Pocketables

Cowon Z2 Plenue PMP with Android launches in Korea

The company Cowon has long been associated with very high-quality portable music players, and it hasn't slowed down with its releases.

The last time we posted about a Cowon device, it was the R7 Windows CE tablet. Since then, however, things have stayed relatively quiet. Thankfully, the tech space moves quickly, and companies need to keep up—Cowon has done so by announcing and launching its new Z2 Plenue PMP today. 

The device runs a highly-customized version of Android. It also features an 800 x 480 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and 8GB to 32GB of internal storage that you can expand with a microSD card. Other specs include a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor and support for 1080p HD video. 

If you live in Korea, you can pick a Z2 Plenue up for just $230 at the low end, or $300 for the highest. Unfortunately, nothing has been said about a release for anywhere else, but there's a similarly-specced Cowon device, the D2 Plenue, available on Amazon for $220. 

[Anythingbutipod]

Would you use an iPod Nano as a wristwatch?

When Apple released the new, miniature sized iPod Nano last year, a lot of people scratched their head wondering what on Earth was going on. We're used to products being improved from one generation to the other, so going from an iPod with both a video camera and a nice (for video) 240 x 376 screen to a tiny square MP3 player with no camera and no video support made many people think that Apple had lost it. 

The story of the new Nano took a rather surprising turn, though, when people started strapping them to their hands and using them as watches. Before too long, every case manufacturer out there had released a wristband strap for the Nano. When Apple announced a software update for the Nano on Tuesday, new clockfaces were one of very few upgrades to the player. Apple seems to have accidentally invented a watch with this iteration of the Nano, but is there really an attraction with using an MP3 player as a wristwatch?

This is why I still have a dedicated music player

These days, our smartphones can do everything. They organize our schedules, deliver important emails, take great pictures and videos, play games and movies, browse the web, and even control R/C quadcopters.

Naturally, this means they can replace devices whose functions they duplicate, like cameras, handheld gaming systems, and PDAs. However, there is still one thing that I can't replace with my smartphone, and that is my lowly digital audio player.

Creative releases Zen Style M300, still won't dent the iPod market share

It seems like the only mobile devices making the news these days are smartphones and tablets. As such, it is refreshing when the MP3 players of old make an appearance. 

Today, the MP3 player in the headlines is Creative's new Zen Style M300. It is a small device sporting a 1.45-inch screen, with a design reminiscent of Apple's latest iPod Nano. 

Inside of the Zen Style M300's 55x44x12mm casing you will find a microSD slot, the previously mentioned color screen, a microphone, and either 4, 8, or 16GB of flash memory. Although the device lacks a touchscreen, the five buttons on the front allow you to navigate its functions without slaving over a microscopic display.

In spite of the screen, the device still supports video playback, as long as you first convert the file to a proprietary Creative format with the included software and then press your nose against the screen to see anything. More reasonably, the device also plays MP3, WMA, and Audible formats for up to 20 hours at a time. If you want to go wireless, the M300 has Bluetooth 2.1 for streaming audio to stereo systems and wireless headphones.

Although the MP3 player market is getting quieter and quieter, it is still nice to see a new player once in a while. They certainly still have uses, as I use my Sansa Clip often enough. At the very least, this unit could be an alternative for would-be Nano purchasers, even if it doesn't have a watch accessory.

[SlashGear]

Cowon D3 brings a touch of prestige to Android PMP scene

Cowon has long been a stalwart brand of the PMP scene and with its latest device, the D3 Plenue Android media player, the company is looking to stir things up with an impressive mix of design and features. Branded as a "Prestige" high-end PMP, the D3 instantly strikes a chord with its impressive 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED capacitive touch screen wrapped in a simple but very sleek design.

The rest of the comprehensive features stay in the premium mold in the form of full HD 1080p video playback, 8/16/32GB local storage, b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, T-DMB and FM radio receivers, recording capabilities, VoIP, MicroSD support, integrated speaker and G-sensor, and Cowon's JetEffect 3.0 and BBE sound enhancement features with 39 presets. The device has the company's traditional wide video/audio codec support (including Ogg Vorbis and FLAC) and runs Android 2.1 out of the box, but like many of its PMP contemporaries doesn't appear to include access to Android Market.

Samsung rumored to hit Vegas with a Galaxy trio

With CES 2011 in Las Vegas just around the corner, both the rumor mill and hype machine appear to now be in full swing! One of the companies looking to make waves in early January is undoubtedly Samsung and with a series of reports related to new mobile devices creeping up, it certainly looks like the company plans to hit the ground running.

Starting off on the PMP front, we heard rumors during the summer that the next Samsung Yepp, allegedly called the YP-MB2, would basically be a Galaxy S smartphone without the phone, taking a leaf from Apple's iPod touch. However this device never officially materialized, with only the less exciting Galaxy Player 50 being launched. But with CES in sight, news of a high-end PMP called the Galaxy Player (YP-GB1) has returned with an official confirmation from Samsung that the device will be on show in Vegas.

Diminutive Archos A28 shows up leaving us to wonder where the rest of the family is

 

After making its first appearance by name on JR.com for pre-order, the Archos 32 PMP/MID has also stopped by the FCC for the standard approval process and photoshoot. This kick started our anticipation of Archos' upcoming Gen 8 series of Android devices, with the appearance of the Archos A28 ramping things up another notch. Smaller than the 32 with a 2.8-inch touch screen, the A28 is probably one of if not the smallest member of the family looking like a phone/PMP rather than an internet tablet. Like its larger siblings, the A28 is a full featured Android device with b/g/n WiFi and 8GB of local storage, but other details are currently unknown. 

The small screen size indicates it and the similar looking Archos 32 are definitely intended to be PMP-centric devices rather than internet tablets, leaving us to ponder when we will finally get to see the new 5 to 7-inch MIDs from Archos that would be more interesting to us here at Pocketables. The initial presentation of the Gen 8 series mentioned devices ranging from 3 to 10 inches, so with the smaller end of the scale now adequately covered, here's hoping that Archos will soon reveal the larger members of the family. For those interested in getting a closer look at the Archos 32, be sure to check out some images after the break, or head down to the FCC for the full lowdown here and here for the A28.

First of the Archos Gen 8 devices may be inbound with appearance of Archos 32 8GB

 

Remember back in April when we first heard of Archos' next-gen Generation 8 Series Internet Tablets? Said to be available later this year in a range of sizes from 3" to 10", many of us have been patiently waiting for more news. Well it looks like something has finally slipped out of the bag with JR.com listing the new Archos 32 8GB PMP/MID for pre-order. The device is said to be one of five new devices that are in development at the company.

Running Android 2.1 (upgradeable to 2.2) and featuring a 3.2-inch WQVGA (400x240) touch screen, the new tablet has an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU at its heart with OpenGL 3D graphics acceleration and Archos' usual excellent multimedia features and codec support. Things get even more interesting when you factor in the bargain price of $149.99!

It seems that the Archos 32 will be more of a PMP device in a similar vein to the iPod Touch and the upcoming Samsung Yepp YP-MB2, but if this is any indication of what we can expect from the Archos Generation 8 Series, I think we have a lot more to look forward to. What are your thoughts on the Archos 32 and the prospects of the Gen 8 Series in general?

[Ubergizmo]

Samsung takes a leaf out of Apple's book for the next Yepp PMP

When the iPod touch first came out back in 2007, it caused quite a stir being "an iPhone without the phone," with the same OS, interface, web browser, and app store access as its big brother. This brought a whole host of MID credentials to the PMP market. Since then, only a few devices have followed loosely in its tracks, but they have usually approached it from a less direct perspective, tagging on MID functionality to a core PMP device.

With the latest addition to the Samsung Yepp family, the YP-MB2, it looks like the Korean company has taken a leaf straight out of Apple's book, creating what could be considered the Android equivalent of the iPod touch. Bearing a strong similarity to and being derived from the recently released Galaxy S smartphone (also known as the Captivate, Vibrant, Epic, and Fascinate in the US depending on carrier), the YP-MB2 is simply a Galaxy S without the phone, meaning it will likely feature the same 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 1GHz Hummingbird ARM Cortex-A8 processor, Android 2.1 OS, GPS, and WiFi and Bluetooth wireless radios. 3G connectivity is excluded like its Apple counterpart.

The Android OS also opens up the possibility of using the large variety of apps available, although at this point it remains to be seen whether the new Yepp will have access to Android Market, with it being in a similar position to most other non-smartphone Android devices.

Zune HD 64 becomes official, launching April 12th for $350, with $20 off existing models

It looks like that previous brief surprise appearance was not an early April Fools' Day joke as Microsoft has officially announced the Zune HD 64. The upgraded media player will be available from April 12th on the Zune online store, ZuneOriginals.com, for $349.99 and through other retailers later. The larger storage capacity is said to be able to accommodate approximately 16,000 songs, 20 hours of HD video from Zune Marketplace, or 25,000 photos based on the usual mid-range bitrate guidelines (128Kbps WMA for music, 500Kbps WMV for video, etc.). Users will also be able to customize their Zune HD 64 ordered through the Zune online store in a variety of colors from platinum, black, blue, red, green, purple, and magenta.

In addition to the larger capacity model, list prices for the existing 16 and 32GB models will be reduced by $20 to $199.99 and $269.99, respectively. Now we just have to wait and see when the new firmware v4.5 will be reaching us.

[Engadget]