Those of you who are feeling the need to rock some Michael Jackson today might want to swap out your ringtones, so we’ve got a couple of options. It’s a tricky ethical dilemma when it comes to merchandise like this - do you help a multinational corporation profit on what should be a solemn occasion, or do you do disservice to the name by effectively stealing unlicensed music? I’ll be damned if I answer that question for you, but here are two options, whichever way you decide to go.

Official Michael Jackson ringtones are available for $2.99 a pop, according to the MySpace page, just text the following codes to 66555 if you’re in the U.S.

• Wanna Be Startin Somethin 2008: MJ1
• The Girl Is Mine 2008 : MJ2
• Wanna Be Startin Somethin: MJ4
• Thriller: MJ5
• Beat It: MJ6
• Billie Jean: MJ7
• Human Nature: MJ8
• P.Y.T.: MJ9
• Black & White: MJ11
• Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough : MJ12

As for free ringtones, after some digging I found a few at The Tones 360.

• Wanna Be Startin Somethin
• ABC
• Thriller
• Pretty Young Thing
• Billie Jean
• Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough

If you didn’t find your favourite song, there are plenty more are available under the Michael Jackson category.

Shazam for the iPhone, most prominently known for its music identification service, just underwent a nice upgrade thanks to OS 3.0 that includes three new features. First up, and arguably the most useful, Shazam now lets you send your tunes to Twitter so you can share recently-discovered music to all your loyal followers. Blip.fm has a pretty strong foothold in this kind of thing, so we’ll see how Shazam manages to compete. Second, Shazam has added what they call postcards, which are basically collections of songs that you’ve found that you think a particular friend would enjoy. Lastly, and most strangely, is new geolocoation support, so you can see where you were when you tagged a particular song. This feature just confuses me. Don’t get me wrong, I love location-based services and am all for getting people to use GPS for something other than driving directions, but I really couldn’t imagine a circumstance in which you would need to recall and make that connection between music and place. Neither “where was I when I heard that song?” or “what was playing when I was there?” seem like questions people ask on a regular basis. Maybe I’m crazy - is there some kind of geolocation/music cross-section that I’m missing, here? You can grab the new version of Shazam for free from the iTunes App Store.

[via Shazam]

This is one of the crazier concept phones I’ve seen in awhile. Shao Wei Huang’s Evolutional Mobile Entertainment concept is a veritable Swiss Army Knife of forms: first, its primary screen slides out the left side and tucks back in when unused; second, two stereo speakers flip out from the rear; third, and most startling, is its ability to separate right in the middle, held up by flexible rubber supports, so your hand fits in sideways just like a glove, leaving your thumb on the outside to handle controls on the front-facing touchscreen. That touchscreen handles the whole shebang of user interface, including camera controls, gaming, phone, and music, while the higher-res slide-out screen does most of the displaying.

The whole thing is pretty out-there, but the inclusion of a paired media hub as a dedicated communication channel for the device looked pretty cool - it wouldn’t be surprising to see Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) work in the same kind of relationship with Windows Mobile and XBox. Branding on the concepts is Philips, but this was probably just for a contest sponsored by them. No doubt engineers would scoff at the cost and complexity of making a phone like this, but it’s still a very cool idea and certainly prods us to think outside the usual form factors we’ve become used to.

[via TUVIE]

DevelopIQ is getting in on the mobile music scene in a serious way at WES 2009 with 7digital. With a number of music licenses comparable to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), 7digital will offer DRM-free music downloaded over the air to BlackBerrys this summer. That alone is pretty sweet, but 7digital’s massive license library has attracted the attention of other players in the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) music sphere, and they’re working towards populating those other apps with their music library.

7digital’s app, though, is the slickest I’ve seen to date. It has two panes on the left and right that are summoned either by temporarily reprogrammed convenience keys, or by quick scrollball swipes. Gestures FTW. Beyond that, you can plug right into your BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway from the app and have all the same native music controls. Automatic syncing over Wi-Fi means no plugs, and you’ve got options when it comes to quality: over the cell network, they’ll send you a low-fidelity version which will automatically be replaced with the super-awesome one once you’re within Wi-Fi. I’m really looking forward to this app, especially if they can get it rolling in Canada as quickly after their U.S. and U.K as they say.

Even if Verizon (NYSE: VZ) doesn’t win Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s affections for their upcoming devices, word has it Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is attempting to woo America’s biggest carrier. A Windows Mobile device, still bearing the codename Pink, will have all the latest fixings from 6.5, including the Microsoft Marketplace and apparently extending current software, but branding is still up in the air since Microsoft is leaving device manufacturing to a third party, possibly Sidekick creator Danger. The most likely candidate for naming is Zune HD, considering recent advertising leaks, but working with Verizon and incorporating Windows Mobile would suggest a significant change in your traditional Zune experience. We’ll have to wait for Microsoft to play their hand, but they really better bring their A-game if they want to play music-centric smartphone hardball with Apple.

[via WSJ, pic]

In an attempt to put an end to tangled headphone wires, designer Ji Woong has cooked up these headphones which are part and parcel of a zipper mechanism. Buying a coat with this built right into the hood, say, would be a surefire seller. The coolest part of all is probably the control mechanism built into the zipper tag - twist the outer-rim for volume adjustment and press on the button at the bottom to lock the control. It would be nice to have some more controls built in there, maybe use the main button for pause/play, throw some track skipping functions in with the volume dial, and a separate lock switch on the back.

The only problem when it comes to mobile is which plug to use… 3.5mm would offer the most versatility, but would leave a lot of Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) users screwed, along with anyone stuck with 2.5mm. Stereo Bluetooth could solve all of that, but would require a few more controls on the zipper tag… Regardless, cool idea, and it would make sure you never forget your headphones at home again.

[via Yanko]

Pilotfish has cooked up a phone dubbed Ondo which uses a flexible midsection and fine detail dial to allow for mobile music editing. Samsung is already flirting with the musical crowd by way of their latest Beat phones which let you scratch and add effects to your music, but Pilotfish’s input method is really unique. It’s always tricky getting new and experimental stuff like that into the market, let alone usable and appealing to skeptics. Beyond the bendy bit, a removable clip lets you record your tunes whereever they come from, and lets you collaborate with other musicians over the cell network. Getting the sharing service to work could be hard, but if done right, it would be a whole new way of making music. Hit up Ondo for a closer look.

I thought this was some abuse directed at me to start with ... even looks like me!

I wandered past one stand today which had a major bit of Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)-integration - namely that of Fatman!

What is Fatman - well best let them explain!

Launched in the autumn of 2006, Fatman has quickly established its reputation for producing some of the best performing audio systems for use with Apple’s iPod, or indeed any portable or fixed media device. All iTube amplifiers have additional inputs for CD etc., making them fully comprehensive audio systems for all audio sources.

But why valves? Well, as professional recording artists and producers discovered, digital withall it’s acknowledged advantages, was perhaps lacking in one direction… sound.
It could be a little cold and harsh and lacked ‘warmth’. - That’s where valves come in.
Correctly and sympathetically inserted into the signal path, the presence of a valves enhances signal quality. The skill in valve design is in knowing where to place the valves and how to combine them with state-of-the art solid state circuitry in order to achieve maximum sonic benefit.

So there you have it - they make some mean technology in the audio space, and it’s well-integrated with Apple devices:

It’s very stylised kit, but, I think it looks great - and sounds awesome!

If you want to read more about Fatboy, check their site here.

Ben

yes, what you are thinking is correct - there ARE 3 people dressed head-to-toe in spandex.

One of the stands that I wish I’d had more time to spend at was the Pacemaker DJ stand - what on earth is that you ask? No, it’s not a solution to deliver music to those people who happen to have a pacemaker fitted! Instead it’s all about this little chappie:

Ever had two decks in your hand?!

This little bit of tech-funk is two digital music players and a mixer, all in a form factor you can carry around! Kerazee!

I thought Pioneer revolutionised DJing years ago with their CDJ decks, but it would seem that Pacemaker might be the future - if this thing is half as tactile as it needs to be for proper beat-matching, then it should be awesome - As I said, gutted I couldn’t get more time with it - but I am sure our paths will cross in the future!

If you want to read more about the Pacemaker, check here.

Ben

One of the star applications launching with BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM)’s App World is Shazam, a music identification service that has recently found a home preloaded on some Samsung handsets. This is a very cool application: simply enough, you hold up your phone to some music that’s playing, and Shazam, through dark magiks and general witchery, finds album information, lyrics, similar tunes, and even buy the track. Very cool stuff overall. Hit up Shazam for more info, and if your App World happens to be in a good mood, you might be able to find it there as well.