MP3

Just as Apple reveals a new range of iPods geared towards people on the move, French company Micromega has consulted with Apple and designed something for people who want to use iTunes as part of their hi-fi.

So while half of the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision team were locked in a Apple press conference yesterday hearing about iPod cameras, radio, voice recording and added Nano functions for runners, the other half of the team were at Sound and Colors in Paris (above).

It's a high-end hi-fi shop and, following yesterday's announcement that Micromega are returning to the UK market, it used Sound and Colors to present something of a surprise – very different to what happened at the Apple conference, but just as important.

The AirStream is an Apple-sanctioned source which streams Lossless files from your iTunes library on your Mac or PC, and the Micromega WM-10 (left) is simply a slim box which has a single standby light.

Using wireless streaming and a dedicated DAC to removing music files from a computer "eliminates the problem of interference commonly associated with music stored on a computer," says Micromega.

Micromega owner Didier Hamdi said the project came about after his children tried to play iPod music through his hi-fi and it resulted in a poor sound, though he admits "the challenge is to bring AirStream to the market for less than 1000 Euros".

Expected around November, AirStream will be available, alongside the existing range of Micromega products currently on sale, through Absolute Sounds.

Didier also dropped hints that there will be further evolution of the AirStream technology - we'll tell you about that as soon as we hear more.

So it's good news for hi-fi fans who want want wireless and iTunes functions in the home. Just as Apple reboots iTunes to include LP functions and add information like lyrics, lost in the move to digital music formats, Micromega is doing its best to bridge the gap between iTunes and your hi-fi.

And finally, just for some more drooling, here's another view of the interior of Sound and Colors...

We've got our hands on some pictures of Pioneer's forthcoming XW-NAS5 family of iPod systems - more details in this news story - which are due in November.

The basic and premium models are styled identically, though the basic model just comes in the white finish:

 

And without the iPod:

And from straight on:

 

And from the bottom, showcasing the downward-firing subwoofer:

The premium model - also featuring radio and soundscaping - is available in four colours, including white.

Here's a rear shot, showing the port for the optional Bluetooth adapter; audio line-in connection; video outs (so you can enjoy iPod content on your TV) and an FM aerial connection - no news yet on a DAB version for the UK:

 

 Next up is our favourite, red model:

But you may prefer the black...

 

...or the silver.

 

We expect to get review models of the range next month, with the system in shops by November. European pricing is set at €399 for the basic model and €499 for the premium quartet; with exchange rates as they are, we'd expect UK pricing to simply replace the € for £.

 

 

Blame it on the NaimUniti.

After being a 'music in my pocket' luddite since getting a driving licence decades ago more or less coincided with my last Sony Walkman going 'phutt', I finally gave in.

I bought an iPod purely for the purposes of testing the growing number of products coming my way with an input dedicated to Apple's personal players.

It all happened in a bit of a blur, actually: I literally drove out of Naim's HQ in Salisbury with the NaimUniti in the boot of the car, parked outside the adjacent Currys, and before I really knew what I was doing found myself £150 poorer and holding the impossible small iPod nano in its equally ridiculously tiny box.

Thing is, since then I've only ever used it connected to something – the Naim, various docks – and it's only in the past few days that I've actually tried listening to it like most of the rest of the population does: using headphones.

And quite how all those joggers and bus-riders and commuters and cyclists put up with the standard white earbuds I'll never know: if they were the only way to 'enjoy' an iPod the world would be a pretty bleak place.

Fortunately, I've had samples of a couple of pairs of SoundMAGIC headphones kicking around for a couple of weeks, courtesy of the indefatigably enthusiastic Shaun Gostelow of HiFi Headphones. So it was to those I turned to see whether the iPod sound could be improved without spending a fortune.

The 'phones are made by a company based in China, and rejoicing in the name Shenzhen City Voice America Technology Ltd. No wonder it sticks to SoundMAGIC as a brandname!

Its entry-level model available through HiFi Headphones, charmingly described on the SoundMAGIC website as "Supper bass Ear plug", is the PL11 (pictured above), selling here for just under £20. Just like the iPod nano, the PL11 headphones are tiny, ridiculously light – just 10g – and really rather good. They also live up to their description: if you want a sound with plenty of bass, these are quite possibly the boys for you.

In fact, there might just be a bit too much bass here: there's lots of everything else, too, and the sound has more than respectable openness, but I'd say these are earphones more for those of a rockular, or indeed dancular, persuasion.

With classical music, they have good body with solo piano, but can become more stolid than solid with big orchestral works, the scale tending to dominate the finesse a bit.

However, let's put that in context. More people wander around with rock and pop music on their iPods than have a complete set of Beethoven symphonies, unless I'm generalising wildly, and for that mass-market the sound of the PL11s is pretty well judged, I'd suggest.

Oh, and they're masses better than the abomination that is the Apple earbuds, and come complete with a choice of silicon sleeves to ensure good ear-fit, a shirt-clip, a cable tidy and a little velvet drawstring bag. Nice package for change out of a £20 note.

Even better, however, are the PL30s, which will cost you a tenner more. These are described by SoundMAGIC as 'Professional Earphones', and are said to deliver "More details, nature reproduce, comfortable fit".

The last attribute is said to make them especially suitable for jogging and other strenuous activity, but I'll have to take HiFi Headphones' word for that: what I do know is that the cables are designed to go over the ears to help hold them in place, either with or without hook-shaped sleeves supplied in the box, and that the range of silicon tips provided both aid the fit and help keep outside noise where it belongs.

In fact, I started playing with the headphones today because next door was indulging in some of its own strenuous activity of the DIY kind – typical, you take a day off to do some listening, and the hammering begins.

Anyway, the PL30s did a good job of making music enjoyable while the neighbours seemingly used up an entire tradesman's value pack of ironmongery – "Oh look, there's a dozen nails left; pass me the hammer again..." – and delivered a sound with a considerably more even-handed balance than the PL11s when playing big orchestral works.

There's no less bass than the budget model delivers, but it's tighter, faster and better-defined, giving the big fiddles of an orchestra a nice rosiny growl, not just thump.

And with the bass and drums-driven stuff, be it jazz or rock, the PL30s' mix of speed and solidity is really rather rewarding.

Got an email from Shaun saying he's just got in the first batch of SoundMAGIC's next model up, the balanced armarture PL50s, which are selling for £55 a set.

That's going to put them up against some serious competition, but on the showing of the less expensive models in the range, they could just be a bit special...

Just once in a while, I find myself forgetting to write a review simply because I'm using the product so much it gets overlooked.

And that's certainly the case with the compact Toshiba HDDR500E03E hard drive I've been using for the past few months: it's been in my work bag so much of the time that it's become part of the furniture, and yet it's probably been tested more than anything else I've written about in recent times.

You see, since suffering a number of flaky computer disasters recently I've become something of a backup fanatic, and that's become doubly relevant given the downloads of music I now have which only exist as computer files.

The ripped stuff is no problem – although it'd be a pain to have to re-rip it, I do still have the back-up of the original CDs – but losing the growing collection of downloads and recorded radio programmes would be more of a hassle.

Then there's the fact that file-sizes for everything seem to be growing: whereas once 1MB was a big picture file, now I'm regularly pulling down hi-res pictures running to 20 or 30MB from press download sites. And I usually find I need to shift them between my office computer and the laptop in the study at home.

Music files, too, have grown: whereas once MP3s crammed whole albums into less than 100MB, albeit at low data-rates, the luxury of affordable storage means we're all using much more capacity-hungry lossless formats, or even storing music at full CD resolution. Or indeed more, in the case of hi-rez audio.

And then there's video...

Hence the belt and braces approach, and the fact that I'm carrying USB memory sticks less and less, and compact hard drives more and more.

Which is why the little Toshiba drive suits pretty well: it's a 500GB drive, it's very compact – about 13x8cm and little more than 1.5cm thick –, it's fast, and it's reliable.

The small matter of it looking pretty cool, too, is just the icing on the cake: or in this case the frosting, given that the 500GB model comes with 'Frost White' detailing.

Smaller capacity versions are also colour-coded: the 160GB has 'Gecko Green' swirls, the 250GB 'Hot Rod Red', and the 320GB 'Carbon Grey'.

And they really do just what it says on the tin: you plug them in, copy stuff to them, and when you need it again, it's there – quickly and reliably.

Even though our home-lives are automatically backed up every evening to a NAS on our home network, I'm now also using Time Machine on the MacBook to back up to the Toshiba whenever it's connected.

Better to be safe than sorry, right?

After all, bad enough to find you've got to recover all your data if your computer throws a wobbly – imagine having to do it without any music to calm you down...

Not so long ago, I wrote a blog piece – you can read it here –  concerning some research from the States suggesting that downloads and file-sharing were slowing down, at least among the teenage music market.

OK, so posting it on April 1 may not have been the smartest move, and several of you suggested it may have been an April Fool story. But now new research carried out in the UK suggests the music industry's nightmare – endless teens in bedrooms grabbing music online and sharing not just with friends by the whole internet community – may be running out of steam.

Too late, Lord Carter, too late...
A new survey, by media and technology research agency The Leading Question and digital music information and strategy company Music Ally, shows that the file-sharing threat, identified in the recent Digital Britain report as yet another thing the Government needs to Take Very Seriously, is changing. And doing so faster than reports compiled over many months, peer-reviewed and open for public comment, can track.

It seems less of us are sharing files illegally, with a particular drop among teens, and more of us are using services such as Spotify, MySpace and YouTube to stream the music we want to hear, rather than bothering to store it anywhere at all.

Overall, the number of us file-sharing has fallen from 22% at the end of 2007 to 17% at the beginning of this year, while among 14-18-year-olds this is down from 42% to just 26%.

By contrast, 65% of those 14-18s stream music online regularly, and while 18% of all music fans say they listen to streamed music once every day, that rises to 31% among the teens.

Singles, not albums
And while more people overall share albums rather than buying legal downloads, more of us buy single tracks online rather than getting them via file-sharing.

Maybe that bears out the theory suggested in that report I commented on back in April, that many teens think they already have as much music as they can handle in their collections, and prefer to listen to streaming services, only downloading the odd track here and there when it really grabs their attention.

Whatever the psychology behind it, it's clear that by the time the Government decides to implement the measures suggested in the Digital Britain report, the caravan will have moved on and most of the strategy will be irrelevant.

Less pirated tracks
After all, the Leading Question survey shows that the ratio of pirated tracks to legally-bought downloads has halved in just a year. In its December 2007 survey four tracks were file-shared for every one downloaded and paid for; by the beginning of this year, the ratio was just two dodgy downloads to every kosher one.

And that means much of the Digital Britain digital management plan could, in a couple of years, be perfectly poised to tackle head-on a problem that no longer exists...

You’ve already enjoyed BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury Festival and smirked at the lower rungs of radio presenters suddenly thrust on TV to communicate with members of the public caked in cow pats. If not, you can catch highlights via iPlayer and even listen to Peel broadcast from the festival in 2004 – before a stage was set up in his honour. Click here to see what you missed.

After watching as much footage as possible, I’ll say that Florence and The Machine, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Neil Young were my highlights. I went to gigs in London instead, taking a break from the festival for a year, just like the cows did in 2006 when Mr Eavis shut up shop and let the farm recover.

Debate rages over the red button though – scheduling was very odd and for some reason I ended up watching Tom Jones twice, which is something I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Unless you want see just how much a man can sweat on camera.

Maybe you actually went to the festival? If so, you can’t have escaped the Sony PR stunt to plug their new XB range of headphones (review soon) and er, Mike Skinner from The Streets. Or maybe you could, as you probably didn’t arrive via helicopter. Unless you are Bruce Springsteen. Either way, here’s a photo and a video link to the three part documentary which shows how to go about making a crop circle: and that's something that iPlayer footage doesn't provide...

 

Personal audio became an expensive but realistic phenemenon on 22nd June, 1979, thanks to the Sony Walkman TPS-L2. Originally borne out of company founder Akio Morita’s desire to listen to classical music while flying, the Walkman was created by Nobutoshi ‘Mr Walkman’ Kihara, and soon became a real development project. Staff at Sony HQ and Japanese journalists were given
samples at a press launch, and quickly spread the word around the busy streets of Tokyo. It wasn’t long before the appeal spread globally.

The £219 price tag soon fell, after early adopters snapped units up. Popularity reached such levels that, in 1986, ‘Walkman’ entered the Oxford English Dictionary, and the player was seen in a staggering number of blockbuster movies – most famously, perhaps, in 1984’s The Terminator. In 1979, Akio Morita said, “This is the product that will satisfy those young people who want to listen to music all day. They’ll take it everywhere with them.” And who could disagree? After numerous cassette versions, CD and MiniDisc versions of the Walkman were released. Ultimately, however, they never achieved the same level of success as the iconic original.

This month, Sony have released the Walkman X, a touchscreen, Wi-Fi enabled portable player with its sights set squarely on the iPod Touch. If the rise of the iPod has taught Sony anything, it’s that a genuine portable revolution in technology appeals to everyone, regardless of age. After all, with the Walkman TPS-L2 that’s exactly what Sony created in 1979.

Here's a cover from 1979...The end of 1979 was marked with this issue, which carried the line ‘computerised buying guide facts on 2000 hi-fi units’ and unveiled ‘trendy’ rack systems.
 

 

And here's an advert from the same issue...Cassettes were big business and TDK advertised five varieties. Our favourite is the TDK  SA Super Avilyn, a ‘cobalt enriched formulation, offering a higher MOL across the frequency spectrum’.

 

Today is launch day for the new iPhone 3G S. You can read all about it here, but we thought we'd visit the Apple store in London and check things out before heading to have a quick chat with Apple themselves.

Arriving at the Regent Street Apple store at 9.30, there was a sizeable queue but not one that threatened to get out of hand, despite two hefty security guards looking rather nervous.

Directly opposite is the Nokia store, launching the N97 today. There wasn't a queue (or security) but they did have a giant model of the N97 which passers by looked at, before they saw the Apple store.

We'll have reviews of the iPhone 3G S (and Nokia N97) very soon once we've finished playing with them, but in the meantime, here's a quick hands-on with help from global iPhone product manager Eric Jue.

For those that want to know, the Apple UK offices are decorated in iPhone colours and as sparse as it gets. There's no device anywhere which isn't Apple branded and to sign in, you use a custom Mac login screen which prints a neat sticker badge.

We would have shown you a picture of Jue, but strict guidelines prevent promotion of the 'person not the product'. Anyway, we're sure you're more interested in the iPhone 3G S itself...

The first thing you'll notice about the 16GB or 32GB iPhone 3G S is the surface. It's smoother and designed to leave less finger prints for those that like to eat and type at the same time...there's a landscape keyboard which works well too.

In terms of music, there's now voice recognition for searching for tracks or contacts. You can also activate Genius via voice and there's volume control and mic on the included headphones.

The upgraded processor makes web browsing much faster and the much talked about cut and pasting is simplicity itself. Asked why this function wasn't introduced earlier, Jue admitted it was part technology and part development of how it would work.

Asked whether he expected the public to be quite so vocal about the function, he said it took him by surprise but thinks it was worth the wait: "we wanted to make it perfect".

Developers are now free to develop solely for the iPhone 3G S if they wish, developing Apps taking advantage of the upgraded processor, camera (now 3MP inc tap to zoom function) and compass. You can read about our top iPhone Apps to help you with your home cinema and hi-fi here.

Expect a review very soon and a head-to-head with the Nokia N97 in our September issue, on sale 29th July.

At some point this evening, the free iPhone software update  – iPhone 3.0 – will be available to download from Apple. The update includes more than 100 new features that will affect all iPhones, including the brand-new iPhone 3G S.

Owners of the iPod Touch will also benefit from the update, although they will have to pay £5.99 for the privilege.

Some of the new features are certainly cause for celebration: highlights include the ability to download movies and TV programmes straight to the device (no need to download to a PC first); the ability to cut, copy and paste (why the bejeezus wasn't that included the first time around?); video recording; and the novel facility (available to MobileMe subscribers only) to find your iPhone when lost – or even remotely wipe its memory if it gets stolen.

In advance of this launch, we bring you our extensive roundup of all the already-existing killer apps for the iPhone: specifically those that will enhance, in one way or another, your enjoyment of movies and music – as well as the hi-fi and home cinema systems you use to experience them.

So, without further ado...

 

 Decibel by Gadget Frontier - £0.59
There are loads of sound level pressure metres available on the App Store, but this is the one we like most, due to its clear layout, decent accuracy and very low price. Simply open the app, turn the phone upside-down so that the microphones are facing upwards (the screen will rotate automatically), and use the analogue or digital readouts to trim your speaker levels. The digital display gives you peak, average and maximum readings, and they’re exceptionally easy to read. There’s no fast or slow setting, but the speed it takes measurements is pretty much spot-on for our use, and results are very close indeed to those of our dedicated SPL metre.

 

 

 

 Tunin.FM iCar Radio by Mobilaria - £2.39
Again, there’s no shortage of internet radio apps available for the iPhone, but there are vast differences between them in terms of usability, stations and sound quality. In fact, this one isn’t even the best sounding, but it does have the best signal retention. It uses extra compression to keep your station playing, even when you’re on the move or in a low-signal area, and we’re prepared to accept a little bit of splashiness for that. This is also the only radio app we found that had the full quota of BBC stations. Menus and graphics are very smart, and you can add stations to your favourites. In fact, other than a slightly vague system for browsing, there’s little to complain about, particularly at this price.

 

 The Stanley Level by The Stanley Works– Free
There seems to be a lot of derision concerning the iPhone’s numerous spirit level apps, but we reckon that’s a bit unnecessary. Sure, if you’re building a house, the iPhone is not the tool to use to make sure everything’s level, but if you’re simply checking how horizontal your speaker or wall-mounted TV is, it’ll do the job just fine. The Stanley Level is the best of the bunch in our opinion. It takes two measurements for calibration, but the surface you use for this must be as level as possible. You can then go forth and check the levels of everything in your home, using the bubble graphic and digital readout. Simple, really.

 

 

 

 Torch by Savy Soda – Free
You know what it’s like: you need to have a look at the connections on the back of your AV receiver, realise it’s a bit gloomy back there, find your torch in the drawer under the sink, click the button and realise the batteries are dead. And what if you haven’t got and replacements? Well, this whole sorry tale can be avoided if you simply download a free light app for your iPhone. This one is exceptionally simple. You’re greeted by a torch icon when you open the app, which you press to turn your screen white. Although you don’t want to use it to navigate outside in the dark, Torch is brighter than most and perfect for system tweaking.

 

 

 Radio Times by tvCompass Inc - £1.79
Start by telling this app where you live and how you get your TV (Freeview, Freesat, Sky, or Virgin), and it provides a clear EPG, showing what’s currently playing and how long it’s been playing for. You can skip along to see what’s on later, and there’s a ‘Choices’ tab containing the well-respected magazine’s picks of the day, including full reviews. There’s also a ‘Films’ tab that unsurprisingly displays films only. You can even make a show a favourite, which creates a list of every time it appears during the week, on all channels, in the ‘My Shows’ tab. You can customise the channel line-ups, but some of Sky’s HD offerings are missing. If you’re not a Sky customer though, this is a must-have.

 

 

 

 Sky+ by BSkyB – Free
If you’ve registered for Remote Record (it’s a quick and simple setup via your Sky box’s menus) you can login to this app to see a stripped-down EPG and set programs to record. It can be extremely useful, but it’s a bit too stripped-down, especially if you’re an HD fan. The boxes that contain each channel label are too small, cutting off the HD at the end of a channel name. There’s no way to access a list of just HD channels, either, and you can’t set a series link, so although this is a nice start, we’re hoping for a fully-featured update sooner rather than later.

 

 

Sonos Controller by Sonos, Inc – Free
As the name suggests, this app’s really only useful if you’re an owner of a Sonos networked music system, but if you are, this is one app you shouldn’t do without. It basically takes all of the functionality of the dedicated remote, but is even nicer and easier to use thanks to the iPhone’s brilliant touchscreen. So you can browse your music collection and Napster, and control the music in all of your zones, all accompanied by large, clear, vibrant artwork. It’s actually better than the standard controller, which costs £280, and that makes it a seriously huge bargain.

 

 

Shazam by Shazam Entertainment Ltd – Free
What a useful app this is! Hear a piece of music you like but don’t know the name of it? Simply press tag, point your mic at the source and within a few seconds Shazam will figure out what it is, and even give you a link to buy it from iTunes if it’s available. It’s not always perfect, but it’s right more often than wrong, even picking out Wake Up Time by Tom Petty through the acerbic dialogue of the Californication TV show. Moreover, it’s free, so you’ve got no reason not to give it a go.

 

 

Test Your Hearing by Novasa - £0.59
This is intended more as a diverting bit of fun than a serious app, but some people might find it interesting. You put on a pair of headphones and the app plays a number of high- and low-pitched tones – you simply press the button when you hear something and at the end it gives you your hearing age. It’s clear and easy to use, and the test takes just 30 seconds. Of course, if you want a proper hearing test, a trip to the Doctor is the only way to get it right.

 

 

 

Remote by Apple Inc. – Free
It’s fair to say that if you’re an iPhone user, you’re also, at least to a degree, an iTunes user. Well, this app connects to your iTunes library via your wi-fi network, allowing you to control and play your library from anywhere in the house. Play a track  and the artwork appears on your iPhone’s screen in large, vibrant fashion. What’s more, it’ll work with Apple TV, and if you’ve got computers or Apple TVs in a couple of rooms, you’ve effectively got a Sonos-style multi-zone system, complete with a touchscreen controller. Very neat indeed.

 

 

myMovies by Netwalk - £1.19
This is simply a list manager for your movie collection. You can add a movie using the linked IMDB database, so it automatically adds artwork, synopsis and details. However, the display isn’t neat enough, and the small, clumsy nature of the artwork layout is disappointing. You can specify the format of the movie, including Blue-Ray (sic), but this makes no odds to the way the disc is displayed, and there’s no way to filter your movies by format. The inclusion of a wish list is fine, but far from spectacular. Unfortunately this is the best disc library app available – fingers crossed someone beats it soon.

 

 

Movies by Flixster – Free
Despite being distinctly US-centric, this Movies app is rather useful. On the main page it lists films opening this week as well as the current box-office favourites. Because it’s an American app, the release dates often don’t apply to the UK, but you can still click on a film, which provides a second screen giving you movie info and even a trailer that plays directly on the phone. What’s more, if you click on ‘Showtimes’ it’ll bring up the up-to-date times that the film’s playing in your local cinema, based on your current location, and this bit does work for us here in Blighty. Hopefully there’ll be a fully localised version available very soon.

 

RTA by Studio Six Digital - £5.99
Studio Six Digital is a company that specializes in professional-grade audio apps for the iPhone, offering a number of pieces of software for all types of measurement and calibration. Here, RTA stands for Real Time Analyzer, and it’s designed for speaker testing, room tuning and acoustical analysis. One of the most interesting features is a pink noise generator – you plug the iPhone into your amp and it sends out full-band pink noise. If your system response is flat, the graph will be, too. To be perfectly honest, most modern AV amps have automatic, room-based equalisation, but if yours doesn’t, or if you just fancy some in-depth manual tweaking, you should give RTA a shot.

 

 

Speaker Pop by Studio Six Digital - £2.39
This is another, more focussed app from Studio Six Digital, and is designed purely for checking the polarity of your speakers. To do this you need to feed a signal into your system. This can be done by connecting your iPhone directly or burning it to a CD or DVD. Once the pop’s being outputted, you select the speaker type (woofer, midrange or tweeter) and aim the mic at the driver. A big ‘+’ will appear onscreen if your speaker’s connected correctly, and a ‘–‘ will appear if it’s out of phase. In testing we found it to be extremely accurate, but it’s probably only really useful for people with wiring so complicated that they can’t simply follow it from source to speaker.
 

 

On sale in a couple of weeks in Japan are Panasonic's first in-ear headphones designed for women by women.

The new Moon Jewel RP-HJF5 model is the result of work by an all-female team within the Osaka giant, from the product planning and design right the way through to the marketing and advertising.

The headphones come in a range of 12 colours – one for each birth-month – and they're finished with three cubic zirconia gems on each earpiece.

But the feminisation is more than just cosmetic: the earpieces are made smaller and contoured to fit the anatomy of the female ear, and also designed so they don't get tangled up with earrings, whether they be clip-on or pierced-ear fittings.

Medium, small and extra-small inserts are supplied, and the headphones weigh just 3g without their 1.2m cable, or 12g with.

Panasonic expects to sell around 30,000 pairs a month, at around Y2500, or about £15, a set.

Oh, and 'sutereoinsaidohon'? It's the Japanese for in-ear heaphones!
 

Two things you thought you knew about MP3 and the iPod generation: one is that the quality of data-reduced music is acceptable – but only that – because you can cram so much music onto an easily portable device. The other is that there's so much music out there, the only problem is finding enough space on that portable device to store it all.

Wrong. And wrong.

Research from the States suggest that the download music status quo  – and that could be only time you'll see me write those three words together – isn't quite as we'd imagined. For a start, it seems the core market for MP3 doesn't just tolerate the sound of MP3, but may actually prefer it over full-fat CD quality. And that comes not from a company with a vested interest, but a learned professor at Stanford.

Jonathan Berger, Professor of Music at the California university, has been carrying out experiments on each year's new intake of students. It's not quite as creepy as it sounds: for the past eight years the good Prof has been playing his students music in a variety of formats, including MP3, and has noted "not only that MP3s were not thought of as low quality, but over time there was a rise in preference for MP3s".

Berger feels that the data-reduction process gives music what he calls a "sizzle" – a metallic edge to it, and that as young people have become more familiar with that sound, the more they've come to like it.

He reckons it's a phenomenon rather akin to some of us preferring our music on vinyl rather than CD: "“Some people prefer that needle noise — the noise of little dust particles that create noise in the grooves. I think there’s a sense of warmth and comfort in that.”

The iPod sizzle
Mind you, while the iPod/MP3 sizzle may be the way forward for a whole generation's sonic preferences, it seems those same consumers are voting with their feet – or at least their mouse-clicking fingers  – when it comes to what's available as downloads.

US market research firm NPD reports that while 13-17-year-olds bought a quarter less CDs last year, exactly as expected, they also cut back on their downloading and ripping of music. Why? Well, it seems they're not that excited by the music out there, or feel they have as much of the stuff as they can handle.

CD sales dropped 26% last year, according to the survey, but paid digital downloads also fell by half as much. OK, so some of that is down to that well-known euphemism, the Current Economic Situation, with 24% of the teenagers saying they had cut back on their spending. But almost as many – 23% – said they already had a suitable music collection, and didn't need any more right now, thank you.

Enough music, already...
NPD says that ""As the portable music player market matures, there's a greater chance that teens will have already acquired the bulk of their collections, which reduces the desire to buy music or the need to get more by sharing and swapping with others."

"In fact it's possible teens could start spending more time creating playlists and posting them online, than they would spend sharing actual song files."

Even 'free' sources of music saw drop-off, with the teens using peer-to-peer sites 6% less, and a 28% decline in the number of CDs they borrowed from friends to make ripped copies.

If all that looks a bit bleak for those record companies who've pinned their hopes on users buying music as downloads, it gets worse. The survey shows a surge of over 50% in online radio listening, while over 31% listened more to the US satellite radio services. Meanwhile 46% of those surveyed said they listened to music on social networking sites, up from 26% in 2007.

Enough bad news for the record companies? No? OK, here's the final kicker – the survey says that "54 percent of teens who heard a song they liked on MySpace Music were likely to simply listen to that song again on the site, compared with only 1 percent who claimed they would click through and buy the song on AmazonMP3, which is MySpace's online partner for purchased music downloads.”

Back to the future?
In other words, we're going back to the golden days of radio, before most homes even had a record player.

A whole generation prefers to listen to that MP3 "sizzle" rather than hi-fi quality, and really doesn't want to be bothered exploring any music it hasn't heard before, let alone buying the stuff.

In such a world, who'd want to be a new artist, let alone a record company executive?

Or indeed a professor of music...?

Tssk, young people today: they're only interested in one thing.

Music.

Yes, in the week the tabloids have been full of schoolgirl pregnancy, teenage paternity claims and everyday stories of Alfie, Chantelle, Maisie and Max Clifford, a new survey reveals that most teenagers would rather go without sex for a week than be deprived of their music.

According to the research, commissioned by Marrakesh Records, home of The Killers, 60% of 16-to-24-year-olds would rather go without sex, not music, for a week.

And that figure rises to 70% for 16-to-19-year-olds, which may be a shock revelation.

Or may just indicate that the under-20s have less opportunity.

However, Marrakesh has more ominous news up its sleeve. "We apologise in advance," it says. "These results may stir unease.

"Anyone within the music industry has good reason to be concerned with our findings."

And what, pray, is set to turn the music industry into a gibbering, hand-wringing mess?

Well, the survey says that " 70% of those who expressed a view do not feel guilty about downloading music for free from the internet."

Sharp intake of breath.

"61% of the age group do not feel they should have to pay for the music they listen to. This is more marked amongst 15-19 year olds, of whom 69% do not feel they should have to pay."

Gasp!

"On average 43% of the music owned and enjoyed by the age group has not been paid for. This increases to 49% for 15-19 year olds."

Cue industry-wide howling, wailing and self-flagellation...

But hang on a minute. Don't we all know that just about everyone downloads music illegally, however much they're told it's theft?

Is it any real surprise that younger downloaders, who presumably have less money, feel less worried about not paying for their music?

And as for almost half of teenage collections being blagged off the internet or ripped from friends' music, there's only one sensible reaction to that.

49%? Is that all...?

Last July I wrote this blog, in which I ranted and raved about some rather limp attempts by the government to look like they were doing something about illegal downloading without actually doing anything at all.

 The suggestion, back then, was that  the way to deal with file sharing was for ISPs (Internet Service providers) to go around policing, threatening and generally hounding their own customers. As I remarked in my blog, this looked more like posturing than policy, and the whole deal had the whiff of a government meekly suggesting something it had no intention of pursuing, simply in order to get someone powerful off its back.

Well now we have the confirmation that, like all truly bad ideas, the plan was greeted with a tsunami of indifference, not least from the people who suggested it. The Government, after what is known in Whitehall circles as 'a discreet interval', has finally fessed up to the fact that it has no intention of turning that bogus idea into anything resembling a law.

As for the ISPs themselves, Broadband providers the length and breadth of Britain looked up briefly, quietly muttered 'Bovvered?', and went back to conjuring premium package offers based on advertised broadband speeds so wildly optimistic you will only achieve them if you happen to live in one particular house in Weybridge.

I digress. The bringer of these good if slightly embarrassed tidings was none other than intellectual property minister, MP for Tottenham and all-round good egg David Lammy. Lammy was a junior minister of minor import until he self-consciously revealed he's a good friend of Barak Obama, at which point he became in the minds of the British political media a kind of Spurs-supporting John The Baptist.

 "We can't have a system where we're talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms," Lammy said. While I'm sure we could find plenty of peope who'd take issue with that statement on all sorts of levels, it should be applauded not just for its liberal spirit, but also for its refreshing honesty.

Here's the bottom line: any suggested 'solution' to file sharing which criminalises large swaths of the otherwise law-abiding population is a very, very stupid idea. Ok? Ok.

The sooner we realise – along with likeable Lammy – that those kind of draconian responses are simply not going to happen, the sooner everyone can arrive at a resolution that keeps consumers, producers, artists and, yes, music companies relatively happy.

No, they won't be 'happy' like they used to be. But seeing as music biz 'happiness' used to involve giving £2,000,000 advances to bands as awful as Gay Dad and offering up yearly accounts involving £200,000 annual spends on 'flowers' (euphemism of the century), that's not neccessarily such a bad thing.

A 'media tax' on broadband subscriptions? Maybe that is the way to go. Downloading is here to stay, and the production costs of movies and music have to paid for somehow. The only worrying thing about the recent news was the sight of Feargal Sharkey – ex-Undertones frontman and now the public face of industry group UK Music – naively saying he thinks that 80 per cent of file sharers would be prepared to pay for a legitimate file-sharing service.

Er, has he seen iTunes? Ok, an impressive ten per cent of Europeans use it, but then 20 per cent use file-sharing sites where they can get their media for free. And legal download services account for just eight per cent of overall music revenues – which are falling overall.

Call me cynical, but if all those who bought the 7in single of Teenage Kicks in 1978 could have sat at home and got it for free, what do you think they would have done...?

Yes, there needs to be a solution. But it needs to be something a little more subtle than 'send da boys round.'  Here's hoping Lammy can lead the way towards a more thoughtful debate on the subject. Maybe he can get Obama to parachute in with some words of wisdom.....

 

During our recent trip to Sony Japan, we were shown all manner of wonderful gadgets and the kit that you'll be buying next year. Taking a toilet break between presentations to manage our excitement, we stumbled across the Walkman Room at Sony HQ in Tokyo and decided the toilet could wait for a bit.

Sheepishly entering the room, expecting a development lab, Sony engineers dancing in white suits and perhaps some dry ice, we saw every Walkman ever on display. In fact, every portable music device Sony have ever made including CD and Minidisc based players. The first ever Walkman is pictured below - it's called the TPS-L2 and was released in 1979...and yes, you were expected to attach it to your trousers.

 

The following series of images may bring back a few memories and if you're interested in seeing the 2009 Walkman, you'll have to read the next issue on 8th January. We've got one and want to tell you all about it, before anybody else...

 

 

 

Our intrepid editor, Richard Melville, is at Sony HQ in Japan. Before he'd even had time to un-bag his laptop, Sony was shoving musical robots his way. Here's the report, live from his cameraphone, of his encounter with the next-generation Roly...

So, this week, we're spending some time with Sony in Tokyo, exclusively getting inside info on the kit you'll be buying next year. Today we're chatting with the designers behind the Sony Rolly and getting an insight into how the cute portable music robot came to life.

Sony begin by showing a new Rolly, currently only destined for the Japanese market. Linking to your PC, you can program the motion sensitive functions of Rolly via Roll Choreographer, a PC application. It's very complex, with all manner of stats and graphs with an image showing Rolly effects.

Sony refer to the 'arms and shoulders' of the Rolly and are keen to stress and demonstrate the fun nature of the egg shaped player/speaker. By playing Footloose. We giggle a bit, but it's hard not to.

The Rolly software creates motion by analysing song tempo and mood – there's a new 'motion upload' site so you can share your moves with others too. Sony then play a Ricky Martin track, causing the Rolly to dance energetically, flapping its little ears and spinning and flashing.

Then we see delicate ballet moves to softer songs. Finally, it's the science statement: 'Neodymium magnet used in high grade speakers, low key sound reflected from floor'. One thing is clear – the small Rolly certainly produces a bigger sound than you expect.

The new 'pink' model has radio control – you can also control multiple Rollys (up to 7) and make them dance with each other. We hear a bit of Celine Dion while 3 Rollys dance with each other, simulating a bit of robo-love. They interact in cute way and we're reminded of Furbies for some reason.

By linking Rollys, you can play music simultaneously too, adding volume. There's a firmware update for the UK version due, with new 'moves' added. The Rolly is 'not a robot, it's kind of a music brain' says the inventor and Product Producer of Rolly.

He then mentions that the Rolly was conceived during the design process for the robo-dog Aibo, was invented 3 years ago and approved by top bods at Sony instantly. Sales in Japan have been above Sony expectations, though no figures are revealed...