News Archive for 06/12/21

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ezGear launches ezEars SX50 earphones

12/21, 5:40pm

ezEars SX50 earphones

ezGear today launched its new, improved ezEars SX50 earphones for Apple's iPod. The ezEars SX50 use in-ear technology with soft rubber earpieces to provide a comfortable fit, and include three different pairs of earpieces in various sizes to accommodate all ear sizes. The improved fit provides better sound channeling to the ear, according to ezGear, and increases sound quality. "iPod users who tried the SX50s loved the sound and especially loved how comfortable they are, said Charlie Bernstein, president of ezGear. "Some people, who were not sure about the fit, opted for other solutions. Now that the ezEars have 3 sizes of earpieces, it's the perfect fit for everyone." The new ezEars SX50 ship in black or white for $20.

Cingular patent may foreshadow Apple deal

12/21, 2:45pm

Cingular, Apple deal?

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office today published a patent application from Cingular Wireless describing a two-prong marketing approach for providing music, TV, and movies to cellular phone customers. Apple was said to have struck a deal with Cingular earlier this month to purchase wholesale MVNO wireless service capacity from the carrier in an effort to enter the domestic wireless services market. Adding fuel to the fire, Digg founder Kevin Rose in early December revealed alleged details about Apple's iPhone in the Diggnation video blog, where he describes the unit as a very small device boasting flash-based storage of 4GB and 8GB capacities with the ability to work with all major providers -- including Cingular, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The new patent describes both a wireless streaming based subscription-type service as well as the ability to access content on internet services such as Apple's iTunes Store via digital licensed keys.

AllofMP3.com sued by major US record labels

12/21, 11:30am

US labels sue AllofMP3.com

Online music retailer AllofMP3.com is being sued by a group of key US music labels, according to the BBC. The labels have filed a collective suit which includes Arista Records, Capitol, UMG, and Warner in New York, alleging that the Russian site has been selling artists' songs without permission. "The defendant's entire business... amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs' exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and New York law," the labels claim. The online store has already flatly refused the allegations, saying that it operates fully within Russian law by paying royalties to the local licensing agency Roms. While Roms itself says it operates within the law, it freely admits that much of its music was obtained without first speaking to the artists or their labels. Russia recently agreed with US demands to close down several websites -- including AllofMP3.com -- in the hopes of one day joining the US in international trade.

Popalive iPod remote to debut at CES

12/21, 11:15am

Popalive iPod remote

Alive-Style today announced that it will debut its Popalive bi-directional remote/dock for iPod with support for multilingual menus and song names at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Popalive remote allows users to control an iPod and view its contents via a built-in 1.5-inch color LCD, drawing power from a built-in 350mAh lithium polymer rechargeable battery to offer omni directional RF signal transmission alongside bi-directional remote control capability. The device operates at 908.42MHz in the U.S. or 878.2MHz in Europe, and features an iPod charging dock with no extra battery required. The Popalive supports fourth- and fifth-generation iPods with audio out, S-video out, and a 30-pin iPod dock connector (pricing was unavailable).

Apple seizes 90% of paid video downloads

12/21, 9:45am

Apple dominates paid video

A new research study suggests that Apple currently serves up 90 percent of paid video downloads. NPD Group announced that roughly 1.2 million U.S. households purchased at least one video from an online store in the third quarter of 2006. The study showed that 62 percent of customers opted for TV shows, while 24 percent elected to purchase music videos online. Apple's sales are still dwarfed by illegal downloads via peer-to-peer services, however, with adult movies making up almost 60 percent of that traffic. "The amount of intellectual property stolen from mainstream movie studios, networks and record labels will continue to rise, unless strong and sustained action is taken to prevent piracy," said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick, who also believes that the number of paid downloads will double or triple in the next year. Around 5 percent of paid downloads came from Vongo, while another 3 percent stemmed from Movielink, according to Forbes.com. CinemaNow was responsible for less than 1 percent of paid downloads.