Dell is developing a pocket-sized Internet device using Google's Android operating system that could take on Apple's iPod touch, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Two people who have seen early prototypes of the device told the newspaper it looks like the touch but is slightly larger. And, like the touch, the device isn't expected to include a phone. The device is considered part of a category of gadgets called 'mobile Internet devices' (MIDs), which are designed to fit into the market between a mobile phone and a laptop or netbook computer.

The device could go on sale as early as the second half of 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal's sources.

Continuing our sporadically added-to series of iTunes guides, here's a collection of four more-than-just-the-basics tips for getting more out of the software -- multiple libraries on single machines, the best uses for Smart Playlists, getting true CD-quality rips from your CD, and tips for getting perfect album art.

Fans of the iPod Touch who felt left out due to last week's launch of the iPhone 3G S, take heart: there’s a new device on the way. In the BlueTool initialization script in the iPhone 3.0 firmware there are mentions of a new iPod Touch called "iPod3,1." Given that the current generation is referred to as "iPod2,1" it would seem to indicate that Apple has a new version in the works.

It's too soon to say what the new iPod Touch will look like or what its feature will be, but rumours point to a camera that takes video as being a likely addition. Other rumours indicate a larger screen, new wireless features, a digital compass, and GPS.

While fans would love to see more iPhone-like functionality in the new device, Apple has to make sure it doesn't give too much away: make the iPod too much similar to the iPhone and it removes much of the reason to buy an iPhone.

Apple's last upgrade to the Touch line came last September, thus it would seem reasonable to assume that the next one would be this coming September. You can be sure more info will slowly come out in the months to come.

Virgin Media and Universal Music are to launch a new UK music download service, offering unlimited access to MP3 downloads from Universal's entire back catalogue -- from the likes of U2, Kanye West, Johnny Cash, Eminem and, er, Lady GaGa -- for a fixed-price subscription.

They have also announced, however, that users caught sharing unlicensed copies of Universal's tunes over Virgin's network could face temporary termination of their Internet connection.

The KEF Concept Blade is a set of enormous one-off speakers engineered to demonstrate the British hi-fi specialist's technical know-how. Developed over a three-year span, these man-size boomboxes are a work of art in both aesthetics and performance.

iriver may not have the same brand recognition as iPod or Walkman, but the Korean company has consistently cranked out portable media players with slick modern designs and impressive graphical interfaces.

The iriver B30 is its latest effort, with a 71mm (2.8-inch) screen, microSD memory expansion, accelerometer control and a suite of features that includes music, video, photo, games and a text reader. The B30 also sports a DMB television tuner, which should mean we can pick up DAB radio on it. Check out a video of someone using the B30 (apparently in a cupboard) after the jump.

Sony has spoken with some of the major recording companies about providing music for the PlayStation Portable, music industry sources have told our sister site, CNET.com.

The sources said the talks are only preliminary and no deals have been struck. But it seems that Sony is considering offering music on the PlayStation Network, the company's nascent multiplayer gaming and digital download service. Such a move could place the PSP in direct competition with other multi-use music players, most notably the iPhone.

Spokespeople from Sony and the big recording labels declined to comment for this story.

Told that Sony was interested in music for the PSP, Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, a financial services company, applauded the idea.

iPhone and iPod users may experience a "small and quick" shock via their earbuds due to a buildup of static electricity, Apple has warned.

People listening to one of the devices in extremely dry air are most at risk of receiving a static electricity shock through the ear buds, according to a warning posted on Apple's Web site. The post likened the condition to the discharge that occurs when a person drags his or her feet across a carpet then gets a shock by touching a door knob.

However, Apple said that this condition did not necessarily indicate that Apple's equipment was malfunctioning.

"This condition is not limited to Apple hardware and static can potentially build up on almost any hardware and could be discharged using any brand of earbuds," Apple said.

This week, Napster announced a new price plan for US customers: $5 (£3.20) per month for unlimited streaming and five MP3 downloads to keep forever, each month. A decent deal, considering songs are a buck a piece ayway. Now we can confirm Napster is planning to bring the same offer to the UK and Germany this year.

Speaking with CNET UK, a Napster spokesperson said that "Following the successful launch of (Napster's) MP3 with on-demand streaming plan in the US, we are trying to launch the service later this calendar year in the UK and Germany." Specific prices weren't mentioned for either country.

The model isn't anything new, however. In the US, Microsoft's $15 (£10) per month Zune Pass subscription service lets Zune customers download and listen to an unlimited amount of music for their Zune. And although that music goes Houdini on your ass should you stop paying, each month you can pick ten to keep forever as MP3s, even if you cancel your subscription.

Goodness, it's been a while since you've seen Nate on video (unless you've been reading GameSpot UK). Lately, in addition to writing Crave stories in the third person, he's been exploring abandoned London Underground stations. And what's more, the one he visited yesterday had a brand-new Sony Walkman X series in it. And one of CNET UK's video crew!

Apple issued a statement on Thursday apologising for allowing the Baby Shaker application on to the iPhone's App Store. The app featured a screaming baby that only quietened down when the phone was vigorously shaken.

Just hours before the App Store offered up its 1 billionth download, Apple was forced to acknowledge that the application was "deeply offensive" and a "mistake". Baby Shaker appeared on the App Store on Monday, and was pulled on Wednesday after strong criticism from the founder of a shaken baby syndrome charity.

"This application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store," the statement said. "When we learned of this mistake, the app was removed immediately. We sincerely apologise for this mistake and thank our customers for bringing this to our attention."

The company refused to comment on the process that led to the approval of Baby Shaker as an iPhone application.

What's your favourite kind of jacket? Bolero, donkey, Nehru or smoking? Crave favours the classic mod-style Harrington, but has now been introduced to the Radiopaq Sound Jacket, which has the added effect of making music sound better.

Bear with us on this one. The Sound Jacket is a metal sleeve that you slot your fourth-gen iPod nano into. The Jacket will then beef up the sound, improving the performance through your headphones or speakers. The Jacket boasts a dock connector in the bottom for hooking the whole shebang up to your speakers -- as long as your dock is the right shape -- or mains operation. With no power supply of its own, the Jacket will draw roughly half of your nano's juice.

Radiopaq is an Internet radio portal we first stumbled across a year ago, with designs on getting into hardware. The Sound Jacket is a nano-specific version of the Sound Mix, an in-line headphone adaptor that boosts the sound of any MP3 player.

We were the first to get pictures of the Sound Jacket when Radiopaq dropped into CNET Towers last week for an exclusive hands-on.

You know those Friday afternoons where you have to sort something out but nobody's really in the mood, and you end up mucking about and choosing which pub to go to, and you make a work decision that seems like a triumph of awesomeness until you have to explain it to the boss on Monday? It sometimes seems to us that being in technology PR must be like that all the time, except the boss always goes, "Great idea! Let's do it." Sounds like the best job in the world. Seriously though, how else to explain this image, promoting the Sony Walkman NWZ-W202?

It's a wearable, wireless MP3 player that clips over your ears like a pair of Bluetooth headsets, or magnetically clip together when at rest. It was at CES 2009 that we first saw the player. Click here for a gag on page two that's totally worth it. We've also got a video of CNET US' Brian Tong wrapping the W around his immaculately coiffeured barnet, if that's your sort of thing.

Sony's done a survey that says people often tangle themselves in their headphones while in the gym and think MP3 players are more essential than a towel when exercising. Men's favourite songs to exercise to include Snap! and Bodyrockers, with women's gym faves including Girls Aloud, Lady Gaga and Duffy. Honestly, where did they do this survey, the moron gym?

iTunes has launched its variable pricing structure in the UK today. Announced back in January, Apple will now charge 99p for more popular songs in the store, and either the standard 79p or a lower 59p for the rest.

As from today, Lady GaGa's two big hits from her album The Fame -- Just Dance and Poker Face -- cost 99p, while all other album tracks cost 79p. Taylor Swift's current hit Love Story is now selling for 99p instead of 79p.

Amazon MP3 hit iTunes below the belt this week by offering the top 100 songs on its service for just 29p, which currently includes Lady GaGa's Poker Face and Taylor Swift's Love Story.

Only a month ago, Sonos's director of product management Mieko Kusano told CNET UK that Sonos was "rooting for Spotify", and that it was one of the companies home audio maker was "interested in working with". Such a collaboration could now be just around the corner, as Spotify prepares to launch an API later this week, giving manufacturers freedom to integrate its service into their own products.

In an interview with the Guardian, Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek said it would be "the first step towards becoming more of a platform," and that if "somebody wants to build it into media centre PCs, or if a company wants to integrate Spotify into TV screens, they can."

Affordable yet high-capacity MP3 players often come with the added bonus of being giant piles of unmitigated crud. Details of a new entry-level Archos model have leaked, and our extremities are crossed in favour of it not sucking as much as the Archos 105 it succeeds.

Engadget posted links to a translated French blog, along with links to a product page on Amazon.com, which highlight a model called the Archos 2. It costs $60 (£40), has 8GB of memory, a 46mm (1.8-inch) LCD display and support for MP3, WMA and JPG file formats, and you can expand it with microSD cards.

Boring it might be, but £40 for 8GB is cheaper than comparable players from Creative, SanDisk, Apple and Sony, which gives it both a reason to exist, and a reason for us not to hate its uninspiring guts.

With Battlestar Galactica finishing this week, Crave is all set for a from-the-start BSG marathon. A portable media player such as the newly shown-off iRiver P35 is perfect for immersing ourself in whatever show we're currently obsessed with, so we can watch it in the gym, on the train and in meetings when we're supposed to be paying attention. The only problem is, such fixation can lead to weird things happening to the way we talk. Oh, and it's not available here just yet. Frak.

The new PMP is being shown off on the Korean company's Web site. It incorporates the wheel-based control system introduced on the Spinn. The site is darn slow to load, but your patience will be rewarded with nifty videos showing off the P35's user interface. This includes what seems to a be a customisable home screen with an iPhone-like grid of icons for each function.

Apple has been sued by the mother of a 15-year-old boy who said his 16GB iPod touch exploded in his trouser pocket, burning his leg.

Ars Technica spotted the case, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Apparently one day in school, the boy "heard a loud pop and immediately felt a burning sensation in his leg," according to the complaint.