LG intros Shuffle-esque UP3 Sharp and Flat DAPs

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]

[Stu L Tissimus @ Jul 7th 2006 5:20PM]

Doesn't the USB spec require the little metal container around the actual connector?

[poo @ Jul 7th 2006 5:50PM]

Just beecuase it has no screen doesn't mean it is shuffle esque. Anything that plays music is likened to the iPod. That is itarded.

[Special_K @ Jul 7th 2006 6:20PM]

poo (I cringed with every letter of your name I typed): clearly you didn't look at the original UP3: http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/27/lg-readies-ipod-shuffle-clone/
It's white, it shuffles music, it has no screen, and has a very simmilar USB port cap- ergo, it's iPod-esque. Basically LG just went and kept the same idea as the original UP3 and purposely de-iPodified it.

[Whatever he said @ Jul 7th 2006 6:23PM]

iTend to iGree

[tristanfey @ Jul 7th 2006 6:39PM]

Any product that is a competetor of an existing market leader is going to be compared to it. Apple iPods hold a 75% market share... of course course descriptions are going to use references to it.

[last @ Jul 7th 2006 6:57PM]

how is this a shuffle copy?? i don't see any resemblance of a shuffle. It looks A LOT better than a shuffle. Sleeker design. I really like the buttons it has. Is it even a button or is it the touch sensitive ones because that what it looks like.

OWNS the shuffle. what? rectangular means ipod shuffle??

[daniel @ Jul 7th 2006 10:21PM]

So any non-Apple MP3 with [insert common MP3 functions] with a [insert common MP3 design and colour] is a copy of an iPod [insert any iPod model]?

That's just plain BS.

[Tony Rayo @ Jul 8th 2006 4:05AM]

I can see that USB connector snapping off accidently and easily by a small downward force... not smart and it doesn't make it look any "sexier" or even more tech-like to me, oh well.

[Paul Wilson @ May 15th 2007 5:08PM]

I just bought two of these last night to use up my gift card. One for me and one for a great friend.

The LG UP3# aka UP3(Sharp)
Here are the things that attracted me to it:
-The packaging is a little wider than a stick of gum.
-It has an active OLED (anything with OLED is amazing.)
-it has 2GB of flash storage
-It has a slide-out USB port (that’s why there's no metal cover in the picture. There’s a slick little button on the back that slides out the USB male part)
-It was $10 less than the iPod, is drag and drop DRM-less (unless you really want to use WMA) with current support for MP3, win and Mac wave uncompressed, and more importantly OGG. What would be nice is support for H.264 audio. Firmware update!
-In almost all portable audio players meant for the specific chore of playing audio, the manufacturer usually includes one of two things: an FM tuner or a voice recorder. LG included a voice recorder.
-it also has support for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and most European language characters.
-I'd suggest this player to anyone who's looking for something in the price range of the Creative Zen and Apple iPod. Why? Because you get twice the storage, an OLED (again, amazing) screen, a lithium polymer battery, sweet looking and sounding headphones, and a lanyard (but who uses a lanyard anyways?).
-I use the Banshee audio library application under Ubuntu 7.04, moving music from it to my LG UP3# was a snap; the device has been plug and play with every other system I've tried.
-I only have one gripe with the UP3: the menu system. There are two many options that could have been integrated into one single menu (and in a way that does not require you to pause your song). LG programmers, if you're reading this, make sure to fix this in the next firmware update. Oh, and remove the equalizer modes. True audiophiles don't use DBB.
-And now, a critique of the design: I've read many words on how this new device, as with many other newcomers to the market, has a sort of "oh they ripped off apple's design", but you know what? There aren't many ways to improve the geometrical shape of a rectangle with rounded edges and the necessary-to-get-the-job-done buttons. The main shape of the LG is similar to the late Apple iPod, but the LG has chamfered edges and no removable (or as I'd like to think losable) cap. The plug slides in and out, the button layout and the screen dimensions and design are totally different from any other manufacturers. I think in most respects the LG UP3# looks more like the luxury product that it is, compared to the other products which have a cuter-toy-look to them, and has just the right weighting to it.
-Also, the LG UP3# is also made in South Korea, a Democratic Presidential Republic, where as the Apple iPod and the Creative Zen (and just about everything else) are manufactured in the Communist People's Republic of China. Yes, yes, I am aware that Samsung, the memory giant, produces some of its products that it farms out outside of the PRC, but in the end, its "...California. Made in China" that ends up on the label. Life's Good in the free world.

[lil_buddha_gal @ Aug 7th 2007 10:09PM]

Can someone tell me what software I can hear my voice recording files?? My computer doesnt recogise the files. It tells me to find a software from the net, etc... plz email me if u have the answer..

Thankyou!!

[lil_buddha_gal @ Aug 15th 2007 3:20AM]

hehe.. sorri just reply is fyn.. i had to choose between this LG one and a Samsung one, in which i chose LG becuase it looked more hotter!! love the slip-in usb connector, but i do agree it can easily be snapped! One other thing as well, it turns on soo slow.. XD I have to press the button a few times cuz it wont turn on after the first time i press for 30 secs. But oh wellz at least it looks good!