Hasta La Gadget!

Apple today dropped a mid-cycle refresh of the iPod touch, its iOS-based iPod, with 16GB of storage on board and without a rear camera, for $229. This slots in its existing lineup between the refreshed, fifth-generation iPod touch, which has a rear camera (and a loop for attaching a wristband), and the iPod nano.

The new iPod still has the same 4-inch Retina display you’ll find on the existing iPod touch and the iPhone, but it only comes in one color, black and silver, and it replaces the 16GB fourth generation leftover which Apple had offered since introducing the fifth-generation touch, presumably to fill the price gap between it and the 32GB $299 model of that lineup. The fourth gen models had been available for $199 for 16GB, and $249 for 32 GB, so this threads the needle between those two options in terms of price point.

You’ll still get the front-facing FaceTime camera, with 720p HD video recording on this device, the same A5 processor, and the same battery life. The new iPod touch variant is actually .06 ounces lighter than the existing versions, however, which is probably the weight of the rear camera module component. It also boasts the same Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi capabilities as the fifth-gen device.

As MacRumors points out, this refresh was actually predicted by KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an impressive track record on products so far, though he also predicted an 8GB model, too. Still, the fact that he nailed the lack of a camera and the price point on the 16GB model is impressive.

Apple has seemed more open to making changes that go beyond internal specs on products mid-update cycle, including the iMac, which got a VESA-compatible variant earlier this year. I suspect that Apple needed its component and manufacturing costs to get to a point where this version would become viable in terms of its margin expectations, and also that it probably benefitted from clearing the supply lines of the fourth generation model by waiting this long to introduce this variant, but it still might be indicative of a new way Apple is thinking about product releases.

Along with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III was also the launch of a music player accessory known as the Pebble. It’s a small, stone-sized device that lets you sync music from your phone to the music player itself. It received an international launch, but until now, it never hit the US. Samsung has finally released the music player stateside.

If you’re interested in buying the music player, you’ll have a hard time searching for it under the name “Pebble.” Samsung has rebranded the device and has officially called it the “Muse.” It may seem counterintuitive since Pebble makes a whole lot more sense, but either way, it’s available now in the US for only $50.

Users with a Galaxy device (Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, etc.) will be able to connect to the Muse with the help of the Muse Sync app that users can download for free. The app is used to transfer songs and other data without needing to connect to a computer. The Muse player features a metal clip, 3.5mm headphone jack, 4GB of internal storage, and SoundAlive audio tech. So, while you may not be able to fit your entire music collection on it, it’ll definitely hold a few hundred songs for you to enjoy during your daily 5-mile jog.

The device is available now to purchase on Samsung’s website for $49.99, and while it’s not the most versatile music player out there, $50 certainly isn’t too bad of a price. Still, most users will likely stick with their smartphones as their music-listening device, but we certainly can’t blame those who would rather leave their phones at home to prevent damaging or losing it during exercise.

[via Android Community]

Samsung S Pebble music player arrives in the US is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Linn might not be the first name you associate with iPhone and iPad streaming, but the Scottish company is hoping that change all that with its “budget” Kiko media streamer. “Budget” for Linn means £2,500, mind (the company’s hand-made kit usually comes in at around $70k) though you do get a fair amount for your money: while the Kiko system will play nicely with Apple’s AirPlay, Linn has also custom built its own streaming hardware complete with audio upsampling whether you’re listening to music on a phone or tablet, through Spotify or Netflix, or from your games console or Blu-ray player.

In fact, Kiko gets the same proprietary algorithms as the company’s far more expensive network media players – Linn famously opted-out of CDs, persisting with turntables until it jumped directly to streaming systems, and then set up its own high-bitrate record label, Linn Records, to sell digital music of the quality it believed was required –  which are applied to its range of inputs. You get three HDMI and one S/PDIF, RCA phono, and a TOSLINK digital optical, together with ethernet for streaming from an internet service or your networked PC/Mac/NAS.  There’s also a 3.5mm aux-in and a headphone socket on the front panel.

The output is to the matching Kiko speakers, which pairs each driver with a 33W RMS amp and use a digital crossover. There’s also an HDMI output for your TV or projector. Various free apps, such as Kinsky for iPhone and iPad [iTunes link] are offered for remote control, media selection, and more.

Of course, Linn’s main rival isn’t B&W or Bose, whose AirPlay-compatible systems start to look cheap in comparison to the Kiko, but brands like Bang & Olufsen. The Danish company’s BeoPlay A9, for instance, is far more outlandish in its appearance than the Linn system, but costs roughly the same (though doesn’t have the same flexibility in streaming or connectivity).

Does that make the Linn Kiko a bargain? At £2,500 in the UK and around $3,390 in the US, it doesn’t come cheap, though you’re getting the culmination of several years of R&D not to mention in-house production of the curved aluminum casings (available in six colors).

Linn Kiko takes AirPlay up a level is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Neil Young isn’t shy when it comes to embracing new technology, something he put beyond question with his latest appearance on The Late show with David Letterman. The artist took the opportunity to reveal plans for his high-fidelity Pono music service. The aim is to tackle the poor quality in which he believes most people receive their music these days — the humble MP3. Young’s offering would comprise a three-pronged approach, including a music store with high-resolution recordings, a digital-to-analog style conversion technology, and portable hardware to listen to it all with. The simple intention is to offer music as it was originally intended to be heard, but at this time there’s no detail as to what this actually entails (sorry specification fans).

According to Rolling Stone, the big three labels are interested, and the goal is to unify, rather than diversify, the quality of recorded content. The Pono players (that yellow wedge you see above) will serve up your existing catalog, but you’ll likely need to re-buy some of your collection if you want the holistic experience. With no cards fully on the table, we’re at the ransom of Young’s celebrity endorsements, which all claim that the benefits are tangible. Young, of course, says “You can’t get better than this, this is what they do in the studio,” but until we get some details, or ears on, everybody knows this is nowhere.

[Image credit:CBS]

Continue reading Neil Young’s Pono music service wants to democratize high-quality audio (video)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video

Neil Young’s Pono music service wants to democratize high-quality audio (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After nearly a year of waiting, GeeXboX 3.0 has arrived with XMBC 11 integration in tow. The developers announced the latest build today, revealing that it also includes PVR functionality, which means that you can watch and record live TV using GeeXboX 3.0. That feature will definitely be appreciated, as will the fact that the developers of GeeXboX have made this latest version compatible with a number of different ARM systems, in addition to the typical x86 32 and 64-bit systems the program typically supports.

The total size of your GeeXboX 3.0 download comes in at 140MB. You have the addition of new firmware and driver support to thank for that bump up in size. Of course, those additional firmware and drivers improve hardware support, so we’re thinking it will be quite easy to live with the increase in download size. The development team still wants GeeXboX to be available on “as many PCs and devices as possible” though, which suggests that future releases of GeeXboX won’t be quite as big.

Still, 140MB definitely isn’t bad for what you’re getting. Have a look at the full list of release notes below, straight from the GeeXboX website:

New features

• XBMC Media Center 11 “Eden” frontend.
• PVR support for DVB Digital TV, to watch and record live TV
• Improved remote control support
• Support for Full HD videos on PandaBoard
• Support for Full HD videos on Cubox
• Improved HDD installation
• Installation support for (U)EFI systems
• Installation support for SSD’s

Supported Architectures

• x86 32 and 64 bits PCs
• ARM TI OMAP4 Pandaboard
• ARM nVidia Tegra2 Harmony
• ARM Cubox (armada5xx)
• ARM Snowball ux500

System

• Linux Kernel v3.4.4.
• Systemd v188.
• BusyBox v1.21
• Connman Network Manager v1.6.
• Xorg Server v1.11.4.
• Mesa v8.0.3
• OPKG Package Manager v0.18
• USB persistent user data storage.

Audio Drivers

• ALSA v1.0.24.1.
• Support for Analog, SPDIF and HDMI output devices.

Video Drivers

• Support for Intel, nVidia, ATI, Matrox and VIA GPUs.
• Support for CRT, LCD and HDMI output devices.
• OpenGL and OpenGL|ES hardware assisted graphics acceleration.
• VDPAU, VA-API and Crystal HD hardware assisted video decoding for nVidia, Intel and Broadcom GPUs.

Input

• Mouse and Synaptics touch pads.
• HID Keyboards.
• Remote Controls.
• PluseEight CEC devices.

Networking Features

• NFS shares.
• Samba auto-discovery.
• UPnP / DLNA media discovery.
• ZeroConf services announcements.
• HTTP server.
• FTP server
• SSH server

MediaCenter

• XBMC Media Center 11 “Eden” frontend.
• Movies and TV Shows, with subtitles support.
• Music Collection
• Pictures and Slideshows
• CDDA, DVD and (non encrypted) Bluray support.
• Media Database Support.
• Internet MovieDB / TVDB metadata and covers grabbers.
• Skins
• Vu+ addon
• Xvdr addon
• Vdr server
• Tvheadend server

That’s quite a long list, so GeeXboX enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to with this latest release. A download of the ISO is available right now from the GeeXboX site, and in order to begin using it, all you need to do is download it, stick it on a USB drive, and reboot your computer. After that, you’re free to enjoy, and be sure to check out our interview with the folks behind GeeXbox while you’re waiting for your download to finish!

GeeXboX 3.0 lands with XBMC 11 integration is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.