The newly established Amazon MP3 Store is changing the way many people browse and purchase music online. Unlike their biggest rival, iTunes, Amazon distributes music in higher quality 300 KBS MP3 format, which includes NO Digital Rights Management protocols. This allows the end-user to transfer music files from one computer to another, to an iPod or other MP3 player, or even burn tracks to an audio CD or CD ROM as often as they like.
Amazon’s open MP3 policy has already been attracting a substantial number of online music consumers, and Thursday’s announcement that Sony BMG would partner with the Amazon MP3 store to offer unprotected music files creates even more momentum for the new Amazon store. It also is a serious blow to Apple’s iTunes, which continues to use “protected” MP3s, limiting the user’s ability to copy and transfer music.
The Sony BMG music catalog is vast, and includes artists such as Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, and Bruce Springsteen. The inclusion of Sony BMG music on the Amazon MP3 store pretty much seals the deal, so to speak. Amazon.com will now be the only major player online to sell music and media from every major company in an unprotected high-quality MP3 format.
Additionally, every track listed on the Amazon MP3 store site can be previewed before purchasing, and just as with iTunes, single tracks may also be purchased from any album. The 300 KBS MP3 format is also a big advantage for Amazon, as it provides a significant quality improvement over standard 128 KBS MP3’s.
The higher-quality format, and the absence of any so-called digital rights management encoding has already made the new Amazon store a popular destination online. The addition of the Sony BMG music catalog should only solidify their position as a real contender in the online music distribution industry, and the only serious threat to iTunes continued domination.
Although Apple’s iTunes has sold a reported 3 billion plus songs to date, most of the music purchased on iTunes can only be played on Apple devices, such as the iPod. iTunes also sells single tracks for $.99, compared to Amazon which offers a variable pricing structure which includes many tracks for $.89.
The Sony BMG/Amazon partnership represents a breakthrough of sorts in online digital media sales. This is the first time one distributor — Amazon.com — has offered a complete media library, including all the major music labels, that is unencumbered by Digital rights Management protection. Finally — someone is doing online music distribution right.
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Nokia’s new N82 smart phone is raising the bar for mobile multimedia devices, and sports a plethora of features to make even Apple iPhone fans jealous. Released in Europe just six weeks ago, the N82 is officially called a “multimedia computer,” NOT a cell phone. Got that?
The successor to Nokia’s popular N95 model, the N82 is outfitted for GPS navigation, Internet use, and digital photography. It features a five megapixel in-built digital camera with Xenon flash and a Carl Zeiss lens for vivid, high-resolution photographs, even at night or in other low light situations. Of course, autofocus, manual mode and white balancing are also on offer, to ensure the N82 stands up well as a digital camera.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. The Nokia N82 also features near-DVD quality video capturing and an included 2 GB microSD memory card, which holds 900 high resolution photographs, or as much as 84 minutes of video.
And although you would be forgiven for thinking that the N82 was simply a digital camera and video recorder, there are tons of other features that make this an all in one multimedia “superphone.”
For example, The N82 features a full GPS locator, and comes standard with Nokia Maps, to help navigate your way around any city, or even other countries. You can also save screenshots of the map to the photo gallery, and send directions and routes via MMS. Voice guided GPS navigation is also available for an additional subscription fee, though a trial package of the service comes standard with the phone.
Besides the GPS and digital camera, the N82 is also a well-connected Internet phone, featuring WiFi and the ability to access mobile broadband networks. Although the LCD screen is only 2.4 inches, web pages can be easily navigated, and a direct digital video out allows you to connect the N82 to a TV or computer monitor for more serious web browsing.
Of course, like any self-respecting smart phone these days, the Nokia N82 features a top-notch MP3 and multimedia player, to handle all your music and video files. Oh, and in case I have forgotten to mention it so far, the N82 is also a pretty decent mobile phone, with all the usual features you would expect, including Bluetooth, text messaging, etc.
Nokia claims that the phone has a talk time of up to 260 minutes when used in GSM mode, which is a very respectable battery time for a smart phone with so many high-end features.
While the N82 is already out in Europe, a release date for the US has not been revealed at this time. Let’s hope Nokia starts the New Year off right by debuting the N82 here sooner rather than later. Frankly, the Apple iPhone could use the competition.
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