Filed under: HDTV, Portable Audio, Tablet PCs, Wearables

Straight from the rumor mill to your brain: Korean forums are buzzing about a pair of upcoming devices from iRiver, one of which is being touted as the world’s smallest DAP with a screen, while the other sounds like a W10-esque palmtop that will supposedly be running some flavor of Windows. Obviously deets are very thin at this point — and the pictured mock-ups that look like cocktail napkin sketches don’t help much — but apparently the MP3 player will be a followup to the pendant-style N10 and N11 / N12 models that are already available, and is said to “focus on size, not features,” meaning that MobiBlu and Klegg need not fear an equally-diminutive competitor with video playback (or even a color screen, for that matter). Even more interesting than the so-called N20 is a product being referred to as the J10, which could be anything from a Windows Mobile-powered PDA to a UMPC running the full version of XP Tablet Edition, and which is rumored to sport both a DMB tuner and of course the WiBro functionality that iRiver has so much love for. We wish that we had some more info for you — and, like, some real pics — but we’re committed to bringing you only the freshest of gossip, even if there’s very little evidence to support it. Keep reading to check out seven of the supposed sixteen designs that are being considered for the “J10,” and stay tuned for more details as they become available…

Read- N20 [Via DAPreview]
Read- J10 [Via DAPreview]

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Filed under: Features, Misc. Gadgets

Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out, as well as noteworthy vintage equipment: Not so long ago, DJing was simple. You turned up with a box of 12-inch vinyl records. The club / bar / shed / bedroom you were playing would have a pair of Technics SL1200 (or 1210 - the same but black) turntables. The DJ before you would explain how the switches worked on the mixer, you'd try to work out how to get sound in your headphones, and you were in business. Now things are different. Numark's D² Director has one USB port on the front, and two on the back. It can play tracks from a flash drive, an iPod or a portable hard drive.The huge LCD display shows waveforms and playlists, so you can assign tracks to either channel with the assisted beat-matching that's now common. If you can bear the shame, it's even possible to plug a USB keyboard into the thing, so you can search for songs by name. Essentially, it's a more professional version of Numark's IDJ2 iPod mixing console, with the Fisher-Price styling toned down and no iPod dock. Also, unlike the IDJ2, you'll need an external DJ mixer to crossfade between the two outputs. The suggested retail price is $799, which is considerably less than you'll get for a used pair of Technics decks on eBay. Numark has also released a load of other high-high-high end digital DJ gear at Summer NAMM, including the iCDX, a $999 CD player/pod dock, while the HD Mix is a all-in-one mixer, CD player, 80GB hard drive, USB host and effects box for a slightly eye-watering $1,699.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

It's not like some sort of DRM floodgate has been unlocked, and now unrestricted files flow freely from the Yahoo! Music vaults, but one unrestricted MP3 file has made its way onto their site, so we're going to milk it for all its worth. The song, "A Public Affair" by Jessica Simpson, can be "personalized" by choosing your name before downloading, which gets yourself inserted into the lyrics. If you'd rather not have Jessica singing your name, you can at least sit on the sidelines with us and debate the ramifications of the release. Yahoo! Music's official blog discusses the future of unprotected MP3 releases, stating the premium price was for the custom content, and mulls over the possibility of a $1.09 price point for straight up MP3 files. They don't see much hope of getting the labels to go for it just yet, but with experiments like this it shows we at least have Yahoo! on our side trying to make the music market more of a free one.

[Via paidContent]

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Filed under: Features, Portable Audio

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:

With all the recent coverage surrounding Microsoft’s rumored portable music player Zune, some may conclude that Engadget’s editors have highly active and detailed imaginations and exceptional Photoshop skills that they employ without hesitation in the traditionally slow summer tech news months. Others, however, may be convinced that Microsoft is following through on Steve Jobs’ prediction that the company will enter the market with its own branded player. The pictures of the Zune hardware show an attractive but not groundbreaking design, one that looks similar to a Gigabeat with a small wheel replacing its crosshairs, or a Sansa e200 with its wheel shrunk and a few extra buttons.

Much of the discussion around Zune has focused on the strategy shift it would mean for the software giant and the competition that it would bring to Microsoft’s current hardware partners. But the company’s continuous user interface refinement of Windows Mobile and expecially its deep pockets can let it fight the iPod in ways that its current partners simply can’t. Microsoft could best leverage its war chest via player subsidization, accessories and advertising.

Regarding player subsidization, if the Xbox consoles have been any precedent, it’s doubtful that Microsoft would lowball its player’s pricing too much. The company would likely rather bring out a full-featured device that wins the hearts of early adopters. However, it could subsidize expensive advanced features that may be a bit ahead of the market. The rumored inclusion of WiFi would enable Microsoft to play upon one of the benefits of subscription services – legal peer-to-peer music sharing among devices of licensed content — and allow a tighter level of integration with the Xbox 360. This could also drive a viral marketing effect. Indeed, Microsoft, more than any of its hardware partners, can justify subsidization because it could be considered investment in the future of the Windows Media licensing ecosystem – an interest in which its current partners are only tangentially vested — or the broader digital lifestyle campaign if Micrsoft eschews Playsforsure as rumored.

One intriguing rumor is that Microsoft would offer iTunes Music Store’s customers the option to repurchase all the songs they’ve bought as protected Windows Media files. This would certainly be a bold move that would remove one of Apple customers’ barriers to entry, but it smacks of the kind of win-at-all-costs freebiemania of the dotcom era. Surely, there are already customers who have spent hundreds of dollars or more at the iTumes Music Store. Completely reimbursing those customers would essentially amount to giving the player away. Imagine if Microsoft had offered a free Xbox game for every PlayStation 2 game purchased when it entered the video game console market.

On the accessories front, Microsoft has been driving efforts by the Consumer Electronics Association to define a standard docking interface, enabling command and control, charging and playback like the iPod’s. According to the company, USB currently simply lacks the technical strength to serve as a user interface for transferring music. While rumors have circulated that Microsoft has approached iPod peripheral makers, rest assured that Zune would ship with more than a slip pouch available for it in terms of accessories. Regardless of whether the likes of Griffin, DLO, Belkin and others sign on, Microsoft can afford to seed the market with its own branded products in advance of market acceptance and charge little or nothing to license the interface, aiming at another Apple revenue stream.

As for advertising, one can debate the effectiveness of Super Bowl advertising. These days, it seems there is more media coverage around a company deciding to make the big purchase at the big game than the ads themselves. Regardless, while we’ve seen companies like SanDisk, Creative and Samsung purchase outdoor ads for its players, though, Microsoft would bring its bankroll to broadcasting early and often. The company’s challenge will be to create a new music identity for its player the same way it forged an Xbox brand that in many ways stands apart from Microsoft.

In a recent conversation with an executive at a company that sells portable music players, I asked what he thought about the possibility of Microsoft entering his space. He put on a brave face, touting the benefits of market expansion and a halo effect, but noted that anything could happen with the entry of the proverbial “800-pound gorilla.” When I noted that in this market, Microsoft wasn’t the 800-pound gorilla, he replied that any company with tens of billions on the bank is an 800-pound gorilla. We’ll soon see whether it can drive Apple bananas.

---

Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group and a contributing editor for LAPTOP. Views expressed in Switched On are his own. Feedback is welcome at fliptheswitch@gmail.com.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

We know that not everyone shares our need to obsess over every MP3 player to hit the shelves, but anyone who has ever set foot in an electronics store can probably recognize Virgin's Digital Starter Pack as a novelty. Features on the included 256MB player look sparse, consisting of a tiny screen with color-changing backlight, a voice recorder, and the seemingly useless ability to mess with the playback speed of your music. The £30 ($52) package also comes with a booklet explaining how to get started and a coupon code for five "free" song downloads from Virgin's own online music store, but unless you're insistent upon donating to Sir Richard Branson's hot air balloon fund, you'd probably be much better off dropping the same amount of dough on Napster's 1GB player . It might not have a backlight that changes color, but it will hold a lot more than 60 songs and won't get you laughed at by the gadget snobs.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

UK DAB enthusiasts now have yet another way to listen to those sweet digital broadcasts on-the-go thanks to a new portable radio from Genus; and as if that alone weren't exciting enough, the so-called SLM also includes an FM tuner and SD slot for rocking out to MP3s. Actually, there's really nothing here that we haven't seen before from manufacturers like Pure Digital and MPeye, but it can never hurt to have another product on the market driving down prices, right? One feature you're not getting with this unit -- besides the inability to record OTA programming -- is DRM support, so if you want to load up your PlaysForSure- or FairPlay-protected tracks, you'll need to strip out the copy protection with one of those handy pieces of software first (not that we'd ever encourage that sort of behavior, of course). It looks like you can pick up the OLED-equipped SLM right away from either Curry's or directly through Genus, and at $182, it's pretty reasonably priced -- though you'll have to shell out more loot if you're in need of a blank SD card for storing tunes.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

While everyone else has been busy watching the World Cup, it appears Venzero has been in the labs, creating a new middle child for their ever-expanding One line of DAPs. At 6GB, the LilOne fits snugly between the original, full-featured 8GB model and the minimalistic, flash-based Mini version that was announced last month. Like it's siblings, the LilOne will play MP3s and WMAs (with and without DRM), with a 1.5-inch screen providing access to short videos and photos. Other features include a 20-hour battery life, a €200 pricetag and the kitschy MusicMarker feature that helps you identify songs you hear on the radio. We're assuming it was size restraints that kept this player from getting the handy retractable USB connector of the original One, but that shouldn't prevent it from giving players like iRiver's E10 and Sandisk's Sansa e260 a little gentlemanly competition.

[Via DAPReview]

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Filed under: Handsets, LG, Sprint-Nextel, EV-DO

If you’re thinking about picking up LG’s Fusic (otherwise known as the LG550) you might want to block off some time to read Phone Scoop’s incredibly thorough review. The handset, which is available now from Sprint, gets high marks for design and advanced features like excellent battery life, A2DP and an FM transmitter, but is hurt by the fact both music players (one for songs purchased from the Sprint Music Store and one for everything else) can’t multitask, so if you need to check your texts, you’ll have to do it in silence. The review goes on to admit that even with interchangeable faceplates and a very familiar scroll wheel, the Fusic is geared more toward the occasional listener than the audiophile, so don’t go making a spot in the junk drawer just yet.

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Not everyone’s willing to shell out $399 for a video iPod—they’re just not that into music. For those readers, CNET’s compiled a list of their top 10 favorite MP3 players under $100.

Most of these have itty-bitty screens with only 512MB of RAM to back it up, save for the Sansa m250 with 2GB. Notably absent is the iPod Shuffle. Probably due to the lack of screen. – Jason Chen

Top 10 MP3 players under $100 [CNET]

Filed under: Portable Audio

They say that you shouldn't fix what's not broken, which is probably why we see so many MP3 players on the market taking "design cues" from the iPod family, and now LG has introduced two more models that bear a striking resemblance to Apple's flash-based Shuffle (except for the color, obviously, although the original UP3 did indeed come in white). Both the UP3 Sharp and UP3 Flat pack either 512MB or 1GB of storage into that familiar looking package, with each unit supporting MP3, WMA, OGG, and ASF file formats. The differences here lie in the devices' displays (or lack thereof) and their battery life: the OLED-equipped Sharp (pictured above) gets two less hours of juice than the screen-less, 10-hour-rated Flat (pictured after the break). Expect to see both models in stores before the end of the month, but probably only in Korea.

Read- UP3 Sharp
Read- UP3 Flat
[Via The MP3 Players]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Wireless

Klegg just dropped a new Bluetooth 2.0 video player into the mix with their Mini V12. The V12 sounds pretty sweet on paper with listed support for MP3, WMA, MPEG-4, WMV, DivX and AVI formats, a “bright” 1.8-inch TFT, 20 hour battery (audio only, presumably) and Bluetooth A2DP stereo audio support for cable-free listening. Prices will start at $100 for players in capacities of 1 / 2 / 4GB but only the 4 gigger includes Bluetooth. And yeah, Klegg’s still got the minerals to boast in true ambiguous terms that the V12 is “slighter smaller than an Apple iPod.” Oh, would that be the iPod nano, Shuffle, 5th gen with video or maybe some earlier generation iPod, hmm? Expect the V12 to drop mid-summer under a marketing and distribution deal with VisioNET who will provide the user interface for access to their “first-rate” media content. We say bring it Klegg… if you can.

Read — Press Release (Via dapreview)
Read — VisioNET deal

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

RCA-parent Thomson announced three new MP3 players for the European market today, along with a 30GB PMP called the X3030E, which should look quite familiar because it’s just a re-badge of the Lyra X3030 that we covered a few months back. First up is the 6GB EH306, also known as the Black Diamond, which is a nano-like device sporting a 1.5-inch color OLED display, MP3, WMA, WMV, and MPEG-4 file support, fifteen hours of battery life, and that old standby, the FM tuner — all for around $320 when it hits stores in October. Next we have the Lyra EM2600 (pictured), a 512MB or 1GB flash-based model which is basically a color version of the RD2312 we spotted at CES 2005, and which will cost $100 or $126 depending on capacity. Bringing up the rear is arguably the hottest model of all, a little waif of a DAP known as the EM2802. With this one you’re getting the same color screen and codecs as the EH306, but in a much smaller package and in capacities of either 1GB or 2GB — which will go for $165 and $216, respectively, upon their November launch. You’ve already seen the EM2600; now keep reading to check out all the other upcoming devices…

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Filed under: Portable Audio

After a series of press shots from mobiBLU that included both hamburgers and watermelons involved in sexy poses with the slim player, we’re not really short on photos of the device. All the same, it’s nice to see the US2 out and about, and AVING has provided us with just such visions. Verdict? Ultra slim fo’ sho!

 

[Via dapreview]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Considering that exactly zero people were interested enough in the new hard drive-based RCA MP3 players we brought you last week to actually leave a comment, we doubt that even a glowing review from Cnet would convince you to pick up one of these models — but that’s a moot point, because Cnet really doesn’t have many positive things to say about the 6GB H116 they put through its paces. As you’ll recall, RCA is clearly targeting the low-end of the market with its new DAPs, as evidenced by their black-and-white screens, rather generic-looking designs, and most tellingly, their complete lack of extra features that might sway folks away from the iTatorship. In fact, the only real compliment Cnet is able to muster about their unit is the fact that it does what it advertises: play music — but not very well it seems. Combined with the buggy controls and poor quality of the FM transmitter, the sub-par audio would seem to indicate that even for the low-low price of $170, you’re still not getting what you pay for.

[Thanks, Jen B.]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Cowon of Japan wish to remind you that they’re still shipping the iAudio U2 player. How? By bucking the trend of dropping a limited edition pink model and throwing us the 2GB pearl-white iAUDIO U2-2G-WH instead. Everything else on this popular player, which many of you dubbed the best flash player on the market, remains unchanged: MP3/WMA/WAV and OGG support,128×64 LCD, line-input sound and voice recording to MP3s, FM tuner, and 20 hour battery with fast recharge. So get ready to enjoy that, uh “color sound” starting July 7 when these hit Japan for ¥18,980 or about $163 in greenback.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Napster isn't so shy about their new DAPs after all. We just got to spend a little time with Napster's new 1GB PlaysForSure promotional player, and we liked what we saw for the most part. The tiny device probably won't be seen outside of its current role of attracting 1-year subscriptions, but it manages a nice look, decent user interface and a commendable 40 hour battery life -- not bad for $50. Of course, the player's first role is to support DRM10 PlaysForSure files from Napster To Go, but regular old WMA files and MP3s are supported as well, and it doesn't seem that Napster has made an effort to lock down the player from other services. You can also play back MPEG-4 video on the tiny, but nice, 128 x 160 LCD, but you'll be on your own for content since Napster doesn't currently offer any vids. There's also JPEG and FM playback, and everything is accessible via a convenient and fast iPod-like menu system. We'd estimate the player is 10-12mm thick, but while it's shorter than the iPod nano, the player felt comfortable in our large hands, and the buttons were plenty easy to use. It might all come down to your preference of music service, but we can't see this little OEM player standing in your way. Keep reading for some more pics.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation

Japanese manufacturer Logitec — who, as we found out the hard way, is in no way related to the American Swiss firm Logitech — has just announced a colorful set of in-car DAPs that plug directly into your vehicle’s lighter socket. What’s more, the MP3- and WMA-capable LAT-FM300U includes both a built-in FM transmitter and line-in jack, so you can broadcast directly to your head unit from either the device itself or from an external player like an iPod. And judging by the $68 price tag and lack of storage information, it sounds like you’ll probably need to bring along a more capacious device on trips lasting longer than an hour or so, as we doubt you’ll be getting more than 512MB of flash memory when these drop in early August.

[Via Digital World Tokyo]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

If you can’t find something to play on Pioneer’s new X-MF7DV HiFi set, you should seriously consider updating your media collection a little bit. Not only can the device do the usual CD, FM and AM playback, but the player can handle MiniDiscs, DVDs, DivX videos, MP3/WMA/AAC, JPEG, USB storage, and we’re afraid to ask what else. The device has digital and analog video outs — we’re not quite sure of what kind — and Pioneer does mention progressive scan DVD playback. We’re also in the dark regarding audio outputs, though there are, of course, included speakers. Pioneer is bundling a remote to control the mayhem, but the make no mention of price or availability. We’re guessing Japan-only anyways.

[Via Akihabara]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

We’ve seen a few Safa players over the years, but none have really managed to avoid the ugly stick until now. Safa’s new SS100 is quite familiar to a certain iPod in size and shape, even coloring, but we think it’s got a bit of its own retro charm, and we’ve always gotta give props to something that can manage a 7.4mm thickness. The player holds up to 4GB of memory, connects via USB 2.0 and has an FM radio in the 512MB to 2GB versions. Codec support is pretty slim, at MP3, AVI, JPEG and TXT (ooh, TXT), but there is a 10-band EQ and built-in mic to make up for it. Nothing really outstanding, but if Safa can offer this for a decent price, and maybe ship a few over to their friends in the States, we might have worthy player among us.

[Via dapreview]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

You have to admire their determination, 'cause MSI just keeps the MP3 players coming. This swanky pair feature 1.8-inch 128x160 displays, optional FM tuners, line-in/voice/FM radio recording, and playback of your JPEG snaps and MP3/WMA and PlaysForSure WMA audio files. The P610 (on the left) sports up to 2GB of flash in that slim (no, not that slim) chassis while the P640 brings an 8GB, 1-inch micro-drive (and room to grow) and associated chub to the table. If we knew the price and availability, we'd tell ya.

[Via Anything But iPod]

Read -- MSI P610
Read -- MSI P640

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Filed under: Handsets, Multimedia, BenQ-Siemens, GSM, GPRS

BenQ-Siemens has been looking to jump on the “Is it a phone? Is it a music player?” bandwagon with its Q-fi series of music-oriented devices, and although the EF51 isn’t the first device announced in the series, it appears it’ll be the first to ship. The EF51 is supposedly so music-oriented, in fact, that BenQ Mobile is calling it “a music device with an integrated mobile phone.” It packs A2DP, which is all well and good, but what’s the one thing you absolutely cannot live without in a music player, folks? That’s right, memory, and BenQ has ominously left that aspect of the phone’s specification off the press release. We’ve seen reports that the phone might be shipping with a scant 20MB, and if that’s the case, the EF51 is dead in our eyes as a music device. As a phone, the EF51 holds its own on the low end with tri-band 900/1800/1900 GPRS, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a 128 x 128 display. A MiniSD slot is mercifully included, but in our opinion, a music player that can scarcely fit five MP3s without the aid of a memory card is not a music player at all. The EF51 drops this month in tri-band friendly parts of the globe.

[Via Slashphone]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Storage

We've seen Korean manufacturer SavitMicro a few times before, once with a hub for multi-cam recording and another time with a media-playing drive enclosure, and now they've popped up once again at Computex with yet another device that promises to simplify your digital life. Like their drive enclosure, the new "Dueple," as it's known, also accepts swappable 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives for multimedia playback, but throws in a DVD player as well for spinning any of those old-fashioned discs you may have laying around. The Dueple features DVI, component, S-video, coax, and digital audio outputs for hooking up to your home theater gear, Ethernet and USB ports for data transfer, and lets you watch/listen to MPEG-1/2/4, MP3, DivX, WMV, WMA, and OGG files, including high-definition content. There are probably better ways of getting your digital swag onto a TV than this particular solution, but if it sports a reasonable pricetag when it comes out within the month -- from e-tailer GeekStuff4U -- we imagine that it will draw some interest.

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Filed under: Handsets, Multimedia, Samsung, EV-DO, CDMA

Do you find that the SCH-B570 is just a bit bulky to fit comfortably in your pocket? Are you cool with carrying around roughly one-eighth the tuneage? Do you live in South Korea? If you answered “yes” to all of the above, Samsung’s new SCH-V940 might just be for you. Its 15.8mm of thickness might not make it the thinnest slider in the world, but it’s pretty darn impressive considering the 1GB of flash it packs away for your music-toting pleasure. Besides the relatively vast storage, the EV-DO V940 gets you a glorious QVGA display and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Motorola, are you listening? This is how you make a sexy music phone.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

We can’t say we were too excited about Creative’s MuVo S200 when it was announced a couple of months ago, and now CNET has taken it for a spin and confirmed most of our suspicions. Sure, the player has a cute and tactile — if flimsy — build, a roughly 20 hour battery life from replaceable AAA batteries, and all the usual not-made-by-Apple frills like PlaysForSure, FM and a mic. But there just really isn’t a lot going on here. The PLED display is minuscule, and the 0.6MB per second transfer speed was the slowest CNET has seen this year. They found the simplicity of the controls appealing and solid to push, but the buttons rattled around when they shook the device. Apparently the on-screen lyrics karaoke feature is a nice addition, and there is some SmartFill software to load the device ala Apple’s Autofill, but it lacks most of the “smart” options of Apple’s version. At roughly $125 for the 1GB version, the S200 isn’t a terrible deal, but we’re just not sure what’s going to set this apart from the pack.

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Filed under: Media PCs, Peripherals, Wireless, Networking

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