After months, if not years of speculating, Apple has officially announced their first tablet device. Many names have been rumored, including the iSlate, and iTablet, but Apple has gone with the ‘iPad”. I’m not too fond of the name personally as it too similar to the iPod. I’m sure females have an entirely different reason to not like the name. But who cares about the name, it’s all about functionality. The iPad appears to take the best qualities of existing mobile devices and wraps it into a super sleek package.
Apple iPad Features
Capacity: 16, 32, or 64GB
Display: 9.7″ LED-backlit widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology (1024 x 768 resolution)
Processor: 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power SOC
Connectivity: 802.11n WiFi (and 3G for cellular models), Bluetooth
Full App store support
Audio/Video: MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, H.264 (up to 720P), MPEG-4
Battery Life: 10 hours, A month of standby time
Dimensions: 9.56″ x 7.47″ x 0.5″
Pricing: $499, $599, and $699 respectively, plus $130 more for 3G models
Data Plan: 14.99 a month for 250mb of data, or $29.99/month for unlimited data
Availablity: Coming in two months
If someone asked me to summarize the iPad in five words or less I’d tell them “it’s a giant iPhone”. While It uses a similar OS, and supports all of the same apps, chalking it up as a supersized iPhone wouldn’t be a fair assessment. Graphical designers will appreciate the multitouch IPS display. Ebook readers will love the new iBooks app (and support for the epub format). Even browsing the web looks better than doing so on a netbook or mobile phone. I’m not sure I’d call the iPad a revolutionary device, but it’s certainly an evolution in mobile computing in many respects.
Microsoft has just released Zune Software version 4.2 for the PC. No official details about the update were released, but here’s what I’ve gathered from around the web:
Zune Software Update 4.2
Xvid Support - The Software can now see Xvid, Divx, and AVI videos. Transcoding is still required to get these videos on to the Zune HD however (full support coming this Spring apparently)
Playlist icons have changed from Pink to Black
The Software appears to be much faster
More integration with Windows 7 (it automatically monitors its libraries, etc..)
The players have also received an update (version 3.5) to coincide with this. I’m sure the update does a lot more, so if you discover anything new, let us know!
It looks like someone already got their hands on the newly announced iriver Smart HD (aka the K1). The video preview mostly shows off the K1’s GUI. The interface seemed to be pretty responsive to me, and takes full advantage of the built-in accelerometer from the looks of it. It also looks like there’s a mini player mode that allows you to play your music while navigating the main menu.
Towards the end, the user is able to access Windows CE. That OS is a bit dated by today’s standards. Something like Android would have been a better choice. I’m not sure what to make of the Smart HD. On one hand, it has a great form-factor, excellent format support, and a nice looking interface. On the other hand, WiFi doesn’t come standard, and the estimated battery life of 18 hours is really disappointing. The Smart HD was supposed to come out in January, but with only 6 days left in the month, that’s doubtful. For now, mark us down as curious, but concerned.
OPPO, a Chinese company better known for their PMP’s, has just announced a new e-book reader called “Enjoy”. It seems like everyone is making one these days, so what makes this one different? Well for starters, it’ll be running on Android. Whether that means it can be modded for other uses is still unknown. We don’t really know much else about the device, but if it’s anything like OPPO’s other products, it shouldn’t cost too much.
So, is it me, or did iriver take CES off this year? In previous years they’d announce at least one new device daily. Sure many of those were just concepts, but at least it showed they were working on something. This year, all they had was the iriver story, an e-book reader with a striking resemblance to the Kindle. Just when I was about to lose hope, the Smart HD shows up. The Smart HD, previously known by the codename “K1″ is a slick looking PMP with a multitouch interface, lots of features, and fantastic format support.
It looks like there will be four different versions, ranging from a Basic, to a premium model that includes a DMB tuner and WiFi.
iriver Smart HD Specs
Capacity: 8 or 16GB with microSD expansion
Display: 3.5″ touchscreen (480 x 320 resolution, 16M colors)
Extras: Flash 3.0, FM Tune/Recorder, Voice Recorder, Outlook Sync, Dictionary
Built-in WiFi and DMB on some models
Battery Life: 18 hours for audio, 6 hours for video
Dimensions: 108 × 62.1 × 12.7 mm (120 grams)
Additionally, iriver will release an SDK allowing users to design their own themes and widgets. No official release date has been set, but depending on the capacity and model, prices should range from $200 - $300US.
It looks like Philips has taken CES more seriously than other DAP manufacturers. Not only did they announce a partnership with SongBird, they also had (at least) four new players at their booth. Here’s a quick run-down of what they had at their booth
Philips Muse
The Muse is the nicest from the bunch, featuring a 3.2″ touchscreen,16GB’s of storage, plus SD-card expansion, and HDMI output. It’ll be released in April for $149.99.
Philips Cam
Philips has taken notes from Apple and have incorporated a camera on the back of one of their players. Unlike the Nano however, the “Cam” is capable of taking still pictures in addition to recording video. An 8GB model will be released in April for $99.99
Philips Ariaz
The Ariaz looks like a smaller version of the Muse, but with a full set of tactile controls. It has a 2.4″ display, has an 8GB capacity plus SD expansion, and also does HDMI output. It’ll retail for $79.99 this Spring.
Philips Raga
The Raga is your typical basic-range player. It has an aluminum build, and has a 4GB capacity. It’ll be released in March for $44.99.
That’s about all the info we have so far, but these new players are looking good. We’ll update you with specs and other information when we get it.
A few years back, after reading a bunch of positive reviews, I decided to buy a pair of Sennheiser PX-100’s for $50. Now, that might not seem like a lot to the people at Head-Fi.org, but I never spent more than $10-15 on a pair prior to that. Most of those cheap headphones are long gone by now, but my PX-100’s are still as good as new, and most importantly, they still sound great. I also think they look pretty stylish, and the way they collapse is pretty cool as well.
I’d definitely recommend these at $50, but luckily you can get it for half that amount. Amazon has them on sale for just $25.94, and free shipping. I don’t consider myself to be an audiophile by any means, but you probably won’t find many better sounding headphones in this price range.
It’s been a while since we’ve reported on a player from Coby, and probably longer still since we’ve had something nice to say about one. It’s hard to say positive things when your lineup is filled with bottom of the barrel Chinese rebrands.
Perhaps the same can be said about the MP837, but it’s looking a lot better than their previous offerings. The MP837 has a 3.0″ touchscreen with haptic feedback, decent format support including OGG, FLV, H.264, and Xvid, and has an estimated battery life of 22 hours. Below you’ll find a quick demo of the player courtesy of engadget.
Coby MP837 Video Preview
While it won’t blow anyone away, the MP837 likely won’t break the bank either. Keep an eye out for it this Spring.
For a limited time, Sony Style is selling a 16GB S630 series Walkman for just $64.99 and free shipping. That’s a smoking deal that will no doubt sell out soon. The S639 series, as you’d expect from Sony, has top-notch sound quality, and comes bundled with a pair of premium EX-series headphones. It’ll play back MP3, WMA, AAC codecs and has an estimated battery life of up to 50 hours. This was reduced to $90 just last month, so this might be the final markdown before they’re gone for good.
It looks like Samsung is thinking outside of the box for their newest line of players. First, there was the IceTouch, a touchscreen player with a cool transparent screen, and now we have the Tic Toc (aka YP-S1). It’s a colorful little player that’s controlled by motion. You increase the player by shaking it, and decrease the volume by turning it upside down (while pressing the volume button). Check out a quick demo of it courtesy of “DigiTalk News”.
The idea isn’t exactly new. Sandisk did the same thing with kid-friendly Sansa Shaker. Still, it’s nice to see the technology in a more stylish and compact form-factor. The Samsung Tic Toc will be available in 2 and 4GB capacities later this year.
