Who Controls Your Digital Music?

Also highlighted this month--music players, plasma TVs, and DVD camcorders.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

Martyn Williams is Tokyo bureau chief for the IDG News Service, a consortium of IDG publications.

TOKYO-- A couple of weeks ago I was in South Korea to attend the SEK electronics show, where SK Telecom, the leading cellular carrier, talked about a digital music service it's calling "Melon." More interesting than the specifics of the service itself was the fact that a cellular carrier is trying to get into the digital music market.

People have been talking for some time about the battle between cell phones, which increasingly have music player functions, and digital music players, which increasingly have all manner of other functions. What I learned from talking to SK Telecom is that this competition could work out to be bad news for consumers.

SK Telecom is using its own digital rights management system to protect downloaded music. Music loaded onto its phones won't play anywhere else--not in handsets from other carriers or in stand-alone digital music players. SK Telecom's handsets also won't play songs protected with other DRM systems, so you can forget about using Apple ITunes Music Store or any other portal to acquire music for your handset. Of course, the same incompatibility exists in the music player world between, say, Apple's IPod and Napster's subscription music service. The situation isn't new, but the entrance of cellular carriers could make it more confusing.

That aside, SEK was also the venue for the launch of IRiver's cool little U10, which supports Microsoft's DRM. And back in Japan, Olympus added to its M:robe music player line with two new models, and Kenwood entered the music player market with a hard-drive device.

Super-Cool IRiver U10 Music Player

The coolest gadget I've seen this month has to be the IRiver U10. The player does away with dedicated navigation buttons in favor of a pressure-sensitive front panel that gives a satisfying click when you push down along each of the four edges. The U10's screen shows the function of the virtual buttons, which changes depending on the menu screen.

The U10 plays MP3, Windows Media Audio, ASF, and Ogg Vorbis audio files as well as MPEG-4 video files. It also has an FM radio, a voice recorder, and a photo album. Two versions will be available: a 512MB version will cost $283, and a 1GB version will cost $327. The company hasn't said when the player will be launched.

One possible problem: Like the Sony PlayStation Portable, the player's front panel is highly polished. It looks great, but you'll spend a lot of time wiping off fingerprints.

Kenwood HD20GA7 Music Player

If you're looking to buy a digital music player and having a hard time deciding which one is best, you might want to stop reading right now.

Kenwood has added to the selection with its HD20GA7, which has a 20GB capacity and 2.2-inch QVGA resolution (240 by 320 pixel) display. The player looks good, and it follows the fairly standard layout of a screen positioned above a control pad. The display can show jacket art, and the player understands ID3 tags that carry additional track information in MP3 files. The on-screen display can be switched among English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Dutch and Spanish, and there are three color schemes to chose from. In addition to MP3 files, it plays Windows Media Audio files, including those protected with DRM. It's on sale now in Japan and costs $406.

Hitachi Plasma TVs

Hitachi's latest lineup of flat-panel plasma TVs comes with a specification sheet so impressive that you don't need to see the price to know they'll be expensive.

Available in 55-inch, 42-inch, or 37-inch screen sizes, each of the sets can be bought with an optional internal video recorder that stores high-definition programs on a 160GB hard drive. That's good news for HDTV fans because most current hard-disk recorders can only manage standard-definition recording. There are two HDMI inputs, which can be used to hook up HD-compatible video equipment and maintain the highest possible image quality. The 42-inch set offers the industry's highest brightness, according to Hitachi, producing 1400 candela per square meter and a 3000:1 contrast ratio.

The screens will be available in Japan only, starting in August; prices range from $4332 for the 37-inch set with no recorder to $7768 for the 55-inch set with recorder.

Sanyo S310RM Voice Recorder

Sanyo Electric has packed a handful of useful features into its latest voice recorder. The ICR-S310RM has a built-in USB connector, so you don't need to carry around a cable. It can record in MP3 format, and it plays MP3 and Windows Media Audio files. Sanyo says it is the largest-capacity flash-memory recorder available. It has 512MB of memory, which will hold between 9 and 71 hours of audio, depending on the recording mode.

The ICR-S310RM goes on sale in Japan on August 21 for about $361. It's designed to work with Microsoft Windows, and Sanyo says it should work with the Mac OS too. The company is currently making worldwide launch plans.

Samsung SCH-V740: A Thin Cell Phone

At first glance you might mistake it for Motorola's Razr cell phone; but no, the SCH-V740 is from South Korea's Samsung Electronics. At 3.8 inches long, it's almost identical in size to the Razr. The Samsung handset is 2 inches wide, about the same as the Razr, weighs about the same, and is just slightly thicker. It beats the Razr in a few areas: the main screen is QVGA resolution; it has a 1.3-megapixel camera; and it carries 256MB of internal memory. Other features include an MP3 player, the ability to capture MPEG-4 video, Bluetooth wireless networking, Global Positioning System capability, and the PictBridge printing technology.

The SCH-V740 is out now in South Korea for around $595. It won't be available internationally, but Samsung said it's planning similar thin phones for foreign markets this year.

Olympus Pendant-Type M:robe Music Player

Olympus has added to its M:robe digital music player lineup with the announcement of the pendant-type MR-F10 and MR-F20 models. Both contain flash memory and play MP3, Windows Media, and Ogg files.

First to launch in late July will be the MR-F10, which can record in MP3 format; a month later the MR-F20, which records in Windows Media format, will launch. Both models have organic light-emitting diode displays and provide interfaces in English, Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. The MR-F10 will cost $153 for a 512MB model and $197 for a 1GB model. The MR-F20, which has 512MB of memory, will cost about $179. There's no word on an international launch.

Hitachi DZ-GX25M DVD Camcorder

The DZ-GX25M DVD camcorder from Hitachi isn't fussy when it comes to discs. The camera is equipped with a multiformat optical drive--a world first according to the maker--so you're free to use DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, or DVD-R to record your precious moments. Like other DVD camcorders, it accepts 3.1-inch discs, so it still might be a little difficult to find blank media unless you're at a well-stocked retailer. Other features include a 10X optical zoom, and there's also a digital still camera function. You can record snapshots onto a Secure Digital memory card or DVD-RAM media, which should hold about 1500 images before the disc is full, Hitachi says. The DZ-GX25M will launch in Japan in August for about $1166, and the company has yet to decide on an overseas launch.

R&D Corner: Computer Game for Visually Impaired Players

From the development labs this month comes a computer game that you play entirely without sight. The game is played in real space and a pair of headphones substitute for a monitor. It's called BBBeat, and it requires the player to wield a mallet and hit computer-generated bees in order to rack up points. The only clue as to the location of the bees comes from the buzzing they make. The game is intended to be a training aid to heighten the ability of visually impaired users to locate the source of sounds. But anybody can enjoy BBBeat, as I discovered when I played it. To play you need several sensors so that the computer can determine where you are and follow your movements.

BBBeat should be available commercially in Japan this year and will likely cost several thousand dollars. It will be targeted at schools and rehabilitation centers for the blind, says the developer, Makoto Ohuchi of Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan.