Thanks to a firmware update, Microsoft addressed some of the little niggles in the Zune HD. Matt Miller upgraded his device to version 4.3 and sees a fair number of positive changes:

• Faster web browser
• Option in browser for desktop or mobile sites
• Predictive text in the keyboard
• Auto capitalization
• Larger landscape keyboard
• Toggle between seek or presets for radio
• Support for future 3D games
• Other minor updates and improvements, not specifically identified

The above video — which is ironically silent showing off an audio device — offers a glimpse of what Matt is seeing after his update. The predictive text and keyboard enhancements alone are worth the free price of admission for the upgrade.

Shazam is an app for the iPhone/ iPod Touch that is so cool it is one of the first things you show off to friends. Its function is simple, the technology behind it definitely not. What Shazam does is identify songs by listening to them. You hear a song on the radio in your car and you want to know what it is so you fire up Shazam on the iPhone. It listens for a few seconds and then tells you the song, the artist, and even offers you a one-click purchase of the song.

Shazam has been one of the best free apps for the iPhone since early in the iPhone product life.  That changes with the introduction of Shazam Encore, a pay per view listen version that removes all limits from the free version. Specifically the free version of Shazam now limits you to 5 tags per month, and the Encore version offers unlimited tags. You’ll pay $4.99 at the App Store for that unlimited tagging in Shazam Encore, but you’ll also get these features:

• Improved speed performance: making it even quicker for users to tag tracks and learn more about their music.
• Music recommendations: users can discover other music similar to the track that’s been tagged to enhance their music collection and knowledge.
• Find what’s hot and popular: Shazam music charts generated by millions of other Shazamers can be accessed to help users keep up to date with the new tracks and players in the music scene.
• Search music: easily find music by artist, album or track from over 8 million songs.
• Drive and Tag: Shazam automatically enters into car mode when the iPhone is placed in an in-car dock to make it simple to discover what’s playing on the radio even when driving.

Note that existing Shazam owners still have unlimited tags, only new customers of the free version have the limit. The $4.99 fee for Shazam Encore is a one-time fee.

I use headsets all the time, mostly Bluetooth headsets for the phone or in-ear buds for good audio pleasure. I rarely use standard earbuds like those that come with the iPhone / iPod because I find them uncomfortable after a while. I find the same to be true for many Bluetooth headsets — they just don’t fit my ears comfortably. That’s why I find the new buds from Yurbuds to be so appealing. It makes a pair of earbuds that is custom fitted to your ears, for only $20.

Custom earbuds are nothing new, professional artists use them all the time. Their buds are extremely expensive and far beyond the reach of us regular folks. Yurbuds, on the other hand, are cheap and aim to provide the same long-term comfort from the expensive type.

The key to the Yurbuds is the fitting process, and they’ve developed a unique way to measure the ears of each customer. It works like this — customers put a regular earbud in the ear and then snap a picture of the ear with the bud in place. Yurbuds have software that can derive measurements and ear shape from the photo. They take their resultant measurements and then make a pair of soft buds that fit that particular ear. The Yurbuds can be slipped onto any regular pair of earbuds for maximum comfort. They can also be used with many Bluetooth headsets. Not too shabby for $20.

Last month I had the pleasure of joining in on Ian Dixon’s Media Center Show. The episode went live this past week and we had a good roundtable on mobile media devices. The “we” in this case included myself and three other knowledge gadget gurus. As the host and a longtime Microsoft MVP, Ian always facilitates and contributes to an informative show from the UK. Jose Ortiz, a fellow gadget blogger covered the west coast of the U.S. Jose is also a frequent commenter here, so it was a treat to meet him. Derek Dunipace, also from the UK, rounded out our quartet and had one of the first early looks at the ARCHOS Internet Tablet with Android.

Most of our focus was on mobile media on various devices, so we hit a wide range of handsets, media players like the new ZuneHD, and other gear. All of us shared what devices we carry and why — my answer was probably the most wishy-washy, simply because I often switch between my iPhone 3GS and my Palm Pre. From a media standpoint, I can get away with that because I have the ability to stream my entire music library to either from a Windows Home Server. That solution ought to work on Derek’s ARCHOS, not to mention most any other mobile device with a browser — it’s digital freedom, baby! Folks interested in mobile media on the go ought to enjoy this show. And I certainly enjoyed having the conversation with three of my peers. Good times!

I was playing with several phones over the weekend and I’ve come to the realization — later than others, I imagine — that I’ve had it with iTunes. Actually, I was already headed down this path a year or two ago. When Amazon opened up their MP3 store, I completely ditched iTunes for music purchases. I had only made about two through Apple, anyway. But ever since I started centralizing music on my Windows Home Server, I’ve come to totally want an iTunes divorce. Of course, the iPhones in our house mean that I’ll have to share joint custody of our handsets with iTunes. I’m thinking of petitioning for limited visitation rights — only when there’s a software upgrade for our phones. Meanwhile, DoubleTwist might be the iTunes replacement I’ve been looking for.

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It didn’t take long after the HTC Hero showed up that I went looking for one of my favorite programs, Pandora. I use Pandora on every gadget I own, from the desktop to all my phones. I knew that the folks at Pandora had produced an Android version — I saw it mentioned all over the place. So I was surprised when Pandora was nowhere to be found in the Android Market.

No worries, I headed to the Pandora Android web site and found that it is indeed out for the Android platform. In fact, the HTC Hero on Sprint is specifically supported.

I figured since it’s not in the Android Market, for some reason I would just follow the other instructions from the Pandora team to get it:

1. Android Market – not there
2. Visit pandora.com from the phone – gets a “device not supported” page
3. Scan barcode – tried a couple of apps, but nothing would scan this code

Well, this is certainly odd. Pandora says it supports the Android platform, but not in any form I can find. Did it ever appear in the Market, and is anybody using it on an Android phone?

Regular readers know that I couldn’t do without Skype. The voice over IP service has been a daily staple in my routine since early 2005. Since I use it so much, I’m a perfect candidate to test out new Skype accessories like the FREETALK Everyman USB headset I have on loan. I was initially skeptical because of the headset’s low, $22.88 price tag. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding. After using the Everyman headset for Skype over the past few weeks, it’s easily worth every penny and then some. Have a quick look — and listen — to the audio quality.

Tomorrow is the official launch day for Microsoft’s ZuneHD, but it’s already on sale in a roundabout way says Engadget. Deal site LogicBuy notes that you can order the new device from Dell and use a 15% off coupon code for either the 16 or 32GB unit. That knocks the prices down to $186.99 and $246.49, respectively if you’re willing to order online and wait for delivery.

When I owned the original Zune, I felt at the time that it had a competitive advantage over Apple’s iPod line. Admittedly, renting music through a subscription service isn’t for everyone, but the experience was worth it to me. In fact, I owned a Zune before I ever owned an iPod — how many people can say that? With another 15% off the price of a ZuneHD, I’m tempted to pick one up, but probably won’t. Had there been no music subscription service that worked in the Apple ecosystem, I would have already ordered a discounted ZuneHD. But Real’s Rhapsody for iPhone app was approved, just as I thought it would be.  For the same $15 a month, I can stream millions of tracks to my current handset without buying a new device.

However, there is at least one benefit that the Zune Pass offers over a Rhapsody-To-Go subscription. Microsoft allows you to download and keep 10 MP3 files each month, so it’s like a music subscription with a free monthly album. Microsoft also wins out for now in two other areas: local storage and sound quality. With the Rhapsody app for iPhone, you can only stream music — meaning that it requires connectivity. With a ZuneHD, you can pull down tracks to store locally and listen while offline. The ZuneHD also supports a higher bitrate than Rhapsody for iPhone — 320kbps for the ZuneHD which easily wins over the lowly 64kbps of Rhapsody’s streaming. While the ZuneHD also includes an HD Radio tuner, these factors still aren’t enough for me to justify a hardware purchase at this point.

That’s just me and my preferences though. And there are various pros and cons to either approach. Is the 15% discount on a ZuneHD enough to get one headed your way? I know that some folks simply can’t pass up a good deal when they see it.

Apple had the big iPod pony show last week while we were in San Francisco for the Mobilize conference. The new iPod Nano was announced that added not only the ability to play video, but also the ability to record video. The Nano is only about $150 (8 GB) so you wouldn’t expect the recorded video quality to be too great, but it’s always good to have a video camera with you when you need to shoot a quick one.

Our friends at NewTeeVee not only got their hands on the Nano right away, but they shot two videos of the little iPod in action. The first is a good overview of the Nano, and the second is a great side-by-side video that compares the quality of the Nano camera with the Flip SD video camera. It’s a great way to get a feel for how good (or lacking) the Nano video recording ability might be. Check it out and see for yourself.

“How do I get ringtones on my Palm Pre?” is a question I continue to see, both in email and in comments. It’s actually quite easy thanks to the Palm Pre’s USB Mode. This morning before heading out to the airport, I grabbed an MP3 file of the ringer used by the fictitious CTU in “24″ from the web. To get the file on my Pre, I simply connected my Pre to a computer with the USB cable. Doing so offers three options: “Just Charge,” “Media Sync” and “USB Mode.”

I tapped USB Mode, which mounts the Palm Pre like any other external drive, which you can see in the screencap. At that point, it’s nothing more than a quick drop and drag of the MP3 ringtone into the Ringtones folder on my Pre. After ejecting and unmounting the Pre, the new ringtone file appears in the Pre’s “Sounds & Ringtones” app. Just select the new ringtone in the list and you’re done! There’s no need to use a third-party app for this on the Pre and the method is supported on all platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux. Once the webOS 1.2 update hits, there might be a way to accomplish the same thing without a computer involved. I’m hoping that MP3 files can simply be downloaded directly via the browser, much like we’ll be able to do with photos.

By the way —  I don’t use the Media Sync feature to get music from iTunes to my Pre, either. I use the same general USB Mode method as above, but I copy the song folders to the Amazon MP3 folder on my Pre. You might be able to put the audio tracks anywhere you want on the Pre, but I like keeping the MP3 files together for easier management.