Go Play AV: Portable Audio, Video, Media and Game Players

Digital Trends provide a review of the Microsoft Zune portable media payer and are far from impressed:

The MP3 player market easily has more than 5 years under its belt. So you would think by now most manufacturers have the recipe for success down by now; copy the Apple iPod or create something innovative and new. Microsoft must have missed the company memo or something, because the Zune is nightmare wrapped in pretty packaging.

Read complete article: Microsoft Zune Review - Full Review - MP3 Players - MP3 & Media Players - I4U Reviews provided by Digital Trends

Technorati Tags: microsoft, mp3 players, portable audio, portable video, portable media player, zune

Gizmodo reports Amazon is showing the Zune is not selling too well:

According to Amazon.com’s MP3 player sales charts, the Zune is their 18th most popular portable music player. Ahead of it, unsurprisingly, are 12 varieties of iPod (including the top 5 spots). A bit more surprising is the fact that also selling better than the Zune are three flavors of SanDisk Sansas and the Creative Zen Vision: M. Looks like the social isn’t all that social just yet

MYTEXT

Read complete article: Zune Not Exactly Tearing Up the Sales Charts - Gizmodo

Technorati Tags: mp3 players, portable entertainment

Ubergizmo reports on a neat little stand for iPods and other MP3 players

We all know how crappy in-flight entertainment is, so why not carry a whole bunch of videos with you the next time you board a long haul flight? Unfortunately, holding the iPod (or any other object for that matter) in the same position for long periods of time could lead to unnecessary muscle strain, which is why ezGear developed the EZL device that helps keep your portable media player in place on a tray table right in front of you. Non-skid pads located at the bottom ensure your favorite portable media player won’t pull a Tonya Harding on you. Once you’re done with the movie/video, just pick up the EZL and fold it into a quarter inch thick package. You can purchase this useful device as a gift for your loved one today for

Read complete article: EZL holds portable media player up

Technorati Tags: accessories, ipod, portable entertainment, mp3 players

TrustedReviews gives the SwissBit s.beat Mp3 player come Swiss army knife a work out, giving it a very good 8/10:

If you’re a tech type that likes to carry around a Swiss army knife then the SwissBit s.beat MP3 Digital Audio player is a no brainer that truly lives up to the Swiss army knife multi-talented reputation.

All that and an MP3 player. You gotta want that!

Read complete article: TrustedReviews - SwissBit s.beat MP3 Digital Audio Player

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, swiss army knife, swissbit

The MP3 Players reports on an MP3 pen:

This is a pen, but not just a pen. The pen, with length of 148mm and diameter of 18mm, does play music too! The upper part of the pen is actually an MP3 player with 512MB of memory. It does have everything of a common digital audio player, except a display screen. Other than audio playback, it also has a built-in FM tuner and voice recording function.

Not sure how practical it will be if you try and write at the same time as listening - cord dangle could be annoying. Interesting they still manage to include voice recording and FM tuner. Hello Apple?

Read complete article: Pen Does Play Music Too! | The MP3 Players

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, mp3 pen

CNET review the Samsung NeXus 25 MP3 player giving it only 6.7/10:

The good: Small and light, Samsung’s Nexus 50 provides space for up to 50 hours of digital music (25 hours for the Nexus 25), as well as recorded XM radio programming. The easy-to-use Nexus ships with a decent set of accessories, and the dock’s small, removable XM receiver can be used in a variety of scenarios and locations.

The bad: The Samsung Nexus’s monochrome screen and capacity are uninspiring, and the unit needs to sit in its cradle to receive XM broadcasts; plus, its Windows-only Napster/XM software is frustrating to use. Worse yet, it runs out of power after just more than 7 hours of listening.

The bottom line: The Samsung Nexus is no bigger than most digital music players, and Samsung adds satellite radio to the mix with a cradle-bound XM radio, but you can listen to live radio only when the Nexus is docked. In addition, it comes up short on battery life.

Read complete article: Samsung Nexus 25 Reviews. MP3 players Reviews by CNET.

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, samsung nexus, xm radio

The iriver clix is one of the new breed of portable media players with rhe fronmt of the device dedicated to the screen.

From the iRiver clix web page:

PLAYS MUSIC, VIDEO, PHOTOS AND MORE
The beautifully designed iriver clix features a new ultra-intuitive interface that is easily customizable to match your style. Plus, the iriver clix works with both subscription and pay-per-song music services, so millions of songs are available to you.

FEATURES
• Plays music, video, photos and more
• Supports subscription music services
• Ultra-bright, 2.2” color display
• Built-in digital FM tuner
• Plays downloaded games
• Integrated voice recorder
• Up to 25 hours of battery life
• Skip-free listening
• Alarm clock
• Fast USB 2.0 transfers
• 1 year limited warranty

PACKED WITH
• iriver clix 2GB* multimedia player
• iriver earphones
• carry case with screen cleaner
• Easy Start installation CD
• preloaded tracks from eMusic®
• preloaded games
• USB 2.0 cable
• printed manual
• 1 year limited warranty

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• Windows XP (Service Pack 1 or higher)
• Windows Media Player 10 or greater
• CD-ROM drive
• USB port

EDITOR’S NOTE: Most MP3 players will work with Mac OS X and Linux, but there may be some functionality not available on those platforms to enable usage of all media types on the clix.
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MobileWhack note the news from Japan of the upcoming release of the Cowon iAudio U2 (nothing to do with the band) MP3 player:

Cowon Japan announced today their newest iAudio U2 2GB which comes in new color, pearl white. It boasts a 4-line LCD display with resolutions of 128 x 64, FM tuner, and built-in microphone for voice recording. The supported audio file formats are MP3, WMA, OGG and WAV which is the same with the old version. It has a built-in rechargeable battery which will last for 20 hours of playback time via USB connection.

Read complete article: Cowon iAudio U2 2GB Pearl White Edition : MobileWhack.com

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, cowon

Anything But iPod have review the Toshiba S30 and S60:

The highly anticipated third installment of Toshiba’s hard drive based MP3 player has finally been released after many months of waiting. Released in two different capacities, 30GB and 60GB, this player is graced with an amazing interface, powered by Microsoft’s Portable Windows Media Center. This platform allows for many easy to use features such as FM radio, photo browsing, on-the-go playlists, and video-out. Lacking in the file support area, the Gigabeat S supports MP3, WMA, WMV, and WMA Lossless. This media player is compatible with many different music services and some of the new video services. It also integrates with the Xbox 360, Tivo Series 2, and Windows Media Center.

Read complete article: Toshiba Gigabeat S30 & S60 Review

Technorati Tags: gigabeat, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, portable media player, portable video, toshiba

CNET has reviewed the Creative Zen V and given it a 8/10, slightly less than the Creative Zen V Plus:

The good: The Creative Zen V offers a cute, pocket-friendly design without sacrificing screen real estate, and the vivid OLED display is viewable from any angle. The player packs in some nice features, such as voice and line-in recording, photo playback, and compatibility with subscription WMA tracks. Oh, and the sound quality is great, too.

The bad: The Creative Zen V’s joystick is really small and has a cheap feel to it, and we wish Creative had included all the buttons found on the Vision:M. The screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight, and there’s no UMS support. Also, you don’t get the FM radio and video playback found on the Plus version.

The bottom line: The Creative Zen V is a good choice for anyone looking for a compact flash MP3 player with recording features and great sound quality. However, the more feature-filled Zen V Plus is a better value.

The big brother, Zen V Plus is a portable media player with video playback, as well as an FM tuner.

Read complete article: Creative Zen V (4GB, black) Reviews. MP3 players Reviews by CNET.

Technorati Tags: creative zen, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, creative zen v