Beats Music Service launches on iPhone giving Spotify a run for its money

Earlier this month it was announced that the Beats Music service would be launching on the iPhone on January 21. With January 21 here, the Beats Music service has now officially launched. The music service is available for iPhone users via an app on the App Store.
The app pushes the big features that Beats Music hopes will set it apart from the other music streaming services out there. Beats Music is focusing heavily on customization and curation. One of the big features is called Right Now. It will offer music based on data that the user enters to answer questions.
The data entered includes things like what the user is feeling, what they are doing, whom they are with, and what sort of music genre they want. The feature will then make an endless playlist for the user based on their answers and mood that will play from the songs in the Beats Music database. Reports indicate the question with the most bearing on the playlist is the music genre the user wants with answers on other questions not affecting the playlist much.
The app also offers music recommendations by genre and allows you to find playlists constructed by friends. Another big feature is a curated playlist from what the service claims are music experts from the industry. Beats Music is available now in the US for $9.99 per month. A free 7-day trial is available to let you try it out before you buy.
SOURCE: 9to5mac.com

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SMS Audio Star Wars line eyes-on: 50 Cent goes galactic

Coming completely out of left field with a release of Star Wars headphones - officially licensed and everything - was 50 Cent and SMS Audio. It’s difficult to describe the way this new cross-section of Star Wars headphones looks and feels without being there with them in your own hands, as it were. It’s almost as if they’re made to look like they’re made for children, but continue to impose the possibility of high-end sound - an interesting market to be going after, for sure.

Since we’ve already had a close-up look and listen with this model in is original form - and in pink, if you like - there’s little to be said about the sound quality of the “Street by 50” model of on-ear wired headphones. They sound great - they’re balanced well and are made to be used by the higher-end hobby user. What’s left now is to decide who will be considering owning this particular set of cans, now that they’re branded the way they are.

From afar, these headphones look rather strong. The Boba Fett model - the green one with the leafy logo on the sides - appeals to us the most when glanced upon from a distance. It’s a bit strange seeing these sets up-close, though, as the extra-fat logo blasts of plastic makes the whole set seem a bit less authentic, visually, than we’d like. This is only a first-impression, of course, but for now they seem more like a younger-audience-aimed design than anything.

The full set of “limited edition” Star Wars SMS Audio “Street by 50” model on-ear headphones will be available in Q2 2014 here in the USA. They’ll be appearing with a cool $199.95 USD price-tag, and we’re unaware - at the moment - of how many of each set will be produced. More likely than a limited number of units is the idea that they’ll continue to be produced until SMS Audio’s licensing term with Lucasfilm (owned by Disney) expires.

Also making an appearance this week were a set of Street by 50 on-ear wired headphons in a "Sport Collection." These brightly colored beasts are IPX4 rated for liquid protection and resistance - for sweat, most likely. This new collection also works with OVALFIT perforated leather memory foam around 40mm drivers - these will also be coming in with give color choices soon - orange, yellow, pink, blue, and green with black, all for MSRP $179.99 USD.

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