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Ep. 157 - Zune HD withdrawals Video
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Ep. 180: Meet me in the clouds
This week, Donald and Jasmine discuss Zune Marketplace disappearing acts along with potentially revealing Zune HD price drops, impressive headphones for less than $50, and the latest Mac-friendly version of RealPlayer SP (now with video transcoding). Also, find out five (or really, eight) ways to put your music in the clouds, and hear what we have to say about a potential iPad competitor from Sony. Finally, is the Zii Egg a phone?
Everybody dance now! Or, you know, do any other type of workout that appeals to you, though dancing definitely wouldn't be a stretch with Sony's latest W-Series Walkman. This week, Jasmine and Donald discuss the usefulness of this sweat-resistant MP3 player-cum-headphones as well as the expeditious availability of the new 64GB Zune. Also, join us for a brief rant about the first two phones set to run the Zune music player software.
Ep. 158 - What about the rest?
This week, Donald and Jasmine can't resist taunting the naysayers with yet more Zune and iPod talk, but we think you'll be interested to know that the Zune HD popped up with an app submenu during weekend demos at Best Buys across the country. And what does Microsoft have to say about that? We'll give you one guess. Also, Rhapsody gets down with the iPhone with a brand new app that is yet-to-be-approved by Apple. Plus, we take a look at the upcoming E- and S-Series Walkmans from Sony and ponder the slow death of the Bluetooth MP3 player.
Ep. 148: Zune HD's moment in the sun
Donald and Jasmine give the newly-official Zune HD its deserved time in the spotlight as they both gush about the player's design and HD features as well as speculate about pricing and other possible WiFi-related additions. Also this week, the Insiders discuss rumblings about a potential Sirius XM App for the iPhone. Then, Jasmine brings up some of the tiniest MP3 players to ever be reviewed by CNET, while Donald goes off on a tangent about audiobooks. And we musn't forget to give props to the entity that gave this whole digital music thing a violent shove into the mainstream consciousness: Napster celebrates its 10 year anniversary this week.
Introducing How To, Get Started, and Hacks
CNET's got an all-new lineup of help and how-to shows, and we're breaking them down on the Mailbag. Plus, some of you have Zunes!
Loaded: The birds and the bees
Microsoft has been ordered to stop selling Word, we have tentative pricing and a release date for the HD Zune, and your kids may be turning to YouTube for sex ed.
Ep. 169: On wood and water bottles
This week, Donald and Jasmine discuss the addition of Last.fm, Facebook, Twitter, and Zune Video features on the Xbox 360. Then, fake water bottle MP3 players leave us totally baffled, Jasmine dishes up some iPod accessory suggestions, and we go ears-on with an inexpensive pair of wooden earbuds.
Jasmine stifles yawns as Donald tries to convince her that, yes, there are worthwhile things to talk about today, such as Sony dropping the price of the 32GB X-Series Walkman to a level that it should have been at to begin with (yawn), and Microsoft announcing two new subdued colors for the Zune HD (yawwwwwn). Also this week, Donald reviews the Zoom Q3, a video recorder that's much more impressive for audio, and we answer some listener email about MP3 player life spans. Plus, some hard facts on wood enclosures.
Ep. 182: Horrifying mistakes of portable audio past
We know it's not Halloween, but we here at MP3 Insider figured you could use a little horror in your life anyway. OK, so maybe it's a slow news week in MP3 player land, but that just happens to be the perfect excuse to rant about all the terrible choices portable audio device manufacturers have made over the years. But first, Donald and Jasmine eviscerate the awful packaging ensconcing the equally questionable earbuds from newcomer Ankit--trust us, if you've never watched the video before, it's worth it this time. Then, take a trip with us down memory lane that starts with the worst-ever MP3 player ever reviewed by CNET, and ends with a pair of unfortunate sneakers that never made it to market.
As Jasmine battles yet another cold, she defaults to Donald for most of the talking, though her monotone voice intervenes at a few soothing intervals. On deck for this week: an unpopular story about popular gadgets, talks about Apple acquiring music cloud site LaLa, tips on how to ditch the iPod for the Zune (without hurting anyone's feelings), and a brief look at a new video service. Also: a listener looks for a mom-worthy MP3 player.
