mp3
Sony Walkman A845 Review
February 27, 2010
A few weeks ago we had a quick preview of the new Walkman A845 from Sony – the main selling point of which was its incredibly thin form which at 7.2mm makes it the thinnest Sony Walkman yet – and now having had time to give it a thorough ‘going over’ were back to see whether or not it lives up to expectations.
Perhaps the most obvious thing to look at first with the Sony Walkman A845 is exactly that: how it looks. Whilst I have to say that I found the design a little bit off putting to start with (the screen seemed a little too big which in turn made the silver bottom look a little odd) but as with so many things it doesn’t take long to grow on you – although once you’ve noticed it you won’t forget the fact that the buttons look oddly like Mickey mouse!
Moving onto the rest of the device and the quality does continue: whilst the back is worrying proficient at picking up scratches (and even better at getting fingerprints) it likewise looks stylish and exactly what you would expect from a Walkman.
Continue reading »MusicDNA – MP3’s Possible Premium Successor?
January 28, 2010
I don’t think I need to point out how fast the tech world moves, and that for every new piece of technology there will be one to replace it and the music industry epitomises this brilliantly: LPs, Tapes, CDs and now MP3s. But some of the people who worked on MP3 have come up with what could prove to be the successor: MusicDNA.
In a step up from MP3’s which just contain the music (and a little bit of information about the artist, track title etc) MusicDNA will allows for a whole host of different types of related data to be carried in the same file as the music, things such as lyrics, videos, artwork and blog posts.
Continue reading »Sony Walkman A845 – Ultra Slim MP3 Player
January 7, 2010
As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before the tech industry has a tendency to try and get either bigger or smaller (or both) until it reaches the limits of practicality at which point manufacturers try and push the boundaries in a different axis – and that’s what’s happened with the Sony Walkman A845.
Having realised that MP3 players already have got small enough, have more than enough memory space (who realistically listens to more than 50 albums at one time?) and screens that are big enough to allow video watching but don’t make the player too big Sony are pitching for the crown of the next dimension – width – with their thinnest MP3 player yet.
With a thickness of only 7.2mm (although only just thinner than the thinnest laptop) and a weight of only 62g Sony have pushed the boundaries of what defines ‘Ultra-Slim’ and this really is the MP3 player for those of you who are very weak, supermodels or obsessed with technology. Unfortunately I do feel obliged to point out that I can’t remember consciously thinking “Oh, this MP3 player is too heavy!”, and in fact the iPod Nano beats it for ‘skinnyness’ at 6.2mm, but I’ll let that pass for the sake of progress!
Continue reading »CD Art Display Review (Minimalist iTunes Interface For Windows)
December 29, 2009
CD Art Display is a fantastic program for Windows which is free for download and is a nice addition to your desktop and iTunes library. Although it is not stuffed full of features and functionality, it does exactly what it promises and all in all, it does it very well in a similar way to CoverSutra on Mac OS X.
Basically, the application is designed to simply display your album artwork and song information on your desktop. Pretty much exactly as the name suggests. It is neat and compact so does not clutter your desktop at all.
By default, the text is displayed clearly, on a transparent background, therefore it blends in even more to your desktop. Depending on the extremity of colour on your desktop wallpaper, the text should be clearly visible.
Continue reading »SongGenie Review (MP3 Tagging Software for Mac OS X)
December 24, 2009
You may have seen my earlier article on CoverScout, the app which can pluck all of your album artwork from the Internet and attach it to your tracks in iTunes. I mentioned SongGenie in there as an app which furthers the capabilities of CoverScout by adding in all of your track information. You do need both to make all of it happen.
The app is a simple one, it works very similarly to CoverScout by collaborating with your iTunes library and scouring the internet for all of the relevant song information such as Artist, Album, Track Numbers etc. and generally cleaning up your iTunes library. For me there is not a lot worse than seeing a list of tracks which are called ‘track 1’ etc. and this is the answer.
Continue reading »CoverScout Review (Album Art Downloader for Mac OS X)
December 23, 2009
You may have seen my review quite a while ago now on TuneUp, the Windows program designed to find and sort all of your iTunes artwork appropriately. Well, CoverScout does just that, but for Mac OS X.
The app works alongside iTunes, not very discreetly I might add, but it doesn’t ruin the whole look and feel of OS X and iTunes. With just a few clicks you can have CoverScout scour your entire library for missing artwork and inserting high resolution artwork as it goes. Not only that, the integrated editor allows you to alter the artwork in terms of cropping them, scaling them to fit the consistency of your collection.
Continue reading »Foobar2000 Review (iTunes Alternative)
December 17, 2009
Many call Foobar an audio player, but that really doesn’t do it justice. In truth it is so much more than that. Although, it can be said that programs such as iTunes are more than audio players. However, do not be mistaken, this is no iTunes.
On with the review. Firstly, the first thing that impressed me with Foobar2000 is that upon installation, you are left with a couple of options. The first is a standard installation of the application; whereas the other, the portable version which allows you to run it on the move from your pen drive, much like the apps mentioned in the review of PortableApps.
Personally, I chose the standard installation as this was what I required. Upon loading the program for the first time, you are faced with a menu allowing you to change the basic layout of foobar. This is useful as it allows you to customise the display to show such panels as visualisers, playlists and also the colour scheme of the entire program. I liked this feature as it means you can almost make the program your own from the start.
Continue reading »Foxit eSlick FE-01 eBook Reader (Kindle Alternative)
December 6, 2009
The market for e-book readers is becoming increasingly congested these days. The Foxit eSlick eBook Reader is competing against devices such as the Amazon Kindle, COOLER eBook Reader, as well as Sony e-Reader products, which as usual are not what you would call great value with some devices being well over £200.
However, competition is rightly good for the consumer and rightly so the Foxit eSlick ebook readers are just £189.99 which is far greater value for money when you consider the quality of the product. It is slim and stylish and extremely functional. Weighing just 180g, it is lightweight, yet still boasts a decent size screen to provide you with an easy reading experience. It’s also available in either black or white models.
Continue reading »Sky Songs – Online Music Streaming and Download Service
December 5, 2009
According to a journalist for the Telegraph, Sky Songs has the potential to rival iTunes as an online music provider. The concept is not a new thing; downloading and streaming music is widely available online including the increasingly popular Spotify. But coming from a trusted source such as Sky, who provide television, telephone and internet for many households already, gives this service a head start over other options.
The principle is simple. You visit the Sky Songs website, sign up and you have access to 4 million songs. You can choose whether or not to download albums, singles or even mix and match songs creating a ‘music pack’. Most albums or music packs are available for £6.49, rivalling the prices of the likes of Amazon MP3 Download Store and iTunes for top titles.
Continue reading »LG GW620 Preview – LG’s First Android Mobile Phone Handset
December 3, 2009
I recently attended an LG Mobile event in London in which LG showcased a number of their current and upcoming mobile phones, the main focus of my interest that evening was certainly the chance to get my hands on LG’s first Android-based mobile phone, the LG GW620.
First of all, the main mobile phone I currently use is an iPhone 3GS, but I’ve been interested in Google’s Android platform for mobile phones ever since it launched with the T-Mobile G1 late last year, but now we’re starting to see some real potential with it as Google continue to development it further as a platform that could truly rival Apple’s iPhone platform.
Continue reading »
