| Microsoft Zune 80GB Media Player (Black)
Though the old 30GB Zune didn't go over too well, Microsoft's kept at it and managed to produce an impressive pair of players in its second-generation Zunes. The $250 80GB hard-drive model I tested would make a capable alternative to an 80GB iPod Classic if wireless syncing or built-in radio interest you. The 80GB Zune is just about the same size as Apple's 160GB iPod Classic, which makes it a bit thicker than the 80GB model it's competing with. In our objective audio tests and my listening tests, the Zune performed well, producing clean sound with little distortion. One tiny annoyance, though: The player's 20-step digital volume control doesn't provide much granularity. Occasionally, I'd reach points where one step was too low and the next too high. .
Zune trumps iPod as Amazon.com's top seller
Microsoft's Zune portable media player is currently Amazon.com's top-selling digital music device, usurping Apple's iPod for the highest rank in the "Electronics" category. The 30GB Zune -- which Microsoft has heavily discounted to a purchase price of $134 -- dethroned Apple's 4GB iPod nano this morning in Amazon.com's list of top-selling MP3 players. Apple's 4GB iPod nano took second place, while the Cupertino-based company's 80GB iPod classic holds the no. 3 spot. Microsoft's recently-introduced 80GB Zune player is labeled as temporarily out of stock with no future shipping date on Amazon.com, which coincides with the Redmond-based company's own statement that the 80GB Zune will be unavailable until early December. Earlier this month Microsoft announced plans to improve on the basic formula of the iPod's customization for its new Zune players.
Funambol offers native iPhone sync app
Ahead of Apple's official support for third-party native iPhone applications, mobile messaging company Funambol on Thursday announced it has released an open-source native app for iPhone contact synchronization. Requiring users to hack their iPhone, the Funambol plug-in for iPhone synchronizes the iPhone's address book with contacts from popular sources such as Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, GNOME Evolution and SyncML servers such as the Funambol server. The native application requires that users "jailbreak" or hack their iPhone to run third-party applications. While recent Apple iPhone updates have disabled previous hacks and made it harder for new updates, innovative hackers have found a security flaw to 'jailbreak' their phones (and iPod touch), but reports indicate that a forthcoming update from Apple -- v1.1.2 which is expected to ship with iPhones in the UK this Friday -- will, once gain, break the latest jailbreak hacks.
i came, i saw, i conquered
THEY huddled under umbrellas, wrapped in sleeping bags through a stormy November night - just to be at the front of the queue to get a new mobile phone costing £269. At precisely 6:02pm last night the doors opened and "techies" across the UK rushed in to buy the coveted new Apple iPhone. .
Jeweler providing iPhones and iPods as incentives to buy on Black Friday
The Northeastern Fine Jewelry stores will be offering more than just diamonds next Friday, the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season and one of the busiest retail days of the year. The jewelry store has set up a tiered rewards system, based on how much money a customer spends at either its Albany or Schenectady store on Nov. 23. The grand prize: Either a free Apple iPhone or a free Apple iPod Touch. The motivation? "We wanted to come up with a dynamic offer to reward our loyal customers," president Ray Bleser said in a statement. The systems works this way: Customers who spend at least $300 will receive a free digital FM transmitter and auto charger. The transmitter allows iPhone and iPod Touch owners to play music on those devices through their car stereo systems.
|
