Jun 23, 2007 (05:06 AM EDT)
The Best iPod Alternatives

Read the Original Article at InformationWeek

In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Credible Alternatives To A Dominant Device
2. Today's Top Story
    - Review: 8 iPod Alternatives
3. Last Week's Highlighted Coverage
    - Review: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Lets You Talk Instead Of Type
    - Dell Won't Preinstall Ubuntu Linux On Small-Business Computers
    - iPhone Frenzy Will Tempt Hackers To Break Apple's Security
4. Eye Candy: Featured Image Galleries
    - Behind The Curtain At Intel Research Day
    - Google's Solar Powered Car
5. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
6. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription

Quote of the day:
"The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing." -- Henry S. Haskins


1. Editor's Note: Credible Alternatives To A Dominant Device

You need to purchase your first portable music player or replace an outdated iPod or MP3 player. The iPod is the only meaningful option to consider, right? If you pay attention solely to market share and media hype, yes, it's pretty much an all-iPod world. But that's not the whole story.

There are indeed meaningful alternatives worth considering, and in today's featured coverage, we look at eight of them. While some of those we analyze don't quite measure up to the exceptional quality of the iPod, reviewer Don Reisinger identifies a few that can give Apple's Shuffle, Nano, and video lines a run for their money. Please share any compelling alternatives you've used in the comments section of the article.

In other reviews coverage, Michael Greene goes voice-on (as opposed to hands-on) with Nuance Communications' Dragon NaturallySpeaking. His assessment is mostly upbeat. In part, he reports: "For those unable to use their hands due to physical disabilities or limited by extremely poor typing skills, Dragon can be a lifesaver, providing a gateway toward full computer productivity." He adds: "...expect to see a rapidly expanding array of phone-based voice-recognition capabilities to input text, purchase products, search for information and access self help services on the growing mobile Web." The product's speech recognition accuracy will impress technophiles, he notes.

Tom Smith
tasmith@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com


2. Today's Top Story: Music Players

Review: 8 iPod Alternatives
IPods are the market leaders in media players today -- but are they necessarily better than their competitors? We look at eight iPod alternatives and decide whether you should go Apple or not.


3. Last Week's Highlighted Coverage

Review: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Lets You Talk Instead Of Type
The latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking offers excellent voice-recognition features for those who can't, or don't want to, use their keyboard.

Dell Won't Preinstall Ubuntu Linux On Small-Business Computers
The computer maker will sell only the hardware and let small-business customers install the open-source operating system themselves.

iPhone Frenzy Will Tempt Hackers To Break Apple's Security
Security researchers at IBM admire the iPhone's apparent security but note it will suffer from its fair share of attacks.


4. Eye Candy: Featured Image Galleries

Behind The Curtain At Intel Research Day
Intel researchers show off prototypes of advances in chips, mobile computing, and tera-scale computing.

Google's Solar Powered Car
Photos taken at a solar-powered car event hosted by Google and Pacific Gas and Electric.


5. Get More Out Of InformationWeek

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