Archive for 2007

Podmaxx is very pleased to announce that all Podmaxx customers can now create their very own customized iPod case right here on Podmaxx.com!!!

Please visit and create your own iPod case your way!!

Which iPod do you have?  Click on yours.

• iPod 20/40/Photo
• iPod Mini
• iPod Nano 
• iPod 30 Video
• iPod 60/80 Video

The easiest and fastest DVD copy program available!

Dear XCopy9 Customers,

We have some very exciting news to announce. In order to deliver the best product available, the team at XCopy9 have been merged with 123 Copy DVD!!

What does this mean to you as an XCopy9 customer?

1. Free conversion from XCopy9 brand to 123 Copy DVD counterpart with more features.
2. More updates to meet the everchanging DVD,iPod and PSP technologies.
3. More Feature development.
4. Oppty to participate with our customer refferral program which means $$ to you.
5. More Efficient Technical Support

How it works:

• XCopy9 converts to 123 Copy DVD Gold
• XCopyDVD converts to 123 Copy DVD 07
• XCopyPSP converts to 123 Movies 2 PSP
• XCopyPod converts to 123 Movies 2 iPod

You will also recieve an oppty to upgrade to a different level product or purchase any product at a 50% savings.

Simply enter your XCopy9 Brand of Product License here to convert your product to 123 by clicking here.

Please contact me directly with any questions at :dan@123copydvd.com

Hey everyone, on the music front, Rock and Roll founder Bo Didley is out of the ICU and making great progress. 

OMAHA, Neb. — Bo Diddley, who suffered a stroke after a performance eight days ago, has improved enough to be moved into a regular room at Creighton University Medical Center, his publicist said.

The 78-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist has been hospitalized in Omaha since May 13, after performing two shows at a casino in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Diddley’s move out of intensive care was expected to happen later on Monday, his publicist said.

Publicist Susan Clary said Diddley was awaiting word on when he can be transferred to Shands Medical Center in Gainesville, Fla., near his hometown of Archer, Fla.

Faith Fusillo, Diddley’s business manager, said the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer continues to improve and that he has little or no physical limitations from the stroke except difficulty with speech and speech recognition.

“I was able to speak with him by phone this morning,” Fusillo said. “He wanted to know where his stuff was: his guitar and the money from the gig. I was so happy because this is the Bo that I know and love, and a real indication that Bo is on his way back.”

Diddley, with his black glasses and low-slung guitar, has been an icon in the music industry since he topped the R&B charts with “Bo Diddley” in 1955. His other hits include “Who Do You Love,” “Before You Accuse Me,” “Mona” and “I’m a Man.”

Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was given a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1998.

This is shaping up to be the toughest contest ever as Paul Mahos and New Life Crisis joined the fray with some unbelievable tunes.  I don’t even know where to begin with this crew, they are so “all over the place”. They have managed to blend some very cool sounds that covers every era of “Real Rock n Roll”.   I have to admit, I was caught completely off guard by their sound as they came to our attention from one of our Podmaxx fans with a really over the top write up. 

The review was almost too good, but, after a couple of sound checks, all I can say to Podderman is, THANK YOU!!, we love these guys.

Take some time and give these guys some real ear time, you will not be disappointed.

http://www.newlifecrisis.com/

 Their MySpace page.

http://www.myspace.com/paulmahosnewlifecrisis

What’s going on Pod Fans? Every once in a while we like to point out some cool new “Non iPod” items we think you will like. I am very pleased to announce the arrival of the “SMOKIN HOT” www.dottees.com!!!!   The web and stores are filled with tons of t-shirts offering the same old, done to death wise a** comments..   It really gets tired seeing the same words on different colored T’s.

 Finally some cool new shirts that have some actual POSITIVE attitude!!  Way to go Dottees!! 

As a way of showing what we think about Dottees, when you buy a shirt, send your invoice number to iDan at Dan@blingsoftwareltd.com and I will send you back a free 1 day license of Ring Factory that gives you 24 hours of unlimited use to create your favorite ringtones for your cell phone.

What can we say about iFrogz that hasn’t already been said.  These folks have created the most diverse,creative as well as simple system to custom design your own iPod cover.  Every color and style you can imagine, mix and match, at iFrogz you really do get it “Your Way”.  Tell them we sent you.

 See the Tadpole for kids.

Belkin International has unveiled its new pink Sport Armband and “Hope” Remix Metal cases for Apple’s iPod nano, and revealed that 10 percent of all proceeds will go to support Komen for the Cure to help fight breast cancer. Belkin’s Sport Armband for iPod nano is hand washable and features “stitchless” construction with a water-resistant exterior. The “Hope” Remix Metal for iPod nano is made from clear acrylic and brushed metal, featuring a soft-touch click-wheel protector. Both cases protect first as well as second-generation iPod nanos, and both are priced at $30.

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New York — iPod audio systems will take new shapes and add new features with the shipment of models by Altec Lansing, Mondo Systems and Boston Innovative.

Milford, Pa.-based Altec Lansing plans May shipments of a one-piece home system with 8.5-inch LCD display for viewing videos and pictures stored on docked iPods. Boston-based startup Boston Innovative will launch two battery-operated boombox versions of the Altec concept but will add built-in CD/DVD player, AM/FM tuner and NTSC TV tuner. For music-only use, Mondo USA of Santa Ana, Calif., plans a home system consisting of two bookshelf speakers connected to a small amplifier/RF receiver, which receives iPod music wirelessly from a dock placed in a convenient location up to 100 feet away.

Mondo’s $349-suggested Mint, due in June, features two two-way wood speakers with white-piano-coat finish, 4-inch aluminum-cone woofers and 1-inch neodymium-magnet tweeters. The speakers are powered by a 2×70-watt (into 4 ohm) Class D amplifier. Mondo’s cradle converts the iPods’ analog output to digital and sends it wirelessly to the amp by using a proprietary wireless technology called Di-Fi. Mondo’s amp also connects to other music sources, including PCs and other-brand MP3 players, via USB and 3.5mm line-in jack. A supplied IR remote can be used to control the docked iPod.

Mondo, a subsidiary of Seoul-based startup Mondo Systems, plans June sales of the system through on-line and brick-and-mortar retailers, including Amazon and mondo-usa.com. It will be the startup’s second consumer product. The first was the XL7000 home theater system unveiled at last September’s CEDIA Expo but shipped only in Korea because the “market wasn’t ready,” a spokesperson said. That system consists of freestanding speakers, a DLP projector and a hard-drive music/video jukebox that rips CDs and DVDs.

Altec Lansing is likewise targeting home use of its $349-suggested inMotion iMV712, due in stores in May. Altec believes it’s the industry’s first home iPod station with an LCD screen for viewing iPod videos. The single-chassis iPod station, which runs solely on AC, is positioned for use in college dorm rooms, teen rooms, desktops and kitchen counters.

The iMV712 sports a widescreen 8.5-inch TFT LCD screen, top-mounted universal iPod dock, two 3-inch neodymium-magnet speakers, a built-in 4-inch subwoofer and Altec-proprietary SFX (Stereo Field Expander) technology to widen the soundstage. An aux-in jack connects to other-brand MP3 players, which would also sit in the dock. An RCA input connects other sources such as camcorders. An S-Video output connects to TVs to display iPod videos on the TV screen.

A wireless remote controls the device’s volume, treble/bass and mute functions as well as iPod functions, including forward/reverse, pause, menu, play and stop.

Boston Innovative Products, which has marketed residential air purifiers and commercial air conditioners for two years, lays claim to another industry first: iPod-docking boomboxes with LCD screens to view an iPod’s videos and pictures. Three $299-suggested iMep models feature different cosmetics but sport the same features: top-mount iPod-dedicated dock, 7-inch LCD screen, back-mounted CD/DVD transport, MP3-CD playback, integrated NTSC TV tuner, AM/FM tuner, and USB port and SD/MMC/MS memory card slot to play music and video files from memory cards and USB drives. The two devices also feature RCA-type A/V inputs and outputs, coaxial and optical digital outputs, and connections for AM and TV antennas. The iMeps are powered by 8 C batteries or AC.

The black iMEP, the MP-701-388, features a screen on the front and a light-absorbing coating to ward off glare outdoors. The MP-702-388R and 388B feature flip-up screen and silver trim. The former is red, the latter is black.Boston Innovative, owned by 3P Electronics of China, will sell the products through the Front Gate catalog and other retailers.

Courtesy of iLounge.com

Posted 04.12.07 | By Jeremy Horwitz

An update to the iLounge reader-favorite series of machined aluminum iVault cases for iPod shuffles, Griffin’s iVault for nano ($25, aka iVault nano) is long in coming: we’d heard a first-generation nano version was on track for release last year, but as it emerges in April, 2007, it’s now compatible with both first- and second-generation nanos. Unlike its predecessor, the new iVault uses magnets rather than screws to hold closed, and includes a convenient rubber Dock Connector cover — which fits the second-gen nano better than the first — to protect your nano’s accessory port. Integrated clear screen and Click Wheel protectors are also found in the front half of the case, with a rubber inner lining to keep your nano from scratching against the aluminum body.

In our efforts to eventually free all iTune hostages, Podmaxx is offering a 30% discount to everyone who emails here with a link of this post.

Send email here to free your iPod. Press@podmaxx.com

Apple Inc.’s announcement Monday that it has sold 100 million of its iPod music players marks more than just a business milestone for the once-struggling computer company.

The remarkable sales figure also is evidence that Apple has, in just a few short years, played a major role in transforming a fringe technology into a mainstream phenomenon — spawning massive ripple effects in both the music and technology industries

What’s more, analysts say, Apple’s more recent forays into selling movies and TV shows — and, soon, its own cell phone — could be poised to transform those industries as well.

“It’s pretty clear to me, as to most people who have watched it, that the record label business is just the canary in the coal mine,” said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media who has followed the digital music business for years. “The Hollywood studios and the TV production companies — they need to pay attention because their businesses are going to change just as rapidly, and they need to adapt.”

Apple said Monday that it had sold 100 million iPods since the gadget was introduced in November 2001. The company also noted that it had sold more than 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows and more than 1.3 million movies through its iTunes music and media store.

If there was any doubt, the numbers offer definitive proof that the iPod has crossed from being a gadget for music lovers and technology geeks to being a mainstream hit with everyone from kids riding the bus to grandparents out for an afternoon walk.

Of course, there were other companies before Apple that offered the ability to listen to music over the Internet, and to play back songs on small digital gadgets. But while most of those systems required a fair amount of technical prowess, experts credit Apple with making the technology easy enough to appeal to a mass audience.

“Apple took a totally different approach than most of the other companies,” said Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates.

While other companies saw digital music players as primarily for gadget geeks, Kay said Apple decided to “human engineer this so that people will like the experience. That was very, very key (to) setting the pace for everyone else in the industry.”

The understated device, with its clean look and easy click wheel, was mirrored by an iTunes music service that offered a simple way to buy songs at a relatively low price.

By contrast, companies such as RealNetworks Inc. offered a variety of services, including subscriptions that essentially let people rent songs. Other portable digital devices often required complex steps to program and use, and it was sometimes extremely difficult to transfer songs from computers to the devices.

Apple also had an advantage in that its music service and device were made to work together, whereas other music services and devices were built by different companies that tried to mesh them. The result could be frustrating and rife with glitches.

It didn’t take long for music lovers to see the convenience of not just listening to songs over a digital player, but also buying them via an online service. Experts credit Apple with helping to legitimize online music downloads, which was rife with piracy.

Now, thanks in large part to iPod’s popularity, many think it will just be a matter of time before the tried-and-true method of going to a store and buying a CD becomes a thing of the past.

“It’s high time the record labels realize that the CD is as dead as General Custer,” Leigh said.

The change has been dramatic for the music industry, which is now struggling to understand how to make its business work in a vastly different distribution model. Even now, not every label is allowing all their songs to be sold online.

As downloading television and movies becomes more popular, Leigh expects those industries to have to grapple with the same major changes. That could mean job cuts, changes in product lineups or any number of other moves.

CONTINUED: Other industries affected as well

Record labels and other digital music services aren’t the only ones who have been forced to adapt to an iPod world. The change also has affected companies such as Sony Corp., whose Walkman products had long been synonymous with portable music.

Sony, along with companies including Creative Technology Ltd. and even Microsoft Corp., have put out products meant to compete with the iPod juggernaut. But so far, none have been able to create a serious dent in Apple’s lead.

(MSNBC.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

The iPod’s success also has marked a transformation of sorts for Apple, which has struggled over the years as a higher-end, niche competitor to the big players of the PC industry, most notably Microsoft.

Leigh said one concern Microsoft should have now is that people may love their iPod enough to consider also switching to an Apple computer, instead of a PC powered by Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Still, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has its share of challenges ahead. Although the company is enjoying a commanding position right now, analysts caution that it never pays to get comfortable in a market as fickle as digital music.

“I don’t think any company in an industry that’s changing as rapidly as this one can ever declare victory,” Leigh said. “If that means, ‘We’re the winners and we don’t need to do anything more,’ you’ve just written the epitaph.”

Instead, he thinks Apple will have to keep doing what it has been doing — introducing new products and finding new customers — if it wants to keep its lead.

But expansion can lead to its own problems as well. For example, Kay thinks Apple’s move to offer its own cellular iPhone, due out later this year, could be risky. One big concern is that, while it’s only an inconvenience if your iPod doesn’t work, having a phone that isn’t always reliable would be much more problematic.

To succeed, Kay said, the company will need to be make sure that the iPhone’s battery is dependable, and that other offerings such as e-mail work reliably for business users.

“Why do people like the iPod? Well, they like the iPod because it plays their songs simply,” he said. “But if you say, well, why do people use phones? They use it for a totally different purpose.”