The latest version of Spotify includes preparatory file mentions of local music playback. This code suggests there'll be a toggle for "Show device files" - which would allow the user to show all audio files "on your device" in Spotify's "Your Library." This would allow you to view the music files on your phone - like MP3s you have downloaded from back in the day.
There's a music-playing device in the making called Sleevenote. This device has a focus on albums, with a display that's a square. The square panel displays the cover of the album that's playing via Bluetooth or through the device's headphone jack.
There's a Hifi music player called HiBy R3 out in the wild this week, and it's made for Tidal alone. This is a mobile music player made by the folks at HiBy Music. It has a touchscreen and connects to Wi-Fi to play music specifically and solely through Tidal. It's not made by Tidal, but it works with its own version of the Tidal app - and that's it. This is the specificity you've been waiting for.
Both the iPod touch models left in this backwards, messed-up world have been given boosts to storage while the classic iPod nano and iPod shuffle have been discontinued. It's like Apple didn't even care about the people who were putting off buying an iPod shuffle for the past several years - it's as if they didn't even think of me! Meanwhile those users that wanted an iPod nano will have to buy one like a neanderthal, finding them on eBay or wherever the deepest, darkest, dankest resellers now dwell.
MP3 is the file format that changed the whole world beyond the music industry. It eventually affected the entire entertainment industry, gave Apple a new mandate when PCs were conquering the computing world, and made digital the media to beat. But now its creators are saying that it is dead. That, however, is really only a technicality and a legality because MP3s will undoubtedly live one for years to come, even when better alternatives are around.
Creative marketing or an image of a star who just happens to like your blinged out and very expensive headphones we don't know, but it seems Rihanna has a penchant for a wild pair of headphones offered by Dolce & Gabbana. These aren’t normal headphones that tout their clarity and huge amounts of bass; these are more about the looks and are called the NAPA Leather Rhinestone Headphones with Crown.
This afternoon Bleep have released the entire Aphex Twin album as a stream for the public. The album is also available for sale on Vinyl, CD, 24-bit WAV, WAV / FLAC, and as a collection of MP3s. There’s also the Limited Edition for $400, the one we detailed earlier this month.
Though the PlayStation 4 wont work with DLNA and MP3 playback right out of the box, it's been confirmed this week by Sony that they'll certainly be looking at incorporating the features in the near future. Due to overwhelming response to the idea that neither DLNA or MP3 playback would be available on the gaming console, Sony seems to have turned a corner on their aim to have them work.
A collection of devices will likely be revealed this week by Nokia - everything from a tablet to a smartphone (or more than one) to an MP3 streaming music player. This smallest of the collection of devices has been tipped with the name Nokia Guru - at the moment it would appear likely that this name refers to the early code-naming of the machine rather than the final release name. It'll work with MP3s inside as well as wired earphones, a physical volume button, and microUSB.
The team at RockStar games have wasted no time capitalizing on the popularity of not only the game Grand Theft Auto V itself, but the music gamers are able to listen to inside the vehicles of the game. This is otherwise known as GTA Radio, having become a rather interesting side-project and powerful result of the GTA Effect - aka the opening up of games to an "open sandbox" bit of gameplay allowing the user to make the game what they want it to be. It's also part of the ever-expanding world of in-game earning, though in this case you'll need to actually exit the game to purchase each individual track.
Amazon has brought its AutoRip service to the UK, offering CD and vinyl buyers - whether new or based on historic purchases - a free MP3 copy on over 350,000 albums. Launched in the US back in January, Amazon AutoRip tries to address the balance between the immediacy of digital and the physical reassurance of a CD or vinyl record, with purchases dating back to 1999 (and even including cassettes) qualifying for a digital version. Whether you'll want to be reminded of your musical tastes in the late 90s is your own problem.
Amazon launched its AutoRip service back in January, allowing you to get a free MP3 version of a music CD that you bought from Amazon, going back as far as 1998 with the purchase history. Now, the e-tail giant is offering vinyl record owners the same deal. If you've ever bought a vinyl record on Amazon in the past, the company will give you a free MP3 version for your digital needs.