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Doghouse's Rover TV portable recorder/player
Doghouse Electronics have joined the PMP fray with the Rover TV, a portable media player and recorder that keeps things small by eschewing the more common hard drive-based storage in favor of smaller (in more ways than one) SD cards. The Rover's available in two models that are virtually identical except for the screen: the $299 "Big Screen" model packs a 3.5-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 320 x 240, while the $349 Rover TV Wide Screen has a 4-inch TFT with a 480 x 272 resolution. Both models will let you record directly from a television or any other video source (encoded to MPEG-4) and support TiVoToGo for viewing TiVo-recorded content. Naturally, you can also use it as an MP3/WMA player, as well as a radio thanks to the built-in FM tuner (which you can also record from). Doghouse was also considerate enough to include not one but two SD cards with the device (a 1GB and a 2GB), which should give you about 11 hours of video recording time all together.[Via eHomeUpgrade]
Etronics' Inkel Widetouch W-7.0 offers GPS, PMP, and DMB
We love the idea of having GPS and PMP functionality in the same gadget, and when we see one of these devices with a 7-inch widescreen we certainly sit up and take notice, but unfortunately we'll need to make some friends in Korea if we ever hope to install the Inkel Widetouch W-7.0 from Etronics in our ride. Without any detailed specs on this upcoming model, we're going to assume that it's very similar to the ARM-powered Widetouch 5.6 we spotted last month, as both units also offer an optional DMB tuner to complement the media playback and navigation features. As usual, no word on pricing or release dates for this piece, but since the DMB-equipped 5.6 was going for around $600, we can safely assume that a similarly-configured 7-incher will cost at least a hundred bucks more. Keep reading to see just how fun it is to roll around with one of these in your Mercedes...
Odd-i keeps the PMPs flowin' with P15DN
More DMB/PMP goodness from Odd-i, this time in the near gamer-esque P15DN that sports some pretty crazy functionality for a little Korean handheld. Along with DMB, GPS, video, audio and photos, the unit can "support" MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and all sorts of other crazy file formats. There's also an Audio Dictionary, and a 20GB or 30GB HDD to store it all. As for price, availability and Korea exclusivity, you know the drill: no idea, no idea and of course.
iubi Blue 30GB PMP gets specs, pricing
With all the foreign PMPs we've featured on these pages, we can't blame you for not remembering a Bluetooth-enabled model from iubi that we brought you a few months back, but one look at its recently-released specs will definitely make you want to keep this one on your radar from here on out. Sporting a 30GB hard drive and a 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 widescreen LCD that Advanced MP3 Players calls "razor sharp," the iubi Blue (model number IUBI2500) supports nearly every codec known to man, including MPEG-1/2/4, DivX (3.x, 4.x, and 5.x), XviD, WMV 7/8/9, AVI, H.264, MOV, and Real -- and that's just for video, which can also be fed to an external monitor at 720 x 480 resolution. On the audio side you've got support for MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC-LC, and AC-3, and best of all, the Blue features 3D sound enhancement from Wolfson for output that's described as "earth-shattering." Moreover, you're also getting A2DP for rocking wireless headphones, USB on-the-go functionality for dumping photos from compatible cameras, and like the Archos lineup, direct AV recording thanks to the included MPEG-4 encoder. Already available in Korea, this feature-packed model is expected to hit British shores soon for just $461, and may very well be htting our own gadget shelf shortly afterwards.[Via DAPreview]
Odd-i's skinny N700D 7-inch DMB unit
That's it, we're moving to Korea. Sure, we've made this idle threat before, but with all these crazy 7-inch DMB players popping up every few days, we're just not sure how much longer we can take it. Yeah, we don't really watch much TV here in the States, and we can't imagine Korean TV is much more entertaining, but it's just the mere principle of the thing. Today's offering is the Odd-i N700D, which strikes a pretty dashing figure, and does the whole DMB/PMP/GPS thing like normal. Like the similarly specced Viliv N.70, the N700D doesn't have any included storage, and instead works off of SD cards and external USB drives. The codec support is pretty good (MPEG-1/4, XviD, DivX, WMV7-9), but full resolution and/or frame rate isn't supported on the WMV codecs. For the other codecs, the PMP supports up to 720 x 480 resolution, but we're not quite sure that the actual display is 720 x 480. If we had to guess we'd say it shares the 480 x 234 resolution of the Viliv. The device also supports FM, a rear camera add-on, and the expertly crash-inducing picture-in-picture function to allow you to watch a video and your GPS map simultaneously. With driver distractions of this magnitude, perhaps we'll rethink our move -- but if these things start going to HD resolutions we're gone.[Via dapreview]
Sources confirm Microsoft's work on iPod/iTMS rivals
Remember those "cringingly blurry" photos we published a few weeks back that supposedly depicted Microsoft's long-rumored iPod-killer? Well it looks like our tipster may have been right on the money with his assessment, as Reuters is reporting that "sources familiar with the plans" have confirmed that Redmond is indeed working on a portable media player, along with an iTunes-like service to feed it content. Although the informants didn't give much info on the hardware (none at all, really), the service is apparently looking to differentiate itself from the iTMS by encouraging users to hang out and community-build (how Web 2.0), and while it will offer a subscription option a la other PlaysForSure-powered sites, the main focus will be on the pay-per-download model. A Microsoft-branded service may come as a bit of a surprise to some folks considering past licensing issues the company's had with the labels, along with its recent involvement in launching MTV's Urge, but we know at least one person who's seen this coming all along.P.S. Not that this helps you out much, but we can say that we actually caught a glimpse of whatever this device is, and so far, we like what we see.
Acer's MP-500 PMP gets official
It doesn't really look a whole bunch like those concept renders of a touchscreen MP-500 rumored from Acer back in February, but a 3.5-inch screened device of the same name does seem to be coming soon from the company. Besides that 3.5-inch QVGA screen, the device has pretty hefty format support, including DivX, XviD, MPEG-2/4, WMV9, MP3, WMA and JPEG. Along with video and audio out there appears to be a video in source, since the unit records both audio and video. You can get about 4 hours of video or 8 hours of audio out of the replaceable Li-ion battery. There's a 20GB 1.8-inch HDD, along with an SD card slot, but the device manages to measure less than an inch thick. Really, not bad specs for this Acer offering, but we're not sure what here could entice a user already flooded with PMP offerings. The $440 MSRP isn't going to do it.[Via dapreview]
New Archos PMPs appear online
A trio of new PMPs from Archos have been popping up around the web courtesy of a snapshot from the Trois Suisses winter catalog, but details are still scarce as all that's known about these models comes from the little big of information we can glean from the included French description. Making matters even more confusing is the fact that the so-called 604, with its 10.9-centimeter screen and 30GB hard drive, appears to cost about $130 more than the $500 504 which has the same screen but 10GB greater capacity -- although its seemingly slimmer design may account for some of the disparity. Meanwhile, the 404 sports an identical drive to the 604, but only an 8.8-centimeter screen, and is supposedly priced at $440. Both 30GB models are said to be scheduled for a July release, while the 504 should be available in August, but we'll do our best to get specs on these before then, because we like knowing about stuff before anyone else does.[Via GenerationMP3]
X-Micro's MP4 F700 PMP
Yet another gadget that may or may not make it to the North American market (we're guessing not), X-Micro's MP4 F700 PMP has been rocking the floor at Computex lately, although judging from the rather bland design and same-old feature set, it looks like they're doing their best not to get noticed. Complete specs are a bit scarce, but we do know that it packs in a 2.5-inch 65k color TFT, FM tuner, and digital voice recorder, plays MPEG-4 , MP3, and WMA files, and supports DRM10. On the storage side, well, there's an SD/MMC slot, but it's not clear what, if any, internal storage options are available.[Via MobileMag]
Wideviewer's PMP with DVB-T tuner
Wideviewer's new PMP here that they're showing off at Computex isn't the first to include a DVB-T tuner (MSI and Archos, among others, have them beat), but if plain vanilla designs are your thing, it may be just what you're looking for. In addition to the old-school style antenna, the PMP also packs a decently sized 3.5-inch TFT displaying a 320 x 240 resolution, and is MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 compatible, with both NTSC and PAL support. It's not clear what it has in the storage department, however, nor do we know how much it'll cost, although you can be pretty sure that we won't be seeing it in North America anytime soon.[Via Akihabara News]
Sima's Hitch allows USB devices to share files
Transferring digital files between disparate hardware no longer has to be such a chore thanks to a new Mass Storage- and Picture Transfer Protocol-compliant offering from Sima Products called Hitch (model USB-101), which lets you connect nearly any digital camera, DAP, PMP, or flash drive with a USB connection and send single files or entire albums to a like device. Once both products are hooked up, you simply need to choose what you want to send and where you want it to go using Hitch's 2.5-inch backlit black and white screen, and your digital swag starts zipping between devices at USB 2.0 speeds (or USB 1.1, if your gear is a bit pokier). You'll be able to pick one of these up -- DRM-compliance and all -- later this month for about $150.
Samsung Digimax i6 reviewed
DigiCamReview got a chance to play with Samsung's Digimax i6 digital camera, which you may recall was touted by the company earlier this year as "the world's first PMP slim camera," and even promised to deliver "big-screen performance - in the palm of your hand!" While Samsung may have gone overboard in the hype department, DigiCamReview nevertheless found the Digimax i6 to be a very solid camera, with good image quality, a great 2.5-inch screen, 3x optical zoom, and a nice and sturdy design. And the PMP functions, while obviously not living up to Samsung's hyperbole, proved to be a welcome addition. They also found the price to be very reasonable, at just £179 (about $330US).
iRiver's future: WiBro gaming or bust
We have a soft spot for some of iRiver's digital media players, even if they've largely gotten lost in a crowded marketplace. But we may not be seeing too many new models from the company. Faced with the evaporation of its market share, both at home in Korea and in the crucial US marketplace, iRiver is attempting to remake itself as a vendor of portable WiBro gaming consoles. The transition is likely to be a bumpy one. Although iRiver showed off its first gaming console, the G10 (now renamed the Wing), several months ago, that model continues to face delays, and is now expected to show up no sooner than the end of the year, and then, in all likelihood, only in Korea. Sure, the Wing has some tasty features, including a 4-inch LCD, compatibility with most common audio and video formats, WiFi, WiBro and 6GB NAND flash memory. But at an initial price of about $315, it'll be competing directly against dozens of cheaper Korean DMB PMPs, hard drive-equipped players from vendors like Apple and Creative, and gaming consoles like the DS Lite, which will be on the market in Korea well before the end of the year, at a price well below $315. Still, iRiver probably has little choice but to try something drastic: the company's sales have plummeted from close to $1 billion two years ago to just $39 million in the first quarter of this year. We'll be sure to check out the Wing -- and, in the meantime, we'll be on the lookout for fire sale pricing on the Clix. Read - iRiver's strategyRead - G10 specsRead - Wing delays (sub reqd)
Toptone M808: a Skype phone and PMP love fest
Ok, here's an interesting point of convergence for you: the Skype phone and portable media player. Yeah ok, Toptone, the apparent Chinese OEM of this one-inch slim device, will actually pre-install any softphone solution into their M808 VoIP phone but we know it's Skype that most of you are digging on. As a media player you get an FM radio, up to 512MB of flash memory to store your audio (MP3, WMA, WAV) and video (WMV, MPEG-1/2/4, AVI) files for playback on the itty-bitty 1.2-inch, 65k color OLED screen. Of course, it also features a built-in Microphone to record voice memos, lectures, or whatever covert shenanigans you might be into. But plug this USB 2.0 pup into any PC with Internet connection and Skype will autolaunch with all your personal settings whether or not the PC has Skype installed. We just hope that autolaunch is configurable, eh? Expect these to drop under a dizzying array of names with pricing starting at $75 for the 128MB model in your choice of silver, red, or blue. [Via Slashphone]
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]
Inkel's WIDETOUCH 5.6 does navigation and multimedia
We see a lot of GPS-enabled foreign PMPs pass through here, but rarely are they being pitched by a mascot quite as appealing as Inkel's Starfox-meets-Robin Hood spokesperson. Available in black or white, the WIDETOUCH 5.6 features -- you guessed it -- a 5.6-inch widescreen LCD for navigation and media viewing, 400MHz Samsung ARM CPU, and built-in DMB receiver on select models. That digital TV option hikes the price up to almost $600, but since this model will only be sold in Korea, things like pricing and availability probably don't matter much to you.
odd-i's P11N Win CE 5.0 PMP with GPS
Remember that peculiarly named, but otherwise damn fine odd-i P10 PMP you all (ok, ten commenters) liked so much? Well, odd-i just one-upped themselves by sprinkling in a bit of SiRF Star III GPS with a dash of Win CE 5.0 and christening the new chubster P11N. What's more, all the goodness that is the P10 carriers over so it still sports that same 4-inch, (480 x 272) 16:9 TFT LCD, unspecified dual core CPU, 2 megapixel cam, the ability to record direct from TV, up to 30GB of storage, USB 2.0 hosting, eBook reader, and support for a wide range of media formats including MPEG-1/4, Xvid, DiVx, WMV, MP3, WMA, OGG and AC3. Oh yeah, and it's still destined for Korea-only at the moment.[Via Akiharaba News]
Is this the Cowon A3?
No, we have no idea if this pic from a Korean message board -- which purportedly shows Cowon's successor to its A2 portable media player -- is legit. And there are no real specs available yet, either. In fact, the only thing anyone seems able to glean from the pic is that this will include a DMB receiver (that's presumably what the antenna's for, and it's a safe bet to make for a new Korean PMP, regardless of any other info). Still, after months of "true video iPods" and "tablet Macs," it's nice to see that Apple doesn't have the market for rumors and suspicious-looking product mockups all to itself.
Tinnos Blufin PMP/PDA: 30GB HDD, Windows CE 5.0
Prototypes of this little box started floating around a few months ago, and now it looks like it may just be showing up for realz. Dubbed the Blufin, this PMP (or PDA, depending on how you look at it) from Korea's Tinnos, is a Windows CE-based handheld with a 30GB hard drive, 128MB RAM, 2 megapixel camera, a 4.3-inch LCD display, USB and SD slots (with both USB on-the-go and SDIO compatibility for copying files or adding functions like GPS and WiFi) and an AMD Au1200 processor. It'll be available in Japan this July for about $600 and the rest of the world (at least through gray market channels) shortly thereafter.
Mio C810 PMP with DMB and GPS
Here's the latest multifunction portable that won't make its way out of Korea (hint: if you see DMB in the description, that's usually the case): the Mio C810, a portable media player with a DMB receiver and GPS. The player has a 4.3-inch LCD, four-hour battery life, and supports multiple audio and video formats.
