Pmp -- Engadget

pmp posts

Hyundai Provia A7+ GPS unit adds multimedia playback, looks irresistible

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jul 7th 2009 at 8:34AM

It's no secret that some of our US editors have been feeling a bit of tech-envy toward our cousins from the far East, who consider 7-inch PNDs commonplace. Doing nothing to allay those emotions, Hyundai has announced the Provia A7+, which is -- you guessed it -- a 7-inch GPS-slash-PMP soon to be available in South Korea. The device comes with an integrated TV tuner (DMB), 800 x 480 resolution, video and audio playback, Navi-in-Picture functionality, and USB and SD connectivity to expand its abilities to match your imagination. If this thing's routing abilities are even half decent, it should sell like hot cakes in the middle of a particularly cold winter.

[Via Navigadget]

iriver E200 lands in the wild, might not have been worth the wait

by Paul Miller, posted Jul 5th 2009 at 4:55AM

Sure, we know that whenever we hear the word "aluminum" we're supposed to go all weak in the knees, but iriver hasn't really astounded us with this materials-tweaked rehash of the E100. Still, the OLED screen on the upcoming E200 has been bumped to 2.8-inches, so that's kind of nice, and while the capacitive touch buttons aren't a big win over the original rocker, at least the chassis seems thinner now. Check out the read link for some purported press shots that manage to be quite a bit more flattering.

[Via PMP Today]

Archos Vision PMPs get UK pricing, August release

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 12:32PM

Few details were available when Archos announced its new lineup of PMPs last month, but today we can provide you with fuller specs and news of imminent UK availability. The new flagship model, 3 Vision, comes with a 3-inch touchscreen, 8GB of storage, microSDHC card slot, video playback, and a few less significant features like a voice recorder, calendar, stopwatch and an FM transmitter for streaming music to your Hi-Fi. Positioned as a direct competitor to the iPod touch, the new Archos will cost nearly half as much at £90 ($148). Other models detailed today include the 2 Vision -- a 1.8-inch version of the foregoing that loses video playback but gains a 16GB option likely to be priced at £50 ($82) -- and the Archos Clipper, a 2GB no-frills player priced at £20 ($32). For those looking to get a head start on everyone else, the 8GB 2 Vision is already available through Archos' online store for £40 ($65).

[Via Pocket-lint]

Mintpass Mintpad and accessories get unboxed

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 24th 2009 at 2:34PM

We're still waiting for word of an official release over here, but that hasn't stopped the Mintpass Mintpad from winding its way to the US direct from Korea, and one of 'em has now wound up in the hands of the folks at Pocketables, who have promptly done a proper unboxing. In case you missed some of the earlier hands-on videos, perhaps the most striking thing about this one is just how tiny it really is (head on past the break for a comparison shot), although Pocketables says that it's well built and "makes a positive first impression when held in the hand," even if the bezel is apparently a bit chunky. They were also impressed by the accessories available out of the gate, including a stylish silicone sleeve, a screen protector, and a handy cradle, which you can also check out by hitting up the link below.

Continue reading Mintpass Mintpad and accessories get unboxed

Crapgadget: Delicious salmagundi of decorative inanities edition

by Laura June, posted Jun 21st 2009 at 12:36PM

We're always big fans of mixed-use gadgets -- but these ones kind of mutilate the principle. On hand today we've got a two pack of bedazzled necklaces -- one an MP3 player, the other a USB flash drive / watch combo. We've also unearthed a USB speaker that claims to be a whale, but more closely resembles a weird, in our opinion. Finally (and this one was worth the wait, trust us), we've got a tiny Moto Horn for your bike, which makes it "safer" to ride your bike by... making vroom vroom motorbike noises as you zoom along. Consider these our best suggestions for what to do with your disposable income, folks.

Read - USB Jewel Square Necklace MP3 Player
Read - USB Jewel Watch Necklace Flash Drive
Read - USB Cetacean Whale Speaker
Read - Moto Horn

Safa rolls out accelerometer-equipped G3 PMP

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 18th 2009 at 6:05PM

Safa's PMPs haven't always done that much to distinguish themselves from the masses of nondescript players out there, but it looks to have stepped up its game slightly with its new G3 model, which not only looks decent enough, but packs a still-not-all-that-common accelerometer to boot. Apart from that somewhat notable feature, you can expect to get a 3-inch touchscreen, 4GB or 8GB of storage, a built-in microphone, an FM tuner, support for all the usual audio / video formats, and a promised 15 hours of battery life for audio and four hours for video. No word on a price or release date just yet, but if Safa's past PMPs are any indication, you can expect this one to remain a Korean-exclusive.

[Via Le Journal du Geek]

Mintpass launches English Mintpad website, sign of things to come?

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 15th 2009 at 3:09PM

Well, there's not exactly a whole lot to go on with this one, but Mintpass looks to have just recently launched an English version of its Mintpad website, which could well be yet another a sign that the MID / PMP is finally nearing a release outside of South Korea. Of course, that's still not quite a sure thing, especially since the previously rumored April / May release date has now come and gone, and there's unfortunately not so much as a price on the website to further back things up. There are plenty of specs, however, including the same 400MHz ARM processor, 128MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and built-in WiFi as before, plus no shortage of pics in case you've yet to get an up close look at the device.

[Via PMP Today]

Samsung's upcoming YP-R1 uncovered, just barely worth the effort

by Paul Miller, posted Jun 13th 2009 at 8:31PM

There's nothing particularly offensive about this DAP, but we can't imagine it changing anyone's life -- and really, is that too much to ask out of a portable audio player? After catching wind of this upcoming YP-R1 from Samsung, the fine folks at DAP Review did a bit of sleuthing to pair up the specs with a photo, and it's all pretty traditional: 8GB of flash storage, a 2.7-inch 400 x 240 touchscreen display, a good amount of video and audio codecs, TV-out, Bluetooth, FM, e-book reader and even some games. Supposedly it'll be out in the UK on July 30th for £109.99 (about $181 US). Like we said, pretty standard stuff, but who knows, maybe Samsung will surprise us all with a new UI theme or something.

Archos 3 8GB touchscreen PMP launched

by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 11th 2009 at 1:13PM

Not much detail on this yet, but Archos just announced the Archos 3 touchscreen media player. The 8GB device has a three-inch touchscreen and will do 14 hours of audio playback, as well as photos and voice recording. We're waiting for pricing and availability, we'll let you know.

iriver's M7 NV Classic navigates the road and your media

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 9th 2009 at 8:23AM

Mmm mm m, iriver, you sure know a thing or two about industrial design. Meet the M7 or NV Classic if you prefer, an update to the original iRiver NV only without the massive jogwheel wart. As a navigator, this 181 x 120 x 21.5 device features SiRF GRF3i+ GPS, an SDHC slot for maps, a pair of 1.5-watt speakers for turn-by-turn audio, and a biggie 7-inch 800x480 touchscreen TFT LCD to show you the way. As a media device we're looking at DMB digital television, support for MPEG1, MPEG4, WMV9, and XVID video, MP3, WMA, OGG, and WAV audio, JPEG and BMP images, and a bundled 4GB SDHC card for storage. Priced for Korea at KRW329,000 which would be right around $248 if it ever came to the US, which it won't, at least not in this configuration.

[Via Slashgear and Generation MP3]

Gallery: iriver's M7 NV Classic navigates the road and your media

Miffy MP3 player is so cute, it breaks our evil, black hearts

by Laura June, posted Jun 6th 2009 at 12:43AM

In general, we prefer horrifying to adorable -- terrifying to sweet. But, every once in awhile, something so incredibly darling comes along that we simply must draw our fangs back into our mouths and say, "damn, that's cute." mobiBLU's Miffy MP3 player is quite possibly that item for this fiscal quarter. The PMP itself -- that's "Miffy," is a darling rabbit sans mouth but with plenty of 'tude, and the docking station with built-in speaker... well, you can see for yourselves how insane it is. No word on availability outside of Korea, but believe us, we'll be on the lookout for it. Two more shots after the break, hit the read link for a soul-crushing demo video.

[Via Trusted Reviews]

Continue reading Miffy MP3 player is so cute, it breaks our evil, black hearts

Atree rolls out J2 Red Eye White Edition PMP

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 1st 2009 at 7:11PM

Atree's J2 "Red Eye" PMP has only floating around for a short while now, but it looks like the company is already busy filling out its offerings, and it's now kicked out a new white model for those not so keen on the previous candy-colored options. Apart from that change, however, the player looks to remain the same as before, with it sporting a 2.4-inch QVGA display, your choice of 4GB or 8GB capacities, a microSD card slot for expansion, support for most of the big audio / video formats, and that trademark HAL 9000-esque "Red Eye" button on the front. Still no word on an official release 'round here, as you might have guessed, but it starts at the local equivalent $92 if you're planning a Korean vacation anytime soon.

[Via PMP Today]

Philips GoGear Opus reviewed: solid audio, but painfully boring

by Darren Murph, posted May 31st 2009 at 6:37PM

When we had the downright magnificent opportunity to toy with Philips' latest PMP line here in the States, we immediately noticed that the GoGear Opus stood out among the rest. The crew over at TrustedReviews recently spent some quality time with the 8GB version of that very unit, and while they found the audio quality to be "excellent," they seemed rather disappointed -- if not irked -- by everything else in the package. For starters, the whole solution just felt boring, with critics noting that its biggest problem was a lack of "excitement." Granted, none of this would matter at a rock-bottom price point, but for $100, there's an awful lot of competition. As we found during our short time with the player, these folks also noticed that the user interface was simply "old-fashioned," and that video playback was nothing to write home about. The bottom line? Unless you score some kind of spectacular deal, your PMP dollars are probably best spent elsewhere.

Microsoft's Zune HD shipping on September 5th?

by Darren Murph, posted May 31st 2009 at 5:13PM

Look, we fully understand that September 5th is a long ways out, but don't think for a second that Microsoft isn't inking every last detail of its Zune HD launch in stone. That said, Windows expert and all-around good guy Paul Thurrott has been "told" that this very player will ship exactly on the fifth day of the ninth month of this year. Needless to say, that jibes with Microsoft's official line ("this fall"), but sadly, we've no other information to go on at the moment. In other words, feel free to pencil this one in, but keep that eraser handy -- cool?

[Via Zune Boards, thanks Joel]

Creative introduces toned-down ZEN Mozaic EZ300 PMP

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2009 at 7:54PM

We're not quite sure what all was wrong with the original ZEN Mozaic (Mosaic?), but evidently it demonstrated just a bit too much Mondrian. This go 'round, the ZEN Mozaic EZ300 ditches the hodgepodge of button colors and sticks strictly to pink or black, though most everything else remains the same. There's a 1.8-inch 160 x 128 resolution display, 4GB or 8GB of internal capacity, up to 32 hours of audio playback, MP3 / WMA / WAV / JPEG file support, an FM radio tuner, a five-band custom equalizer and USB 2.0 connectivity. It's available now for US and UK customers for $59.99 (4GB) / $79.99 (8GB). One more (big) look after the break.

[Via PMP Today]

Continue reading Creative introduces toned-down ZEN Mozaic EZ300 PMP