MP3 player
Latest
Median's M-cody M-30: today's DAP sponsored by the letter "M"
Median is prepping to toss a new slim, metal DAP into the mix with this, their M-cody M-30. With a 260k color TFT-LCD, the M-30 delivers MPEG-4 video playback as well as the more staid MP3 playback (and presumably WMA/WAV/OGG) and FM tuner already seen in the 7.5-mm slim, M-20 bro. Sorry, no mention of such trivialities as storage capacity, price, screen size, or whether they've managed to shave off that excess millimeter to best the measuring stick of audio player slimness, the iPod nano. We do know that it'll go for 11-hours pumping audio or 5-hours for video and record both voice and encode audio from connected devices. Great, but will it come in red whenever it might ship?
Study: for most, all-in-one phones aren't
Hey, isn't the idea of a cameraphone to have the luxury of leaving your big, fat digicam at home? With a smartphone, isn't the PDA supposed to be history? And doesn't that iPod belong in the circular file now that you've picked up that fancy musicphone? According to a newly released study by In-Stat, phones with extra goodness packed in aren't prompting their owners to leave other devices behind. In fact, over half of multimedia phone owners are still toting a dedicated MP3 player, some 75% of smartphone users lug a PDA as well, and a staggering 80% of cameraphone owners "regularly" carry their digital camera. Will the latest generation of superphones like the Nokia N95 start to change attitudes, or is the concept of a true all-in-one device nothing more than a myth?[Via ZDNet]
Technonia's IXING TM-S3 DAP
Korean manufacturer Technonia has got an update to its nano-challenging IXING TM-S2 digital audio player, with the TM-S3 adding a few new features while continuing to push the design envelope just a wee bit. Available in 1GB and 2GB variations, the TM-S3 roughly matches the nano in size, with a 1.5-inch OLED display, FM tuner, voice and FM recoding, support for MP3 and WMA audio, as well as an "exclusive video format," which you can be granted access to through the velvet rope of proprietary PC software. No word on price but it should be available by the end of the month. Overseas.
Ultra's Hydra: Ohio's full-featured 2GB MP3 player for just $60
Surely the Ultra Hydra is just another re-badged Chinese import, right? Maybe, but this 0.8-ounce / 2.9 x 1.5 x 0.9-inch splashproof DAP is said to hail from a place much more exotic... Fletcher, Ohio. The Hydra comes in either 1GB or 2GB flavors and features an integrated FM radio, USB 2.0 for both quick data transfer and charging the bundled AAA battery. On a good day, that battery will bust-out a modest 8-hour playback of your MP3, WMA, and WAV files and even them crazy-low, 8kbps bit-rate ACTs generally used for low-quality audio recordings -- so yeah, it includes a voice recorder, too. And just like we likey, the Hydra supports USB mass storage allowing you to easily drag and drop music to the player, or any file for that matter for some good, USB flash drive portability. We assume it also supports DRM'd WMA playback since the player will be launching with Ultra's, or should we say PassAlong Network's, NepTUNES music service which is PlaysForSure certified. So what's the fuss, Gus? Well, prices start at just $40 for the 1GB model or a righteous $60 for the 2-gigger. You go Bucks!Update: Ah ha! As Jordy and others are pointing out in comments, it is just a rebadged unit as seen here and here and... May your rivers burn as punishment Ohio!
McDonald's MP3 players ship with trojan horse
What do tubby teens, MP3 players, and grandma's scalded taint all have in common? That's right, the absolute attention of McDonald's legal. See, McDonald's and Coca-Cola recently teamed up in Japan to give away 10,000 self-branded MP3 players pre-loaded with 10 spankin' new tunes and... some delicious malware. It seems that a "portion" of the players sport a variant of the QQPass family of trojan horses which capture passwords and other personal information when the MP3 player is plugged into the users' PC. The code then proceeds to email the details to the author. McDonald's has setup a 24 hour hotline while they are investigating the matter and will swap out all the offending players. Good times. [Via Impress]
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]
iRiver S10 reviewed
Last we spotted iRiver's diminutive S10 digital audio player it was riding the coat tails of Apple's 2G Shuffle, but now that reviews are starting to trickle in, it's gotta stand on its own to make a name for itself. The folks at CNET Asia were some of the first to get their hands on one, and as usual, they put the unit through its paces -- apparently without managing to lose it. The biggest plus, obviously, is the S10's size, measuring just 42 x 30 x 10.8 millimeters and weighing in at 17.5 grams; which could have been a drawback if not backed up by an intuitive design featuring iRiver's D-Click input system. On the downside, the player's small size comes at the expense of battery life, which actually beat iRiver's rated time of eight hours by about 30 minutes in CNET's test, but that still falls well short of what many peeps are used to in their DAPs by now. Nevertheless, if you're looking for the smallest, full-featured MP3 around, CNET says the S10's "the best that money can buy."[Thanks, Mr. Riveria]
Keian's KDV8900S MPEG-4 SD video recorder and MP3 player
Oh lookie, yet another low cost MPEG-4 video camera with MP3 player. While we're certainly not expecting this ¥19,800 (about $168) MPEG-4 shooter from Keian to deliver anything near the quality as the ¥50,000 (roughly $429) CG6, it's worth a peep for that price, eh? The KDV8900S (pictured) brings 32MB of on-board storage with a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor capable of shooting MPEG-4 recordings at 640x480 / 30fps onto SD card. The cam also snaps stills which can be previewed on the twist-and-fold, 2-inch display and throws in an MP3 player with built-in speaker and headphone jack just for fun. Also announced is its lesser, 3 megapixel KDV6800S cuz which attaches a larger 2.4-inch display but without MP3 playback for ¥16,980 or about $144. Don't worry, we wouldn't bore you with a picture of that one even if we could dig one up of decent quality. Both expected to launch in Japan on Wednesday.
StormBlue busts out A9+ Bluetooth PMP
While StormBlue didn't update the aesthetics of its Bluetooth-equipped A9 PMP with its latest offering, the company did up the ante by adding capacity, tossing in a text viewer, and boosting the recording abilities. The A9+ sports a silver or black finish (sorry, no white option here), comes in 2GB and 4GB flavors, and rocks a built-in SD slot for further flash expansion. The 2-inch 220 x 176 resolution screen displays a proprietary MPEG-4 format (touting "20fps" playback), but includes software to "quickly convert" from AVI, WMV, DAT, ASF, and MPEG; musically, it supports MP3, WMA, OGG, and WMV-DRM. The integrated Bluetooth can be paired up with your favorite set of BT cans, and by boasting 39 hours of battery life (11 in movie mode), you'll probably quit before this thing does. Voice memos and MP3 line-in recording are also on tap, but you'll pay a premium for all these goodies -- £109 ($207) for the 2GB version and £149 ($283) for the 4GB edition.[Via MobileWhack]
Aigo's Patriot MP-F986 digital audio player
Chinese manufacturer Aigo has let loose a new digital audio player in its home country, the Patriot MP-F986. Weighing in at just 1.5 ounces in a pocketable 2.6 x 1.85 x 0.6-inch form, this one's available in both 512MB and 1GB varieties -- each packing a 160 x 128 OLED screen for some pint-sized AVI viewing -- and supports MP3, WMA, and OGG files on audio front; you're also getting voice recording and an FM radio for good measure, because, you know, to be an iPod killa you gotta load up on the bells and whistles. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any word on pricing just yet, though we wouldn't recommend holding your breath for the F986 to show up on this side of the Pacific.[Via I4U News]
Napster bumps their free DAP to 512MB
Yeah, we never really bothered to get our hands on the 256MB version, but Napster hasn't messed much with the formula here -- just tossed in a bit more flash memory. All you've gotsa do is sign up for three months of Napster To Go at $15 a month, and Napster will ship you this little 512MB PlaysForSure player for free, complete with screen and, um, buttons. Good times, indeed.
iPod shuffle now "world's smallest MP3 player"
Damn, looks like even the humble iPod shuffle is getting a bump today. After having sold 10 million of the first-gen shuffles, the new model is now reportedly the size of the iPod radio remote, comes in just a 1GB capacity, and sports a shiny new aluminum body with a clip for easy wearability. Steve's calling it the "world's smallest MP3 player" and hey, who are we to argue? It's available for preorder today and expected to ship with its itty bitty dock and ear buds sometime in October, for the bargain basement price of only $79.
Nintendo's MP3 player
What started as a late rumor out of Leipzig has now been confirmed -- for Europe, at least. That's right, the long-discussed, much-rumored Nintendo MP3 player add-on is about to become a reality. There is a lot, however, that's still up in the air, like whether or not the new device will be able to handle video files as well. The DS add-on is apparently similar to the Play Yan, released only in Japan, which currently performs the same function as the as yet unreleased Nintendo player -- it serves as a bridge between the handheld and an SD card, which is used to store media. The Play Yan handles video, but will Nintendo's player? We hope to have that information soon, as well as a concrete release date. And maybe word of a North American release. And perhaps confirmation of the price, which is rumored at about 30 euros ($40). And a pony. We've always thought a pony would be a great addition to the DS Fanboy offices. The adapter will work for both the DS and the DS Lite, as well as GBA SP and GB Micro. That's something we do know. Hurray! How well will it work? We can't speculate on Nintendo's player, but dedicated reader Franky Digital sent us a link to his blog, where he helpfully broke down the process of upgrading his DS to do the same thing.
Sega Mega Drive controller gets modded up
Just because NES mods get all the love doesn't mean we don't have a special place in our hearts for hot Sega mod action, and this new Sega controller MP3 player seems to fit the bill nicely. For extra cred, the hackers not only used a Sega Mega Drive controller (known as the Sega Genesis here in the States, you might have heard of it and its little blue mascot), but managed to toss in some acetate tape as well. As for controls, the A and B buttons manage volume, the d-pad skips tracks, and the start buttons starts and stops playback. We can't say their USB plug positioning is optimal, but we're also aware of who carries the soldering iron in this relationship, so we have little room to judge.
SAFA's SS200 series players
Take a healthy dose of Samsung's YP-K5, sprinkle in some LG chocolate, and bake-in the latest Korean design trends for a pair of new DAPs from Safa. The SS220 is a bit of a mystery. In addition to featuring touch-based controls and a built-in speaker, we know it's capable of splashing a range of unspecified video, photo, and text formats up onto its tiny 1.5-inch screen. It also packs in an FM tuner just in case the few reticent GBs of audio dumped to flash can't slake your jones. We know a bit more about the other player -- the SS200 -- a 71 x 48 x 12-mm wafer with a 2-inch, 260k color, 220 x 176 pixel display. The SS200 is capable of 6/8-hours of video/audio playback with support for MP3, WMA, and WAV media formats. No ship date or pricing unfortunately, hell, we can't even say for sure which of the two is pictured above. Let's just be thankful for the scraps they've thrown, mkay?
Nintendo MP3 player for DS coming this fall?
Music-hungry Nintendo fanboys in Japan have already been able to get their fix in the form of the Play-Yan adapter for the DS and Game Boy Advance/Micro, but it looks like the rest of us might soon be able to rock some beats between bouts of New Super Mario Bros as well if this latest bit of info pans out. According to a brochure that reportedly surfaced at the Leipzig Games Convention, Nintendo is set to release an MP3 player adapter for the DS and Game Boy Advance this fall -- October 6th to be specific (in Europe, at least) -- and like the Play-Yan, the add-on will use SD cards (up to 2GB) for storage and have its own headphone port, although it apparently lacks the Play-Yan's video capabilities. Price is reported to be €30, or just under forty bucks, although there's still no official word from Nintendo, which we'd guess would be coming fairly soon if that release date is solid.[Via Joystiq]
Siren drops three new digital audio players
Japanese manufacturer Siren has announced a trio of thoroughly average-looking digital audio players today, each available in a couple of different variations. Starting at the bottom end, the DP100 (in the middle, above) is the lowest cost model, available in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB flavors for 5,980, 7,980, and 12,800 Yen respectively ($50-110 US), and available in your choice of silver, orange, or white. Next up is the Nano-esque DP200, also available in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB variations, although slightly pricier at 9,980, 13,800, and 18,800 Yen ($86-$160) -- but that'll get you a slick OLED screen as well as an FM tuner and voice recorder. The top-end model is the DP300, available only in 1GB and 2GB versions for 14,800 and 19,800 Yen respectively ($128 and $170 US), packing the same specs as the DP200 but adding video playback (DivX, even) on the player's spacious 128 x 128 screen. Look for them all to be available (in Japan) later this month.[Via Impress]
Archos 104 4GB digital audio player reviewed
Archos is no stranger to the portable audio player market, and while we've known about its 104 for some time now, PCMag has finally given it a good once over in the testing lab. Apparently designed to compete with other miniaturized devices like the iPod mini / nano and Cowon iAudio 6, the 104 sports a 4GB hard drive, 1.5-inch OLED display, and an enclosure that's about twice as thick (though just as tall) as the nano. Available in black, silver, or pink, the relatively bare-bones DAP didn't have a whole lot to showcase aside from its decent design. Reviewers noted that controls and menus were simple, yet effective at navigating through libraries, and did allow bookmarking to keep your place in those lengthy audiobooks. The inability to play any flavor of lossless format was a bit of a letdown, and although its "playlisting functions" were said to be "excellent," the included headphones were anything but. The unit took some serious criticism when the review team attempted to view pictures on the color display, and found the results to be "terrible," as "jaggies" distorted every photo they tried, even turning attractive faces into "scary sights." The biggest dig, however, came from the lackluster battery life -- by keeping the tunes rolling for only 11 hours, 50 minutes under "normal listening conditions," it fell several hours of short of expectations. The so-so player earned a well-deserved "average" rating, as the lack of extras (like an FM tuner) and poor display / battery performance really put a damper on things. But if your primary interest is keeping it simple, and you don't mind finding a charging port every 12 hours or so, you can snag the Archos 104 for a very competitive $159.99.
Novac's sleek MP3 Walker series DAPs
Okay, so there's probably enough forgettable foreign DAPs out there to keep the tunes rolling from now 'til the end of time, and while there's little about Novak's latest lineup that stands out from the immensely saturated market, it appears to have all the basics down pat (including reasonable prices). The MP-EB101, MP-EB102, and MP-EB105 make up the Walker series, and house 128MB, 256MB, and 512MB of internal flash storage respectively. These minuscule players can play back MP3s and WMAs (but won't play nice with WMA-DRM files), and have a nifty (but probably overrated) feature that displays ID3 tags in 24 different languages on the teeny tiny LCD screen. The feature set pretty much ends there, unfortunately, as the only other notable extras here are the built-in voice recorder (with a slow mo playback option) and the ability to swap out colored faceplates ala Xbox 360. The units do last a commendable 10 hours on a single AAA battery, but you should probably carry a couple of spares with you, as there's no way to recharge your Walker via the USB 2.0 port. The perfectly average Novak offerings won't impress those looking for a mile-long list of attributes, but they do manage to look a tad better than some other oddball alternatives -- and with prices clocking in at ¥3,980 ($34) for 128MB, ¥4,980 ($42) for 256MB, and ¥6,280 ($53) for the 512MB version, you can walk away with one and not break the bank.[Via Digital World Tokyo]
Naf Naf Hyp music player resembles keg
These days, you can find a digital music player in just about every shape and size imaginable, but we should have known the Europeans would find a way to incorporate a favorite pastime into a modern day music maker. The Naf Naf Hyp joins the ranks of odd, yet refreshing, digital audio players that offer the standard fare we've come to know and love, but this keg features an unexpected extra that sadly we have little use for. While this little barrel can playback MP3s, display ID3 tags on the circular LED display, spin standard or MP3-loaded CDs, and pump out the jams through the 2 watt stereo speakers, the oddball here is the built-in cassette player -- yes, cassette, also known as a tape. Aside from that little dash of history, it rocks a graphic EQ, AM / FM tuner, aux-input, alarm clock, multifunction remote, and even a "foldaway carrying handle" to take it back for a refill. Although the quality here is really anybody's guess, it's still going to be mighty hard to resist such a fitting party ornament, and with these available now in red or black for 759,00 DKK (about $130), you can keep your MP3 collection (or 1985 mix tape) on tap.[Via Red Ferret]
