GigabeatS
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Y2K8 Zune quirk really a Freescale bug?
Well, here's an interesting twist to this story. That mysterious and completely enraging "Zune bug" that cropped up on the final day of 2008 may not have been restricted to Microsoft PMPs. A much smaller cadre of Toshiba Gigabeat users reportedly experienced similar issues, and some even noted that the whole "discharge and re-date" rigmarole fixed their unit right up as well. Upon further investigation, it seems that the issue may actually reside in the Freescale MC13783 processor, which -- coincidentally enough -- is used in the Zune 30 and a few of Toshiba's alternatives. We suppose it's a little late to ask, but did any non-Zune owners experience similar issues just prior to the dawn of '09? Or were you too busy, um, partying like it was 1999?[Thanks nywytboy68]
Apple to ace the iPod click-wheel? Not likely.
Nothing starts the day like a freshly squeezed Apple rumor, right? Well you're looking at 10 supposed iPod (and one iPhone?) "redesigns" which AppleInsider extracted from the bowels of a European trademark and design office. Credited to Andre K. Bartley, an Apple interface designer with several iPod-related patent filings in the US and Europe under his belt, these designs were registered in January 2006 without any descriptive data. We don't doubt the authenticity of this filing, however, what's hard to stuff down the ol' pie-hole is the idea of Apple walking away from its much loved, and oft imitated, click-wheel interface for the iPod as AI suggests. And certainly not in favor of a Gigabeat e(S)que cross-hair controller or uh, Creative's scroll strip. Considering Apple's long history of litigation over interface design, we're probably just looking at some legal maneuvering here. Next.
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.
Toshiba Gigabeat S exposed!
Congratulations Toshiba, not only has your new Gigabeat S been well received by the press and spoken of with reverence in the halls of Engadget, but now it's been ushered into the elite realm of "interesting enough to post pictures of its dissection." Anything But iPod did the honors here, and while they found the battery to be easily replaceable, they don't really recommend going to the same lengths they did to check out the processor and the rest. Luckily you can live vicariously and peep these nudie pics from the comfort of your own home.
Cringingly blurry pics reveal Microsoft's "iPod killer"?
An anonymous tipster sent us a bunch of pictures he shot last night from the outside of the Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz. While we don't normally toss up random pics we get in the tip jar, this guy claims the pics depict the filming of a commercial of a possible "iPod killer" from Microsoft. We can't vouch for the validity of this, or for this guy's camera steadying abilities, but there does appear to be something going on here. The device's screen ratio reminds us of the Gigabeat S, so Portable Media Center seems likely. Keep reading for even more nauseatingly blurry pictures of the device.
Toshiba Gigabeat S reviewed, iPod advantage "wiped out"
Boy oh boy, we knew the Toshiba Gigabeat S was good after our initial hands-on at CES, just not this good – according to CNET's review anyway. See, they just snagged a 30GB model which sports Microsoft's "super-intuitive" Portable Media Center (PMC) 2.11 software and is almost identical in size, weight, and battery life to the 5G iPod it's gunning for. The FM tuner and dedicated controls along the side were found to be a bonus and that cross-hair controller was both "tactile and delicate" allowing for "fluid and responsive" navigation even while multitasking. It also comes with a USB-conversion cable for transferring snaps off digital cameras without additional accessories. The only real drawback is due to the Gigabeat S' support of Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) over USB Mass Storage -- a choice that limits its use to XP systems, only. When the swooning was over, CNET bestowed their Editor's Choice and an 8.7/10 rating on the S – easily besting the scores of both Apple's iPod with video and Creative's Zen Vision:M. But the accolades didn't stop there. See, according to this CNET review, the introduction of the Gigabeat S in combination with Windows Media Player 11 (now in beta), MTV's URGE music and the Vongo movie subscription service has "wiped out" any advantage the "iPod/iTunes ecosystem" had over its WMA competition. Maybe, but we've seen so-called iPod killers come and go many times before, so we won't be issuing a deathwatch just yet, dig? Still, if you're running Windows Media Center Edition (or thinking about it)... what's keepin' ya from dropping the $280 or so required to bring this mutha home?
Gigabeat S now on sale... at least somewhere
Yeah, yeah, we've been hearing mild rumblings about the impending launch of the Gigabeat S; in our ever vigilant effort to keep our collective ears pressed firmly to the ground we've got something for ya. Now, we don't normally do this, but we were tipped off to a web shop called eTailElectronics apparently located in North Dakota that supposedly has some coveted Toshiba MES60VK 60GB Gigabeat S players -- and is selling them for a solid $55 off MSRP markup, no less (weighing in at $345.99 not including T&S&H). It took us a couple days to get someone on the horn, but they confirmed that they had a few dozen players left, they've been flying out the door, and yes, they were actually really physically sitting right there, waiting to ship. Being that this was a business call in the name of journalistic research, however, we refrained from buying one. It was rough though, believe you us, rough indeed. [Thanks, Brian]Read
Toshiba Gigabeat S60 shows up in ads, but not in stores
We know that many of you (and by you, we mean us) have been looking forward to Toshiba's Gigabeat S PMPs ever since you we saw them way back at CES in January, so we can all start getting a little excited about a print ad from Midwest electronics chain American TV that shows the hot little player on sale for $400 after rebate. The reason we can only get a little excited, however, is because calls to several of the company's retail locations reveal that they don't actually have the S in stock, with one clerk unable to give any arrival estimates, while another claimed that "we're getting a shipment today, maybe." It wouldn't be prudent at this juncture to start tossing out nasty terms like bait and switch, as we're sure American didn't knowingly advertise a product that they don't have in stock, but it's still a little irksome to see an ad for something you can't buy. On the plus side, both salespeople were able to confirm that Toshiba has not in fact gone and gutted this model's capacity to the mere 60MB that American is publicizing.[Via DAPreview]
Gigabeat S previewed by AV Watch
We're doing our best to not lament on the Japanese snagging the Gigabeat S first, which is officially due for release April 28th -- yes, this year. We still don't know how long it'll be until we get our own launch this side of the Pacific, but AV Watch's DEVICE Viking (ahem) took a good long look at the portable media device that first whet our appetites at CES. We won't waste your time with so much wonky machine translation interpretation, but from what we could tell, they liked it -- you know where to go if your appetite too could use a little re-whetting.
Video feature: Toshiba's Gigabeat S
One of the fav products around CES among the ranks of the Engadget Army has definetely been Toshiba's Gigabeat S-series. On Wednesday's podcast we aired the interview with John Starkweather of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices; today you can peep the device for yourself.FormatQT MPEG4, 1:28, 5.69 MB[Download Here]
