ZVUE ZINE

I4U News - Sponge Bob TV Series Downloads Come to VuGo PMP

2005-11-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

"When I was a kid the best thing I could get, mobile entertainment-wise, was the View-Master (yes, the site says they are celebrating 65 years of fun and no, I am not that old!).

\Hasbro's VuGo was announced in September. Today it was announced that Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network will offer the online sale of several half-hour programs for $2.99 per download, and that the programs will be formatted to play exclusively on the VuGo.

We Say: Oh, to be a kid nowadays. Based on price, the VuGo (Amazon: $119.99) is the most likely things for kids to have, so the deal makes sense, but I still see what I consider (maybe I'm too old-school?) to be too many children carrying portable DVD players, video games, etc. to dinner - whatever happened to talking to your parents at a restaurant? " (more)

Video iPod Competion: Zen Vision

2005-10-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Creative Introduces the Zen Vision - 30GB MP3 Player With 3.7-Inch SharpPix High-Resolution 262,144-Color Screen for Photo and Video Viewing
Gorgeous Magnesium-Encased Player Delivers Eight Times the Image Resolution and more than Three Times the Screen Size of the Apple iPod

MILPITAS, Calif. - August 3, 2005 - Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced the Zen Vision™ MP3 player (MSRP: $399) with a 3.7-inch SharpPix™ high-resolution 640x480 262,144-color screen for photo viewing and digital video playback. Featuring a transflective screen that provides excellent image and video quality even in bright sunlit conditions, the 30GB Zen Vision carries up to 15,000 songs, tens of thousands of photos, or up to 120 hours of video. Available in either pearl white or black, the Zen Vision measures 4.9 by 2.9 by .8 inches and weighs only 8.4 ounces. It is available today for pre-order at us.creative.com for only US$399.99.
"The Zen Vision is our most versatile and coolest-looking digital entertainment player ever," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. "It supports download and subscription music services, photo transfer directly from a Compact Flash card or up to 17 variations of media through our optional Compact Flash Adapter. With the SharpPix technology, your digital photos can look even better than prints. Plus the Zen Vision supports video from TiVoToGo™ and popular Internet video formats including DivX™, so it's really easy and fun to enjoy your favorite music, photos and videos wherever you go." (more)

The Apple Store (U.S.): Video iPod

2005-10-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

WATCH VIDEO of Steve Jobs presentation. (QT7)

The new Apple iPod. The 20GB version is selling for $299 and the 60GB iPod for $399. The display measures 2.5 inch. Resolution is 320x240 pixels. Battery life is up to 20 hours.

New iTunes 6.0 (available now) features music videos, movies and TV shows for downloading at $1.99 each.

Set your music in motion

First, iPod put music in your pocket. Now it puts on a show. With support for up to 15,000 songs and up to 150 hours of video on a 2.5-inch QVGA color display, iPod gives you the ultimate music experience — sight and sound — in a lighter, thinner design. Available in classic white and dramatic black. (More)

Up to 20 hours
of battery life

The 60GB iPod offers up to 20 hours of music playback between charges, and the 30GB offers 14 hours. The iPod battery can be charged up to 80 percent capacity in 2 hours; a full charge takes 4 hours.

Apple Introduces Video, TV Playing IPod

By MAY WONG
The Associated Press / Washington Post
Wednesday, October 12, 2005; 2:34 PM

Apple Computer Inc. unveiled Wednesday an iPod capable of playing videos, evolving the portable music player of choice into a multimedia platform for everything from TV shows to music videos.

Videos will now be sold alongside songs on Apple's iTunes Music Store.

Fueled by record sales of its iPod players and strong back-to-school computer sales, Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005, its fourth-quarter net income surged more than 300 percent to $430 million, marking the company's highest ever earnings and sales for a quarter and year.

Citing a groundbreaking deal with ABC Television Group, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the online iTunes store will sell episodes of hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" for $1.99 each, making them available the day after they air on television. (more)

I4U News - ZVUE MP4 Player now with Low Price at Wal-Mart $94.86

2005-08-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

I4U News - ZVUE MP4 Player now with Low Price at Wal-Mart: "ZVUE took the next step in getting their low-cost portable video player to the masses by getting Wal-Mart to carry this MP4 player. The company pushed the MSRP under $100 from $150."

Best Indie Film - http://www.myzvue.com/zvue/best-indie-film/

2005-06-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

We have great Indie video. Sit down with some popcorn and enjoy a great indie movie with our massive site of indie downloads.

And while you are at it, pick up a ZVUE (like a video iPod, only Apple doesn’t make a video iPod) to watch some of the Best Indie Film and Indie Downloads on the Internet.

USATODAY.com - Disney to release films for Sony PSP game device

2005-03-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

USATODAY.com - Disney to release films for Sony PSP game device: "The home video arm of the Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday said it would release movies in the newly-developed UMD format for Sony's PlayStation Portable handheld video game and media device.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment said it would release five movies this spring: 'National Treasure,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,' 'Reign of Fire,' 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' and 'Hero.' More titles will be announced during the year, it said.
The UMD, or Universal Media Disc, holds about three times the capacity of a regular CD. It was developed specifically for Sony's PSP, to be released in North America on March 24.
Disney is the first major Hollywood studio other than Sony's own Sony Pictures division to announce UMD support. Lions Gate Entertainment, a smaller independent film studio, is also backing UMD."

i-Newswire.com - HandHeld Entertainment Names Jeffrey D. Oscodar as President and Chief Executive Officer

2005-01-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

i-Newswire.com - HandHeld Entertainment Names Jeffrey D. Oscodar as President and Chief Executive Officer: "HandHeld Entertainment today announced that Jeffrey D. Oscodar has been named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of HandHeld Entertainment. Oscodar replaces Nathan Schulhof who resigned as president and CEO for health reasons.

i-Newswire, 2005-01-07 - HandHeld Entertainment today announced that Jeffrey D. Oscodar has been named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of HandHeld Entertainment. Oscodar replaces Nathan Schulhof who resigned as president and CEO for health reasons.

Oscodar brings nearly 20 years of corporate technology and legal experience to HandHeld Entertainment and will lead the company in extending its ZVUE personal media player technology and content partnerships into consumer electronics markets worldwide.

'We are thrilled to have Jeff on board with us at HandHeld,' said Carl Page, chief technical officer and co-founder of HandHeld Entertainment. 'His experience creating consumer electronics products as well as the services that make them come alive will take the ZVUE and our media services into the homes of consumers throughout the world.'

Previously, Oscodar co-founded InfoGear Technology, the market leader in Internet appliance services. InfoGear produced the first Web-enabled telephone and was sold to Cisco Systems in 2000 for more than $300 million. While at InfoGear, Oscodar not only licensed InfoGear's hardware reference platform to consumer electronics companies, but also established more than 100 content partnerships with companies like Amazon.com, eToys, Time.com, USA TODAY, Yahoo! and others. He also developed and launched an international affiliate program that brought InfoGear Networks' content to partners in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa." (Click Title For More)

HandHeld Entertainment Announces Changes to Its Board of Directors; Former Microsoft and Sun Executive is Named Chairman of Board of Directors

2005-01-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Former Microsoft and Sun Executive is Named Chairman of Board of Directors SAN FRANCISCO --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 5, 2005 -- HandHeld Entertainment(TM), creator of the ZVUE(TM) personal media player and content network, today announced that Bill Keating has been named chairman of its board of directors, replacing Geoff Mulligan, who remains on the board. HandHeld's Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Carl Page was also named to its board of directors.

Keating has served as HandHeld's interim chief executive officer since Nathan Schulhof stepped down from the CEO position for health reasons. Schulhof remains a member of HandHeld Entertainment's board of directors.

Keating, a former executive with Microsoft, Sun, WebTV and Moxi Digital, is currently a founding member of Nekei, an advisory service that helps companies get real solutions to funding and operational concerns. Keating's 25 years of experience in turning new technologies into successful marketplace ventures is well documented, with seven business ventures going public or being acquired, including WebTV's sale to Microsoft for $425 million.

Mulligan is the chief operating officer for Konami of America, the fast-growing, U.S.-based subsidiary of the $1 billion Japanese developer and publisher of entertainment software.

Prior to founding HandHeld Entertainment with Garrett Cecchini, Page co-founded eGroups Inc., where he helped build a network of 14 million users who relied on eGroups to support Web-based collaborative work efforts. eGroups was eventually acquired by Yahoo! in 2000 for more than $425 million.

"I am thrilled that HandHeld has such an experienced team," Keating said. "Having the knowledge and wealth of experience these men bring is invaluable. We look forward to expanding our existing content libraries and establishing HandHeld's ZVUE personal media player firmly in the homes of consumers throughout the world."

In a separate announcement today, HandHeld Entertainment named Jeffrey D. Oscodar as its new CEO. Oscodar comes to HandHeld with almost 20 years of corporate technology and legal experience, and was responsible for introducing the first Web-enabled telephone to the industry through his work as co-founder of InfoGear Technology. That technology was later sold to Cisco Systems for more than $300 million. (Click Title For More)

Fear and Loathing in Tokyo: Exclusive PSP Street-Launch Video Coverage from our Live Correspondents (Video, Photos)

2004-12-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

Fear and Loathing in Tokyo: Exclusive PSP Street-Launch Video Coverage from our Live Correspondents: "After the First Impressions on Tuesday and the Opening Session yesterday, Lik Sang received today some fresh off-the-cuff reports about the situation in Tokyo, from our special correspondent on the ground, Tim Rogers and his man FFD. Tim Rogers, known as a loose cannon in the video games press, delivers his thoughts in his traditional crazy and hilarious style which some of you, familiar with his previous writings for various portals, might recognize, and which all of you will for sure enjoy.

Not only did Tim describe what happened at the streets of Tokyo this weekend, he caught it all on tape. Download all the videos, including the final count down, Ken Kutaragi's speech, and some crazy midnight action, right here. More than 100 MB action as Windows Media files, this is as close as you can get to any Japanese console release."

ASIAN POP The Gadget Gap / Why does all the cool stuff come out in Asia first?

2004-12-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

ASIAN POP The Gadget Gap / Why does all the cool stuff come out in Asia first?: "Let's call him Johnny Sokko. A deputy assistant office manager and aspiring rock guitarist, Johnny lives in Tokyo in a cramped three-bedroom apartment shared with his parents and his teenage sister. Upon waking up in the morning, Johnny stumbles to the bathroom to answer the call of nature using the household's amazing Matsushita-brand Smart Toilet, which automatically measures his weight, body fat, blood pressure and urine sugar and sends the results to the Sokko family physician via the Internet. Over breakfast, he checks his daily schedule on his Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 -- the first PDA to feature a 4-gigabyte internal hard drive -- and confirms he's free until noon. Great; he can spend the morning trying to beat the Puzzle Bobble Pocket high score his sister rang up on his brand-new Sony PlayStation Portable.

Japan's trade surplus with the United States remains astronomically high, at over $6 billion; yet any regular reader of technophile Web sites such as I4U, Engadget or Gizmodo knows that the world's biggest exporter of consumer electronics regularly keeps its most innovative and exciting widgetry to itself, selling it only to the domestic market. Cell phones that do everything but make toast (although appropriate attachments are probably available from third-party accessory vendors). Gigapixel digital cameras. Laptops so tiny that "My dog ate my homework" is once again a valid excuse. And, of course, the most incredible toilets in the history of humankind. "

by Jeff Yang,
Special to SF Gate
San Francisco Chronicle

PCWorld.com - We Test Drive Sony's PSP

2004-12-12T18:30:00.000-08:00

PCWorld.com - We Test Drive Sony's PSP With the launch of Sony's PSP (PlayStation Portable) on Sunday, we finally have a chance to put the device through its paces. While it will be some time before all of its features are given a thorough testing and its quirks identified, my initial reaction is positive.

Everything about the PSP indicates quality, solid manufacturing, and a value far beyond its $200 retail price. Analysts have speculated that Sony is losing several hundred dollars on each machine, something that Nintendo has said it is not doing with its recently launched $150 DS (Dual Screen) handheld device.

Even the packaging of the PSP is well designed. An inner cardboard assembly holds the power adapter and cables in separate compartments and unfolds, the way any good present should, to reveal the treasure inside.

Music, Movies, and More
The system settings have their own menu and there are also main menus for games, movies, audio, and photos. Currently, those last three work only with content stored on a Memory Stick, but Sony plans to release audio and video content on discs at a later date.

Music and video can be stored on the Memory Stick directly or by connecting the PSP to a personal computer and switching the unit to USB mode. The Memory Stick appears as a USB mass storage device and so should work with almost any modern operating system. Windows identified the device as "PSP Type A," which is sure to lead gamers to speculate on what other types of PSP may be coming in the future.

Martyn Williams,
IDG News Service

HoustonChronicle.com - Review: Dual-screen system from Nintendo

2004-11-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

HoustonChronicle.com - Review: Dual-screen system from Nintendo: "'Touching is good' is the catchphrase of Nintendo's provocative $40 million advertising campaign.

On Sunday, the video-game giant will introduce its latest innovation, the Nintendo DS, or dual screen, which gaming fanatics around the globe have been dying to get their hands on. Surprisingly, Japanese gamers will have to wait their turn as the DS will become the company's first system to make its sales debut outside of Japan.

Small enough to stash in your cargo pocket or backpack, the sleek DS console is roughly twice the width of its Game Boy SP brother and flips open like a laptop to reveal its double-pronged visual attack with two 3-inch, color liquid screens (one on the lid, one below). The lower screen is touch-sensitive.

Each screen can produce remarkable 3-D renderings that outshine images generated on the Nintendo 64. And the dual display provides a more refined gaming experience.

The DS system comes with its own wireless connection, good for 30 to 100 feet (9.1 to 30.5 metres). So you can use wireless to play with other DS owners, as long as they are close. More extensive wireless options are promised for the future.

Its rechargeable battery delivers six to 10 hours of play on a four-hour charge.
"

Playing Movies on a Photo iPod

2004-11-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

We picked up an iPod Photo the other day, and most observers have asked us “Can that thing play movies?” The short answer is no, only music and photos—but the longer answer is “sorta, but not really anything worth calling a movie”. In this week’s how-to we’ll show you how to “play” a movie on an iPod Photo by exporting frames of a movie, importing them to the iPod and playing them manually by click-wheeling through thousands of images, or even viewing 3d views of objects. Pointless? Yes. Will a lot of people try this and put movie trailers and porn on their iPod Photo? You betcha, and as always, we’re here to help.

Getting started

Mattel's Juice Box Media Player for Kids - Digital-Lifestyles.info

2004-11-06T22:36:00.000-08:00

Mattel's Juice Box Media Player for Kids - Digital-Lifestyles.infoMattel are launching their new Juice Box media player on 17th October. The cute little gadget is intended to introduce kids between the ages of 8 and 12 to the delights of digital media.

Since the Juice Box will play MP3s, photos and video clips delivered through proprietary Juiceware media cards that store nearly three hours of content, you too can introduce your offspring to the frustration of proprietary formats and DRM schemes before they even get to secondary school. The cards will cost about US$10 (€8.11) for two episodes of an animated series, up to US$25 (€20) for a feature, and the format used is based on a technology developed by 4Kids Entertainment.

Initially, Mattel will be offering content from BMG Music, Cartoon Network, WWE and the Learning Channel for the Juice Box. If you don't want your audio and picture content to be locked into someone else's DRM, kids can buy a separate "MP3 Starter Kit" which comes with a standard SD card so they can play MP3s and view pictures from their PCs. No video though – and the kit will cost and additional US$45 (€37).

Full Story

Amazon.com - Click title for current pricing. Current: $59.95

p2pnet.net

2004-06-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

p2pnet.net

ZVUE Online Ad

Tiger Telematics Gives Green Light to Indie Studios for New, Short-Time GPS Gizmondo Game

2004-06-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Tiger Telematics Gives Green Light to Indie Studios for New, Short-Time GPS Gizmondo Game: "LONDON, June 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gizmondo Europe Ltd., subsidiary of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Tiger Telematics Inc. (TIGR), announced today that its strategic partner, game designer Indie Studios, will produce the second of a unique series of games for the exciting Gizmondo device. Like the first game 'Colors,' previewed recently at the E3-Expo, the new game will also utilize the unique GPS functionality of the Gizmondo, thus adding yet another exceptional element to game play.

The Gizmondo, powered by a Microsoft Windows CE.net platform, boosts a 2.8-inch TFT color screen with a Samsung ARM9 400Mhz processor and incorporates 64-bit graphics accelerator. It provides cutting-edge gaming, multimedia messaging, a MP3 music player, Mpeg4 movie playing capability, a digital camera, and a GPRS network link to allow wide-area network gaming. Additionally, it contains a GPS chip for location based services, is equipped with Bluetooth for use in multi-player gaming and accepts MMC card accessories.

Available Q4 2004, the Gizmondo and "City" will be sold worldwide at consumer electronics and toy retailers worldwide.

Gizmondo Europe Ltd. is an owned subsidiary of Tiger Telematics Inc. (Nasdaq: TIGR - News) and is the maker of Gizmondo, a next-generation mobile entertainment device. Set to launch in 2004, the gaming device includes in- built music, video, messaging and picture functions. www.gizmondo.com and www.tigertelematics.com
"

RWC MobiDV-H10 with MPEG-4 Video Recording : Handhelds : MobileMag

2004-05-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

RWC MobiDV-H10 with MPEG-4 Video Recording : Handhelds : MobileMag

RWC of Japan has plans to release the Arex MobiDV-H10 video/still camera capable of MPEG-4 recording and playback. The H10 can shoot images at 4 megapixels and record MPEG-4 video at 640x480-25fps or 320x240-30fps. While it only has a 1.5-inch LCD screen it won’t make for the best video player, but it does support MP3 playback and audio/video output with built-in speakers.

The SD/MMC memory slot will allow for unlimited video recording and audio playback. The Arex measures 103x16x62mm and weighs 87 grams.

RWC is also carrying their version of the ZVUE personal video player. They call it the Arex PocketMX.

Tapwave to Add Outlets for Handheld Game Device

2004-05-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! News - Tapwave to Add Outlets for Handheld Game Device:

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Handheld gaming company Tapwave, which makes a personal digital assistant designed to play video games, will expand its retail presence beyond a deal with CompUSA to include Amazon.com Inc. and a third major retailer, the company said on Thursday.

Tim Twerdahl, Tapwave's director of console development, declined to say who the third retailer would be in an interview at the video game industry trade show E3.

But he said the new retailer would likely start selling the company's Zodiac device after an exclusive window of about two months at computer and electronics retailer CompUSA.
No date has yet been set for the Amazon launch.

Twerdahl also said the company had no plans for new Zodiac hardware this year, staking its fortunes on its existing devices in the face of imminent releases of new handheld gaming consoles from Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp.

Tapwave's Zodiac, which comes with 32 or 128 megabytes of memory, offers all of the functions of a PDA running PalmSource Inc.'s Palm operating system, but is designed with gaming in mind, including a wide screen, an analog control stick, multiple memory slots and gaming buttons."

Yahoo! News - Entertainment Photos - Reuters

2004-05-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! News - Entertainment Photos - Reuters

"A video game enthusiast gets a first look at the new Sony Playstation Portable, a portable gaming device introduced at The Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3, a trade show for the video game industry, in Los Angeles May 12, 2004. "

2004-05-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

Dancers rehearse on the big Nameco stage a day before E3 opens.

2004-05-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

e3insider dot com has a dozen digital pixs showing pre-buzz. The Entertainment Software Association management web site offers visitors an insider's look at the hottest new game titles and related peripherals through exclusive video streaming, booth photos, video clips, interviews and stories.

gamers: choose!

2004-05-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

gamers: choose!

Sony PlayStationPortable Handheld Video Player

2004-05-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

gamers: Sony PSP

At the annual Sony E3 press conference on one of their downtown movie set lots, Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc, showed for the first time the newest member of the PlayStation family of products, the PlayStationPortable handheld videogame system. The portable multimedia player is scheduled to launch in Japan at the end of 2004 with North American and European launches following in the spring of 2005. PSP features 3-D CG games incorporating high-quality, full-motion video giving consumers an experience similar to PlayStation 2 -- anytime, anywhere.

Game Boy Advance Video: Pokemon Television Episodes Join the Lineup

2004-05-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

News : Article

Entertainment consumers have long dreamed of carrying their favorite video material with them on small portable devices. DVD players made that possible--but at a cost of hundreds of dollars. On June 21, Nintendo offers the same capability to owners of the portable Game Boy Advance at a much lower price. No additional hardware purchase is required to view the Pokemon episodes that debut on Game Boy Advance Video.

With an MSRP of $19.99 per Video pak, Nintendo's Pokemon franchise will be represented initially with episodes 'Playing with Fire!' and 'Johto Photo Finish' on one pak and 'A Hot Water Bottle' and 'For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll!' on another. "

USATODAY.com - Nintendo unveiling a new portable

2004-05-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

USATODAY.com - Nintendo unveiling a new portable:
"By Steven Kent, Special for USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES - Video game giant Nintendo, facing increased competition in the market for handheld entertainment, will have a new portable out this fall with twin color screens, sharper graphics and the feel of a PDA. The Nintendo DS "short for dual-screen" will be unveiled Tuesday morning at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo game industry gathering.

You might be able to fool people into thinking your Nintendo DS is a PDA. But turn off the volume just to be safe.

The DS will sell alongside today's Game Boy Advance, not replace it, according to the company. Nintendo has not announced a release date or price, though analysts predict it may sell in the $150 range."

2004-05-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Listen to what Josh Redmond has to say about William Hung at the Tacoma, WA performance April 6th. (wav, 980k)

2004-05-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Star Radio 101.5 Seattle sponsored a William Hung performance in Tacoma, WA May 6th

PANASONIC 1GB SD MEMORY CARD

2004-03-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

Panasonic announced at their annual CeBIT 2004 press conference a one gigabyte (1GB) SD Memory Card.

The product launch is scheduled for April in the Japanese market, followed by distribution elsewhere in the world starting in May. The manufacturer's suggested retail prices will be Euro499 in Germany and $499.99 in the United States.

SD Card Association announced on January 8, 2004 that SD surpassed Compact Flash to become the market leader. For more information, visit the website at http://www.sdcard.org/press.htm

Koch Records and Fuse TV Online Poster

2004-03-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

This poster pops-up appears on the Koch Records web site.

Listen to 4 audio clips from Williams debut CD, Inspiration, at Fuse.TV.

A music video directed by Grammy-nominated director Jeff Richter (Jurassic 5, Rage Against The Machine, Chevelle) will be shot the first of next week.

The World premiere of the Jeff Richter video is confirmed on Fuse TV for 4/6 @ 10:00p.m. (Immediately following American Idol).

A 30 minute FUSE special is also in the works.

Thirty second promos announcing the album/video on Fuse will begin the week of 3/22/04
and continue the following week EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR until April 6hth.

Fuse TV is guarantees 15-20 weekly spins on their music network for the “She Bangs” video:

Video Schedule
4/7 @ 3pm & 9pm
4/8 @ 7pm & 11pm
4/9 @ 4pm & 10pm
4/10 @ 11am, 2pm & 5pm
4/11 @ 12n, 3pm & 6pm
4/13 @ 7pm & 11pm
4/14 @ 4pm
4/15 @ 7pm & 11pm
4/17 @ 5pm

StarBucks/Hear Music partners with Hewlett-Packard

2004-03-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, a new digital download music service will be unveiled at a press conference at Hear Music Coffeehouse in Santa Monica, California, which is owned by Starbucks.

Using Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ) tablet computers, customers can preview and purchase more than 250,000 songs. The minimum purchase will be five songs for $6.99, while complete albums will sell for $12.95. Over the next couple years, Hewlett-Packard plans to furnish 2,500 stores with computers, CD burners and printers for album art.

In a Business Week article published last week, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said, ""This is not a test. We're going for it.''

"There is no question in our minds that this is the future of music distribution,'' says Hal Gaba, who co-owns Concord Records with producer Norman Lear. "It's a significant enhancement of the iTunes experience.''

After the press conference, Rufus Wainwright and Sarah Harmer(Photo) will perform outside on the Third Street Promenade.

Resources

Rolling Stone
PC Magazine
Slashdot Discussion
Seattle PI - Photo

Virus Alert: info@hheld.com

2004-03-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Apparently, email addresses have been "harvested" from the hheld.com site.
Do not open attachments from:

info@hheld.com

Below is an email interaction with HHE:

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 7:27 AM
To: info@hheld.com
Subject: Re: something for you

i do not accept attactments.

is this message from HHE?

--- info@hheld.com wrote:
> here, the introduction
>

> ATTACHMENT part 2 application/octet-stream
name=found.txt.pif

Message from: hheld.com
Subject: RE: something for you
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 19:09:30 -0800

It's a virus... our "info@hheld.com" was most likely harvested. No one
has that e-mail on their clients I know of!

SlashDot

2004-03-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Today, ZVUE.com was Slashdotted

400X Images

2004-03-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

The ZVUE! will display an error message when it trys to display images over 400 pixels wide. Images can be "resized" in a batch with an imaging program like Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album (MSRP:$35 - download, free trial available) .

This morning the close-up photograph (410X274) showing the diamond-studded dress from Randi Rahm worn by Maria Menounos, 'Entertainment Tonight' host for the Oscar Arrivals telecast, on the red carpet at the 76th annual Academy Awards is the top email image on Yahoo News Dot Com. The one-of-a-kind dress is emblazoned with 3,000 hand-sewn round, princess and marquis-cut colored stones totaling two thousand carats, weighs 2.5 lbs and is worth $2.5 million. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Academy Awards Acceptance Speech video clips are available at Oscar.com. Charlize Theron Clip

The William Hung Phenomenon (Update)

2004-02-23T07:06:00.000-08:00

NBC Dateline, February 22. The ZVUE! is a contest prize on Williamhung.net.

William was born in Hong Kong, but now, after an appearance on the TV show "American Idol" back on January 27, he's one of the hottest singers in this country.NBC Dateline Transcript/Video (4meg, wmv)

Sampled versions of his performance, remixed with hip-hop and techno music, have made the top 10 request list at Chicago's WKSC-FM radio. LA Times Article

William Hung MP3 Remix (ZVUE! Download)
"Music My Living" with DJ Aurora 99

First DivX Hardware Video Encoder

2004-02-20T12:08:00.000-08:00

The Plextor ConvertX PX-M402U Digital Video Converter (MSRP:$159) is the first official DivX Certified(TM) hardware encoding and editing device to hit the market. The video encoder enables users to convert video from TVs, VCRs, DVD players and camcorders to the DivX format in real time using a Windows-based PC.

The new ConvertX device allows users to edit DivX video content, making it faster and easier for users to cut unwanted scenes and add titles, transitions and special effects. The PX-M402U permits users to store up to 90 minutes of video on a 128meg SD card.

William Hungs Lands Record Deal and $25K

2004-02-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Last night, American Idol castoff William Hung was presented with a $25,000 check from the Fuse music channel and a record deal from Koch Entertainment.

The deal reportedly includes Hung making a music video that will air on Fuse.

The presentation was made at the UC Berkeley volleyball game that included backup dancers for the UC Berkeley students' performance.

Fuse
Fuse, a network of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, is the nation's only all-music, viewer-influenced television network, featuring music videos, exclusive artist interviews, live concerts and specials -- all rooted in the music experience. Fuse reflects the rapidly changing interests and attitudes of its 12-34 year-old audience by uniting the media platforms that are at the center of their communication and entertainment -- TV, online, and interactive games -- and by incorporating their opinions and suggestions into its on-air and online programming.

KOCH
KOCH Entertainment is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S. KOCH's operations encompass record and video labels, music publishing, as well as distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independent labels and distributors in both the U.S. and Canada and its record labels had the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents in 2002/2003.

American Idol: William Hung

2004-02-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

Last summer, UC Berkeley civil engineering student William Hung and 70,000 other singers auditioned for a chance to become Fox Television's American Idol for 2004. Fox featured William's performance, "She Bangs," by Ricky Martin on the number one show in the country a couple of weeks ago in front of judges: Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Hung failed the audition but left with his head high.

Within hours of the broadcast, William Hung fan sites were created: www.williamhung.net

Today, Will is featured on the Hollywood insiders TV show "Entertainment Tonight" singing in LA karaoke bars and he was also written about in the The Oakland Tribune. Bill is a hot property. An Instant American Phenomenon!

People are selling T-Shirts with his image online. Hung is threatening these profiteers with legal action.

Fans are making amusing audio/video remixes of his summer audition performance.

San Francisco Chronicle - February 11, 2004
TV Zap2it - William Could Return to AI3. February 13, 2004

ZVUE! owners can download MP3 tunes, JPEGs and soon MPEG 4 video of the UC civil engineering student rise to stardom into their pocket multimedia players and share these experiences with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Video: CES KeyDigital Systems Performance Video

2004-01-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

The 4 minute wmv video was edited with the automatic "drag, drop and done" downloadable editing software from MuVee. The clip (click on above photo) took about 20 minutes to encode, edit, compress and share online.

Now Available One-Gigabyte SD Cards

2004-01-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

SanDisk Corporation this week is shipping the world's first production one-gigabyte (GB) Secure Digital (SD) flash card (MSRP: $499), which contains a unique "stackable" packaging technology jointly implemented with Sharp Corporation of Japan.

This new package employs a low-cost, high-yielding die-stacking process that
is designed to enable SanDisk to double the memory capacity without
increasing the size of the card, thus launching a new generation of
competitively-priced, higher-density flash devices that can store
unprecedented amounts of pictures, music and video.

Full Press Release

CES 2004: Key Digital Systems Had The Coolest Performers At The High Tech Show

2004-01-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

their outfits were electrifying
standing still

when they danced
on their 2 foot white pedestals
three feet off the carpeted convention floor
to eastern European techno funk
the guys in their politically correct spotted
neck ties
frozen in mid-stride
stood
with their jaws dropped
tongues hanging down to their knees
and watch these two shake their things
back and forth
north and south
over and over again
during a 5 minute
upbeat Las Vegas Strip
show

keydigital.com
makes set-top HDTV boxes
rack mounted boxes
electronic cards
and knows how to put on a good show

I captured their show on video
And will be uploading it soon

Online Registration

2004-01-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

At the moment, there isn't a link to register product online at ZVUE.com.

The link is:
http://www.zvue.com/registration.html

This information comes from the MyZvue.com Discussion Board.

SD Reader/Writers

2004-01-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

Since the ZVUE! does not ship with a USB cable for reading/writing MP3's from a PC, z-owners need to purchase a USB cable or a SD reader/writer adaptor.

A USB 5 pin din mini-B cable can be purchased online or from a consumer electronics store like Best Buy or Radio Shack for around $10.

A single slotted SD reader/writer USB adaptor from Crucial (photo) sells for $14.95 (plus shipping) while a multi-function* USB flash memory adaptor can be purchased for under $30.

* Compatible Media

CompactFlash Type I/II
IBM Microdrive
SmartMedia
MultiMediaCard
Secure Digital
Memory Stick
Memory Stick Pro (1 bit)

If you know of a good deal on USB cables or SD adaptors, let us know.

Until the MPEG4 card is available for the ZVUE!, MP3 usage is the most popular activity.

NOTE: At this time, the company recommends using a SD adaptor.

The Sundance Film Festival

2004-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

Nirvan Mullick of Los Angeles wears a dandelion costume to promote his animated short "The Three of Us" on the sidewalk of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Photo: Robert Hirschi/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Nirvan and Benjamin Goldman started working together on "The Three of Us" two weeks after meeting at CalArts. The film began as a two week improvisation that ended up taking four years to complete.

If Nirvan and Benjamin had ZVUE!'s, they could show off clips of their film quickly and easily at the two week annual international festival to VIPs waiting in line or anyone with five minutes to spare.

Official Sundance Daily News

Sundance Real Time Blogs

Blogging Sundance
The Salt Lake Tribune
Aboriginal Radio

Online Film Fest

Sundance Online Film Festival - Watch indie films online. $10.

Time Magazine Article Clarification

2004-01-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

In the January issue of Time Magazine that features the Mars Mission on the cover, reporter Anita Hamilton wrote:

And transferring your music and videos to the unit is more complicated than it should be. Available now for $99 at zvue.com, the Zvue should hit retail stores by April.

- Transferring music and video to the ZVUE! is simple. Once the media is on the PC's hard drive, it can be sent to the hand held device through a USB cable or an inexpenisive SD card writer can be used to put content on SD cards.

- The ZVUE! will be on retail shelves by February.

Five Year Old ZVUEing

2004-01-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Five year old Vivie Anna can hardly wait to watch cartoons in the back seat on her new ZVUE!

The Gadgeteer CES Photo Report

2004-01-18T11:13:00.000-08:00

Gadgeteer reporters Judie Hughes and Julie Strietelmeier with watermellon smasher Gallagher

Judie wrote in the CES report:
We were given a demo of the $99 media player from Zvue. At that price, I was sure it was going to be a flimsy device. I was totally wrong.

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/ces-2004-article.html

End User VM4500 Videos

2004-01-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Check out the 15 second video clips a handful of Pacific Northwest teenagers made Friday night with the Sanyo VM4500 photo/video phone. They made this ZVUE! commerical.

CES 2004: Day One Droolcoolness

2004-01-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

On the first day of the Consumer Electronics Show, I attended a Sprint media breakfast and received a Sanyo 4500 video phone with a couple of months of access.

The clamshell phone is the first to combine Push-To-Talk and a camera. Other key features include dual color displays, video clip recording, flash, voice dialing, speakerphone, call screening, video games and airplane mode.

I immediately began shooting video with the 4500 and uploading multimedia reports directly from the show floor to the picture phone yahoo group.

continue

CES 2004 - ZVUE! At The Show

2004-01-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hand Held Entertainment Representives demonstrated the ZVUE! at two big press events.
The theme of the four hour Digital Experience function was 70's disco.

ZVUE! CES Photo Report
Gizmodo Digital Experience Photo Report

CES 2004: Cool Cars, A/V and Booth Models

2004-01-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

Automobile Related Pics and Movies from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

Digital DownLoad - ZVUE Owners download all 127 images and both MPEG Movies directly into your for ZVUEing on the go!

ZVUE! ZINE COVERS CES 2004 In Real TIME

2004-01-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

ZVUE Zine will cover all the droolcool digital gear and the world of ZVUE! direct from the annualConsumer Electronics Show using the Samsung A620 camera phone with voice annotations.

After the show, multimedia articles and interviews recorded with a MPEG4 compatible camcorder can be downloaded directly from the ZVUE Zine on an SD card for ZVUEing off line, on the go.

If there is anything you are interested in seeing, let us know and we shall do our best to get the scoop!

ZVUE! at CES

ZVUE!'s purchased by December 15 will arrive December 24.

2003-12-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be wondering when your ZVUE! will arrive since it is now December 23. Well, if you ordered by December 15 from ZVUE.com, it will arrive on Christmas Eve just in time for the big Holiday.

"As with most new companies, it was a little touch-and-go for awhile
that we'd be able to make our Christmas promise, but our first batch of
ZVUE!s have arrived from our manufacturing partner in Asia (EASTECH),
and the units are great," said Nathan Schulhof, president and chief
executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment. "I'll be able to sleep well
tonight knowing that kids all over America won't wake-up disappointed that
Santa didn't bring them a ZVUE! player."

(Full Press Release)

Of other interest, if you still haven't finished your Holiday shopping this year, we have a few ideas for you for the person who is privy to the digital lifestyle.

1- iTunes gift certificate This is a great gift because just about everybody has some taste for music, and if you are on this site, chances are, the person you have in mind is apt to have an MP3 collection that they will be able to play on their ZVUE!, computer, or even their XBOX if they have one. iTunes gift certificates start at $20 and go up to $200. You can also have them emailed to the person, so you could probably even buy one on Christmas Day

2 - A 9 in 4 card reader sold by Crucial Technology. At $29.99, this great little gadget will read just about every memory card type on the planet, so it gives you a way to move content to and from all of your flash memory-based digital devices like digital cameras, MP3 players and your ZVUE!
-------------------------------------------------------

ZVUE! Entertains Eva Airlines Crew

2003-12-18T23:16:00.000-08:00

Flight Attendant on Eva Airlines that watch and listen to the "ZVUE"
while flying the friendly Asian skies. (more pics)

(Photos: Nathan Schulhof, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment)

Gathering Around The ZVUE!

2003-12-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Kids didn't appear to have any trouble seeing the 2.5" TFT ZVUE! color screen at an Asia Airport last weekend. The first shipments are expected to be sent to US consumers that placed orders at ZVUE.com within the next few days. (Photo: Nathan Schulhof, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment) More Photos/Discussion

ZVUE! Honored With Innovations award from the Consumer Electronics Association

2003-12-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Today, HandHeld Entertainment was honored by the Consumer Electronics Association with an International CES Innovations 2004 Design and Engineering Award in the Personal Electronics category for the ZVUE! personal video player.

With more than 750 entries, the largest in its 14-year history, the Consumer Electronics Association Innovations Award program provides manufacturers and developers the opportunity to have their products judged by an independent panel of journalists, designers and engineers.

The ZVUE! will be on display in the Innovations 2004 Design and Engineering Showcase at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from January 8 to 11, 2004. Hand Held Entertainment will also be demonstrating the portable video player with the ultrabright full-color screen in Eastech meeting rooms S211/S211. (NOTE: Eastech is Hand Held Entertainment's manufacturing partner.)

ZVUE! MP3 Download Exclusive

2003-12-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

San Francisco based salty soulful Jazz singer Jacqui Naylor, wrote the cool Christmas ditty, Christmas Ain't What It Used To Be with Art Khu and put it on a bonus Holiday CD bundled with her new CD, Shelter. I received the CD in my SF Virgin MegaStore VIP press bag, listened to song and thought it should be shared with the world. So, after two e-mails, we had Jacqui's permission to rip the tune and upload an MP3 to the popular independent site, SoundClicks (NOTE: 1) Download MP3 from Sounclicks onto your hard drive. 2) Upload the song file to the ZVUE! through your USB cable.)

Within 24 hours, Christmas Ain't What It Used To Be, was number 45 on SoundClicks Jazz Vocals Chart.

ZVUE! @ Murder Inc. Records

2003-12-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, Irv Gotti, CEO of Murder Inc. Records, checked out the ZVUE! player with Nathan Schulhof, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld Entertainment and the person known as the father of the MP3 player industry. Licensed content for the ZVUE! will be available on postage stamp-sized ZCARD! Secure Digital/MultiMediaCards (SD/MMCs) and will be priced starting at $6.99. (ZCARD Content Video)

Standard Formats Sold Separately In 2004

2003-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

ZVUE! players shipped before January 15 will be capable of playing MP3 audio files and JPEG format images. After mid-January, MP3, JPEG and MPEG-4 formats will be sold as digital downloads from zvue.com and on ZCARD™s through retail distribution. Pricing will be $20/per upgrade or $40 for a three pack MP3/JPEG/MPEG-4 bundle. (Full Press Release)

Johannesburg, South Africa

2003-12-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

"Wow!"

The universal word used around the globe that describes the ZVUE! Experience

Virgin MegaStore SF ReBirth

2003-12-03T15:59:00.000-08:00

Paul Zullo, founder and CEO of Muze, and Sir Richard Branson, Founder and CEO Virgin Entertainment Group, share a light moment with the new multimedia interactive in store experience of the sounds, sights and happenings of the 1960's.

The Muze Navigator can be customized accourding to the needs of retailers, who can leverage Muze's database of millions of entertainment-related products to develop a variety of thematic in-store or online purchases experiences. Limitless theme choices include Extreme Sports, Parenting, House & Garden or any decade in history.

ZVUE.com Opens 4 Biz-ness; January MPEG4 Upgrade

2003-12-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hand Held Entertainment announced that ZVUE! players are now available for purchase through the e-commerce site, zvue.com. Orders placed before December 15th would arrive in time for Christmas.

MPEG4 support was also announced. A firmware upgrade will be available in January.

Eight (8) Zcards are also available to purchase from zvue.com. The web page states that "hundreds will be available by January".

Full Press Release

USER TIP: Turn The Screen Not The Pixs

2003-11-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

Last week, I downloaded 180 JPEG pictures from my Presario 700 laptop to a 64 megabyte SD card that were formatted for the ZVUE! 2.5” TFT color screen. Although the hand held player does a good job resizing any digital image to fit its 240X160 pixel display, I wanted to conserve the SD real estate so that there would be room for several videos and MP3 tunes.

Compared to the “landscape” pixs the “portrait” images appeared small. They also had empty space on their right and left margin.

The “portrait” images were rotated on the PC, 90 degrees to the right, making them “landscape” pixs. The pocket sized ZVUE! unit can easily be rotated 90 degrees in order to see “portrait” images upright. It is better to turn the unit than to give up the display space.

USER TIP #1: Turn the screen not the pictures. Make images “landscape” pixs to take advantage of the entire color screen.

The ZVUE! Displays Digital Pictures

2003-11-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of digital pictures can be stored on a ZVUE! SD card.
It is a snap to scroll through your Z-library quickly using the multi-directional thumb pad.

Multimedia Interview with CDBaby Artist Brian Joseph

2003-11-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the below two part audio interview was recorded at the house concert of CDBaby Artist Christopher Smith.

In my interview with singer/songwriter CDBaby Artist Melanie Hersch, the new Bolder, CO resident mentioned that Brian Joseph would be the CDBaby artist she would select from the 50,000+ members.

i would have to say brian joseph. he is an amazing songwriter and is doing really well in his career. i really respect him as a person and a performer. he's a los angeles guy too. -mh

I emailed Brian a list of questions.
He replied from the road (NY) and suggested I call him on his cell.

Five minutes into our phone conversation he realized that he would be performing a hour from where I am staying on Saturday, November 22. So, we made arragements to do a photo shoot and an audio interview before his house concert in Marin County.

Between 6:30-7:30pm, I was able to snap a half dozen pictures and record a quarter of the pre-typed up questions using the MadPlayer as a digital voice recorder.

The entire question list has been emailed to Brian. He said that he will respond to the rest of them as time allows. He is a very busy guy. His first child is due to arrive in 6-8 weeks.

Download The MP3 Interview with Brian Joseph
Into Your ZVUE! And Listen To It On The Go
Part 1 - (MP3, 6meg, 12:14 minutes)
Part 2 - (MP3, 3meg, 6 minutes)

Listen To The WMA Interview with Brian Joseph On Your PC
Part 1 - (WMA, 637K, 12:14 minutes)
Part 2 - (WMA, 323K, 6 minutes)

Microsoft to Open Online Music Store

2003-11-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

Rolling Stone Magazine is reporting that Microsoft will unveil an online music store in 2004.

Lisa Gurry, MSN Group Product Manager, said in a statement, "We are excited to confirm that MSN will deliver a download music service next year, and we look forward to sharing more details at a later date."

Microsoft's announcement comes eight months after the iTunes launch, at which time Microsoft said it had no plans to compete directly with Apple.

Full Article

News Feed - Entertainment

2003-11-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

CNET to Buy MP3.com

2003-11-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

CNET announced it has signed an agreement with Vivendi Universal Net USA to purchase music download site MP3.com.

The news was made public through the MP3.com forum and member email.

After 2 December, all content will be deleted from MP3.com servers and all previously submitted tapes, CD-ROMs and other media will be destroyed.

In a CNET story, representatives said the company aims to augment its position as a provider of interactive content through the acquisition, with plans to enter the online music market through MP3.com. However, a company representative said the revamped site would not compete with music download services such as Napster. Instead, the company plans to turn MP3.com into a source of information for digital music.

CDBaby.com Returns $200,000 In Digital Distribution Set-Up Fees To Members

2003-11-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

Portland Oregon based CD Baby, the largest online seller of all-independent CDs, announced Sunday through their community website they were returning everyone's money who signed up for the companies five month old digital distribution program. $40 per album to everyone who paid the $40 for Digital Distribution. $200,000 total. (ouch!)
In his post, Derek Sivers, president/programmer, stated, the program is now a free service for CD Baby members. Members pay $35/per CD to go into CD Baby's online store catalog.

In Esquire Magazine's December cover story, CD Baby was named "the record store of the future".

In an exclusive online interview, Derek explains the logic behind this historic anti-corporate decision.

Linking Links

2003-11-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

WebAdvantage.net is an interactive marketing, promotions, and advertising agency specializing in building and implementing Internet strategies to acquire and retain qualified web
site visitors.

Where will the ZVUE! be available for sale?

2003-11-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Many have been asking where they will be able to purchase the ZVUE! as the
holiday season is on the horizon. No official announcement has been made
on which retailers will carry the ZVUE!. But, those interested in getting their
hands on a ZVUE! for the kiddies should know that it will be available online
for purchase at www.zvue.com.

I actually saw an early development version of the ZVUE! at a media reception
in New York City in September, and it is definitely a cool little gadget. The
amazing thing is how small it is. "HandHeld Entertainment" is exactly
what the ZVUE! is.

Photo of ZVUE! at Media Reception Courtesy of Geek.com
(You have to scroll down the page a ways).

New study finds 1.4 Million households deleted music files

2003-11-04T16:25:00.000-08:00
A study by market research company The NPD Group found that 1.4 million households deleted digital music files from their PCs in August with credit going to the RIAA's recent anti-piracy campaign.

NPD credited the increase to the RIAA's efforts to thwart file-sharing through peer-to-peer networks but noted that consumers' opinions of the recording industry have been negatively affected by the litigious actions of the Association.

"While some in the music industry expected a large jump in digital file acquisition as the summer ended when students returned to school, the latest consumer information from NPD belies this expectation," said Russ Crupnick, vice president of The NPD Group in a prepared statement. "It’s apparent that the music industry’s strategy continues to work in the ongoing battle against illegal music file sharing; however, those same tactics also appear to negatively affect the perceptions of the recording industry among consumers."

With a push that seems to focus on file-sharing as the crux of the music industry's loss in revenues, the NPD also released information in June that attributes the problem to a decline in all music sales across all demographics.

"Without a doubt, file sharing has had a huge negative impact on music industry sales," Crupnick said. "But our research shows that even if digital file sharing were to disappear tomorrow, the record labels and retailers would still need to overcome important underlying causes of recent market declines."

MTV Digital Distribution Scheduled To Launch 2004

2003-11-04T14:25:00.000-08:00
Reuters is reporting that MTV Networks plans to launch a digital download service the first half of next year.

MTV Networks is preparing to introduce a music download service with plans to go up against Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and other competitors, said MTV chief Tom Freston on Monday.

Currently, MTV.com allows members to download music tracks but they expire after about a month and cannot be burned to a compact disc or uploaded to a portable digital player.

Two weeks ago Apple launched a Microsoft Windows-compatible version of its software. iTunes.com has sold approximately 13 million songs since its spring launch.

To learn about the digital distribution deal from the perspective of independent recording artists, check out a lively online discussion that was started over the weekend at LiveJournal/MusicBiz

ZVUE! featured in MTV's new Magazine SN (Spankin' New)

2003-11-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

The ZVUE! was spotted in the first-ever edition of MTV's new magazine called SN
(short for Spankin' New). SN launched in October and is on the shelves
as we speak (or write).
The initial October press run will be 300,000 with a second magazine
scheduled for a December release. A Reuters article run in USA
Today stated that the magazine would be published by the Nickelodeon
Magazine Group.
The ZVUE! is found on page 58 of SN under the title "Is that a
movie in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
Pick up SN Pick up SN.

ZVUE! written up in Premiere magazine

2003-10-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

The ZVUE! showed up on pg. 108 of the November
2003 issue of Premiere magazine. Yes, that
is Renee Zellweger on the cover. Premiere is the premiere (no pun) movie
magazine for Hollywood. The actual write-up doesn't appear online, but the
magazine is worth the purchase.

"Here, we've rounded up some of the coolest and coolest-looking
items...perfect for any kid, or the kid in you," writes Jamie Sorcher of Premiere magazine.

Listed among four other products, the ZVUE! had good old No. 1 next to it. Were
they ranking it number one? Who knows? We would like to think so...

Multimedia Content Online and On The ZVUE!

2003-10-30T16:35:00.000-08:00

In August, Bob Kennedy, Santa Rosa LIVE TV, produced the only video interview between Michelle Lambert, New Digital Reporter music editor, and Carl Page, chief technology officer of HandHeld Entertainment.

The size (160X132) of the image was created so that it fits the ZVUE!'s ultra-bright, full-color screen (RGB 160X240). Click on the image to launch the three-minute QuickTime interview. (NOTE: The Video requires QT 6.0)

In order for the video to play on the ZVUE!, it will have to be in the HHe Format. There needs to be a downloadable program that is on the ZVUE! SD card that binds images with video and audio assets.

Publishing Articles Via Cell Phones

2003-10-29T16:52:00.000-08:00
Coming soon...an e-zine about the ZVUE! called the ZVUE! ZINE.

ZVUE! ZINE articles will be updated quickly by regional field bloggers using camera-based cell phones to supply the ZVUE! ZINE with fresh, up-to-date information. Currently, a number of companies offer innovative services for those also wanting to update their blog anytime, anywhere.

Audblog, a San Francisco based start-up, offers a web-based tool that allows Bloggers to post up to four minute long MP3 audio clips to their blogs from any phone, anytime, anywhere.

Princeton, N.J.-based Mlogs just launched a weblog for phone camera users to post photos with audio annotations and videos from their cell phones anywhere, anytime directly to their Blogger accounts.
(NOTE: Video Requires a new QuickTime Plug-in. But, it downloads in like 10 seconds and you won't have to reboot your PC.)

Both of these services will help ZVUE! ZINE regional bloggers keep the ZVUE! ZINE fresh and up to date. In addition, these multimedia articles can be downloaded and saved to an SD card in a few minutes for play on the ZVUE!. ZVUE! owners can enjoy e-zine multimedia field reports from around the world on the go and away from a tethered screen or keyboard.

audio post powered by audblog

ZVUE personal video player

2003-10-28T15:12:00.000-08:00
The hand-held ZVUE! can play videos, music videos and MP3s and features an ultra-bright, 2.5-inch full-color screen that plays full-motion video and displays digital images.

Content will be available on the postage stamp-sized ZCARD! Secure Digital/MultiMediaCards (SD/MMCs) and will be priced starting at $5.99. The ZCARD! will be available in capacities ranging from 8 Megabytes (MB) to 256MBs and will offer high-quality video playback on the ZVUE! from eight minutes to more than one-and-a-half hours of uninterrupted full-motion video.

ZVUE! spotted on the street in San Francisco

2003-10-27T10:15:00.000-08:00
The ZVUE! was spotted on the streets in San Francisco. This is probably the first picture I have seen of it on the streets, out of an office, and not at a trade or media show.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ndr/288925.html

ZVUE! featured in the Wall Street Journal

2003-10-01T14:18:00.000-07:00
The Wall Street Journal featured the ZVUE! on the cover of its "Personal
Journal" section Wednesday October 1, 2003.

Author Pui-Wing Tam's article featured the ZVUE! with its key feature being the
$99 price tag. "On tap for later in the month is HandHeld
Entertainment Inc.'s ZVUE!. It will be one of the smallest (about the size
of a pack of playing cards) and cheapest ($99) portable video players yet."

It also got picked up at the Tucscon Citizen. Read it here under a different
title. Getting
a handle on the new hand-helds