Mp4Player
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Philips GoGear Connect is a legitimate Android-based iPod touch competitor (updated)
For all its success, the iPod touch has few dedicated media player competitors capable of matching its big-touchscreen, WiFi, and voluminous App Store. Until today. Philips just went official with its GoGear Connect featuring the full suite of Google Mobile applications pre-installed with access to the Android Market for pretty much everything else. Spec-wize we're looking at a 3.2-inch display, WiFi, sound isolating earphones, built-in camera, and microSD slot. Sorry, no mention of the Android OS version though we've seen it listed at retailers with 2.1. Syncing your music is done over Bluetooth or a USB tether to your PC with Philips' Songbird providing the software assist. The MP4 player also supports Maps and location-based services -- presumably accomplished with the help of Skyhook and not via a GPS radio (though the Philips post is tagged "GPS"). Look for the GoGear Connect to land in Western Europe, China, and yes, the US, starting in late October with the price pegged at €249 (about $315) for the 16GB model. Update: Philips got back to us with additional specs: on-board GPS and compass; 480 x 320 pixel LCD display; and support for .mp3, .wma, .m4a (AAC), .ogg, and .flac audio; .wmv, .mp4 (MPEG4 and H264 up to 720p), .avi (MPEG4 up to 720p) video; and JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF images. Oh, and it's definitely Andriod 2.1.
JXD V3 handheld is confused, confusing and altogether interesting
We won't front -- there's little chance we'd actually use JXD's V3 handheld, but it's not for lack of interest. This here PMP / game player hybrid isn't apt to leave the shores of Asia, but for those in that neck of the woods, this unit offers up emulators for a slew of game consoles, a 4.3-inch display, a 5 megapixel camera and plenty of file format support to handle your favorite music and video. Reportedly, the device even features an FM radio tuner, and in case you're curious as to why there are two D-pads on this thing, it's because you'll need 'em to get through certain Game Boy / NES titles. Or so they say. We can't say we're stoked about the $112 price tag, but in a way, we're kind of in love with the whole flip-top design.
Newsmy A8HD probably looks better than it really is
After the lustrous ManMan and retro Cool Man, Newsmy has now surprised us with a straight-laced number in the form of the 8GB 4.3-inch A8HD. Packing a pair of serious-looking speakers and a "high definition" microphone, this has all the intent in the world to break away from the cheap knockoff label, but you already know what you're gonna get: a shiny pretty paintjob outside and someone's leftover parts on the inside. Common audio and video formats are supported, and there's even a rather dubious claim of 720p playback. Maybe once the price and release date are cleared up, we'll saunter over to China and check it out for ourselves. Or not. [Via Akihabara News]
RAmos T9 iMovie 2 PMP: 800 x 480, 16GB, $132
Yes, the kids at RAmos have arrived with that 800 x 480 PMP we first espied sometime in December. As you might have guessed, the T9 iMovie 2 is the followup to the smash hit T8 iMovie, sporting a polished aluminum alloy frame, 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, and 16GB storage. No further details at the moment, but if you can track this guy down he'll run you about $132.[Via PMP Today]
Caption Contest: unofficial Obama MP4 player is officially awesome
Friendly tipster and man about town Ben spotted this Obama-branded MP4 player ("with built-in speaker!") in Washington D.C. recently. Paul: "Yes we can buy cheap Chinese iPod knockoffs!"Chris: "Introducing the iPod hussein."Tim: "Sadly the John McCain gramophone was deemed too risky for today's economic conditions."Laura: "There's not a Zune America and an iPod America. There's a United States of generic Obama MP4 player America."Nilay: "They would give it an African name, DIGITAL MP4 PLAYER, believing that in a tolerant America a terrible interface and weird format support are no barrier to success."Joe: The Audacity of KIRFRichard: "Whew, for a second people thought he was using a Zune again"Josh: "On Obama's Digital MP4 Player, it's not shuffle. It's change."Ross: "Next on the O'Reilly Factor: is president-elect Barack Obama funneling funds through a Shenzhen, China-based shell company?"Sean: "Who is that black bald guy anyway?"**Sean is Canadian, we can't take responsibility for him or his silly little country.
Gemei and RAmos to offer 800 x 480 PMPs
Remember the Ainol V3000 we saw a while back? It looks like Gemei and RAmos are playing catch-up with some 800 x 480 PMPs of their own. It's been speculated that like the Ainol handheld, Gemei's X690HD will be rocking an Ingenic chipset, while the RAmos T9 could follow up its iMovie with either an Ingenic or a Rockchip. Hopefully this bombshell makes your day, because there really are no other specs to report. We assume you'll see these guys with FM tuners, TV outs, batteries, and storage at some unspecified point in the future. The usual. Keep your eyes peeled, Mainland China!
RAmos T8 iMovie PMP: 32GB, .4 inch thick, $219
RAmos tends to tease us with slick product photos / renders all the time and then pump out shoddy, derivative crap, so we're not going to get too excited about the new T8 iMovie (sigh, terrible name), but here it is looking pretty slick on video -- and the specs are solid for $219. That's a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen in a 10mm (.4 inch) thick case, with 32GB of storage and decent codec support, TV-out, and micro speakers. Too bad we don't know if it's coming Stateside, but if you're headed to the Olympics, it's probably worth checking out. Video after the break.[Via PMP Today]
Teclast M26 gets priced: $73 too much
Hey you -- you looking for a quarter of the iPod touch experience for a little less than a quarter of the price? Yeah? Well, how does dropping $73 on the depressingly derivative Teclast M26 grab you? Seriously, this thing looked like it had a glimmer of potential when it was first announced, so it's kind of sad to see it getting priced like the throwaway crap it turned out to be -- we should definitely know better by now.[Via PMP Today]
Yoto M400: like the M300, but for real this time
Now that we've got the white-knuckle excitement of the Yoto M300's Asian-only deut out of our systems, we're getting hit with a sequel, the M400. Basically the same codec-friendly non-touchscreen PMP as the M300, it looks like the M400 features slightly better build quality in addition to adding PlayFX and TV-out. Oh, and it's not a render, so that's another tick in the plus column. Still, we're not quite convinced we're willing to travel to China and drop our hard-earned yuan on this bad boy yet -- let's see what the inevitable M500 has to offer.[Via PMP Today]
Keepin' it real fake, part XCVI: the true nano fatty
We suppose this is exactly what happened the first time Ive fired up Photoshop to mock up the third-gen iPod nano -- or what happens when KIRFers spend a little too much time watching pandas at the zoo. Plays the usual goofy MTV format on its 2.4-inch screen, as well as MP3 and WMA, but honestly, you wouldn't be caught dead with this thing, would you?[Via PMP Today]
Jinxing Digital's MP4 Player has swiveling 2MP camera
If you like generic names, you'll love Jinxing Digital's "MP4 Player," a 320x240 2.5-inch screen PMP that, unsurprisingly, plays MPEG-4 files. It also features a gimmicky 2-Megapixel camera that can swivel horizontally up to 180 degrees, A/V Out, and an SD/MMC slot. No mention of built-in storage, and it can only manage 5 hours of continuous battery life -- we would say move along, but as this MP4 Player is unlikely to hit these shores, you probably won't have to.[Via PMP Today]
Chinavasion's CVASQ-C811 does it all, without style
At this point simple NES emulation is pretty run-of-the-mill on most dubiously-legal Chinese PMPs, so it looks like Chinavasion is going for the gusto with the new CVASQ-C811 PMP. In addition to rocking the NES action, the ever-so-subtly-designed unit can also play Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Genesis games when placed in its dorky little gaming dock. Other than that, you're looking at a pretty-run-of-the-mill PMP: 2GB of storage with SD expansion, 3-inch 320 x 240 screen, AVI-only video support, and mass storage compatibility. When you get bored of video games, Chinavasion has also thoughtfully included an ebook reader, so if you're not opposed to constantly letting others see you hold this thing you might be able to catch up on some reading. It looks like the 811 is available now for $85, including the gaming dock, stand, and neck strap -- just in case you never wanted a date again.[Via PMP Today]
