Friday 3 August 2007

Apple iPod Shuffle MP3 Player (512Mb & 1Gb)

The most amazing thing about the iPod Shuffle. is it's compact size, it's now smaller than a pack of chewing gum. The new updated version doesn't look like a memory stick and has more of the iPod slick look about it.

The iPod Shuffle supports:
• MP3 audio encoded >320Kbps.
• AAC audio encoded >320Kbps.
• Protected AAC audio. ( iTunes)
• Audible music format & WAV files.
• Mac OSX v10.2.8\Mac OSX 10.3.4
• Microsoft Windows 2000. (including SP4)
• Windows XP Home or Professional. (including SP2)

The standard earphones that are supplied with the iPod Shuffle does produce quality sound. It comes with a long cord which allows the user freedom to do other activities, which will handy for those who wish to use it while they are doing a work out. You can also order the optional armband.

Like most MP3 the iPod shuffle has a USB2.0 port, this makes it extremely easy for the user to change the song on the shuffle. There are two types of playback on the iPod Shuffle, random play and the repeat all function.

The Apple iPod Shuffle is designed to cater for people who just want to listen to music. The whole design has kept small and simple which is why it is such a hit for the fitness fanatics. While other MP3 players will seem a little chunky when you are working out, the iPod Shuffle is so small you barely notice it is there!

The iPod Shuffle is designed to sound great, just like all the other iPods it runs the iTune software and it does exactly what it said on the tin… erm I mean box!

Good:
• The best quality MP3 and the cheapest in its range.
• Slick, compact & light weight.
• Simple to use.
• Excellent sound quality.

Bad:
• No LCD screen.
• No equalizers.
• Can’t pick & choose songs.
• Only support iTunes.

Tuesday 31 July 2007

There's More to iPod Games Than Just Solitaire

When you buy an MP3 player, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is not whether or not you have the ability play any decent gains on your iPod. At most, you may try to pass the time by playing a game of solitaire or one of the other basic iPod games. However, since the iPod is basically the most popular MP3 player around, some companies have recently created or converted games over to the iPod.

Go to the Apple Computer online store you can locate many fun games for only $4.99 for each game. The choices include some very popular free games iPod such as Popcap Games well-known time-suck, or the infamous, depending on your point of view, Bejeweled.

In the past this particular game was limited to your PDA or computer, however this addictive puzzle/strategy game has to do with aligning gems that are similar in color into chains of three or more to produce a chain reaction that destroys them totally.

You get more points when the chain gets bigger. As each chain explodes the gems that are towards the top fall and can activate additional chain reactions to give you much larger bonuses if you are clever enough as you plan your moves ahead.

You can give the latest version of Bejeweled 2 on your computer a try by purchasing a copy, or for free by playing at worldwinner to check out how it functions if you have never played the game before. Depending on the version, you could have unique power-ups available.

Numerous Games to Choose from

A different kind of Popcap puzzle/strategy games for the iPod is called Zuma. Zuma has a kind of Mayan look to it. It is kind of like Bejeweled, only instead of gems you use marbles. The setting for the game takes place on a board that has a giant mazelike track on it that has a line of various colored marbles that rolls along into different parts of the maze.

In this particular game you will lose if the line of marbles reaches the exit poll. To continue on, new must destroy all the marbles by firing different colored marbles from the mouth of your frog shooter into a line that forms a row of at least three marbles of similar color. There are also several different kinds of power ups that can assist you.

This particular game is also made available as a demo on worldwinner .com. Various other iPod games that are available to the consumer include mini golf, poker, and the ever lasting favorite of puzzle gamers: Tetris. It is not likely that you will ever get to play the game Splinter Cell on your iPod, however you don't have to just get stuck with Solitaire anymore as your only gaming option if you have an iPod.

Sunday 29 July 2007

Apple iPod Nano 8GB

This is the flash player out there in terms of look and feel. Other players have the iPod beat in terms of features, but I like the iPod's first compression and Audible support, as well as the cool new search feature.

Pros : Sturdy metal casing. Very slim. Bright screen. Supports Audible and lossless compression. Very good sound quality. Cool new search feature. Excellent software integration. Gapless playback. Long battery life.

Cons : No integrated FM tuner, voice recorder, or video playback. Nonremovable battery.

Spec Data Information

Player Type: Flash MP3 Player Radio: Optional Recording, Voice: Optional Recording, Line In: Optional Audio Battery Life: 26.17 Hr Screen Size: 1.5 inches Storage Capacity: 8 GB Dimensions: 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.26 inches Weight: Very soft 1.4 oz Video Recording: No Music Playback Formats: AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, Audible, MP3, WAV, Protected AAC Photo formats: BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PSD, PNG, GIF Screen Resolution: 176 x 132 pixels

Saturday 28 July 2007

Is Apple iPod the Best MP3 Player?

There are Apple iPod users that wouldn't trade their MP3 player for anything in the world. Instead, other persons can't stand it. As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The Apple iPod has been released in 2001 and in short time became almost substitute for the term MP3 player, having an impressive market share (over 80% of the hard drive based MP3 player market and around 70% of the entire MP3 player market).This means that almost everyone has heard of the iPod, which is another reason for it selling so well, besides the real advantages, of course.

Let's take a look at some advantages and disadvantages that can help you decide if the Apple iPod is the best MP3 player for you. iPod is cool, trendy, fashionable, stylish, classy ... whatever word you want to use to describe this. However, it is also one of the most expensive MP3 players out there. If you want to impress and price is not a problem for you, you will probably choose an iPod.

Then it has genuine advantages: small size, very good sound quality, easy to use navigation with the click wheel and large storage capacity. What's more, the latest models can play video files and display pictures in multiple file formats. The iPod Nano also has a full color screen, a stopwatch and lap timer. Another plus is that you can find many iPod accessories.

When it comes to disadvantages, the iPod has a big one, especially if you're an audio book lover. Downloadable audio books are becoming very popular and more and more websites are now offering them.

Unfortunately Apple have refused to enable the Windows Media capabilities of the iPod, while the majority of audio book publishers do request that their titles are available only in a copy protected WMA format. In this situation, you can only use iTunes to add new content to your iPod MP3 player.

Virtually all other MP3 player manufacturers support WMA files now, so it hopefully won't be long until pressure from customers forces Apple to enable it.

Until then, there is an easy solution. You need to burn the files to a regular compact disc and then rip as MP3 to your iTunes. However, this might not be convenient for everyone.

Another drawback becomes apparent if you want to connect the iPod with your home stereo system. And that's because the iPods do not have other needed output connections besides the headphone jack. In this case, you will need to separately buy a special docking station.

The good thing is that the docking station can also act as a charger for the battery, it has a remote control and output connections for video as well. However, this is an extra expense and you need to be aware of this.

Friday 27 July 2007

Apple iPod Nano

How cool would it be to have five days' worth of your favorite music, if you're someone who plays your favorite music 24/7, or 25,000 of you favorite snapshots suspended from a chain around your neck on a black, or pink, or green, or silver, or blue device about the size of a playing card? Good looks, great listening, and a mammoth memory are the big selling points of the latest version of the rechargeable

Features Of The Apple iPod Nano

The Apple iPod nano offers internal memory ranging from the five hundred song capacity 2GB to the two thousand-song capacity 8GB so that your 1.4 ounce MP3 companion will keep you dancin' to its music for up to five days, if your downloaded song choices average four minutes or less. And that's if your Apple iPod nano is never given any downtime.
Realistically assess how long it would take you to get through two thousand songs, and you may appreciate the amazing job Apple has done packing a ton of consumer value into a very small package! Not only that; Apple has made the process of navigating through two thousand songs a breeze with its proprietary click-wheeling interface. All this in a MP3 62% smaller than the iPod mini, and although there were a few sacrifices to its miniaturization, the improvements far outweigh them. Well, maybe not far, because the whole setup tips the scales at a mere 1.5 ounces.

Apple iPod Nano Colors

While the Apple iPod nano will not get you FM or allow voice recording, its dazzling color screen, outstanding sound , and flash drive all make up for that slight shortcoming, and eliminate the possibility of a dead hard drive to boot. With five casing colors, up from the original white, and the black and white options of the Pod mini, the Apple iPod nano is designed to appeal to the fashion conscious runner; there are blue, pink, green, silver, and black nanos so you can coordinate with your running shoes. White did not make the final cut, perhaps because the original white iPod just got too grubby too quickly.
The Apple iPod nano has a line of accessories to meet any customization and function needs, and its lithium ion battery can provide music for twenty-four hours straight, with a fast cycle recharge getting it to 80% capacity in ninety minutes. A full charge will take three hours. You can also use the Apple iPod's amazing color display to exhibit a musically-accompanied show of you favorite photos for up to five hours.