Gizmodo: Pebble

The Shiniest Pebble: Samsung's S2 MP3 Player

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:38:46 EDT

On paper, the Samsung YP-S2 is just another shuffle-beater, a 1GB player for $39. But in person, it's the most stylish of its class, in five colors, including those below and a white with faux marble grain. (Sadly Samsung didn't have that one on hand.) It charges via a removable USB dongle that plugs right into the 35mm headphone jack, saving space—just don't lose the extra piece. It's not fully see-through, like Sony's similar OLED-screen MP3 players, but it does have a glowing multicolored LED that is supposed to indicate status. As you can see in the gallery, it's not totally fingerprint-proof, but $39 doesn't guarantee perfection. [Samsung]

Samsung's YP-S2 Pebble MP3 Players Probably Hurt When Thrown

Jason Chen — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:50:23 EDT

These Samsung YP-S2 Pebble MP3 players look quite similar to the Creative Zen Stone (because they both look like small rocks), and hold about 1GB of MP3s and WMAs. They've got about 10 hours of playback, but don't do a whole lot else (other than looking and feeling like rocks). They'll be available in the UK around May, but no release date or pricing yet for the US. [Shiny Shiny]

Rainbow Pebble, Pocket Rainbow

Mark Wilson — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:26:18 EDT

For whenever you need a pick-me-up or just an easy pot of gold, the Rainbow Pebble illuminates a room with the magic of rainbow luminescence. By reflecting the pattern of light off a convex mirror, the clamshell form allows for precision adjustment of your rainbow, allowing it to stem from stinky shoes, a scary closet or your blessed hidden porn collection.

Despite already having four walls covered in unicorns and rainbows, Gizmodo Tower just can't get enough of this timeless classic of decor. And for $38, why should we have to? (Note: We made up the whole thing about rainbow decor. Everyone who reads the site should know we've covered HQ in GI Joes and homemade booby traps. The kind without the traps, if you know what we mean.) [Product via gizmodude]

One Day Every Gadget Will Be A Unique Snowflake

Noah Robischon — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:55:45 EDT

RCA began selling the Gem line of MP3 players, including the Opal. Creative introduced its Zen Stone. And today Acer brings us the Gemstone. Earthly naming conventions are nothing new, from the PEBL to the i-Stones, gadget makers have long tried to portray their wares as organic, natural forms instead of the mercury laden, toxic ones the really are. But if consumer electronics companies really want to mimic nature...

then they should heed these words from industrial designer and sci-fi gadget imagineer Branko Lukic, from his upcoming book nonobject:

Each natural "product" is a unique specimen; nothing else compares to one, after another, after another. Imagine if the manufacture of consumer electronics afforded such diversity! Imagine if consumers had the pick of an endless array of devices, each one its own distinct shape, size and color while keeping the internal components the same... The state of things now: sameness sits on assembly lines; sameness lives on shelves; sameness is in hands of consumers. Need it be this way - where color is the only distinguishing feature? Why not tackle design in more interesting ways? Rather than considering a product as one of many, diversify the multiple existing molds and consider product a little more freely. Need each be a clone of the other? Why not envision production methodology anew, as a result of more organic processes? Just imagine: a near future where we still make a single product in large volumes, but we do so more randomly, intuitively, eclectically. This way, with advanced manufacturing techniques, consumers are offered more choice within a single product category.

Unless, of course, we are all electric sheep who want to own the exact same thing. –Noah Robischon

nonobject Design Fiction No 3: Pebble [Book Preview]

Pebble MP3 Player Upgraded, Renamed Datasafe oomi

Jason Chen — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 16:45:23 EDT

This little pebble-shaped MP3 player gets an upgrade to 2GB and a rename to the "Datasafe oomi". Maybe they had some issues with Motorola's PEBL? In any event, this player still looks like a pebble, and is still tiny tiny compared to most 2GB players.

There's an FM tuner and MP3/WMA support, and costs £89 ($163) from Advanced MP3 Players. – Jason Chen

Datasafe oomi [Advanced MP3 Players via Pocket Lint]

EZAV Pebble MP3 Player

gizmodo.com — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 12:39:00 EST

The Pebble MP3 Player is a new DAP with a kooky name released by Korean-based company EZAV (our sister-site Gizmodo NL wrote about this earlier in the month). Looking a bit like a shiny pebble you'd wear around your neck, the Pebble MP3 Player is pure stylin'. A blue OLED screen allows you to view things such as track information and battery life. This little device also contains a voice recorder and FM tuner for when you just get sick of your MP3s. File formats that are supported include MP3, WMA, and ASF, all transferred via USB 2.0. The Pebble comes in three colors as well: orange, white, and black. You can score the 512MB version for $125 or the 1GB version for $150. Just don't try skipping this across a lake or anything or you'll be sorry.

EZAV Pebble MP3 Player [Music Gizmos]