iLUV Portable Video MP3 & DVD Player
Here we have the new iLuv Portable Video MP3 & DVD player. It will not work well with the iPod classic, the iPod touch or the iPod Nano but it still is quite an interesting device. Neiman Marcus outdone themselves with a beautiful black and quite sexy design. It features an 8.4 inch screen, keypad controls that are touch sensitive and video out capability. It also has a special integrated dock for you to use your latest generation iPods. The formats supported are VCD, DVD and audio or JPEG CDs. When you do not have access to a plug you will be happy to know that the iLUV comes with a Li-ion battery that is of course rechargeable. This device will be available for $275 and you can pre-order it now. It is due for shipping at the end of this month. I just think I am going to buy myself one.
Apple Confesses – Faulty iPod Touch Screens
After we got to see many complains concerning this problem, it seems that Apple has finally admitted that some early shipped units of their quite popular although just launched iPod Touch have problems with defective screens. The company claims that only a small number of units were affected and that the problem is “being remedied”. Nobody really knows what this remedy is and we still do not know any estimate figure of how many iPod Touch units were affected. Also, there are different reports connected to the iPhone. Some customers claim that there are also problems with their mobile phones’ touch screen. It seems like all the reports are linked to units launched after the much debated price cut. Apple did not mention this at all so far so we need to wait and see how this goes as well.
On the other hand, there is quite a talk going on about the iPod Touch. Few people are actually complaining and the similarities between the iPhone and the iPod touch are currently debated as well. It seems there are many applications that can run on both and that the display screen is better on the iPhone. On the other hand iPod Touch is not a mobile phone but the iPhone is also quite an interesting media player.
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Display Problems with iPod Touch
Apple always had problems in the past with launching new products. Their first generation line is almost always faulty. It seems that this is the case with the much talked about iPod Touch as well. Many users have reported different issues with the device’s LCD display. You can actually find a lot of images on the Internet showing various display problems, including Apple’s own forum with a picture of an iPod touch screen with black level image problems. We can notice poor black levels and the real problem is that the color bleeds into other colors. This makes a lot of images and movies look really bad.As we expected, Apple did not make any statement on the problem and we still do not know why the problems with the LCD displays appear. There is also no word on the scale of the problem and whether or not there are just remote cases or not. Unfortunately for Apple, there have also been reports about iPod nano display problems with LCD screen alignment. We are now waiting for an offical statement on the problems.
Emtec’s 2GB C230 Portable Media Player
Emtec’s new 2 GB C230 Portable Media Player has been released but it is not that special. We have a 2 GB unit that comes with a 2.2 inch color display and an expansion slot that supports SD and MMC. This is useful as users tend to want more than 2 GB of storage space. C230 supports all modern flavors of Windows, features USB connectivity and can play MP3, MPEG4, WMV and AVI with the possibility of viewing JPEG files as well. A headphone jack is of course available and a rechargeble Li-ion battery is responsible for the device working. To sum it all up, if you want the basics of a portable media player, the C230 is perfect. If not, you will not like it at all. Purchasing the device on Amazon is cheap and you can aquire it for just $110
Venzero – 8th Generation
Venzero and diversity are close friends and the launch of its 8th model was expected. The previous 7 models were not successful but 8 might be the charm now because we have some interesting features that might just offer what it needed. We have here a 4 GB flash player that includes a microSD slot and comes with a 2.4 inch screen. What is special is the inclusion of WiFi, which can manage Internet radio and can also stream music directly from your PC thanks to Windows Media Player 11. We still do not know anything related to track sharing from Linq to Linq but all users would love that. Formats supported include WAV audio, OGG, AAC, WMA, AVI, MPEG-4 Video and of course MP3. FM Tuning and voice recording is also a reality with Venzero. The company will showcase this model next week at IFA. September is the announced date for shipment start and the price is just $199.
The LG T54
Most specialists think that the one feature the iPod line will not have is the wireless digital TV service. Apple Inc. might always come up with it as the company showed us that innovation is a top priority in development. Leaving fantasy aside, we have to talk about reality now and this comes with the LG T54. This device has a 2.4 inch screen and comes with the ability of playing AVI files at 30 fps, together with playing MP3s, WMA, Wav and OGG. JPEG photos display is also available. The LG T54 comes equipped with pre-installed games and the possibility to view documents. Americans should have DMB now but this is the case with technology advancements.
Samsung Updates the Dap Line
Apple is said to soon present the new iPod line so competition needs to be one step ahead. This is the case with Samsung as they just updated the intire DAP line with the new Digital Natural Sound Engine (DNSe 2.0). Besides this new aspect the players are the same and use flash memory with capacity of storing up to 4 GB or 8 Gb, depending on the model. The design looks a lot like an iPhone ripoff. There are three new Samsung DAP models on the market now.
The YP-P2 can be purchased in white, white and red or black colors and comes in 2 and 4 gigabytes versions. It holds a 3 inch, 16:0 LCD screen and is only 3.3 mm. thin. 35 hours of battery life while playing mp3 files is very good and 5 hours in video mode is quite acceptable. The included EmoTureTM UI lets users control the menu without pressing any buttons.
The YP-T10 has a 2 inch color LCD and is also available in 2 and 4 GB formats. It weighs 43 g. and stands in at 7.9 mm thinness. You have included a FM Radio tuner and allows 30 hours of mp3 playback and 4 hours in video mode.
YP-S5 is again available in 2 and 4 GB formats and has 1.8 inch LCD screen. This model features bluetooth capability and comes with a 25 hours battery lifespan in mp3 playback mode and, just like the other two, 4 hours in Video mode. The YP-S5 weighs in at 85 g. and is 14.95 mm. thick
The biggest disadvantage these models offer stands in screen-size. We have three gadgets that can play video but you can hardly see anything because the screens are very small. The main advantages stand in high quality audio playback, flash memory space and of course battery life in mp3 playback mode.
Only Apple Inc. and AT&T to Sell iPhones on June 29
Customers that want to be among the first to purchase Apple Inc.’s new iPhone should be sure to be in the right place. It has just been announced that the combination device between a media player, a cell phone and a wireless Web device will only be available at stores baring the AT&T franchise or shops owned by Apple Inc. AT&T has an exclusive deal with Apple to be the only merchant selling the iPhone on its launch on June 29. On this date the device goes on sale at every store at 6 p.m. US time. The monopoly will only be at the beginning and after that you can buy your iPhone from the Internet and many other outlets. Sales price is announced for $499 and $599 but we still do not know the added service fees included by AT&T. This seems to be of little interest to around 1 million people that have already signed up with AT&T asking to be announced when the cell phone – iPod will be available. Apple Inc. also failed to announce how many units will be available on June 29 so many questions are still to be asked.
The new Archos media players
Today at both the press conferences in Europe and New York, the Archos team has announced the 2007 media players and recorders.
One of the greatest features is the Wi-Fi enabled portable that includes a direct access to the online Content Portal and another is the Flash supported Web browser, wich offers pay-per-download CinemaNow movies.You can choose a movie by just using the touchscreen and the buy it and download to your hard drive.And you don’t need your PC for this job.The Opera browser feature costs $30 on the Wi-Fi devices and it includes a Flash plug-in.If you want to watch high-definition videos you need to pay for some optional plug-ins that can support 24-frame, 720p video and it also offers customized widgets.The Archos portables will be available in the first half of September.There will be four models, depending on their capacity and prices.The Archos 105 is a 2GB flash model, that has a basic audio, photo, and video playback.It has a 1.8-inch OLED screen and you can get it for just $90.The Archos 405 has besides the 2GB of built-in flash memory, a SD expansion slot and a larger 3.5-inch LCD screen.Also it supports more file formats, and another option that’s available is that you can download(paid) even more plug-ins.
Archos 605 Wi-Fi offers a PSP-sized 800×480-pixel, and a 4.3-inch LCD screen. Another feature on the 605 it that you can stream video files from networked PCs and besides that it offers direct access to the CinemaNow online video store and Web surfing and Flash-based video on Opera browser if you want to upgrade the device. The gadget will have three configurations: the first is a 4GB flash with an SD expansion slot for the price of $200, a 30GB hard-disk model for $300, and a 160GB hard-disk model for $400.
And finally the Archos 705 Wi-Fi wich is the deluxe version of the Archos portable.It has the same features as the 605, except the bigger 7-inch screen. You can get it in 80GB and 160GB hard-disk models.
These versions seem to be more affordable than last year’s versions (the Archos 104, Archos 404, Archos 604 Wi-Fi, and the Archos 704 Wi-Fi). But don’t be happy yet, if you want to enable some features of the 405, 605, and 705, you have to purchase the optional accessories and the software plug-ins. For example, with the DVR Station ($100) you can record TV shows.Another example is the Web browser($30), and the six separate A/V codecs.All of these features cost $20 per option (MPEG-2/Dolby compatibility to the ripped DVDs; H.264/AAC compatibility;the widgets plug-in; HD video support; Real Video support; and Internet radio playback). This is a total $150 extra dollars if you want to have the full Archos experience.And let’s not forget, this is without the DVR add-on.
iPhone’s Gamble
Everybody is talking about Apple Inc.’s new iPhone, which is scheduled for release on June 29. Everything seems too good to be true but there is one aspect that could lead to this gadget’s downfall. It stands in exactly what it lacks: a mechanical keyboard. The only button iPhone will have will be one that will lead the user back to the home screen. This move brings back a similar idea Steven P. Jobs had with Mac at some point, that a mouse only needs one button because it would be impossible to push the wrong button.Most cell phones today have this mechanical keyboard and the lack of such a feature was previously analyzed as being a well though design solution. It makes it possible for the iPhone to have a 3.5 inch screen. You can thus watch a movie or open up a world of opportunities previously un-thought of on a cell phone.
The downside to this can be psychological rather than technological. A virtual keyboard will appear on the screen but users will need to use it by pecking with their fingers. This move has been felt by few individuals so far. The simple task of using a mechanical keyboard is an aspect of human interaction and can lead to mistrust in iPhone. On the other hand this gadget will have special software installed that will try to guess the words as you type them and will correct mistakes thanks to a built in dictionary. The downside to using it is that it will take several days to learn the system. Specialists are currently having a huge debate on the subject and there are mixed opinions whether this iPhone gamble will pay out or not.
Archos 704-WiFi Released Today
Archos has released today their latest video player. The 704-WiFi has a 800×480 resolution 7″ touch screen display, a 80GB HDD and 802.11g WiFi.It can playback MPEG-4, AVI and WMV video files and MPE and WMA audio files, more can be added via some optional plug-ins. The Archos 704-WiFi comes with a PDF reader, if you want to read your ebooks more comfortable, has PlaysForSure support, built-in stereo speakers and comes with Opera web browser.
The video player’s battery lifetime is up to 5 hours and, as an option, you can get the DVR Station dock to record TV shows directly on it. It’s priced at $549.99.