Portable Audio/Video

I don’t know if today is the day we have all been waiting for, but it is surely a day Zune users, like myself, have been waiting for. I was psyched to read this morning’s press release from Microsoft’s Zune team announcing a new software upgrade. The refreshed 2.5 version of the software adds features and content to the Zune online store and additions to the Zune community.

Frankly, I am most excited about the added video content. Zune is finally expanding its video selection from measly music videos to popular TV shows from Comedy Central, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz Media (including Manga Entertainment), Turner Broadcasting, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), VH1, and others.

I jumped on the software update to test out the video-downloading process.

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After hearing last week that the Zune tattoo guy, Steve Smith, was really going through with legally changing his name to “Microsoft Zune,” I just had to catch up with him. But in my short e-mail correspondence with soon-to-be-legally-named Mr. Microsoft Zune, I learned something even more surprising. Microsoft Zune and Reebok have teamed up to provide limited edition Allen Iverson Zune sneakers.

Reebok and Microsoft Zune will launch the limited edition Allen Iverson Zune Sneaker. The upcoming sneaker called the Answer XI Zune features the Zune logo, and will retail for $300. The pairs of sneakers will be sold with a customized 8GB Zune digital media player, featuring etched Allen Iverson graphics.

Say what? In any case, Mr. Microsoft Zune is just dying for a pair of the kicks. He writes to me, “It’s only limited release (60 sets) and none of the stores that will carry them are within 500 miles from me. One of the stores is NYC, can you find a way for me to buy a pair?” Are any of our readers willing to help out? Check Zune Tattoo guy’s answers below to some questions about his new name change and his tattoos and maybe you will be even more inspired to help him put a pair of shoes on his feet.

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Ever since I had a digital camera that could record video, I’ve been trying to devise ways to use it to film myself skiing from a first-person perspective. It usually involved me holding the camera in front as I picked my way down a mountain, careful not to drop anything. Fortunately, there’s some great new hands-free options, and this past weekend, I got to test one of them out, the VholdR helmetcam from Seattle-based Twenty20, on the slopes of Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe, California. The $349 camera is a small, compact, and durable device that shoots 640 x 480-pixel resolution video to a 2GB MicroSD Card.

There are only two buttons on the exterior of the camera—a power button on the back and a slider to start and stop recording on the top—and they’re both designed to be used by people wearing gloves. Since you can’t see what you’re shooting once the camera is mounted to your helmet, two lasers on either side of the lens are activated when the camera is turned on; by rotating the lens until the lasers form a line parallel to the ground, users can make sure their video won’t be all sky or all ground. Having lasers beam from the side of your head is a bit reminiscent of Predator.

Right now, Twenty20 only offers a helmet mount: basically a pad with double-sided foam that slid into the rail on the side of the camera. By McGyvering an old belt clip for an iPod mini, I was able to attach the camera to my ski goggles. Unfortunately—as you’ll see in the video—the elasticity of the goggles’ headstrap caused the camera to wobble violently every time I went over a mogul. Even when the company comes out with a clip for goggles, I’d stick with a helmet, and a helmet mount.

The VholdR was really easy to use and, except for a ton of wind noise, was a great way to record parts of a vacation you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Check out the video, and stay tuned for a full review.

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We’ve seen more Bluetooth devices at CTIA than even we thought were possible. One of our favorites is the Parrot Party Black Edition portable speakers. They’re small enough for a travel bag but sound way better than your typical cell phone speaker.

The Parrot features near field communication, which allows you to tap your cell phone on the speakers and instantly pair the devices. All the tunes on your cell phone or Bluetooth-enabled MP3 player will redirect through the speakers.

We’re looking forward to further testing these speakers (and the patience of our seatmates) on the flight home from Las Vegas, but, in the meantime, check out LAPTOP getting down at CTIA.

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By now you’re probably sick of trying to figure out what all these processor code names mean. Silverthorne? Is that for me? Menlow? What’s that?

Hey, we hear you, and we’re here to help. At the Intel Developers Conference today, Intel announced five new Atom chips, previously code-named Silverthorne, and we’ll help you understand what they mean and how they affect you.

We interviewed Pankaj Kedia, the director of global ecosystem programs for Intel’s ultra mobility group, to get the inside scoop on today’s announcements, and an explanation of the Atom and Atom Centrino platform. When we’re done, hopefully you’ll have a good grasp on the smallest processor to ever leave Intel’s manufacturing lines.

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And now the exciting conclusion…

Day #5:

I resume my lazy shuffling routine both to and from work, happily taking in the cornucopia of my music collection (or at least a lot of it; I can’t fit all of the music on my computer on just 4GB). Again I take the Fuze to the gym, and again my experience is good but uneventful.

When I get home I reluctantly decide to check out the Fuze’s photo and video capabilities. I say reluctantly because, save for long trips on buses or airplanes, it is very rare that I have a use for photos or videos on my 5G iPod’s 2.5-inch LCD display.

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My audio saga continues…

Day #3:

While I tote my MP3 player around New York City during my commutes to both work and play, my audio experience with the Fuze wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t incorporate it into my workout routine.

Studies have shown that listening to your favorite tunes while working out actually boosts your energy and productivity, so I can’t settle for the blaring techno and hip hop my local gym provides its patrons. I mean, I like a good beat as much as the next guy, but the third chorus in the techno version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” isn’t going to coax those extra reps from my aching trapezoid muscles. Sorry.

Before I head to the gym I create a kick-ass gym mix (titled “Kick-Ass Gym Mix”), featuring the likes of Three Days Grace, Sugarcult, Digitalism, Bowling for Soup, Fort Minor, and other favorites of mine. I don’t have an armband or anything for my borrowed Fuze, but it’s so small it fits snugly in my fist as I jog to the gym.

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It’s been a long time a-comin’, but the FCC has finally given Sirius and XM the green light to play nice together and combine their powers to become a kinda, sorta super tag team satellite radio provider-the Zan and Jayna of the pay radio world, if you will. What this means to the average consumer is still up in the air, but here is the official LAPTOP wish list taken from a quick poll of our staff.

• A la carte station selection. Currently, Sirius and XM charge users $12.95 per month to access each company’s individual catalog, but imagine the wonderment that would come if we could cherry pick our favorites from both? Picture access to XM’s Cinemagic, Major League Baseball, and, uh, Oprah and Friends, as well as Sirius’ NBA coverage, Howard Stern, and, uh, Martha Stewart Living Radio. That would be more than a little bit sweet, and I’d gladly pay a premium for that kind of satellite radio action. Judge us not for our selections.
• Limited number of advertisements. Now that the two have become one and can share revenue, advertising needs to be nipped in the bud before it becomes as commonplace as traditional radio. Granted, not every station features advertising-let’s keep it that way.
• New handsets. We love satellite radio, but it seems that hardware manufacturers are laser-focused on the automobile and living room markets; those of us living the mobile lifestyle are getting the shaft. We’d love to see a new Sirius/XM combo handset in the mold of the Pioneer Inno, a kickin’ combo satellite radio/MP3 player.
• Free Speech! Ars Technica has reported that Clear Channel is pressuring the FCC to make Sirius and XM conform to broadcast decency standards. What??? Didn’t Howard Stern jump ship to satellite radio so that he could finally cut loose like he’d always wanted (and for gobs and gobs of money)? It should be noted that Clear Channel is the muscle behind HD Radio, so that playa most definitely is hatin’.

That’s our wish list. What’s yours?

It was 2005. Having just moved to Boston to complete a summer internship before my senior year of college, I soon found that the locals all seemed to possess two mobile staples: backpacks and iPods. It wasn’t long before I purchased my first Apple product—a 4GB iPod mini—and soon I was blissfully meandering down cobblestone streets, lip-syncing and jamming out to my favorite tunes just like the rest of the population.

The iPod mini, as most should remember, was a much clunkier version of today’s nano, and I couldn’t play videos or view pictures on it. But at around $200, it was still by far my best investment of the summer. My addiction to mobile music hasn’t changed in the last three years, but the choices for MP3 players has, and I’ve since upgraded my mini to the way sleeker 5G with video (which is still a step or two behind today’s classic and not as cool as the touch, but I’m at peace with that for now).

Diehard iPod fan that I am, I still like to consider myself open minded, which is why for a week I’m going to give up my 5G iPod for the new flash-based SanDisk Sansa Fuze. At first glance it could easily be mistaken for the iPod nano, but this 4GB player differentiates itself with cool features like an FM radio, voice recorder, and microSD Card slot.

When I’m outside my New York City apartment, my iPod is like my baby blanket; it goes wherever I go. I don’t think most babies trade their blankets in for smaller, sleeker versions to keep themselves pacified, but I’m willing to give it a shot for a little while. So kudos to me, right?

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I’ll be up front about this right from the start: Besides the intrinsic nature of the Internet and cell phone services, I hate—no, loathe—paying for any form of technology that I cannot own. This is why I refuse to pay for cable; I’ll take Hulu over it any day. It’s why I don’t use Netflix. I buy DVDs (if the movie happens to blow, I pass them on to friends or eBay them).

This is why I don’t do subscription music services; the idea of giving up $14.99 per month (and a little bit of my dignity) to rent music from a service like Rhapsody To Go is something that would only happen if the proverbial gun was placed to my head. That’s $179 per year completely wasted should I decide to cancel, as the music files would be rendered unplayable. Sorry, folks, I just can’t do it.

So when The New York Times reported that Apple may be entering a partnership with Universal Music that would allow a person to buy a premium-priced iPod to receive all-you-can-eat access to iTunes, all I could do is stare up at the heavens and pray to the technological gods for this abomination to the musical landscape to be struck down before it’s made manifest.

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