smartech

This isn’t the best year to find new media players at the CES show in Vegas. Still, if you look closer, you just might see a few, hidden, while walking down the halls. One of them, which looks quiet similar to the Cowon S9, is iRiver’s 3.5-inch K1, also known as “Smart HD”, which may give you a sense of what it can play, besides the usual batch of formats we all know. Screen resolution is at 480 x 320 and the PMP itself boasts a DMB TV tuner,along WiFi, web browser, a built-in mic and integrated FM tuner. Internet support is definitely the trigger that caught our attention here, but mind you, it can also be used as a mini e-book reader, out of the box, the moment it comes out in South Korea at the end of the month. No price or US release info at the moment.

Update: It looks like iRiver’s K1 PMP will go live initially in Korea only. It will be offer in variant flavors, including the basic 8GB version, priced at â‚©229,000 (about $205), while a DMB mobile TV tuner add-on will run for â‚©279,000 (about $250) and the 16GB model for â‚©299,000 (about $265). In case you’re into the full fledged pack with WiFi, DMB tuner and 16 gigs of storage, the K1 will cost you â‚©349,000, or $310 US dollars.

Not sure whether it’s a new trend or not, but we’ve already seen Samsung’s MyFit storming out to the pond, and now it’s Philips’ turn to get the spot. It’s a fitness MP3 device called Activa and it would tell you when to start a calories-burn activity and when to stop. The body is relatively tiny and packs either 4GB or 8GB flash storage inside, but most importantly, it would match your music playlist with the phase of your workout. As for debut, check April 20 in your diaries, 130 bucks with your banker and PR after the jump.

Read more…

Despite market flotation, we keep seeing more and more entry-level players surface up in the wild, targeting non-deep pockets, at the time where branded ones are out of their reach.  This way or another, some manufacturers, like Korean iRiver, occasionally offer both. From one hand we have a pricey touchscreen media player such as the P7, which costs hundreds of dollars, and from the other, the E30, that represents the slim and light lineup. The late, that enters into Chinese markets these days, packs a 1.8-inch display and either 4GB ($59) or 8GB ( $79.99) capacities to choose from. Besides that it sports a 52 hours battery and runs almost every known format, available around.

Update: Amazon now has it, up for order both in 4GB and 8GB storage capacities.

[via gmp3]

It’s small, black (with golden touch) and looks like Hello Kitty, have you guessed? Well, that wasn’t hard, was it? I guess not, especially when it comes from a company – AKA iRiver – that already launched Mickey Mouse players to the pond. This time it’s a cat, THE cat, if you take Garfield out of the equation. The DAP itself offers either 2GB or 4GB storage capacities at your choice, along a USB cable and color matched ear buds bundled inside. Japan release is set for December 18, just before the holidays, with prices around Â¥7,980 ($90). Miao

[via Akihabaranews]

Read more…

Korean manufacturer SAFA has rolled out a new mp3 player, SAFA XING LED, cramming both audio and style in one  small device. The Xing LED, which comes with 27 LED lights that can be tweaked with various icons at your choice or used for playing simple enjoyable games like Rock, Paper, Scissors or Dice, packs a 12 hours battery, paired with a G-sensor mode, one USB connector, a mono speaker lump and 4-directions touch keys. Price and availability are yet to be released while storage capacity is still under examine – well, nothing that’d stop us announcing the XING as our new fashion accessory.

[via Safa]

You didn’t really think Archos was going to give up the Vision 1 mp3 lineup, after already launching Vision 2 and Vision 3 in the past few months, did you? Well, given the fact a vision 1 device, equipped with 4GB of storage and 1.5-inch LCD display is rumored to be out at the end of this month, we’d surely say “NO”. And, despite the absolute lack of video support inside this 28 grams weight and €30 ($45) money, the added 20 hours battery, pumped in one single charge, would probably give this tiny Frenchi chap an extra fervency value.

Update: Archos 1 is now available around Europe, priced at £24.99 ($40), stores up to 4GB of content and plays almost every common format available around, like MP3, WMA, APE, WAV and FLAC for audio, and JPEG or BMP files for photos. Still no word on a US release.

[via LeJournalDuGeek]

It’s not official yet, but word on Chinese streets says that iRiver is launching the N20 mp3 player these days, coming with either 2GB or 4GB capacities at your choice, along with a four lines greyscale PMOLED display, a built-in FM tuner, 26 x 55.5 x 13mm size dimensions and wide range of formats support – MP3, WMA, APE, WAV, FLAC and OGG audio files included. As said, nothing official from iRiver at this point, but this way or another, we hear you’ll probably have to shell out 649 yuan ($95) or 749 ($110), respectively, to have one.

Update: Mariah Carey fans, this is your day. A special iRiver N20 edition, preloaded with  Carey’s new album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, is just around the South Korean corner. First 5000, you’re on, only $120 out of your pockets, and this LE  DAP is yours. Another image is just after the break. Hurry up!

[via imp3]

Read more…

Hope you’re not confusing with Cowon’s S9, which is more of a PMP rather than an mp3 player. Anyway, we’re glad to see the Koreans keeping up with the good media-players launching pace, while this time it’s the iAudio 9, which apparently packs a 2-inch LCD screen, along with a built-in microphone, an FM tuner, TV output, an integrated speaker and lots of media codecs to play, including AVI, WMV, XViD, ASF and many more. Regretfully, we’re still missing storage capacities and pricing details, but as you know we’re all over it to bring’em on.

Update1: While Western debut may  look vague at the moment, Asian release is much clearer, as Cowon’s iAudio 9 is expected to see light, in Japan, on mid-November, priced at 14,800 yen (around $160) for the 8GB model, and 17,800 yen (around $195) for the 16GB model.Stay tuned.

Update2: The guys at Le Journal Du Geek were lucky enough to put their hands on a Cowon 9 mp3 player, few weeks before its European start, which suppose to give you, for merely €180 ($265), a 16GB of internal storage, a 2-inch screen display, integrated mic, built-in FM radio, wide range of codecs support and a pocketable sized black/silver body design. Hit the break for one more footage, or click this spot for the entire collection.

Update3: Looks like Cowon’s iAudio 9 is finally up on sale in the US, with prices starting at $129 for the 8GB version and climbing up to $169 for the 16GB one.

[gmp3]

Read more…

Despite Microsoft’s Zune HD event, which takes place this coming Tuesday, things look just as usual around DigitalCube’s  Korean headquarters, as the company officially debuts with iSTATION S3 PMP that “surprisingly” sports a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 AMOLED display, which packs underneath an HDMI output and a strong battery, running around 20 hours of audio and up to 8 hours of video. Other than that, the new S3 supports most common files while storage wise, is being offered in 8/16/32GB capacities. Prices and dates of release are yet to be determined. Be sure we’re here to get’em right away.

[via Aving]

Apple’s Rock n’ Roll event just went down with Steve Jobs up on stage again, this time suggesting a new colorful iPod nano lineup, available today at the online store, delivering two different storage capacities, 8GB ($149) and 16GB ( $179), to choose from. Other than that, the fifth-generation nano is now offering some neat improvements, with Cupertino unveiling a small video camera, integrated at the back of each player, allowing live video shooting in 640 x 480 video capture resolution at H.264 format, which gets up to 30fps capabilities and including 15 real-time special effects, such as Sepia, Black and White, X-Ray, 2.2Film Grain, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, Bulge, Kaleido, Motion Blur and many others. Additionally, you get a bigger 2.2-inch 376 x 240 display, holding an FM tuner that has Live Pause feature underneath, sitting along with iTunes Tagging support, a pedometer element, built in speaker / microphone  and a voice over trait – all packed into a small sized 3.6 x 1.5 x 0.24-inches body frame that holds a battery which literally plays up to 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video. Stay tuned for more to come.

Update1: Turns out the new nano camera can only handle video footage without stills. Nonetheless, it still looks pretty amazing, so hit the break and checkout the video walkthrough right away.

Update2: Hey, we know you’re all excited to take a peek at those sexy inner parts of the new nano video cam player. And as we speak, the guys from iFixit were rapidly nabbing a nice blue fifth-gen nano device, tearing it apart and showing its bowels wide. Hit the jump to watch from close, or click the link to look at the entire process done.

[Apple]

Read more…

With one more hour to go before announcing some new players, Apple is now reported to quietly slash down iPod Touch, Nano and Classic iPod prices on Cupertino’s on-line store, as follows:  iPod Touch – Apparently, the 8GB model is now priced at $189 (instead of $229), while 16GB version now stands at $249 (instead of $299), and the 32GB flavor is merely $279 (was $399 before). iPod Nano – The 8GB model will now set you back for $129 (instead of $149), as the 16GB Nano is now offered for only $149 (instead of previous $199). iPod Classic - Gets the competitive price of $229 instead of $249.

Update1: Turns out a new whopping 64GB iPod Touch version is now up and available for $399.

Update2: Looks like the $249 iPod Classic player is now being offered in 160GB storage. That’s extra 40GB to its predecessor.

Update3: So it seems a new iPod Touch 3G is out after all, but regretfully without a camera inside. Prices remain the same but the UI looks a little snappier than previous gen. Surprisingly, the guys at iFixit have managed to find a potential spot for a video camera, that Apple has probably allocated in the top of the device. That said, Steve Jobs already made it clear that Apple won’t integrate any footage features at this point. Stay tuned.

Update4: The guys at engadget have thrown themselves all over the “new” iPod Touch 3G, moments before it goes live. Hit the jump to take a look.

[Apple]

Read more…

Apparently, SanDisk wasn’t having a lot of success, last time it has launched to the market a slotMusic Sansa machine, almost 12 months ago. Even so, it seems the company wasn’t planning to give up on this category that fast, otherwise, how can you explain Sansa’s Clip+ mp3 player recent launch? A closer look at the unit itself will make you realize it’s literally a similar version of the legendary Sansa Clip, we’re all familiar with for many years, with all the good traits it packs, including a small and attractive body design, easy to use interface menus, mass storage files compatibility (drag n’ drop), FM tuner radio support, 4/6/8GB internal flash capacities, and last but not least – great audio quality. But if that’s not enough, the new Sansa Clip+, is also offering a microSD slot expansion to make your storage even bigger, and three beautiful theme colors  (Black, Red, Blue) to choose from, now, at any local US retailer for $39.99 (2GB), $49.99 (4GB) or $69.99 (8GB).

Update: For some, an inside look into new gadgets’ circuits  is literally a preliminary term before getting the real thing. So there you go folks, SanDisk’s Sansa Clip+ (plus) mp3 player is spread wide open and ready for dissection right after the break (courtesy of anythingbutipod) with all its inner glory, which houses two SanDisk chips that run the entire system, and a long lasting battery that makes it happen. However, ig one gutsy shot isn;t enough, hit the link and get even more.

[via gmp3]

Read more…

Samsung has been very active lately within the media players market, and even when we were thinking we’ve seen them all, the South Korean giant has given us yet another prove  it ain’t going to halt any production. In fact, not only the company has never stopped, it was actually shifting gear and going official with another PMP player, this time the Samsung YP-R1, which is scheduled to go live at the Berlin IFA trade show, next month, for a starting price of $180. Specs wise, the new player will presumably pack a 2.6-inch 400 x 260 touchscreen, while the TouchWiz interface will give you the freedom to enjoy any audio/video files anywhere, and the BeatDJ feature will enable users adding their own voice and sound effects to their favorite songs. Besides that, the 8.9 millimeter-thick player will eventually come with a choice of 8GB or 16GB memory capacities, while Samsung’s DNSe 3.0 digital sound engine is about to be the first to support DivX format. Regretfully, no other details, nor video previews were popping up at this point, so stay tuned for more updates to come.

[via Newswire]

With strong and powerful audio brands like Cowon, iRiver or Samsung, it’s probably hard for unknown Asian companies to get their 15 minutes of fame in such an overcrowded market of dominant media players. But brands and popularity aside, sometimes you pay a lot more for much less and today, when recession keeps knocking our windows (or bank accounts), maybe it’s time for other names to make their debut. And, one of the companies that recently decided to go out with a new player is Atree, that has rolled out the J100 machine, which boasts a 3-inch touchscreen, together with a microSD expansion, DMB digital TV tuner, 4GB of internal flash storage and even an e-dictionary support. Formats wise, the J100 is compatible with MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC and APE lossless audio files while video playback will presumably run any AVI, DivX, Xvid and WMV footage. Hence, if you happen to visit the southern part of the country and find it attractive having an “anything but iPod” DAP in your pocket, you should start counting 198,000 KRW (about $158), the price it costs.

[Atree]

While most details are still missing, Korean giant Samsung is about to release another PMP device to the market, this time it’s the YP-R0 player, which suppose to be available in the following months with a 2.6-inch touchscreen, a slim chassis (only 60g weight), 8GB of flash storage, an FM tuner (RDS compatible), a microSD card slot expansion and wide range of codecs support, including MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, AAC, MPEG4, WMV, JPEG, PNG, BMP, and GIF. In terms of pricing, you should expect shelling out about KRW 130,000 ($185) when it gets available. Stay tuned.

Update: Word on the street says that Samsung’s R0 PMP is finally up in Korea, either in Indie Black, Techno Silver, or Rap Pink hues, and includes a 2.6-inch TFT display, along FM radio, microSD card slot, an integrated photo viewer and wide range of codecs support. Storage wise, you get to choose between 4GB and 8GB, while prices stand at KRW139,000 ($120) or KRW179,000 ($155), respectively.

[via journaldugeek]

In case you haven’t heard, South Korean iRiver has just released a new PMP device for the Asian market, with minor chances to hit some western shelves in the near future. Nevertheless, the new B30 device is claimed to have a 2.8-inch QVGA display, along with an FM tuner, T-DMB connectivity, a microSD expansion slot, and either 4GB, 8GB or 16GB storage capacities to choose from. Additionally, this wide range codecs-compatible unit is offered in various flavors, including Black, White or Silver hues, while battery should provide up to 40 hours of audio playback or 5.5 hours of video time – all competitively priced at $155 (4GB) and $183 (8GB), with flight costs excluded.

Update1: Checkout iRiver’s B30 promotion video after the break.

Update2: You should also check the other video in the line, featuring iRiver’s B30 UI , navigated via the touch sensitive buttons

Update3: Looks like the B30 is now available on a UK online shop, DAD, listed for £139. Hit the link for more images.

[iriver via dapreview]

Read more…

LEGO (in partnership with Digital Blue) releases a new mp3 player, shaped as a colorful brick and scheduled  to hit your kids’ playground somewhere this summer for $39.99. The new audio toy comes with 2GB of storage and includes a small LCD screen to display playing songs together with their talented performers.  Other than that, the brick can easily connect speedy USB 2.0 ports to let you transfer any MP3 or WMA files, while the bundled pair of earbuds will smoothly hook into the built-in 3.5mm Headphone Jack, so you won’t have to listen to Tweedledee and Tweedledum back and forth.

[via engadget]

After a quick appearance at the CES show, Samsung has officially launched the MBP200 micro projector unit in Korea, to be available for ₩ 400,000.00 (€225). Sized only 109.7×48.8x19mm at 140g, the new ultra portable device features a 2.2-inch 320 X 240 color LCD, along with 190MB of internal memory (expendable up to 16GB with both included microSD/SD card slots), DMB TV tuner and photo viewer. But if projecting your stuff isn’t enough, the MBP200 can also be used as an mp3 player, supporting most common formats, like MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC, and WAV for audio playback, or DivX, Xvid, WMV9 Simple Profile, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 for video broadcasting. Additionally, you’ll be able to read your Adobe/Office documents through the machine itself, which can easily load up PDF, PPT, DOC, XLS, and TXT files whenever you’d like. Still no word when this thing is about to make a Stateside debut, but in the meantime you can hit the jump to read the full specs.

[via akihabaranews]

Read more…

After an unsuccessful effort to get into the mp3 players world with the 105 mediocre device, French company Archos is retrying to take a foothold within this category by releasing two flash players out of the blue, to be available in different hues and different capacities. First one, which already is available in Amazon for few hours and known as the Archos 2 packs either 8GB ($60) or 16GB ($92) capacities, together with a 1.8-inch 128 x 160 display, a microSD slot expansion, an FM tuner, a mic and a battery that can play up to 12 audio hours or 4, in case you prefer video files. The second, which is yet to be revealed, also known as the Archos 4, and is expected to have a 4-inch display with up to 32GB capacity inside. Other than that, there are no further details to share, so stay tuned for more to come.

Update1: Looks like Archos2 just turned official and is now available for purchasing  at the company’s website, as the 8GB version, which is still in “coming soon” status goes for $59.99, while the 16GB model will set you back for $99.99. Additionally, a blue version should be released somewhere this year, but we have no specific date to share yet.

Update2: Checkout Archos 2 video preview from Charbax, after the break.

Update3: Archos has re-branded both the 2 & 4 players, which are now called 2 Vision and 4 Vision. Both devices will go on a UK sale very shortly, a 1.8-inch display with optional 16GB capacity and a £50 ($80) price tag, and a £20 ($32) release, in case you settle with the 2GB version.

[via ArchosLounge]

Read more…

Following the popular E100 and its “Season 2” sequel, iRiver has just introduced the E150, which is pretty much the same PMP from inside and a little different from the outside. So what do you get for a $78 4GB bit or alternatively, a double storage $100 device? Well…Pretty much the same 2.4-inch QVGA screen, microSD slot, a full range of formats support and either black, silver, and pink colors to choose from. Only different, if you’re asking, is the extra 2mm width, housing integrated buttons and attractive speaker grills, which give a lucrative look to the new player. Regretfully, there’s no word about a US release at the near future, but you can start counting down until it comes – because it will.

[iRiver via DAP Review]