Tag: PMP
Archos 3 Vision video review
Archos's rather cool eight gig touch screen personal media player has now hit the stores. Here's what we made of it back at its launch in August.
Archos launches three portable media players
Not content with unleashing their latest mini-PC range, Archos also used today’s launch event to announce the arrival of three PMPs to add to their line-up.
The vision range’s flagship PMP is the touch-screen Archos 3 vision. It’s just 9mm thick and it only weighs 56g. The touchscreen is 3-inches with a resolution of 400×240.
It has 8GB of storage and supports multiple media formats including…deep breath…MP3, WMA (non protected files), WAV, OGG, FLAC, MPEG 1/2/4, WMV (non protected files), FLV, AVI, RM, RMVB, JPEG, BMP and GIF. It ships with a cable for TV playback and it also plays FM radio.
Playback time is 14 hours for audio and four for video. A cool feature is the FM transmitter which allows you play back your audio via any radio you can sync with it – iTrip stylee.
The real good news with regards to the Archos 3 vision is the price. £89.99 is very reasonable for a touch-screen PMP.
One step down from the 3 vision is the 2 vision. It has a 2-inch screen – not touch screen though. It uses a surface slider control for navigation.
It supports MP3, WMA and WAV as well as photo viewing. It has 8GB of storage although this can be upgraded using the micro-SD slot. It’s only £49.99 – another very fair price from Archos.
Finally, the Archos Clipper is a gym/jog friendly, shuffle-style mp3 player. It’s nearly twice as heavy as the latest iPod shuffle at 20g – but it’s hardly going to weigh you down. It’s 2GB and will only set you back £19.99.
Archos also mentioned the 4 and 7 visions which should be released by the end of the year although they didn’t supply and specific details. I’m not Mystic Meg but I’m guessing a 4-inch screen and a 7-inch screen – I think that’s a given.
The three PMPs mentioned all go on sale next month. Go direct to Archos if you fancy getting yourself one.
Archos brings us UMPCS for all!
Normally known for their super-swish PMPs, Archos has announced a range of ultra-mobile companions today running from the 9″ tablet we say this morning to a 13″ large netbook/small notebook type thing.
I think it’s time for some new computer size definitions. Any ideas anyone?
Click on the first one below to see all the rest. CLICK NOW!
iPod touch vs Sony Walkman X Series vs Samsung P3
Intro
Apple’s iPod touch has some serious rivals in the form of the Sony Walkman X Series and Samsung P3 PMPs.
Which one stacks up as the best for music, video, and all round appeal? Read on as the Tech Digest guide pits these mighty touchscreen handsets against one another.
Battle of the Specs: Feature Comparison
Let’s leave aside fanboy love for Apple and Sony (does Samsung have fanboys too? I’m not sure) and take a look at how the main features stack up.
This is top-of-the-line stuff. If you want detailed specifications you’d better skip to the end of the page.
Display
For pure real estate, the iPod touch trumps both the Walkman X Series and the P3, with a 3.5-inch display compared to just 3-inch for the others.
However, when it comes to aspect ratio, the Samsung’s screen is 16:9 — perfectly suited for widescreen video — whereas the Sony has a rather bizarre 9:5 aspect ratio and the touch 3:2.
That means, in raw resolution terms, the touch (480 x 320) trumps the P3 (480 x 272) which trumps the X Series (432 x 240).
Having said all that, Sony’s screen is based on OLED technology for a much brighter, crisper display than the other two handsets…
Sony Walkman X Series – hands on VIDEO
It used to be a fairly obvious choice if you wanted a high end MP3 player. Like them or not, Apple seemed to be making all the good looking ones. Then along comes CES 2009 and suddenly we have two contenders in the form of the Samsung P3 and the one that hits the shelves today – the Sony Walkman X Series as modelled by Zara.
There’s no denying the specs of the thing but the reflection and smudge factor on that screen could be an issue in the sunlight after a good thumbing. We all like a good thumbing.
The price is also depressingly in line with the iPod Touch, so keep an eye out for the P3. That’s my tip.
No Zune in June but base specs for next Microsoft PMP revealed
There’s been some degree of toing and froing regarding the launch of the Microsoft Zune HD or Project Pink and after some excitement it seems there will be no Zune in June. In fact, there’s a very good chance that we won’t see the this cult PMP get a refresh until 2010. I know one man who’ll be shedding tears tonight. (not me, honest.)
What has been rescued from the barrel of circumspect are some pretty solid looking details for something known as the Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1 which is apparently what has been driving all the Pink rumours. Detailed spec list over virtual leaf…
WM7 Chassis 1 Specification
Core requirements:
Processor: ARM v6+, L2 Cache, VFP, Open GL ES 2.0 graphics HW (QCOM 8k, Nvidia AP15/16* and TI 3430 all meet spec)
Memory: 256MB+ DRAM, 1G+ Flash (at least 512MB fast flash – 5MB/s unbuffered read @4K block size)
Display: WVGA (800×480) or FWVGA (854×480) 3.5″ or greater diagonal
Touch: Multi-touch required
Battery: Sufficient to meet Days of Use LTK requirements.
Controls: Start, Back, Send and End are required (soft controls allowed as long as they are always present).
Peripherals:
Camera: 3MP+, flash optional, 2nd camera optional (VGA resolution sufficient)
GPS: aGPS required
Sensors required: Light Sensor, Compass (3 axis, 5 degrees, 100 Hz sample rate), Accelerometer (3 axis, 2mg resolution, 100 Hz sample rate)
USB: High speed required, 20 MB/s transfer rate.
BlueTooth: BT2.1 required, must run MSFT BT stack, CSR BlueCore6 or later recommended.
Wi-Fi: 802.11B/G required, must run MSFT Native Wi-Fi stack, Atheros 6002 or Broadcomm 4325 recommended.
Connectors: Micro USB and 3.5mm Audio required.
Options:
FM tuner: If tuner HW is present it will be detected and supported by the Media application.
Haptics
SD Card (Micro SD recommended)
DPAD, qwerty or 12/20 key keyboards all optional
Nothing wildly stand-out going one here. There appears to be little to celebrate or complain about. Can’t see any 3G there, which might have been nice, but otherwise I reckon we’re looking good. So, when we going to get one then, Softie?
(via ZDnet & Neowin)
Danielle Bux as an usherette at Sony X Series luxury cinema
Sony is launching the X Series Walkman today along with a luxury cinema to show it off complete with Welsh lingerie model Danielle Bux dressed as an usherette. Why did I let Zara go to this event?
The X Series has a 3.0″ OLED touchscreen and comes in 16GB and 32GB versions, and Sony reckons the audio-video experience on the 432 x 240 display is like having a cinema in your pocket, hence the event which is open to the public and takes place on a specially converted Tube carriage.
I doubt Ms Bux will be there all week but from tomorrow (13th May) you can get yourself down there to experience the popcorn, films and, of course, the X Series itself if you drop the organisers a line.
The X Series is available to buy from tomorrow. It’s £209 for the 16GB version or £279 if you’d like the full 32GB. Both will play all the standard files including WMAs and non-DRM AACs but don’t support the lossless FLAC.
They have FM tuners and Wi-Fi for access to iPlayer and YouTube and they also feature noise cancelling technology and Sony S-Mater. I recommend picking them up a little cheaper here and here.
Sony Style Store
CES 2009: iRiver's space-age product lineup
After Dan covered the Wave-Home multimedia communicator the other day, I did a little more digging, and found a bunch of other matching products that iRiver unveiled at CES.
I’ve always quietly been a fan of iRiver’s design work. Their latest MP3 players look incredible, and these sleek new gadgets wouldn’t be out of place in a documentary called “The home of 2100”. Click the Wave-Home below to view the gallery.
iRiver (via Akihabaranews)
CES 2009: Sony reveals its 3" OLED-screened WALKMAN X music and media player
This beauty is the new Sony WALKMAN X range – featuring a 3″ OLED touch screen to make videos look marginally better than they have ever looked before. Although they won’t look very good when you’ve had your fingers all over the screen for six months.
The X1050 and X1060 both feature digital noise cancelling technology, FM tuners, the 3″ 432×240 screen and come with 16 or 32GB of storage space. Here’s a big photo of it, as it’s rather pretty. That’s not my music. That’s someone else’s music.
The WALKMAN X is even packed with a wi-fi chip and custom BBC iPlayer tool…
CES 2009: Samsung P3 MP3 player
Samsung has launched something much less expensive at CES 2009 than everything of theirs mentioned so far. This is their take on the iPod touch known as the P3. See, it’s like mp3 but without the m. Clever, huh? No, not really.
The P3 is 0.39″ thick…
