Filed under: HDTV, Peripherals, Portable Video

Archos launched its 404, 504 and 604 players a month ago, and now here’s a bit of information about its upcoming 700 TV model, a fine-looking porto-player that promises over-the-air digital television using the Freeview format. It’s equipped with a 4.3-inch screen, WiFi, GPS and a cellular modem. Maybe all that connectivity is why the thing needs four ugly antennas sticking out the back; we’re hoping that’s just a preproduction model.

In the company’s “Investor Kit”, there are some intriguing technologies, including a digital video recording docking station into which you can place this 700 TV player, resulting in an MPEG-4 TV recorder for your time shifting enjoyment. The docking station can also record video from a satellite-based PVR-equipped set-top box. However, talk is cheap. These products aren’t available yet, and the company didn’t say when they would be. – Charlie White

Q2 Investor Kit [Archos]

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: Desktops, Home Entertainment, Media PCs, Peripherals

Peripherals manufacturer Miglia has just announced a new external analog TV tuner for the Mac mini, but because they’d already used the name TVMini on another line of products, they decided to confuse us and call this mini-shaped tuner the TVMax. Naming schemes aside, this model — which adopts the same form factor as several mini hubs that we’ve seen — seems to offer everything a TV junkie could want in a external tuner, including MPEG-2/4 and DivX hardware compression, PVR capabilities via the bundled EyeTV 2 software, direct iPod or PSP export, and of course, the obligatory electronic program guide, which in this case is the excellent TitanTV. You also get the standard set of A/V inputs for recording from camcorders or VCRs, as well as a wireless remote to free you from clicking around to change channels, all for $250 and available immediately.

[Via Mac Observer]

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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.