50HourBatteryLife
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MSI's Bluetooth-equipped MS-5552 DAP goes 50 hours nonstop
Looks like Aigo's A215 finally has some decent competition, as MSI's recently announced MS-5552 digital audio player matches the purported battery life minute for minute, but requires just a single AAA battery rather than the more traditional AA cell. Additionally, the larger, more vivid screen sure helps the MSI's appearance, but we're fairly certain that activating the built-in Bluetooth will knock those hours down in a hurry. Still, the aluminum alloy enclosure, D-pad styled controls, and integrated wireless functions aren't anything to sneeze at, but unfortunately MSI isn't so willing to unveil pricing and availability details just yet.[Via FarEastGizmos]
Aigo's A215 touts 50 hour battery life
There are those of us who want a portable music / media player that does it all, and lasts an unnecessarily long time on a single charge, but since that probably ain't happening anytime soon (without costing a small fortune), Aigo figured it might as well go all-out in one particular department for those who don't mind reaping the longevous benefits associated with simplicity. While the A215 can't play video clips, only sports a three-line LCD display, lacks an FM tuner, and can't be recharged through a USB port, this minuscule audio player does manage to outlast those feature-ridden competitors by pumping out the jams for 50 solid hours. The design here seems decent enough, and we're genuinely relieved that it doesn't borrow from the styling cues found on their MP3-playing (and opposite-gender-deterring) wristwatch. A notable limitation is the inability to play back any formats other than your basic MP3 and WMA files, though it apparently will play nice with WMA-DRM. Curiously enough, the spec sheet claims that legendary "50 hour" figure only applies when tapping your foot to MP3 files; if your collection happens to be in WMA, you can "only" count on 35 hours, for whatever reason. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a pocketable way to carry a few tunes around, and don't mind its sheer inability to do anything over and above play them back for an erroneously long time, the 2GB A215 can maximize the utility of that spare AA battery for £69.99 ($132).[Via MobileMag]
