Archive for the ‘Portable Audio’ Category
Thursday, December 11th, 2008 |
The good people at Archos have been manufacturing portable media players since long before anyone had even heard the word ‘iPod’, so the Archos 5 Media Tablet is – theoretically at least – the culmination of many years of experience.
It’s not a bad looking culmination either, sheathed in a shiny copper-tinged metal shell. Compared to other PMPs, the Archos 5 is not particularly small – but then neither is the display. A full 4.8 inches of high-res liquid crystal loveliness extends almost from corner to corner of the unit’s upside.
The screen is touch-sensitive too, which explains the relative scarcity of buttons, since virtually everything can be controlled via even the clumsiest of finger jabs. The interface is pretty intuitive and features some neat touches, such as animated icons for movies, though it can occasionally be a bit sluggish and we were faced with an hourglass symbol rather too often for our liking.
Out of the box, the Archos 5 can do a number of things, including playing music, movies and photos in a veritable cornucopia of formats. It’s also wi-fi-ready and, unlike many of its rivals, the Archos 5 can browse websites that include Flash content, which basically means you can watch as many funny YouTube clips of people falling over as you like as well as BBC iPlayer.
But, like so many Archos products before it, the 5 only really comes alive once you start shelling out for add-ons. Software packs will add features like games and further format compatibility, while additional hardware accessories unlock tantalising possibilities such as TV recording (with the DVR Station, £80) or faster battery charging (via the Mini Dock, £25). It’s a bit of a cheek that you can only charge the unit via USB unless you invest in the Dock, especially since it takes a billion years (well, eight hours) to squeeze a full battery’s worth of juice out of your PC.
Still, video playback is impressive and if you have the cash to splash on the extras (and, preferably, on the more expensive 250GB alternative the 60GB model we tested), then the Archos 5 has the potential to be a serious challenger to the iPod Touch.
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Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 |
Greg Joswiak, Vice President of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing for Apple, is confident that gaming is at the centre of Apple‘s future successes and that the iPod is a better gaming device than Nintendo’s DS or Sony’s PSP.
In a recent interview with T3, Joswiak informed them: “The quarter that closed September was the biggest iPod non-holiday quarter ever.
“So iPods did extremely well. Certainly a big part of that success was the launch of the September products,” adding, “I think where we surprised a lot of people is with the success of the iPod touch.”
As to the future of gaming on Apple‘s devices, Joswiak states: “On the store you see everything from the casual games, there’s no doubt there are a lot of casual games, to the 3D-oriented games, action games, and the amazing thing is…. if you squint your eyes you can see a future where it’s amazing the things you’ll see as far as gameplay, and we know from working with these developers and the things they tell us they’re working on, especially original content ideas, I think they’re going to blow everyone away.
“Because again the computer power and the 3D graphic power here [picks up iPod touch] is significantly greater than what you have here [picks up Nintendo DS]. So this allows people to do significantly higher quality games. And the iPod touch is always in your pocket, whereas you can’t always carry some other games consoles.”
Posted in Breaking News, Gadgets, News, Portable Audio | No Comments »
Friday, November 7th, 2008 |
MySpace could be ready to take on the iPod, according to co-founder and chief executive Chris DeWolfe. Speaking at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco, DeWolfe confirmed that the Rupert Murdoch-owned social network are considering releasing a media player device. “It’s possible,” said DeWolfe after being asked about such a device by conference host John Battelle. “Right now we’re just focusing on a service.”
MySpace Music. That service is growing thanks to a major music venture with music labels called MySpace Music which launched in September, and allows revenues to be generated from one of the hotbeds of internet music. “We wanted to come up with a program that meets the needs of music companies and artists, by definition, and users,” DeWolfe added. “If anything, we’ll be accretive to iPod sales” as people use MySpace Music to download more music and videos for their iPods.
“Unless we develop a device.” A MySpace device would have no guarantee of success, especially in a market that is entirely dominated by Apple‘s iPod. However, the social network is already seen as one of the most exciting place for up and coming bands and those hoping to wrest a record deal from the major labels, which will certainly help matters.
Posted in Breaking News, News, Portable Audio | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 25th, 2008 |
SanDisk is going to launch its slim mp3 player Sansa Fuze in global market in the end of October.
Equipped with a built-in memory with the capacities ranging from 2GB to 8GB, the Sansa Fuze offers 24 hours of music playing and 5 hours of video playing time. Other features included photo viewer, FM radio, audio book, microSD/SDHC slot and more.
Available in blue, red, pink and black, the player device it is expected to be available $79.99 for 2GB, $99.99, for 4GB and $119.99 for 8GB.
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Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 |
As a low-end MP3 player, the Creative Zen Mozaic is well worth a look. Despite the American spelling, there really isn’t much to dislike about this one, and there’s plenty to love.
At launch, the 2GB version is remarkably cheap when you stop to consider what you’re getting for your money. The 1.8-inch colour screen is very low res, but it’s perfectly adequate and makes navigating through your music very easy.
And just like with the Mozaic‘s big brother, the Creative Zen X-Fi, as well as listening to music, you can also look at photos, watch videos, make voice recordings and listen to FM radio.
The Zen Mozaic also has a built-in speaker so you can play your music out-loud. This feature is not as good as on the Zen X-Fi. But it still services a purpose – you can play friends a sample of a song, or listen if you’ve forgotten your earphones.
The Mozaic name comes from the nature of the interface design. The controls are very easy to use – easier than the Zen X-Fi in fact, due to the nice big buttons. It’s perfect for kids, grannies and anyone with short fingernails. So if you’re looking for a very good value, cheap MP3 player. This one will do you proud. It’s got it all. But don’t be tempted to buy one with a larger capacity – because you might as well buy the Zen X-Fi if you need to store more songs.
Posted in Featured, Portable Audio, Reviews | 1 Comment »
Sunday, October 5th, 2008 |
SanDisk just released a firmware update for the Sansa Fuze — pretty minor, except it adds in support for FLAC and Ogg, which should make fans of jam bands and lossless music encoding extremely happy. Nothing much else of note here apart from some UI tweaks and big fixes, but Fuze owners will be appreciative, it is sure.
Posted in News, Portable Audio | No Comments »
Friday, October 3rd, 2008 |
SAFA expects to launch its prosumer mp3 player Bandi in Korea market, which will be available in October.
Adopting a 1.5-inch OLED display and flash memory from Samsung, the Bandi features touch scroll, sound quality and distinctive GUI like a lightning bug.
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Monday, September 29th, 2008 |
Apple Korea announced the new fourth generation iPod nano, the thinnest iPod ever featuring a sleek new design with a curved aluminum and glass enclosure, in nine vibrant colors including silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink, red and black.
The new iPod nano incorporates Apple’s breakthrough Genius technology which automatically creates playlists from songs in your music library that go great together, with just one click ( see Apple iPod Reviews) . The new iPod nano also features a refined user interface, a high resolution portrait display and a built-in accelerometer which automatically switches to Cover Flow when rotated and automatically goes into Shuffle mode when lightly shaken.
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Friday, September 26th, 2008 |
Apple Korea announced the second generation iPod touch featuring a thin contoured metal design, a 3.5-inch widescreen glass display, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi wireless networking, integrated volume control buttons, a built-in speaker for casual listening, a built-in accelerometer and other advanced sensors, and Apple‘s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface.
iPod touch users can choose from hundreds of exciting game titles such as Spore Origins and Scrabble from Electronic Arts, and Real Football 2009 from Gameloft available on iTunes or directly through the App Store application on the iPod touch. The App Store features an incredible array of applications in a wide variety of categories, including games, travel, entertainment, social networking, sports and much more.
Apple iPod touch 32GB second generation works seamlessly with iTunes so you can import, manage, and then easily auto-sync your favorite content. With up to 36 hours of music playback or six hours of video playback on a single charge, the new iPod touch is the ultra-portable way to enjoy your favorite music, TV shows, movies and games on the go.
The new iPod touch works with the new iTunes 8 Genius feature, allowing customers to automatically create playlists while on the go. Users can preview the playlist Genius creates, refresh the list to choose different songs and save Genius playlists to enjoy again later. “iPod touch is the funnest iPod we’ve ever created,” said Steve Jobs, Apple‘s CEO. You can read latest model iPod Reviews
Posted in Gadgets, News, Portable Audio | No Comments »
Monday, September 22nd, 2008 |
SanDisk displayed its flagship mp3 player Sansa View during IFA 2008, which supports movie playback.
Adopting a 2.4-inch color TFT LCD with 320*240 resolution, the Sansa View features FM radio, voice recording, photo viewer and audio book function. With 8.8mm thickness, it offers up to 35 hours of music playing and 7 hours of time.
Posted in News, Portable Audio | 3 Comments »
