Sly Electronics SLV618 8GB PMP

Here's another affordable 8GB PMP for your traveling companion, the SLV618 from Sly Electronics. Specs-wise, the player features a 3.0-inch touchscreen display, an 8GB of flash storage, a built-in camera, an FM radio, a voice recorder, a photo viewer and a built-in rechargeable battery. The SLV618 sells for only $59.99.

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Sony Walkman NWZ-B162F MP3 Player

Sony China has come out with another eye-catching MP3 player, the Walkman NWZ-B162F. Available in Green, Blue, Gold, Red, Pink and Black color options, this compact yet stylish player sports a 3-line LCD display, a 2GB of flash storage, an FM radio, a voice recorder, a USB port and a built-in lithium battery that can last up to 18 hours of music playback. The Walkman NWZ-B162F retails for 299 Yuan (about $45).

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Sony introduces three new iPhone/iPod ready headphones in Japan

With the overhead headphone MDR-ZX300IP and two in-ear ones the MDR-XB41I and MDR-XB21IP, Sony want to bring a full set of compatible headphones to every single iPod and iPhones build since 2009!

All models will be put on the market at the end of this month in Japan and comes with a dedicated remote to allow you to control your iPhone/iPod volume and tracks, as well as including a little microphone in order to be used freely with an iPhone. These headphones are compatible with all iPhones, iPad, iPod Nanon 4th to 6th Generation, iPod Touch 2-to4th generation and iPod Classic 120x160Gb.

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iPod with Capacitive Home Button Leaked

Before anything else, we believe we should take this news with a pinch of salt. CrunchGear has posted a series of blurry photos of what seems to be an upcoming version of the iPod Touch. The biggest difference here is the non-physical home button, making the whole front of the device made up of touchscreen.

The leaked device is marked with “DVT-1,” which is found on earlier iPod Touch examples in 2010. It features front and back cameras, 128GB of memory, firmware 4.2.1MC14, and is marked model MC550LL.

It also has an aluminum back, similar to the rumored iPhone 5. Looking at the pretty old firmware would indicate that this test model has been around for quite a while.

More blurry photos can be found at the source link

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Thanko's Cassette Mate makes those old tapes relevant again

Back in your younger days, if you've had access to a cassette tape recorder, I'm pretty sure you would have recorded a lot of random conversations, made your own mix tapes, and archived your own ramblings to yourself. Well, it's time to wipe the dust off those cassettes and listen to those recordings again. Thanko has just released a cassette tape to MP3 converter that makes all those old tapes relevant again, just when you thought they were dead thanks to the advent of CDs and MP3s. All you have to do is put your cassette tape into Cassette Mate, hook it up to your PC, and run the software that can convert everything on the tape into MP3, with the option to split them into tracks if you wish. The Cassette Mate has the makings to be a hit, especially with a low price tag of $30. It is available now from Thanko's website.

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Onkyo announces HT-RC370 and HT-RC360

Onkyo has just announced that they will be replacing their two current home theater receivers - the HT-RC270 and HT-RC260 with two new models: the HT-RC370 and HT-RC360. The new home theater receivers will be among the first AV receivers equipped with the new Marvell Qdeo 4K video upscaling processor. This allows users to upscale video to 1080p and beyond to as much as 4k of horizontal resolution, regardless of the source resolution. With 4K video display technology not yet on the market, you can be sure that you'll stay future-proofed with one of these babies.

A front-panel USB port reads audio files from USB devices or iPods and iPhones - it'll play all your music when you're not watching movies and since the receivers are both network-capable, they support PC audio and Internet radio from services like Pandora, Napster and SiriusXM Internet Radio as well. Other features include 7.2-channel surround sound, lossless HD surround sound via Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio codecs, advanced HDMI interface Onkyo's latest GUI, and more. The receivers will both be available this month, with the HT-RC370 costing $849 and HT-RC360 $549. Head here for more details about the receivers.

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Cowon D3 Plenue Android PMP review

One thing's for sure: Cowon's D3 Plenue is vastly different (and superior) to the firm's AMOLED-equipped S9 from 2008, and it's also catering to a vastly different sect of consumers compared to its ultra-capacious X7. This beaut is one of the few pocketable Android-based PMPs available today, offering up a gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchpanel (800 x 480), dedicated media controls along the edges, Android 2.1, WiFi, 1080p video output, a built-in microphone and a battery good for up to 21 hours of use. As with every other Cowon player, this one also supports every file format ever conceived, including FLAC, APE and OGG -- three that the audiophiles in attendance will definitely recognize. The real question here is simple: does having Android on a non-connected (cellular, anyway) device really do you much good, and moreover, is it really worth the $357.99 asking price? We'll discuss these points and more in our full review just after the break. Join us, won't you?

Design

Per usual, Cowon has really nailed the design here. We've always been fans of the company's aesthetics, and the trend continues here. The unboxing experience is one of the best around, and the D3 itself is just lovely to hold. It's light, slim and pocketable, yet intensely rigid and solid. There's nary a hint of low-quality here; everything from the tough-as-nails capacitive touchscreen to the stiff, soft-touch back is just marvelous to hold and admire. We also can't help but applaud the company for tossing in a few extra physical buttons along the right edge. Aside from the conventional volume rocker, you'll also get a track forward, track backward and a play / pause button, all of which can be toggled from your pocket without having to activate the display. Super handy, for obvious reasons.


We should also point out that the 3.5mm headphone jack resides on the bottom, right alongside the proprietary USB connector and DC input. As with the iPod touch, some folks will loathe it, while others love it -- we're a bit indifferent on the topic, but it obviously works best with right-angle plugs. Cowon also double-dipped on the storage front; while there's 32GB of internal storage from the get-go, there's also a side-accessible microSD card slot if you'd rather push things to 64GB. We definitely appreciate not having to remove a rear cover in order to access this here slot, but on the other hand, this design decision also ensures that the battery is tightly encased and impossible to access. Not a huge deal, but there it is.

Software

In the past, we've lamented the fact that Cowon's homegrown software builds weren't exactly ideal, and there's no question that our interest was piqued when we heard that the company would be relying on Android for the D3. That said, Android 2.1 is already a bit dated, and while the core is certainly here, it's heavily disguised. Cowon has definitely reworked the OS for its own purposes, and in doing so, we're left with a music app that's actually less intuitive than Google's own, an email app that's laughable compared to Gmail, and no access whatsoever to the Android Market. If it sounds like a train wreck, that's because it is. We can't deny that things are fairly pleasing to the eye at a glance, but the eye candy matters less and less as you actually try to use the device.

The preloaded applications are all so-so, and the inability to easily find and download new ones is a real deal-killer. As it stands, you'll have to scour the murky APK download market online, and then drag / drop those files into a pre-established APK folder within the file system. We should probably take this opportunity to point out that the D3 isn't as Mac-friendly as the company's prior offerings; we were never able to drop anything (music, apps, etc.) onto the device from a Mac, but things went smoothly when shifting over to Windows 7 Professional. It's theoretically possible to get Skype on here, and we actually managed to complete a Skype call over WiFi, but the app takes ages to load, and due to the lackluster microphone quality, folks on the other end couldn't wait to rid themselves of our intrusion. Being the argonauts that we are, we also tossed Google Maps on here for kicks; sadly, there's no GPS or A-GPS, so even with a live WiFi connection, the app refuses to pinpoint your location.


After using it for a week, we found ourselves a lot less impressed with Android on a PMP. In fact, we felt it unnecessary, at least when bona fide Android Market access is forbidden. You might say that you'd rather have the ability to sideload Angry Birds than to have no options at all for installing it, and we'd have a tough time arguing that; however, there's essentially no hope that this device will ever see Froyo, let alone Gingerbread, and the hardware just isn't powerful enough to run Google's mobile OS in a satisfactory manner.

Performance

Speaking of which, it's about time we touch on just how sluggish the D3 is. We can't put a finger on what sort of processor is tucked inside (update: looks like a 720MHz chip), but judging by the above-average battery life (21 hours for audio; 10 for video) and below-average performance, we're guessing it's of the "slow" variety. More often than not, we'd have to swipe two or three times before the device would recognize our touch, and while pinch-to-zoom is supported, you won't be making much use of it if the device requires two to three seconds to understand what you're trying to do. Even changing orientation from vertical to horizontal takes three to five seconds, and while one or two of these would be forgivable, the entire experience becomes bogged down in no time flat. Have a look at what we mean in the video below:


Even loading up the Music app, which should be the point where this device thrives, is a painful experience, and sifting through your artists / albums / playlists takes a shocking amount of finagling. The web browser manages to perform decently, and Bluetooth support seemed fine. Both BT-compatible sources as well as headphones paired up nicely, but don't dare try to multitask if you're blasting music out over the short-range airwaves. Sadly, the battery here actually falls short compared to prior Cowon devices; the 32GB iPod touch can last well over 30 hours on a single charge when playing back audio, while Cowon's D3 isn't even rated to last longer than 21 hours.

Sound quality

It wouldn't be a proper Cowon review without a section dedicated to audio quality, as -- quite frankly -- that's the one place where you can count on the company's players to be superior to the competition. Thankfully, nothing has changed in this regard. When A-B'ing the D3 to a Nexus One and an iPod touch, we consistently felt that the audio quality from the D3 was superior. Music just felt fuller and less hazy, and if there's one saving grace on this entire thing, it's the world-class sound quality. We'd also like to throw a round of golf claps in Cowon's direction for the thorough amount of included EQ options; we usually aren't ones to screw with a producer's mix, but the equalization options included here are most certainly worth a listen. Dollars to donuts you'll find one that you enjoy even better than the stock mix, and we're guessing you'll also be shocked at how well it enhances things without comically distorting a particular frequency range.

Wrap-up

Cowon's D3 Plenue is awfully close to being a stellar PMP. The sound quality is truly unmatched, the build quality is worth writing home about, and the 3.7-inch AMOLED display is lovely to gaze at. Unfortunately, those pros are overshadowed by a laundry list of gripes, including a disturbingly sluggish overall experience, no access to the Android Market, the omission of an A-GPS / GPS chip, a terrible Music application, the inexplicable use of a proprietary USB connector and the inclusion of a second-rate email application. It's also $357.99, which is nearly $60 more than a 32GB iPod touch and just $30 shy of matching the 64GB iPod touch. We hate to make the obvious comparison, but there's no honest-to-goodness reason for choosing this over Apple's darling. Heck, at least that one ships with a camera for video calling and includes a processor that doesn't make you wait between each panel change.


We'd love to love the D3, and we've no doubt fallen for its superior aural qualities, but there's just too many pitfalls here (and too lofty a price point) to recommend for the masses. As for the audiophiles would could care less about anything else other than auditory bliss? Go right ahead, but be sure to let us know how you're planning to deal with your heightened blood pressure -- that painfully slow Music app is bound to have some negative side effects.

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Coby MP-C556 MP3 Player

Here's an ideal MP3 player for your traveling companion, the Coby MP-C556. Powered by 1x AAA battery, this simple yet stylish player features a small LCD screen, a 512MB of internal memory, a voice recorder, a USB 2.0 interface and supports both MP3 and WMA audio formats. The Coby MP-C556 retails for $36.99.

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Return of the camera in the 7G iPod Nano?

While everyone is busy freaking out about the alleged iPhone 5 delay this year, a new leaked photo, purported to show the case for the seventh-generation iPod Nano is doing the rounds. Obtained by Apple.pro, the photo clearly shows a hole on the back of the iPod Nano case, leading many to believe that Apple will be bringing back a camera to the small touchscreen music player. If you're up to date on your Apple history, you'll recall that the fifth-gen iPod Nano had a camera for taking video (not still pics), but with the smaller form update last September, Apple axed the cam. With Apple.pro's proven track record (it leaked the 6G redesign way before the unveil), we wouldn't pretend to be amazed come September. As for a front facing cam for FaceTime? We wouldn't count on it. Fitting a camera (even a crappy one) into the Nano's already tiny body is already squeezing all of the components extremely tight.

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Diamond-encrusted Lunatik iPod nano watch is as superfluous as it sounds

If you're the type of person who has 99 problems, a satisfactory wristwatch being one, feast your lustful eyes on this diamond-encrusted abomination. ZShock has managed to work its magic - $18,000 worth, to be precise - on a Lunatik iPod nano watch, with the end result being something that we'd hardly recommend being caught dead with. Of course, those who'd disagree vehemently are going to need a magic number in order to procure one, but those who are just curious can peek the source link below for a bit of wrist-on action. Temper that jealously, though.

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ZShock diamond Lunatik iPod nano watch wrists-on!

We're big fans of ZShock and its work, so when the company decided it was going to do what it does best on a Lunatik iPod nano watch case, we had to get our hands - and wrists - on one. It takes ZShock around 3-4 weeks to create and carefully hand-set the diamonds into pave settings on the white goldwatch case. The craftsmanship on here is amazing, and just what you'd expect from one of the most innovative jewelers around. The all- diamond ZShock Lunatik iPod nano watch retails for around $18,000, though custom orders with different metals and even different diamonds and stones are possible from www.zshock.com. Make sure to check out some photos of the diamond Lunatik iPod nano watch in our hands on gallery!

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Cowon D3 Plenue Android Media Player

Cowon, known for its media players, has recently introduced its D3 Plenue, considered as one of a handful of pocketable Android-based PMPs.

It features a 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen with 800 x 480 resolution, dedicated media controls on the edges, Android 2.1, WiFi, 1080p video output, an integrated microphone, and a battery life of up to 21 hours.

Like any Cowon player, the D3 Plenue can support every file available, including FLAC, APE, and OGG audio file formats.

Engadget reviewed the Cowon D3 Plenue, calling it “vastly different and superior” from Cowon's previously-released PMPs like the S9 and the X7. However, the question whether its US$357.99 asking price is worth it. You can check out the source link for the lengthy review.

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Gemei HD8800 HD-Capable PMP Available Now

Remember the Gemei HD8800 that we posted last week? This new HD-capable PMP is now available for purchase in China for 299 Yuan (about $45). To remind you, the player packs a 4.3-inch 16:9 touchscreen display, Flash UI, an 8GB of flash storage, a microSD card slot, an FM radio, a voice recorder, an e-book reader, built-in games, a USB 2.0 interface, an HDMI port, a TV-output and supports up to 720p HD video playback.

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JBL intros OnBeat iPad / iPhone / iPod speaker dock, prices it at $150

This planet we call home needs another iDock about as bad as we need another Charlie Sheen running around aimlessly, but no matter - we're getting one, and it's being delivered from JBL. The company has just outed its first-ever iPad speaker dock, the OnBeat. Truth be told, it's capable of handling iPod touches, iPhones and iPads (no word on the iPad 2), but it's clearly engineered to hold the largest of the bunch best. Aside from providing joints and jams to those situated in your living room (or basement, if that's how you roll), it can also pipe Netflix and YouTube content directly to one's television via a composite video output, and if you're running around sans an iDevice, the 3.5mm auxiliary jack ensures that any other source will still function just fine. You'll also be able to charge and sync any docked devices, but you'll be asked to dole out $149.95 in order to bring one home when it ships next month.

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JBL OnBeat Sound Dock For iPhone/iPod/iPad Is Compact, Stylish And Powerful!

JBL just announced a stylish and substance-filled sound dock for iOS devices. It's officially christened as JBL OnBeat and appears to be a device of fairly good mettle encased in a beautiful build.

The JBL OnBeat iPhone and/or iPad dock lets you easily slip your iPad or iPhone on the included connector-laced mount on the dock allowing you to channel audio through the connected dock's speakers for a high-quality room-filling sound.

Once the iPad/iPhone is docked into the JBL OnBeat dock for iPhone and iPad, your iOS device is simultaneously charged even as you enjoy playing your favorite media on your iPad. Compact in build and stylish in design, the JBL OnBeat dock for iPad and iPhone is also compatible with Apple iPods.

The device comes with an IR remote which enables you to swiftly change tracks and navigate through your idevice's menus even from up to 15 feet away. While in the close proximity of the device, you can also use the easy-to-use touch controls on the device to operate it.

Featured : JBL iPad Dock / JBL iPhone Dock

It draws its power from an AC charging outlet and also powers your device when it's docked so don't have to worry about running out of battery when your iPhone or iPad is used with the dock.

Other interesting features include provision for composite video output to display video content on TV, dual Phoenix full-range transducers with computer-optimized DSP equalization, high power output, USB and auxiliary input support, and much more.

Here's an excerpt from JBL in this regard :

“The JBL OnBeat™ docking station is more than just a speaker dock that works with the iPad device. It's a great-sounding home entertainment system in the JBL® tradition. Dual JBL Phoenix full-range transducers with 2 x 7.5-watt amplification and computer-optimized DSP equalization deliver impressive frequency response (70Hz - 20kHz) with minimal distortion, even at high output levels. You'll hear your favorite music with accuracy and detail you wouldn't have thought possible from a system this size.“

It will be exclusively available from Best Buy in Black color.

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Banana TV Streams iOS Video, Pictures to Mac

Banana TV enables an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to stream photos and video to a Mac.

One of the coolest gimmicks of iOS is AirPlay, a button you press on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to stream photos, videos and audio to a huge display connected to an Apple TV. Problem is, you can't normally use this nifty feature without your Apple TV (or an AirPort Express, if all you want is audio).

Enter Banana TV, a Mac app that allows you to use AirPlay to beam your videos and photos from an iOS device to a Mac. This way, you can enjoy streaming your media onto a bigger screen even if you don't own an Apple TV.

The best part about Banana TV is it's seamless. Launch the app and it's ready to go, so long as your iOS device and Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network. On your iOS device, open any AirPlay-compatible video or photo, and an icon will appear to stream it via AirPlay. Hit the AirPlay icon and boom, the picture is displayed on your Mac.

This will come useful in many scenarios. Say you're visiting relatives who have a 27-inch iMac, and you want to share photos of your family vacation, stored on your iPhone. Just load Banana TV on their iMac and stream it from your iPhone with AirPlay.

Or let's say you give presentations at work, and the PDFs are stored on your iPhone. Just connect your Mac to the projector, run Banana TV, open the PDFs on your iPhone and hit the AirPlay button. Voila — the image will be showing on the projector, and you can swipe the screen to move between PDFs while you're giving the presentation.

Created by prolific programmer Erica Sadun, Banana TV cost $8 over at BananaTV.net. It's not available in the Mac App Store, probably because Apple wasn't cool with people reverse-engineering the AirPlay code, according to Sadun.

“There's never been anything Apple's built that I haven't wanted to reverse engineer somehow,” Sadun said. “I'm sure there's probably medication for that, maybe therapy.”

Wired.com previously covered Banana TV, which was formerly called AirPlayer, when it was still a work in progress. The near-final version of Banana TV released last week is snappy and fast, as if it came straight from Apple headquarters. It's a must-have app for any Mac customer with an iOS device.

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CVID-C25 MP3 Player

Enjoy all your favorite tunes anywhere you go with this lightweight MP3 player ‘CVID-C25′ from Chinavasion. This compact player features a two color LCD display, a 4GB of flash memory, an FM radio, a USB 2.0 port, a 3.5mm headset jack and a built-in Li-ion battery. The CVID-C25 retails for just $28.97 (car kit included).

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iRig Microphone for iPhone, iPod, and iPad

Having a separate microphone for the iDevice may seem excessive, but simply relying on the gadget's built-in mic may not provide the clearest sound you want to project on situations like making a podcast or video conferencing. There have been many mics for the iOS devices, but most are desktop types and not a single handheld accessory until the iRig was introduced.

The iRig voice microphone connects to the iPhone, iPod, and iPad with a 1x8″ jack. It also has a three-position gain control on the body. The iRig also comes with a Vocalive app that adds effects to voice and lets users share its files to friends.

Engadget has reviewed the iRig, which was given a rating of 6 out of 10. You can check the source link for the reasons why.

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Samsung Galaxy Player YP-GB70 Released In South Korea

Samsung Electronics has started selling the Galaxy Player (YP-GB70) in the South Korean market. The Galaxy Player is a smart PMP that can download various applications and games from the Android Market through Wi-Fi connectivity. Powered by the Google Android 2.2 Froyo OS, the gadget provides a 5-inch display screen, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Search and free text messages (Kakao Talk). With SoundAlive and stereo speakers, the Galaxy Player YP-GB70 has greater multimedia functions and can support various functions such as a 3D navigation with GPS.

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SteelSeries 7H Headset for iPod, iPhone and iPad

Along with the Siberia v2 Headset, SteelSeries also announced the 7H Headset for iPod, iPhone and iPad. Priced at $129.99 / €114.99 (MSRP), the 7H headset is the newest introduction to SteelSeries’ premium audio line-up. Its interchangeable earcups allow the user to choose between hear-through cloth or noise cancelling leather. The headset is also equipped with the 50mm drivers and enables users to disassemble it into four pieces for easy travel.

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