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Cable TV Firm Charter Launches Music Service for Portable Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 17, 2006 - 2:52am.
St. Louis - Charter Communications, the nation's fourth-largest cable TV provider, on Tuesday launched Charter Music To-Go, a new tier for its premium music subscription service that lets users download unlimited songs to portable audio players. Powered by MusicNet, the portable Charter digital music subscription service will offer access to a library of over 2 million tracks for $9.99 per month on a selection of around 25 Windows-based portable players.
tags: TV | Music | Cable TV | Player | Portable |

Thomson to Offer Sirius Radios, Debuts Portable Media Player

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 4, 2006 - 7:26am.
Las Vegas - French consumer electronics firm Thomson announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Sirius Satellite Radio, to offer Sirius programming on RCA and GE home audio devices. The products include a $299 RCA Bookshelf Audio System, a $299 RCA Home Theater System and a $119 GE Spacemaker under-cabinet kitchen audio system. Separately, Thomson on Wednesday introduced the Lyra X3000 Personal Multimedia Recorder, a $399 device with a 3.6-inch screen that can store and play video including recorded TV programs from the DirecTV 2Go portable satellite TV service.
tags: Media Player | Thomson | Portable | Sirius Radios |

Axion Introduces First Line of Portable Media Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 4, 2006 - 7:23am.
Las Vegas - Consumer electronics maker Axion on Wednesday introduced its first line of portable media players, which feature built-in microphones and will use Windows Media technology. Axion will offer a 2.5-inch screen model for $149, and a 3.5-inch screen model for $169 in the first quarter of 2006.
tags: Media Players | Portable | Axion |

Starz Launches Vongo Web-Based Portable Video-on-Demand Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2006 - 8:13am.
Englewood, Colo. - Starz Entertainment Group, a cable TV network unit of Liberty Media, on Tuesday announced the launch of a new Internet-based video-on-demand service, Vongo, that lets users download movies for playback on their TVs, computers or portable media devices. For $9.99 per month, subscribers will have access to unlimited downloads of more than 1,000 movies and video selections -- including recent titles from Universal Pictures and New Line Cinema, and library selections from other studios -- in addition to a live stream of the Starz TV channel. Pay-per-view titles will also be offered for $3.99 per movie. Starz partnered with Sony's Connect Video download service, and Vongo will be a featured content provider when that service launches later this year. Starz also teamed with Microsoft, whose Windows Media technology will be used to allow transfer of content to Windows-based PCs and Windows Mobile-based portable media players. "Vongo will provide the key content application that will drive a new era in portable video delivered over the Internet," said Starz president and CEO Robert B. Clasen.
tags: Video | Starz | Vongo | Web-based | Portable |

Humax USA Portable Media Player to Offer DirecTV 2Go

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2006 - 7:57am.
Las Vegas - Humax USA, the U.S. arm of the Chinese consumer electronics maker, announced on Tuesday that it has developed a hard drive-based handheld portable media player, which will initially be utilized for satellite TV operator DirecTV's DirecTV 2Go service. The device features a 4-inch LCD display, and can connect directly to digital video recorders for transfer of recorded TV shows. Humax USA did not provide pricing details for the Portable Media Player, which it plans to release later this year at retail, in addition to deployment through DirecTV.
tags: DirecTV | USA | Media Player | Portable | Humax |

Handheld Entertainment Introduces W-Fi ZVUE Portable Video Player

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2006 - 7:56am.
San Francisco - Consumer electronics firm HandHeld Entertainment said on Tuesday that it plans to introduce two new third-generation ZVUE portable media players at the Consumer Electronics show this week. Both devices feature a 3.5-inch LCD screen and use Microsoft's Windows Media technology. A $300, Wi-Fi-enabled ZVUE will begin shipping in the second quarter of 2006, while HandHeld's 1GB ZVUE 500 will go on sale for $225 later in the first quarter.
tags: Portable | Handheld Entertainment | W-Fi ZVUE | Video Player |

Blinkx Launches Blinkx.tv To Go Portable Video Player Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:53am.
San Francisco - Blinkx, a searchable index of Web video, on Monday announced the launch of blinkx.tv To Go, a service that lets users to search for specific video content online and then sync it to their iTunes or personal video player software. The service will also allow users to search for video blogs and have their search results automatically and perpetually updated and downloaded to their iPod or other portable video player.
tags: Blinkx | Blinkx.tv | Portable | Video Player Service |

Tao Introduces Portable Wireless Media Player

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 5, 2005 - 9:28am.
San Francisco - Consumer electronics developer Tao on Monday introduced its Tao Wireless Media Player, which allows users to wirelessly download content directly from Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as from the PC to the player, and from Tao players to other Tao players. Tao said it has agreements to offer downloadable content from services including SoniqCast, which offers 10,000 books and 1,000 publications, and PassAlong Networks, a legal peer-to-peer service that offers 1.6 million songs. The 20GB Tao Wireless Media Player is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 2006.
tags: Portable | Tao | Wireless Media Player |

Apple iPod Takes 60% of Japanese Portable Player Market

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2005 - 4:09am.
Tokyo - Apple has announced that its iPod digital music player now accounts for 60% of all players sold in Japan, citing a report in Business Computer News, while its iTunes Music Store has also become the leading digital music retailer since launching in Japan in August. The company's market share for the iPod has surpassed 50% of the Japanese market since September, BCN reported. "It has been a tremendous year for Apple and music in Japan with the opening of the iTunes Music Store and the introduction of the impossibly small iPod nano and fifth generation iPod," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.
tags: iPod | Apple | Japan | Player | Portable |

Tao Ships XM2go Portable Satellite Radio Receiver

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 1, 2005 - 4:29am.
Atlanta - Consumer electronics manufacturer Tao on Tuesday shipped it Tao XM2go portable satellite radio receiver to retailers. The $299 device allows recording of XM Satellite Radio content to internal memory.
tags: Satellite Radio | Portable | Tao | XM2go |

Portable DVR Maker Archos Gets $9 Million Investment From EchoStar

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:21am.
Irvine, Calif. -- French consumer electronics firm Archos announced on Thursday that it has received a $9 million strategic investment from EchoStar Communications, operator of the DISH Network satellite TV service. Under the deal, Archos will provide EchoStar with portable digital video recorders that DISH Network subscribers can use to download TV content directly from a set-top box for viewing on the go. EchoStar plans to begin delivering the Archos portable video recorders -- which will disable the digital output found on other Archos devices -- in the fall of 2005.
tags: DVR | EchoStar | Investment | Archos | Portable |

TiVo, Microsoft Enable TV Show Transfer to Portable Media Centers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 8, 2005 - 10:25am.
Dallas -- TiVo and Microsoft on Wednesday announced an upgrade to the TiVoToGo service, enabling users to transfer TV shows recorded on a TiVo onto a Windows Mobile-based portable device, like a smartphone or Portable Media Center. TiVo owners could already transfer recorded shows to a Windows XP-based laptop or PC; the new feature now allows them to further transfer shows from a Windows-based computer to the portable, Windows Mobile-based devices. Manufacturers including Dell, HP and Samsung have rolled out Portable Media Centers, which cost around $500 and can store and playback audio, video and photos.
tags: Microsoft | TiVo | TV Show | Media | Portable |

Microsoft Launches Pre-Orders for $499 Portable Media Center Devices

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 9, 2004 - 6:26am.
Houston -- Microsoft on Friday announced that pre-orders for the first Portable Media Center devices, which run its Windows Mobile software and can store and playback movies, TV shows, music and pictures, are now being accepted from retailer Amazon.com. Two $499, 20GB models -- the Creative Zen Portable Media Center and the Samsung YH-999 -- will be shipped in August and September. Microsoft also announced a partnership with Major League Baseball, which will make available subscription and pay-per-view content for the devices, including daily condensed and full games, highlights, bloopers and archival footage.
tags: Microsoft | Pre-Orders | Portable | Center Devices |

Hitachi to Increase Production of Microdrive Used in Portable Music Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 17, 2004 - 1:49am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Japanese electronics firm Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies unit announced on Monday that it will increase production of its 4GB Microdrive product, the miniature hard disk drive used in digital music players like Apple's iPod Mini, as well as digital cameras, PDAs and other devices. The company's Thailand plant will begin producing 2 million drives per quarter, up from the current 200,000, as a result of shortages that led Apple to delay the global sales launch for the iPod Mini.
tags: Portable | Hitachi | Microdrive | Music Players |

Report: Portable Gamers to Number 43 Million by 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 11, 2004 - 2:17am.
New York -- The number of gamers playing on portable devices like Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, Sony's upcoming PSP and Nokia's N-Gage will grow from 23 million in 2003 to 43 million in 2009, with revenue growing from $1.6 billion in 2003 to $2.7 billion in 2009, according to a report from New York-based market research firm JupiterMedia. Additionally, a separate group made up of gamers who play more than five hours per week on their cell phones is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 16% through 2009. "Competition is the major driver of growth over the next five years. As device manufacturers and content developers cater to broader audiences, we will see some amazing things happen," said JupiterResearch vice president Michael Gartenberg.
tags: Games | Reports | Portable |

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 |

Report: Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) Handheld to Sell for Around $400

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 12, 2004 - 3:47am.
London -- Sony Europe president Chris Deering has hinted that pricing for the upcoming Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) -- the company's foray into the handheld game market currently dominated by Nintendo's $99 Game Boy Advance -- would be in the range of around $400, GamesIndustry.biz reported. Deering said that Sony intends to generate a profit from the device on hardware alone. "We want to make it affordable for publishers to produce a wide range of entertainment and so royalties will be lower down in the mix this time round," Deering told U.K. trade paper MCV. Sony Computer Entertainment vice president Masutsuka Saeki said the PSP is planned for release in mid-December.
tags: Reports | Handheld | Portable | Sony PlayStation |