player

iTunes Match vs. Amazon Cloud Player: What's the better option?

With Amazon's recently updated Cloud Player service, music fans now have one more way to store and stream their tunes from the cloud. It bears many similarities to Apple's iTunes Match, but after playing around with both services I can attest to some clear differences, as well. If you're looking for some guidance on which service is a better fit for your music collection, you've come to the right place.

iTunes Match Cloud Player Free option n/a 250 songs, scan & match, purchases do not count against total Paid option $24.99/yr, scan & … Read more

Get started with Amazon's scan-and-match Cloud Player feature

Amazon just announced a pretty big update to its Cloud Player service. The enhancements include scan and match, increased storage, and the free upgrading of lesser audio tracks to 256 Kbps.

With the new service, gone are the days of 5GB of free storage. You can now store all of your Amazon purchased music, along with 250 songs purchased elsewhere for free. Or, you can pay the $25 fee for 250,000 songs worth of storage per year.

The scan-and-match service will scan your computer's hard drive for music, and then match your music catalog with Amazon's catalog. … Read more

Turn your old smartphone into a great media player

When it's time for a new phone, don't be so quick to recycle your old one. Most can be easily turned into dedicated media players that can make great additions to your home, workplace, or car. Here are some tips to make the most of them:

Clear off extraneous apps. This is especially true of apps that require a data connection, as you are most likely taking your phone off your data network. Of course, you'll probably still have a Wi-Fi connection at least occasionally, so you may want to keep a few handy (or fun) apps … Read more

Twitter said to be readying its own reality TV show

First a broadcast partnership with Nascar, then NBC for the Olympics, now Twitter might have its own reality TV show?

News leaked today that the social network might be gearing up to create several original video series that will air on its Web site. According to Adweek, the company has been hobnobbing with Hollywood executives and producers tossing around the idea of running a series "similar to MTV reality shows," such as The Real World and The Hills.

The way it would supposedly work is the show would be presented in a standalone Twitter page that would include … Read more

MakerBot branches out from 3D printing with MixTape

MakerBot is best known for its 3D printers. Would you have predicted an MP3 player for its newest product?

The MixTape is available in two iterations. The $25 MixTape Kit, aimed at those who already own a 3D printer, includes the guts of a basic MP3 player. Simply print out the enclosure using the plans on MakerBot's Thingiverse site, plug in the electronics, and you're ready to upload your music.

For those without a 3D printer, MakerBot will sell you a pre-assembled MixTape for $39.

The actual specs of the MixTape MP3 player are modest. It has 2GB … Read more

Play audio and video with Hiro Player

The market for media players is a crowded one, with options ranging from the bare-bones to the extravagant. Hiro Player falls somewhere in the middle, with some useful features -- it comes with the K-Lite Codec Pack, for example -- and some areas that leave room for improvement.

Hiro Player has an easy-to-navigate interface split into three connected modules: a playlist, a control panel, and a viewer that displays videos or, for audio tracks, visualizations. You can add media to the playlist either by individual file or by folder. The fact that Hiro Player supports so many different formats and … Read more

Control media using hand gestures with Flutter

Smartphones and tablets are spoiling us for our other devices. It's so easy to swipe, tap, and gesture our way through our mobile lives that we sometimes get frustrated with more traditional tech like laptops. Flutter aims to help solve one small problem in a fun way -- playing and pausing music quickly -- and it works great. Here's how to use it: 

Install Flutter  here for Windows 7 and  here for Mac. Run iTunes, Spotify, Winamp, or Windows Media Player. Your Webcam control panel should also start up, but you can ignore … Read more

Android won't save media players

Sony pulled off a surprise yesterday when it added the Android 4.0-powered F800 and E470 to its popular and long-running Walkman series of personal media players.

It isn't Sony's first Walkman to run Android (in January the company unveiled the Z series) nor is Sony the first company to use Android for media players. Samsung and Archos, for example, have used the OS, with the Galaxy Player 4.2 being Sammy's most recent example.

Yet, for all the success that Android smartphones have reaped, there are no top-selling media players running Google's OS at its … Read more

Sony's latest Walkman lineup sizzles

Editor's note: For CNET's initial impressions of the F800 and E470 please see our First Take.

Sony, as is typical for this time of year, has refreshed its Walkman lineup for the fall. Take a look at our breakdown of the new devices:

Sony F800 series Android Walkman At first glance, Sony's F800 Walkman, due in the U.S. this August, looks uninspiring, but it actually packs a feature never before seen in a Walkman. We'll discuss that later.

First, the basics. The Walkman F series features a 3.5-inch multitouch-capable LCD screen and a Tegra 2 (dual-core) processor running Android 4.0. In its press release, the company wastes no time mentioning Google Play and Music Unlimited support. Unfortunately, it appears Sony decided to play capacities conservatively with 16GB ($269) and 32GB ($299) options (Europe gets an additional 8GB model). CNET queried Sony as to why it didn't go with a 64GB option F series for music aficionados, and a representative said that "if there was expressed demand for it, we could consider it, but it was not offered at this time due to current demand statistics."

The F's aesthetics look typical for Sony's current design mantra: minimalism across the board, thin profile (2.23 inches wide by 4.5 inches high by 0.3 inches deep), and a thoughtful throwback Walkman logo to please the reminiscent. … Read more