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MobiBLU's US2 and DAH-2100 to rock the US market
Remember that cute little MobiBLU player (or two) that we spied earlier this year? We're not sure how this one slipped under our noses so easiliy, but MobiBLU apparently is releasing its über-tiny audio players in the US. DAPReview has just spotted the US2 and the DAH-2100 on Amazon, which means they're now finally selling 'em here in the good ol' US of A. (We already knew that Cube2 was on this side of the Pacific.) The US2 is $130, while the DAH-2100 will set you back a cool hundie. So now you can get your cubical music on, and we can't stress this enough -- please don't wear it as jewelry.[Via DAPReview]Read - US2Read - DAH-2100
MobiBlu Cube2 makes it stateside
With its compact form factor and eye-catching design, the original Cube MP3 player has developed something of a following in the US, so it's no surprise that Korean manufacturer MobiBlu has decided to bring its successor stateside as well. Even though the Cube2 definitely has its share of drawbacks -- weak battery life, cumbersome navigation, and more-gimmicky-than-useful video / photo functionality -- there's still a small amount of cachet in sporting the "world's smallest multimedia player," which should probably be enough to help this device convert a few potential Shuffle purchasers. Amazon claims that the Cube2 will be "in stock soon," but if you just can't wait to shell out your $100 / $120 (for 1GB or 2GB of storage, respectively), MobiBlu's Yahoo-powered online store apparently has the C2 available immediately.[Via Anything But iPod]
MobiBlu's Cube2 "world smallest multimedia player" reviewed
Sure, we like our DAPs small. However, audio devices which pull extra duty as video players and photo viewers can only get so small before limiting themselves to nothing more than a novelty. CNET got their hands on the diminutive MobiBlu Cube2 which features 2GB flash, FM radio/scheduling, OGG/MP3/DRM'd WMA and MPG/WMV support, voice recording, and the dubious distinction of being the claimed, world's smallest multimedia player. To view video or images though, you have to use the included MJPEG/MSV conversion software which worked tolerably well in CNET's tests. Still, that tiny square, 0.6-inch (diagonal) screen cropped images even along the top and bottom requiring a lot of scrolling around to bring the edges into view. As you can imagine, CNET found image and video viewing to be a real "hassle" after awhile. The Cube2's menu system in general was found to be "a pain" to navigate requiring too many clicks on those tiny buttons. CNET was also miffed by a "fairly staticky, but listenable" radio and "mediocre" battery life squeezing out only 6 hours audio playback of the 10 hours estimated. However, they left the player's backlight on so they could, uh, "tell it was working" -- er, the music wasn't enough of a clue? Still, with that massive feature set packed into such a stylish cube and the much appreciated ability to move files via USB Mass Storage in addition to MTP, CNET awarded the MobiBlu Cube2 a 7.3/10 very good rating. [Thanks, nana]
MobiBlu releases DAH-2200 1GB DAP
Usually when MobiBlu breaks us off with a new DAP, it's got at least one feature to set it apart from the pack -- see the super-small Cube and Cube 2 or seemingly perpetual motion-powered B153 as examples. But if you were looking for the company's new DAH-2200 to hit the scene as the "world's biggest/smallest/best something or other," then you're in for a disappointment, as this flash-based player's got nothing that we haven't seen before. Specifically, its 1GB capacity, 27.5 gram weight, and 13-hour battery life make it neither the smallest, longest-running, nor most capacious model out there, and the tiny 2-color OLED screen isn't all that impressive either. No word on pricing here, but since it's likely that the 2200 will never be sold outside of Korea -- and it's not really hot enough to import -- you're probably not all that concerned with such details anyway.[Via DAPreview]
Klegg Mini: bigger size, same false advertising
Despite the fact that the folks over at Anything But iPod already broke out their considerable math skills to refute the Klegg Mini's claim of being the world's smallest color MP3 player, the device's manufacturer is nonetheless using the same angle to promote the Mini's recently-announced 1GB upgrade. Best known as the DAP of choice for that diminutive star of the Austin Powers movies, the Mini doesn't get any new features along with the capacity bump scheduled for this summer, but apparently that 1-inch screen, 26-hour battery life, and compact design have made this model popular enough to warrant continued sales. Oh, and Klegg, even if you still haven't heard of the MPIO ONE player that exposed the fallacy of your boasts, you're sure not gonna be able to miss the minuscule, color screen MobiBlu Cube 2 once it begins showing up in thousands of Wal-mart stores and on millions of ears nationwide. So, like, you might want to take this opportunity to call up your ad agency and give them a head start on working towards a more truthful slogan.
MobiBlu Cube 2 gets specs, pricing
Diminutive DAP manufacturer MobiBlu has just released the specs for their latest miniature wonder, the 24 x 24 x 24-millimeter Cube 2, which improves upon its predecessor by letting you view photos on a thumbnail-sized, 64 x 48 pixel OLED display. Unfortunately for our love of machine translation, the Korean Cube 2 website lumped all the specs into an un-translatable image, but the sprinkling of English words indicate that there's not much more to this model than we already knew. Coming in 512MB and 1GB flavors, the 18-gram player features MP3, WMA, and OGG music file support, direct recording from the FM tuner, crossfading between tracks, USB mass storage capabilities, and the obligatory digital equalizer settings, plus the ability to hang it from your ear. Pricing is set at $154 and $192 for the half- and full-gig versions, respectively, but there's no word yet on when we'll be seeing this new model 'round these parts.[Via DAPreview]
