News Archive for 06/12/27

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Brando ships media card reader, MP3 player

12/27, 3:45pm

Brando MP3 player ships

Brando is shipping a portable USB 2.0 card reader that also doubles as an MP3 player, which will compete with Apple's iPod in the digital music player sector. Users plug an SD or MMC card into the slot to load files and hit play to hear the music. The device includes a pair of 16mW headphones, but only offers play/pause and volume controls. Brando's portable USB 2.0 card reader and MP3 player boasts up to 10 hours of playback on a single AAA battery, and offers compatibility with Microsoft Windows 98SE or later as well as Mac OS X 8.6 or later. The device ships for $15 in blue or black.

iTunes visits careen 413% on Christmas day

12/27, 2:05pm

iTunes visits on Christmas

Apple's iTunes Music Store received 413 percent more hits on Christmas day this year than last year, according to a Hitwise, and the market share of visits to the Apple Store showed an increase of 110 percent this year over last. The Apple Store was also the fourth most visited website in the Hitwise Retail Index on Christmas Day of 2006. Microsoft's Zune.net saw an increase in visits of 1,030 percent on December 25th versus the previous Monday. The study notes that the Redmond-based company's strong initial performance was overshadowed by the iPod, however, with the market share of visits to the iTunes website jumping by 1,222 percent in the same period and outnumbering visits to Zune.net by 30 to 1.