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Sonos 3.6 update brings Slacker Radio, Kindle Fire, Android tablet support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Music, Software,
Sonos, makers of the Play:3 and high-end ZonePlayer wireless multi-room music systems, has announced an update to its system software that adds more wireless music streaming options, and lets users control their Sonos systems with their Android tablets.
The most notable feature of the 3.6 software update makes the Sonos Controller app available to Kindle Fire and Android Honeycomb tablets users, letting them use their tablets as remote controls for their Sonos products. The company released the app for Android phones in February, and the Sonos Controller is also available for iOS devices.
The Android tablet app, which can be downloaded for free from the Android Market or the Amazon Appstore, is scaled to take advantage of tablets' extra screen space. It includes enhancements like on-device music library and zone management, alarms that let you fall asleep or wake to your favorite tunes, and Twitter integration, so you can tweet what you're listening to on Sonos from your tablet.
Click to continue reading Sonos 3.6 update brings Slacker Radio, Kindle Fire, Android tablet support
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Black Friday 2011: Amazon is now live!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Wearables, Hot Deals, Music, PC / Laptop, Video Games,
The Amazon Black Friday 2011 sale is now live, and they've got tons of deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your warm home - seriously, why would you wanna brave the lines and the cold if you can get a similar deal on Amazon? The nice thing is that Amazon seems to have been keeping tabs on other retail stores, and has matched many of the Black Friday deals that are already out there. Go check out Amazon now to get in on the good stuff.
Gallery: Black Friday 2011: Amazon is now live!
Yep, even Groupon is getting in on Black Friday 2011! The daily deal site has a bunch of items for sale specifically for the biggest shopping day of the year, including a pair of Fanny Wang 1001 on-ear headphones for just $85. Groupon's Black Friday deals are live now, and go through Cyber Monday, while supplies last. Go on and give 'em a look!
Gallery: Black Friday 2011: Groupon
Black Friday 2011: Apple
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Handhelds, Hot Deals, Music, PC / Laptop,
Apple is set to discount some of its most popular products for Black Friday 2011. No word yet on if the stores are opening early, but you can get all the deals online as well as in-store, which is nice. Discounts on items like the iPad 2, iMac, MacBook Air, and iPod touch are just the tip of the iceberg, as Apple is also discounting a bunch of third-party accessories, including the Jawbone Up. We've got the best of the sale listed after the break, along with links to take you directly to the products!
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Black Friday 2011: Sears
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Music, PC / Laptop,
Sears is looking to bring the heat on Black Friday 2011 with a sale that begins at 4:00 am the day after Thanksgiving. We've got the highlights of the sale for you after the break, which include a $99 Kinect sensor, some cheap digital photo frames, and a $30 HD camcorder.
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Black Friday 2011: Staples
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Music, PC / Laptop,
The Staples Black Friday 2011 sale begins at 6:00 am the day after Thanksgiving, and they've got a few items that have our attention. We've got the highlights of the sale for you after the break, which include a $199 BlackBerry PlayBook, Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones with a $20 gift card at purchase, buy 1 get 1 free paper, and more.
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Google Music brings MP3 store, free cloud storage for your tracks
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, Music, Storage,
Google on Wednesday officially unveiled its music product, dubbed Google Music, which will let users store songs in the cloud for free and buy tracks directly from the Android Market.
Google's Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Android, said Google Music is an expansion of Google Music Beta, introduced earlier this year, making it a "full end-to-end service."
"It's about the cloud, about the Web and about mobile," he said.
Google Music, accessible via music.google.com, is open to everyone in the U.S. now on the Web and will roll out to mobile users in the coming days. Users can store and stream up to 20,000 songs in the Google cloud for free, and add any selections they don't have by buying them from the Google Music store.
Google Music will allow users to share songs with friends, who will be able to play that song in its entirety once.
Google said it has sealed deals with more than 1,000 music labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI, as well as indie labels, like those from Merlin. In all, Google promised access to 13 million tracks, 8 million of which are available now.
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5 things you should know about iTunes Match
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Music, Storage,
The first member of Apple's iCloud family that requires separate payment is here: the $24.99-a-year iTunes Match. The service will store any and all music in your computer's iTunes library up to Apple's servers and make it accessible to any of your iOS devices or computers running iTunes.
Though the free iTunes in the Cloud has existed since the launch of iOS 5 on Oct. 12, that service only covers music you've bought through the iTunes Store.
Apple's iTunes Match examines your song collection and determines whether Apple's servers contain a copy of each tune, in which case no upload on your part is required, and you can download a high-quality 256 Kbps AAC iTunes Plus version of the songs onto any device or computer you've signed into using the same Apple ID.
But for those who still have lingering questions about iTunes Match, here are a few more details:
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With iTunes Match, Apple has ended piracy as we know it
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Editorial, Music, Software,
I belong to the MP3 generation. Mine was the first to confront the choice between an $18 CD filled with marginal tracks and free MP3 downloaded from Napster in minutes. It was a test of character, and like many of the MP3 generation, I failed. But my days as a copyright violator, music pirate, and intellectual property profiteer ended long ago, and after enabling iTunes Match, previous guilt is gone.
To be fair, I haven't actually stolen music in years. I actually have multiple music service subscriptions, mostly because I am too lazy to cancel when I switch. So I have access to Rdio, Zune Pass, Rhapsody, Slacker, and Spotify Premium. But the truth is, I have a 32GB music collection sitting on my home PC that was built illegally downloading from services like Napster, Limewire, and BitTorrent. But now Apple is offering me amnesty for just $25 a year.
Apple's iTunes 10.5.1 launched yesterday, and it includes the much-anticipated Match feature. Install the software and it will scan your hard drive for music and make high-quality, 256-Kbps AAC versions of every file available to you in the cloud. The kicker is that this includes not just songs you purchased through iTunes, but any music file on your system, no matter where or how you got it. It will cost $25 a year to maintain access to this newly rebuilt and legal library, but for that price you can have access to up to 25,000 songs. Apple will pay the labels a small fee for the rights, but all you pay is the $25 per year. For those of us in the MP3 generation, this is library liberation.
Click to continue reading With iTunes Match, Apple has ended piracy as we know it
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Black Friday 2011: RadioShack
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Music, PC / Laptop, Video Games,
RadioShack's Black Friday 2011 sale looks enticing, and we rarely say that kind of stuff about The Shack. Doors open at 5:30 am the day after Thanksgiving, but you can get the Black Friday prices a day early by shopping on radioshack.com. We've got the highlights of the sale for you after the break, which include a $300 15-inch Toshiba laptop, a $99 7-inch Velocity Micro Cruz tablet, 20% off Beats by Dr. Dre Solo headphones, and more.
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