Creative has announced a new line of players called the “ZEN Style” series. The new players, as the name would suggest, are stylish, and come in a variety of colors. Here’s a quick run-down of the new series.
ZEN X-Fi Style
The name may throw you off, since it’s closer to the original ZEN, than the ZEN X-fi, at least in terms of looks. The ZX-Fi Style has a 2.4″ display, X-Fi sound enhancements, a built-in speaker, and 25 hours of battery life. Sadly, the device doesn’t appear to have an expansion slot.
Specs:
- Capacity: 8, 16, and 32GB
- Display: 2.4″ TFT (320 x 240 resolution, 262K colors)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, and WAV
- Video: MPEG-4 SP, WMV, Xvid, Divx (up to 640 x 480 resolution)
- X-Fi sound enhancements/Built-in speaker/TV-out (with optional cable)
- Extras: FM tuner, Voice recorder, RSS reader (requires PC sync)
- Battery life: 25 hours for audio, and 5 hours for video
- Dimensions: 83.6mm x 48.7mm x 11.7mm
- Pricing: S$159 - 249.00 Singapore dollars or roughly $114 - 178US
ZEN Style 100 and 300
The ZEN Style is a compact player, with roughly the same dimensions as the ZEN Mozaic. There are two models to choose from, the 100, and 300, with the latter having an FM tuner, and a built-in speaker.
Specs
- Capacity: 4, 8, and 16GB
- Display: 1.8″ TFT (128 x 160 resolution, 65K colors)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV, and Audible
- Video: Proprietary format requiring transcoding
- FM tuner and Built speaker (Style 300 model only)
- Voice recorder
- Battery life: 32 hours of Audio, 4 hours of Video
- Dimensions: 79.5mm x 40mm x13.6 mm
- Pricing: S$89 - 159.00 Singapore dollars, or roughly $64 - 114US
The new Style series doesn’t really bring anything we haven’t seen before. Rather, these players are re-skinned versions of older players, with a few new tricks. The new designs are certainly more mainstream, compared to something like the Mozaic however, and the prices are pretty reasonable too.
Press Release
(via epiZENter
Yesterday Microsoft released Firmware Update version 4.5 for the Zune HD. The update brings a few features, like Smart DJ mix, and Marketplace Picks, that were previously available on the Zune PC software. It also adds support for Xvid, and Divx codecs with no transcoding required. According to what I’ve read, the device also got a boost in performance, with thumbnails and other animations loading faster, smoother web browsing, and so forth.
Here’s an official Walk-through of Zune Update 4.5 (try to ignore the hosts’ pretentiousness):
To update, simply connect your device, and load up the PC software.
Well would you look at that, Cowon has officially announced the J3. The player has already received a 2010 reddot design award, and deservingly so from the looks of it. The J3 actually has a lot in common with the S9, but one-ups it by adding a microSD expansion slot. It also gets a nice bump in battery life, with an estimated 64 hours of audio playback time.
Cowon J3 Specs
- Capacity: 4, 8, 16, and 32GB with microSD expansion
- Display: 3.3″ AMOLED touchscreen (480 x 272 resolution)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, APE, and WAV
- Video: AVI, Divx, Xvid, and WMV (supports resolutions up to 480 x 272 at 30fps)
- Bluetooth/FM Tuner/recorder/DMB (for Korea)
- Voice and Line-in recorder
- Extras: Flash games, calculator, TXT
- Battery life: 64 hours for Audio, 11 hours for video
- Dimensions: 56.0 x 106.6 x 9.9mm (weight: 76g)
The J3 is one sexy looking device. It’d be even sexier with some WiFi love, but I won’t complain. No official pricing has been released, but a site called “boxweb” has it ranging from 189,000 to 329,000 Korean Won, or roughly $167 to $291US.
Cowon J3 Product Page
sources:
engadget
ZDNet
Did you know website designers double as magicians? Well not really, but they sure know how to pull a Houdini act. A 64GB Zune HD listing was spotted earlier on Zune.net, but it’s since been removed. Was it simply a mistake, or is Microsoft going to be the first to release a 64GB player stateside?
via engadget
A shot of the V5 playing back a Divx torrent of Star Wars that Cnet “questionably procured”
The Cowon V5 didn’t exactly go over well with our members when we first reported on it, but that’s nothing compared to the ass-kicking that Donald Bell of Cnet just dished out. I haven’t used the player myself, but after reading the article, I have to wonder if Cowon somehow personally harmed Mr. Bell or his family. The article is rather one-sided, throwing out one criticism after another, without nary a comment on what the V5 is good at. Any comments on sound quality? Of course not! This is Cowon we’re talking about; who buys one of their players for that?
I’ll side with Cnet on what sounds like a ridiculous GUI, filled with silly icons of men chasing women, and other facets that may just express the cultural differences between the US and Korea on what we find appealing. There is a good chance this issue can be alleviated by a user-created theme however. The article also downplays the V5’s video support, and the quality of playback. Surprisingly, Donal Bell also implicates himself, on behalf of Cnet, for being advocates of piracy when he writes “Sure, the Cowon V5 can output our DivX torrent of “Star Wars” over HDMI, but the touch-screen user interface is a cluttered, emasculating, eye-straining, deliberately confusing facepalm.” Who would of thought a site as big as Cnet, whose parent company is CBS, would openly express the use of copyrighted material obtained through illicit sources.
Anyway here’s a few Highlowlights of the blog post:
“Things start falling apart on the main menu screen, which is composed of 27 animated icons–5 of which actually do anything. Maybe Cowon is trying to be cute with its useless animated icons of egg-laying chickens and lightening clouds, but mostly it feels like a bait-and-switch…After drilling down into the music playback screen, you’re presented with a baby-blue-hued menu screen that tries to break your eyeballs and your patience simultaneously. The font Cowon uses is absurdly minuscule
What else can you do with the Cowon V5? Well, I could go into the Windows CE 6 desktop view, which is completely useless without a stylus–or maybe you’d like to hear more on the built-in calculator, voice recorder, or Flash game player? More important, though, is what’s missing. Specifically, I’m more than a little bummed about the absence of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or just about any other feature that could justify the V5’s high price and annoying design. Then again, just imagining the kind of crippled Windows Explorer mobile browser that Cowon could have shoehorned onto here is enough to make my head explode.
Bottom line: the Cowon V5 is just an all-around disappointment. If you really need a PVP with HDMI out and HD video support, go grab an Archos 5 or pick up a Zune HD and wait for XviD support later this year.”
No doubt many of the complaints are deserved, but it also came off as terribly nitpicky. Engadget has also published a review which ironically is more balanced in its analysis. You can read that here
Cnet: Cowon V5 supports HDMI, DivX, and WTF?
On the front page of Cowon’s Korean site you’ll find a banner announcing the company’s 2010 red dot design award winners. Cowon has won this highly coveted award numerous times in past years, but usually they’re for players that were already announced. Among the players shown, there’s one that may catch your eye. It has a similar form-factor to the Cowon S9, but with a brushed aluminum build and a new interface. According to [link], we’re looking at the Cowon J3.
The J3 shares most of its specs with the S9, making it more of a cosmetic makeover than a completely new player. It has the same 3.3″ AMOLED touchscreen, comes in 4, 8, and 16GB capacities, and has Bluetooth and a G-sensor built it. The player is said to be released later this month. Hopefully Cowon actually announces it before that happens.
LINK
Amazon has a list of their 10 best Headphone deals, and for the most part provide huge savings over the retail price. For instance they’re selling J2 Premium noise-isolating earbuds for just $12.99. Check out the full list below:
Amazon’s 10 Best Headphone Deals
1.) JBuds J2 Premium Hi-Fi Noise-Isolating Earbuds (White/Gray) - $12.99
2.) JBuds J2 Premium Hi-Fi Noise-Isolating Earbuds (Onyx Black) - $14.99
3.) JBuds Hi-Fi Noise-Reducing Ear Buds (Black) - $9.95
4.) Lift Audio Groove Noise-Isolating In-Ear Headphone - $9.99
5.) Skullcandy Chops Hanger Earbuds (White and Turquoise) - $4,99
6.) JBuds J2 Premium Hi-Fi Noise-Isolating Earbuds (Black/Electric Blue) - $19.99
7.) Altec Lansing UHP336 Snugfit In-ear Earphone - $39.95
8.) Coby CVE92 Isolation Stereo Earphones - $4.99
9.) JBuds J3 Micro Atomic In-Ear Earphones with Travel Case (Jet Black) - $29.95
10.) Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones (White) - $59.99
I haven’t bought a new pair of headphones in forever. Anything from this list worth checking out? Some of the headphones are currently sold out, but you can still order them. The sale is good till March 22nd.
(via SlickDeals)
While everyone is wondering what the iPhone 4G will look like, I reminisce about older Apple rumors that never came to fruition. Like the iPhone nano for instance. A smaller version of the iPhone seemed inevitable at the time, but Apple appears to be going in the opposite direction. In hindsight, it was probably the right move since a smaller touchscreen would be hell to use.
This hasn’t stopped the folks in China from making their own however. The “W008-HiPhone” is literally an iPod nano phone. It clones the player itself, while adding a slide-out keypad. The phone really isn’t anything special, but it’s pretty cheap at $128US.
Features :
- Display : 2.2 Inch TFT; 256K color ; QVGA (240×320 pixels) resolution
- Internal Memory : 1GB, expandable to 16GB
- Audio: MP3 / WAV / AMR / AWB
- Video: 3GP / MPEG4 (AVI)
- Extras: TXT, FM Radio
- Data Transfer : USB & Bluetooth
- GPRS and WAP
- Dual - Camera : Resolution 640×480 / 320×240 / 240×400 / 160×120 / 80×60
- Network : GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz.( unlocked )
Since this player/phone isn’t much to talk about feel free to use our comments section to discuss the latest Apple rumors!
via PMP Today
CeBIT 2010, the world’s largest computer expo, kicks off today in Germany. Archos is of course there. showing off all kinds of tablets, netbooks, and every other convergence device under the sun. Thankfully they haven’t forgotten their roots, and will be announcing a new lineup of Vision series audio players. I should note, his news comes from a press release leaked by German site PR Konstant, so Archos hasn’t made these official yet. The leak contains six players, but some of them are pretty basic and weren’t worth mentioning.
Archos A14VG Vision
The A14VG is a compact player with a 1.4″ display, 4GB of memory, and an FM tuner. It’ll retail for 35 Euros.
Archos A15VS Vision
The A15VS is one of Archos’ slimmest players at 6mm’s thick. It has good file support including FLAC, and APE, and will retail for 40 Euros for the 4GB model.
Archos Vision A30VC
The A30VC is just like the Archos 3 Vision from lat year, but with a camera added to the back. It has a 3.0″ touchscreen, and a paltry 14 hours of battery lfie. The 8GB model will cost 90 Euros
Archos A43VB Vision
Finally, the A43VB is your average PMP device. It has a 4.3″ tocuscreen, 8GB of internal memory plus a microSD slot for expansion, and will retail for just 100 Euros.
There’s nothing exciting here, and there’s a good chance they’re all rebranded players from China. The good stuff, including Archos’ new Android tablets will be covered a little later.
via ArchosLounge
The player you see above looks rather boring. It’s a screenless square that looks more like a battery than an actual player. But this DAP has a trick up its sleeve; it’s mastered the art of paper folding. Well, it’s made of plastic, but you get the idea! The “Play MP3″ concept player folds into the actual control icons that it represents. For instance, if you want to play your music you fold it in half to get “▶”. If you want to fast-forward. you slide one of the pieces forward to get ” ▶▶”.
It’s a really simple, yet innovative concept. It might not be the most practical player I’ve seen, but I’d still be first in line to get my hands on one if it ever goes on sale.
Yanko Design
(via GMP3)
