After witnessing iriver's gorgeous lineup in person at CES, we can't help but shed a tear each time one of these Siren DAPs taints the image a touch more. Nevertheless, the totally bland DP150 (the DP100's successor, by the way) weighs in at 24-grams, is available in pink, blue and gold motifs and will arrive in 1GB and 2GB forms. Users will also find a built-in equalizer, MP3 / WMA support and a 128 x 32 OLED display to boot. Sure, this critter will last for around 17 hours sans a recharge, and it is priced at just ¥6,980 ($65) / ¥8,980 ($84), but we still think know iriver could've done better than this. Yeah, so we've got high expectations -- like that's a bad thing?

[Via Tech Digest]

Although the Rumbler, conceived and sold by Federal Signal, has been helping cops grab the attention of citizens for a few months, its shock waves are just now getting the publicity they demand. The setup is being installed on patrol cars in locales such as Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and New York, and it serves the purpose of moving crowds / vehicles out of the way when an officer is headed to an emergency. More specifically, Rumbler-equipped rides take advantage of the powerful woofers and amplifier to shake the ground beneath them and get people a-lookin' some 200-feet away. Reportedly, the gizmo is meant to be used "judiciously, in situations where motorists should pull over to make way for the police," and it can also be helpful in grabbing the eyes of deaf drivers who cannot hear the traditional siren. 'Course, you could just load up your ride with a few subs and pop in a low-frequency CD to achieve the same goal, but don't be shocked if your copycatting ways net you an unwanted disturbing the peace citation.

It actually makes us a wee bit nauseous to see all these low-end Siren devices come from iriver's team of design slayers. Nevertheless, we'll hold down our angst-kebab long enough to tell you about their new DP350 media player. Your ¥17,800 (about $153) takes home 4GB of storage, a 1.8-inch 128 x 160 pixel display, and support for MPEG-4 and WMV video and AAC, OGG, MP3, WMA, and WAV audio. It also features an FM radio which, along with your voice, can be directly recorded to WAV/WMA files. Ironically, the big name players in this category offer devices at the same price with arguably better specs (or at least ecosystems) in DAPs half as thick. So sorry iriver, but you've got us scratching our collective heads over this release.

Merely four months after acquiring Siren, iriver has just unveiled its first DAP under the new brand: the DP250. This pocket-friendly (and admittedly stylish) player will be available in 1GB or 2GB flavors, black or white color schemes, and include an FM tuner / transmitter, a built-in speaker, voice recording functionality, and a minuscule display to keep track of what's spinning. Additionally, you can expect around 18-hours of playtime on a single charge, and those parked in Japan can pick the 1GB edition up next week for ¥9,980 ($86) or double their capacity for ¥5,000 ($43) more.

[Via AnythingButiPod]

As if you weren't already inundated with digital picture frames on this beautiful Friday, here's yet another to chew on. Manufactured by Siren (you know, part of iriver), the DF150 ups the ante on the DF100 by expanding the screen real estate from five-inches to 5.6-inches and by increasing the onboard memory from 32MB to half a gigabyte. Additionally, you'll find an obligatory USB 2.0 port alongside memory slots to handle SD, MMC, miniSD, CF, and Memory Stick formats, and you can even change out the outer frame thanks to the wood and acyclic covers that are bundled in. Expect this sucka to land in Japan next week for ¥14,800 ($123).

[Via FarEastGizmos, image courtesy of Impress]

Here we go, the PN100 is the first product to be birthed from iriver's acquisition of Siren in Japan. The WinCE-based PN100 sold under the Siren branding is a first GPS navigator for Siren and features a 3.5-inch, 320 x 240 touchscreen LCD, SD slot, standard 3.5-mm audio jack, 3-hour battery, and support for plenty of audio and video playback including MOV/AVI/MP4/3GPP/ASF (SD-Video) and MP3/WMA/WAV file formats. Unfortunately, it lacks the refined design we've come to expect from iriver gear. Still it's early days so we'll assume (and hope) the PN100 was already in the production pipeline before the acquisition. Available in Japan starting August 3rd for about ¥39,800 or about $335.

[Via Impress]

Iriver Japan just announced the acquisition of Japan's Siren Corporation. As such, Siren -- the number 4 DAP maker in Japan -- looks to become the low-to-mid tier device maker in iriver's lustalicious DAP/PMP portfolio while introducing iriver to the digital photo frame business. Interestingly enough, Siren was started by two former bleeding edge Rio Audio employees, one of which was a former Creative employee. Now, they find themselves working for iriver, a division of S.Korea's ReignCom, a company started by a bunch of Samsung executives. Welcome to the incestuous family we call consumer electronics.

[Via Impress]

Siren, a gadget company helmed by ex-Rio employees that's flown largely under the radar, is launching two new home media streaming devices (oh yay), both due in early March. The Screamer pushes audio around on the crowded 2.4GHz spectrum at bitrates of up to 1.536Mbps, moving tracks from your Windows PC (sorry, Mac users) to your stereo up to 150 feet away via, controlled by its old school looking wireless remote. If the $130 price tag didn't convince you that it's not exactly a high end solution, the pair of RCA stereo jacks and a single 1/8th-inch stereo connector might better demonstrate that this is really more of a casual use device. Also announced: accompanying Siren Wireless Headphones, which not only pull down audio from your Screamer streamer, but can also talk back to your PC with Skype, thanks to a built-in mic. If sound quality is of concern, they operate between 20Hz - 20kHz, with 32 Ohm impedence, and 110dB sensitivity; the cans should last you up to 5 hours with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and run $99. Click on for more shots.

Couple of new digital picture frames to bring you courtesy of Smartparts and Siren, cause you know we just can't bear to let one slide by. Smartparts looks to be trying to de-emphasize the digital aspects of its frame (pictured above), slotting an 8.4-inch LCD into a genuine wood frame with a walnut finish (hey, not everyone's into the quasi-futuristic look). It'll handle just about every type of memory card, of which you'll need at least one spare cause it doesn't appear pack any storage of it's own -- it does come with a handy remote though, and will set you back about $200 US. Siren's frame (peep it after the break) has a smaller 5-inch display available in your choice of black or brown frames, and packs a welcome-but-paltry 32MB of built-in memory, in addition to the requisite line up of memory card support. No remote on this one though, but look for it to be available in Japan later this month for ¥17,800 (just over $150 US).

Read - Smartparts
Read - Siren

Japanese manufacturer Siren has announced a trio of thoroughly average-looking digital audio players today, each available in a couple of different variations. Starting at the bottom end, the DP100 (in the middle, above) is the lowest cost model, available in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB flavors for 5,980, 7,980, and 12,800 Yen respectively ($50-110 US), and available in your choice of silver, orange, or white. Next up is the Nano-esque DP200, also available in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB variations, although slightly pricier at 9,980, 13,800, and 18,800 Yen ($86-$160) -- but that'll get you a slick OLED screen as well as an FM tuner and voice recorder. The top-end model is the DP300, available only in 1GB and 2GB versions for 14,800 and 19,800 Yen respectively ($128 and $170 US), packing the same specs as the DP200 but adding video playback (DivX, even) on the player's spacious 128 x 128 screen. Look for them all to be available (in Japan) later this month.

[Via Impress]