Filed under: Portable Audio

Usually when you see a ridiculously overpriced item on Amazon it’s the result of a glitch in their system, but if you happen to come across an MP3 player with a $20,000 pricetag, you’ll know that you’ve landed on the pre-order page for TrekStor’s i.beat organix Gold edition. That’s right folks, the same gold-plated (18 karat), diamond-encrusted (62 one-karat bits of ice) 1GB DAP once commissioned by a Russian-Canadian billionaire (and cheekily tagged with the term “waste of money”) can now be yours for the price of a pimped-out Honda Civic or down payment on your first home — although interested parties better hurry, as this is a limited edition item, and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. The perfect companion gadget for your Goldvish cellphone, the organix Gold edition features all the amenities you’d expect from a multi-thousand dollar player, including ample codec support (MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, and OGG), an “extremely sharp” two-color OLED display, and an FM tuner with 16 presets and built-in station search. While we’re mighty tempted to take out a loan and pick one of these up ourselves, an Amazon “reviewer” perhaps put it best when he/she dryly noted that “I’ve heard that TrekStor will soon be introducing a 4GB model for under $30,000. I’m going to wait.” Smart move, intrepid Amazonian, although if you wait too long, you may not qualify for the FREE Super Saver Shipping available on this 1GB version. Decisions, decisions.

[Via I4U News]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

If RCA’s new M5000 series of DAPs look familiar, then you’ve got a good eye: we’ve seen the exact same models before branded as the MSI P610 and Packard Bell Vibe 360. Therefore the feature sets on the 1GB M5001 and 2GB M5002 should come as no surprise, with both models sporting a 1.8-inch color screen capable of AVI and MOV video playback, line-in / voice / FM radio recording, and support for MP3, WMA, and PlaysForSure audio tracks. Those of you who’ve been kicking yourselves for passing over the MSI and Packard Bell can pick up the M5001 immediately for around $130, while the M5002 still seems to be lacking both pricing and release info.

Read- M5001
Read- M5002
[Via DAPreview]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

What do you get when you cross an iPod Shuffle with Nokia’s 7280 fashion phone? (Hint: it’s not Transcend’s T.Sonic 310, but good guess). Why, Apacer’s upcoming Audio Steno AU522 DAP, of course. This fairly-stylish little number comes in capacities ranging from 256MB to 2GB, supports MP3, WMA, and WAV files, and includes a memory card slot for boosting storage by another gig. A built-in USB connector allows you to use the AU522 as a flash drive or reader for all those MMCmicro cards you have lying around, and you can also record directly from the FM tuner and share your music with a friend thanks to dual headphone jacks. The two-color, 128 x 64 OLED screen is another nice touch, though it probably contributes to the player’s mere eight hours of battery life. No word so far on either pricing or availability, but if you really have a desire to snatch one of these up, we’re confident that you’ll be able to make it happen.

[Via MP3 Player Guide]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Watch out Apple and Nike, because Sony’s got a new set of Network Walkmen waiting in the wings that pack a pedometer right into the players themselves, eliminating the need for a separate kit and expensive pair of sneakers. Although it doesn’t sound like the cigar-shaped, 2GB NW-S205F and 1GB NW-S203F will offer the same online experience as you’d find at the Nikeplus website, you’re still getting calorie, step, and distance counter functionality right out of the box, along with a stopwatch and FM tuner — plus an armband to keep everything secure. The nano still holds the edge in screen quality — and capacity, obviously — as the new Sonys sport but a one-line OLED display. Pricing here is pretty attractive, with the black S205F and silver S203F going for $150 and $120, respectively, when they hit stores in either September or October.

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Filed under: Handsets, ASUS

While we're all for cellphone manufacturers giving their handsets "regular" names along with those annoying model numbers (Chocolate, RAZR, everything HTC makes), we're sure that there are still enough good words left that ASUS didn't need to resort to naming their latest cameraphone after a common waterbird. Besides its rather clunky pseudonym, "the Goose" sports a pretty attractive set of feathers features, including a two megapixel camera, music playback via the built-in MP3 player or FM radio, Bluetooth, PictBridge support, 64MB of RAM plus a microSD slot, voice recognition capabilities, and perhaps the ability to to use it as a webcam. No word on when a gaggle of these Geese will be touching down (probably just in Korea), nor for how much, but we've already moved on to wondering about that "Superman" phone that seems to be referenced in the background of this pic...

[Via MobileMag]

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, T-Mobile, GSM

Customers looking for a no-nonsense clamshell that does Bluetooth on the cheap now have a new option from T-Mobile in the form of Nokia’s dual display-packin’ 6103. This tri-band flip phone, which is a followup to the company’s 6101 “Buttons for Humans” model, doesn’t offer much in the way of features — besides Bluetooth, all that’s notable here are the FM radio and VGA camera — but you can pick one up for the low low price of $70 after rebates.

[Thanks, supes]

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Filed under: Handsets, Software, HTC, O2, Windows Mobile

The folks over at O2 have been busy little beavers today, first releasing the HTC Tornado-based Xda IQ, and now posting the Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU update for Xda Atom owners to download. We're sure that we don't need to repeat the advantages of AKU2 again, but since our contracts stipulate that we rehash the deets ad infinitum, we'll remind you that this upgrade adds BlackBerry-like push email through the Messaging & Security Feature Pack (MSFP) along with an improved wireless connection manager, quicker screen orientation switches, and other minor enhancements. Atom owners also get a few device-specific bug fixes with the new firmware, most notably the elimination of the "heartbeat noise" that had apparently plagued some versions of the FM tuner app. For now you'll need your handset's serial number registered with O2 in order to access the download, but it'll probably be just a matter of time before it becomes available on one of the popular cellphone forums.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

It's hitting our shores a little later than expected, but you can finally queue up for the US version of Samsung's hot little YM-PD1 personal media player (pictured), the YM-P1 (the absence of the "D" refers to the lack of a DMB over-the-air DTV receiver). Since we've been following this model for some time, you'll no doubt recall that it features a 4-inch widescreen TFT display, sports in-line recording to a 20GB hard drive, and supports a gaggle of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, AC3, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, AVI, WMV, JPEG, and BMP. You can also jack up the memory a bit via the SDIO slot, listen to and record FM radio, and even play some videogames (although the controls don't look all that well-suited for serious gaming). SamsungHQ spotted the P1 available for pre-order on Datavision's website at $370 (where "Our prices are too low to advertise!"), although there is no mention of when the devices will actually be shipping, so don't toss your Archos aside just yet.