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Ears-on with Sony Ericsson MH907 Motion Activated Headphones

by Richard Lai posted Nov 4th 2009 @ 3:57PM

What we have here today isn't just another pair of ordinary headphones: Sony Ericsson's MH907s are button-free, minimalistic headphones that activate upon the magical touch of your skin. Well, your ears to be precise. You must bear in mind that the MH907s are exclusive to Fast port-equipped Sony Ericsson phones thus excluding the forthcoming XPERIA X10 -- so chances are you're already not interested. That said, we shall see if Sony Ericsson is really going to change things forever with these gleaming buds featuring SE's SensMe Control technology, or by just stopping everyone from using their 3.5mm headphone jacks. Read on to find out how these €39 ($57) headphones fared.

HTC Touch Pro2 calls dibs on 3.5mm audio jack for Telus and Verizon

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 17th 2009 @ 4:57AM

That was quick. We heard that HTC was moving to standardize around 3.5mm audio jacks but we weren't necessarily expecting the meaty Touch Pro2 to be on that list of devices. After all, it's already shipping in its GSM version. Nevertheless, MobileSyrup has a soon-to-be released CDMA version of the Touch Pro2 for Telus (and ultimately, Verizon) that goes straight-up 3.5mm -- no goofy ExtUSB jack converter required. Oh, and they've got video to prove it. See it after the break.

[Via WMExperts, thanks Guill M.]

Continue reading HTC Touch Pro2 calls dibs on 3.5mm audio jack for Telus and Verizon

Palm Pre said to sync up nicely with Apple's iTunes

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2009 @ 10:01AM

There's been no direct confirmation just yet, but Fortune has it that Palm's hotly anticipated Pre actually syncs with iTunes. Yeah, iTunes. According to the report, the Pre works "seamlessly" with iTunes on a Mac, with the only notable limitation being that it can't handle older DRM-laced files from the sad, sad days of our past. Even wilder, we're told that the iTunes Store "treats the Pre just as it would an iPod or an iPhone" save for the aforesaid exception, which leads us to wonder how Apple will react. There's little doubt that this factoid sweetens the Pre value proposition for diligent Mac users, but is this functionality kosher with the software's creator? We already saw Tim Cook glance sternly at Palm while uttering that if anyone else "ripped off its intellectual property, it would go after them," and we highly doubt he plans on backing down if push comes to shove. If true, this could definitely trigger an interesting chain of events -- we'll know soon enough, now won't we?

[Via TUAW]

NTT DoCoMo's spatial audio tech provides superhuman hearing

by Darren Murph posted May 11th 2009 @ 9:06AM

Upon first read, we were inclined to believe that the words gracing our eyes here simply couldn't be true. But then we realized that this is NTT DoCoMo, and beyond the realm of feasibility is where this company resides. In a beautiful attempt to provide superhuman-like hearing to all Earthlings, the company has developed a highly efficient mobile spatial audio transmission technology that enables "a mobile phone user to assign a spatial position to each sound source when listening to multiple sound sources, such as during a game or a conference call." Put simply, the tech allows a user listening with headphones to "hear each speaker's voice as if it were coming from a unique direction, creating a virtual face-to-face communication environment." We're not told specifically how many voices the average bird can hear before it becomes too overwhelming, but we'll go out on a limb here and say three or four, max.

Report: Nokia's Comes With Music not selling very well in the UK

by Laura June posted Apr 22nd 2009 @ 5:31PM

After hearing initial reports that Nokia's Comes With Music subscription service was doing "okay," word on the streets is now... even less good. According to estimates released by Music Ally at an Association of Independent Music conference in London, Nokia's gotten about 23,000 subscribers to the service since it launched last October. That's not a great number, if it's anywhere near accurate... though Nokia has "refused to confirm" whether or not it is. Tim Grimsditch, head of Nokia's product marketing division added that it's "a very new business model, we're live in five markets and the numbers only mention one. We're going to continue to develop the model and fine tune how we market it." That said, the report can't be terribly heartening either way you slice it, and is rather reminiscent of N-Gage's niche market status if you ask us.

Vodafone's music catalog goes DRM-free for mobiles and PCs

by Darren Murph posted Mar 12th 2009 @ 9:36AM

We were wondering (seriously, it has been on our conscience at night) which carrier would be the first to go completely DRM-free in respect to its music catalog, and now Vodafone has stepped in to claim said throne. This week, the operator has inked deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music to bring tunes to handsets and PCs sans any nasty DRM, and for those who already downloaded DRM-laced files in the past, they'll be able to upgrade to DRM-free without a charge so long as they do it soon. And to think -- something like this would've been stopped cold at the drawing board by record label execs just a few years back. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

Nokia aiming for DRM-free implementation of Comes With Music

by Darren Murph posted Mar 2nd 2009 @ 7:33PM

Make no mistake -- there's no need to wait for Nokia and its partner studios to implement a DRM-free version of Comes With Music to enjoy your subscription tracks on any device you want, but at least the handset maker -- along with those in control of the jams -- are working towards a legal way to strip your downloads of that pesky rights management stuff. According to an article on the matter from Singapore today, Adam Mirabella, director of Global Digital Music Retail at Nokia, had this to say: "We have dialogs going with all of our partners and Digital Rights Management-free (DRM-free) is also on the roadmap for the future integration of Comes With Music." No further details were spilled, but we'd say that's clear cut enough to get one's hopes up. Just don't bank on this going down anytime soon -- you should know there's lots of red tape to cut before those CmW tunes are freed of their shackles.

[Thanks, Masa]

Samsung's flower-inspired BSP6000 Bluetooth speaker hits FCC

by Darren Murph posted Feb 15th 2009 @ 5:41PM

Samsung has a history of pumping out Bluetooth speakers with unorthodox designs, so we can't say we were totally taken off guard when this one popped up in the FCC's database. That said, it's hard not to be a little shocked when checking out a speaker that looks more like a pair of black flowers than an audio maker, but that's exactly what's presented in the BSP6000. This mobile companion not only allows for BT music streaming, but it also pairs with your handset in order to initiate / answer / end calls. Predictably, Sammy threw in a standard 3.5 millimeter auxiliary jack for connecting any other music source, and we're told that it'll work with your BT phone so long as it's within a 30 foot radius. Obviously, there's no mention of a price or release date (though that would be nice of you to find out, FCC), but we'll be sure to keep an eye out for more. Shouldn't be too hard to miss.

Apple patents adaptive volume controls based on environment, not quality of your music

by Ross Miller posted Jan 22nd 2009 @ 9:07PM

Ever walk through a crowd with your headphones on, only to find your music drowned out by the uproar? A recent Apple patent proposes dynamic volume adjustment based on your local surroundings. According to the filing, a sound sensor would be used to detect ambient noise and adapt accordingly. It says user volume controls are accounted for, so passing by a construction site likely won't cause your jams to be pumped up to an ear-shattering 11. Although it sounds more likely than some of the company's other patents, don't get your hopes up for seeing this any time soon. Hit up the read link for more details.

[Via Electronista]

SRS TruMedia brings "5.1" surround sound to your cellphone... again

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 @ 10:16AM

Ah, nothing like preying on the forgetfulness of the human brain. Nearly a full year after SRS Labs outed its SRS CS Headphone technology -- which supposedly takes 2-channel audio and creates the effect of surround sound -- the company is introducing a solution that sounds mighty similar, just with more channels. TruMedia, as it's so affectionately dubbed, is expected to make mobile phones, PMPs, Bluetooth headphones and "gaming consoles" (saywha?) emit "engaging, theater-like 5.1 surround sound" when multichannel video content is viewed. Kind of sounds like drawing blood from a stone to us, but who knows, maybe six bona fide channels of audio really can flow from a single set of earbuds.

Nokia's Comes With Music service plans world tour

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 @ 3:01AM

Nokia's all-you-can-eat Comes With Music service has been humming along quite nicely across the pond, but until now, we've been left in the dark about its plans for world domination. No more, as a recent Reuters report has it that the unlimited music service should be headed to Australia, Asia and Singapore later this quarter and Latin America / USA sometime this year. We're also told that more corners of Europe should get served in the future, though no window of time was handed out there. It should be interesting to see if any carriers jump in to subsidize these, but our gut feeling says they'll be sold for a premium unlocked at your nearest Nokia flagship.

[Via UnwiredView]

Nokia's Comes With Music service said to be selling "okay"

by Darren Murph posted Jan 3rd 2009 @ 9:54PM

It's a tough time to be selling mobile phones, let alone mobile phone add-ons, and that's evidenced by a recent report that Nokia's Comes With Music service is simply doing so-so. A Financial Times piece on Nokia's ability to survive the current economy briefly mentions the CwM service, quoting an unnamed source as saying that "initial sales had been okay, but not earth shattering." Not surprisingly, it was presumed that many budget-strapped consumers were shying away given that most of their favorite tunes could be acquired gratis via the intarwebz. Still, we can imagine this gaining way more traction than its foray into handset gaming, but the refusal of the major UK carriers to stock CwM-equipped handset sure isn't helping matters.

[Via mocoNews]

Verizon's G'zOne Boulder now shipping with front speaker

by Darren Murph posted Dec 16th 2008 @ 3:39PM

Yeah, you read that correctly. Now shipping with a front speaker. If you'll have a look at the original version (after the break) and compare the front to the image you see above, it's easy to spot the difference. With no rhyme, reason or official announcement, Casio has apparently started shipping VZW a refreshed version of the rough and tough G'zOne Boulder. According to the owner of this here mobile, the model number now sits at C711ORXB, though the significance of that is anyone's guess. We know, your "old" Boulder now feels totally inadequate -- shame a simple software update can't bring it up to speed.

[Via phoneArena]

Continue reading Verizon's G'zOne Boulder now shipping with front speaker

Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Plus music service goes live

by Darren Murph posted Nov 5th 2008 @ 10:51PM

Alongside the W902 plus (pictured), Sony Ericsson has officially launched its PlayNow Plus music service. Currently, the unlimited music download service is only being offered through Sweden's own Telenor, but we suspect more carriers (and compatible handsets) will be added on in due time. For now, however, everyone outside of Sweden will have to rely on insider reports to see how the service fares, not that we're suggesting any Swedes drop us a bone in comments or anything. Ahem.

Sony Ericsson's Play Now Plus to compete with Nokia's Comes with Music

by Darren Murph posted Sep 24th 2008 @ 5:14AM

Nothing like a pair of high-brow Europeans slapping each other in the streets, huh? In response to Nokia's forthcoming Comes with Music service, Sony Ericsson is confirming rumors by announcing a competing unlimited music download service dubbed Play Now Plus. The service, which will be available "solely through telecoms operators," will provide subscribers with access to millions of tunes, and customers can even keep up to 300 jams after their 6- to 18-month contract expires. According to SE's marketing head Lennard Hoornik, it'll be rockin' on Telenor within a few weeks, and it will spread from Sweden into more of Western Europe in Q1 2009 and into other world markets in Q2 2009. We're told that the service will run early adopters 99 Swedish crowns ($15) per month, and so far as we can tell, you don't have to have a specific SE phone to get in on the action.