Anything But iPod has a good review and some nice pics of Sony's flash player, The Bean. Two versions are available the 512MB in white or blue and the 1GB comes
in black or pink. A nice feature of the Bean is a self contained USB plug which pops out of the top to plug
directly into your computer. Another highlight is the 50 hour playback time. The navigational controls seem to be a drawback as they are difficult to maneuver even for normal sized hands.
CNET Asia has posted a review of the YP-D1 from Samsung and they've rated
it an 8.0/10. It's similar to the YP-T8 with a 2 megapixel camera, and features 8 hours of video
playback as well.
Red Ten Audio has launched a touchscreen digital music player, the MPZ Player.
One of the biggest audion industry developments in recent years, the MPZ Player allows music lovers to store, organize and play their entire CD collection or the music of their choice using a touchscreen computer.
With audio streamers that are designed to sit on a shelves and connect to speakers, users can listen to tracks in up to three different rooms in the home.
Music and favorite play lists can also be downloaded to portable music players such as iPod and Rio Karma.
Trevor Bond, director of Red Ten Audio, said: "Digital audio is the future for home hi-fi systems, storing your entire music collection and having instant access to tracks that you want."
Red Ten Audio, a subsidiary of Red Ten Computers, will be selling the players directly but also aims to attract leading department stores and specialist music suppliers. The player will also be marketed to restaurants and bars.
In the shadow of Apple's iPod shuffle, lurks a slick new Creative MuVo, the V200, sporting a white shiny iPod-like carapace.
The MuVo comes in two parts, a USB Flash drive-sized unit which fits into an L-shaped AAA battery holder. When assembled, the V200 is a bit smaller than other MuVo models, but it is a solid, well built mp3 player. It features, the usual volume controls and jog-dial on the side and the power/play/pause key, microphone and small LCD are on the front.
Windows users can run Creative's MediaSource app and copy songs over that way, which they'll need to do if they want to play DRM-encoded WMA files downloaded from Napster, Virgin Digital, etc.
The V200 supports Audible audio books as well, according to Creative's web site.
The V200 will record voice memos in WAV format and also includes an FM tuner. The five-band equalizer, with pre-sets and a custom EQ slider screen, let you tweak the player's audio output.
The sound quality, compared to Creative's other MP3 players, is excellent.
Overall, the V200 is an excellent addition to the MuVo range, and clearly superior to Creative's MuVo Micro N200. It may be a little bit bigger, but has a better sound.
Click here for more pictures and a good review of the V200.
The MSI Megastick is not of the quality of the iPod or iRiver, but is a very affordable and nice solid MP3 player. It's biggest downfall is the poor quality of the ear buds, but that can easily be fixed by purchasing another set. The ease of use of this player makes it a winner in our book. It features a backlight display and menu. Also, the player is seen as a hard drive on your computer, which makes it easy to transfer files to the player.
Priced right at $135, the sleek and compact size of this MP3 player is great for those who don't want to put a lot of money into an iPod for their teenager.
The Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox is an great way to display pictures, listen to digital audio, and download pictures from compatible cameras or via a USB memory-card adapter. It is compatible with subscription-based downloads and protected WMA files. It is user friendly, but unfortunately there is no belt clip or holster included. The earbud quality is not the best and the battery life could be a bit longer. Overall it is a nice compact little gadget at an affordable price.
Basic specs for Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox (4GB)
3.4 oz
Silver
32 MB
90 days warranty
Microdrive
Stereo
LCD
4 GB
1 x Lithium ion Rechargeable Internal
