We've got a nice collection of Cowon A2 pictures, Toshiba comes up with the Gigabeat P-series and Oracom mashed things up a bit, stirred it around for a while before eventually burping out the UB-880.

Cowon's A2 seems to be part of this new generation of PMP/PVRs, alongside with Archos' AV500, Digital Cube's V.43, Creative's Zen Vision and several other (often less-known) players. The A2 is a fine piece of kit and comes with a nice, widescreen ...eh... well, screen, really - as well as several other nifty features and specs. In the end, however, it's better to let the pictures do the talking. So without further ado, we give you the "Cowon A2 photo gallery".

Then there's this new Toshiba DAP, the Gigabeat P-series You've got your basic 512MB P5 model and the 1GB-heavy P10 - we'll be needing a 2-gigger or more anytime soon, Toshiba. Anyway, despite the skimpy-looking memory range, this player does offer an FM tuner, voice recorder, line-in encoder and a (small) 96x96 pixel OLED screen that can display JPEGs. MP3/WMA (+ DRM)/WAV playback and an estimated 14-hour battery life (through its built-in li-ion power source) are also included in this package deal. Colors: black, white and "Mondria(a)n-gone-acid", prices: 13.980 and 17.980 Yen for the P5 and P10 respectively. Should come available by "early" December... in Japan, that is.

Why come up with anything original, these days? Everything has been done before anyway, no? Well, Oracom took a good look at the Sony NW-HD5, "borrowed" some buttons and threw them onto their latest creation: the UB-880. Unlike the NW-HD5, this device comes with built-in flash memory (512MB-2GB), a color screen and movie playback functionality. The battery's user-replaceable (like the one found on the Sony NW-HD5, heh), there's an FM tuner + recorder onboard and USB 2.0-Host has also been incorporated into it all. At the reasonable size of 75 x 42 x 14.5mm (weight: 50 gram), this one reminds us a bit of the Samsung YP-T8 as well.

Ok, that's it for today - see you again tomorrow!

The Cowon iAudio U3 gets picture-reviewed once again, Creative's Zen Touch gets a firmware update, and we find the last remaining remnants of Rio's last beta test.

Cowon's new iAudio U3 seems to be getting pretty good English previews so far. The Koreans have been playing around with this little gem for a while now and have given us several reviews. Sadly, only a few of you will be able to understand a word of what they're saying, so, for the rest of us, they are merely picture-reviews. EblueSun provides us with the review this time around. Hopefully, we will get our hands on U3 shortly and give you our own perspective.

Creative has released some many players in the last year that it has been sort of hard to keep up with. The Zen Touch seems to often be forgotten, as it came at a time where the iPod Photo had been released, and the general consensus of the Touch was "that would have been good 2 years ago). Creative did update its firmware (2.11.01) and it simply corrects an error with the Custom Eq.

Many of us mourned the day in which we found out Rio was dead. Sadly, I bring no news of a rebirth. We simply found the last remnants of Rio's beta testing for the "Cubic" and the "Avalon". They seem to have been testing GUI themes/schemes on July 24, only two days before word of their demise.

That's the news for today, see ya next time!

Prices and Reviews for Creative Zen Touch [CNET]

Prices for Crown iAudio Products [NexTag]

Prices for Rio MP3 Products [Amazon]

Take a breath of fresh air with the C&C Air from SK. The newest version of Napster is out, clearly aiming for Yahoo's market share in the online music subscription business. Sony brings out Mr. Bean (no, not Rowan Atkinson) to promote their new flash player, and Olympus exits the DAP business.

Another day, another PMP. At least this one has a cool name though; the C&C Air. The device sports a nice clean, uncluttered look, supports the usual bundle of video formats (MPEG, WMV, DivX), and includes a USB host connection for transfering from mass storage devices and digital cameras.

Napster isn't going down without a fight. Nevermind the fact that they're losing ground to the cheaper Yahoo music service (not to mention still being pummeled by iTunes), they're still trying, hence the version 3.5 upgrade of their software. It doesn't seem all that special at first glance; a few modifications to make the client better looking and easier to use, but the main upgrade is that downloads will be offered at 192 kbps WMA, instead of 128 kbps as they were previously. This puts them on par with Yahoo's download quality and above that of iTunes. Prices stay the same though, which is a bummer.

Sony's Walkman Bean hasn't exactly been receiving gushing reviews, so apparently Sony decided to bring out all the stops, including a beany Bean mascot. Okay so he (she?) is working in Korea now, but who knows, we could see this Bean roaming the streets of America, steering potential iPod Shuffle buyers toward the Bean. He's already got that "musical fruit" jingle to work with.

Though certainly not as disheartening as Rio's exit from DAP production, the ceasing of Olympus' m:robe line of players is still disappointing nonetheless. Not exactly known for packing in tons of features, the Olympus m:robe's had both style (better than Apple's perhaps) and ease of use going. Better grab an m:robe while you can!

That's it for today, audios!

Sony comes up with a weird-looking sound recorder, the PCM-D1. If you're into spiritual mysteriousness, EmoSystech's ML-0401 might be just the DAP for you. If you'd rather stick to good old Bluetooth, take a look at the StormBlue A9 or FunTwist's D-Chord800.

... and they called it "PCM-D1". This high-end sound recorder apparatus might look like it crashed down to earth at the speed of light; it does, however, offer a bucket full of useful recording functions. Adjustable stereo microphones, recording qualities up to 24-bit, 96KHz, analog line-in & out (as well as optical-out), 4GB worth of built-in flash memory, MemStick Pro expandability and all kinds of noise-reducing technologies - the list goes on and on. Too bad the price tag doesn't stop at two digits either - the Japanese are expected to cough up some 200k Yen (almost 1700 bucks) for the PCM-D1 at its official launch (November 21). Oh, and it's also pretty huge in size and weight (193 x 72 x 32.7mm, 525 gram).

No lack of alien-resembling weirdness in DAP land today, no sirs (and madams). EmoSystech designed a dully-named yet interestingly-designed device, the ML-0401. Some useful features, you ask? Sure: "Healing Sound & Music, Anti-stress, Sound sleep, Relaxation, Meditation, Natural sound" and "Healing Light - 7 natural colors". One can also use it as an alarm clock or something. Too bad it has only 64MB worth of flash memory built-inside, that it weighs 200 grams and that we haven't got a clue where to pick one up.

Less disturbing when it comes down to sheer looks, yet quite powerful when taking its feature list into consideration would have to be StormBlue's A9 We've mentioned in our DAP Delights before, but this thing just breathes "next-gen" so we couldn't resist releasing another tidbit. The Bluetooth-enabled A9 is able to display various video formats, comes with 2GB flash memory and an expansion slot (a 4GB version is "underway", supposedly) as well as rather impressive battery specs: a 24 hour playback time per charge for audio files ain't half bad. Some shot some new pictures on this weird little Korean gadget again, and one of our users found the English A9 product page as well - it might actually make it across the big puddles.

Also Bluetooth-enabled is FunTwist's D-Chord800. We're not sure what kind of name that's supposed to be, but who cares anyway. This little flash-based bugger (capacities: 256MB up to 1GB) comes with a nice-looking OLED screen, FM tuner and a 15-hour battery life when using regular headphones. When switching to a set of Bluetooth cups, the overall battery efficiency rate drops dramatically to a mere 6 hours per charge, but that's still doable in one way or another.

Well, we've run out of stories for today - see you again tomorrow!

Our Korean colleagues came up with some video footage of the Viliv P1 and StormBlue A9, while we ourselves took some time to review the iPod v5. Speaking of iPods, there's this new set of headphones by Macally, specially-designed for the iPod nano. Our usual weird-DAP-of-the day is Luckystar's A228.

Viliv's P1 and StormBlue's A9 are both fine examples of Korea's slumbering PMP revolution. Whereas the hard drive-based P1 looks like a combination of Sony's PSP and Apple's iPod, the A9 seems to be taking things to a cellphone-like level. The A9 is a flash-based (up to 2GB) PMP that allows memory upgrading through its built-in SD slot. More importantly, this weird little gadget supports Bluetooth headphones so one can wirelessly enjoy one's music (up to 30 feet, apparently). Our buddies over at Minivian took the liberty of shooting some videos on both units.

Sure, it has been done by dozens of other websites before, but what would DAPreview be without our own iPod v5 review?

Overall, I like the new iPod for what it is: a simple audio player and part-time video player, wrapped up in a super-slim design. There's certainly room for improvement but the same can be said for any player. Verdict: 90/100

The world is probably be coming to an end soon enough, as these new ipods just keep getting slimmer and slimmer - this might eventually result in problems like "the headphone-out port adding an additional millimeter of thickness to the latest generation of iPods". Macally's mTune-n might prevent such situations altogether: one can basically "slide" the iPod nano right into this nice-looking set of headphones, thus solving the problem of dangling wires and whatnot. While wearing these cups, it'll probably look a bit suspicious when one's adjusting the volume for a long period of time - people might think you're calling them a loony.

No day (well, virtually) goes by without some weird-looking Chinese DAP making it to our frontpage. Today's 15-seconds-of-fame are for Luckystar's M228. An uninspiring product name, true - but apparently this DAP *tastes* like heaven. We can't think of many other reasons for taking two bites out of it.

That's it for today, see you again tomorrow!

Swissbit releases a crazy pocket-knife/audio player, Venturer blesses Europeans with an uber-cheap 40gb player, we buy a "portable" record player,and Cowon updates the A2's firmware.

Mp3 players these days are trying to do everything besides buttering out toast. It may not butter out toast, but the swissbit knife audio player does plenty of things not associated with an mp3 player. It is called the s.beat and packs a blade, scissors, nail filer, and screwdriver. Add that together with Mp3, WMA, Ogg support, FM tuner, and a remote controller, and you certainly have a player packed with features. It is also 74 x 22 x 24mm (nice and compact) and comes in 1 and 2gb versions. A 4gb version is supposed to come out eventually.

Ok, the Entempo Spirit 20 and the Rubato were not the best players in the world. They were ugly, huge, and lacked a lot of features, but they did provide a lot of memory for a very nice price. Venturer
aims to do the same for Europeans with their 40gb player that measures a colossal 122 x 90 x 30mm. Basic specs include MP3/WMA/WMA-DRM support, voice recorder, and a blue back-lit LCD display. It costs a very nice 99 UKP or 145 Euro or 175 USD.

Most people now probably don't even remember CD players much less record players, but we haven't forgotten them and have even purchased a new player. Our Numark "portable" record player is only "slightly" bigger than a 12 inch record and runs on 6 D batteries. Ok, so its not really portable and even wastes a lot of batteries, but what does it have over 99.9% of mp3 players? Gapless playback. Who needs the Rio Karma when you have this thing?

Cowon's first PMP, the A2, has been getting some pretty good reviews, but, alas, it is not perfect. Cowon has just released version 1.38. It is beta so install it at your own risk.

Changelog:

- JPEG load time improved - JPEGs up to 6.5 megs supported - EBSi audio/image bug fix - Change subtitle colors - Long subtitles being cut off fixed - Option to hide video recording time OSD - Acceleration of video seeking improved - Continuously record up to 1.8 gigs of video and audio - Additional languages: Japanese, Chinese Traditional, and Chinese Simplified - Simultaneously view photos and listen to radio - Other bug fixes

That's the news for today, see ya next time!

AOL joins the ever-growing list of online digital music providers, Samsung's YP-U1 finally makes it to U.S. webshops, iOPS gives us something weird to look forward too, and the iRock MP930ez iSucks, according to the review.

AOL, the company that's brought us easy-to-use but expensive and awful ISP service, is jumping into the online music biz, after purchasing Musicnow.com. They'll be offering a subscription music service, similar (read: exactly the same) to Napster, Yahoo, and others. The deal is $10 a month for unlimited subscription downloads, and $15 if you want to transfer them to a compatible DAP. So will this "new" service top the ones already in place? Hard to say...I suspect people somehow trust AOL more than they do Napster.

Samsung's "Shuffle-killer" is finally available to buy in the good ol' U.S. of A. The YP-U1 differs from Samsung's other flash offerings in that it goes for simple, rather than feature-packed. With that said, it still offers a multi-line LCD, WMA & Ogg support, and Voice recording, all things the Shuffle lacks. Costs less than the Shuffle too.

iOPS has given us some weird-stuff before, and their latest S10 model is no different. It's difficult to explain what exactly it resembles, if anything, but it offers an SD slot, retractable USB plug, some blinking lights, etc. The S10 is white too, which is obviously very cool. Check it out next time you swing by Korea.

Last, and well, definitely least, is a review of a screenless rebrand by iRock called the MP930ez. So, how "ez" is it to use? Well, very, with no screen, an SD/MMC slot (no built-in memory), and only simple playback controls. So what's the problem then? Oh, nothing, nothing, this device is solid...if we still lived in 2000.

The verdict (by CNet):

The good: Support for SD/MMC expansion cards; easy to use; less than $ 50.

The bad: Supports MP3 files only; only 128MB of built-in memory; no LCD; subpar battery life; slow USB 1.1 transfer speed; no shuffle or extended play modes.

The bottom line: The cheap and easy iRock 930 MP3ez might be a good starter MP3 player for a child, but if you're even slightly serious about digital audio, avoid this device.

Verdict: 3.7/10

That's the news for today, see ya next time!

A bit of a quiet day in DAP land, this fine Wednesday. Sony presents an expensive version of their successful NW-5/6 concept, the NW-608 SI (Special Edition) and we've encountered two rare DAP species: Gacme's GM-X600 and a panda bear-shaped MP3 player (made by a company called "Kiwi").

Sony's NW-608 SI (or just "Special Edition" if you prefer) offers somewhat improved looks, a 2GB storage capacity (flash memory) and one hell of a price tag (52.500 Japanese Yen, aka 450 bucks) to baffle us all with. Should hit the stores by the end of November (Japan-only, presumably). They also added "snow crystals" to the OLED screen - like we know what they meant by that.

Then there's Gacme's GM-X600, which basically combines the old faitful shuffle navigation wheel and some cube-like elements, as formerly introduced by MobiBlu (DAH-1500, also known as "the Cube"). We're wondering if this concept will ever live to see the light of day - don't count on it too much, though.

And here's our catch of the day: a panda bear-shaped DAP by the name of "Kiwi Global International Corp. Panda MP3 Player". It comes with all the usual features, such as a built-in FM tuner and a voice recorder but we're guessing that the actual design of it all would have to be this thing's most eye-catching feature.

Ok, that's it for now. See you again soon enough!

So what's new in DAP/PMP land these days? Well, Median came up with two new MP3 players, whereas Cnet kept themselves busy with reviewing the Truly MP-313X as well as comparing the iPod v4 to the v5. In the meantime, we've picked three random examples of what we'd like to call the "iForgery" business.

Median dumped one of the first color screen-equiped flash DAPs on the market months and months ago: the MX-100. Later on there was the MX-250 with its sexy OLED screen and currently, the company seems to be on the virge of releasing the super-versatile MX-300/400 series. But apparently, that's not enough for your average-day South Korean DAP manufacturer. Enter the flash-based MX-500 and MX-700. The 500 is more or less an improved version of the MX-250 (twice as good, perhaps?), whereas the MX-700 seems to be a downgraded MX-400, lacking an SD slot for memory expansion yet boasting lots of other jummy stuff (FM tuner, voice recorder, color screen + support for video playback, retractable USB pen, maximum capacity of 2GB).

Truly's MP-313X was nicknamed "Pic 'n Roll" for no apparent reason. Yes, it can display pictures indeed - but the "auto roll over" functionality has yet to be implemented. Cnet took this thing for a ride and pretty much hated it, despite the decent feature set (which includes both FM radio and SD card slot). In the end, the MP-313X scores a meager 5.0/10 - that's what a weak battery performance and stupid media transfer software can do to a DAP.

Speaking of Cnet: their Australian comrades recently put up an article in which they've compared the iPod v4 with the new v5. A list of 5 reasons rolled out of this whole procedure, supposedly showing us all why the v4 is the better DAP (nothing other than that) of the two. A more satisfying battery life and faster processing times rank first and second on said list.

What would this world be without our daily dosis worth of plagiarism? Well, we'll probably never find out because these things just keep coming and coming like there's no tomorrow. Speaking of copycats - Trust & Star from China managed to butcher our beloved "Hello Kitty" and transform it into something they like to call the "X-88A". In the meantime, Elelux's WMT-60 is an SD card version of the regular iPod (oh yeah, they've taken off the entire top section, including the screen - minor detail). Chen Sheng's SciPod (...) 842 just blatantly rips off the iPod shuffle's design, adds an LCD screen and a dual headphone jack plus some random features et voila: a new player was born once more.

That's all for today, dear readers. See you again tomorrow!

Colorware breaks out a colorized version of the new iPod. The Nano gets an armorshell.
Minivian reviews the iAudio U3., and the Mobiblu DVH-100 reappears.

The folks at Colorware always give the newest iPod their own special touch which usually consists of loads of different color schemes. The colorized new iPod from Colorware boasts a different new feature. Apparently, they applied a new scratch-resistant coating. Sounds great, but be prepared to be an extra 65 dollars for alternative color and scratch-resistance.

Everyone tries so hard to keep their precious Nano scratch and damage free, but the streak always comes to the end at some point when you carelessly place in your pocket with your keys or drop it onto the hard pavement. This new armorized
case for the Nano may prevent damage from these accidents. PDAir's case is built out of aluminum and has a padded interior, as well as a glass or plastic screen. It is currently priced at 25 dollars for the silver version and 27 dollars for the black.

Minivian had previously shown us some beautiful pictures of the lovely new iAudio U3 from Cowon, but they now have a full-fledged review. Of course, its written in korean, so only a few of you will be able to
comprehend its meaning, but the pictures of fun to look at nevertheless. Sadly, we see some of those dreaded pixels that ruin the X5's screen.

Oh, what a strage trip it has been. The Mobiblu dvh-100 has once again made a triumuphate return. So, first it was called the mobiblu dvh-100, then we saw the Maxian MP-2220, and now finally it's the Joystation MVP-1020. The name "Bluzen" also fits in there somehow, but we just don't know how. Anyway, EblueSun has some nice pictures of the Joystation/Bluzen version if you're in the market for this sort of dap/pmp hybrid.

In other news, users of Yahoo Music Unlimited will have deal with nearly doubled
prices. Ouch!

That's all for today, see ya next time!

One of the first reviews is out for Archos' Gmini 402cc (402 + built-in camcorder). One of our members takes a look at Logitech's Bluetooth Headphones made for Mp3 players. Another batch of iAudio U3 pics, and a review of LuxPro's EZ Tangent to close things out.

Some of our French colleagues have tested out the latest from Archos, the Gmini 402cc. Like the Gmini 402 before it, the 402cc plays music and movies, and now adds a digital still camera and camcorder to the mix. So how does the new camera feature stack up? Well, we won't attempt to mangle the translation, but suffice to say, it could be much improved.

Wireless 'phones have been available for a while, but are still probably too expensive to hit mainstream just yet. Logitech did get a few things right though with their Bluetooth Headphones for Mp3. One of our resident audiophile members took 'em for a spin (err, listen), and while the sound doesn't stack up with headphones of comparable costs, the Bluetooth tech works and works well. His thoughts:

Would you pay an effective 200% premium on top of a 30 headphone to get rid of the cable? If I was given a choice once again, probably not. But the wireless technology does work pretty well, and for some I would imagine the curiously satisfying sense of freedom is worth it.

We reported on iAudio's brand spanking new U3 in the past, and here are some more images should you be interested. The great thing about the U3 is its features; it's more-or-less an iAudio X5 in a smaller casing, with color screen, video playback, and insane codec support (FLAC even, the first flash player to do so).

Rounding off news for today is a quickie-review from CNet of LuxPro's EZ Tangent. Okay, so it's mostly just an iPod shuffle...with an FM tuner...and Equalizer...and screen...and it's red, but some folks might want one of these things. CNet scores it a 6.9/10, with the following conclusion:

The good: FM radio tweaks; good mix of preset equalizers.

The bad: No FM auto-scan; no user-defined equalizer; poor battery life.

The bottom line: The EZ Tangent may be an improvement over the shuffle, but it will have to work hard to prove its mettle against other new entrants that have adopted the shuffle form factor.

That's all for today, catch ya next time!

AVC from Japan burps up more than half a dozen new DAPs, all weird or boring in their own kind of way. Some new details on the Samsung XM NeXus emerged, RCW showcased an ultra-slim portable television and Creative isn't too happy about specific "deals" (involving Apple & Samsung). Speaking of Samsung - their YP-D1 has recently crashlanded on their (Korean) homepage.

We've mentioned AVC from Japan only shortly ago, but apparently that wasn't enough yet - the Japanese corporation launched plans for several new DAPs and accessories yesterday. They're all there on our website, so we'll just shortly mention the most interesting ones in here.

The SN-A800 is a very slender little flash-based bugger (thinner than nano) with a very distinctive design. Too bad it tops at a 1GB storage capacity, though - and prices aren't that attractive either (up to 240 bucks). The SN-M550 is a bit cheaper and will run for some 130 hours continuously on one single battery charge, the SN-F120 just looks weird and the DockLink SN-DS10 can be used as a portable set of stereo speakers. It's also a dedicated DAP by itself (128MB flash memory inside) and one can use the thing for transferring files from and to MP3 players.

A little snippet on Samsung's upcoming XM device, the NeXus, won't hurt anyone either, now will it? It turns out that this device measures some 3.37x1.85x0.65 inch while weighing 4.4oz. and that it'll come with a 1.5-inch FTSN screen, 1GB storage capacity, voice recorder and an estimated battery life of 16 hours per charge. Also note this one: "While docked in its cradle, the NeXus can receive and record live XM broadcasts and transmit the audio wirelessly via the cradle's FM transmitter".

Not as slim as the above-mentioned AVC SN-A800, but far from being "fat" regardless is RCW's Ultra SlimTV. This enlarged credit card-type of portable television measures 112 70 9.7mm in size and comes with a 480 x 234, 2.54-inch color screen as well as a built-in antenna. Should be out there (in Japan) by early 2006 at approximately 145 USD.

They don't mention the actual company name, but it's hard to miss out on Creative's lash-out's "victim": Samsung. Creative's CEO (Mister Hoo) said that "The MP3 market is now consolidating, but there is a shortage [of flash memory] because of the special deal we talked about"; that "special deal" would involve Samsung, which supposedly offered Apple buckets full of flash memory chips at bargain prices. Meanwhile, Creative's results for the first quarter of their fiscal year aren't too great either. Despite noticeable improvements here and there, the best they could come up with is this one: "Our key goal for this quarter is to return to profitability by the end of the calendar year."

While we're at it - why not quickly mention yet another Samsung-related DAP item, namely the YP-D1? It's basically the same thing as the YP-T8 - a DAP that's shaped like a cellphone and comes will kind of cool features - but Samsung added a 2MP photo camera to the existing concept to perk things up a bit. Works for us.

Well, that's it for today, dear readers. See you again tomorrow!

Creative teaches us the virtues of Mp3 and DRM, some college students don't like iPods, and Samsung's Yepp players get rebranded like no one's business. Also, one last Zen Vision review for the masses.

We can usually trust the gang at Creative for a laugh, or in this case, a lesson. A presentation on their site includes a number of humorous digs at market leader Apple (something about needing a display), and dozens of references to Windows, WMA, and Windows Media Player. It certainly helped me out. Must...buy...Creative...Zen...

As if the existence of DAPreview isn't enough, some people out there don't like iPods, and realize there are alternative Mp3 players. Apparently, 50 students at NYU have joined an online group showing their disdain for iPods. Or, actully, the group is called, "No, I Don t Have an iPod." Impressed? Eh, whatever.

Okay, we've seen clones before (Luxpro and their two dozen Shuffle copys), but this is probably the worst. Samsung's Yepp series of flash players have been copied and branded "Yepo." How sneaky. They should've called it "Nah" or something, to really throw Samsung's lawyers off.

Closing out the news for today is a very nice review of the Creative Zen Vision by TweakNews. They've taken some nice photos, including some of the players TV-out capabilities in action. The overall verdict:

Pros:

High resolution screen that's easy to view even in sunshine.
Large number of codecs supported.
Supported by a variety of useful accessories.
Quality solid build.
Outstanding audio quality.
Brilliant audio/video out functionality.
Mains and/or USB charging even when transferring files.

Cons:

Software support is a bit limited (video conversion capabilities aren't great).
Little to no protection of the screen.
LCD has very narrow viewing angles.
Video and audio synching issues with some codecs.

That's it for now, see ya 'round!

It's flash-bang Monday, as we bring you news on the Pisa 636 (your typical shuffle clone that comes with a color OLED screen), Cowon's iAudio U3 and AVC's latest additions to the "Signeo" range (SN-T100 & SN-J160). Don't worry, there's room for some good old hard drive-based fun too - the Archos Gmini-500 (4-inch screened PMP) resurfaced once more.

We've encountered shuffle clones a plenty months and months after the initial release of Apple's screenless flash DAP. Whereas some companies at least made an attempt to come up with something similar yet slightly original, others didn't bother hiding their shuffle love all that much. LuxPro is one of those businesses, having released (plans for) some 539 clones already - playfully dubbed "Super Shuffle" at first, which was later altered to something less-obvious like "Super Tangent" and "Top Square". Pisa from China took the liberty of cloning LuxPro's initial clone (confusing, huh) and so the "Pisa 636" was born. Basically the most generic kind of DAP ever, were it not for the slightly-original 65k color OLED screen and the ability to run on a single AA battery. Too bad it can't transform into an aircraft carrier yet - we might have considered buying one if Pisa had included said feature.

Much more promising would have to be Cowon's iAudio U3 - the heavily-improved successor (according to the specifications) to an already very satisfying DAP, the U2 (according to our review). Apparently, some U3s have already found their way to a few lucky Koreans. In South Korea's finest tradition, one of these guys took a bunch of nice little pictures of it all. Let's hope Cowon is able to ship these things our way too, asap.

There's not much we can say about AVC's latest attempt at being boring, other than that they've achieved their goal marvellously. Both the Signeo SN-T100 and SN-J160 come with 256MB whopping MegaBytes of storage capacity and a voice recorder. The SN-J160 even offers line-in encoding and an FM tuner, wow. Wait - it's not 2003 anymore, now is it? Pass, next.

Last but not least, here's the Archos Gmini-500. This thing was brutally pulled offline from the company's website some weeks ago, only to reappear "out of the blue" again yesterday. Any apparent changes, you ask? Not that we know of - it's still an AV500 without video recording functionality, still comes with a nice juicy 4-inch color screen plus USB-Host support... and its suggested retail price has still gone missing.

Ok, those were today's DAP Delights. See you again tomorrow!

Cnet reviews the new iPod, Cowon releases new X5 firmware, an iPod is smashed inside an Apple Store, MPNavi reviews the Viliv-P1 PMP, and iOps creates some interesting concepts.

There will surely be an abundance of new iPod reviews floating around, but I am sure that many of you perspective buyers (or just plain curious folks) will be intersted in what Cnet has to say in their review. Cnet has often been accused of iPod-prejudice, but this review seems to be fairly balanced. The give the new iPod an "excellent" 8.3 out of 10. Their complaints: practically zero included accessories, poor video battery life, video delay, and a lack of a guarantee that home videos will work with the iPod even after conversion.

The two major fixable complaints concerning the Cowon iAudio X5 are its lack of DRM 10 support and to navigate music via id3 tags. Well, there's both good news and bad news. The good news: Cowon tried to implement
DRM 10 support in the X5's new firmware. The bad news: they failed to make it work at least with Yahoo Unlimited, so we suggest that everyone holds off upgrading until Cowon gets it fixed. Id3 tag support is supposedly coming along but is not available yet.

Ok, we have no idea how these fools at Smashmyipod.com were able to raise enough money but apparently they did. They actually went through with their plan and smashed an iPod inside the official Apple store. I guess it is kind of funny to all the Apple haters out there, but, really, aren't they more worthy causes to donate money to?

The Viliv-P1 PMP looks to look like a PSP with an Apple clickwheel. That doesn't sound like to bad a combination, does it? Up to now, though, we thought it was vaporware, but MPNavi proved us wrong and reviewed the P1. 99% of you will not be able to comprehend any of the Korean writing, but the pictures are still interesting.

Iops has released a lot of cool looking flash players. Whether you have noticed or not is another question. Anyway, they recently had a design
contest, and there were some pretty interesting concepts created. Weird, but cool.

Well, that's it for today. See you all again soon!

We bring you some new micro-hdd DAP coolness, with the 6GB Philips HDD1630 and Sony's 8GB NW-A1200 entering our arena. If you prefer something even more compact, it might be interesting to check out the Mpio FL-400, another necklace-style type of device for pimping around with. Oh, we're sorry - you actually think this is all a tad too small? Well, take a look at the Toshiba X-series then - 60GB slimness on the go. Where have heard that before? Finally, there's the ultimate weird DAP for this month: KNC's HR-811.

Well, with the slick-looking 30GB HDD6330 already out there, Philips figured it wouldn't hurt anyone to come up with a smaller version as well. The HDD1630 is a cute little 6GB DAP that comes with a color screen and UFO landing strip-like controls (touch-based). We like that smooth blue lighting against the HDD1630's serene black background, although the screen could have been bigger, better, less-pixelated and whatnot. There's a 4GB version out there as well, should you really be interested.

Sony on the other hand, doesn't have to worry about uninspiring color screens - as far as DAPs are concerned, that is. Their upcoming NW-A1000 and 3000 players (6 and 20GB respectively) both come with a very brightly-illuminated, crisp clear yet "monochrome"-type of OLED screen. Let's not mention whole thing's resemblance to a soap bar, design-technically speaking - we'll focus on the NW-A1200. Guess what? It's an 8GB version of the NW-A1000. The end.

We've already seen some of iRiver's wearable DAP jewelry - dubbed "N10" and "N11" - but did you know that the South-Koreans over at Mpio were offering an alternative as well? That one's called the FL-3x0, and the time has apparently come to introduce a successor to said unit. They've named it "FL-400" this time, and it's smaller plus better-looking than the FL-3 series. Too bad that it'll only run for 8.5 hours per fully-charged battery. Price for the 512MB version is said to be some 160 euro, whereas doubling that capacity will require you to drop another 30 euro or so. Available by the end of November, if all goes well.

With the new iPod already being available for purchase, Toshiba would be well-advised to hurry up a bit and release that darned X-series already. It's not like this successor to the relatively successful F-model offers video playback, extreme storage capacities or anything else that could blow the iPod v5 out of the water. The most important pros are the X-series' slim appearance and a high-quality QVGA screen - but the added value of such features has been compromised by Apple as well, these days. Leaves us with an empty, hollow feeling inside as well as the knowledge of both 20 and 60GB versions coming up (labeled "X20" and "X60"), next to the already-announced X30.

To conclude things for today, here's something you'll not see every day. The KNC HR-811 from China has this rather... unusual touch to it. You know, the touch that helps it to turn into a werewolf under the cover of a round, full moon. 512MB inside or not, this thing looks like it was dropped off by a cursed species of strange-looking aliens.

Some new goodies from Panasonic, an English perspective of the iRiver U10, a crazy/ugly 3 LCD DAP from China, and Ultra w/ email on the go.

Panasonic isn't terribly popular in the Mp3 game, but they're still working at in nonetheless. The fruit of their labors are the thin and sleek SD-V3x0 and SD-V7x0 (come on guys, we've seen weirder names). They lack built-in memory, making use of an SD slot for music and data. The big eye-catcher in the specs is the battery life; 23 hours for the SD-V3x0, 45 for the SD-V7x0, and around 100 freakin' hours for each using an external battery module! A step in the right direction it seems...

We've reported probably a half-dozen times on iRiver U10 reviews in Korean, but here's a sweet photo review by the head of an iRiver fan site (a few weeks before its actually N.A. release no less). Their conclusion"

In closing, the iRiver U10 is a nice multi-purpose player that supports many functions and performs each function well. Its challenge as always is memory size vs. price and in these times of iPod nano's, iRiver has a lot to overcome. We only hope that 4, 6, or 8 GB versions come available at a more competitive price point.

From Aigo, one of the Chinese kings of rebranding, comes the MF-361, which may take home the title of "Ugliest DAP of the Year." Seriously, it has some sort of armadillo thing going on, and while the concept of three small LCDs seems kind of cool (one shows a clock, one shows battery meter, the last one playback info), they just look bad in practice. Better luck next time fellas.

Finally, something so Ultra, we had to save it for last. Yes, that's the name of the player, and yes, Ultra Products are the dudes that make it. You know there isn't much to go on when they tout "email capabilities" has a feature. Basically, the Ultra includes a bare bones email client on the player itself, so you can send/receive mail from another computer. The thing is, in less than five minutes, you could download and install a better mail client to the drive yourself. Next!

Thanks folks, catch ya next time!

It's DAPland's National Korean Picture Gallery day, as we show you some new material on Maxian's T600, as well as the highly-anticipated i-Station V.43. One of our users (p)reviews the Philips HDD6330 and those Chinese boys are girls are at it again... just look at them partying!

Boy, is this PMP/PVR/whatever-you-want-to-call-it market turbulent or what, these days? It's hard to keep track of the available assortment already - let alone the upcoming stuff. Among the latter category we'll find the Maxian T600, a rather clean-looking widescreen (4-inch, 16.7m colors, WQVGA TFT LCD) Portable Video Recorder that comes in 20 and 30GB flavors. More familiar among fanatics would be Digital Cube's i-Station V.43. Sure seems to be quite the fingerprint magnet, Mister Bond!

Well, well - whaddayaknow? Our favorite Dutch consumer electronics giant, Philips, decided to plunge their new (30GB) flagship DAP, the HDD6330, onto American markets without as much as a warning. You're likely to stumble onto one of these sexy-looking black slabs of Digital Audio Stone while browsing your local Best Buy's shelves for something less-useful. One of our users already bought one and wrote a quick preview on it all. Again, this DAP is every fingerprint's wet dream, but we'll forgive it for that - after all, it has these really nifty-looking blue-backlit controls and all. And "nifty" = "good".

The weekend's over but the same can't be said for iRiver Fans' (Chinese) partying initiative. Woohoo! Drink till you drop, then blow up some balloons (ok, it was the other way around) and blast the chicks away with a mighty fine accordion solo... this is what DAP love can do to people. Ye be warneth.

See you again tomorrow, folks!

Cowon reveals the U3, Sigmatek releases a iAudio A2-lookalike: the PMP-300, Boobtooth and the new Belkin FM tuner: the TuneFM.

The new iAudio U3 from Cowon replaces the U2 (duh!). What improvements does it offer? Well, for starters it has a color screen that supports JPG, PNG, BMP & TXT files. Iaudio also jumps on the recent bandwagon of video enabled (Xvid Mpeg4 with 160x128 @ 15 fps) with small screens (1.2"). The GUI's skin colors are also interchangeable. Far more interesting is that the U3 supports FLAC (Level 0,1 & 2)! Audio geeks rechoice! By our count, Cowon is the first to offer a flash player with Flac. All of these features come in a neat little 31.5 X 72.0 X 18.0 mm package that weighs 32.5 grams.

We spotted) Sigmatek's PMP-300 at IFA last month, but we didn't really know too much about it. What we learned today is that the PMP-300 has a 3.5-inch TFT LCD, 20gb hard drive, built-in speaker, MPEG-1/2/4 video playback, MP3 & WMA audio playback, CF card slot, USB Host, JPEG picture viewing, and TV output through S-Video. Battery life is one of the most important points of any PMP and the PMP-300 delivers 4.5 hours. Nothing terrific, but not too bad...Whats that you say, it sounds great and all but haven't I seen that before? Well, sort of. Everything about it screams iAudio A2 except for the controls design.

This news item is here for all those women with breast implants out there. Love your implants but just wish they could do more? Never fear, BT Laboratories is here! They want to build in a mp3 player right into the
implants). Apparently, to do it, they will use "flexible plastic
electronics would sit inside the breast. A signal would be relayed to
headphones, while the device would be controlled by Bluetooth using a panel on the wrist"...Who says boobs and mp3 players don't go together!

Since the new iPod yet again does not come with a built-in FM tuner, users will have to buy an accessory to listen to their FM stations. Belkin updates their FM tuner attachment with the "TuneFM". Key features include a numeric LED display, channel up/down (1/01MHz intervals), programmable memory slots, and rear hold switch.

In less-important news, Samsung launches the "YH-J50 (6GB, 8GB)", the Gmini400 Game Gear emulator "was updated", and, apparently, the "Press needs to stop Apple-hugging ".

Well, that's it for today.

So, whaddya report on the day after Apple's ginormous video-capable iPod announcement? Why cool flash players of course! Like the smooth, curvy QoolQee from Hantel, and the sleek m:robe MR-F20 from Olympus, the MR-100's baby cousin. There's also a how-to on making your average, generic flash player not boring; make it translucent! And yes, there are design innovators besides Apple, like this dad who's constructing Pez Mp3 players from his garage.

Two thumbs up to the boys and girls at Hantel for this groovy design. Though feature-wise it's pretty standard fare, the QoolQee i has some of the most unique style we've seen in terms of DAPs. Seemingly a cross between a banana, shaver, and PC joystick, the QoolQee sports an FM tuner, USB 2.0 support, and four funky color combinations. Comes in 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1 GB, in case it actually makes its way over here.

Olympus has had oustanding designs on their previous DAPs (see MR-100/500 models that semi-flopped), and this flash player we've reported on before is no different. It's the m:robe MR-F20, and we've dug up a review with pictures (in Korean, no doubt). Color screen, recording options, sleek m:robe style...we've really gotta bug Olympus to bring these over here.

You've likely seen it before; cell phones, calculators, portable CD players, all being made "cool" by the manufacturers using a see-through case. Hence we have the RCW Thumbstick Solid. It's translucent, and it plays Mp3's. And yes, it's still lacking cool, just like my old clear TI adder.

Where would be today without dozens of Mp3 players wrapped inside kooky cases? Not here, likely. The latest is the Pez Mp3 player, AKA iPod Shuffle killer. It does the screenless thing with simple playback controls and uses USB 2.0 for transfers. File support is Mp3, WMA, and WMA-DRM, but best of all; the guy producing these is a stay-at-home dad working in his basement. Buy a Pez player, and support this man's trek against "the giants of Cupertino, Tokyo, and Seoul" (from his site).

See you next time!