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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]

Samsung's M7600 Beat DJ music phone on sale at O2 UK

by Darren Murph, posted May 23rd 2009 @ 2:17PM

Quite a bit has gone down in the cellular realm since Barcelona opened its beautiful doors to host Mobile World Congress 2009, but how could we ever forget this gem? Samsung's M7600 Beat DJ is about as close as we'll ever come to a real live Pilotfish Ondo, and after months of waiting, it's finally on sale across the pond. Available for purchase right now at O2 UK, the Bang & Olufsen-infused handset packs a 2.6-inch OLED panel, perfect for mixing, scratching and texting your mum when you stay out too late. It's all yours for between £0.00 and £146.80 ($233) depending on your choice of contract, and if any of you kind, gentle Britons feel like importing a few for the deprived Yanks over here, drop us a note in comments.

[Thanks, Todd]

Sony Ericsson's facial recognition patent plays the perfect song to complement your mood

by Ross Miller, posted May 21st 2009 @ 11:56PM

We don't expect this to be indicative of any near-term projects for the now financially hindered phone maker, but one of Sony Ericsson's recently unearthed patents paves the way for some interesting uses. From what we gather, while listening to music on your device, a picture of your face would be taken. That image would then be run through software that interprets your mood, and an appropriate next song based on those emotions would be picked -- so much for the art of mixtapes. Presumably, it'd also require a phone or device with a camera mounted on the same side as the screen, so unless mobile video conferencing takes off in a huge way, we can't see people paying extra for a phone or device with this configuration. And if you just got dumped over SMS, we hope it doesn't intepret those tears as a good time to play that Damien Rice song you two fell in love with. Hit up the read link for the full patent details.

[Via Slash Gear]

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.

Nokia Music veep addresses slow Comes with Music sales in the UK

by Laura June, posted Apr 29th 2009 @ 11:33AM

After some rather disheartening (albeit unconfirmed) estimates last week that Nokia's Comes with Music service had snagged only 23,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, Rob Taylor, vice president of Nokia Music says that the company is pretty "happy" with what its learned there so far. He admitted that the UK launch (the service's first) devices -- the 5310 Xpress Music and the 8GB N95 -- were "slightly out of date" at the time pointing out that the service was doing much better in subsequent markets, which all boast the 5800 as their hero device. Taylor said he also recognized that Nokia needed more retail partners to help move units, and that the company is not "giving up" on the UK as a market for CwM, adding that they'll be bringing the 5800 there in the future. No word on when that might happen yet -- but we're going to keep out eyes peeled for you.

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?

Music-focused event on tap for Nokia this week

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 8th 2009 @ 1:03PM

Hot on the heels of MWC, it seems Nokia's got another secret that it wants to get off its chest this week. Why the company didn't bundle this announcement with the MWC stuff is unclear -- but with the E55, E75, and N86 all unveiled in Barcelona, maybe they're just looking to give the new gear some spotlight time of its own. Actually, calling this "gear" might be overstepping -- for all we know, Nokia could simply be announcing new Comes With Music markets or something along those lines -- but naturally, our hearts and minds are always pining for new hardware. Look for this to go down at 10:00AM Central European Time on Wednesday the 11th, which works out to a bright 'n early 5AM for you New Yorkers, so bring plenty of coffee with the popcorn. Any good theories?

[Via The Nokia Blog]

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.

Nokia drags more Comes With Music handsets out for Singapore launch

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 15th 2009 @ 6:36AM

Slowly but surely, Nokia's Comes With Music is checking off locales on its tour around the world. Next up is Singapore, and rather than sticking to the same selection of CwM-equipped handsets as we've seen thus far, it'll be tossing in the lower-end 5320 XpressMusic and 5220 XpressMusic alongside the 5800, N96, N95 and N79. When the service and handsets launch in "the coming weeks," it'll mark the first nation in Asia to take part in Nokia's fun little all-you-can-digest music initiative. For those keeping score, this will make Singapore the first country on the planet to have access to a CwM 5800, though there's no word on how costly any of the previously mentioned mobiles will be. Patience, friends -- it's all we can count on these days.

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]

Sony Ericsson W595 headed to Europe in Sandy Gold hue

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 31st 2008 @ 5:06PM

If you're looking to sprinkle just a pinch of Mr. T into your life, there's hardly a better way than to pick up Sony Ericsson's forthcoming Sandy Gold W595. Reportedly, the only thing changing is the color, and Europeans enamored by that can get their jollies next February.