April 8 - 12:30pm EDT   Potential growth in the teen iPod market is dwindling rapidly, at least in the US, writes Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. The firm recently conducted its annual survey of American high schools, polling 600 students on their ownership of media players and the way they acquire digital music. Of the 92 percent of teens who said they owned a media player, 86 percent said they owned an iPod; the closest competition came from Microsoft's Zune player, which amounted to only 4 percent of ownership. [full story]

March 25 - 12:55pm EDT   Philips has announced that three of its GoGear media players are scheduled to arrive in the US. Among these is the ViBE, which uses a 1.5-inch display and a battery capable of 25 hours of music or four hours of video. While audio file support is mainly limited to MP3 or WMA files, it can also handle Rhapsody subscription tracks, and Audible audiobooks. Other integrated features include an FM tuner with 20 presets, and automated conversion of Internet video. The player should ship in April, at a cost of $50 for 4GB or $60 for 8GB. [full story]

February 24 - 7:50pm EST   doubleTwist has released a public beta of its media synchronization and sharing application for the Mac platform. The program intends to eliminate DRM restrictions, with sync support for content from digital cameras, MP3 players or PSPs, among other devices. The media can then be played or published to YouTube, Facebook or Flickr. Users can also send the files to their friends. [full story]

January 9 - 8:20pm EST   iRiver at CES unveiled its latest multimedia devices including the Wave-Home multimedia device and several portable media players. The Wave-Home interface is displayed on a 7-inch touchscreen that resembles a digital photo frame, but the device also integrates a phone and webcam. A wireless handset fits into the back of the housing for calls made while moving around, or the webcam can be used for video conferencing. Games, weather, news, radio and other widgets are supported. [full story]

January 7 - 6:40pm EST   Samsung today also unveiled a new widescreen portable multimedia player: the P3 leverages the company's EmoTure interface with true haptic feedback. On display at CES (Booth No. 11033), the slim media player is made of reinforced die-cast metal (to prevent fingerprints and scratching) and sports a 3-inch WQVGA TFT-LCD touch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Confirming a previous leak, Samsung’s upgraded EmoTure touch interface with true haptic feedback offers a variety of physical feedback sensations on every command gesture -- from swiping a finger across the screen, to switching audio tracks, to holding down a digital button for fast-forwarding video. In addition, ... [full story]

December 16 - 11:30pm EST   Philips has announced the latest GoGear line-up for its digital audio players, the Raga, Spark, and LUXE. Features for the Raga include a 2GB or 4GB flash storage, a tiny multi-line display, and roughly 27 hours of battery life. The spark offers a 1.5-inch OLED color screen capable of displaying album art or photos, and navigation style similar to a clix media player. For the LUXE, Bluetooth 2.1 functionality and FM stereo are offered, along with up to 10-hours of playback time and 100 hours in standby. If a BT-enabled phone is nearby and paired up with the LUXE, calls can now be answered without having to swap out headphones. [full story]

November 18 - 8:10pm EST   Cygnett has released its latest product for iPods and other media players, the GrooveBassball portable speaker. The device integrates a rechargeable battery, claimed to last for three hours of playback time. The speaker resembles the shape of a ball, but extends when the end is twisted. The additional length is designed to improve bass response. A USB cable is included for recharging the lithium-ion cells. Any MP3 player or device with a 3.5mm jack can be connected. [full story]

October 15 - 2:40am EDT   SanDisk on Wednesday unveiled the Sansa slotMusic Player, its new MP3 player for listening to music on the go. According to the company, the plug & play, portable music player was specially designed for use with the new slotMusic cards available today in the United States. The company rolled out both a Sansa-branded player and new personalized, branded slotMusic players for popular artists such as Robin Thicke and ABBA -- both of which are shipping to U.S. stores today, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart and are expected to be available from retailers in Europe and other regions of the world in 2009. [full story]

October 2 - 1:00pm EDT   Apple's newest iPods are unlikely to have much impact in Taiwan, despite the popularity of the products around the world, an industry publication observes. DigiTimes notes that the prices of NAND memory, and LCD screens between 2.8 and 3.5 inches, have allowed local companies such as T.sonic and Ergotech to release extremely cheap 8GB media players, costing between $3,000 and $3,500 NT ($94 and $109 US). Some generic "white-box" players may even cost as little as $2,500 NT, or $78 US. [full story]

August 29 - 3:10pm EDT   Lava Software has released Kenbushi 7.4, an update to its digital media jukebox. Kenbushi plays and manages media on both Macs and PCs, and syncs media to non-Apple media players. Version 7.4 adds the ability to load numerous media devices with data, including mobile phones, USB memory sticks, flash cards and portable hard drives. Multiple playlists can be created for each device, and space limits can now be set to preserve room. Users of v7.4 can also limit which media types are assigned to a device, for instance by keeping video on one player and music on another. [full story]

August 27 - 12:00pm EDT   Trekstor will soon be releasing a 32GB flash version of its Vibez player, among other new devices, according to DAPReview. The Vibez is currently available in 8GB or 16GB formats, but the new addition will put the player in competition with other high-capacity flash devices, such as the 32GB version of the iPod touch. Trekstor has additionally improved upon another player, the i.Beat organix, which in its 2.0 incarnation is claimed to have a 55-hour battery life. An entirely new product, the i.Beat nova, is a small USB-key type device. [full story]

July 24 - 3:10am EDT   Creative Technology on Thursday introduced the Creative ZEN Mozaic portable media player. The "boldly designed" player is available in black, pink, and silver colors for what the company says is a "statement that reflects the user's sense of fashion and individual style." It features a built-in speaker like the ZEN Wav, 1.8-inch LCD color screen, FM radio with 32 presets, and a microphone for voice recording. The compact Mozaic also runs unusually long with up to 32 hours of audio playback on a single charge of the battery. [full story]

July 7 - 1:15pm EDT   Details of XM Radio's upcoming media player -- codenamed Phoenix -- have been made public, FCC filings appear to show. Documents at the organization refer to an "XMP3 Car Kit," scheduled to ship later this year. While manuals, photos and illustrations are currently being held confidential, the filing suggests that the name of the player is in fact XMP3, as it matches a trademark application from June under "digital audio radio hardware and accessories" and "satellite radio hardware and accessories." [full story]

June 30 - 1:10pm EDT   For the past six years, a group of developers scattered across the globe has been quietly working to reinvent the way we watch movies and listen to music. The result is Boxee -- a media player based on the XBMC Open Source platform -- released in alpha form this month initially on the Mac. The developers says Boxee was born of frustration over what they saw as the somewhat clunky way computers gather and display content. Separate applications are needed to display photos or play music and movies, and content is often delivered in formats requiring proprietary media players. The ambitious end game for Boxee is to become the “one-size-fits-all” media center that works ... [full story]

June 17 - 2:05pm EDT   Boxee has released a Mac alpha of its “open and smart“ media player application. The start-up says in it’s blog that alternatives such as iTunes do a good job of pushing new content for download, but aren’t ideal for storing existing content. Boxee is designed to help users rediscover their “comfort content,” movies, pictures, and music that may be stored in a variety of formats, using a unique visual interface. [full story]