Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Friday, August 5, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
ASTEROID Car Receiver Powered By Android Unveiled
Without a doubt, CES 2011 is gearing up to be full of pleasant surprise, the latest we've managed to come across being the Parrot ASTEROID, a car multimedia receiver that works on the Android operating system.
First and foremost, we'll have to point out that this 1-DIN device comes equipped with a detachable faceplate (in order to deter theft) on the left side, while its right side is occupied by a 3.2-inch TFT color display, that provides quick and easy access to a host of information, including phonebook, menus, music, playlist, album covers, internet applications and services.
Moreover, the left part of the receiver also houses the control buttons for the phone functionality (we'll detail this a bit later), plus a large rotary button for menu navigation.
The car receiver lets users play music from a variety of sources, including here USB flash drives, SD cards, MP3 players, the iPhone or iPod, and even web radios, when becoming 3G-capable with the addition of an appropriate dongle (and since we're on this topic, it's also important to point out that the receiver can also become a navigation device, by inserting into it the GPS dongle included in the sales package).
Naturally, since this thing includes a Bluetooth module, music files can also be sent to the car receiver from a mobile phone and via Bluetooth stereo A2DP.
Parrot ASTEROID also doubles as an advanced Bluetooth speakerphone, supporting the simultaneous pairing with up to two mobile phones and also offering users access a multi-user voice recognition feature.
Unfortunately, Parrot has not yet provided any pricing details for their Android-running ASTEROID Car Audio receiver, but they did reveal the fact that it should hit the shelves in the 1st Quarter of 2011 in France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux, while US customers will have to wait until Q2 in order to get their hands on it.
PlayStation Phone Full Details Leaked With Photos
Seeing as how Sony didn't reveal any details about a possible PlayStation Phone at the CES conference this week, a Chinese website got its hands on a prototype of the device and shared all of the juicy details, from its phone hardware to its gaming attributes.
Chinese website IT168 managed to score a version of the PlayStation Phone, which may not be the final one, mind you, but it's still the best look we had at the new device that is going to be manufactured by Sony's joint phone venture with Ericsson.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, as it might be named, has some pretty impressive hardware for a phone, including a 1GHz Snapdragon QSD8255 processor, a Qualcomm Adreno 205 GPU, 512MB RAM and 512MB ROM, as well as slots for a SIM card, obviously, a microSD memory card and a micro USB cable.
The PlayStation Phone will use this hardware to display images on a 4-inch screen, with an 854x480 resolution, as well as take pictures with a 5 megapixel camera.
When powered on, the device looks just like any other Sony Ericsson phone from the Xperia lineup, and runs the Android 2.3 operating system.
There's one special feature, however, an application called PlayStation Pocket, which, when you boot it up, puts the phone into "PlayStation" mode.
The menu interface changes to Sony's familiar XMB setup, and you can browse some of the games installed on the device.
The device pictured above and below isn't confirmed to be the production-ready PlayStation Phone, so a few things might change, but it's currently the best look we have at Sony's new product.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play hasn't been officially confirmed by Sony, but according to previous reports, expect it to appear around Spring or Summer of this year.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Christina Aguilera’s ‘Not Myself Tonight’ Voted Worst Video of 2010
As the year draws to an end, music fans and industry people are taking a good look at the best and the worst of 2010. Speaking of music, Christina Aguilera’s much mediated video for “Not Myself Tonight” has just been named the worst music video of the year.
At the time of the release, even some of the fans considered that the video was simply trying too hard when Aguilera was not the type to need this kind of in-your-face release to make herself noticed: she more than had the pipes for it.
Now, the people over at Yahoo! have crowned the vid as the worst 2010 had to offer, precisely because it marked a desperate (unnecessary and unoriginal) effort from an accomplished artist that would have done much better with much less.
Starting the countdown at number 10 though is Susan Boyle with her latest release for “Perfect Day,” which was directed by Lou Reed as kind-hearted gesture on his part for past offenses.
Though the Scottish singing sensation comes as far as it gets to what Yahoo! calls a “video vixen,” the video was unimpressive because it aimed too high. Leaving Susan to impress with her crystal clear voice would have been more than enough.
“No one wanted to see her brave the elements at Scotland’s Trussochs National Park, looking like one of the missing members of Celtic Woman, either. And the fact that SuBo received ‘creative direction’ on this gauze-lensed, new-agey snoozer from the song’s originator, Lou Reed – supposedly one of the coolest rockers ever – boggled the minds and broke the hearts of NYC hipsters everywhere,” Yahoo! writes.
Up next are the “Radioactive” video from Kings Of Leon and “One More Chance” from Michael Jackson. The latter was shot in 2003 and emerged this year, and broke many a fan’s heart for lacking completely close shots of the singer’s face – thus prompting speculation he was ashamed to show it.
Countess Luann decided to turn singer from reality star. Her first effort, the Autotune-heavy “Money Can’t Buy You Class” proved that money can’t buy a decent single – or a decent music video either.
2010 was also the year when Miley Cyrus attempted to show she was grown-up, strictly musically speaking. Her video for “Can’t Be Tamed” was meant to prove that, but actually did the contrary, landing at number 6 on Yahoo!’s countdown.
Miley Cyrus takes a trip to the wild side in “Can’t Be Tamed” video – and fails
Enlarge picture
“Note to Miley: When Natalie Portman or Johnny Weir bedeck themselves in black feathers and leotards and exhibit freakish behavior, it’s cool and arty. When you do it, you just look like foolish – and you alienate your entire fanbase in the process,” the e-zine writes.
At number 5, we find Imperial Stars’ “Traffic Jam 101,” while fourth position goes to Anouska De Georgiou’s “Bad Girls.” Jersey Shore’s Angelina Pivarnick is at number 3 with “I’m Hot” and Dries Roelvink’s “Alleen Door Jou” is runner-up.
“Xtina can blame this trying-too-hard trainwreck, which kicked off a very bad year, professionally and personally, for the once-unstoppable diva,” Yahoo! says of Aguilera’s “Not Myself Tonight” video, which literally killed her comeback.
Instead of relying on her star power and the talent that she has more than plenty, the diva gave in to pressure from the record label and the industry and tried to fit in by taking a little bit of something from other artists of the day.
“Much of the imagery in ‘Not Myself Tonight’ seemed borrowed from other artists – namely Madonna and, yes, Lady Gaga,” Yahoo! notes.
Still, it wasn’t the shocking and explicit imagery that most disappointed, but how utterly unoriginal everything was.
“The sad thing is, as one of the few truly vocally gifted female pop singers recording today, Christina didn’t need to do this to be heard,” says the e-zine.
At the time of the release, even some of the fans considered that the video was simply trying too hard when Aguilera was not the type to need this kind of in-your-face release to make herself noticed: she more than had the pipes for it.
Now, the people over at Yahoo! have crowned the vid as the worst 2010 had to offer, precisely because it marked a desperate (unnecessary and unoriginal) effort from an accomplished artist that would have done much better with much less.
Starting the countdown at number 10 though is Susan Boyle with her latest release for “Perfect Day,” which was directed by Lou Reed as kind-hearted gesture on his part for past offenses.
Though the Scottish singing sensation comes as far as it gets to what Yahoo! calls a “video vixen,” the video was unimpressive because it aimed too high. Leaving Susan to impress with her crystal clear voice would have been more than enough.
“No one wanted to see her brave the elements at Scotland’s Trussochs National Park, looking like one of the missing members of Celtic Woman, either. And the fact that SuBo received ‘creative direction’ on this gauze-lensed, new-agey snoozer from the song’s originator, Lou Reed – supposedly one of the coolest rockers ever – boggled the minds and broke the hearts of NYC hipsters everywhere,” Yahoo! writes.
Up next are the “Radioactive” video from Kings Of Leon and “One More Chance” from Michael Jackson. The latter was shot in 2003 and emerged this year, and broke many a fan’s heart for lacking completely close shots of the singer’s face – thus prompting speculation he was ashamed to show it.
Countess Luann decided to turn singer from reality star. Her first effort, the Autotune-heavy “Money Can’t Buy You Class” proved that money can’t buy a decent single – or a decent music video either.
2010 was also the year when Miley Cyrus attempted to show she was grown-up, strictly musically speaking. Her video for “Can’t Be Tamed” was meant to prove that, but actually did the contrary, landing at number 6 on Yahoo!’s countdown.
Miley Cyrus takes a trip to the wild side in “Can’t Be Tamed” video – and fails
Enlarge picture
“Note to Miley: When Natalie Portman or Johnny Weir bedeck themselves in black feathers and leotards and exhibit freakish behavior, it’s cool and arty. When you do it, you just look like foolish – and you alienate your entire fanbase in the process,” the e-zine writes.
At number 5, we find Imperial Stars’ “Traffic Jam 101,” while fourth position goes to Anouska De Georgiou’s “Bad Girls.” Jersey Shore’s Angelina Pivarnick is at number 3 with “I’m Hot” and Dries Roelvink’s “Alleen Door Jou” is runner-up.
“Xtina can blame this trying-too-hard trainwreck, which kicked off a very bad year, professionally and personally, for the once-unstoppable diva,” Yahoo! says of Aguilera’s “Not Myself Tonight” video, which literally killed her comeback.
Instead of relying on her star power and the talent that she has more than plenty, the diva gave in to pressure from the record label and the industry and tried to fit in by taking a little bit of something from other artists of the day.
“Much of the imagery in ‘Not Myself Tonight’ seemed borrowed from other artists – namely Madonna and, yes, Lady Gaga,” Yahoo! notes.
Still, it wasn’t the shocking and explicit imagery that most disappointed, but how utterly unoriginal everything was.
“The sad thing is, as one of the few truly vocally gifted female pop singers recording today, Christina didn’t need to do this to be heard,” says the e-zine.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jay Z Loves Cher Lloyd, Would Sing with Her on Debut Album
She may have gotten a lot of flack on the premise that she didn’t really deserve to be on X Factor, but Cher Lloyd is getting a lot of attention – and praise – from A-list celebrities, which may even turn out helpful in the future.
One of the stars to have lately noticed the petite 17-year-old singer is rapper and music producer Jay Z, who said in a recent interview that he loved her rendition of two of his songs, and would even consider working with her.
For an up-and-coming singer, such warm praise can’t but be wonderful news, especially since Jay Z is not easily the kind of man to rush into saying things he doesn’t mean.
Moreover, Jay Z says in the same interview, as cited by Digital Spy, that he loved so much Cher’s take on “Hard Knock Life” and “Empire State of Mind” that he may even do some work with her for her debut album.
“I was very impressed with her version of ‘Hard Knock Life.’ It should be a track on her debut album and I would happily add my lyrics to it,” Jay Z says.
He may even bring some of his longtime collaborators on board as well. “I could get myself, Kanye West, Beyoncé and Rihanna all working on her debut album and that would make it an automatic hit,” Jay Z adds.
The rapper is not the only one to believe Cher’s future in music is a given at this point, since X Factor judge Louis Walsh is just as convinced that she’ll make it big once the show is over, regardless of whether she wins it or not.
“Simon [Cowell’s] already totally crazy about Cher and he’s already active in her future career. He feels she’ll sell millions and make some serious money. She’s had all the attention in the competition so far,” Louis is also cited as saying.
In October this year, Robbie Williams too spoke highly of Cher, saying he believed she had the talent, the looks and the extra factor to build for herself a lasting career in showbiz.
However, he also believed she needed to take a year or so off to get her priorities straight – and only afterwards go into showbiz, as we also informed you at the time.
One of the stars to have lately noticed the petite 17-year-old singer is rapper and music producer Jay Z, who said in a recent interview that he loved her rendition of two of his songs, and would even consider working with her.
For an up-and-coming singer, such warm praise can’t but be wonderful news, especially since Jay Z is not easily the kind of man to rush into saying things he doesn’t mean.
Moreover, Jay Z says in the same interview, as cited by Digital Spy, that he loved so much Cher’s take on “Hard Knock Life” and “Empire State of Mind” that he may even do some work with her for her debut album.
“I was very impressed with her version of ‘Hard Knock Life.’ It should be a track on her debut album and I would happily add my lyrics to it,” Jay Z says.
He may even bring some of his longtime collaborators on board as well. “I could get myself, Kanye West, Beyoncé and Rihanna all working on her debut album and that would make it an automatic hit,” Jay Z adds.
The rapper is not the only one to believe Cher’s future in music is a given at this point, since X Factor judge Louis Walsh is just as convinced that she’ll make it big once the show is over, regardless of whether she wins it or not.
“Simon [Cowell’s] already totally crazy about Cher and he’s already active in her future career. He feels she’ll sell millions and make some serious money. She’s had all the attention in the competition so far,” Louis is also cited as saying.
In October this year, Robbie Williams too spoke highly of Cher, saying he believed she had the talent, the looks and the extra factor to build for herself a lasting career in showbiz.
However, he also believed she needed to take a year or so off to get her priorities straight – and only afterwards go into showbiz, as we also informed you at the time.
