Toshiba officially partners with Vongo, launches Gigabeat S

It's not like we all didn't know that Vongo and Toshiba were bedfellows that begot the Gigabeat S in hardware and service, but today they made it official, laying down the 30GB MES30VW (left) for $299.99 and the 60GB MES60VK for $399.99. The part where they said the players are "available now" was news to us, but Starz's $10 per month Vongo movie download service is up and running, so assuming you actually find a place to pick up that Gigabeat S (with 2.4-inch QVGA display, PMC 2.0, FM tuner, USB On-The-Go, etc.) you can get your "iPod-killer" on post-haste. And it's about freaking time, too.

[G Money @ Jun 19th 2006 7:51PM]

ANynew on Creatives New Nano Killer?

[kerunt @ Jun 19th 2006 7:52PM]

Side buttons are kind of a turn-off for me...

If you look at the top backside of the 60GB (black) version, you can see a slight bend in it, due to the larger hard drive...

[ryan @ Jun 19th 2006 7:59PM]

hmmm.. if you guys didnt know , frys electronics has had the gigabeat S 30 gig and 60 gig in stock for weeks. Ive had mine for weeks.
well thats the one in burbank, i dont know about other locations

[TeleCustom @ Jun 19th 2006 8:09PM]

I was really looking forward to this player, until now when I saw the $400 price tag for the 60 gig. I'll stick with iPod.

[Brian Baigorri @ Jun 19th 2006 8:15PM]

If this thing had wifi it would rock my world... I would be an instant vongo fan. Nice nonetheless.

Speaking of Vongo, has anyone been able to pull up a list of available movies on their website? Last I checked they only had 'top movies' listed. I'm afraid of commitment (even w/ a free trial) without seeing the goods first.

[G @ Jun 19th 2006 8:30PM]

Here is a video demo of the GUI
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3428996358728158914

[blackout @ Jun 19th 2006 8:30PM]

looks really arent its strongpoint are they?

[David @ Jun 19th 2006 8:34PM]

it looks nicer than the 5G iPod. it seems like a decent player as well, though the audio battery life is only 12 hours and you can't change the background on that ugly now playing screen.

[sputnik @ Jun 19th 2006 8:35PM]

Wow the GUI looks very impressive. Everything loads quickly and seems very intuitive. I'm holding out to see what new players Creative is rumored to come out with soon. But it looks like PMC 2.0 is the way to go.

[blackout @ Jun 19th 2006 8:37PM]

yes, but it does look about 9 months too late to do anything to the ipod's markket share.

[Blue @ Jun 19th 2006 8:48PM]

Too bad Vongo is the biggest piece of crap to come down the pipe in years. I have called them 6 times to cancel, each time waiting almost an hour, only to have them NEVER pick up. They don't respond to emails either.

AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS!

[edgar @ Jun 19th 2006 9:08PM]

no OGG support, no buy.

[Guruboy @ Jun 19th 2006 9:12PM]

I would much rather get a Vision:M simply for the battery life. The Gigabeat battery life is too iPod-esque. I like the Vision:M because it maintains an "I'm not an expensive, flashy iPod" look that means I won't be wicked disappointed per every scratch/fingerprint.

The Gigabeat is a wicked good alternative (as in similar in form/function) to the iPod, but that's about it.

[E @ Jun 19th 2006 9:13PM]

I'm just waiting for DS to show up and post some variations of "It's hideous" and "They have a looong way to go until they catch up to Apple's designers".

I have a video Ipod, it's cool, but I wouldn't have a problem switching to something else that's as good, at least as small, but easier to get video media into, and better battery life.

[James @ Jun 19th 2006 9:13PM]

TeleCustom: I got my 30 gig for $267 ($307 after next day shipping), I'm pretty sure the 60 gig is going to have competitive pricing too. Not to mention it comes with AV Cables for TV hookup and a USB converter to directly plug in to your digital camera.

No more iTunes or extra software to install, my podcasts and TV Torrents sync up great with Windows Media Player 10 and 11.

My iPod = extra storage hard drive for my laptop.

[Danny @ Nov 2nd 2006 12:13AM]

James,
You said you bought the 30gb, does it have an audio line out? I would like to buy one, but from the pictures I've seen it doesn't have a dedicated audio line out. I will be using mine mostly in my car and my home receiver and the connection thru the headphone wouldn't do. Thanks!

[h0ss66 @ Jun 19th 2006 9:32PM]

I had the gigabeat s, its really nice however it didn't work with my sony camera when i tried to load it up directly. Thus, I returned it and got an ipod video 60gb. The Gigabeat is nice, tons of features and the OS is slick. Ipod is just a better design and the screen seems bigger.

[Ware2 @ Jun 19th 2006 9:37PM]

The gigabeat looks great and all, but when is it going to be widely available? Right now I can only find it online. I would like to go to a physical store and get my hands on one to check it out and then buy it online at a cheaper price if I can.

Brian Baigorri: I agree about not signing on untill you see the full list of available movies from Vongo. The only reason they probably won't show you is because its not that great.

[EnzoTen @ Jun 19th 2006 10:02PM]

CNet gave the player high marks but i had this to say about it:

"Overall this player is good, but it is by no means great, because I feel that the above stated are series flaws. I want to be able to use a player how I want to and not be tethered by proprietary transfer methods and monopolized file formats. If I had to use one word to describe my experience with the Gigabeat S series, it would be: disappointing."

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2006/06/toshiba-gigabeat-s30-s60-review.php

[Whitney @ Jun 19th 2006 10:37PM]

To the person who said the $400 turned them off, it's priced exactly the same as the iPod. It does more, so what is the problem?

Anyway, URGE seems more interesting to me than Vongo, but the player looks excellent.

[Big Sam @ Jun 19th 2006 10:57PM]

Its not mass storage compliant? What's the point. That would be the big selling point for me over the iPod. I don't want to have to use software to copy my music. I just want to plug it in an copy it over.

[Jono @ Jun 19th 2006 11:26PM]

i ordered my Gigabeat S60 for 361 after everything, which i think is a better deal than the ipod video 60GB.

http://etailelectronics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=06671&Category_Code=

I have played with my friends and the interface is VERY nice. I am somewhat disappointed with some other features but i'll take it over an ipod anyday.

[Arash @ Jun 19th 2006 11:45PM]

I like my 60gb gigabeat s over my ipod. I find the user interface more intuitive & i like the looks. I also only paid $345 for it online.

[S.A. @ Jun 20th 2006 12:47AM]

Vongo sucks, at least their support does. I tried it out for the free trial and I thought it was okay, its not a whole lot of really new movies and Im not really into wathching old movies. I would subscribe if I had the time to watch the movies. Anyway, Ive been trying to cancel my subscription since the day before my free trial was up. I called a few times and waited on hold for about 15 minutes each time. I also emailed them that day. That was Friday. It is now Monday night and I still have not received an email reply. If they would pump up their customer service and get more new release movies it would be a great service. It also does not support my zen vision m which sucks.

[Marian @ Jun 20th 2006 2:48AM]

I am not impressed

[Tomas @ Jun 20th 2006 3:59AM]

Someone mentioned Urge. I have to say that WMP 11, Urge, and my gigabeat s30 is a damn good combo.

Vongo defenitly has some bugs in it. But it is promising and hopefully more titles gets added and the bugs get worked out. With a well stocked library, $9.99 for unlimited downloads is a pretty good deal. Specially considering that you can hook up the Gigbeat to your TV and enjoy the movies.

[Lincoln's Log @ Jun 20th 2006 9:08AM]

I'm just curious - if the iPod is such an inferior product to just about anything else that comes out, why does everyone around here feel compelled to draw a comparison in the first place? Why is there such a clamoring to celebrate an alternative to the iPod? Honestly, are you truly buying a product because it's offering a better solution or are you buying it simply because the iPod is too popular and you "dare to be different"? Just sayin...

Oh and for all the hoo-ha about the iPod being closed and proprietary and iTunes DRM being so "restrictive" - do any of Creative's players work with anything other than Windows? Samsung? Toshiba? iTunes DRM is cross-platform and uses a standard format (mp4) whereas all of these orgasmically friendly and fabulous alternatives offer the fugly Windows-only DRMed WMA format. iTunes + iPod = PC or Mac. :)

[Steve @ Jun 20th 2006 9:59AM]

Lincoln you dumb twat.. PlaysForSure DRM is also cross platform and agnostic... anybody can licence the tools required to view the DRM'ed files for other platforms... there are windows media viewers/players for Linux, Palm OS and embedded devices such as DVD players. It isn't restricted to Windows as you suggest, and is infact less restricted than Apple's so-called FairPlay DRM which is restricted to their own crappy hardware... sans a crappy phone Motorola made that nobody bothered with.

As for the players... Yes! You will find Creative, Samsung and Toshiba players that work on other platforms because they support UMS. Just drag and drop files onto the device with OS's that support USB.

Tip for the future: Don't make yourself look the dumb misinformed iPod sheep anymore than is completly necessary!

[georgel @ Jun 20th 2006 10:03AM]

I have this player and i had a 5g video ipod before it. All I have to say is this player is better than ipod. It looks much cooler in person and compares to ipods design equally. The thing is no one can think for themselves today. Everyone knows an ipod so they assume its the best one. Battery life is always an issue to everyone but who the hell needs more than 12 hours of battery life is what i want to know. Geez people thats what chargers are for, when are you going to be without an ac outlet for more than 12 hours?? The interface is easier than even ipods. I never cared for the scroll wheel becuase when jogging its almost impossible to get the thing on the album you want without going back and forth a couple times first. The funny thing is these people who get mad because it doesnt have ogg support or whatever, but thats because 99% of people just use mp3's. Who has time to change 1000 of songs to ogg anyway and who cares. The only people that care about stuff like that is the 1% of the population and star trek fans. Enough of my ranting but seriously those who arent brain washed by steve jobs and apple, this player is great. The best thing, its nearly scratch resistant!! Hear that apple?

[Yaamo @ Jun 20th 2006 10:22AM]

Howsabout dropping the price of each by $100 if you sign up for a year of Vongo and/or Urge? Let's get these subsidies going people!

[DS @ Jun 20th 2006 11:45AM]

I hate to disapoint, I really don't even think this player is worth commenting on. Design wise, these things are stuck in the late 1990's. They remind me of something sony would have put out (i.e. crapola). Ill save the generic "DS comment" for marginally better looking players...

-DS

[Pierre Argubi @ Jun 20th 2006 12:25PM]

anything but windows and i'll stick with ipod! STILL THE BEST

[ViperrepiV @ Jun 20th 2006 3:06PM]

hahahah DS......you still commeneted

[D Unit @ Jun 20th 2006 3:33PM]

If this was mass storage compliant I would buy this in a second. I don't want to use Windows Media Player to transfer files. How lame is that?

[E @ Jun 20th 2006 3:37PM]

DS

Thanks for not disappointing me and posting something other than your generic commentary on design.

So what would you do differently design-wise?

Not copying apple of course...

[J. @ Jun 20th 2006 4:02PM]

"slight bend" comment is wrong:
There is no "slight bend" in the 60GB version, as the 1st commenter wrongly pointed out. If you look closely at the pictures above, they are distorted on the backs. Look closely at the 30GB picture-- photographer cut/editted off part of the earphone hole! Then compare to 60GB picture and you'll notice there's plenty of plastic between the hole and the back, that's bc this one wasn't cut off.

For actual pictures, go to the source:

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/adet.to?poid=335575&seg=HHO&coid=-27704

Then click on "magnify" and you can see that both are the same.
Also, if you read the "features" on both, you'll see they both have the exact same dimensions and wieght.

Side buttons = huge convenience vs. ipods:
I view this as a bad comment from an unobjective source as well. At least it HAS a seperate volume changing mechansim. One infuriating thing about iPods is volume control in on the spin wheel. Thus if you are navigating outside the song/play, you have to go BACK to change volume. This is similar to how Jobs seems to hate advanced mice, and thus always ships his computers with a one-button mouse. Also infuriating. Simplicity is awesome, but I believe even my grandfathers can figure out volume control-- they had radios since the 20's!

GUI is best ever:
Gigabeat S is the most user-friendly device ever made for playing music/video. The cross button is awesome, you get a satisfying click for every time you push it for single increments, and you can hold it down to move fast within a menu. SO MUCH BETTER than touch pads, spin wheels, and all the other touchy-feely crap out there. This device is for men who like hardware, buttons, and feedback from the device that something is operating. The menu button is incredibly useful, as is the back button. I agree with Apple's simplicity motif, but not to the point of making things harder. Dedicated volume button rocks, as does the advance, play/pause, reverse buttons people are used to.

intra-Song Advance/reverse:
Lastly, you CAN advance WITHIN a song, or reverse. This is a great feature in my opinion, something I'd always require in my CD players and tape players. Sometimes you just want to rehear a part of something, not start it from the beginning. I wish all the device and software guys would figure this out. Ever listen to a conference call online that won't let you reverse a few seconds? Frustrating right? Don't under-estimate this feature.

Battery life: this is tough to measure until i use it more, and until the battery gets used enough to figure out how it's going to act midlife or later in life. Certainly longer is better, so this could be a turnoff. However, the ipods are about the same, or worse, so battery is pretty much an issue for every mobile device.

[DS @ Jun 20th 2006 5:14PM]

all right I'll bite... There are a number of things I would change about this unit, the fact that it is thicker then the ipod and *MUCH* thicker then the nano for one, is something that would need to be changed. Silver on black is just a very dated look to me. It might have impressed me in 1986, but not now. Third, there are *WAY* to many buttons on this beast, The iPods click wheel is much more elegant. Finally the buttons themselves screem "I was designed in the same factory in China where I was built". I mean there is nothing sexy about the button layouts. Anyway, I probably should have just left a generic comment, but whatever.........


-DS

[Clint @ Jun 20th 2006 5:24PM]

This a great device. I like the Vongo service but, as some pointed out it's selection is kind of limited and features alot of older movies. I am a movie buff so this is great for me lots and lots of movies all for only ten bucks.

Currently I am trying to fill up the Gigabeat S with video and it is unbelievably easy. My only complaint is that as of right now you can not run WMP11 and Vongo at the same time and transfer files from both programs. Presently only one program can access the Gigabeat while both pieces of software are running. You must disconnect the device, close the software, reconnect the deivce and reopen the software before transfering files from the other. This is the only major flaw I have found with the combination of Gigabeat S and Vongo. I am sure this will be fixed in an upcoming update.

My only other compliant is that you can not transfer all of the Vongo movies to a portable device. Only movies that are downloadable as portable. There is also currently no way to search Vongo only for portable movies.

Despite these flaws I love this device and plan to buy another for my girlfriend.

[Michael @ Jun 20th 2006 7:03PM]

This thing seems nice, but I don't really like how it doesn't support Divx. I know the ipod doesn't support Divx either but I was kind of hoping any competition to an ipod would.

I also don't like the side buttons or the vertical screen. If it's meant for watching movies it should at least have a 4:3 ratio screen while placed vertical. Looks like you have to turn it on it's side to watch movie properly. Guess that's not that big of a deal, but still.

[Lincoln's Log @ Jun 21st 2006 9:15AM]

Steve! Wow, such incredible hostility and you don't even know me from Adam. I don't typically get into the tit for tat here on these message boards, I do have to respond, even if nobody else is reading this thread. Apple DRM is almost identical feature for feature with Microsoft's DRM. You can authorize up to 5 computers to play the songs, burn up to 7 playlists and play them on an infinite number of iPods. The big difference is that MS DRM is WMA-based and DOES NOT work on the Macintosh. "Marketshare!" you cry. Well, I'll give Windows just about every corporate desktop but when it comes to the consumer market, there are quite a few Macs out there that just love to play with digital music. Unfortunately, Microsoft no longer supports WMP on the Mac. Well I say unfortunately in the event that you are trying to use one of those other players with the Mac. You can of course purchase an iPod and be certain that it's all just gonna work seamlessly as a unified experience, just like the Mac itself but I digress. Apple DRM is PC or MAC which pretty much covers every consumer desktop. I wouldn't count Linux in this because it's definitely not considered a mainstream consumer desktop. Sorry penquin heads, it's true :(

Anyway, have a great day!

[James P @ Jun 21st 2006 11:33AM]

Re : Format Support

Anything that you can play in Windows Media Player with the appropriate codec installed (OGG, DivX etc) can be sync'd to the Gigabeat. WMP transcodes the files on the fly as you sync OR can transcode and cache all files in the background while you aren't syncing so sync speed is improved. There's an ovious tradeoff there between disk space and sync speed.


Re : Apple DRM

I'm willing to be proved wrong but I don't think Fairplay DRM supports either subscription payment models or the complex time window based viewing windows required by the movie studios of a service like Vongo so that content automatically expires on your device/PC when Vongo's licence to the content has expired.


Re : iTunes MP4 Support

While iTunes uses MP4 as the audio format I believe the tagging information is somewhat proprietary.

[cory @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:45AM]

I just got my gigabeat today. First of all, Its way sweeter than my I pod, which is also sweet. The interface is way easier to manuever around with. Ohh, who owns a mac anyway, I don't know a single person who does. Anyone want to buy an Ipod, oh yeah, by the way... Itunes does suck. Sure there are more Ipods out there, but I have a feeling that the Ipod won't be the king of the hill much longer. I don't see how it could just by comparing the two devices I have in front of me right now. The apple is rotten, time to toss it...

[Thomas @ Aug 17th 2006 12:31PM]

I have bought the S60 and I am totally disappointed. The device is nice and works fine but the way you have to sync the music using MediaPlayer 10 is not working for ripped CD's that do not have Tags. I have audio books that I did place in the Music folder using the FileManager. The S60 attempts to sort them by Artist, Song, Genres, etc. but does not give you a folder view as the F60 did or as any other MP3 player I owned did. This makes this player useless for anyone that likes to listen to audio books and music that was riped from a CD. I liked this device because of size bothy physically and storage but this flaw made me decide to put it on Ebay and get rid of it. It is unfortunate that such a flaw is produced by Toshiba. I even called the customer service and they told me to simply add tags to all my 7000 songs and audio books, Yeah right!!!

My recommendation is do not buy this device until the patched this mistake in the interface design.

[kathyupshaw @ Jan 18th 2007 12:52PM]

i would like to know how do cancel my order with vongo

[rbtmike2 @ Feb 1st 2007 8:36PM]

I need to contact the Vongo network via e-mail or phone. Please reply as I have a 30 day free trial period in which I wish to utilize for son and grandchildren.How can that be achieved. It is the movie network for new ATT/SBC customers with Dsl
capability.

Mr. Rone

[bornking @ Mar 23rd 2007 8:47PM]

wow, i was readin the comments and just laugh in total awe. i have the 60 gigabeat which i just purchased for 199@JRmusic. everything people was puttin a negative spin on i find to be a laughing matter. I play my gigabeat till i fall asleep(battery problem dont exist)...mind u i had an ipod (3rd generation, nano, mini, MD player..etc...). I am totally in awe with this machine, i just watched a movie and the clearity is sick. I been ripping cd's to this piece and hardly used up any space and believe me they are clear and the display is again...sick. The buttons are a big difference from Ipod and i am happy about that...they give u more control over your mp player then apple. At the moment i have about 120 cds on here at 128 bits and 400 pics, and 5 videos from vongo...still have 52 gigs on here. Batter is is at 63% from just watchin a old sci fi movie and now i am listening to the radio while typing. this joint is Sick and i am using my old 3rd generation ipod as to get bootleg singles on test to see if i want to buy any entertainers cd or just listen to Podcasts...other wise it would have been in someone elses hand for having no use. this Gigabeat will be around me for at least another 3 or more years and its also killing the Zune(which Toshiba also made for microsoft). No comp. my friend owns the 80 gig ipod and smiled while i was displaying all the gigabeat had compared to the ipod and the display was just the killer.

[Kireme @ Nov 27th 2008 10:46PM]

I love my 30 gig Gigabeat it owns