Tomorrow is Free Music Friday, well, if you're a Vodafone customer it is.

Vodafone is marking the release of unlocked tracks on it's music store by offering eight songs for free! Eight whole freaking songs!

Want to see the songs? Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake - Love Sex Magic; Daniel Merriweather - Change; Lady GaGa - Poker Face; Lily Allen - Not Fair (Style Of Eye remix); Pixie Lott - Rolling Stone; Simple Minds - Rockets; Tinchy Stryder feat N-Dubz - Number 1; Clubbers Guide 2009 Mixtape.

Awesome yes? What a reward for Vodafone's loyal customers. Finally, you'll be able to listen to song's you've, you know - bought, on whatever you like, not just your phone. And to celebrate that momentous victory of consumer over company, you can listen to Dappy and his buddies making raps and what have you.

That is what you do isn't it - make a rap? I mean rap isn't a verb, unless you're rapping someone across the knuckles - surely...surely!

Vodafone clearly hasn't realized since Spotify appeared everyday is Free Music day.

As a mark of protest can everyone on Vodafone please download all eight songs and then delete them.

Vodafone: Why. Even. Bother.

Philips has launched the wallet-friendly MP3 (et al) player known as the GoGear Opus. We saw a little something of the 8GB/16GB device - well Zara did - out in Lisbon and now we hear it allows you to pay downloaded BBC iPlayer content too. Nice touch.

The Zune HD will be launched in the US on 5th September according to Microsoft guru Paul Thurott.

But as the American launch edges palpably closer, a UK launch is beginning to seem impossible rather than improbable.

The Zune's HD radio wouldn't work in the UK where we use DAB and the ZunePass music subscription service, used in the US, is none-existent in Europe.

Pipe smoking, tech high-brow, Jack Schofield writes on Guardian.co.uk, "Sony is already offering much better sound quality than Apple, OLED screens, built in FM radio and better file support at reasonable prices. Admittedly it still has to re-educate a market that still thinks Sony supports ATRAC and requires horrible SonicStage software, but that's probably an easier job than establishing the Zune brand from scratch."

Which he's right about. Well, the Zune thing, not the iPod thing: The sound quality on Sony Mp3 players is simply not any better than the iPod's. That's just not true. The thing that has made the iPod successful is how seamless it is. From it's beautiful design, across every device and generation, to its amazingly simple and balanced UIs and a sound quality that's as good as any personal media player out there.

That's what has made the iPod ubiquitous, it's simplicity. And that simplicity isn't something Microsoft has ever been good at (ie... Vista). That being said, I'd be sad not to see the Zune HD launched here in some form, purely because it looks like a good product. I'm sick of these US only products. What have they done to deserve them? I want the Kindle 2 and Zune HD on these shores by the end of the year - got it.

(Via SlashGear)

Microsoft has announced the arrival of the Zune HD, portable media player. The new Zune will aim to be a web surfing, digital radioing, multi-touch screened thorn in the side of the smug iPod touch.

Boasting a yummy 3.3 inch OLED screen (with 16:9 ratio) and HDMI output, it looks like Microsoft are finally getting serious about taking on Apple's iPod, although no comment was made as to the capacity or pricing of the new Zune.

You'll be able to use the Zune to watch 720p HD video on your HDTV too, which is pretty neat. But looking at the release pictures, it doesn't look like the Zune is going to rival the iPod in the sexyness stakes. Although an improvement on the original Zune which was undeniably hideously proportioned, the new Zune is still far from sexy.

Think of it as going from Nora Battie to Sonia Jackson - it's only a bit better.

Microsoft might have done better by spending all the money they've splashed on developing the Zune HD trying to tempt Jonathan Ive to go over to the dark side. Sorry, did I say dark side, I meant Microsoft, easy mistake to make.

(Via TechTree)

Intro

Apple's iPod touch has some serious rivals in the form of the Sony Walkman X Series and Samsung P3 PMPs.

Which one stacks up as the best for music, video, and all round appeal? Read on as the Tech Digest guide pits these mighty touchscreen handsets against one another.

Battle of the Specs: Feature Comparison

Let's leave aside fanboy love for Apple and Sony (does Samsung have fanboys too? I'm not sure) and take a look at how the main features stack up.

This is top-of-the-line stuff. If you want detailed specifications you'd better skip to the end of the page.

Display

For pure real estate, the iPod touch trumps both the Walkman X Series and the P3, with a 3.5-inch display compared to just 3-inch for the others.

However, when it comes to aspect ratio, the Samsung's screen is 16:9 -- perfectly suited for widescreen video -- whereas the Sony has a rather bizarre 9:5 aspect ratio and the touch 3:2.

That means, in raw resolution terms, the touch (480 x 320) trumps the P3 (480 x 272) which trumps the X Series (432 x 240).

Having said all that, Sony's screen is based on OLED technology for a much brighter, crisper display than the other two handsets.

It used to be a fairly obvious choice if you wanted a high end MP3 player. Like them or not, Apple seemed to be making all the good looking ones. Then along comes CES 2009 and suddenly we have two contenders in the form of the Samsung P3 and the one that hits the shelves today - the Sony Walkman X Series as modelled by Zara.

There's no denying the specs of the thing but the reflection and smudge factor on that screen could be an issue in the sunlight after a good thumbing. We all like a good thumbing.

The price is also depressingly in line with the iPod Touch, so keep an eye out for the P3. That's my tip.

X Series on Amazon

There's been some degree of toing and froing regarding the launch of the Microsoft Zune HD or Project Pink and after some excitement it seems there will be no Zune in June. In fact, there's a very good chance that we won't see the this cult PMP get a refresh until 2010. I know one man who'll be shedding tears tonight. (not me, honest.)

What has been rescued from the barrel of circumspect are some pretty solid looking details for something known as the Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1 which is apparently what has been driving all the Pink rumours. Detailed spec list over virtual leaf...