The common mp3 file that everyone and their mother and some peoples grandmothers have contain metadata. This is data that is embeded in the MP3 file which is editable. That is how when your favorite Micheal Jackson song plays on your iPod you can see the Album, Artist, Track number, Song name, and even Album art. Popular players such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp all have databases that they go to when you insert a CD to convert to MP3 files to find this information. If for some reason you have a not so popular CD the specific program will default to Unknown Album and default song names to Track 1, Track 2, and so on. these are ID3 tags. I am sure anyone who has an MP3 player who has ripped their own music has found 2 listings of the same musician like LeCrae and Le Crae which can get very annoying. Really this is an easy fix. There are a cople different ways you can do correct this.

Using software
For this method I would suggest a few different methods depending on how you will edit this (one at a time or in bulk).

1. MP3 Tag This is really the best free program around for modifying ID3 tags especially in bulk. This program will not only just edit your MP3 tags but allow you to setup automation to name your music all the same way, export ID3 tags, connect to the Freedb for querying song names, and even convert ID3 types. Two great places too look for help on using this if you get lost are - Anythingbutipod.com tutorial or MP3Tag forums

2. iTunes - yes you can manage ID3 tags in iTunes. The easiest way to do this is by going to the list view where all songs are listed out and select either one song at a time or CTL-Click and select multiple songs. right click on the song select get info and go to the info tab. Here you will be able to modify the ID3 tag. As for the album artwork there is a separate tab for that. Just know that if yo update it in your computer you will need to re-sync or send over the new file in order to have the updated copy on your iPod.

3. Dbpoweramp - This program is free to try as a trial and reverts to the free version after 30 days. I actually bought this program because I found it easy to to use to convert multiple files at once for a big project I was on. One installed and your computer has been rebooted you will find a new option on your right click menu called edit ID Tag. By clicking on this you can instantly edit any mp3 tags just by finding the file on your computer.

Using Windows XP (not sure about Vista)
Tags can also be modified through the windows file properties interface. To edit this way find an MP3 file, right click select Properties, and go to the Summary tab. Once there click the Advanced >> button near the bottom and from here you will be able to edit the basics of the mp3 tags. The only drawback to this method is you can only edit one at a time and I have yet to find out how to modify the album art through this method.

For more info on updating your MP3 collections albulm art check here

More info on ID3 tags can be found at the below listed sites

Sharepod is by far my favorite software for any ipod of 2008. This program is a single .exe file that you can place on your ipod (must setup iPod to be managed as a hard drive so it shows up in your drive list when plugged in) and manager all your music from any PC. This software will allow you to backup (copy selected songs from iPod to a computer) or add (send songs to your iPod without itunes). Through this program you can search for specific songs, and also manage playlists. This program is like all the goodness of iTunes minus the music playback ability which has been modified to run from a single EXE file on your iPod. This program frees up your iPod to be used anywhere… no more waiting 4 hours for iTunes to download on your mother-in-laws computer, just transfer this file over and start adding music. This is by far a better method of transfering music than How to get songs off your iPod using itunes (unless you don’t have this program).
link - getsharpod.com

Last week all owners of a 30GB Zune woke up to an unpleasant surprise. On Wednesday, December 31 around 12:00am all 30GB Zunes rebooted and froze at the startup screen. Reports of a mass Zune suicide or a Zune-pocalypse spread rampant across the web as the strange but widespread bug plagued literally EVERY 30GB Zune on the planet. The culprit? The Zune firmware seemed to be hit with the leap year bug. Last Wednesday was the 366th day of the year and unless the firmware was programed to handle this exception (which it wasn’t) the devices simply wound up imploding on themselves. The most confusing part of this whole debacle isn’t that the bug was so easy to catch but that Microsoft’s official statement regarding the issue merely asked all Zune users to wait 24 hours, until the new year arrived, and all Zune’s would automatically be OK. Of course, this did fix the problem but it still left the entire world’s supply of 1st generation Zunes totally lifeless for an entire day due to a very simple programming oversight. We’re still waiting to see what condolences Microsoft will offer its userbase (hopefully in the form of MS points) but we aren’t holding our breath. Bottomline, I love my Zune but I was left frustrated and dissapointed in the events of last week.

I really love the design of this player. The super small form factor fits great in hand or clipped on to your belt. It is about as big as the iPod Shuffle and even has some similar characteristics. The player sports a wheel-like button arrangement for the “Play/Pause”, “Forward”, “Backward”, “Menu” and “Select” buttons along with the characteristic clip on the back of the player for easily attaching this device to your belt or sleeve. The volume controls are easily accessible on the side of the player while the “Power” and “Hold” sliding switch is on the other side. The main difference between the design of this player and the iPod Shuffle is the gorgeous little screen. The 1″ screen features plenty of space to view artist/song names and allows you to effortlessly navigate through the interface. The blue and yellow LED colors of the screen contrast brilliantly against the shiny black finish of the rest of the device. Also, while the player is active, a soft blue glow illuminates the button wheel giving a very sleek appearance. The only possible complaint I have about the design of the player, was the odd choice to put the headphone jack on the side of the device rather than on the top. However, this is rather a moot point for me since the player will always be clipped to my waist rather than in my pocket.

Technically speaking, all audio formats are supported along with a great equalizer function. Besides audio file playback, the player also has FM radio support and a digital voice recorder. The sound quality in and of itself is simply great. Similarly, the battery life is actually phenomenal. I have charged the player once and have gotten several hours of playback along with a couple minutes of voice recording. The 1GB storage capacity is great for jogging or any other activity where you don’t need days and days of media or video capabilities. As I personally love to jog, this flash based MP3 player is now one of my absolute favorite devices. I’ve wanted a simple, stylish, flash based digital audio player to take on jogs for some time now and the Sansa Clip from SanDisk easily meets all of my criteria without the price tag of the iPod Shuffle. I highly recommend this player.

Product Dimensions: 2.17″ x 1.35″ x .65″

Product Weight: .92 oz
Screen Size: 1″ landscape
Operating System: Windows XP or Vista
Programs: WMP 10
Drive: CD-ROM Drive
Connection: USB 2.0
Capacity: 1GB • 2GB • 4GB
Colors: Black, Pink, Red, Blue, Silver
Battery: 15 hours of playback
Headphone Jacks: 1
Speaker: N/A
Radio: FM tuner/20 presets
Recorder: Built-in microphone
Music Subscriptions: Most Music Subscriptions
Internet Radio: N/A
Audio Books: Audible Ready
File Support: MP3, OGG, FLAC, WMV, secure WMA & Audible files

Sony is attempting to battle the the ipod touch with their new Drag and Drop Touch Screen Walkman. This new mp3 player will more than likely mirror a lot of the ipod touch features. This player is to be released at CES 2009. For all you die hard Sony fans here is your chance to make your move and get an MP3 player you will love.

While most of the usual menu structure of the current Walkman series will be retained in this new model, there are several new exciting features included. For example, upon listening to an artist, you may click on the artist name and watch music videos of the artist on YouTube through Wi-Fi (WPA and WEP support included). Additionally, there will be a Youtube icon on the main screen that will allow full access to the website - search, pause, FF/RW included very similar to Youtube access on the iPhone/iTouch. Additionally, this new Walkman will be able to subscribe to audio podcast and Crackle video feeds; this means automatic download of new updates, the ability to delete old feed content, all over Wi-Fi. Audio codec support includes MP3, WMA, AAC, PCM, while video codec support is AVC (h.264), MPEG-4 and WMV.

Engadget is reporting that a new iriver player named the e50 will be hitting stores soon. What makes this player stand out from the traditional iriver line is the amazing aluminum finish. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see this mp3 player in the states soon.

The slim, brushed aluminum encased PMP — which will come in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB models — boasts a 1.8-inch color LCD, an FM tuner, and gets a rumored 52-hours of audio life. We don’t have full specs yet, but the players will apparently appear in January with the 4GB costing about €69 (or about $90).

Digital audio company Haier has released a new version of their marginally successful ibiza Rhapsody mp3 player. The new model is the ibiza Rhapsody Sport. The player features the same interface and technology of the previous model but with a more rugged, weatherproof exterior.

It had a nice interface, built-in WiFi with access to Rhapsody (as well
as a web browser), and a nice set of codecs to choose from. … The Sport edition will come
in 4 and 8GB sizes and retail for $179 and $199 respectively.

The 4040 Touch is a new MP3 and personal media player from Energy Sistem. Building on the recent touch-mania inspired by the iPhone, Energy Sistem’s offering looks promising.

That includes a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, 16GB of storage, a microSD
card slot for further expansion, a built-in microphone, an FM tuner,
support for most of the usual audio and video formats, and even support
for Microsoft’s PlayFX,
all for a fairly reasonable €120, or about $150. If that’s more than
you need, the company apparently also recently rolled out its 5020 and
5021 models, which drop the touchscreen and cut the storage down to
4GB, and the price down to €85, or just over $100.