The long running dispute over proposals to slap a levy on digital audio devices such as MP3 players and iPods has reached boiling point this week in Brussels, as the EU Internal Market Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy called for a forum to resolve the problem.

The issue surrounds the fact that because MP3 players and other digital audio players can be used to pass recordings easily from peer to peer, artists are losing out on revenue. The proposal is to place a tax on the MP3 players themselves so that the music labels can recoup some of the lost earnings.

Some of the big electronics manufacturers such as Philips, Nokia and HP are pitted against the authorities who are responsible for collecting the levy.

McCreevy wants to diffuse the ‘passion’ from the discussions and instead wants a forum to calmly debate the issue and to finalise a decision going forward.

McCreevy stated:

It’s time the parties speak to each other directly. I have a simple wish, I would like this hearing to be the start of a process through which the main partners can sit down and calmly discuss a number of issues.

According to the EU, the levy, which already exists in some EU states, raised 400 million Euros in 2007. The levy was introduced in the 1960s for blank recording formats such as cassette tapes, but has been changed to include other media such as blank CDs and Mini Discs over the years.

Currently the UK is one of the countries where there is no levy on MP3 players. If the levy is extended to the UK you can expect the cost to be passed onto the consumer at the point of sale.

As we recently reported, crimes against youths carrying gadgets are on the up in the UK. Out of those crimes, theft of mobiles phones and MP3 players are among the most common. Last week a 22-year-old man in Reading was mugged in the street for his wallet and his iPod.

The muggers attacked the man, punching him in the face as he listed to his iPod, before stealing it and fleeing.

The incident happened on Palmerstone Road, Earley, in Reading. The man was listening to music as he made his way along the road, before three men attacked him.

One of the attackers was white, aged 20-25 and was 5ft 11ins - 6f. He punched the man in the face, resulting in him needing stitches in his lip. There were no descriptions released of the other two attackers.

Loddon Valley police force’s Stuart Keys said:

I am keen to speak to anyone who was in this area of Earley in the early hours of Thursday or anyone who saw three men acting suspiciously in the area.

We are carrying out house to house inquiries in the area and posting witness leaflets through doors.

This trend of theft against youths for their MP3 players and iPods is becoming more and more common, so anyone using a portable digital media player in the street should be careful and be on the lookout.

We all know the iPod is the most successful portable digital audio player on the market today. Apple saw that gap years before anyone else and dominated it with a great product and a slick marketing campaign, now the other companies, Sony included, are just playing catch-up.

Apple though are not resting on their well padded laurels, they’re increasing production of the iPod product, ready to enforce their grip on the market.

Capital Market analyst Craig Berger has recently completed a check on Apple’s products and their NPD sales data. Berger found that Apple are actually decreasing production of their Mac line, but are increasing production of the iPod.

The production of iPods has increased by 15% since March as the iPod Shuffle has accounted for most of the extra units. Meanwhile the iPod Nano and the iPod Classic have witnessed a small boost in production. Production of the iPod Touch has fallen however, which Apple believes is due to the consumer waiting for the new 3G phones.

Mac production has fallen by an equal 15%, showing the shift in emphasis from Macs to iPods for Apple.

The iPhone has seen a slight decrease in production, but just like the iPod Touch this is largely due to the new 3G version that is expected later this year.

Cruise holidays have always been very popular, especially with the older generation. One thing they all tend to have in common though is that they’re usually very expensive. If you’re planning on a trip aboard a cruise ship, expect to pay a princely sum.

With the money spent though comes the perks, and each season new perks come into play, with WiFi being one of the more recent developments. However now some cruise companies have come up with the notion of offering iPods to its guests.

These iPods come fully laden with music and tour information about the locations they’re visiting, meaning they make excellent guide companions as well.

Each cruise line has its own take on the iPod incentive.

For example, Holland America Line is offering an iPod that comes equipped with information about the ship they’re travelling on. Meanwhile Princess Cruises offers an iPod that is loaded with relaxation music so that the guests can take it easy in their spas and relaxation areas.

Some cruise lines are actually using podcasts on the iPods they hand out so that guests can learn more about the destinations they’re visiting.

Solar powered MP3 players have existed before, though they’ve not exactly been the most successful items in the portable digital audio market. However that might all change very soon as Apple, the biggest player in the MP3 player game, looks to capitalise on solar power for its iPod and iPhone products.

If Apple are doing it, it’ll be a success. How could it not?

This would mean that iPod and iPhone users could recharge their devices by leaving them out in the sun, instead of plugging them in or using their USB.

A patent for a unique technology that allows for a layer of solar cells to be fitted in the iPhone, just under the touch screen, has been filed by Apple.

This will make the iPhone truly portable as it won’t ever require plugging in again.

The problem with adding solar cells to MP3 players in the past has always been the fact that they’ve had little room for them after the buttons and the screen have been taken into account. Placing the cells under the touch screen will negate this problem and allow Apple to maximise their technology.

This means that the whole glass section of the iPhone, 2.4 x 4.5 inches, would be a solar panel.

This also means that the battery time of the two devices would be drastically improved, making it better for the environment and better for the end user.

Just as the first ever MP3 player came out of Korea, the newest evolution in the field of portable audio players also comes out of Korea. The new MT9 from the Korean company Audizen is a six-channel format that promises to give the listener far more control over how they listen to their music.

For example, you could mute the audio and create a karaoke track out of any of your music tracks.

With a conventional MP3 player you can control the EQ and the balance which gives you limited control over the way the music sounds, but the new MT9 will afford the listener the ability to adjust the volume of six individual audio tracks, which can contain separate instruments and lyrics.

The plan is to have separate sliders on the MP3 player to control aspects such as the voice track, the guitar, bass, drums, sound effects etc.

While still in the development stage, the concept is sound and the standards body who control audio and video standards will convene in Germany in June to discuss the format.

There are already some albums in the MT9 format for sale in Korea for just $2 per album. If the format does work and take off it will take time for a full rollout because every album will need to be remastered.

The MP3 player has proved one of the most popular and successful technologies of the last decade, proving as much of a hit with teens as with adults.

However, recent trends have suggested that the MP3 player, including Apple’s all-powerful iPhone, could be losing popularity with consumers. One of the telling factors could be the fact that prices are on the decline, which usually points to a down turn in consumer demand. Married together with slower sales and the future could be bleak for the MP3 player.

This applies to the iPod as well, which at one time stood toe-to-toe with the Mac as a serious rival for Apple’s most popular product. It too has seen sales on the decline.

Ross Rubin, an analyst for market research company NPD Group, says about the MP3 player market:

Has slowed down a bit, there’s a strong argument for saturation

The problem seems to have stemmed from the fact that new technological advances such as video players and Wifi features added to newer MP3 players have yet to convince the majority of existing MP3 player users to upgrade their devices.

The main problem seems to be with mobile phones, particularly Apple’s iPod, as the features contained on them are catching up fast, in some cases surpassing, those found on MP3 players.

The same thing happened with the PDA some years ago. Consumers realised that there was little need for an expensive PDA when everything it could do, could be done on a mobile phone, for a fraction of the cost; and in many cases for free with a contract.

What the MP3 player does have to its advantage over the phone is the storage capacity. Currently they beat any mobile phone with a built in MP3 player hands down, but as technology improves you can expect that gap to close drastically.

What is more likely is that we’ll see a complete amalgamation of all of the portable media devices into one product. MP3, games console, phone, sat nav, all together rolled into one.

It’s only a natural progression. After all, who’d have thought a mobile phone could play music when it was first invested all those years ago?

Young people in Nantwich have the chance to win an iPod Nano on May 29th by volunteering for a free health check in a scheme playfully dubbed ‘Pee for a Pod’.

The heath test is due to take place t the Guy Harvey Youth Club in Nantwich, and is open to both men and women.

The idea is to get young men and women to be tested for the sexually transmitted desease Chlamydia, and they hope that lure of being entered into a prize draw to win an iPod Nano is enough to tempt them.

The youth centre offering the scheme is run buy The Hub @ Connexions, in Crewe.

John Beddows, from Connexions, said:

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted illness in the UK and affects both sexes, although young women are more at risk.

Many people often don’t know they have the infection as they don’t always have symptoms but, if left untreated, Chlamydia can cause infertility so it is very important for individuals to get themselves checked out.

The health test is very simple and completely painless; all people need to do is come along to Guy Harvey Youth Club anytime from 6.30am-9.00pm on May 29 and provide a urine sample.

The test is com-letely free and of course confidential. The number for Connexions is: 01270 251002.

iLuv make accessories for portable audio systems such as MP3 players and iPods. They have just announced the release of two new high def radio players, labelled the i168 and the i169.

As iLove make so many accessories for Apple’s iPod, obviously with these new systems the iPod isn’t forgotten. The i169 radio unit comes equipped with an iPod dock, allowing you to use the high definition radio as an iPod speaker system. It also comes with an alarm clock, meaning you won’t oversleep when you need to get up for work the next day.

The i168 unit just comes with an alarm clock.

Howard Kim, iLuv’s marketing manager said:

HD Radio technology greatly expands AM and FM broadcasting capabilities with crystal-clear digital sound, text on the screen and hundreds of new digital FM channels.

The radio units will be released in the USA as HD Radio really begins to take off, covering 80% of the population. There are currently more than 1,600 radio stations in North America offering high definition radio broadcasts.

The US price for the radios is $169.99 for the i169 and $89.99 for the i168.

Everyone into MP3 and music downloads is familiar with Napster. They’re the company that famously offered the sharing of music on a grand scale, the sort of system that music industry experts feared happing when MP3 was invented. They had a famous and much publicised court case and then returned some time later, all legit.

Now Napster is a proper company, offering a legal service for music downloads.

This Thursday however their shares fell due to analysts lowering their price targets and issuing concerns after their forth quarter reports.

The shares have fallen 16 cents in the past year, 9.5%.

Napster claims their losses have narrowed due to the increased number of subscribers they have picked up and are predicted their first quarter revenue to be just below what the analysts expected.

On Tuesday Napster launched an MP3 music download store, which offers MP3 downloads free of copy protection. This means Napster will now be offering a mix of subscription services and MP3 downloads.

It is feared however that increasing music royalty costs could spell serious trouble for Napster going forward.