One of the things that Microsoft is being praised for is the Zune player and the many Zune downloads that are available for the small and capable machine. The Zune player has many fans in the form of end-users and content providers.

User Reviews – Although it has been criticized as a machine that has a learning curve when it comes to use, it is definitely a lovable machine when people find out just how much content is available to them for a minimal price. But just what is available to the public when they invest in a Zune Player?

Music

It is primarily a music player. This is why it’s not much of a surprise to see that there are millions of songs available in a format that is best suited for the Zune. Sites like the Microsoft Zune Marketplace offer some of the best tracks in the world from many celebrated musicians.

People can download an unlimited amount of songs from the site for a minimal price per month, just a little under $15 to be exact. The music downloads are various in that different genres of music are available for download from Pop to Country, HipHop, Classical, Instrumental, Heavy Metal, etc. You name the genre, it’s sure to be available.

Radio – Another thing about the Zune player is that if you are tired of listening of the music that you just downloaded, you can always switch on the FM radio player that is built into the device and surf your local stations. Now that is a feature that everybody can agree with.

Movies

Are you a movie buff or a TV show fan? Zune content providers also have this kind of content available for your player. Also, the content is optimized to play on Zune players already so you don’t have to worry about converting the material to a specific format unless you are making your own downloads off of your PC.

Movie Genres – Movies are also available in different genres such as Drama, Suspense, Romance, Comedy, horror, Science, etc. Hit TV shows are fast becoming popular downloads as well. The movie playing feature is something that the Zune is famous for and a 30 gig player is enough to keep your hunger for video at bay.

Games

Music and movies aren’t all that Zune can offer. Believe it or not, but you can also play games on your Zune. There are many Zune downloads that are available and there are also different kinds of games. You can find games in categories such as Strategy, Role Playing, Action, Puzzle, Eductional, and Sports formats. These are all specially designed to run off of your Zune player.

Software

Microsoft is all about the best softwares. Zune is no exception. People can download virus protection software, adware and spyware protection, typing software, business software, and most importantly Zune converter software that will help one make their own downloads. There are many software options to choose from and this makes the player a truly capable multimedia device for Zune downloads.

Being a Mom with teenage kids, naturally I wanted to break into the iphone world to fit into the modern category. Not to admit, that is was great way to keep in touch with the kids and stop the excuses of “gee Mom you weren’t home when I called”.

Having said that, it didn’t take long before I could see why everybody just has to have an iPhone. These gadgets are amazing. Being an “all or nothing person”, not only did I have to have the iPhone I had to have whatever bells and whistles I could find. So while surfing the net to see what add ons there were, I came across the iPhone DVD. Now this really seemed intriguing. After reviewing all the information that was available I came to some conclusions.

What I Like About It: First of all I was shocked to see just how much one could download onto such a tiny little item. Having a basic knowledge of computers, I knew what their capabilities were, but I had no idea of the capabilities of the iphone.

The next impressive information I came across was that there was a company that had actually compiled a vast amount of information into one simple DVD, that I just would need to download. I proceeded to see exactly what was on this DVD, fully expecting that I wouldn’t have any use for the majority of it. To begin with I knew I wanted the ring tones.

I was getting sick of hearing the same ones all the time. If you were in a crowd and an iphone rang three different people would go to answer their phone. So the Iphone DVD had me attracted to this feature, although I wouldn’t need 30,000 of them. Then there was the wallpapers they would come in handy. To my surprise there were lots of things on this DVD that I was looking forward to having.

The more I read the more I knew I wanted it. My biggest drawback, was not wanting to get to the bottom of the page, where the cost of it would be. I pretty well figured it would be beyond my budget. Needless to say, when I finally did get the courage to look, and found out that sale price was less than $30. it didn’t take long for me to place an order.

What I Didn’t Like About It: It probably seems like I have said so many good things about the Iphone DVD, there is nothing left to be said. Well there’s just a few things I didn’t care for. The biggest issue was the adult content that kept showing during the advertisement.

My personal opinion was, that perhaps this could have been advertised a little more discreetly. Maybe it could have had a hit button to take individuals to another landing page that was interested in that segment.

Summary: Naturally you can see how impressed and excited I am about this product. I would recommend it for any age groups of teen on up provided some segments could be excluded. The one thing I need to research further is segments that I would deem inappropriate for young teens can be blocked somehow. If so these would make great Christmas or Birthday gifts for the teens..

WOW! How can you choose? The long awaited release of the Apple iPhone 3G, with it’s open support for third party applications, showered us with hundreds of new choices in iPhone software and iPhone applications. The iTunes App Store opened with over 500 authorized applications. They ran the gamut from just fun stuff to business to travel to the weather to highly scientific applications and everything else in between. And that was just opening day! New iphone applications are being developed and released as we speak. So picking the top 4 iPhone software and applications is a tough call. But we’ll give it a go, just so you’ll be in the know about the latest!

Our Top Pick is an entire set of iPhone software and iPhone applications all on one DVD. It’s the ultimate entertainment package from TheiPhoneDVD. How anyone ever got this much stuff into one DVD is a feat in itself, but it works! And you get to enjoy the results of their hard work. Check it out:

You get the best software on the market today to convert your DVD movies to your iPhone. Converting your movies is quick and easy with their one-touch graphical interface. It just cannot get any easier than this. You can convert your entire library of DVD movies to iPhone movies in record time. Need a break? Watch your favorite movies right on your iPhone.

Another software on The iPhone DVD solves your dilemma regarding how to unlock your iPhone safely, legally, and without having to use AT&T for your carrier if you don’t want to. Using this iPhone software, you can connect to any mobile carrier service you desire.

The iPhone DVD also carries the largest collection on the planet of iPhone wallpapers, ringtones, graphics, animations, sound effects, and video clips. With this package, your days of being bored even for a minute are in the past.

Put some pizazz into your life with The iPhone DVD!

Our next 3 Top Picks are some of the new iPhone applications from the iTunes App Store.

One of the newest rages on the Net is Twitter. People all over the world are following each other on Twitter, and getting a big kick out of it. Therefore, Twitterific is our top pick from the iTunes App Store. With this iPhone application you can continue your twittering right from your iPhone!

Another fun iPhone application from the iTunes App Store is PhoneSaber. This cool application turns your iPhone into a light saber. You even get sound effects! Enjoy the fun and excitement of Star Wars wherever you may roam with PhoneSaber.

Our last pick combines the memories of yesteryear with today’s high tech lifestyle. It’s the Rotary Dialer iPhone application from the iTunes App Store. This application turns your iPhone into a rotary dialer. Dial your calls the old-fashioned way, and bring back the good times, with the Rotary Dialer.

So that’s your Top 4 iPhone software and applications.

All we hear about is how to conserve energy or at least make the energy we do use more “green”.
Apparently on the gadget news front, Apple applied for patents on technology recently. There is or has been some research done in recent years in regard to using solar panels to fuel mobile devices and it looks like Apple is the first to put it into play.

I, for one, am surprised that this hasn’t happened much sooner. After listening to a talk radio show over the weekend about the government, oil, and overseas wars, I’m just disgusted that we have had this type of technology available world wide but no one has made use of it thus putting our country in debt to others just for the price of oil. Without sounding conspiratorial, there is more than what we are told when it comes to gas prices and wars over oil country.

But back on topic. If you think about it, there are solar powered calculators. Can’t that same technology be used for our mobile phones and iPods? Apparently it can and thank god someone is trying to use it!

I am sure that most of you out there have a cell phone.  The one thing that I have noticed about mine is that whenever anyone’s phone rings, I check my own.  The reason for that is that my cell phone ringtones that came with the phone are the same as everyone else.  Unless I have the vibrate function, I am forced to check my phone each time any mobile phone in my vicinity rings.  Not only is this frustrating, but it is a complete waste of time.

So, I went to my cell phone provider and asked a sales clerk what I could do to solve my problem.  He was nice enough to direct me to a site that had Sprint ringtones that I could download and change the sound of my ringer.

I tried it out and it worked great – at least most of the time.  You see, there were still times when another person’s phone would ring and I would look at my phone: they must be Sprint customers too.

I looked online and found a couple of sites that would allow me to download MP3 ringtones right to my phone.  In fact, they had a huge selection and I was able to find my favorite song, Eye of the Tiger – and chances are that no one will have it.  Sure I will have to wait and see, but so far, when my phone rings, I know it is mine.

It amazes me that mobile phone technology changes so rapidly.  They can bring out a new phone and it is obsolete within a couple of months.  But they can also bring out updates, new accessories or new software that would make your phone perform better than it did out of the box.  Sometimes I find it hard to keep up.

Take my iPhone for example.  I was one of the first people to get one and it has been great.  You always think that you have the best thing on the market until you check out the latest iPhone news and find out that there are new firmware upgrades, and other new goodies that you are missing.

For example, I learned of some new iPhone accessories – specifically of some new cases on the market that would protect the phone better than the flimsy leather case I have at the moment.  I made sure to order a new aluminum case for my iPhone after learning about its’ availability.

I also try to keep up with the new iPhone games that come out.  Sure, I really bought the phone to use in a practical sense, but it is nice to sit down after a long day and play a game or two to relax.

Perhaps the funniest part about me trying to keep up is this:  no matter how much I try, there is always something new on the horizon.  So, in some respects, trying to keep up is foolish – but I do enjoy it.

I wonder how many people know that it is so much cheaper to import electronics from India than it is to buy them at an electronics store here. In fact, since the first time I bought an India gadget, I don’t think I have purchased anything locally since.

The gadget India website that I order from has high quality products and I have yet to see any problem. It is always shipped promptly and it gets to me in good condition. The best though is the prices I pay for the quality merchandise. I have saved tons by doing it this way.

If someone was interested in learning more or learning what technology is out there right now, sitting in on a forum is a good idea. Before I bought my cell phone (from India), I sat in on a mobile forum and I learned so much. I would suggest this to any first time overseas buyers – just make sure that it will work with your mobile phone provider.

I am starting a home business, selling supplies for iPods. I am young and am still in college and I swear that 90% of the kids at my school own iPods and spend a lot of money on them. I was doing some research on it for my economics class and actually set up a virtual business selling things like the iPod Nano video converter.

I got a really good grade for the project and my teacher told me that I have very good business sense. This got me to thinking that I should do it for real. I know that it is harder to put an actual business together than to do it on paper, but I thought I should take the chance anyway. I talked to all of my friends to see what they wanted most and most of them want iPod Touch converters. I found a wholesaler of these and thought I should try just this one item to start with.

I ordered a shipment of them, enough to sell to my friends, and 100 extra to sell to their friends. I also ordered iPod classic converters because I knew they would sell as well. I am so happy to say that I have been quite a success and have very little inventory left. I am ready to venture into other accessories and my friends are ready for the savings I can give them.

Now, as some of you know, I don’t drive the newest vehicle on the block.  Seriously, if you were born after 1992, chances are my car is older than you.  One of the interesting things about owning an older vehicle is that they tend to develop strange quirks that surprise you.

For example, I can remember a mini-van that I drove that you could not use the power windows in the rain.  Was that a safety feature?  I think not.  My car’s quirks are mostly tolerable, that is all except for one.

You see, at the end of winter last year, my stereo was acting up.  Unless it was very cold and had the rear defrost on, the stereo would not work at all.  Fast forward to this year and it is worse – it will only turn on if you have the car running for about an hour.

Now, instead of fixing it, or trying to figure out what the problem is, I have devised a solution.  While I was looking at some iPod Shuffle accessories at a store one day, I happened upon some iPod car speakers – all I have to do is plug them into the lighter socket.

So, before I go to bed each night, I make sure to hook up my iPod to the computer and it is all charged up for my ride to work.  Change never sounded so good…

Now, it is with great dismay that I need a new mobile phone.  You see, my son decided to wash my phone in the toilet, and it doesn’t work anymore.  So, with my addiction to cell phones unsatisfied, I decided to look at some phones and pick one as the replacement.

I never realized the number of cheap mobile phones on the market.  From holding them and trying them out, I quickly realized they were not all created equal.  Some felt like toys, others like rocks, and some of them felt really cheap.

Out of all of them, the Sony Ericsson W580i seemed to have the most promise.  It was definitely a step up from my old phone, it could even function as an mp3 player.  I also found the shuffle feature of the w580i to be pretty neat – at the flick of my wrist I could change the song.

In the end, the Sony became my replacement.  I will just have to be more careful not to leave this one where my son can get it – I don’t want to buy another phone for a long time.