The other point of note is that Toshiba has ditched their normal PlusPad (TM) in this prototype. You know, that ugly cross controller that the company swore by for years? Gone! If this mock-up is any indication, Toshiba's trademark may soon hit the endangered species list, right along with those zebra pants that you've left in your closet for their future triumphant return that's just not going to happen. [akihabaranews]

Watch 4GB's worth of your fave Windows media video (WMV) on that 320x240 display, and the company says the battery won't run down for five hours. Or you can listen to 16 hours of WMA-9 lossless or WMA audio slathered with plenty of DRM until the lithium ion battery runs out. Of course, you can always listen to MP3s on the thing, too. Expect to see it in Japan on September 7 for $214. [Toshiba]

Not much. In fact, it's just about exactly the same as its predecessor, the Gigabeat U102 released a couple of months ago, with 1GB of onboard memory, a too-small 1.1-inch OLED display, the same files supported and FM radio playback. We'd rather wait around for the upcoming Toshiba Gigabeat MET401 with its Wi-Fi connectivity, but then that'll cost a whole lot more than $114 and might even be called a Zune.

That said, let's hope Toshiba can smack a bit of this color sense into its bosom buddy Microsoft when it's time to gin up the next color scheme for the Zune. [Newlaunches]

With a weight of 0.547 and 0.582 pounds, the new Toshiba Gigabeat V is quite heavy (compare that to the 4.8 and 5.5 ounces of the iPod with the same size). It's quite big too: 4.9 x 2.97 x 0.94 compared with the 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 of the biggest iPod. Sure, the 4-inch 480 x 272 is bigger than the 2.5-inch 320 x 240 pixel of the iPod, but the difference in weight and size is just too much to justify it. Maybe the reason is the bigger battery to be able to deliver the 28 and 10 hours of audio and video playback time, according to Toshiba.

Like the S, the interface is very similar to the one in Windows Media Center and is compatible with WMA, WMA9 Lossless, MP3 and WAV. No AAC to be seen, so it won't be compatible with the soon-to-be-released DRM-free songs from the iTunes Music Store. It comes with a game by Sega, which looks rather good on that big screen, as well as the obligatory karaoke mode. The Toshiba Gigabeat V401 comes in white, black and Bordeaux Brown (I know, beats me too) with 40GB for $410, while the Toshiba Gigabeat V801 comes only in white or black with 80GB for $490. – Jesus Diaz

Product Page in japanese [Toshiba via Impress AV Watch]

The P20K and P10K have 2GB and 1GB respectively, with MP3/WMA playback, FM tuner, built-in microphone, line-in and 14-hours of playback. Our guess is Microsoft won't be using these players as the Nanos, since they're already working on an in house version which they're code-naming the Pixas or Pyxas. But hey, they could take the same strategy and use Toshiba as the 1st generation and go in house for the 2nd. – Jason Chen

Toshiba Gigabeat P20K and P10K [New Launches]

Product Page [Tiger Direct]

So this bigger, better, Gigabeat V, with its 30GB hard drive, and 3.5-inch screen looks awesome...but also familiar. HEY WAIT A MINUTE! You're just like those chunky Portable Media Center thingies that no one bought 2 years ago! Look at you, trying to sneak into our hearts like that silly land shark. Hmmm...it does have 25/8 hours of battery life for audio/video...Candygram? Oh alright.–Brian Lam

Toshiba Gigabeat V [Cnet]

After this first model, Microsoft is going to handle all production in-house, making add-on players to the Zune line in the iPod Nano/iPod Shuffle fashion. Also, coming somewhere down the line is a high-end Zune that supports gaming, video and music. – Jason Chen

Confirmed: Zune is Toshiba... For Now [Crunchgear]

First, Microsoft spun off a good portion of the Xbox 360 team to work on the Zune, including J Allard. They formed a new team called "Pyxis", which is working on the Zune. Since they only had about a year, from the launch of the Xbox 360 to this upcoming Thanksgiving, they were on a very tight, very aggressive schedule. No real time to design a completely new product from scratch.

Intrigued? Click for more.

Given Toshiba's ties with Microsoft, plus the Gigabeat's already tight integration with Windows Media Center—and the Zune's apparent Media Center-like UI—it seems likely that the Gigabeat would be the one Microsoft picked to baseline the Zune.

Although the button placement is similar, the screen size of the Zune seems to be a little bigger than the Gigabeat. So what do readers think?

This is the last Zune piece we'll do this week. Promise! – Jason Chen

Nano, NaNa. Oprah, Uma. One of those four are available for $139 from Japan on July 7th. – Jason Chen

Update: The NaNa is referring to the Anime series NaNa that's popular in Japan right now. Thanks to everyone that mailed in.

Toshiba Gigabeat P5 NaNa [Toshiba via TechEBlog]

TV functions aside, this supports MP3, WAV, WMA, WMV, and lasts for 25 hours for audio, 9 for video, and 7 for live digital TV. Lots of features packed into a relatively small package. What's not to like?

Available in June in Japan. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Toshiba via i4u]

The P5S holds 512 MB of MP3, WMA, WAV or JPEG files, while the P10 carries 1GB of your favorite music or pix, and both offer an OLED display, FM tuner, and a slightly funky-looking analog clock. We'll reportedly be seeing these in late May, with the P5S running $118, and the P10 going for $152.

Toshiba Gigabeat P5S/P10 [Tech Blog] Thanks, Steve!

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]

So what kind of crazy King Kong-style features does it have? Hugely increased storage space? Ability to fold out into a trebuchet and hurl feces across the room? Unfortunately, no. This special edition Gigabeat has been King Kong-ified by:

1) a King Kong engraving on the back

2) it — you might want to sit down for this one — comes in
a King Kong-themed CARDBOARD BOX

3) it comes pre-installed with 5 King Kong wallpapers.

Other than that it's the same 20GB player as the non-special edition. However, the movie tie-in and the fact that this is also a limited edition (only 1,000 players are up for pre-order on the website) may help turn this thing into quite a hot little item.

Toshiba's King Kong Gigabeat [Product Page]

Toshiba's original Gigabeat F-series of Mp3 players were labeled "iPod killers" by many, with its sleek look and beautiful color screen fueling the hype. However, most reviewers shot it down as not very user-friendly. Toshiba's second stab at it, the Gigabeat X30, may not fix that issue, but it does offer impressive improvements nonetheless. They've been able to cut the unit size 20% (weights just 134 grams now), add WMA-DRM support (for online music stores), and increased the already spacious LCD to 2.4 inches. Not a bad upgrade overall.

Convergence products are the wave of the future, and while the Safa q200 looks like a electric shaver/DAP hybrid, we're not quite at that level yet. Still, the q200 offers a nice OLED screen, FM tuner, voice recording and more. It's fashioned as one of those pendant players you wear around your neck with a lanyard, but we suspect a "do not knick yourself while wearing" warning will be on the box.

So, the Mpio HD400 has rounded edges, a smooth body, and nicely layed out controls. What's not to like? How about the advertising: Metro Sexual Style - Mpio HD400. It may have just been crossed off a few lists with that line. Still, it's up to you to check out the pics and see if you're "man" enough to carry the HD400 in your purse...I mean pocket.

Lastly, there's the launch of the ultimate iPod Shuffle accessory, a keyboard with 3 USB 2.0 slots for easy docking. In reality it works with any USB compatible Mp3 player, so if you're constantly pulling a muscle reaching behind your PC to plug in your DAP, the $40 keyboard may be a must-buy.

Thanks folks, see ya next time!

Toshiba s Gigabeat X30 with 30GB HDD [Newlaunches]