Android is finding its way into all sorts of products and is common in things like MP3 players and more today. The latest Android-powered MP3 player from Cowon has surfaced for pre-order and is called the Cowon D3. The player has some really nice specs and sounds as much like a WiFi MID as a MP3 player.
The D3 has a big 3.7-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 800 x 480. The device has integrated WiFi so the user can surf the web. The screen supports 16 million colors and the payer has HDMI output. Other features of the player include Bluetooth, a T-DMB tuner, FM tuner and recorder, and a micro SD card slot.
The player has an integrated speaker and touch feedback. It uses the NTFS file system as well. The headphone port lets you listen privately and the Gsensor changes the screen to match how the user holds the device. Onboard storage is 32GB and the device will ship February 15 for £279.00.
If you’re like me, and people call you a hipster because you collect records and still play music on your iPod instead of on your record player which you might or might not actually own, this will interest you severely. Behold a project that was born like all sweet industrial design projects are: as a concept. Inside the book “I Miss My Pencil” there was a project that became this reality: a surface, shaped to recall the size and shape of a record (or a stack of records, rather) or a record player, called C60 (Redux). In this project by IDEO, all you’ve got to do is place your music cards (the size of cassette tapes) down on the surface and your speakers (via your computer) will play the song you desire.
Each time you put down a card, the corresponding song is added to your playlist. Your playlist is decided by how you’ve got the cards in order, starting with the first card you’ve laid down and going clockwise. If you want to stop a song, simply lift it away from the surface. All of this is done with, yes, you guessed it, RFID tags and sensors. I love love love this idea and I would love love love for someone to make it a large enough reality so that I could own one. That’s all I ask in the wooorld!
The concept of an alarm clock on wheels that would attempt to escape your bleary-eyed grasp every morning never struck us as particularly appealing, but obviously enough people bought a Clocky for its successor, the Tocky, to be green-lighted. As before, the clock can jump off your bedside table and try to roll away; what’s new is the fact it can be programmed with a voice clip or MP3 to blare at you too.
Video demo after the cut
An integrated microphone allows you to set whatever voice message you want to be woken by – might we suggest “quick, the house is on fire!” in a suitably breathless, husky voice – or alternatively you can drop a handful of music on instead. Touch-sensitive controls will likely prove tricky to find come the morning, while the whole thing is wrapped in a silicone casing to prevent scratches and scrapes.
This sort of frustration can be yours for just £69.99 ($110), which is admittedly a lot cheaper than a toddler. It comes with a USB cable to load up to two hours of MP3s onto its internal storage.
As far as design concepts, the line between out-right science fiction and “eventual goal” is a pretty vague one. As we’ve seen in the past, especially with things like a Universal Translator, the idea may be great and the concept images may be aesthetically pleasing, but something immediately tells you that this gadget isn’t coming any time soon. The Multi Feature Earpiece is one such gadget that, while it’s a great idea in concept, we probably shouldn’t get too excited about it right now. We’ll try, anyway.
Conceptualized by industrial designer Hendra Sonata, the Multi Feature Earpiece is designed specifically for those who feel like they can call themselves the ultimate multitasker. Combining a plethora of features, it’s all meant to sit within a tiny earpiece that anyone would be happy wearing, even if they aren’t a fan of Bluetooth headsets. Features would include cash card chip, GPS functionality, working MP3 player, as well as satellite connectivity. It would also provide the wearer with a personal concierge service.
The earpiece is meant to fulfill the needs of multiple users’ individual needs right on the fly, without having to dig into a ton of different things to find something you need. The designer also intends the unit to be marketed for teenagers, all the way up to middle-aged adults. It looks sophisticated and “techy” enough to catch the eye of both crowds, we imagine. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of any Bluetooth connectivity, and that just seems strange.
When it comes to MP3 players, having a favorite is just like anything else. Usually, when it comes to the market, Apple’s iPod usually has the choke hold. But, sometimes having that MP3 player just doesn’t work when you’re trying to work out, or go for a run. And, having that “sporty” MP3 player usually means it’s not attractive to show off to anyone. So, thanks to one designer, we’ve now got a concept design to combine both worlds.
Designer Paul Rothwell has drawn up the idea of a functional MP3 player that not only looks good, but can be used while you’re working out. Featuring an attractive, slightly curved touchscreen, there’s a sliding control that will let you choose which function you want, at any given time. You can switch it over to a timer, if you want, and have the display show you how far you’ve run, the time elapsed, as well as how many calories you’ve burnt.
While you’re in the running mode, the GPS tracker will aide you in showing you all of the collected information. There’s a sensor on the side of the device, so that as you hold it, it will track your heart rate. And, while those may look like a weapon, they’re actually rubber, and make it easier for you to hold onto your device.
Urban Outfitters doesn’t offer as much as even a one-line description about this walkman-themed basic MP3 player. Apparently hipsters don’t need technical specifications, just retro-themed crap and small ironic badges. But my powers of deduction tell me it’s got no built-in memory, instead relying on SD cards for storage, charges and/or shows up as a mass storage compliant drive when connected to your PC via USB, and at just under $70(£45.00) it’s ludicrously overpriced.
A company called eyesight has announced interesting new MP3 player software that allows the user to control the music on their device using hand gestures. The player is called the Moove MP3 Player and is an app that can be downloaded from the Ovi Store right now.
The only catch is that the app will only work on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic mobile phone right now. Once the app is installed on the Nokia music phone the user can control the music they are playing by making hand gestures in front of the phones camera.
The app seems easy to use with the listener having to cover the camera with their hand to pause or play tracks. To skip tracks the hand is moved above the camera and the app offers a sync list for adding new titles to the playlist. I can see this being a useful app for the person exercising and not wanting to pick their device up to change tracks.
We know that a certain Apple event just ended, and we know that the Cupertino-based company just went out of their way to show off a plethora of brand new iPod devices, but let’s face it — there are other options out there for you to consume your favorite music/media while you’re out and about. Take, for example, these two brand new PMPs that Samsung was happy (or brave enough) to make official today. Feast your eyes on the Samsung YP-Q3 and YP-U6.
Up first, the YP-Q3. Perhaps a bit more top-notch than the other PMP announced, it deserves to be at the top of the hill. As you can see from the image above, the devices feature a pretty bold color scheme, and as you can tell, the User Interface is built to match the particular device. So, you want a pink PMP? Your UI will be pink, too. On a full battery charge, the Q3 will last you about 45 hours of constant music playback, and somewhere around 10 hours with video playback. It has 5.1 channel sound support, as well as Samsung’s SoundAlive.
But, if you want something a bit more simpler, and without all the features, than the YP-U6 may be just for you. It’s a far more simple design, even if the colors don’t change, the display is only a color one, and won’t match your device. It features SoundAlive, and has a Fitness Mode that will help you count your calories while you do stuff. You’ll get about 20 hours of continuous playback from your music. No word on when these will hit the market, or how much they’ll be . . . But, they probably won’t be too expensive.
SanDisks’ Fuze line-up of Personal Media Players have managed to remain present on the market for awhile now, without ever bringing too much attention to themselves. They’re what you might call the “minimal” PMP, with not much going for them in the features department. Fortunately, SanDisk have finally managed to update the PMPs, not only giving them the favorite “+” symbol now, but also making them attractive enough to give a second glance.
The Fuze+ line-up features 3 capacities to choose from: 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB. If you choose one of the lower-memory models, you’ll get to choose from several colors: white, blue, red, black, and purple. However, if you want the 16GB model, that only comes in black, so you won’t be able to show off your terrible color choice to all your friends. Don’t expect the feature set to knock you off your feet, but the Fuze+ players do support all major file formats, so that’s good.
You also get full support for slotRadio, as well as full support for microSDHC cards. The User Interface is apparently slimmed down enough to make it simple enough for anyone to use, which may make some people out there bored. However, if one of these little guys is enough to ping your radar, then you’ll be happy to know they’re available right now. You can pick up the 4GB model for $79; the 8GB version for $89; and finally the 16GB for only $119.
Press Release
SanDisk Introduces the Sansa Fuze+ MP3 Player-Offering a Best-In-Class Combination of Features, Ease of Use and Value
New Player’s Touchpad, Large LCD Screen, microSDHC Card Slot and Innovative “Film Strip” GUI Deliver a One-Of-A-Kind User Experience
MILPITAS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that it has set a new standard for sub-$100 portable media players. The Sansa® Fuze™+ (plus) MP3 player is available now, delivering a best-in-class combination of features, ease of use and value.
“We developed an entirely new product to provide consumers with a stylish, affordable device that performs exactly as a sophisticated yet easy to use player should.”
The Sansa Fuze+ portable media player, successor to the popular Sansa Fuze MP3 player, offers consumers the quality and flexibility they demand at a price that’s hard to beat. The completely redesigned media player delivers a hassle-free and satisfying user experience that enables unparalleled freedom in how consumers access their favorite digital content. Music and video lovers can expand the player’s storage capacity according to their needs, quickly navigate their libraries of files and enjoy high-quality audio and video playback.
“The Sansa Fuze+ is the most versatile portable media player available for under $100,” said Tom Bailey, senior director, AV retail, SanDisk. “We developed an entirely new product to provide consumers with a stylish, affordable device that performs exactly as a sophisticated yet easy to use player should.”
Feature-rich Form Factor
The Sansa Fuze+ portable media player offers sleek and thin styling that fits comfortably in the palm of a hand, and its new capacitive touchpad provides the sensation of using a touch-screen without obscuring the device’s viewable area. The player’s bright, colorful and large 2.4″ QVGA LCD screen produces sharp, vibrant images when viewing videos or photos.
Consumer-friendly “Film Strip” GUI
The player’s unique GUI operates like a film strip, enabling intuitive screen navigation that creates a more natural, crisp and satisfying user experience. Left to right finger sweeps select functions such as Music, Video, Podcasts, FM Radio and Photos, while up and down sweeps or double taps on the touch-pad let users explore and select individual categories and files.
Easy Compatibility
The Sansa Fuze+ portable media player’s broad audio and video CODEC pack ensures easy compatibility with most major media formats.
The Sansa Fuze+ portable media player is compatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux operating systems. The media player is also preconfigured for seamless synchronization with Rhapsody, eMusic and Napster.
microSDHC Card Slot
The Sansa Fuze+ portable media player is fully compatible with SanDisk slotRadio™ cards or any microSD™ card loaded with music, photos or videos**. Consumers can slide these cards into the player’s microSDHC™ memory card slot to instantly expand their music, photo or video libraries without consuming any onboard storage.
* SanDisk slotRadio cards give consumers immediate access to some of their favorite styles of music, including Rock, Country, Oldies, Classical and Hip Hop/R&B. Most slotRadio cards contain 1,000 songs**** featuring top artists from the Billboard® charts, and are available for only $39.99.
* microSDHC™ cards let consumers fill the player with additional content-up to 4,000 songs1 or 64 hours of video (H264 video @ 384 kbps)1 per 16GB card. This feature creates interoperability with compatible devices such as mobile phones with microSD card slots.
Additional Features
The Sansa Fuze+ media player’s rechargeable battery lasts up to 24 hours of audio playback or up to five hours of video playback2. For enhanced versatility, the device also includes a recordable FM radio, gapless playback and a microphone for audio capture.
Pricing and Availability
The Sansa Fuze+ is available in red, white, black, blue and purple. The player is available now at major retailers and at sandisk.com in 4, 8 and 16 gigabyte (GB)*** capacities carrying MSRPs of $79, $89 and $119 respectively, although in-store pricing will be set by retailers.
When it comes to music players, you either need a lot of space, or not that much at all. And all of that depends on how much music you listen to on a daily basis. If you’re someone who just needs a few of your favorite tunes, of full albums, on your way to work, then perhaps the new E-series of Walkman from Sony will be your next purchase.
Sony just unvieled the new E350 Walkman, which is meant to be a quick solution to your music needs. It’s a basic player, coming in black, red, and blue, and offering up storage space of either 4GB or 8GB. So obviously if you really enjoy music, and have a ton of it on your computer, then these little guys aren’t going to be right for you.
The players should offer you up to 50 hours of music playback, and upwards of 10 hours of video playback. Unfortunately, these won’t be available for purchase until September, so try not to get too excited just yet. As for pricing, it’ll run you $70 for the 4GB, and $80 for the 8GB. Anyone want to take a guess as to which sells more? Press release is below, for your viewing pleasure.
Press Release
MEDIA ALERT: SONY INTRODUCES HIGH-QUALITY WALKMAN MP3 PLAYERS AT ATTRACTIVE PRICE POINTS
New Walkman® NWZ-E350 Series Video MP3 Players feature extended battery life, excellent sound quality and more
WHO: The new Sony Walkman models feature outstanding sound quality, advanced audio technologies, extreme battery life and more– all at affordable price points.
WHAT: It supports up to 50 hours of audio playback (mp3 files at 128 kbps) and 10 hours of supported video playback (WMV at 384 kbps). The unit utilizes Sony’s own “Clear Audio” technologies, for clear, deep sound without distortion. The model also comes equipped with Content Transfer Software, enabling simple transfer of music and video files straight from a PC or iTunes™ library (not including DRM files).
The player features Sony’s SenseMe™ technology, which automatically categorizes music tracks in a connected library into a variety of music channels and playlists. It also has a brand new user interface with such features as “Album Scroll” and “Scene Scroll”, enabling quick and easy content navigation.
It includes a “Bookmark Function” so listeners can create playlists on-the-fly while listening through songs from their music library. Simply bookmark a song while it’s playing to a custom, user-generated playlist. Supported audio formats for the new player include MP3, WMA (DRM), AAC (non-DRM) and linear PCM, and supported video format is WMV (DRM).
WHERE: The Sony E Series Walkman will be available next month for about $70 for a 4GB memory version, model NWZ-E353, and $80 for an 8 GB version, model NWZ-E354, at www.sonystyle.com, Sony Style retail stores and other authorized retailers nationwide.
