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Thomson announces three DAPs and a PMP for Europe
RCA-parent Thomson announced three new MP3 players for the European market today, along with a 30GB PMP called the X3030E, which should look quite familiar because it's just a re-badge of the Lyra X3030 that we covered a few months back. First up is the 6GB EH306, also known as the Black Diamond, which is a nano-like device sporting a 1.5-inch color OLED display, MP3, WMA, WMV, and MPEG-4 file support, fifteen hours of battery life, and that old standby, the FM tuner -- all for around $320 when it hits stores in October. Next we have the Lyra EM2600 (pictured), a 512MB or 1GB flash-based model which is basically a color version of the RD2312 we spotted at CES 2005, and which will cost $100 or $126 depending on capacity. Bringing up the rear is arguably the hottest model of all, a little waif of a DAP known as the EM2802. With this one you're getting the same color screen and codecs as the EH306, but in a much smaller package and in capacities of either 1GB or 2GB -- which will go for $165 and $216, respectively, upon their November launch. You've already seen the EM2600; now keep reading to check out all the other upcoming devices...
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]
mobiBLU's US2 skinny DAP caught in the wild
After a series of press shots from mobiBLU that included both hamburgers and watermelons involved in sexy poses with the slim player, we're not really short on photos of the device. All the same, it's nice to see the US2 out and about, and AVING has provided us with just such visions. Verdict? Ultra slim fo' sho! [Via dapreview]
Transcend releases T.sonic 530 flash-based DAP
DAP manufacturer Transcend has been know to offer some rather unconventional designs over the years -- see the T.sonic 310 and 620 for reference -- but we'd sure like to know what went on in the focus group that convinced the company to craft their newest player like a sparsely-decorated mint tin. Besides its unusual appearance, though, the T.sonic 530 is almost exactly the same model as the much more traditional-looking 520 we saw earlier this year, sporting 512MB or 1GB of flash memory, tiny OLED display, FM tuner, digital voice recorder, and of course, the on-screen lyrics option that promises to "bring out the pop star in everyone." The 530 is on the market now -- willing and able to assist you in the occasional karoake session -- and although exact pricing isn't known, you'll probably be able to pick up either capacity for under a hundred bucks.[Via MobileWhack]
RCA's H116 6GB DAP reviewed
Considering that exactly zero people were interested enough in the new hard drive-based RCA MP3 players we brought you last week to actually leave a comment, we doubt that even a glowing review from Cnet would convince you to pick up one of these models -- but that's a moot point, because Cnet really doesn't have many positive things to say about the 6GB H116 they put through its paces. As you'll recall, RCA is clearly targeting the low-end of the market with its new DAPs, as evidenced by their black-and-white screens, rather generic-looking designs, and most tellingly, their complete lack of extra features that might sway folks away from the iTatorship. In fact, the only real compliment Cnet is able to muster about their unit is the fact that it does what it advertises: play music -- but not very well it seems. Combined with the buggy controls and poor quality of the FM transmitter, the sub-par audio would seem to indicate that even for the low-low price of $170, you're still not getting what you pay for.[Thanks, Jen B.]
Cowon's iAudio U2 2GB now in white
Cowon of Japan wish to remind you that they're still shipping the iAudio U2 player. How? By bucking the trend of dropping a limited edition pink model and throwing us the 2GB pearl-white iAUDIO U2-2G-WH instead. Everything else on this popular player, which many of you dubbed the best flash player on the market, remains unchanged: MP3/WMA/WAV and OGG support,128x64 LCD, line-input sound and voice recording to MP3s, FM tuner, and 20 hour battery with fast recharge. So get ready to enjoy that, uh "color sound" starting July 7 when these hit Japan for ¥18,980 or about $163 in greenback.
Samsung's Yepp YP-T9 with Bluetooth hits FCC
Looks like Samsung has a new one in the works; their YP-T9 DAP just got its FCC approval and it's looking mighty nice. The Yepp player measures 0.43-inches thick, and weighs a mere 1.7 ounces, but Samsung still managed a few extras. Most notable is the Bluetooth support for using wireless headphones, but there's plenty of other stuff like FM radio, voice recording, MP3/WMA/OGG support, photo and text viewing, and two full color 3D games. You can also play back 15fps videos at a 208 x 176 resolution, be we think we'll pass, thanks. Samsung claims 30 hours of music playback and 7 hours for video, but of course we have no idea as to when Samsung is planning on releasing this thing. Keep reading for more FCC glamour shots.[Thanks, Tuolumne]
Hands-on with Napster's new 1GB player
Napster isn't so shy about their new DAPs after all. We just got to spend a little time with Napster's new 1GB PlaysForSure promotional player, and we liked what we saw for the most part. The tiny device probably won't be seen outside of its current role of attracting 1-year subscriptions, but it manages a nice look, decent user interface and a commendable 40 hour battery life -- not bad for $50. Of course, the player's first role is to support DRM10 PlaysForSure files from Napster To Go, but regular old WMA files and MP3s are supported as well, and it doesn't seem that Napster has made an effort to lock down the player from other services. You can also play back MPEG-4 video on the tiny, but nice, 128 x 160 LCD, but you'll be on your own for content since Napster doesn't currently offer any vids. There's also JPEG and FM playback, and everything is accessible via a convenient and fast iPod-like menu system. We'd estimate the player is 10-12mm thick, but while it's shorter than the iPod nano, the player felt comfortable in our large hands, and the buttons were plenty easy to use. It might all come down to your preference of music service, but we can't see this little OEM player standing in your way. Keep reading for some more pics.
Sirius CEO reveals portable receiver/DAP
While XM is already offering its customers live feeds on-the-go through the well-received Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix, rival Sirius has been rather slow to the starting gate in this department, as its flagship S50 portable only plays back content that was recorded while it was docked. Now, however, it looks like Sirius is finally on the verge of releasing its first DAP with built-in satellite receiver, and Tech Effect even managed to snap a picture of the device when CEO Mel Karmazin briefly flashed it during his keynote at this week's Convergence 2.0 conference. Unfortunately Mel only broke out the chunky-looking player to illustrate a point he was making about the iPod ("I wish it didn't exist," he said, probably only half-jokingly), so all that's known about this unit is its size and the fact that it sports a headphone jack. Still, Mel promises that he'll have the product in stores by the end of the summer, and since it's reportedly in the midst of beta testing, we're expecting to see some leaked specs and photos sooner rather than later -- much sooner if any of you testers would be so kind as to drop us a line.
Logitec announces line of colorful in-car DAPs
Japanese manufacturer Logitec -- who, as we found out the hard way, is in no way related to the American Swiss firm Logitech -- has just announced a colorful set of in-car DAPs that plug directly into your vehicle's lighter socket. What's more, the MP3- and WMA-capable LAT-FM300U includes both a built-in FM transmitter and line-in jack, so you can broadcast directly to your head unit from either the device itself or from an external player like an iPod. And judging by the $68 price tag and lack of storage information, it sounds like you'll probably need to bring along a more capacious device on trips lasting longer than an hour or so, as we doubt you'll be getting more than 512MB of flash memory when these drop in early August.[Via Digital World Tokyo]
Napster dives into DAP-land with two new players
We're not sure if they're just embarrassed for some reason, or if the PR wheels aren't quite in motion yet, but Napster ever-so-quietly released two new DAPs today -- the first to bear their branding alone. The two models look fairly generic, though nice, and neither is an incredibly obvious rebadge from what we can tell -- which makes us all the more curious as to why Napster isn't parading these things around. Right now the players are only available as a special deal with a one year Napster To Go subscription, with the 256MB flash player going for the low low price of free, and the 1GB version (we're guessing flash as well) a mere $50. If you were planning on locking yourself into a $15 a month Napster payment anyways, it doesn't look like you could go too wrong here, though we have very little info on the players other than capacities. But if Napster has managed to design these reasonably slim, and with some decent battery life, we think they might have an attractive offering on their hands.
RCA releases H100 and H116 HDD-based DAPs
RCA's got a new pair of hard drive-based MP3 players for those folks still grieving over the death of the iPod mini, complete with 4GB and 6GB hard drives, black and white screens, and even a little bit of design flair in the form of chrome accents. The only real difference between the H100 (pictured) and H116 (available at Target as the H106), besides the size of their drives, is the fact that the more capacious H116 ships with a combination car charger/FM transmitter -- oh, and the non-touch-sensitive scroll wheel is black instead of green. Both models feature 1.5-inch displays with white on black text, 16-hour rechargeable batteries, PlaysForSure and Windows Media Player 11 compatibility, and Media Transfer Protocol (MTP support). You're certainly not getting a lot of extras here, but then again, you won't be paying much for these models either; $139 will score you the H106, while two more gigs and the car kit will set you back thirty bucks more.
Philips' new SA1200 flash players
Philips finished off another relatively low-end flash portable audio player line for ya, and you can call it the SA1200. These tiny low end flash devices aren't ever really anything to write home about, but they still have a leg up over Apple's randomizing stick of chewing gum with a 32 x 128 display; otherwise you've got the usual MP3 and WMA support (no indication of PlaysForSure, though) and a replaceable AAA cell. You can snag yours in 512MB (SA1200/02, right) or 1GB (SA1210/02). If you're German, anyway, since so far as we can tell these are only for European release.[Via DAPReview]
Meizu Mini Player coming to America
Ask, and ye shall receive. When we mentioned that we'd like to spend some time with Meizu's M6 Mini Player a few months back, we were pretty sure that like most foreign gadgets we feature, this one would always remain just out of reach -- so imagine our surprise when we learned that pre-ordering has already begun to bring the M6 stateside. You'll probably recall that this model, which has the nano squarely in its sights (promotional materials even warn the iPod to "step aside"), comes in either 1GB ($139), 2GB ($159), or 4GB ($220) capacities, and besides supporting the usual assortment of MP3, WMA, WAV, and OGG audio files, does the AVI playback thing on its 2.4-inch QVGA screen as well. Also included are an FM tuner, voice recorder, calendar, stopwatch, USB On The Go support, and a couple of games, which is a lot more features than the nano offers, so it looks like Apple has reason to be mighty worried come July or early August when the first shipments of these arrive. Keep reading for a few more comparison shots that show just how mini this Mini really is...
Creative reveals Zen V and V Plus flash-based DAPs
So it looks like Creative's made good with the "mystery MP3 player" they promised us in that rather uninspiring teaser campaign: meet the Zen V. Available in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities, the V's smallish size and 1.5-inch, photo-capable OLED clearly indicate that Creative's got the slightly-smaller nano squarely in its sights, with the V Plus (offered in the same capacities) going for the knockout punch by throwing in video playback and an FM tuner in the usual hope that adding more and more features will somehow make iPod owners realize what iChimps they've been. Both models come in several combinations of black or white highlighted by either green, orange, or blue accents, feature a line-in jack for direct-from-disc recording, support PlaysForSure subscription services, and offer a claimed 15 hours of battery life before recharging becomes an issue. The V will be available in July for $120, $150, or $200, depending on capacity, while the V Plus will be coming in August and priced at $130, $170, and $230 for the 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB versions, respectively.Read- Zen VRead- Zen V Plus
Samsung's neXus XM DAP reviewed
We've always been a bit skeptical of portable DAPs like the Sirius S50 and Samsung neXus that promise to let you listen to sat radio content on-the-go, because since neither device includes a built-in satellite receiver, you're stuck with the programming you've recorded while the player was docked at home. PC Mag seems to agree that this class of gadgets offers rather limited functionality, and their review of the neXus isn't very promising for potential customers: unless you buy the $70 car kit for listening to live feeds in your ride, you're basically spending either $219 or $269, respectively, for either a 512MB or 1GB MP3 player that delivers neither great sound quality nor an acceptable battery life. What's more, you have to make sure that you keep the unit docked for at least eight hours a month so that XM can properly authenticate your subscription to keep your recorded tunes from disappearing. Ultimately, unless you're a on a tight budget and absolutely need some XM swag in your pocket at all times, PC Mag suggests -- and we tend to agree -- that you're better off shelling out a few more bucks for the Pioneer Inno or Samsung Helix, which both allow you to pick up and record live feeds right out of the box, no dock necessary.
iPod Shuffle wins battle with knife-wielding owner
Not that we should really have to remind you of such things, but trying to fix your own gadgets by bludgeoning them with a knife is not only ineffective, it can also result in you swearing and screaming in pain after the capacitor you impaled blows up in your face.[Thanks, Dave Z.]
MusicGremlin MG-1000 review roundup
We've been following start-up Music Gremlin for some time now, from its ambitious beginnings as a software company through its transition to a reference device designer and finally into a self-branding manufacturer, so we were more than a little disappointed to learn that lukewarm reviews of the recently-launched MG-1000 DAP indicate that it contains no small number of bugs and frustrating restrictions. Like the prototype Zing player that we recently spotted (but unlike the similarly-equipped SoniqCast devices), the MG-1000 offers direct-to-device downloads along with device-to-device file transfers thanks to built-in WiFi, but these features are limited to customers who also pay $15-a-month for the proprietary Music Gremlin service, on top of the $300 they already shelled out for the unit itself. Some of the problems reviewers have mentioned -- such as an intermittent WiFi connection, cumbersome search process, and lack of automatic power down or FM presets -- can be addressed by the company in future firmware releases, but other issues -- like the small 8GB hard drive, relatively weak battery life, and inability to share any tracks besides subscription downloads with anyone but fellow subscribers -- are either hardware-based or can't be resolved due the conditions that music studios include in their licensing agreements. Unfortunately, unless you really, truly need to ability to download music when you're away from your computer, the drawbacks to this device when compared to a similarly-priced, video-playing 30GB iPod don't seem to outweigh the limited benefits you'll derive from its wireless capabilities.Read- The Wall Street Journal's Walter MossbergRead- CnetRead- Laptop Magazine
Nike+iPod available for pre-order
Exercise nuts looking to pick up one of the Nike+iPod Sport kits to enhance their workouts can finally place their orders on the Apple site, and can expect delivery of their purchase in four to five weeks. At $29, the kit is quite the bargain too, except that it won't do you much good without the hundreds of dollars of electronics and specialized footwear necessary to record and analyze every aspect of your morning jog. Luckily, Nike has been busy releasing several pairs of sneakers with that dugout under the sole for the wireless sensor, so even if the nano continues to remain a relatively pricey luxury, you should eventually be able to buy a pair of compatible kicks that won't break the bank. [Via TUAW]
ITC initiates Apple probe at Creative's behest
In a move that comes as a complete surprise considering the history between their two companies, Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo has reportedly telephoned Apple CEO Steve Jobs to officially withdraw his firm's pending lawsuits and congratulate Mr. Jobs on the iPod's overwhelming victory in the marketplace. Yeah right, like that really happened; actually, the bad blood between the world's number one and two DAP manufacturers continues to flow unabated, with Wednesday seeing Creative move one step closer to the permanent cease and desist order it's seeking against the iPod, thanks to a probe intiated by the US International Trade Commssion. The ITC agreed to look into's Creative's complaint that several iPod models violate its Zen patents, which was the impetus for Apple filing two countersuits of its own. A ruling on the complaint is not anticipated for at least twelve months, during which time we can expect Apple to sell a lot more digital audio players than Creative, who will probably have to shift even more of its R&D budget to the overworked legal department.
