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80% of launch PS3s will ship with HDMI
If you do manage to get your hands on one of the 400,000 Playstation 3's expected to be available in North America at launch, there is a very good chance you'll be buying one of the $600 60GB, HDMI & Wi-Fi-equipped (but no HDMI-cable) editions. This information of an 80/20 split in launch availability comes courtesy of an analyst who met with "Sony Playstation management", that also confirmed that despite the recent change in launch estimates, Sony thinks the blue laser diode shortage will be history by January 2007 and they'll be able to produce 1.2 million Playstation 3s (plus however many BDP-S1s, BWU-100As etc.) every month. Also of note was his expectation that Sony will put their online service on display at the Tokyo Game Show, including an internet browser and "full music and video downloads". We've been enjoying high-def streaming and HD downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace for almost a year, Sony needs to prove they can put together an interface and content package that matches up.
Creative's 60GB Zen Vision:M now shipping?
While everyone was focused on the hubbub surrounding the launch of the Zen Vision W and settlement with Apple, Creative quietly went ahead and gave the Zen Vision:M a bump in disk like we've been expecting. The new 60GB player is available in either black and white (only) and appears identical to its 30GB sib albeit with the inclusion of a USB hosting capability -- a slick, convenient way to quickly transfer data off USB-enabled devices (think your digital cameras snaps) without a PC. Unfortunately, while the Creative website has plenty of deets on the 60 gigger, the Creative store makes no mention of the new player at all. Fubar. Anyway, expect this to get sorted in hours or days with the price to mirror that other 60GB player pretty closely at around $399. [Thanks, John]
60GB Zen Vision:M shows up in magazine ad
The leaky ship that is Creative has already done enough rumor "confirmation" this week to suit an iPod fanboy for a good couple of years, but they thought they'd do just a little more by advertising a 60GB Zen Vision:M in the September issue of Maxim magazine. The only question now is not whether or not they're releasing a 60GB player, but whether they're going to wait until these things land on shelves before they actually fess up to the production of such a device by means of an official announcement. Try us, Creative -- we're all ears.Read - epiZENter [Via Anything But iPod]Read - The full ad at Image Shack
Creative Zen Vision:M due for 60GB upgrade next month?
All we've really got to go on so far is a quote from Creative Labs president Craig McHugh during their quarterly earnings conference call, but just because we don't have the word from a friend of a friend and didn't get the message passed in invisible ink doesn't mean we have to discount it entirely. Thus saith Craig: "As I mentioned earlier, what we're doing with the Zen Vision:M at the $299 level and then increasing it when we add 60GB." That marvelously ambiguous statement could mean $300 60 giggers, or a new pricepoint for the new size, but either way it looks like there's a new Zen Vision:M headed our way. Other rumors point to a September launch date to coincide with Microsoft's WMP11 launch for Windows XP, and it sounds to be a good a date as any. The real question is when Creative will be ready ready to compete with iPod video 2.0 and the forthcoming Zune -- they need something to combat the real topic of the conference call: hefty losses -- but a storage bump still can't go far amiss. [Via Digital Media Thoughts]
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]
Cheaper PS3 loses HDMI, slots, Wi-Fi, 40GB
As you can see above, there are a few things different between the two PS3 SKUs planned. (Hint: the obvious alterations concern high-def output and wireless connectivity -- though Bluetooth controllers should work just fine with both, with or without any chrome case highlighting.)So what's HDMI, built-in multimedia card-reader slots, wireless internet connectivity, and an extra 40 gigabytes' hard disk space worth to you? $100? Now that Sony's gone with the 2-SKU approach with its next-gen hardware (a la the Xbox 360's premium and "Core" systems), we can expect some tough consumer choices after six months -- with console shortages possibly for another six months after that -- as $100 separates the base $499 and premium $599 versions of Sony's "Clear Black" hope.HDMI is important to those who want to take full advantage of Blu-ray high def and have the new screens to use it; MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots would be nice for the PS3 memory-card users and those will run multimedia on the system; Wi-Fi's the only way to avoid stringing ethernet cables for online access; and 360 owners might appreciate the full 60GB available to potential buyers of the premium PS3 model. Neither model comes with a second HDMI port; thankfully, one should hopefully be all most users need. The details are laid out in a feature-comparison table at the end of Sony's official PS3 hardware press release, available in both Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word formats. Determine what's most important to your PS3 ambitions there.[Image pieced together from the PlayStation.com forums; thanks, Guru]
Viliv announces new US-bound PMP, the P2
So apparently the viliv P1 personal media player is doing so well in the US, that the company has already announced plans to release their new model, the P2, Stateside as well. The P2 takes all the P1's multi-codec goodness (MPEG-1/2/4, H.264, DivX, WMV 7/8/9, XviD, MP3, WMA, OGG, AC-3, and WAV), subtracts the iPod resemblance, and adds a 60GB option as well as an optional GPS receiver. Powered by a 400MHz AMD processor, the P2 runs on Windows CE 5.0 and sports a large 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 widescreen LCD, and also can also act as a USB 2.0 host device. Expect to see these for sale sometime in the middle of August, although pricing has yet to be announced.
