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Sony Ericsson Debuts 4GB Walkman Phone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 15, 2006 - 9:27am.
Barcelona - Sony Ericsson has introduced its sixth Walkman phone, the W950, which features a purple casing, orange backlight and 4GB of memory -- enough to hold about 4,000 songs. The phone is scheduled to ship in the third quarter in Europe and is expected to be priced between $360-$480. Sony Ericsson also said that it has now sold a total of over 3 million of its Walkman phones.
tags: Sony Ericsson | Walkman Phone | 4GB | Debut |

Apple Debuts 1GB iPod Nano, Slashes Prices on iPod Shuffle

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 7, 2006 - 4:51am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple on Tuesday debuted a new $149, 1GB iPod Nano, adding a smaller capacity model to existing 2GB and 4GB versions of its flash memory-based portable music player line. Apple also announced lower pricing for its iPod shuffle, its smallest player and the only model without a display screen. The 512MB shuffle now costs $69, down from $99, while the 1GB shuffle was discounted from $129 to $99. "The only other company that has cheaper products out there is Creative," Gene Munster, an industry analyst with PiperJaffray, told the Associated Press. "So not only are Apple products the best, now they're also the cheapest, which makes it impossible for others to compete." Apple has also started a countdown to the one billionth song to be sold from its iTunes Music Store, which the company said last month has now sold 850 million songs. Prizes will be given at 100,000-song intervals along the way, with the purchaser of the 1 billionth song to receive an iMac, 10 iPods and a $10,000 gift certificate to the iTunes Store.
tags: iPod | Apple | Prices | Debut | 1GB | Nano | Slashe |

Digital Music Distributor Declines in Nasdaq Debut

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2006 - 7:16am.
Sacramento, Calif. - Digital Music Group, Inc., a company that acquires digital rights to recordings, encodes them digitally and distributes them to online music stores, on Thursday made its initial public offering of shares on the Nasdaq. The company priced 3.9 million shares at $9.75 per share, an offer worth about $38 million. Shares were down as much as 14% on Thursday, before regaining some ground to close at $9.25. Founded in 2005, Sacramento, Calif.-based Digital Music Group has acquired rights to tracks from artists such as Fats Domino and Herman's Hermits, and digitized them for sale on iTunes, Napster and other similar services. The company will use the proceeds to fund expansion and for general corporate purposes.
tags: Music | Nasdaq | Debut | Distributor | Decline |

AOL to Debut New Internet Phone Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 20, 2005 - 9:20am.
Dulles, Va. -- Hoping to turn the tide on its dwindling membership base, America Online said on Tuesday that it will begin rolling out its newly enhanced Internet phone (Voice over Internet Protocol) service in early October. The company said that its TotalTalk service, which will allow subscribers with high-speed Internet connections to make comparatively inexpensive phone calls, will debut on Oct. 4. AOL said that customers needn't subscribe to its Internet service, and current AOL Internet Phone subscribers will be upgraded to the new offering automatically. The service will include free PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone capabilities, voice, email and instant messaging, enhanced voicemail and call management capabilities. It will also give users the ability to make and receive calls on a home phone line from anywhere they have access to AOL's AIM instant messenger.
tags: AOL | Debut | New Internet Phone |

Sony Ericsson to Debut Walkman-branded Music Player Cell Phones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 16, 2005 - 5:24am.
Cannes, France -- Wireless developer Sony Ericsson announced that it plans in March to introduce a line of hybrid cell phone-music players under the Walkman brand. The first Walkman phones will let users transfer up to about 10 CDs worth of music to their phones via a PC, while future models will be able download copy-protected songs directly to the handset. Sony Ericsson said the Walkman phones will use the Open Mobile Alliance's DRM 2.0 security specification, and will be able to download songs from Sony's Connect online digital music store. Rival phone makers Nokia and Motorola also touted new music phones at the 3GSM trade show in France this week, with Motorola announcing plans to introduce the first phone that will support Apple's iTunes music player software.
tags: Music | Sony Ericsson | Cell Phones | Debut | Walkman-brand |

Apple: iPod Mini Will Debut Internationally July 24

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 7, 2004 - 6:56am.
Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple announced on Wednesday that the international release of its iPod mini digital music player, delayed due to high demand and a shortage of the microdrives used in the devices, will now commence on July 24. Apple's smaller version of its popular iPod player can hold 4GB of music (1,000 songs) and will sell for $249.
tags: iPod | Apple | Debut | Internationally |

Microsoft Portable Media Center Devices to Debut in Europe in Late 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 18, 2004 - 5:03am.
London -- Microsoft announced on Thursday that the first portable audio and video playback devices to use its new Portable Media Center software will be released in Europe in the second half of 2004. Microsoft has said that the devices are aimed at the portable market currently dominated by Apple's iPod, but will also play video and be able to store and display digital photos. Consumer electronics firms Creative Technology and iRiver will introduce 20GB and 40GB models of the Microsoft-powered devices. Creative's device will retail for between $700 and $800, weigh 11.5 ounces, and be roughly three times as thick and twice as long as an iPod, Reuters reported.
tags: Europe | Microsoft | Debut | Portable | Media Center |