According to Zune.net, the fix for the dead Zunes is dead simple:

My Zune 30 is frozen. What should I do?

Follow these steps:

1. Disconnect your Zune from USB and AC power sources.
2. Because the player is frozen, its battery will drain—this is good. Wait until the battery is empty and the screen goes black. If the battery was fully charged, this might take a couple of hours.
3. Wait until after noon GMT on January 1, 2009 (that’s 7 a.m. Eastern or 4 a.m. Pacific time).
4. Connect your Zune to either a USB port on the back or your computer or to AC power using the Zune AC Adapter and let it charge.

Once the battery has sufficient power, the player should start normally. No other action is required—you can go back to using your Zune!

Let’s see if this really works. Good luck to all that’s affected.

[ Zune.net ]

Apparently at 12am, any Zune 30 that had been updated with the most current firmware just stopped working. Mind you, I own a Zune 120 but even so, this might affect my Zune as well.

The following sites are covering the story as it develops:

Engadget: [ 30GB Zunes Mysteriously Begin to Fail ]
Gizmodo: [ All Together Now!: 30GB Zunes Failing All At Once ]

I’ll update this post as I receive updates too. Two friends, two dead Zunes. All hail the Zune-ocalypse!

And on the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to the Music Lover:

I’ve already written about the Mint Digital Music Station 220 here before at RTL; it remains one of my favorite little things ever. It can dock and charge up your Apple iPod or iPhone while playing tunes that are on it. And if you’re anything like me, you probably have a sizable MP3 collection that resides on your main PC.

You’re in luck. With the Mint USB wireless transmitter, you can listen to whatever streams on your PC directly on the Mint 220 up to 45 feet away via their Mint Di-Fi™ technology - which means honestly that your music will stream over the air without any loss of quality whatsoever. Read the rest of this entry »

TORONTO, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ — iPod touch 2G owners now have their
choices of fun, fashion and function to guard their beloved touch: the iSkin
touch Vibes and iSkin touch Duo.

The iSkin touch Vibes delivers the complete protective benefits of a
durable soft case, adds an ultra-clear screen film and protective docking port
insert, and wraps it up in a rich color finish lightly accented with a unique
inner pattern that shimmers. The result is everyday protection against
everyday hazards in a fun, stylish and fashionably aware bodyguard. Also
featuring an included adapter for the Apple Universal Dock, the iSkin touch
Vibes is available in Reflex (blue), Blaze (red), Carbon (black), Rave
(purple) and Pure (clear), and retails now at http://www.iskin.com for $29.99 US.

ATLANTA, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ — With the release of the newest iPod
Touch and iPod Nano this week, Case-mate has you covered with Clear Armor.
Protect your newest gadgets with the world famous Case-mate Clear Armor for
the new iPod Touch and iPod Nano.

Originally created to protect Apache Helicopter blades from sand damage in
Desert Storm, this high grade protective film is incredibly resilient. In
fact, this is the same film used to protect cars around the world from
scratches, dings, and road debris.

Installation is easy. Simply remove the film from the backing, spray it
with the included solution to moisten it, and position it on your phone.
Smooth the bubbles out and let it dry. This film will protect your iPod Nano
and iPo…

Link to the original article…

Apparently CNET’s UK division got their hands on the impressive looking iRiver Spinn MP3 and PMP player with the unique AMOLED - Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode, feel free to read more about that technology from here.

Anyway, CNET’s description has me drooling even more over this player:

Rather than only giving the unbelievably crisp 84mm AMOLED screen superb touch-sensitive navigation, iRiver has innovated a new type of input method in the form of a mechanical scroll wheel in the top-right corner. Spinning this — hence the name — scrolls through menu items, both horizontally and vertically depending on the menu you’re in, and can be clicked down to select.

It works well, although at times it’s a little touch sensitive, and it takes a short while to get used to. We actually found that we did half our navigation with the wheel, and half with our finger on the touch-screen.

And never have we seen a screen so crisp and so bright. Images are stunning; videos are smooth and sharp. In fact, in the video menus, moving thumbnails are used to illustrate listed videos, and there’s enough detail given by the screen to make this look damn impressive.

While it’s not perfect - comments about the touch being too sensitive, it’s definitely something that has me wanting to get one ASAP.

Read and see more over at Crave/CNET UK.

My hate for wires still continues - feel free to read my other rant about wires right here. Enter the Digital Signature Mint 220.

Coming in under $180.00 USD, it offers:

• The Mint 220 Digital Music Station offers the highest fidelity digital audio, using Texas Instruments’ PurePath Digital audio amplification for optimal performance.
• Wireless 2.4GHz lossless audio streaming from your Mac or PC with the included Mint USB Wireless Transmitter
• Mint’s Di-Fi™ digital-sound is delivered from your PC or Mac wirelessly, with no loss of fidelity, up to 45 feet or 15 meters
• Careful craftsmanship, acoustic engineering and sealed enclosure design offer precise audio usually found only in much pricier systems
• Two 3.5” full-range Peerless® transducers for big speaker sound and compact, mini-speaker versatility.

What catches my eye is Di-Fi™. I’ve heard of wi-fi, just like everybody else… but Di-Fi is a promise that your already compressed mp3 music - or the uncompressed FLAC type(s) of music filetypes - will sound just as good over the air as it does in your headphones.

Hop down to your local Best Buy or hit up the MintDS (Mint Digital Signature) website for more information.

I hate wires. I really do. They just get in the way, trip you up, might be used to strangle you if you have enemies… ok. I just don’t like wires too well. Enter the Mint 300…

Digital Signature has accomplished these goals by creating advanced digital acoustic designs built using top grade components sourced all over the world. Powered by digital amplification control and wireless transmission techniques created by Digital Signature, the Mint Digital Music Stations offer audiophile sound at an unheard of price. Digital Signature has branded this new approach to audio quality, Di-Fi™.

Digital Signature’s newest system, The Mint 300 Digital Music Station delivers top performance – with >100 dB signal/noise ratio and <0.1% total harmonic distortion – in a package that includes speakers, amplifier with an iPod dock/charger, USB 2.4 GHz transmitter and remote for less than $350 MSRP.

At this price the Mint 300 is the only system that not only promises audiophile performance with iPod docking and charging, but also lossless, plug and play wireless streaming connectivity to Mac or PC for all of your digital sound. A remote control offers the final component of wireless freedom, making the Mint 300 as easy to use as it is to set up.

Not bad at all. I wonder how this competes against the Logitech Squeezebox Duet and other solid iPod audio offerings.

Click here to read more…

Due to the wild success of Sennheiser’s upgrade program, the high-end German headphone manufacturer has relaunched the trade-in program with several enhancements. The cash back offer now includes wired AND wireless headphones of all sizes:

• Audiophile headphones
• Wireless headphones
• Hi-Fi headphones
• Portable headphones
• Sport headphones
• Noise cancelling headphones

Yep. You can even trade earbuds for $50 bucks off of the mighty HD 650.

Even better, the program has been extended to the end of September 2008 to include summer travel and back-to-school shopping.

From now through September 30, 2008, upgrade to a high quality pair of Sennheiser’s and they will give you cash just for unloading the old ones…even if they are broken, crusty, damaged or an obscure brand. Best of all, you’re likely to find a better type of headphone for your needs than what a stock earbud can provide: sport headphones, in-ear headphones, noise cancelling headphones and more.
Here’s how it works:

Gather up your old headphones, which can be new, old, broken, used, any brand – they don’t care!
Upgrade to a pair of Sennheiser’s (see link below for eligible models)
Mail the old headphones E-Z trade form and get $$ for your trade. It’s really that easy.

Seriously… I might have to take advantage of this myself. Find out more at Sennheiser USA.

This thing looks like it’ll not only play music, but I’m willing to bet that Disney’s lawyers are probably frothing at the mouth on this one. Despite the Mickey Mouse-ish looks, this 1gb mp3 player sports the typical MP3 abilities and doubles as a cute reminder of the pending lawsuit around your neck.

Honestly though? It’s quite inexpensive and could make a very fine gift to a niece or somebody that will not mind that it’s something that isn’t exactly endorsed by Disney.

Heck… why didn’t Disney think of this one beforehand anyway? Here’s the specs anyway:

Such blue mouse look design MP3 players offer great sound, ease of use, and high quality sound with virtually. With 1GB memory capacity that you can download enough favourite songs you like. Designed with necklace earphone for more convenient to carry wherever on go. Built-in Rechargeable Li-ion Battery can be up to 3-4 hours Continuous MP3 playback.

Not bad for about $18.00 USD. Thanks for the tip Anyer! Read more about it here.

As a present owner of a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, I found this news to be real interesting.

ReQuest, the preeminent manufacturer of hard disk music servers and server-based whole-house media systems, has released a version 4.6 update to its Serious Play™ Media Manager software for the company’s full range of music servers, the N.Series, F.Series, and S.Series models, as well as the iQ Intelligent Media Server whole-house system. Serious Play 4.6 delivers significantly improved Media Manager performance, and incorporates several important new capabilities. Most prominently, it delivers an exclusive new Classical Mode and makes ReQuest’s unparalleled Freedom handheld wireless touchscreen controller available to every ReQuest system owner.

In addition to the Freedom touchscreen wireless controller, which runs on Nokia’s inexpensive N800 handheld tablet.

Read more at the ReQuest website.

Let’s face it. Not everybody can use or even wants an iPod. Shock. Horror.

It usually means that you have to install iTunes in order to sync up your music, and if you’re not careful you will download the Quicktime + iTunes download as well. The current iPod out of the box does not have the ability to listen to FM radio nor can you use stereo Bluetooth headphones. Sure, you can download YamiPod instead of iTunes. You can get the Jabra A125s Bluetooth Adapter for the iPod to enable stereo bluetooth/a2dp headset compatibilty.

Enter the Insignia 4gb Pilot. It plays video, mp3, has a built-in FM receiver and supports stereo bluetooth from the very beginning. And it’s about 20 bucks cheaper than the iPod nano. Sports a 2.4 inch screen, has support for Real Audio’s Rhapsody music store.

Oh yeah… it also accepts SDHC chips as well. So slam in another 8gb SDHC card for even more memory for songs.

So why not pick one up for your Apple hating significant other for Christmas. And the cool thing, if you need to, buy it online, choose in-store pickup, and Best Buy will have your order ready in 45 minutes or so.

Last minute holiday buyers rejoice…

Even though the color just doesn’t do me any justice, I thought that I’d share some cool headphone news and an Amazon and TigerDirect exclusive for a very good cause… the copy and paste is below:

Music enthusiasts can now enjoy renowned sound quality while also supporting an important cause close to many hearts: through the end of May 2008, audio specialist Sennheiser Electronic Corporation is offering a bubblegum-pink version of the best-selling CX 300 ear-canal headphone via select retailers to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

$8.99, or 10%, of the MSRP for each limited-edition CX 300-Pink—the vibrant variant of Sennheiser’s popular CX 300 ear-canal headphones—will be donated directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The organization strives to cure breast cancer at every stage and is made up of both survivors and activists.

Like the CX 300, the new CX 300-Pink seals off ambient noise with comfortable ear adapters, which come in three different sizes for a perfect seal. The powerful bass-driven headphones are a must for music lovers and are an ideal complement for virtually any portable music and gaming device.

The CX 300-Pink is available now exclusively at Amazon.com and TigerDirect.com with an MSRP of $89.95.

And more about Susan G. Komen:

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure
The organization has regional affiliates in 125 cities and communities and is the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network of its kind. For more information, visit the Susan G. Komen website.