Archos is hard at work, delivering their second firmware update in as many weeks. It’s comprised mostly of bug fixes, but it does add one new feature that Archos 5 and 7 owners have been waiting for. The players now have support for a High-def Plug-in, allowing you to play HD videos with resolutions up to 720 x 1280 (24FPS) natively. The full list of changes are listed below:
Firmware 1.6.03 (for Archos 5 and 7)
New Features:
- HiDef Video Plug-in support
- WMV/VC1 AP at 720p, 24 fps, 6 Mbps maximum
- MPEG-4 ASP w/o QPEL and GMC at 720p, 24 fps, 6 Mbps maximum
- Network: Now display only one Hidden SSID item in the access point list even if several are detected (Note: previous Wifi configuration is lost after firmware update)
Bug Fixes:
- Music: some MP3 files did not show up in Music Library
- TV Snap-on: recording failed in case there was no “(Rec)” folder
- TV Program Guide: Title bar was not updated when changing day by selecting a program
- ARCHOS 5G : Device didn’t start when plugged on some DVR Stations
- GUI: Animated Wallpaper was using the format selected in the Video Player instead of Full Screen
- GUI: Device rebooted when opening a shortcut to a picture folder containing sub-folders only
Download HERE
The HD plugin costs $19.99, but appears to be out of stock on Archos’ site. How can a digital download be sold out?
The last time we discussed the iStation T3, I was taken by its attractive interface, and nice feature-set. The player certainly looked nice in stills, but video tells a whole different story.
That “3D” interface I was so enamored with last time seems to all be on the surface. Once you get past the flashy main menus, you’ll find your basic Windows CE interface and options. The T3 is still a pretty capable PMP, that has support for most popular formats (FLAC, Ogg, Divx, Xvid, etc..), and comes loaded with a bunch of extras (Games, Dictionary, E-book, etc..). It just doesn’t do enough to separate itself from the crowd. So, let this be a lesson to everyone - Never judge a DAP by its main menu!
LINK
(via PMP Today)
The new iPod Shuffle really took everyone by surprise. Not in that “Surprise, You just won the lottery!” kind of way either. I’ve never seen a player get so many people asking “Is this an April Fool’s Joke?”. Since it was announced. I’ve been thinking of logical reasons for Apple to move the controls from the device, to the earbuds. In my view it comes down to a Form vs Function debate.
With every new iPod, we can always rely on Apple to reduce its size, compared to the previous generation. But what happens when a device is already small enough? I didn’t see anyone clamoring for Apple to make the 2g Shuffle smaller. They brag about the 3G being smaller than a AA battery as if that’s a good thing. How many people honestly need their players to be this small? This is where I feel Apple has a disconnect with its consumers. Apple intends to make a device smaller, regardless of whether that’s needed or not. Sadly in this case, in order to make the Shuffle smaller, controls had to be sacrificed. It looks like Apple is backing themselves into a corner by playing this silly size game. I just wonder where they’ll go from here. Perhaps the 4th gen Shuffle will have a 2.5mm headphone jack, or perhaps the player will just be the earbuds themselves.
Enough with my ranting. Cnet has put out their review of the Shuffle and they didn’t seem too pleased overall. They did find sound quality to be better than the previous generation, and more on par with the 4g Nano and iPod classic. Check out their summary and video below:
| Summary
The Good:
The third-generation Apple iPod Shuffle is as light as a feather and as small as a paper clip, and includes VoiceOver cues, and improved support for podcasts and audiobooks.
The Bad:
You need to operate the Shuffle using a pill-size remote control on your headphones, battery life isn’t great, features are few, and the design is a bit boring
The Bottom Line:The third-generation iPod Shuffle is the next best thing to an invisible MP3 player, but the quirky controls and microscopic design make it a limited recommendation.
Score: 6.3/10 (or 3/5 stars)
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iPod Shuffle (3g) review by Cnet
While doing research for her upcoming P3 review, our friend Jenn over at Pocketables found a new player from Samsung. Well, I use the term “new” loosely here. The YP-Q2 is a minor upgrade to last year’s Q1 model.
The Q1 as many will recall was released as a tactile control version of the P2. The same can’t be said about the Q2 in relation to the P3. You won’t find any widgets here, just a more prettied up interface from its predecessor, and a nice bump in battery life.
Features:
- Capacity: 8 or 16GB
- Display: 2.4″ TFT (320 x 240)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, Ogg, FLAC/DNS 3.0 Sound engine
- Video: WMV, MPEG-4
- FM Tuner and Voice Recorder
- Extras: Text, Games
- Battery Life: 50 hours for audio, 4 hours for video
- Dimensions: 1.93″ x 3.98″ x 0.39″
- Colors: Black or White
I’m not sure if it was Samsung’s intention, but the Q2 looks more like a tactile version of the Cowon S9 than anything. It has a curved design with chrome borders, similar codec support, and they both get 50 (or more) hours of audio playback. Release date, and pricing information isn’t available yet, but we’ll make sure to update you when we find out.
Samsung YP-Q2 Product Page
Thanks Ricardo Dawkins
In what can only be described as a move to shut The Onion up, Apple just satirized themselves by creating the “Stupidest iPod ever.” Somehow, most of us got over the lack of a screen when the first Shuffle came out, but two generations later and now there aren’t any controls on the device either. What we’re left with is a bland piece of metal with a clip. The controls have been moved to the headphones, which pretty much means you’re forced to wear those pretty white buds. But who cares about controls, this baby is smaller than a AA battery!
To somehow compensate for the lack of a screen, Apple has added a text-to-speech feature called “VoiceOver”. It’ll provide the names of your songs and artists, as well as your playlist names. Thus making this the “Best iPod for Blind People” too. Can you tell I’m disappointed with the Shuffle 3g? It is a complete joke. A half-assed product that even Apple seems ashamed of, since it was just quietly announced this morning. Not only does it look plain, locking you into one set of headphones is just as bad as having a full library of DRM’d songs to me. The Shuffle 2g was nearly perfect. It was just the right size to clip-on your shirt, or jeans, it came in a variety of colors, and had easy to use controls. Why would any company take a step backwards from that?
The Shuffle 3g comes in silver, or black with a stainless steel clip, has support for MP3, AAC, and gets about 10 hours of battery life. The 4GB model is available today for $79
iPod Shuffle 3g
Today, Archos announced a new add-on for their Internet Media Tablets. It’s a TV module that snaps on to the bottom of the Archos 5 and others. You can watch digital television for free, and even schedule recordings. Usually I’m pretty jealous of these DMB-TV additions, but I got a good laugh out of this one.
Seriously Archos? It looks like someone took their rabbit ears antenna from their home television and taped it to the bottom of the device. I know Archos isn’t known for their designs, but surely they could have put a little more effort into this one. Can you imagine walking around with this module? You’d look like a total buffoon. It’s not a cheap look either. This one will set you back 79 Euros, or about $100US.
Archos Snap-on TV
(via PMP Today)
| Many of us have been waiting a long time for a touchscreen Walkman, and thankfully Sony hasn’t disappointed us. The X1000 series has it all, including a 3.0″ OLED display, a digital sound amplifier and noise cancellation feature. It has iintegrated WiFi for browsing the web, buying music, and connecting directly to Youtube. We knew just about everything about this PMP since CES, except for its battery life. I wasn’t expecting any surprises there. Sony has been one of the leading DAP companies when it comes to battery life.
According to Sony HK, the X1000 will get approximately 33 hours of audio playback, and 9 hours for video (with enhancements off of course). How does that compare to the competition? Not too bad. The Samsung P3 gets approximately 30 hours audio/5 hours video, and the Cowon S9 is rated at 55 hours audio/11 hours video. We still don’t have official pricing for the US, but it’s still shaping up to be $299 for the 16GB model, and $399 for the 32GB.
Sources:
Sony Style HK
MovePlayer
Portable Alliance |
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This week, Best Buy is selling the Samsung S2 Pebble for just $14.99. The Pebble is your basic screenless DAP, but it does have a few advantages over the iPod Shuffle. It can playback Ogg files, has on the go playlist support, and it has a few EQ settings included. See the full list of features below:
Features:
- Capacity: 1GB
- Audio: MP3, WMA, and Ogg
- Playlist OTG support
- DNSe 2.0 sound engine
- EQ: Normal, Studio, and Concert Hall
- Multicolor LED light effects (to display playback mode and other settings)
- Battery life: 13 hours
- UMS device
- Dimensions: 1.66″ x 0.65″ x 1.62″
The Pebble is available in five colors - Black, White, Purple, Green, and Red. At Best Buy, you can order online, or pick it up at your local store (where available).
Samsung S2 Pebble at Best Buy
2GB Sansa Fuze for $29.99 Shipped
While on the topic of DAP deals, I thought I’d pass this one along as well. Newegg is selling a 2GB recertified Sansa Fuze for $29.99 shipped. The recertified models I’ve purchased from Sandisk have been as good as new, so this is quite the bargain for a great sounding player. The capacity is a bit low, but it does have microSD expansion.
2GB Sansa Fuze at Newegg
Cowon has released a firmware upgrade for the Cowon S9. The firmware adds:
- a Widgets Feature
- WMV7, WMV8, ASF file support
- video playback speed and full screen mode for TV-OUT
- support for UTF-8 subtitles and color tags
- full screen mode in photo viewer and wallpaper support
- Passkey and PIN support for Bluetooth
- full QWERTY keyboard for the dicitonary
The first thing that I noticed was that the widgets are not integrated into the mainmenu and are in a separate desktop. This is quite inconvenient, and I’m hoping the future firmware will fix this. The addition of custom wallpaper and full QWERTY are great though.
Download here
About a week ago, MIchael posted the teaser for the J2. The Atree J2 has been released today and is very much like the iriver E100 and Samsung Q1, just as expected. The device has a clear jem like red LED on the front of the device that translates to the back, which looks quite nice. The overall design and color choices are questionable however. Also, the device is not available in 16GB like its biggest competitor: the Q1. On the plus side, the UI looks pretty decent and the device supports FLAC which is always a plus. There is also a sound enhancer called Maven Xnome on the device, but I’m not too much of a fan of these unnatural methods.
SPECS
Size: 48.6 x 94.9 x 12.7mm @ 62.1g
Capacity: 4/8GB
External Memory: Micro SD
Battery Life: 38hr music/8hr video
Display: 2.4″ TFT (240×320) @260000 colors
Dictionary: YBM
Music: MP3/WMA/WAV/OGG/FLAC
Video: AVI/WMV
Other: Flash lite 3.0/JPEG/GIF/BMP/PNG/TXT
Product Page via Moveplayer
