Prophecy

On May 27, 2009, a PowerPoint presentation from a Sirius XM shareholder meeting revealed the satellite broadcaster's plan to bring its service to the iPhone.

A screenshot of a Sirius XM iPhone app was included in the presentation, with an interface similar to competing internet radio applications, such as AOL Radio or Slacker. Judging from the screenshot, the app allows users to browse stations by genre or category, designate favorite stations, or purchase songs through iTunes.

There's no indication of when (or if) the iPhone app will be available to the public, but if Apple gives it their … Read more

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed its plans to take on the iPod Touch with a new, touch-screen Zune that will be able to surf the Web, play high-definition movies, and tune in to digital radio.

The Zune HD, which will be available in the U.S. only starting this fall, features an HD Radio tuner as well as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen, Microsoft said. It is based on Windows CE and will use a version of Internet Explorer customized for its touch screen, Microsoft said.

The software maker did not announce pricing or capacity, though it said the device will use flash memory and attempt to take on Apple's high-end iPod models.

"This device is created to go head to head with the iPod Touch," Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Microsoft Zune, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Zune buyers will also be able to play HD content on their TVs via a dock, Microsoft said.

The software maker also said that at next week's E3 trade show in Los Angeles it will announce details on a new Zune-branded video service for the Xbox that will replace the current Xbox Live marketplace for TV and movies. The company didn't announce details or specifically say that content will be playable on both Zunes and the Xbox.

Currently videos purchased via the Xbox can't be played on a Zune, although both stores use a similar back-end infrastructure to serve up content. Over time, Stephenson said the goal is to move toward a world in which content purchased once can be played on a variety of devices.

Microsoft plans to offer the new Zune video service in a number of European markets, in addition to North America.

As for the Zune HD, Microsoft is doubling down on its bet on a radio tuner as a distinguishing feature. Stephenson noted that the current Zune's FM radio is its second most popular selling point. Adding support for HD Radio, a free over-the-air digital radio technology, represents both a risk and opportunity. … Read more

If you're to believe the rumors (and Apple's own job postings), there's a good chance that the next generation of iPods will be outfitted with basic cameras. There's no telling which iPods will be affected (though the Shuffle seems unlikely), but the folks at iLounge are banking on the Nano.

Personally, I'm not thrilled about the idea of a camera on the Nano. Sure, a Nano cam would be fun, and Apple could have a field day marketing it as one of the thinnest cameras ever made. In most cases, however, the camera on your … Read more

This past Monday, May 18, I stopped by the annual San Francisco Music Tech Summit, an event that collects experts and entrepreneurs from around the music industry to discuss technological trends and hurdles.

I was only able to catch a fraction of all the great panels and product pitches, but I heard some great insights, and walked away with a few new music Web sites worth checking out. To read my highlights from the 2009 San Francisco Music Tech Summit, click through to the slideshow.

By now you've read what I love about record stores, and what I could live without. In this third--and final--installment, I'm going to throw out some ideas for how to bring record shops into the 21st century. If record stores are to survive, what's the way forward? I'm sure these mom and pop shops are asking this question every day, so if you have any ideas beyond what I've outlined below, let's hear 'em.

I may be a romantic, but I still believe that in spite of our access to music downloads, fans need a physical space to explore and consume music, and to mingle with their peers. But to work, the High Fidelity throwbacks need to evolve.

The trick is to leverage digital music to give customers the best of both worlds, and to do it without losing what makes your store unique. If I could sit down with my old boss and give him some advice, here's what I'd offer:… Read more

Last week, I offered five reasons record stores are worth saving from extinction. As someone who's spent plenty of time on both sides of the music retail counter, I believe that the world still needs record stores; however, I also have a laundry list of record-store failures.

Many record stores are going out of business for perfectly good reasons that have little to do with iTunes or Amazon. In general, the brick-and-mortar music retail experience is antique and frustrating, and when it's bad, it's enough to make you swear off record shops for good. Consider my complaints below, and then click over to part three to learn what strategies record stores could take to stay relevant and vital.… Read more

Last Saturday, independent music retailers organized a national Record Store Day, complete with in-store freebies and exclusive releases from dozens of bands who want to see these business survive. As someone who spent two of the best years of my youth working at an independent record store, I have a nostalgic attachment to these mom-and-pop shops.

I don't know if I was motivated more by sentimentality or pity, but I felt an obligation to honor the spirit of the day and visit my local music store. The shop was ripped right out of "High Fidelity," and contained all the requisite elements for an indy music store: aloof, yet knowledgeable staff; equal ratios of vinyl and CDs; postered walls; a selection of local music; and a lazy pet cat. But nostalgia aside, I couldn't shake the reality that stores like this can't last much longer.… Read more

As programmers continue to pick apart the code underlying Apple's iPhone 3.0 OS, details are surfacing that point to possible new hardware features for both the iPhone and iPod Touch. One of the first details unearthed from the code is the addition of stereo Bluetooth-audio streaming--a feature that current (second-generation) iPhone and iPod Touch owners will be able to take advantage of once the new OS is available this summer.

Of course, some new features will be available on the next generation of the iPod and iPhone hardware only (ain't that always the way?). Case in … Read more

Stereo Bluetooth audio is coming to the iPod Touch, said Apple's Greg Joswiak at Tuesday's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event. The added Bluetooth functionality will come by way of the OS 3.0 upgrade, due out this summer. While iPod Touch owners clearly win from the addition of Bluetooth support (a $9.95 upgrade fee is required), they may be a little peeved to learn that the second-generation iPod Touch hardware has probably supported Bluetooth all along.

A Broadcom BCM4325 chip revealed in iFixit's teardown of the second-generation iPod Touch back in September of 2008 was … Read more