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Ask Engadget: Best no-frills portable media player?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Cam, who don’t need no stinkin’ app store for his next digital audio player. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m getting quite sick of my Sansa Clip, with it deciding when and when it doesn’t want to work. I’m looking for a new PMP. The only requirement is that it has at least 4GB of storage, and supports FLAC files. Expandable memory would be cool too.”

We appreciate the brevity, Cam. In your spirit, we’ll skip the usual coaxing and just demand that those with lovable gym-certified PMPs drop some knowledge in comments below. And… go!

Ask Engadget: Best no-frills portable media player? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cowon V5 HD gets extensive UI video demo

There’s little point in trying to disguise our interest any time a 4.8-inch multifunctional device is mentioned, so let’s get straight to the good stuff here. Cowon’s V5 HD already got a little teaser video and a full spec dish ahead of its Korean launch, but for the vast majority of us non-Korean folk, this PMP remains a distant and unfortunately mysterious object of desire. Sure, we know it can pump out 720p and has HDMI and Composite outputs, but what’s it like to use? The video after the break does a pretty thorough job of going through the UI, and though it alarmed us with its extensive stylus use, we were eventually soothed by some buttery smooth video playback. Go check it out.

[Thanks, x3v]

Continue reading Cowon V5 HD gets extensive UI video demo

Cowon V5 HD gets extensive UI video demo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips Activa fitness MP3 player reminds you to move

It’s the new year, so what better way for a company to prey upon your insecurities than by offering devices that accessorizes your ambition to really meet your fitness goals this time around. Philips knows this, so it’ll be expanding its DirectLife wearable activity monitor to Germany this month and then to the UK a few months later while launching its new Activa personal audio player here at CES. Activa brings along a little trick called TempoMusic; a feature that analyzes your music library to later match songs to your aerobic intensity. That means that Activa can help keep you motivated by shouting out feedback on your progress in addition to words of encouragement while automatically selecting the appropriate music to match the pace of your workout or give you a boost when needed. Later, while cooling down with some cold suds and a delicious slice of warm tobacco pie you can check your progress and caloric burn rate via the bundled PC software. Activa will be available worldwide sometime in April for about $130, suggested.

Continue reading Philips Activa fitness MP3 player reminds you to move

Philips Activa fitness MP3 player reminds you to move originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cowon V5 HD set for South Korea debut on January 1

Cowon has finally made its latest and greatest PMP official, and the spec sheet does not disappoint. Mixing appealing curves with a 4.8-inch display, the V5 HD offers 720p video playback that can be channeled out via HDMI or Composite outputs. On the software front, there’s the usual litany of wide-ranging file compatibility and basic apps — cortesy of Windows CE 6.0 — as well as a world clock, RSS reader, Flash games, voice recorder, and an optional T-DMB tuner. We still don’t know what’s doing the dirty work under the hood, but you won’t be wanting for storage, with integrated memory options up to 32GB being augmented by SDHC expandability. Battery life is rated at 10 hours of video or 45 hours of music, and the Korean landing date is January 1 with prices starting at 299,000 KRW ($256). Until then, you can check out more pictures after the break.

[Thanks, The DarkSide]

Continue reading Cowon V5 HD set for South Korea debut on January 1

Cowon V5 HD set for South Korea debut on January 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iriver takes the leash off new black Hello Kitty PMP

iriver’s newest dedicated PMP is something to behold. A shiny black (with gold accents!) version of its no doubt beloved Hello Kitty player, this newest addition is all about its looks. The little player comes in 2GB and 4GB storage varieties, comes with a USB cable, ear buds, and a cute little lanyard for attaching it to things like your beltloop. The cases they make for the Hello Kitty PMP — such as the red devil horns — essentially sell themselves. They’re going on sale just in time for the holidays and the new year — but this one’s a Japan-only release for the time being. It’ll run you ¥7,980 (about $90) to grab one. There’s one more shot of this glorious product after the break!

Continue reading iriver takes the leash off new black Hello Kitty PMP

Filed under: Portable Audio

iriver takes the leash off new black Hello Kitty PMP originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony joins 1,000-hour recording club with IDC-UX300

You really don’t know how many voice recorders there are out there until you actually look. Sony’s UX line of dictation takers / mp3 players has just undergone a gentle revamp with a freshened up control scheme and a bump in integrated storage. The new base model, UX200, will come with 2GB of flash memory, while the 4GB UX300 and 300F (both capable of more than 1,000 hours of recording) are differentiated only by the FM radio availalble in the latter. All models record in stereo mp3 format with added noise cancellation built in, while playback can be done at 21 different speed steps, allowing you to keep track of all the Scatman John wannabes out there. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours for continuous recording, or north of 80 for continuous playback. Expect to see these showing up, in all their classy color options, in Europe early next month, and check past the break for the full PR.

Continue reading Sony joins 1,000-hour recording club with IDC-UX300

Sony joins 1,000-hour recording club with IDC-UX300 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cowon iAudio 9 ships soon for €180, gets pictured a few times over

We had reason to believe that iAudio 9 would be making itself official sooner rather than later, and while Cowon has still yet to say anything publicly, we’d say this gallery of hands-on shots is more than enough to consider it a done deal. Across the pond, the iAudio 9 has been outed as having a 2-inch LCD display, integrated FM tuner, a microphone, TV output, broad format support (MP3, WAV, OGG, WAV, FLAC, APE, AVI, WMX and XviD, to name a few), 16GB of internal memory and bundled earbuds that you’ll probably be happy to discard. We’re told that it’ll go on sale (at least somewhere in Europe) for around €180 ($265) here in a few weeks, and you can dive into the read link if you’re hankering for some images.

Filed under: Cellphones

Cowon iAudio 9 ships soon for €180, gets pictured a few times over originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MPIO V7 PMP hits October 26th, 2009, we struggle to contain ourselves

It’s been a pretty long while since we heard anything from MPIO — so this is certainly good news. The V7 — a 3-inch PMP which will apparently boast a (possibly capacitive) touchscreen LCD, an accelerometer, and an FM radio, at a thickness in the neighborhood of 10.5mm. We also know that it’ll come in both 4GB and 8GB varieties — but specs beyond this are sadly absent. We’ll see what else we can dig up for you, but look for it to run ₩129,000 for the 4GB model and ₩159,000 ($109 and $134, respectively) for the 8 when it launches on Korea on October 26th.

[Via PMP Today]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio

MPIO V7 PMP hits October 26th, 2009, we struggle to contain ourselves originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iriver N20 Mariah Carey edition reveals an unfortunate case of man-hands

While iriver might not be the mega brand in Europe and North America, it does dominate on its home turf in South Korea. Enough so to attract music celebs like Mariah Carey who’s pitching a butterfly approved, Special Edition N20 preloaded with her latest contractual obligation. The $120ish player with integrated clip is limited to 5,000 units so act now… or not. See the songstress in an awkward mid-shill moment after the break.

[Via Anythingbutipod]

Continue reading iriver N20 Mariah Carey edition reveals an unfortunate case of man-hands

Filed under: Portable Audio

iriver N20 Mariah Carey edition reveals an unfortunate case of man-hands originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iriver’s N20 DAP shuffles onto the scene, complete with PMOLED screen

We first caught sight of an N20 MP3 player from iriver way back in 2006 , but it looks like the company is now back with another player that shares the same moniker, and thankfully boasts a few improvements over its predecessor. The biggest of those is a new greyscale PMOLED display, which is just big enough to display four lines of information, but small enough to keep the player for expanding beyond its 26 x 55.5 x 13mm dimensions

NTT DoCoMo’s eye-controlled music interface evolves at CEATEC

NTT DoCoMo’s R&D labs are amongst the busiest in the world, and here at CEATEC the company is showing off a development that it has had in the oven for quite some time. The difference now? Elegance. The eye-controlled music interface that we first spotted in mid-2008 is being showcased yet again here at the Makuhari Messe, but instead of having a short straw-drawing employee stand around with an absurd amount of headgear on, this year’s demonstrator was equipped with little more than a special set of earbuds, a few cables and a swank polo. Put simply, the contraption watched subtle changes in eye movements and altered the music accordingly. A look to the right moved the track forward, while a glance to the left went back a track. The demo seemed buttery smooth, but there’s still no telling when this stuff will go commercial. Still, progress is progress, and there’s a video after the break showing as much.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s eye-controlled music interface evolves at CEATEC

Filed under: Portable Audio

NTT DoCoMo’s eye-controlled music interface evolves at CEATEC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EU seeks to make ‘cranking it to 11′ on DAPs happen less often

Love that brain-pounding sensation when you jack that volume past the sensible limit? If so, you best hop on the next flight to somewhere not within Europe, as the almighty European Commission is fixing to peg the default volume limit on portable media players at 80 decibels. If you’re stricken with an awful case of déjà vu, you’re not alone. You may recall that a similar French law forced Apple to limit the volume level on its iPod family to 100dB, and at that time, it decided to make the limit apply to all units shipped within Europe. Now, the EU is seeking to bring that ceiling down to 80dB on all portable music players in an effort to protect the precious hearing abilities of its citizens, though we should note that said level would only apply to the default setting, not overall maximums. In other words, you can override the recommended listening level if you please, but don’t bet on that socialized healthcare taking care of you if The Man finds out. Kidding. Maybe.

[Via Telegraph]

Filed under: Portable Audio

EU seeks to make ‘cranking it to 11′ on DAPs happen less often originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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