iPod

Headphone lovers of the world unite! We now have our own wiki, Wikiphonia.

Headphones are hugely popular now, but they were around long before "i" and "Pod" ever got together. The history is long and deep, and Wikiphonia is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to know more about headphone technology and related information.

Headphone geeks are a breed apart from audiophiles as I know them, but they're an even more intense bunch. One of the great things about headphonia is you can get in pretty deep without a big investment. Hard-core types like to build their own headphone amplifiers.

Wikiphonia has an entry that covers 1970s era USSR copies of Western headphone technologies and designs, "The copying was done out in the open, probably and correctly, they figured no one would start a conflict with a superpower over a few headphone patents."

For me, it all started with Sennheiser's HD 414. Its bright yellow earpads were super cool, and the sound was awesome. Back in the early 1970s it was a really big deal, a giant leap better than anything I'd ever heard. You can read all about it on Wikiphonia.… Read more

The more time I spend with my Zune HD, the more I like it. Sound quality aside--and I know opinions differ dramatically here, but I'm stuck with my ears and my preferences--there are a bunch of features that make Apple's products seem like they've fallen behind the curve. Here are five things in particular that I miss when I use my iPhone or one of my iPods:

Zune Pass Apple has long maintained that people want to own rather than rent their music. I counter that a subscription-based music service, combined with a state-of-the-art player, is one … Read more

Apple now has the support of a USB industry standards group in its battle to keep the Palm Pre from using the iTunes music service.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) said in a statement Tuesday that Apple can block the Pre from connecting to iTunes. The group issued a letter to both companies warning Palm that further attempts to use iTunes would violate the group's policy.

The voice of the USB-IF is strong in this case since the group is responsible for issuing Apple the hardware vendor ID that lets its devices connect to iTunes via USB. Palm has … Read more

As I noted in my previous post on subjective sound quality, I primarily listen to my portable music players in my car. It's a 2010 Prius, and Toyota cleverly designed it to support portable music--under the armrest between the front seats, there's a small plastic container that's the perfect size to hold an iPod or cell phone, and below that platform there's an auxiliary input and DC outlet (cigarette lighters are so 1973) to plug it into. (You can see the set-up in the third photo in the "interior" gallery here.)

There's only … Read more

Like products in the real world, iPhone apps often go on sale. But those deals are hard to find and usually don't last long.

Free iPhone app PandoraBox can help you track down the latest and greatest sales on iPhone software.

On the surface, PandoraBox is similar to the App Store. You can search for software by name or browse by selecting among categories. The New Apps section points you to the latest software, while the What's Hot and Wish List sections display cool and popular apps. You can keep tabs on an app by adding it to … Read more

I find it hard to evaluate an MP3 player until I've lived with it for a little while. Specifications, demos, and even quick hands-on tests don't tell you the most important thing: how does it sound? Can you listen to it for an hour? A week? The rest of your life?

On Tuesday, I spent a few hours with the 32GB versions of Microsoft's new Zune HD and Apple's latest-generation iPod Touch. To me, these are the top-of-the-line competitors in the MP3 player market--if you're a serious music listener with nearly $300 to spend, these are your two choices. … Read more

If you were hoping for Apple to announce a subscription-based music service for the iPhone and the iPod Touch on Wednesday like I was, suppress your disappointment: early this morning, Apple approved Rhapsody for iPhone, and it's available in the iTunes Store.

It's the second such service Apple has approved, but the first, Spotify, is not available in the United States. (The Rhapsody application is not showing up in search results quite yet, but it is showing up within iTunes.)

Rhapsody was a pioneer in subscription-based music, and I'm a big fan of the service; in 2005, … Read more

One of the biggest revelations at Apple's music event Wednesday wasn't just that the iPod Nano now has a video camera, but that Apple has the popular Flip Video camera squarely in its sights.

With user-created video exploding, Apple CEO Steve Jobs uttered what is probably one of the more frightening things rival electronics industry execs can hear: "We want to get in on this."

Already having decimated the MP3 player market with the iPod, and putting pressure on fellow smartphone makers, Apple now hopes to take on the Flip in its own backyard: short, user-generated … Read more

Our cameras were rolling Wednesday morning at Apple's San Francisco press conference as the company played up iTunes 9, iPod price cuts, games for the Touch, a video camera for the iPod Nano, and much more.

But the real spotlight was on Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who made his first public appearance since returning from medical leave after receiving a liver transplant earlier this year.

Here's a roundup of our video coverage, beginning with Jobs' standing ovation and opening speech.… Read more