Sony thinks they have what it takes to compete with likes of the iTouch, and I believe they are on the right track. The Sony X-series Walkman, releasing in about a month, is the biggest thing to happen to the Walkman line since its release. The X-series is Sony’s attempt to bring the Walkman into the modern-day realm of touch-screens and wifi. Sony added many cool features that make it a noble competitor against the iTouch.
3-inch OLED display with 432 x 240 resolution
WiFi Capability
Web Browser (including YouTube and Slacker apps)
Intuitive Touch-Screen Interface
FM Tuner
Integrated Noise Cancellation
The X-series’ touch-screen works as well as (if not better then) the iTouch and the OLED screen looks gorgeous. The Wifi integration is nice, especially when using the Slacker app to listen to tons of free music, but the web browser can be a little annoying to use. It is helpful though because it allows you to download movies straight from the internet, from online stores such as Amazon. Though without the equivalent of an App-store and by not taking full advantage of the opportunites offered by the WiFi capability, Sony’s X-series Walkman is definitely not an iTouch KILLER. The Walkman does offer a wide range of capabilities without sacrificing quality, but being priced similarly to the iPod Touch, I expected slightly more out of one of the largest and oldest companies in the portable music player market.
If you are looking for a new MP3 player and/or video player this holiday season then it would be worth checking out the new Zune digital media players from Microsoft. They give you everything you need to enjoy digital entertainment such as music, pictures, video, audio books, and FM radio all in the palm of your hand in a sleek form factor plus offer you enhanced wireless capabilities so you can access new content via wifi hotspots!  For example thousands of wifi hotspots at McDonalds are available for you to utilize and access the Zune Marketplace online. Through the marketplace you can access millions of new songs and secure new videos.
The new Zune offers you some compelling new software features that improves & revolutionizes the way you discover & explore music. You can get personalized song recommendatons based on your music listening preferences, see what other Zune members are listening to, and get custom music mixes that you subscribe to sent to your device.
You can see a product overview on the new Zune from AmazingTechProducts.com here to learn more:
To get your own Zune Digital Media Player Click Here
To review special pricing on the Zune Digital Media Player Click Here
To check out deals on the Zune Digital Media player Click Here
Step inside any public gym these days and you’ll see legions of gym-goers with iPods strapped to their arms, in the midst of a gruelling workout. Long gone are the days of cassette walkmans and portable radios. The iPod allows you to freely choose from a large library of music as you work out, allowing you to tailor your music to your specific action (walking, running, etc.). Yet imagine a device that does this for you, synchronizing your music with your workout and even providing a little motivation as needed.
The idea of exercising with the aid of music is not a new one, the military has been using marching cadences for generations. This device from Yamaha puts the same effect on your arm. By combining an mp3 player, pedometer, and heart monitor, it becomes a one-piece workout aid. You load songs onto the player (it only holds 512mb, but that’s enough for most workouts) and enter your information (age, height, weight) and then strap it on your arm. You also need to connect the pulse monitor to your earlobe (looks kind of goofy, but works well). As you run or walk, it monitors your pace to match it with music, as well as your heart rate. As you start off, it’ll give you a slower song, and will continue to play faster ones until you reach an optimal heart rate. Of course if your heart begins beating too fast it will play a slower songs. Between songs, to help remind you of the rhythm, it plays a randomly remixed beat to make it clear. If you get tired you can manually adjust the pace, or just set it to “free workout” mode.
This looks fun on paper, but does it work? I’m in the middle of a record-setting heat wave, so running wasn’t really an option. I could, however, take a brisk walk, and I did. It was right away that I realized how poorly I had selected songs for the player, as they were all slightly too fast. The only song I had that was close to a normal walking pace was Pink Floyd – Run Like Hell, so let’s just say that I heard that song a lot. This is, however, not the players fault, and in the software you can view a bar graph of the speed of the songs you have loaded. Thus, it is important to give a good variety, from fast to slow.
I initially chose the “Walking Workout” mode, which gradually speeds up your pace by playing faster songs. Once I got past Pink Floyd, it became quite a challenge keeping up. Yet, since this mode is meant to give a workout, and my heart rate was still normal, it kept beeping at me to remind me of the tempo. Aside from being a reminder of how out of shape I am, it became annoying and I just switched it to “Free Workout.” Lesson learned: do not use the “Workout” modes unless you REALLY want a workout.
Upon returning from my workout, I was easily able to plug the device in and get graphs of my workout, including pace, distance, and heart rate. These are all saved, of course, so you can track your improvement.
To summarize, this is a really innovative product that occupies a niche that has never been filled before. At only 512 megabytes, it’s not really good for use as a regular mp3 player. I’d suggest buying it in addition to your iPod, not instead of. Also, this thing really pushes you quite hard in the workout modes, so be prepared to sweat. In free mode, however, it simply matches songs to your pace and can be quite pleasant. Be sure to load songs with a variety of tempos, or you’ll be stuck in an endless Pink Floyd loop like I was. At nearly $300, this is a bit steep for such a dedicated device. but for certain people it can easily be worth it as it offers a lot of unique features/benefits making it worthy….
It’s 1990 and I’m driving on some dull trip with my parents. They’re listening to some awful music on the car stereo. It’d be an otherwise horrible trip, but lucky for me I’ve got my brand new walkman, with a copy of Vanilla Ice’s “To the Extreme” blaring through the headphones. My mom told me that I had to keep the volume pretty low, but in order to hear it over the car stereo I’ve got the volume cranked to the very end. My mom says she can hear the music coming out of my headphones, but I don’t care. My choices are listen at a safe level or hear the music.
It’s 2002 and I’m working on an essay, listening to music through my headphones. A few years of loud concerts and biology lessons have taught me that subjecting my ears to loud music, but I don’t care. I’m having a good time with the volume as is.
It’s 2006 and I just got an iPod with video. It’s a good way to kill time on the train, but something of a disappointing movie watching experience. Having a home theater system at home has spoiled my enjoyment of a movie without surround sound.
It’s 2008 and I’m pleased to announce that Amazing Tech Products Inc. has a solution to all these problems. The Purebuds are a set of earbuds that use reverse sound technology to bounce the sound away from your ear drums, rather than directly at those sensitive little buggers. This leads to a softer sound experience without compromising sound quality.
I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when I was first introduced to Purebuds. “Sure,” I said “They’re better for your ears. But how do they sound? Are we giving up volume in exchange for safety.”
Well, I’ve been trying out my pair, and I’m pleased to say that they sound great. I have a small collection of expensive headphones and ear buds that I use on a regular basis, and I can say without reservation that they stack up to most of them as they sound as good or better than all of my earbuds. They pack a lot of punch into a resonably small frame, and don’t seem to be as prone to distortion as my other earbuds.
I do a lot of walking, and I like to have some music with me when I go, like my own personal soundtrack. A neat little byproduct of the reverse sound technology is that it lets in more outside sound. While this makes them less than desirable for louder environments, it lets you be more aware of your surroundings.
The Purebuds also come with three tips, each one promising a different “audio ambiance effect.” While I found that the “Full Range” and “Bass Boost” worked as advertised, I had a difficult time keeping the “Surround Sound” tips in my ears long enough to get a feel for how well the worked. I have oddly shaped ears, so your milage may vary.
All and all, I’m pretty psyched to be reporting on these headphones. The fact that they are a product Amazing Tech Products Inc is releasing does make me a bit biased, but I was excited enough about the headphones to volunteer to write it up on the blog. Regardless of who makes them, these are a solid product that I enjoy using.
You can learn more about the Purebuds, watch a video demo, and get your own pair by Clicking Here
You can get your Purebuds via Amazon.com by Clicking Here
