Ipod Shuffle

Minimalism has always been a guiding principle at Apple, and the new iPod shuffle is an outstanding example. The slim white shell encases a 512MB or 1GB flash-based player, with nothing more than a four-way rocker ring and play/pause button on the front and a power switch and battery-check button on the back. You pull off one end of the 0.8-ounce player to expose the USB plug. The shuffle has no display to tell you what song you're listening to, no playlists, and no EQ settings. Instead, you get a new version of iTunes that can randomly load the shuffle with songs; two positions on the power switch let you play them in order or randomly. The big idea here, such as it is, is that shuffle owners want to be continually surprised at which songs pop up from their music collections.

MP3 Encoding Technology

The MP3 is a complete godsend for anyone who enjoys and appreciates good music. Not only does it afford users the convenience of purchasing music online and ripping from purchased CDs, it also provides the utmost ease in portability. There are more MP3 players on the market than I can name. These players allow you to download hundreds and in some cases thousands of MP3’s to take along with you anywhere. I create MP3 CD’s containing up to 120 of my favorite songs for my listening pleasure in my car. But how can so many audio files get stored on my 800MB (Megabyte) CD?

MP3 Encoders and MP3 converters are the software that creates MP3s by using an MP3 compression and decompression algorithm. For example, an average 3 minute WAV file can be as large as 15MB. Using MP3 encoders and MP3 converters, a large WAV file can be cut down to a much smaller and more portable MP3 file of about 3MB.

MP3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer 3. At layer 3, psychoacoustics principles are used to find and remove all unnecessary sound data, leaving behind only the crucial audio data. By unnecessary sound data I mean all of the stuff that we humans don’t hear anyway. Most people can’t hear sounds above 16 kHz so why would you want it hogging your disk or hard drive space? Non-music audio such as speeches, sermons, audio books and comedy albums, can be reduced even less based on this.

Compression occurs after the essential data has been separated from the redundant data. At this stage, the same amount of data can be stored using fewer bits and less space. The bit rate is the ratio of the number of bits transferred between two devices per second. The higher the bit rate, the higher the sound quality. The lower the bit rate ratio, the lower the sound quality. 192 Kb/s is the most popular bit rate used in peer-to-peer networks. For the most part, MP3 converters and encoders today use variable bit rates. This allows for much better quality audio because the bit rate conforms to the dynamics of the audio frames being stored which in turn keeps more of the important music data.

There are dozens of MP3 compressor and encoder software programs available online and at stores. Some of the main encoding engines are: LAME, Blade Enc, Fraunhofer Encoders and Xing. Deciding which MP3 encoding engine technology is right for you depends on your individual needs and preferences. Blaze Media Pro is an excellent option if you're looking for a powerful, yet easy to use, all-in-one multimedia solution.

The iPod's Economy Is Booming

Tech entrepreneurship appears alive and well, as evidenced by a range of first-time exhibitors and new products at this week's Macworld Conference and Expo here.

Interspersed among software giants such as Quark Inc. and consumer electronics brand names such as Harman/Kardon, numerous newcomers are talking up their latest accessories for Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod and iPod Shuffle music players.

One company, Delarew Designs, is offering a line of handbags that sport built-in iPod pockets and holes on the ends for the music player's headphone wires.

Another, Bluelounge, has created the Cableyoyo, an inexpensive cable caddy, which literally rounds up wires and stores them out of the way.

Still others are marketing different types of protective coverings for the music player.

Car Makers Will Add iPod Integration

Apple Computer Inc. announced Wednesday that it is collaborating with a number of new car companies to enable iPod integration, some of which will also incorporate voice control capabilities for drivers.

Apple says that it will work with Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to link iPods to sound systems in their newest vehicle models. This brings the total number of car companies worldwide that provide iPod support to 15, according to a recent press release .

Honda and Acura plan to support iPod integration with synthesized audio voice feedback via a recently-released Music Link adaptor. The new adaptor will connect the iPod to existing audio systems in a number of vehicle models, according to a press release from American Honda Motor Co.

A text-to-speech feedback function will read out information about individual tracks or audio controls, compensating for the fact that there is no actual text on the audio screen, Honda spokesperson Jessica Fini told Ziff Davis Internet News.

Apple iPod nano

Once again, Apple has come up with a design that turns heads. Enter the iPod nano. But this was a relatively easy one for the designers, if not the engineers: They took the full-size iPod and made it really, really slim. We measured it at just 80 cents thick—that's 3 quarters and a nickel, or 0.27 inches for you traditionalists—by 5 dimes long (3.5 inches) by 2 pennies wide (1.6 inches). According to Apple, that's 62 percent smaller than the now-discontinued iPod mini the nano is replacing. It weighs just 1.5 ounces, and it really does fit in the smaller front pocket of your blue jeans without the slightest bulge. A few things changed—some compromises in the name of miniaturization and some actual improvements—but the end result is a spectacular product. Sure, it doesn't have an FM tuner or voice recording, but it does have an unsurpassed interface, a color screen, excellent sound quality, and an undeniable cool factor. Plus, it's flash-based, so you don't have to worry about skipping or dead hard drives.

We received the black model for testing, but we were slightly disappointed to find that the included stock Apple earbuds have retained their distinctive "mug-me" white. A nice touch is that the icon that showed up on our desktop was black. The iPod nano doesn't support syncing via FireWire; instead, a message comes up telling you to please use the included USB cable. It still charges via FireWire, though. Upon first connection, our 4GB model had 3.7GB available for storage, with the remaining space being used for system files. It took us only 1 minute 6 seconds to transfer 512MB of MP3 files via USB 2.0.

Ipod Nano Commercial

Apple's Amazing New iPod with Video

Take Steve Jobs (please!). Even when he comes late to market with a product, he claims he invented it. The other day I was listening to Jobs spout on CNBC about how, unlike case with the portable music market (which he's willing to admit he didn't create but merely "revolutionized" with the iPod), there is no portable-video-player market. So Apple, he said, with its new video-capable iPod 30GB is, more or less, inventing the market and now he's going to see what happens.

Golly, I guess Jobs missed the memo about portable media centers. Roughly a year ago, Microsoft and its partners rolled out a new operating system and series of handheld devices that could play music and display photos and video (TV and full-length movies). The products were billed as the ultimate portable media devices—go-anywhere, do-anything consumer electronics wonders. The Creative Zen, easily the best of the bunch, was a slick-looking black unit that offered a brilliant and fairly large (for a handheld device) screen.

Despite the efforts by Creative, Microsoft, and Samsung, not to mention Sony with its portable PlayStation (PSP) and a slew of no-brand Taiwan-made devices, Jobs may be right. There is no portable-video market. All the initial hoopla and the subsequent release of players from Archos, Yepp, and others was followed by general consumer disinterest. Almost a year later, virtually no one is carrying the gadgets—a far different scenario than with MP3 players. What went wrong? And how are Jobs and the new iPod 30GB with video and iTunes 6.0 about to resurrect this stagnant market?

Apple iPod 30GB (with video)

Don't call it the Video iPod, the vPod, or anything that indicates that this is a video player. It's the new iPod, period. Though it does have video-playback capabilities, Apple has chosen to keep the iPod's focus on audio (for now). That said, video looks excellent on the new model's 2.5-inch screen, and the thinner profile—not to mention new audio capabilities such as high-quality stereo recording—makes it more versatile than previous generations. Consider that you can now get the 30GB model for the same price as the previous-generation 20GB model, and you have a pretty impressive product.

Ipod Shuffle

Minimalism has always been a guiding principle at Apple, and the new iPod shuffle is an outstanding example. The slim white shell encases a 512MB or 1GB flash-based player, with nothing more than a four-way rocker ring and play/pause button on the front and a power switch and battery-check button on the back. You pull off one end of the 0.8-ounce player to expose the USB plug. The shuffle has no display to tell you what song you're listening to, no playlists, and no EQ settings. Instead, you get a new version of iTunes that can randomly load the shuffle with songs; two positions on the power switch let you play them in order or randomly. The big idea here, such as it is, is that shuffle owners want to be continually surprised at which s