a tight seal for sonic isolation and a secure fit. Like all other professional-grade E Series earphones, the E4cs are capable of being used with foam, flex, or triple-flange accessory sleeves. Each E4c’s 1/8-inch plug additionally makes it perfect for use in a wide variety of other personal audio applications.

Incorporating the same precision components used by professional musicians to monitor their performances onstage, the E4c earphones are equipped with High-Definition drivers and Tuned-Port technology-two innovative features from Shure that combine to create an ultra-wide frequency soundstage with smooth, brilliant highs and extended bass. Ideally suited for use with Shure’s PSM line of personal monitor systems, the E4s are outfitted with high-energy/low mass micro-transducers providing wide-frequency stereo sound, sonic accuracy, and-naturally-total isolation from outside noise. Sensitivity at 1 KHz is 111 dB SPL/mW, while impedance is 29 ohms (also at 1K). Gold-plated stereo output connectors are also be part of the package featuring a 1/8-inch plug. 61 inches of cable are supplied standard with each unit.

Shure makes audio equipment - microphones, earphones, mixers, etc. that are used by professional musicians the world over. Shure knows sound. If your music is important to you, you want earphones engineered with the same kind of technology that your favorite divas and bands use to be sure they can hear themselves during a performance. That’s Shure’s “Sound Isolating” technology. Rather than introducing external elements to block out ambient sound (as noise cancelling earphones do), the Shure system creates a sealed environment that keeps noise out, without covering it up by injecting noise-cancelling artifacts that can interfere with your music. You’ll hear details in your music you never heard before.

Two Year Warranty with purchase.

Compare Price on the Shure E4c

Slim Devices will next week ship the third generation of its wireless digital music system, Squeezebox.

The new version focuses more on looks than functionality. Never one to miss a turn, Slim Devices is offering the redesigned unit in white and black versions, tapping into Apple’s latest iPod colour scheme. The unit sports a bright, crisp 20 x 32 vacuum fluorescent display.

Like the previous release, which was only introduced last March, Squeezebox 3 supports 802.11g wireless networking and incorporates a 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC for superior sound reproduction. However, the new unit’s twin antennae are now hidden inside the box.

Slim Devices will also offer a wired-only version - both incarnations incorporate a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port. They also feature a headphone socket, RCA analog audio ports, and co-ax and optical digital audio ports.

Squeezebox 3 will ship with support for SqueezeNetwork, which allows it to connect to Internet radio stations and RSS feeds directly. The latest version of the SlimServer software, which runs on a host computer, adds WMA radio support, wake-on-LAN, unicode font support, and an extended directory of Internet radio stations. SlimServer 6.2 runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux systems.

The player can reproduce MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF and WAV files natively. Through SlimServer it also supports AAC, WMA and Ogg - the software can be set to transcode these formats to MP3, FLAC or WAV before beaming them to the player. Alas there’s no support for DRM-protected AAC and WMA files. Other formats are supported through third-party decoders.

The wireless Squeezebox 3 costs $299, while the wired-only version is $249. Slim Devices is selling the Squeezebox 2 for $249 (wireless) and $179 (wired-only), while stocks last. The new machine ships 1 November

theregister.co.uk

The markets for MP3 players in China and South Korea, with nearly 80% of future purchases coming from existing owners, have matured more quickly than those in the rest of the world, according to Parks Associates’ new report Digital Music and Portable MP3 Players.

The report, which includes data from Parks Associates’ multinational consumer study Global Digital Living™, finds that among online populations in China and South Korea, more than three-fourths of consumers who plan to purchase an MP3 player in the next 12 months already own one. In contrast, among future owners in other countries, 70% in the U.K., 67% in Germany, 66% in Japan, and 58% in France do not currently have an MP3 player. U.S. intenders are equally split between owners and first-time buyers.

“The MP3 player markets in China and South Korea hit the replacement/additional purchase stage faster than the rest of the world,” said Harry Wang, research analyst at Parks Associates. “Higher penetration rates and the popularity of less-expensive flash-based devices both contributed to this phenomenon.”

Wang also pointed out that because of prior ownership, these owner-intenders are in general more knowledgeable than first-time buyers about new product features. They are also wealthier and more likely to engage in activities such as downloading music and listening to online radio programming.

“These findings call for different approaches in marketing to these areas,” Wang said. “In Western Europe and Japan, where first-time buyers drive the MP3 market, vendors must educate consumers and build brand awareness. In China and South Korea, vendors should work to discourage brand switching as well as offer product features that are uniquely appealing to these consumers.”

Digital Music and Portable MP3 Players analyzes the current market landscape for digital music and MP3 players, focusing on trends in music services and hardware among evolving technologies and shifting market dynamics. The report also features survey data regarding ownership and usage of MP3 players as well as consumer attitudes toward music services.

wi-fitechnology.com

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) the MP3 market continues to surge, led by the portable flash player category which is expected to grow from 26.4 million units shipped worldwide in 2004 to nearly 124 million units in 2009. Growth in the portable flash player category is expected to be fueled by falling flash memory costs, vendor adoption of flash for multiple device storage capacities at competitive retail price points, availability of paid online media services, and growing consumer awareness of and demand for portable MP3 players. However, music-enabled mobile phones are expected to inhibit the portable MP3 player market somewhat during the forecast period and the extent of this trend will vary by world region.
IDC segments the compressed audio player market into four major categories: portable, home and automotive audio-focused devices, and a fourth “other” category of devices that support compressed audio as a secondary feature (such as DVD players, mobile phones, and gaming devices). These categories are developing at different rates with distinct market forces influencing each one. The ‘other’ category, which includes devices that are competitive substitutes for audio-only portable, home and automotive players, will lead the compressed audio player market throughout and beyond the forecast period, and worldwide is expected to exceed 700 million units shipped and $114 billion in revenue in 2009.

“Demand for portable MP3 players is booming, as more and more consumers get acquainted with their stylish form factors and digital audio functionality”, said Susan Kevorkian, program manager, Consumer Markets: Audio at IDC. “In addition, DVD players, mobile phones and gaming devices that play back compressed audio will be key drivers of the compressed audio player market during the forecast period.

Key forecast findings include:

The maximum portable flash player capacity is expected to increase from 1GB in 2004 to reach 8GB in 2006 and 16GB by late 2007.
Video support for music video playback is expected to drive demand for portable flash players and hard drive-based portable jukeboxes. This feature is expected to be complemented by music video downloads from paid online media services.
The market for hard drive-based portable jukeboxes is expected to grow at a worldwide compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.5% during the forecast period. IDC expects this market to be inhibited by the availability of high-capacity portable flash players and average selling prices (ASPs) in excess of $200 throughout the forecast period.
Worldwide total units and revenue for all four segments of the compressed audio player market are expected to reach 945.5 million and $145.4 billion respectively by 2009.

irishdev.com

Global sales of digital music players, including MP3 players and other devices, are expected to increase more than 200 percent by 2009, a key research firm said Thursday, as more consumers adapt to a world where CDs and cassette tapes appear to be going the way of the 8-track tape.

Sales of portable compressed audio players are expected to hit $145.4 billion in four years, a 211 percent jump over $46.7 billion in sales in 2004, according to IDC forecasts. Units shipped worldwide are seen rising 320 percent to 945.5 million in the same period.

“Demand for portable MP3 players is booming, as more and more consumers get acquainted with their stylish form factors and digital audio functionality,” said IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian, program manager for audio consumer markets.

Flash memory-based units will lead the growth, soaring 370 percent to 124 million units in 2009 from 26.4 million units shipped globally in 2004. Video support and the increase of video content will also drive demand.

Read full article

Hit by the successful launching of Apple’s iPod nano, the prices of local MP3 players have fallen by up to 30 percent over the last two weeks.

The price drop is most apparent in the flash-memory models with storage capacities of from 1 gigabyte to 4 gigabytes. The nanos, Apple’s newly introduced sleek music players, are being sold at 230,000 won for a 2-gigabyte model and at 290,000 won for a 4-gigabyte one, which are much lower than those of rival products with similar storage capacities and functions. Samsung Electronics is reportedly supplying the flash memory chips to Apple at specially discounted prices.

According to danawa.com, a price-comparison Web site, an online shopping mall sold Cowon Systems 2-gigabyte model at 209,000 won early this week. The price of G3s had been set around 290,000 won before the arrival of the new iPods two weeks ago.

Two leading South Korean brands, Samsung’s Yepp and Reigncom’s iRiver, also saw drops in price of their flash-memory devices. The price of Samsung’s 2-gigabyte player YP-T8QB has been cut down to 324,000 won from 380,000 won as of mid-September, and Reigncom’s 1-gigabyte T20 also is being sold at 209,000 won on the Internet, 6,000 won lower than two weeks ago.

The manufacturers, however, deny that they intended to lower the prices of their products, and said that it was the distributors decision in order to get rid of their stockpiles.

Read full article

Got $50,000 to spare for an MP3 player? Thought so. Well if you have you want to head over to douglasjx.com and pick yourself one.

According to the blurb, The Presidential is the most expensive player in the world, there is nothing like it (well certainly not since Sony ditched the Qualia range).

You choose between white gold and yellow gold for your exterior and of course the configuration of the set-in diamonds on the front. After that it’s hand delievered to your door, none of this bung it in the mail business.

The specs, bar the diamonds, are the same as another player the company makes – the X2. This model features a 1Gb drive, video support via its large 65K colour screen and works with MP1, MP2, MP3, MPX, JPG, WMA, ASF, WAV, and AV formats. It doesn’t carry the PlayForSure logo by Microsoft, but who cares about that when you’ve just paid for it what you would for a top of the range family saloon.

Of course, you aren’t just buying the MP3 player, but membership into an elite club of other people who have got more money than sense. Members will also get to join the DJ community, so you can enjoy a range of benefits which go beyond the mp3 player, from the Class of 85 to our merchandise store, it becomes clear that its not just music and hardware, but everything in between.

pocket-lint.co.uk

Oakley’s new MP3 sunglasses are based on the firm’s “Gascan” frame and comes without flip-up “baseball style” glasses of the original Thump models for a more European look.

While the previous product generation had a visible bulge in the stems to hold the electronics, Thump 2 looks much cleaner with only the control buttons and ear phones visible. Just like the original, a USB port is in the bottom of one of the stems. The port recharges the Thump 2 and also serves as the interface to transfer music from a computer to the memory integrated into sunglasses.

The original Oakley Thump was the first commercial product that integrated an MP3 player and sunglasses.
Play and stop buttons were built into the sides of the eyeglass stems. The ear-bud speakers flipped down and actually went “into” the ear, providing a secure fit. The price for the original Thump was $495 for the 256 MByte version.

Some review outlets thought the original design was a bit clunky, but Oakley says that sales results of the device were positive. “Sales have been actually pretty good. I know it has been receiving mixed reviews, but in the Sunbelt states they sell very well,” says Lucy Chung, spokesperson for Oakley.

The Thump 2 plays AAC encoded songs, in addition to MP3s. Songs can be listened to in order or randomly. The new Thump will be available in mid to late October and will sell for $300 to $450, depending on their storage capacity (256 MByte, 512 MByte, and 1 GByte).

tomshardware.com

The mobile music player market is already very crowded, but it is about to get a new entrant: Disney Corporation.

Disney has set its sights on the music market, but for very young kids. This week the company announced plans to release a range of Disney-themed MP3 players aimed specifically at children as young as 6-years-old.

The MP3 players are called Mix Sticks, and they contain 128 MB of flash storage accessible though a USB connection to a PC. They will also sport a slot for SD/MMC cards up to a maximum size of 1 GB. Disney plans to release complementary music offerings called “Mix Clips,” which are basically Disney music albums sold on a memory card format. As well as playing through the Mix Sticks, these albums are compatible with a range of devices, including cellphones.

Available in the US to start with - priced at $49.99 (approximately £28) - the devices should be on Disney’s online store in mid-October, whether it is the Forever Princess or Sassy Pixie versions that take your fancy.