iPod

If there's one thing music lovers enjoy, it's discovering new favorite artists, and there are now a wealth of online services that offer this. I was first exposed to digital music subscriptions in 1999 when They Might Be Giants released "Long Tall Weekend" via eMusic. It was one of the first Internet-only releases, and while listening to those files now shows the limitations of MP3 at the time, eMusic rebooted a concept that had fallen into disaffection: the "record club."

The first major record club began in 1955 by Columbia Records and was a way to sell music directly to the customer often with a "record of the month" suggestion. While the service and the others like it have faded from popularity, digital music sellers are now trying something similar.… Read more

Apple has unleashed a ton of new iOS devices this holiday season: no fewer than four new products, covering an entire range of sizes and uses. iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod Touch, fourth-gen iPad with Retina Display, and, of course, the iPad Mini: these join other devices still sold by Apple including the fourth-gen iPod Touch, iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S.

Confusing, right? For the purposes of this article (and your sanity), I'm limiting the buying-guide analysis to the non-phone iOS gadgets: the iPods and iPads. It used to be that there was a huge gap between the 3.5-inch Touch and the 9.7-inch iPad. Now there's a spectrum: 4 inches, 7.9 inches, and 9.7 inches.

So, let's look at each one, starting with the newest.… Read more

Is $10, or the price of a few Starbucks lattes, really too much to pay for an album? Is $10 really too much to support musicians well enough they'll want to record more music? I still play LPs I bought when I was a teenager, and I can't think of anything else I still use from that part of my life. Those records are, if anything, more valuable to me now then they were then. I'm old enough to remember when record companies were freaking out about kids making cassette copies of albums, but producer and engineer … Read more

Great-sounding headphones have never been more affordable. Even the least expensive headphone model on this list, the Panasonic RP HJE 355 in-ear, has oodles of detail and decent bass punch. For me the most important thing when evaluating headphones is sound balance; no frequency range should call attention to itself, so I don't like overly bassy headphones, or ones that overemphasize treble. Headphones should sound clear, not muffled or fuzzy. I prefer spacious stereo imaging over sound that's stuck inside my head. Headphones that allow music's soft-to-loud dynamics to bloom are better than ones that constrict dynamics. … Read more

Despite the realistic 3D graphics of today's first-person shooters, RPGs, and other games, platform games continue to thrive on iOS. There's something about jumping through levels, solving puzzles, and collecting coins that keeps gamers entertained. Also, the capability to play through a single level while on the go makes platformers perfect for short bursts of play on your iOS device.

While a console controller is probably the ideal way to play these sometimes precise running and jumping games, iOS game developers have come up with unique ways to make them work.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about modern platform games. The first is the most traditional platformer, but adds an interesting twist for passing levels. The second has an uncommon control system, but a unique art style and fun, varied gameplay make it a great option. The third is the most polished of the collection, with challenging puzzles and a somewhat grotesque storyline.

Note: There are no Android versions for any of these games.… Read more

Anyone who has played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City -- set in a fictional representation of Miami -- is familiar with its eclectic mix of '80s music and style. Personally, when I played it eight years ago, I loved getting on a motorcycle and cruising the mean streets, either looking for a killer jump or just someone to mow down.

On the heels of the game's 10th anniversary, developer Rockstar Games announced the upcoming release of GTA: Vice City for "select" iOS and Android smartphones and tablets "featuring native high-resolution graphics and several enhancements." … Read more

With Apple's fourth-quarter earnings in the bag, we now have a full picture of how the company has done during its entire fiscal year.

Though Apple's last quarter was a disappointment on the profit side, and soft on iPad sales, the company surprised with stronger-than-expected iPhone sales.

The company's current quarter, during which Apple expects to bring in $52 billion in sales, kicked off last month.

Here's some of Apple's 2012 by the numbers:

$156.5 billion. Apple's total sales for the year. The biggest chunk of that came during the first quarter, when … Read more

Apple's knack for surprises held up in its quarterly earnings today.

The company narrowly beat expectations on revenue, but missed on profits.

Buoyed by sales of the iPhone and iPad, the company reported revenue of $36 billion and profits of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per share, for the quarter ended September 29.

Wall Street expected Apple to report $35.80 billion in sales, with earnings per share of $8.75. Apple's own forecast for the quarter was $34 billion, with earnings per share of $7.65.

"We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal … Read more

With the announcement of a "mini" iPad with a 7.9-inch screen, Apple trotted out a smaller version of its best-selling iPad to help it compete more directly with rival 7-inch tablets offered by Google and Amazon as well as an 8.9-inch tablet computer sold by Barnes & Noble.

It also contradicted everything that Steve Jobs ever said publicly about smaller-sized tablet computers as Apple embraces a category that its former CEO told us was a loser from the get-go. … Read more