DAP Review: MP3 Player News and Reviews : News

Creative announces the Zen Style M300

Michael — Tue, 10 May 2011 10:17:25 -0700

It's been quite a while, but Creative has finally announced a new player. The Zen Style M300 is a compact device that looks about the same size as the latest iPod nano. The M300 comes in a variety of colors, has touch-sensitive controls, and supports Bluetooth for wireless connectivity.

Creative ZEN Style M300 Portable Media Player

Display: 1.45" TFT (262K colours)
Capacity: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, plus a microSD slot
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 wireless technology (supports A2DP & AVRCP)
FM Radio function with 32 preset stations
Battery Life: Up to 20 hours (based on128kpbs, 4mins/song, MP3 file)
Supported Audio Formats: MP3, WMA (DRM9),WAV (IMA-ADPCM),
Audible Format 4, Audible AAX
Supported Picture Formats: JPEG
Supported Video Formats: Transcoded SMV (requires respective codec pre-installed on PC)
Built-in microphone for voice recording
Additional feature: Clock display

Creative also announced an "M100" model which is exactly like the M300 sans Bluetooth support. Both models go on sale in Mid June, with prices ranging from $39.99 to $89.99.

Press Release

Cowon C2 Announced

Michael — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:21:53 -0700

If you want a PMP and not much else, there's at least one company still making them. Cowon recently announced the "C2", a small form-factor PMP, and successor to the popular D2 series. Compared the D2, the C2 has more rounded design, a slightly larger display, and a new user interface. Aside from that, there really isn't a whole lot to look forward to here. The C2 maxes out at 16GB's of onboard storage, has a resistive touchscreen, and uses microSD expansion instead of standard SD cards like the D2.

Cowon C2 Specs

Capacity: 4, 8, and 16GB w/ microSD expansion
Display: 2.6" resistive touchscreen (320 x 240 resolution)
Audio: MP3, WMA, Ogg, FLAC, APE, WAV
Video: AVI, WMV, Divx
FM Tuner/Line-in and Voice recorder/T-DMB tuner
Extras: TXT/Document support, Built-in word processor app, flash player, stop watch
Battery life: 55 hours for audio, 10 for video

The C2 might have been more appealing 3 years ago, but I'm just not sure how much demand there still is for a standalone device these days, particularly one with some dated specs

Cowon C2

Amazon sends your music to the cloud

Michael — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:11:31 -0700

Amazon has a new cloud-based storage system called "Cloud drive". The cloud can be used to store any digital file and is accessed by any browser, and through an Android app. They're giving everyone 5GB to start with, but there are additional paid plans if you want more space (see below). Additionally, any digital music purchases you get from Amazon don't count towards your space.

Also for a limited time, if you buy an MP3 album you get 20GB's of space for free. The cheapest "album" that qualifies is this Track from Glee for just $0.69.

Here are the additional storage plans being offered:

This sounds like a great option to easily have access to all my music and other files on all of my connected devices. Let us know what you think about it.

Amazon Cloud Drive

Hot Deal: Zune HD (32GB) for $170 shipped at Amazon

Michael — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:29:19 -0800

The Zune HD may be a few years old now, but it's still one of the best players available. Amazon is selling the 32GB model for just $169.99 shipped.

Specs:

Display: 3.3" OLED touchscreen (480 x 272 resolution)
Capacity: 32GB
Audio: MP3, WMA Pro and Lossless,, AAC, WAV
Video: WMV, HD WMV, MPEG-4, H.264, Xvid, DVR-MS, HD MPEG-4 (with auto transcode)
WiFi for streaming music, and built-in web browser
HD Radio
Battery life: 33 hours for Audio, 8.5 for Video

Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum) at Amazon

iPad 2: Faster, Thinner, Whiter

Michael — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:22:22 -0800

Yesterday Apple announced the iPad 2. The first thing I thought was "that's an odd name choice". Apple doesn't usually add "2" to the end of their products. Usually it's just considered the new iPad, or at the very least a 2nd generation one. On the specs side, the iPad 2 is quite significant jump from the original It features a new dual core processor that has double the CPU performance and 9 times the graphical capabilities of the first iPad. The tablet has also been put on a diet, going from 13.8mm to a mere 8.8mm. Other new additions include 2 cameras (front and rear), Facetime (as seen on the iPhone 4), and a new white model.

iPad 2 Specs

Capacity: 16, 32, or 64GB
Display: 9.7" LED-backlit widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology (1024 x 768 resolution)
Processor: 1GHz dual-core Apple A5
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, optional 3G model (for AT&T and Verizon), Bluetooth
Full App store support
Audio/Video: MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, H.264 (up to 720P), MPEG-4
Front and Rear cameras with recording capabilities
Battery Life: 10 hours, A month of standby time
Dimensions: 9.50" x 7.31" x 0.34"

Here's the unveiling by Jobs, courtesy of Cnet

The iPad 2 will be released on March 11th, and will range in price from $499 to $829 depending on capacity and 3G support, the same prices as the original.

iPad 2

The U100 comes out of iriver's closet

Michael — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:32:07 -0800

Hey you, wake up! The DAP industry might be on its last legs, being swallowed up by tablets, phones and what have you, but it's not dead yet. Iriver just announced the U100, a slim touchscreen player decked out in hot pink and neon green. Those color choices are a bit..different, but overall the design still looks great. The U100 has a 3.1" capacitive touchscreen (320 x 480 resolution), which is a bit small by today's standards. It does support an impressive array of formats however including MP3, WMA, OGG, APE, FLAC, ASF, AVI, WMV, MP4, ASF, MOV, TS, M2TS, TP, 3GP, MKV, SRT, SMI, ePUB, PDF, TXT, JPEG, GIF, BMP and PNG. Battery life is also superb, with a rated 50 hours for audio, and 11 hours for video. The U100 will come in 4, 8, and 16GB capacities with microSD expansion . There will also be two models sold, one with WiFi and one without. No official release date, or price yet, but we'll certainly keep this one on our radar.

Here's a Hands-on video showing off the U100's UI:

iriver U100 Product Page

via Akihabara News

Zune HD and Macs play nicely with clever workaround

Michael — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:10:02 -0800

Odds are, if you own a mac you probably don't own a Zune HD. For those that do however, a member at Zuneboads has found a way to get them to work together. The workaround involves a simple command edit using Microsoft's "Windows Phone 7 Connector". Once done the Zune HD will able to sync up with Mac OS, as shown above. Obviously this app wasn't designed with this in mind so please use at your own risk.

How to sync your Zune with a Mac

Hands-on the Creative ZiiO at CES 2011

Michael — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:41:52 -0800

CES 2011 is underway and Creative is in attendance, showing off their recently announced ZiiO Android tablet. Tech Digest got their hands on it and shot this preview video:

The interface looked fairly responsive with most applications, but certainly not as smooth as a capacitive screen would be. According to Tech Digest, the device is currently running Android 2.1, but will be upgraded to 2.2 later on.

Tech Digest Preview
GearLog Preview

Thanks davinp!

Creative ZiiO Android Tablet now Shipping in the US

Michael — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:12:11 -0800

Good news everyone, the ZiiO 7" Android Tablet is now available in the US. The 8GB model is available at Amazon for $249.99, and the 16GB for $269.99. The ZiiO adds to a quickly growing list of Android tablets coming out, but separates itself from the bunch with support for apt-x, and X-Fi audio enhancements. It's also quite a bit less than most other tablets out there. The device is running a customized version of Android 2.1 currently, but I've heard that there are plans to update it to 2.2 (aka Froyo). Currently, only the 7-inch model is available, but the 10-inch model should arrive next year.

Specs for the ZiiO 7"

Capacity: 8 or 16GB Capacity w/ microSDHC expansion
Display: 7.0" resistive touchscreen (800 x 480 resolution, 16.8M colors)
OS: Android 2.1
Powered by ZMS-05 Processor
Built-in Camera and mic
Audio: MP3, WMA AAC, FLAC, Ogg, MIDI
X-Fi Audio Enhancements (X-Fi Crystalizer, X-Fi Expand)
Video: MPEG-4, H.264, WMV, AVI, MOV at resolutions up to 1280 x 720
Connectivity; HDMI-Out, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Battery Life: 25 hours for Audio, 5 for video

ZiiO 7" 8GB at AmazonZiiO 7" 16GB at Amazon.