Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Apple introduces the new iPhone 3G
The new iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking, built-in GPS, and iPhone 2.0 software that supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs hundreds of third party applications built with the iPhone SDK. Available in 22 countries on July 11, iPhone 3G comes in two models: an 8GB model priced at $199 (US) and a 16GB model priced at $299 (US). Filed under: iPhone. Read more: apple.com/iphone
Announcing the MobileMe Internet service
The new MobileMe Internet service delivers push email, push contacts and push calendars to native applications on iPhone, iPod touch, Macs and PCs. A subscription-based service with 20GB of storage for $99 (US) per year for individuals and $149 (US) for a Family Pack, MobileMe provides a suite of elegant, ad-free web applications — Mail, Contacts and Calendar, a Gallery for viewing and sharing photos, and iDisk for storing and exchanging documents — that deliver a desktop-like experience through any modern browser. Filed under: Mac. Read more: apple.com/mobileme
Samsung U3 Review
The Samsung U3 has been on the market for a while now, but like other small players like that it's not as easily outdated as bigger players that fight for the newest features. With the exception of adding OLED screens, players like the U3 have more or less been stagnating feature wise for the last 3 years. This means the U3 is still a very good candidate. It's pretty well equipped with an FM radio, touch buttons, recording, and integrated USB connector. Read on to see how well it does in real life
Norwegian Railroads to Rent Archos PMPs on Board
As part of an entertainment upgrade on the railroads in
The plan is to add power outlets and Internet to the trains on some routes in
New Creative Player Within 2 Months, but it Won't be Called Share
Remember the rumored Zen Share WiFi player? It's not coming. In a recent press conference Creative Nordic Product Manager Jan Hvidberg confirmed that there was a device called Share in development at one stage, but this device has apparently been dropped due to technical difficulties. He did however say that Creative is to present a new player within the next two months and design is apparently the key word. There has been a lot of rumors surrounding the Share/X-Fi but this is as close to facts we've been in ages.
According to Hvidberg there will also be no more hard drive based players from Creative. Ever. This means that whatever player will be presented in the future will be flash, no matter what type of player it is. Whether or not this information is true or not only time will tell, but one would think that it's pretty accurate coming from someone that high up. No official word has come from Creative America however so there's always a 0,1% chance he spoke too soon. Either way, this doesn't in any way exclude the rumors of an X-Fi based player - possibly with WiFi, Bluetooth or touch screen for all we know - it just means the player won't be called Share and it will be flash based.
If you recall, not too long ago the Zune 2.5 update added support for games development. The XNA team released their first game (via Got Zune) for those willing to dive into the XNA dev software. If you are willing to spend 5 min or so, it is relatively easy to get these games going on the Zune. There are a few guides out there, but take a look at this video that Cruleworld had made for and see how easy it is to get games onto your Zune. Really you don’t need any development experience, just a little old fashion pointing and clicking.
While many of these games are more hobbyist creations, they are rather entertaining and give of a taste of what it to come on the Zune in terms of gaming. Personally, im still holding out for my top Zune game picks. In the mean time head over to the abi Zune Forum to check out the video and get some help if you need it.
iriver is continuing to spit out the players shown at CES and now it's time for the Spinn and the Lplayer. Considered to be an upgrade from the Clix 2 the Spinn will continue the AMOLED based players and upgrade the screen size and resolution among with other upgrades. The Lplayer can best be described as a bigger version of the S10 with the framed screen covering the entire player and navigation is handled by the D-click system.
The Spinn screen is now 3.2" and has a resolution of 480x272 which means it will be very sharp and have better colors than any LCD based player due to the AMOLED screen. It will also have Bluetooth and support Adobe Flash and European customers can expect a DAB radio in there too.
The Lplayer is tiny, small and basically not very big. Imagine a cell phone screen in a plastic frame and that's the Lplayer. The screen resolution is 320x240 which means it can still do pretty decent video and there's also a radio in there. Like the Spinn it does 25 hours of audio while video playback is slightly lower at 4 hours. The Lplayer will launch in June according to iriver and will be available in 2, 4 and 8GB.
One of the great things about SanDisk’s line of Sansa MP3 players it the microSD card slot. All of them have this feature except for the Sansa Clip. This means you can double, sometimes triple the capacity of the player relatively cheap. The microSD slot is a great future proofing or rather life extending feature on an MP3 player.
While SanDisk Sansa players lead the industry in upgradable and removable storage there are a few others that contain that will be able to take advantage of this microSD card. These players include the Insignias, the Cowon D2, Creative Zen, and some of the newer irivers like the E100 and the Spinn.
No Zune Phone But Zune Touch Soon
SFGate recently interviewed Robbie Bach. This is the guy in charge of the Xbox, Zune, and Windows
At first Robbie touts the fact that Windows Mobile devices will continue to outsell the iPhone and the Blackberry. But then he goes on to state that, “We don't make phones ourselves. We don't have any plans to make phones ourselves.” He goes on to explain that Windows Mobile is currently in the position to take advantage of their belief that, “…a phone is a very personal thing. Different people want different types of phones.”
While this rules out the possibility of a Zune branded phone, it may not rule out the Zune as a piece of software or service on a windows mobile device. When discussing the MP3 player market Robbie goes on to state that Microsoft has a broader goal not just including hardware but also software and services. He states that, “…software and services, at least in theory, can be used on a lot of different types of devices.” This I think is a ways off, but it does show the future of the Zune brand.
So what did he have to say about the Zune “Touch”?
HISTORY
The predecessors to digital audio players are portable CD and MiniDisc players, which are commonly known as "Portable Audio Devices". Although the data is digitally stored on discs, neither one is able to support digital file formats.
The first mass-produced DAP was created in 1997 by SaeHan Information Systems, which domestically sold its “MPMan” player in the middle of 1998.[3] The South Korean company then licensed the players to Eiger Labs which distributed them—now branded as Eiger Labs MPMan F10—to the North American market during the summer of 1998.[4] The flash-based players were available in 16 MB storage capacity.
The Rio PMP300 from Diamond Multimedia was introduced in September 1998, a few months after the MPMan. It was a success during the holiday season, with sales exceeding expectations.[5] Interest and investment in digital music were subsequently spurred from it.[6] Because of the player's notoriety as the target of a major lawsuit, the
In 1998, Compaq developed the first hard drive based DAP using a 2.5" laptop drive. It was licensed to HanGo Electronics (now known as Remote Solution), which first sold the PJB-100 (Personal Jukebox) in 1999. The player had an initial capacity of 4.8 GB, which was advertised to be able to hold 1200 songs.[8]
In October 2001, Apple Computer (now known as Apple Inc.) unveiled the first generation iPod, the 5 GB hard drive based DAP with a 1.8" Toshiba drive. With the development of a minimalistic user interface and a smaller form factor, the iPod was initially notable within users of the Macintosh community. In July 2002, Apple introduced the second generation update to the iPod. It was compatible with Windows computers through Musicmatch Jukebox (now known as Y!Music Musicmatch Jukebox). The iPod series, which grew to include microdrive and flash-based players, has become the market leader in DAPs.
In 2002, Archos released the first official PMP, the Archos Jukebox Multimedia.[9] Manufacturers have since implemented abilities to view images and play videos into their devices.
Although online music services such as RealNetworks’ Rhapsody offered legal downloads through a subscription plan, the launch of the iTunes Store in 2003 established the model of selling individual songs for purchase.
Digital Players
More commonly referred to as an MP3 player, a digital audio player ("DAP") is a consumer electronics device that stores, organizes and plays audio files. Some DAPs are also referred to as portable media players as they have image-viewing and/or video-playing support. Most DAPs are powered by rechargeable batteries, some of which are not user replaceable. Listening to music stored on DAPs is typically through earphones connected with a 3.5 mm jack.
Digital audio players are generally categorized by storage media:
- Flash-based Players: These are non mechanical solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal flash memory or removable flash media called memory cards. Due to technological advancements in flash memory, these originally low-storage devices are now available commercially ranging up to 32 GB.[1] Because they are solid state and do not have moving parts they require less battery power and may be more resilient to hazards such as dropping or fragmentation than hard disk-based players. Basic MP3 player functions are commonly integrated into USB flash drives.
- Hard drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes: Devices that read digital audio files from a hard disk drive (HDD). These players have higher capacities currently ranging up to 250 GB.[2] At typical encoding rates, this means that thousands of songs – perhaps an entire music collection – can be stored on one player.
- MP3 CD Players: Portable CD players that can decode and play MP3 audio files stored on CDs.
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