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Oracom UB890 is official
comment: 30 | Friday, June 23 (2006) 10:16AM | Posted by Robert Sinke
There she is again, the Oracom UB890. The company seems to have readied this slick-looking beast for its release by now - and as a result of that, all the important specifications were published on Oracom's website for us to gaze upon.

  • Capacity: 512MB / 1GB / 2GB / 4GB
  • Supported audio formats: MP3/WMA/OGG/WAV
  • Screen: 2.0" Full Color TFT LCD (262K Colors)
  • Line-in encoder, built-in microphone, FM tuner + recorder
  • E-Book functionality: Unicode platform, scalable fonts, skip-to-page function
  • Supported picture formats: BMP, JPEG, zooming/slideshow/wallpapers supported
  • Supported video formats: MPEG, AVI, WMV, ASF (after conversion), SMI captions supported
  • USB 2.0 (High Speed)
  • USB-Host: USB 2.0 (Full Speed)

  • Alarm clock, sleep timer, pre-scheduled recording, games
  • Power source: built-in Li-Polymer battery (takes 3 hours to fully recharge)
  • Plays audio for 13 hours (MP3 128Kbps) / video for 8 hours continuously
  • Measures 81 X 43 X 12.2 mm
  • Weighs 55 grams
  • Built-in speakers (500mW + 500mW)
  • Touch Sensor Key Pad


Not bad at all. Seems like they're outputting a 4GB version too, which is more or less a "must" these days. Format support seems jummy enough, battery life isn't too great for audio but rather impressive for video playback. Plus, well, it's a Korean product so it can do all kinds of tricks. The actual screen performance doesn't look to be overwhelmingly-awesome at first glance.

If you're interested in the Meizu M6, be sure to keep an eye out for the UB-890 too. The UB890 is 20% more voluptuous plus it has a smaller screen, but it's pretty versatile and doesn't look too bad either.

Product page

For more purdy pics, go visit MPnavi (alternative link)
Comments

enigman

Comments: 216
 		Jun 23 (2006) 10:59AM  

must compare meizu m6 and oracom ub890.

I'm waiting for your review,rob



koppite1

Comments: 248
 		Jun 23 (2006) 11:05AM  

Pretty and promising specs

Proof is in the pudding. Will wait for reviews



jblock

Comments: 77
 		Jun 23 (2006) 11:12AM  

Agree, would love to see head-to-head compare with Meizu. Only problem I have with Meizu is that it's a landscape display only. From the pictures, looks like the ub890 has an auto rotate feature. Nice.



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 23 (2006) 11:20AM  

mmm.. puddings !ill



AceOfClubs

Comments: 37
 		Jun 23 (2006) 11:46AM  

USB 2.0 host is sweet.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 23 (2006) 12:25PM  

looks nice, but I too will wait for a review....



Ultramog

Comments: 3
 		Jun 23 (2006) 01:06PM  

Where would you buy one of these?



Hyper_Noodle

Comments: 226
 		Jun 23 (2006) 01:17PM  

When I first saw this a couple of months ago, I wasn't so sure I relaly liked it. Especially not compared to the Meizu. I'm still waiting for more reviews on both, but from this post and the links, my interest in this player has grown quite a bit. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

P.S. If anyone here does a review, can you please check whether or not ID3 tags work for OGG files. Seems all the flash players I've tried don't do this for some reason.



jbhitter24

Comments: 351
 		Jun 23 (2006) 01:47PM  

ooh, looks very nice and i really like the 8hrs video life.


Seems like they're outputting a 4GB version too, which is more or less a "must" these days.


come on clix, everybodys doin it!



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jun 23 (2006) 02:15PM  

Not a bad deal... now only if we could get a price on it..



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		Jun 23 (2006) 03:08PM  

Not sure about the "landscape-portrait screen" switch option - the only pic suggesting that possibility is the one above, which is probably a photoshop anyway.

Availability: not yet, but should be out in Korea any day now. Oracom products did make it to the UK before, should you be wondering. A few of their players have also been rebranded and sold in the US thereafter (but that's like ages ago).

Price: no idea. Think "Clix" for the 2GB version, I guess.

Not sure if there's any prospect of us reviewing this thing anytime soon, but you never know .



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 23 (2006) 03:41PM  

I officially want it. Design while in Korea pick one of these up, and ship it to me. I'll uh, do C.O.D.



jbhitter24

Comments: 351
 		Jun 23 (2006) 04:14PM  

does this thing support id3? because in the previous newspost the picture of the player seemed to be file tree.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 23 (2006) 04:29PM  

I believe it's file-tree.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 23 (2006) 05:09PM  

Robert wrote ...
which is more or less a "must" these days.


ssjmichael wrote ...
When will consumers realize it's not easy to attain high capacity flash memory and make profit. Seeing how this isn't even from a huge company it would be even harder for them to get that memory at discounted prices.

Many mainstream high capacity flash players are from companies that actually make the memory themselves,. This is slowly changing, but most of you don't grasp the difficulty in it. Many think it's so simple to make a 6gb player and make money from it.

These are businesses, not fantasy companies that create whatever you desire no matter the cost. If it doesn't bring in a good profit why would you spend any time on it? Most here would fail in the business world with the type of mindsets that they have.


dasmenneke

Comments: 135
 		Jun 23 (2006) 05:17PM  

zip: they probably only have 1 4Gb version lying around or will tell you it's out of stock

seriously: put a smiley cause otherwise you appear to much as a smartass (I know cause I'm often one to )



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 23 (2006) 05:21PM  

:p



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 23 (2006) 06:03PM  

zip if you have the pricing and quantity of the 4gb versions in inventory then by all means share it. Otherwise my statement is still valid and I'm sure Rob as well as yourself actually agree with it.

Quoting Rob saying it's a must does not take away anything from my statement and is only solidfying the fact that it's what consumers want and expect. That quote does not reflect the fact that small companies have a hard time meeting this demand and at the same time making a profit from it.




[ edited Jun 23 (2006) 06:12PM ]



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 23 (2006) 06:21PM  

"When will consumers realize"... "most of you don't grasp the difficulty in it"... "Many think it's so simple"... "Most here would fail in the business world with the type of mindsets that they have."

your choice of words was belittling and the comment that it responded to was nothing more than what rob was saying. you seemed to be saying 'you guys are stupid for wanting that' but now your tone has changed to 'everyone wants it, but its hard for companies'. i'll agree with the latter, but the initial response was completely unnecessary.

[ edited Jun 23 (2006) 06:22PM ]



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 23 (2006) 06:39PM  

You can interpret my statements however you want but in the end it depends on how you want to look at it. I do not think anyone here is stupid for wanting those features, nor have I ever said that.

The fact of the matter is there was no point for you to actually post the two quotes, other than to start trouble. Posting the two comments back to back does nothing more than this. It does not add any value to the actual topic here. I suggest you get back to actually discussing the player.

Thank You in advance


zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 23 (2006) 06:55PM  

ah i see, your initial comment added so much to the other topic. :?
[ edited Jun 23 (2006) 07:07PM ]



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 23 (2006) 07:07PM  

%-6 dont fight make daps, not war! anyway, yes, design or someone in korea go and steal one of these so we can do a super-advanced ahead of time review



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		Jun 23 (2006) 07:34PM  

It's interesting to distinct facts from fiction here. Oracom has stated that the 4GB version might be postponed for a number of weeks, exactly for the reason mentione by michael - they don't produce the chips themselves, and demands from other 3rd party companies are high (forcing the chip suppliers to make - obvious - choices). I saw the 4GB version being mentioned, which came as kind of a relief to me.

From a technological perspective, it's not unreasonable to note the need for "high-capacity" flash players, though. Devices that are on the virge of being released should live up to the "popular demands", and seeing as how the high-capacity DAP market is slowly fainting away (apart from the S-series, we have seen little to no progress in the 1.8-inch hdd sector lately) it's only logical to fill in the blanks in the flash category.

How does one define "popular demands", though? Currently, the upper limit for flashmemory in DAPs has been set at 6GB, which seems like an unreasonable amount to "expect" from any newly-released device right now. All the greater it is to see Sandisk actually pull that one off, and to have iriver working on a 6GB and perhaps even 8GB flash PMP - the V10.

4GB has proven to be "possible" for quite some time (iPod nano, Sandisk m-series), and in these modern times (in which ppl are gathering more and more tracks) anything below that mark is likely to fall short to us - the "high-end consumers", the DAPreview visitors & users. To us, it really doesn't matter if some company can live up to our expectancy levels - if they can't, we'll settle for someone else. Cruel, but that's how it works.

There is a reason why a large percentage of all currently-sold DAPs still exists out of simple-profile 256/512MB stuff, though - the low-end consumer doesn't really need much more than that. Those people download one album a month (or whatever), so they'll only have to reorganize their 512MB's player contents once every few weeks/months. This is why many of the smaller companies are still able to make ends meet right now - they're thriving on the low-end sector. DAPreview is a site that focuses on all new developments in the market, so apart from sales figures we're not really captured by 256/512MB stuff anymore (unless it's shaped like funny shit - how unfair this world can be).

We're currently in a bit of an uncertain era, DAP-wise. With hdd-alternatives becoming fewer these days, ppl like us who are looking for a decent, new DAP will take capacity into account. As soon as form factor becomes an issue, flash is basically the only way to go (apart from stuff like the iaudio 6, but even then the advantages of flash over hdd technology seem apparent).

In order to prove a constructive addition to the current market, I feel that 4GB worth of disk capacity is what we - the high-end consumers - are expecting from any newly-released device.

This does not rule out the need for low/mid-end capacities like 1 and 2GB, naturally. And if a manufacturer simply doesn't have the means to come up with 4 or 6GB (one step up from 4GB) then both the consumer and the manufacturer will have to face the consequences there: settle for less, or aim for something different.

You see zip, Michael's statements and that one line of text from me don't have to mutually exclude one another - as long as you get the context right. It's about putting things into perspectives, a situation in which many factors have to be considered. Explaining my whole point of view, as I've just done, wasn't something relevant to the newspost - which indeed aims to inform the user on the Oracom UB890, the end.

Michael has valid points, and I don't feel any bit insulted by those because he possesses loads of knowledge about the subject at hand. So do I (at least, I hope so), and seeing as how Michael and I are colleagues, keeping in touch with each other on a daily basis it'd be far-fetched to look for riots here. We call each other "stupid" over a variety of things, but DAP technology isn't among those topics. Let's leave it at that for now.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 23 (2006) 07:52PM  

i agree 100%. i just found it funny how michael tore into a user (at least a little bit) in a previous section for stating the same thing as you. like i said, i agree with his sentiments in this post, as well as yours.

ssjmichael basically wrote ...
When will Robert realize it's not easy to attain high capacity flash memory and make profit. Seeing how this isn't even from a huge company it would be even harder for them to get that memory at discounted prices.

Many mainstream high capacity flash players are from companies that actually make the memory themselves,. This is slowly changing, but Robert doesn't grasp the difficulty in it. Robert thinks it's so simple to make a 6gb player and make money from it.

These are businesses, not fantasy companies that create whatever Robert desires no matter the cost. If it doesn't bring in a good profit why would you spend any time on it? Robert would fail in the business world with the type of mindset that he has.


[ edited Jun 23 (2006) 08:00PM ]



timmins

Comments: 270
 		Jun 24 (2006) 03:20AM  

@zip,

Robert mentioned the "4" GIGS was a must.

SSJ only touched upon 6 GIG players, although the difernce may seem neglegable, it's not.

A small handful of players have been released or at least announced with 4 GIG capacity recently.

Sandisk a flash manfacturer is the only player with the aforementioned 6 GIG size.

So, taking into consideration apples pricing (a good conservative benchmark) The fifty MSRP difference between the 2 and 4 GIG nanos would translate into $50 difference for 4 to 6 gigs. Apple took a gample in releasing 4 Gigabyte player for $50 dollars less than their 30 Gigabyte player.
how many "mass market consumers" would buy a 6GIG player from an unknow company for $299, the same price as an ipod video.

4GB is a "must" for us, but it is also a "must" for the mass market consumer because they judge everything based on the nano.

6GB on the other hand, is simply not feasable for many companies because the cost of the chips, will will blow them right out of their demographic.



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Jun 24 (2006) 06:47AM  

Damn that thing looks slick, too bad its disposable; lame non-removable 13 hour lasting batting good for 400 charges.

NEXT!



dasmenneke

Comments: 135
 		Jun 24 (2006) 07:17AM  

undesign: back from holliday ?
or have you changed your avatar back ... haven't seen you in while



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 24 (2006) 12:42PM  

timmins, ssj's comment was in response to this

wmurch3 wrote ...
i stopped reading at the "1 or 2GB worth of flash memory". wake me up when companies start releasing high capacity daps again.


he was not only refering to 6GB.



kuhla

Comments: 46
 		Jun 24 (2006) 01:05PM  

ohh been waiting for more info on this, looks good, i guess my plans to buy a dap have been delayed....again.... waiting on an actual review of this



Dave

Comments: 4
 		Jun 26 (2006) 01:35AM  

ORAcom? who is smoking crack?



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Personally, I didn't buy any of those clips, great deal nonetheless - enjoy!!!!

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