Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Because of Microsoft’s undying love for all of its loyal PlaysForSure customers, it recently shot out an email to everyone with some very disturbing news. They will be killing their PlaysForSure licensing servers officially on August 31, 2008. What does this mean? If you’re a happy iPod or Creative MP3 user, nothing much. But for those who were smart enough to purchase music through the MSN Music Store, you’ll be demeaned to kingdom come by the silence of your non-playing tracks on August 31.

Of course, this would only happen if you think of transferring your music files to other devices, such as another computer or music player after August 31. Which would not be unlikely, but could still work well for a few people. Microsoft’s email couldn’t even offer so much as a statement of sympathy, saying “As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers.”

Clearly, a lot of people are not going to like this. But you knew that this would happen when you first signed up for PlaysForSure, right? Right???

Via [Wired]

The MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm continue to build upon the QWERTY phone that made thin in.

The MOTO Q q9 runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 and Motorola’s Good Mobile Messaging technology. The handset provides personal and corporate email, calendar access and content management wherever you are. HSDPA connectivity makes listening to music, watching videos or sharing pictures fast and “PlaysForSure” enables compatibility with music and video stores. A removable micro-SD card compliments the 256MB of on board memory. Motorola has also redesign the keyboard and five-way navigation key to enable fast, accurate text entry. MOTO Q q9 also boasts one a smart screen display, automatically adjusting to produce the best visual experience, indoor or out. Finally, the battery has been optimized for superior performance.

The MOTO Q gsm maintains the layout of the original CDMA Q (found on Verizon and Sprint) but includes quad-band GPRS and EDGE and upgrades to Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 OS.

MOTO Q q9 will be available in Q2 2007. MOTO Q gsm will be available in the second half of 2007.

Read [Motorola]

When Microsoft announced that they were going to have a separate DRM encryption for Zune than PlaysForSure last year, we figured that meant the end PlaysForSure.  Actually, they still rolling out new DRM systems based on PFS - probably an attempt for the PFS folks to keep their jobs.  The new DRM, called PlayReady, brings your typical PlaysForSure to cellphones and smartphones.  PlayReady will be provided to network providers like Verizon and Cingular (AT&T) to support their music stores.  Will regular PlaysForSure songs work on your mobile with this new system?  We have no idea at this point, but we’re expecting to hear more as the week progresses at 3GSM.

Read [Ars Technica] Via [Gizmodo]

Did you just realize that you left someone off of your holiday shopping list and now need to scramble to get him a gift? If you aren’t too close with him and he has yet to know a thing or two about gadgets, technology and pop-culture, you may want to consider picking up one of the Insignia MP3 players.

Best Buy’s private label brand, Insignia, offers two models: the Sport 2GB (NS-DA2G) and the Sport 1GB (NS-DA1G). Both models are 0.5” thin, weight 1.2 ounces, have a 1.2” OLED screen, built-in FM tuner, USB 2.0, have a rechargeable battery with 18 hours of playback time, and are PC and Mac compatible. They also both support MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM, PlaysForSure , Napster and Rhapsody subscription services and JPEG image files. The 2GB model also adds audible support.

I had a chance to play with both models (which are essentially identical) and was left rather impressed with the functionality and ease of use as compared to name brand players (check out the interface here). The 2GB price is right, the size is good, and they are easy to use for you non-tech folk. I suggest heading over to Best Buy to pick one up if you are currently in the market, or forgot to get someone a present.

You can get 1 GB for $79.99 or 2 GB for $99.99, not too bad if you don’t feel pressured to buy a iPod name brand.

The MobiBLU Cubisto digital audio player comes straight from Korea and in two sizes, a 1GB model for $90, and a 2GB model for $110. For an extra 20 bucks, why not spring for the extra space? Of course the big selling point of the device is its wacky cube shape, but that only gets it so far.  I mean, would you rather have a cube in your pocket or a slim and beautiful iPod shuffle?

The Cubisto is similar to its predecessor, the Cube2, but in order to shave off a few bucks, they dropped the colour screen for a monochrome one. Yet another step back is the amount of battery life, with the Cubisto only having 8 hours of playtime compared to the 10 of the Cube2. The Cubisto supports MP3 and WMA formats, and windows PlaysForSure.  No word yet on a US launch date.

Via [dapreview]

Everyone has assumed that Apple’s iPhone would be going to the network that typically raises the bar, but reports are flying everywhere that Cingular is about to pair with another music service.

Expectations are for Cingular to pair with Napster, Yahoo and eMusic. First offering will include PlaysForSure so you can play subscription tracks, eventually followed by pay-per-track and all-you-can-eat offerings. The phones will also have Cingular’s “Music ID” that allows users to hold a phone up to a speaker and have the song playing automatically matched with the Napster database. Cingular is currently the only provider out of the big there (Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint) without a music download service, so it is clear that something will be coming - though it is any one’s call on what it will actually be.

Update:Cingular also teamed with XM Satellite Radio to offer mobile access to audio streams of 25 channels for $8.99 a month.

Cingular Music contains eight distinct menu options:

• Music Player: Music Player is where you can access the phone’s entire catalog of music. Within Music Player, users can create their own playlists by choosing songs from the All Songs menu list as well as have songs played in random order.
• Shop Music: The Shop Music folder is where users go to purchase or explore music content from Napster and Yahoo! Music, depending on your handset. Users can also personalize their phones by purchasing ringtones and Answer Tones™ from the Cingular MEdia Mall.
• MusicID: For the first time, users can identify a song with MusicID, Cingular’s music recognition service, and then purchase that song from the handset by directly linking into the Napster library where the song(s) can later be side-loaded. Beyond this new feature, MusicID can easily identify a recorded song by a simple press of the button. Within seconds, a song can be analyzed among a database of more than 3 million songs and then, when identified, you are provided the name of the artist and the track. And, if the song matches an available ringtone, you can easily purchase it without having to spend time searching.
• Music Videos: The Music Videos folder provides a direct link to Cingular’s video offerings, including video content from MTV Networks’ premiere MTV, VH1 and CMT music brands; Warner Music (Music Choice); as well as original video footage from Cingular Sounds Live (CSL) concert series.
• Streaming Music: The Streaming Music folder is where users can listen to various genres of music content from either XM Radio Mobile or MobiRadio, depending on their handset.
• The Buzz: The Buzz is the place to go to access Billboard Mobile, a mobile music application that gives Cingular customers access to music and entertainment news, Billboard charts and local concert information, directly from the handset.
• Community: Comprised of artist fan sites and chat rooms, the Community folder is where music fans can connect with others who share similar interests. From sharing music and reviews within a particular community (via SMS or IM) or simply listening to music from your favorite artists’ site, the Community folder is a one-stop-shop for discovering and re-discovering music.
• Music Apps: The Music Apps folder is the home for other new and exciting music-centric applications including Mobilcast, a podcasting service, and Hip Hop Official, a music video application.

Featured Handsets
Although Cingular offers several music-centric handsets, five phones will feature the dedicated Cingular Music menu – the Cingular SYNC by Samsung (available Nov 6 for $49.99 after a $100 rebate), LG CU500, Sony Ericsson W810i, Sony Ericsson W300i and Cingular 3125.

Beginning November 6, consumers can visit www.cingularsource.com/cingularmusic for more details on Cingular Music, including handset information.

LG has just announced another MP3 player that will come in 512MB and 1GB flavors.  The MFFM20, which looks kind of like a Rio or a Sony Walkman, is another one of those PlaysforSure devices that will pairs up with such services as Napster for music downloads.  The play/pause button is located on the rim of it, so it will kind of be like controlling a Blackberry (minus the jog wheel).  Apparently, the device will sport 20 hours of battery life and some sort of stress-reducing feature.  LG has yet to elaborate but we’re thinking it’s ocean sounds or something cheesy like that.  If they’ve got a dude with acupuncture needles in there, you can count us out.

Via [Stuff]

It’s been a long time coming, but Reuters is reporting that Microsoft is preparing an MP3 player and music store to compete with the ever-so-popular iPod and iTunes Music Store.  The “sources familiar with [Microsoft’s] plans” have not given any details or specs, but apparently Microsoft is going to build in more social aspects than Apple has.  Possibly another digg-like rating system to join AOL?  They will focus on the pay-per-download model, but will also have subscription options similar to other PlaysForSure services.  Maybe they’ll even utilize their Urge partnership with MTV.  Pictured is the supposed iPod-killer that was sent into Engadget at the beginning of this month.  It looks like there’s some sort of antenna on it, but maybe that’s just the blurriness of the picture.  If we hear anything further, we’ll let you know.

Via [Engadget]

Palm announced the Palm Treo 700p at exactly 12:01 AM this morning, as most recently predicted. The handset is the first Palm OS CDMA Treo to offer the broadbandlike speeds on a EvDO network, with availability on Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

The Treo 700p smartphone combines the hardware design of the Treo 700w smartphone with Palm’s own software. The Treo 700p streams mobile content, such as live TV, movie clips and audio from radio stations, as well as training videos or company communications. The speed of EvDO also allows for an enjoyable experience when streaming multimedia content. The user can take advantage of EvDO on their laptop by using the smartphone as a wireless modem via USB or Bluetooth, right out of the box (just make sure you have an unlimited data plan). This functionality may eliminate the need to purchase Wi-Fi or other connectivity services at coffee shops, airports and hotels. The Treo 700p includes Pocket Tunes, and can be upgraded to support Microsoft’s PlaysForSure/Janus technology. The Palm OS based Treo 700p smartphone includes 128MB of memory (60MB user available) and expansion via an SD card.

The phone has built in email, web browsing, support for Microsoft office documents, a PDF viewer, and more.

Pricing will be set and announced per carrier in the near future.

Read [Palm]
[Press Release]

Sandisk unveiled today their new Sansa e200 portable audio player.  The device will come in 2, 4, and 6 GB models and will be expandable via MicroSD memory cards (of the Sandisk variety).  The e200 supports PlaysForSure and has a built-in FM tuner.  The screen is a 1.8 inch TFT, and the players are 1.7” x 3.5” x 0.5” and come in titanium and Liquidmetal casing.  They will run $200, $250, and $300 respectively.

[via Engadget]

Read [Press Release]