Pocketables

Cowon S9 now offered in ceramic white

The Cowon S9 digital media player that was released at the end of last year in titanium black and chrome black is now available in ceramic white. Though not yet shown on its American website, the shiny white player has been added to the Korean company's main site in 8GB and 16GB capacities with integrated DMB. It isn't clear why a 32GB version of the device isn't listed yet, as the other two colors are globally available in that capacity, but it's probably only a matter of time. More shots of the S9's new look below.

Review: iriver P7

When the iriver P7 was first announced at CES 2009, it was easily my favorite portable media player on display at the company's booth. I was intrigued by its magazine-like interface, pleased by its microSD card slot, and impressed by its wide array of codec support.

The P7 is now in stock and shipping from Warehouse123.com, who sell the 8GB and 16GB versions for $145 and $187, respectively. But now that the 4.3-inch touchscreen player is out of the showroom lights and in my hands, does it still fare as well? Read my full review below to find out.

Free Flash game packs for Cowon S9 (and Samsung P3)

As shown in my recent three-way touchscreen media player comparison, the Cowon S9 and Samsung P3 (YP-P3) both come with built-in Flash players. A variety of files can be transferred for playback on both players, but what probably comes to mind most immediately and what users want to load up first are Flash games. The problem, of course, is how to get them.

Sure, you can scour the internet to find free games that you can individually download, transfer, and test. But wouldn't you rather just head over to the iAudiophile.net Forums and grab over 250 games bundled into three game packs instead? The games have all been compiled and tested by da1writer to run on the S9 using the touchscreen and/or hardware buttons for controls, so many of them can be played on the Samsung P3 as well.

Apple iPod touch 2G vs. Cowon S9 vs. Samsung P3

If you're in the market for a touchscreen portable media player but can't decide whether to wait for the upcoming Sony X1000 Walkman or choose from what's already available, then read on for an objective and subjective comparison of the top three contenders you can get today: the second-generation Apple iPod touch, Cowon S9, and Samsung P3.

Mistakes Samsung made with the Q1 (YP-Q1) digital media player

The Samsung Q1 (YP-Q1) digital media player is so boring and frustrating that I don't want to spend any time giving it my full review treatment. Instead, I'd like to share some of the photos I originally took for the review and talk about what I think Samsung did wrong when designing the flash-based player.

Review: Samsung P3 (YP-P3)

The Samsung P3 (YP-P3) is the long-awaited upgrade to 2007's P2 (YP-P2), the company's first touchscreen digital media player. Though almost identical in design, the P3 one-ups its predecessor with an aluminum casing, haptic feedback, integrated speaker, DNSe 3.0 sound enhancement technology, and customizable Flash-based user interface with widgets. It retains the same rich Bluetooth 2.1+EDR support and 3-inch 480 x 272 display of the P2, but features a slightly revamped design that gives it a cleaner, more streamlined look.

Released in Korea in December 2008, the Samsung P3 is expected to become available in the US in the first half of this year. Of course, if you can't wait, Warehouse123.com already has the 8GB ($247) and 16GB ($268) models in stock.

Samsung quietly introduces Q2 digital media player (YP-Q2)

Why is Samsung sneaking new products onto its website without telling anyone about them? Last week it was the less-than-thrilling Q1EX UMPC and today it's the 8GB and 16GB Q2 (YP-Q2) digital media players.

Frankly, I'm not sure what Samsung was thinking with this one, as it's basically nothing more than 1) a larger, higher capacity S3 with a 2.4-inch QVGA display or 2) a YP-Q1 in a different body. Other than a reported 50-hour audio battery life, I'm sorry to say that the Q2 doesn't have much going for it.

Maybe that's why Samsung is trying to keep it quiet. I only came across it today because I'm working on my Samsung P3 and Q1 reviews and went to check the company's official US website for good measure. Instead of finding information about those players, I found the new and unreleased Q2 instead.

Full specs of the Samsung Q2 in the product database.

Unboxing the Samsung P3 (YP-P3)

If you can't wait for the official US release of the long-awaited Samsung P3 digital media player, head over to Warehouse123.com to order the 8GB device in black or silver for $247. And while you wait to hold the slim aluminum body in your hands, tap the 3-inch haptic touchscreen, and check out what the integrated Bluetooth 2.1+EDR can do for yourself, take a look at my unboxing to bide your time.

Sony X1000 Series Walkman has NetFront Browser

The last time the upcoming Sony X1000 Series Walkman (NWZ-X1050 and NWZ-X1060) showed its OLED touchscreen to the world, it was under glass at CES 2009. The WiFi-equipped player was always known to have direct access to YouTube and the internet, but exactly which browser would allow us to surf the web on a 3-inch WQVGA (432 x 240) display was anybody's guess.

Given Sony's history with using the NetFront browser on the mylo 2 internet device, however, it should come as no surprise that the official X1050 and X1060 product pages now up for perusal at the Sony Style Hong Kong website reveal that WEP/WPA/WPA2-secured browsing will be handled by the "NetFront Browser for Walkman."

There's no mention of Flash (the mylo 2 supports Flash Lite 3), but browsing should be decent considering that the full list of specs includes a line about a "podcast direct download" application and NetFront has never been a slouch. It also probably wouldn't be a stretch to assume that some touch gestures will be involved to improve the surfing experience on that low screen resolution. Tap to zoom, perhaps?

Complete specs and more info on the Sony X1000 in the database.

Thanks, scrambledpete!

Hands-on impressions of the iriver P7

Of the actual new products iriver unveiled at CES this year (as mentioned before, only 4 of the 12 devices on the NDA were truly new), my favorite was surprisingly the P7. Even though its feature set is somewhat ordinary by today's standards and its design isn't much different than the P10 from last year's show, I really liked the interface and was impressed by the 50-hour audio battery life and accessories.