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Gigabeat S shipping May 15?
We've been waiting for a chance to pick up a Toshiba Gigabeat S media player since we first got a chance to check it out at CES in January. And now it looks like the wait may soon be over. While Toshiba has yet to officially announce a US rollout, Engadget reader One.Person pointed us to HIDEF Lifestyle, which has the model available for preorder, with a ship date of May 15th. Of course, it could just be a ploy to bring in pre-orders, and we should point out that Amazon -- which is usually a pretty accurate source -- has the Gigabeat S listed with a May 30th ship date. Hey, after waiting since January, either date is fine with us, though we wouldn't mind getting our hands on this before Memorial Day, so we can break it out as soon as we open the Engadget beach house.[Thanks, One.Person]Read: HIDEF LifestyleRead: Amazon
Viliv N.70 GPS navigator and PMP
Just as Viliv starts spreading the PMP love to the US, they go and launch into the in-car navigation biz with their first GPS/PMP combo device for the Korean market -- the N.70. This WinCE 4.2 device features SiRF Star3 GPS navigation, an MP3, photo, and video player, wireless remote, built-in stereo speakers, CF/SD memory card slots, and even an T-DMB digital TV option. However, that big 7-inch display barely pumps 480 x 234 pixels meaning your flicks won't exactly look their best. Regardless, we have to question the merits of slapping a 7-inch media-playin' distraction on the dash with all those GPS-enabled drivers in the UK plummeting off cliffs and such.
PortalPlayer still an iPod playa?
Does PortalPlayer -- which lost to Samsung in the contest to provide chips for the next-gen iPod nano -- have a chance of winning back Apple's business as Cupertino gets ready to roll out the next video iPod? And what exactly does Apple have in store for that long-rumored product? Those were the big questions on the lips of analysts at PortalPlayer's first-quarter conference call this week, and CEO Gary Johnson did his best to answer the first question -- and not answer the second one. Any queries about Apple were met with McClellan-esque non-answers, as Johnson insisted that the company couldn't say anything that might reveal information about the plans of its "largest customer" (Johnson wouldn't even mention the company's name). Johnson did, however, tout his latest chip, which he said could do "full high-end video playback" -- something that's not possible with PortalPlayer's 5021 chip, used in the current video-capable iPod. So, is Apple, er, sorry, PortalPlayer's largest customer, going to buy the chip? "We're working to win back that business," Johnson said. Needless to say, Johnson refused to shed any light on Apple's plans, or lack thereof, for the next-gen video iPod, though he did say that his company's video-capable chip is "a product that's available." So, if PortalPlayer's largest customer is in the market for a solution for a new portable media player, now they know where they can find one.
Pantech and Curitel's PT-S200 multimedia slider
New to the South Korean market: the Pantech and Curitel PT-S200 handset, a multimedia slider featuring a 2 megapixel camera and all-important subway map. This 17.9-millimeter thick model also sports a QVGA display, MicroSD slot for MP3s, mobile banking capabilities, and the requisite (for Korea, at least) electronic dictionary. Available only in white, the PT-S200 seems to be on sale immediately for the Korean equivalent of $425.
Sorell DN10 GPS/DMB-enabled Korean PMP
We haven't featured a foreign PMP on these pages in awhile, so for those of you hungry for a feature-filled device that you'll never get your hands on, we proudly present the Sorell DN10. With only 1GB of internal flash memory, the DN10 isn't going to win any capacity awards, although an SD card slot allows you to jack that total up to a still-low-but-acceptable 3GB. Features, then, and not storage, are what should draw Koreans to this model, as it boasts a 3.5-inch screen and both a GPS receiver for navigation and DMB tuner for watching OTA programming when they get sick of the two movies that they were able to cram onto the device. Filetypes supported include AVI, DivX, XviD, WMA, MP3, and JPEG, and pricing comes in at under $400 (measured in won, of course).
Future flying in Hamburg, Germany
We like, totally forgot to register for the event of the year: the Airline Interior Expo Hamburg. Thankfully CNET's got some pictorial highlights of what it'll be like flying in the future; expect to see some serious tech on the 300 passenger superliner Airbus a350, like LED mood lighting, skyscape projectors, and an "infinity dome"; OnAir, an Airbus subsidiary, showed off their on-board GSM mini-cell (which will be rolled out on Air France in 2007); Digecor had their DigeplayerXT PMP with WiFi, 8-inch screen, 60GB drive, and credit card reader (of course); and our fav was the Contour "Solar" bed / seat / mobile office (pictured) with full entertainment system, power for your bag of devices, and massage feature. Suddenly killing hours in a highly pressurized frigid cabin miles above the Earth's surface seems kind of enticing. Kind of.
iRiver U10 makes it to 2GB (in Japan)
We kind of wish iRiver Japan wasn't always skipping ahead of the rest of iRiver with their own 2GB players (except Korea, of course), but Engadget fav portable-portable media player U10 is topping off at 2GB over there now, too. It'll set you back ¥22,980 (about $200 US) when it launches the 26th of this month, but be patient, we have a feeling this'll make it Stateside sooner than later (and really, how often do you hear us say that?).
MSI D310 portable media player with built-in DVB-T receiver
We've seen quite a few portable media players with built in digital receivers. Unfortunately (for those of us on this side of the Pacific, that is), most are DMB models designed for use in Korea. However, MSI is now rolling out the D310, a PMP with a Freeview receiver, which means that it'll work anywhere that uses DVB-T for digital broadcasting. That covers much of Europe, Australia and parts of Asia and South America. As usual, North Americans will have to sit this one out. In addition to a DVB-T receiver, the D310 includes a 4.2-inch display, SD card slot, and compatibility with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio files.
Viliv announces new US-bound PMP, the P2
So apparently the viliv P1 personal media player is doing so well in the US, that the company has already announced plans to release their new model, the P2, Stateside as well. The P2 takes all the P1's multi-codec goodness (MPEG-1/2/4, H.264, DivX, WMV 7/8/9, XviD, MP3, WMA, OGG, AC-3, and WAV), subtracts the iPod resemblance, and adds a 60GB option as well as an optional GPS receiver. Powered by a 400MHz AMD processor, the P2 runs on Windows CE 5.0 and sports a large 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 widescreen LCD, and also can also act as a USB 2.0 host device. Expect to see these for sale sometime in the middle of August, although pricing has yet to be announced.
RCA Lyra X3030 media player gets bump to 30GB
It may be only a couple of weeks since we first started seeing reviews of Thomson/RCA's Lyra X3000 portable media player, but that hasn't stopped the company from announcing a successor, the X3030. Like the X3000, the X3030, due out in May, can handle WMA, PlaysforSure, Audible and DivX files, and has a 3.6-inch LCD display. In fact, the main difference between the two models appears to be a bump in hard disk size, from 20 to 30GB (gee, that must be why this is the X3030). RCA has kept the suggested retail price at the same $399 level as the X3000, so if you like the Lyra's specs and 20GB will do it for you, now might be a good time for you to grab an X3000 from a clearance bin.
Toshiba Gigabeat S shipping this month ... in Japan
If you haven't been getting your internet access via Webaroo, you must know that the Toshiba Gigabeat S is one of the most eagerly awaited new products of the year -- especially by us (we were seriously tempted to "borrow" one from the Toshiba booth at CES, but managed to resist). Now the Windows Portable Media Center is nearly upon us, getting a full list of specs and a rough ship date -- for the Japanese market, that is. Specs look basically consistent with what we saw at CES: both the 30GB S30 and 60GB S60 will include a 2.4-inch QVGA display, an FM tuner, and full compatibility with Windows DRM for both audio and video. They're expected to ship in Japan, in white, black and red versions, by the end of this month at prices of around $299 for the S30 and $399 for the S60. And we're going to have to decide whether to bite the bullet and pay the markup to pick one up through a gray market shipper, or continue waiting for the eventual US release.
Samsung's YM-P1 20GB PMP available for pre-order
It's hitting our shores a little later than expected, but you can finally queue up for the US version of Samsung's hot little YM-PD1 personal media player (pictured), the YM-P1 (the absence of the "D" refers to the lack of a DMB over-the-air DTV receiver). Since we've been following this model for some time, you'll no doubt recall that it features a 4-inch widescreen TFT display, sports in-line recording to a 20GB hard drive, and supports a gaggle of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, AC3, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, AVI, WMV, JPEG, and BMP. You can also jack up the memory a bit via the SDIO slot, listen to and record FM radio, and even play some videogames (although the controls don't look all that well-suited for serious gaming). SamsungHQ spotted the P1 available for pre-order on Datavision's website at $370 (where "Our prices are too low to advertise!"), although there is no mention of when the devices will actually be shipping, so don't toss your Archos aside just yet.
Samsung gets their PMP-ish Digimax i6 out the door
We have yet to see quite how well Samsung's Digimax i6 compact shooter will hold up to PMP duties, but Samsung is billing it as the "world's first PMP slim camera," so hopefully it does something right. The 6 megapixel i6 is now available in Europe for £200, while US pre-orders are available at a reasonable $300. Along with your average camera features like a 2.5-inch LCD and a 3x optical zoom, the i6 includes a mini headphone jack for enjoying MP3 files, along with video playback capability for XviD files made using an included converter. Not exactly groundbreaking, but we can't fault this sexy, 0.7-inch thick shooter for trying.[Via SamsungHQ]
Video Feature: The iRiver U10, future plans
With iRiver catching an increasing amount of attention for their U10, we took a few to shoot some footage of the device and discuss iRiver's future. Apparently its long-standing H10 series is on its way out, and they'll be heavily promoting the U10 and a line of players with a like design (such as the G10, for one -- though not in America for that specific device), some of which may also include a 1.8-inch drive based device, a larger screen, and PlaysForSure support. Stay tuned for some big announcements from iRiver "very soon."FormatQT MPEG4, 7:03, 26.8 MB[Download Here]
