Earlier this year, the idea of a Microsoft-branded MP3 player was foreign to most consumers. After all, what could the software giant do to the iPod dynasty that Windows Media hardware partners such as Creative, iRiver, and Samsung had been unable to do? Well, we all knew that after Microsoft’s September 14 announcement, the Zune would be a different kind of portable media player, one that integrates wireless technology for Zune-to-Zune sharing of files, and one that works within an iTunes-like closed Zune Marketplace ecosystem. The hard drive device, which comes in black, white, or the love-it/hate-it brown, has entered the real world and will please most users, especially beginners, thanks to an excellent UI, nice integration with Zune Marketplace software, and good playback performance.

By now, we all know the basics of the Zune: it’s a 30GB MP3 player with a photo- and video-friendly 3-inch (4:3) screen, and it costs $249.99 (unless you buy it at buyazune.com). It runs on a customized version of Portable Media Center software (Windows CE-based) and features the same intuitive twist-navigation like players such as the Toshiba Gigabeat S.

While the player is similar to many other players in terms of its feature set–music, video, and photo playback, plus an FM tuner–what sets it apart is its integrated Wi-Fi chip, which allows it to seek out and be seen by other Zune-sters. This sharing feature allows users to share music and photos (but not video) within the same room. Shared photo files, on the other hand, have no limitations. We’d love to see Wi-Fi expanded so that one could sync or purchase music wirelessly (or even see Zunes across the globe), but having played with the device, I see why Microsoft is starting small. So far, the Zune experience out of the box and beyond has been predictable and solid. Wi-Fi or not, it’s one excellent media player.

Quickly, about the box and its contents: the Zune packaging is minimal but has flare. You actually lift the Zune out of the box by pulling on its brown ribbon (nice touch), and the bundled earphones and rubbery USB cable are nowhere to be seen until you realize the flaps adjacent to the Zune lift open. In addition, you’ll get a suede case, a software CD, some guides, and a sticker in the package. While we’d love to see more–such as an AC adaptor– the introductory Zune experience is well done.

The colors are subdued and the shell has a translucent matte finish, and more importantly, the body does not attract fingerprints (though the screen does). The double-shot effect of the secondary color (green on the brown version, bluish on the black, translucent on the white) definitely gives the player visual pizzazz. The built-in battery will last up to 14 hours for audio. Interestingly, the back says this in fine print: “Hello from Seattle.” The Zune, which is manufactured by Toshiba but completely designed by Microsoft, is an original-looking player with a style of its own.

It’s a durable device that will withstand scratches, bumps, and bruises, though the primary seam of the device looks as if it might burst open after a hard fall. The body is minimal with no buttons on the sides, only a hold switch and an earphone jack on top and a proprietary USB/accessories port on the bottom. The screen and main controller are surrounded by a thin, metallic inlay, while the three control buttons are dead simple (the small dedicated back and play/pause buttons are flush with the body).

Overall, the Zune is a well-designed portable media device with good playback performance, a snappy processor, and an excellent interface. Wi-Fi sharing worked well, but prospective owners should know its format support, especially for videos, is limited. The Zune looks like a good fit for MP3 player novices, though we hope Microsoft addresses issues and will make the Zune usable as a hard drive; extend video support to include DRM (which they probably will do when its own video store opens); and open up a true Wi-Fi network. The foundation looks good, though, and those not interested in version 1 of Zune can look forward to improved versions 2, 3, and beyond.

This review was brought to you by CNET.

If your interested in the Microsoft Zune, I would recommend http://www.buyazune.com as they consistently offer the best prices for every model and accessory of the Zune.



By: Mike McFar

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I will be reviewing many sites and post the review here at this site. IPOD mp3 downloads is an excellent choice for getting the latest songs quickly and without the hassles of traveling to the music store. There are many locations right on the web that can provide you with the best of the best for much less. There are several locations that do offer a wide range of choice when it comes to IPOD mp3 downloads. Some offer more than others or they offer a better quality product. It will take a little looking to find the most affordable choice that is also the one that has what you would like to download.

Once you find the right location for your IPOD mp3 downloads, you can easily and quickly (it seems almost instantly) download them to your PC, your notebook, or you can check out iPod mp3 downloads as well. There are specific services that are available to provide you with the ability to get great quality songs on your iPod. If you choose iPod mp3 music, you can find the right location to download from on the web to your iPod, take the music with you wherever you decide to go and, if you like them; you can even burn them to CD.

No matter if you choose iPod mp3 downloads or find a few great songs to download to your PC, there are many services that are providing this ability to you. If you are skilled, you can even find a few iPod mp3 downloads. Of course, to get the best products available, you may want to go with a paid service. It also pays for you to take your time in checking out a few of the services for their fees and their membership details. With so much competition out there, you are sure to find a great deal being offered to new members. Music downloads are fast becoming the best way to get the songs you want to see quickly.

Please come back to visit for new reviews and updates.

Please visit some of my other sites Ipod Music and Ipod Mp3



By: Paul Schmitt

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The eagerly awaited new phone from Samsung looks great, with a great trendy design it was a popular phone amongst Samsung lovers. Not only does it look great but it has all of the features you would want in a phone. The dimensions of this phone are as follows, 103 x 49 x 11mm so it is standard when compared to most other phones as people tend to put size into the equation and can heavily influence your decision.

The screen on this sliding mobile phone is a 262,144 colour LCD screen capable of producing 240 x 320 pixels making it very clear in all conditions which is a bonus. The internal phone book can hold around 1000 names and numbers so you can be sure you will have trouble filling it. The phone itself has various integrated java games to keep you occupied if you have some spare time, if you enjoy playing them then you can download additional games for your entertainment if you have the money to.

You can synchronise your mobile phone to your pc making data transfer easier than ever, if you don’t have a computer then you can send and receive data by Bluetooth but it doesn’t have infrared capabilities. The Samsung U600 Silver is capable of playing mp3 music so you can use the phone as an mp3 player.

You get all of the basic phone functions such as alarm, calculator and has an inbuilt 60 MB internal memory with the option to install a micro SD card enabling you to save more data.

The camera quality is better than the average mobile phone, it has a 3.2 mega pixel camera with a flash and auto focus. You can record videos as well as take professional pictures that you can send to your pc or print off. You can have a four hour conversation before the battery would run out and need a recharge, if you were to leave it on standby it would last around 270 hours so you can guarantee that it won’t fail on you when you need it most.

You have access to the mobile internet so if you ever have any spare time you can browse the available wallpapers, ringtones and games to spice up your mobile. You can actually search websites like eBay and have access to your paypal account so you can buy those items you want from your mobile!



By: andy tao

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If you’re going to dig into your wallet and buy that elliptical, you want to make sure you’re getting the best model for your money. The last thing you want to do is throw down a pile of cash on a piece of junk that’s going to gather dust in your garage for the rest of eternity. Here are some elliptical reviews to help you choose the right one. These models are considered by many to be the best bang for your buck.

Proform 20.0

Ellipticals are known for their fancy special features. You can program these things to do just about anything with your workout. But, what’s more important than having some good tunes to get you through your elliptical routine?

At around $800 retail, the Proform 20.0 goes where no ellipticals (at that price, anyway) dare to go. It offers you advanced stereo features, including an iPod and mp3 player, and an excellent speaker system to play them on. You can rock and roll to your favorite songs, or listen to your favorite relaxing music while you work out.

Another feature that uses the speaker system is your personal electronic voice coach. If you have a varied workout routine, your coach can help you get through each of the steps. Many people love this feature, and it’s usually only available with higher priced machines.

The Proform 20.0 also offers a couple of interactive games to liven up your workout. You won’t find these features available anywhere else at such a low price.

Smooth CE 3.2

Elliptical trainers are great for their smooth, natural movement. The CE 3.2 lives up to its brand’s name and offers a smooth ride at a reasonable price.

Newer machines are always upgrading, and the Smooth CE 3.2 offers the heaviest flywheel in its price range. The flywheel is an important part of the elliptical trainer that gives it its fluid, elliptical motion.

It also has a fancy braking system that makes stopping a breeze. The foot pivots are comfortable and especially designed to be easy on your joints. They are also designed to keep your feet in the right position for the best possible workout.

In addition to its comfort and motion features, the Smooth CE 3.2 has all the electronic features you would expect. You can easily program your own workout. The electronic options are much better than those of Smooth’s earlier models. For more info see http://bestellipticalreviews.com/ on elliptical reviews

You can get a Smooth CE 3.2 for a little over $1,000, and at that price it’s a great deal.

Sole E95

With each new model, Sole keeps improving. The Sole E95 is another great improvement at a price that can’t be beat. The Sole E95 is available for under $2,000.

The Sole E95 is full of comfort features that you wouldn’t expect to find on such an inexpensive model. The hand grips, in particular, are noted for their comfort. The foot pedals are adjustable, and angled perfectly for the best workout.

The E95 has 20 programs you can use, and 20 levels of resistance that you can set. This makes it the most flexible machine yet from Sole. It is also built more sturdily than any model before it. The E95 can withhold up to 400 pounds, much more than most ellipticals.

The Sole E95 has been rated by many websites and fitness magazines as the best buy elliptical trainer for under $2,000. With its special features, comfort and strength, the Sole E95 is a great machine.

These are just a few of the most popular and least expensive elliptical trainers out there. Compare elliptical reviews and you will see that these models consistently outrank others in the same price range.



By: Dave Faulkner

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While the LG U8130 3G may seem like a rather unassuming cell phone, make no mistake about it: it’s as technologically advanced as anything that LG, or just about any other cell phone manufacturer, has on the market today. This sleek, slim, silver cell phone has all the bells and whistles consumers have come to expect, plus a whole lot more.

Not only does the 24 millimeter thick LG U8130 3G have a mono color 96 x 64 pixel external LCD screen, but it’s complemented nicely by the massive 176 x 220 pixel, 65,000 color TFT display. Users can change the backlight of the external screen to just about any color under the sun, and the internal screen is perfect for watching videos.

That’s right, with the U8130, users can record and watch videos to their heart’s content. The videos can be recorded with the 180 degree rotating digital camera or downloaded from a PC or the internet. Since the phone can connect to the web, owners can watch sports, check stock options and stay up to date on the weather reports.

The video telephony feature allows users to view the person they’re talking to on the phone’s internal screen, in real time. Moreover, if the person on the other end of the phone has a similarly enabled phone, the camera enables him or her to see the user as well.

The LG U8130 3G will get rid of the need for users to have a separate portable music player, as it has a built in MP3 player. Since the phone supports both MP3 and AAC file formats, there’s no need to worry about converting any of the files to make them compatible. Phone, video camcorder, digital camera, video player, the U8130 has so much to offer (and at a very reasonable price!).



By: Jonathan Baker

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Transcend is well knows for its storage systems. Also the TSonic series is famous for its affordable mp3 players.

Recently Transcend rolls out its new mp3 player called Transcend T Sonic 320.

Before this Mp3 player all Transcend mp3 players have a USB2.0 cord for file transfer. In this player there is no any cord, the user can use it directly like Pen drive.

The T Sonic 320 supports MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM10 and WAV music formats. It has quality FM radio with 20 Presets and users can record the radio.7 Equalizer effects, including a customizable USER EQ setting. Advanced Digital Voice Recorder is other features of this player.

Pros:

No need of any special software to transfer file.

Compact, lightweight design.

Compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows.

Can use player as security key for notebook.

Very affordable.

Good User interface

Cons:

Headphones are not adjusted properly in ears.

Noise reeducation level is not so good.

Voice quality is ok type.

Not support to play list.

Features:

- MP3 Player – supports MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM10 (subscription music) and WAV music formats

- Recordable FM Radio with 20 station presets

- Advanced Digital Voice Recorder

- Karaoke-style lyrics display

- Dual-color OLED screen displays clear text at any angle and in any light

- VAD (Voice Activity Detection) for high quality gapless audio recordings

- A-B repeat function allows you to continuously replay a designated section of a track

- Variable track playback speeds

- Supports 13 languages including menus, song/album title, artist name and lyrics (English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Greek, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Simple Chinese, Traditional Chinese)

- USB flash drive capabilities for data transfer and storage

- Included software can be used to lock your computer and password-protect your files

- 7 Equalizer effects, including a customizable USER EQ setting

- Internal rechargeable Li-ion battery provides over 15 hours of continuous music playback*

- Built-in USB 2.0 connector for easy computer connectivity and fast file transfers

- Real Time Clock displays local and world times

Specifications:

Capacity and Color:

2GB (Burgundy)

4GB (Sapphire)

8GB (Dark Black)

Dimensions:

85.5×25.5×13 mm

Weight:

29g (with Li-ion battery)

Display Type and Size:

1 inch Dual color OLED

Display Resolution:

128×64

Music Formats:

MP3, WMA, WAV and WMA-DRM10

Recording Format:

IMA_ADPCM (WAV)

FM Function:

Worldwide – 87.5~108 MHz

Japan – 76~90 MHz

Battery Life*:

15hr

Battery Type:

Lithium-ion

Compression Rates:

32Kbps to 320Kbps

Erase Cycles:

? 100,000 times

S/N Ratio:

? 90dB

Certificates:

CE, FCC, BSMI

Warranty:

2 years (Lithium-ion Battery: 6 months)



By: Abhijeet

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