Tag Archives | Digital Music

What Will Apple Announce on Wednesday? You Tell Me!

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 7, 2009 at 11:30 pm

Apple Music Event Last time Apple had a big product rollout, I asked you to make some predictions. Collectively, you did better than some of the big-time Apple pundits. Now we’re just hours away from the company’s music event, which Technologizer will cover live beginning at 10am PT on Wednesday.

So let’s try this again, with another quick survey. I’ve listed some of the products that have been rumored or predicted for the event, and also let you predict whether the iPod Classic will get the axe or live on to play another day. I’ll close the survey Tuesday night and report on your verdict before the event happens–then follow up with a look at just how uncannily accurate you were.

Click here to take the Apple Music Event survey.

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Join Us for Live Blog Coverage of Apple’s Music Event Next Wednesday

Posted by Harry McCracken on September 5, 2009 at 10:48 pm

If it’s September in the world of technology, one thing is pretty much a given: Apple will release some new iPods and update iTunes. I’ll be in the audience at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens next Wedneday at 10am as the company does that–I’m assuming–and maybe tells us other stuff of interest, too. (If you think it’ll announce a tablet, tell us now so you claim immense foresight, really good sources, or ESP if it does–most of the world has decided it won’t.)

I’ll blog the event as it happens, as quickly as humanly possible (courtesy of Cover It Live). If there’s a Q&A session, I’ll try to ask a question on behalf of the Technologizer community, so if you’ve got any queries right now relating to Apple and its music-related products, ask ’em in the comments on this post or at the home page for our coverage. And join us on Wednesday right here, won’t you?

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Nokia Steps Back, Delays Music Service in U.S.

Posted by Ed Oswald on September 1, 2009 at 11:00 am

Nokia_Comes_With_Music_Nokia5310-XpressMusic_1_lowres With its “Comes With Music” music service getting a not-so-hot reception in the countries where it has already been launched, Nokia has decided to delay the launch of the product here in the US until at least 2010. Previously it had indicated it was on track for a launch sometime this year.

While the service seems to be doing decently in the developing markets it’s been introduced in, it’s underperformed everywhere else.

Obviously, the elephant in the room–iTunes–has a lot to do with Nokia’s woes. There’s also a good chance that many potential smartphone buyers just don’t associate Nokia with music.

It’s kind of a shame considering that Nokia’s strategy to attract customers is somewhat different. Essentially, for about 12-18 months after purchasing the handset you can download as much music as you want at no extra charge (thus the offering’s name).

A delay is really not that bad when you think about it. It’s important that Nokia sells the service effectively, especially considering the downloaded music is copy protected. Also, it needs a carrier to subsidize the cost of the device, since it’s pricey when purchased in unlocked form.

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Rhapsody is Coming to the iPhone. Let’s Hope!

Posted by Harry McCracken on August 23, 2009 at 10:51 pm

Rhapsody Logo RealNetworks’ Rhapsody is a very nicely done music service. But like all subscription music offerings it’s been profoundly hobbled by the fact that it’s incompatible with iPods, the devices that dominate portable digital music. That’s about to change. Sort of. Maybe.

Over at its corporate blog, RealNetworks its reporting that it’s submitted a Rhapsody application to the iPhone App Store. The app would bring Rhapsody to the iPhone and iPod Touch, letting owners of those devices pay a monthly fee ($14.99, apparently–the price of a Rhapsody to Go account) for unlimited access to the millions of tracks in Real’s catalog.

Here’s a video from Real showing the app in action:

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3266941&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Rhapsody for iPhone is missing one key feature offered by Rhapsody to Go on other devices: It can stream music (over both 3G and Wi-Fi) but can’t store it locally. That means it only works when you have an Internet connection. Real says it may add local music storage later, and that an upcoming Android version of Rhapsody will store music locally.

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What if the Beatles Never Go Digital?

Posted by Harry McCracken on August 20, 2009 at 9:17 am

Abbey Road, With iPhones Forget the tablet. Ditto for the $800 MacBook. The greatest Apple vaporware of all time may be digital download versions of the Beatles catalog. I’ve lost track of how many Apple events I’ve attended that were preceded by the scuttlebutt that Steve Jobs would tell us that Apple had inked a deal with Apple Corp to put the Fab Four on iTunes. I’ve sat in auditoriums thick with the anticipation that they end would end with that happy news and a surprise appearance by Paul and/or Ringo.

Now the rumors are bubbling up again, based on the rumor (not yet confirmed by Apple) that new iPods will roll out on September 9th–the same day that a couple of new Beatles box sets and the Beatles Rock Band game hit store shelves. But 9 to 5 Mac is wondering just what Apple Corps. means by a statement in a recent press release:

Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalog will continue. There is no further information available at this time.

That might mean that the Beatles aren’t arriving on iTunes (or any other digital music venue) in a few weeks. Then again, it leaves copious wiggle room–maybe the discussions that are continuing involve the imminent digital release of said catalog.

I’m not exactly rooting for iPod-toting fans of the lads to be disappointed yet again on September 9th. But I wouldn’t be shattered if the words “John,” “Paul,” “George,” and “Ringo” weren’t spoken by anyone at the still-theoretical Apple event, either. Or any future Apple events, come to think of it. Building an Apple tablet is a job best left to professionals, and making a homemade $800 MacBook would likely involve more than $800 in parts. Creating a high-quality digital version of any Beatles album, however, can be done by anyone with a CD and a computer with an optical drive in minutes. Beatles fans can put the songs on their iPods; the Beatles get their money; we all get to continue the tradition of wondering about an official digital deal. If the Beatles did hit iTunes, we’d all have to switch to speculating about Garth Brooks, and it just wouldn’t be the same…

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5Words for Thursday, August 6th 2009

Posted by Harry McCracken on August 6, 2009 at 5:49 pm

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Rhapsody (which I like) downsizes.

Microsoft now owns Office.com domain.

Laptop Magazine rates customer service.

Opera’s working on Android version.

Studios vs. $1 DVD rentals.

Iowans can text 911 messages.

A steering wheel for iPhone.

Microsoft’s Windows 7 upgrade megachart.

Apple pulls sex-offender app.

Bill Gates’ Macworld surprise revisited.

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Sonos Upgrades and Downsizes Its Controller

Posted by Harry McCracken on July 28, 2009 at 12:41 pm

Sonos, the company whose multi-room music system is one the most thoughtfully-designed products in all of consumer electronics, just retired the remote control that’s been a part of its offering from the start in favor of an all-new design.

The old model worked well, but it was big and brick-like and maybe even a little clunky by Sonos standards, with a design that drew obvious inspiration from old-school iPods:

Old Sonos

The new Sonos controller performs the same functions as the old one, but it’s a pretty dramatic upgrade in terms of industrial design and user interface. It’s the size of a thick PDA, and sports an aluminum case that gives it an extremely solid feel. Most of the old controller’s buttons are gone–the new one features a 3.5-inch color screen and a touch interface that was snappy and intuitive when I tried it at a Sonos event last night:

sonoscontroller

The new controller goes for $349, and includes the dock; that’s a significant price break over the old model, which cost $399 and made you pay $40 extra for the dock. Owners of iPhones and iPod Touches can choose to control Sonos systems with the excellent free iPhone app instead. (Its interface isn’t exactly the same as the one on the new controller, but has a generally similar feel.) And with an 8GB iPod Touch going for $229, I’ll bet some cost-conscious Sonos buyers will get their systems sans controller and buy a Touch instea.

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DRM? Dead? Yes, But Only For Music.

Posted by Harry McCracken on July 20, 2009 at 10:27 am

Tomb of Dracula TorrentFreak is reporting that Jonathan Lamy, chief spokesperson for the Recording Industry Association of America, declared that Digital Rights Management is “dead” in an interview for an upcoming article. The fact that the industry has basically given up on DRM in favor of unprotected music is not exactly a breaking story, but it’s a relief to see that even the organization most closely associated with anti-piracy efforts seems to be conceding that copy protection isn’t the way to go.

I persist in the idiosyncratic stance that I’m not morally opposed to the idea of copy protection–I just have gigantic issues with most of the implementations I’ve ever used. Even then, I think that copyright holders have the right to make decisions which I think are stupid and self-defeating. But as far as I know, nobody is maintaining that the gradual disappearance of DRM has put the music industry in a worse situation than it was in when most commercial music downloads were locked up.

Of course, DRM isn’t dead–it’s alive and well on the digital video front, where copy protection (albeit not particularly effective copy protection in many cases) is still standard, and an act as innocuous as ripping a DVD to your hard drive for personal use involves cracking DRM. Any guesses about whether we’ll ever see a truly DRM-free era?

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The Steve Bass Guide to the iPod Touch

Posted by Steve Bass on July 13, 2009 at 10:52 am

Steve Bass's TechBite You would think a PC guy could escape Apple’s clutches. I’ve been successful until now, but I recently bought an Apple iPod Touch. Here’s the weird part: I love it.

If you own an iPod Touch, you’re wondering why it took me so long. For the rest of you: This is one fun device, and a terrifically useful one with the right applications. Watch a video to see what the gizmo does. (Warning: The presenter is a hurt-your-eyes perky Apple evangelist.)

Actually, I had no choice. My wife, Judy, heard about iBird ($30), a must-have birding program available for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. The app does away with the hassle of carrying birding field guides; iBird shows images and illustrations of birds, plays their songs, supplies behavior and range details, and more. (Even if you’re not a birder, watch a video of iBird in action–it’s amazing.)

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