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Latest Gear Live Videos
During the E3 2010 Microsoft Xbox Media Briefing, while showing off the new Kinect dashboard, it was announced that the Zune music catalog would be coming to the Xbox 360. IT was kind of announced as an afterthought, as they were focusing on the Kinect integration, but it’s a big deal because currently, Zune is used just as a video store for movie and television purchases and rentals. For music, you need to use Last.fm or stream your own content. Now it appears that you can link up your Zune Pass and play from the entire 7 million track library that Zune offers. No date has been set as of yet, but we can’t wait.
Gallery: Zune music coming to Xbox 360
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iTunes 9.2: Sync iBooks to iPhone, Organize PDFs, App Folders
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Music, Software,
Apple has released a beta version of iTunes 9.2 to developers, and the feature list seems to be almost exclusively related to iOS 4. The next version of iTunes will allow you to sync the iPhone 4, sync iBooks to and from the iPhone and iPod touch, organize and sync PDFs to iBooks, and organize your apps into folders in iTunes and then sync everything over to your device. Other improvements are there to make iTunes faster, both in scrolling, and in backing up your iOS 4 devices.
Click to continue reading iTunes 9.2: Sync iBooks to iPhone, Organize PDFs, App Folders
Gallery: iTunes 9.2: Sync iBooks to iPhone, Organize PDFs, App Folders
Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,
Sony has recently release the NWZ-W252 W-Series Walkman MP3 player, a fully wearable unit tailored for those that like to listen to their power song while sweating it out at the gym or on a run. The device is water resistant and lightweight, so it should obviously do well in situations where you are moving and have the potential to get wet, or rained on. We were able to get our hands on the Sony W-Series NWZ-W252 Walkman, and we put it through its paces as best we could. How does the device stack up? Read on, and we’ll tell you.
Click to continue reading Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 review
Gallery: Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 review
Slacker Radio Plus giveaway!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Internet, Music,
Here at Gear Live, we love us some Slacker. If you don’t know, Slacker is a fantastic radio’s streaming music service. It has millions of songs in its catalogue, and real DJs actually control their channels, which means you get a great mix of songs that go well together. While Slacker is free, they also have a service called Slacker Radio Plus, which adds the following perks:
- Unlimited Skips
- Unlimited Song Requests
- No Audio or Banner Ads
- Complete Lyrics
- Over 2 Million Songs
So here’s what we are going to do - we are going to give away a two 1-year subscriptions and three 3-month subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus, and we are going to make it ridiculously easy to enter. All you need to do if become a fan of Gear Live on Facebook, and leave a comment on our wall. That’s it. Next Friday we will select five random entrants and hit them with the goods.
Gallery: Slacker Radio Plus giveaway!
Zune 4.5 update now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Microsoft, Music, Software,
Hey Zune owners, head up—the Zune 4.5 update has just gone live, and it’s ready for you to suck down from Microsoft. As a refresher, here’s what you have to look forward to:
- Smart DJ integration on Zune HD
- Picks on Zune HD (personalized recommendations based on your listening habits)
- Browse the Zune Marketplace on TV when you dock your connected Zune
- Expanded video codec support, reducing need for transcoding
Of course, there are likely a bunch of bug fixes and all that to make things feel mo’ better. In addition to all that, the new 64GB Zune HD will be available in a week!
Gallery: Zune 4.5 update now available
64GB Zune HD arrives on April 12 for $350
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Microsoft, Music,
Sure, it’s only about six months too late, but Microsoft is finally ready to let a 64GB Zune HD loose, and it arrives on April 12. You’ll be able to purchase one from the Zune Originals site, as well as Amazon, Best Buy, and all the regulars for $350. Ordering from Microsoft directly lets you choose from platinum, black, blue, red, green, purple, and magenta colors.
The 16 and 32GB Zune HD models will each see an immediate $20 price drop as well.
Gallery: 64GB Zune HD arrives on April 12 for $350
I know, the title is a little mundane; it was either that or ‘how to torture others with your terrible taste in music’ but that wasn’t very product-descriptive. Not only can you use this shirt, complete with embedded speaker and pocket-remote, as an attempt to turn yourself into Jack Spade from ‘I’m Gonna Get You, Sucka!’ but you can also use their pre-loaded sound-effects to pepper your work-day with fart noises and boing-boings. It’s all your choice. Only $30 and 4AAA batteries and you’re off to the very annoying races.
Read More 
| Personal Soundtrack Shirt
Gallery: Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt
How to win at ChatRoulette: Use a piano!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Music, Videos,
Okay, so ChatRoulette is all the rage right now (although, admittedly, I have yet to give it a try,) and we think we found someone that you’ll want to be on the lookout for when you are randomly talking to um, random, individuals. If you come across Merton, the improvising piano player, give him a moment. Hit up the video above to see why. He definitely had us laughing with some of his classic lines.
Gallery: How to win at ChatRoulette: Use a piano!
New York band Audio Fiction authors own Rock Band song
Posted by Finnian Durkan Categories: Music, Video Games,
Alt-rockers Audio Fiction have become one of the first bands to use the Harmonix games and MTV’s newly-launched Rock Band Network Music Store for the Xbox 360 to author their own Rock Band song. The band used Harmonix tools to author their track ‘Race the Hourglass’ as their first addition to the Rock Band Network catalogue. Audio Fiction’s bassist, Darren Korb, then put it into a game-compatible file format, had it peer tested and approved in the debut launch of Rock Band Network that opened Thursday. What does this mean for you and me? Brace yourselves, Rock Band players, for an onslaught of titles from my newly-minted Finnish black-metal/industrial punk/ska/battle-rap band, ‘Obsequious Death Turtle, Version 2.0 the 3rd’. We’re huge in McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Gallery: New York band Audio Fiction authors own Rock Band song
Apple sells ten billionth iTunes song
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Music,
Okay, so an hour ago we warned you that Apple would be giving away a $10,000 iTunes gift card to the purchaser of the ten billionth iTunes download, and if you didn’t act upon being put on notice, you’re too late. That’s right, Apple has officially surpassed the 10 billion song milestone with the iTunes Store, which is just unreal. Nice work, guys.
Edit: Alongside the announcement above, Apple also released a list of the the top 20 all-time best-selling iTunes songs, which has to be seen to be believed.
Read More | Apple sells ten billion iTunes tracks
