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

MobileWhack report that BenQ despite announcements to the contrary, are still in the MP3 player market, having released two new models for Christmas

Despite rumors last month that it would quit the MP3 market BENQ has released two new models in its line of 2 Joybee MP3 players.
The P205 is available in Black and Red, has an elongated design similar to the iRiver brand of players. It has a 65K colored OLED screen, syncs directly via USB and features lyrics synchronization (it isn’t clear what exactly that is, but we assume it is the ability to display lyrics on screen). It comes in a 256MB and 512MB versions.

The P330 on the other hand is aimed more at the youth/ fashion market. It comes in lime green and black. Also features a 65K screen. Initial reports say it can view pictures (jpeg, bmp, gif) and movies (asf, wmv, rmbv, mpeg) but based on the only available photo it seems that the screen is too small to do either. It also features lyrics synchronization and voice recording.

The P205 will sell for 999 Yuan or $120 (256MB) / P330 1099 Yuan or $135 (512MB). No price has been given for the P330. We are not sure if they will come to USA or Europe.

Read complete article: BenQ P205/P330 MP3 Players : MobileWhack.com

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

Consumer Reports report on the iPod 5G 30GB:

THE BOTTOM LINE

The new iPod is no better than competent as a video player, with limitations in display size and quality, and battery life. The selection of prerecorded content is as yet limited. And the jury’s still out on the long-term future of using the iPod for TV shows and movies, since holding it (or any other portable device) near your eyes for an extended period of time can be tiring.

But it’s an engaging way to watch rock videos and the like. And when it comes to playing music, Apple has taken an already fine player and made it even better. We recommend the $299 30-GB iPod as the first choice for most people for a high-capacity MP3 player. If you have a very large music collection or want maximum battery life, consider the 60-GB version. And only those who need a player with a radio or voice recorder need turn to other brands, some of which offer models with those features and may cost a little less overall.

Read complete article: ConsumerReports.org - The new iPod: A fine music player with video benefits 11/05

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, ipod, ipod video, mp3 player, personal video player, portable audio, portable entertainment, portable media player, portable video

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) report success at playing a higher res on the video enabled iPod.

As a follow-up to my earlier post about compressing movies for the iPod, I just wanted to note that I just finished successfully encoding Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope directly from DVD to iPod format using the version of Handbrake linked to at Accelerate Your Macintosh!The resulting video is an MPEG4 file, weighing in at 1GB in size and at a 720×304 aspect ratio. More than is needed for the iPod itself, but it does play on the iPod and displays nicely on an external TV set. Not too bad.

Read source article: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Technorati Tags: ipod video, portable entertainment, portable video

What more can we say? Apple strike gold again where everyone else found nothing.

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 31 — Apple(R) today announced that iTunes(R) Music Store customers have purchased and downloaded more than one million videos since they debuted on October 12. Customers can choose from over 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films and hit TV shows for just $1.99. Top downloads include music videos from Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim and Kanye West; Pixar’s “For the Birds” and “Boundin’”; and episodes of ABC’s hit TV shows “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.”
“Selling one million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests there is a market for legal video downloads,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings, so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods.”

You may remember we wrote an opinion piece the day before the video enabled iPod was released suggesting:

If (or when) Apple release an iPod video sooner or later as widely expected, the reality is there’s no established player that owns the portable video player (also referred to as the personal video player) market for them to compete with. They could find domination of that market even easier than the MP3 player market.

One million in three weeks? Seems there just might be some truth in that prediction of ours…

Read source article: iTunes Music Store Sells One Million Videos in Less Than 20 Days

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback White” (Apple Computer)

Technorati Tags: Apple, ipod video, personal video player, portable entertainment, portable media player, portable video

I guess this is what happens when you’re standing upside down all day, but the folks from cNet Down Under have posted a review of why the older fourth generation iPod is better than the new 5G - for audio at least.

The new Apple iPod is no doubt the most capable iPod to date. It’s sleeker than its predecessor, and it gives you the option to watch video. But if you use your iPod mainly for music, which one is best for audio only?

1. Better overall battery life
2. Faster processing
3. More Click Wheel = defter navigation
4. More robust design
5. Remote control

After comparing the two, I’ve come up with five reasons why I’d pick the 4G iPod (the 20GB photo, to be exact), and over the 30GB 5G model if I just wanted to listen to tunes.

Read source article: Five reasons why the 4G iPod is better — for audio: Commentary / Opinion
Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 20 GB iPod Photo MA079LL/A” (Apple Computer)

Technorati Tags: Apple, digital audio player, ipod, ipod video, personal video player, portable audio, portable entertainment, portable media player, portable video, video ipod

A plethora of reviews of Apple’s fifth generation iPod with video playback as flooded the internet. Rather than try to keep up with them all, we’ll take a leaf out of Engadget’s book and create one post with link to the reviews.
c|Net
PC Magazine
Designtechnica
Ars Technica
iLounge
IGN Entertainment
Playlist
AppleXnet

Overview of key specs:
Capacity: 30GB and 60GB
Display: 2.5inch
Dimensions: 4.1″ x 2.4″ x 0.55″ (60GB)
Audio formats: AAC, MP3, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF
Video formats: MPEG4

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback White” (Apple Computer)

Lookup on Amazon: “Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback White” (Apple Computer)

Lance Ulanoff for PC Magazine makes some interesting comments about how Apple can resurrect the ailing portable video player - or portable media player - market:

Despite the efforts by Creative, Microsoft, and Samsung, not to mention Sony with its portable PlayStation (PSP) and a slew of no-brand Taiwan-made devices, Jobs may be right. There is no portable-video market. All the initial hoopla and the subsequent release of players from Archos, Yepp, and others was followed by general consumer disinterest. Almost a year later, virtually no one is carrying the gadgets—a far different scenario than with MP3 players. What went wrong? And how are Jobs and the new iPod 30GB with video and iTunes 6.0 about to resurrect this stagnant market?

Read source article: Column from PC Magazine: Apple iPod’s Amazing Video Feat

Technorati Tags: Apple, ipod, ipod video, personal video player, portable entertainment, portable media player, portable video, video ipod

W hen are Apple going to get some consistency with their iPod interfaces?

Who remembers the old Sesame Street game “One of these things is not like the other?” So let’s play it with some Apple hardware…

Did you pick it? It’s the one in the middle. The good ol’ iPod. The first is the remote for the new iMac G5 and the other is the iPod shuffle.

Why is the button layout for the iPod different to the shuffle and the remote? Is it simply because the need for volume controller on those two made the top and bottom buttons the logical choice? If so, that was a stroke of luck, for the shuffle’s controller is more intuitive than the standard iPod’s. The remote and the shuffle got it right.

(more…)

Just in case the brief tutorials published earlier on getting your own video onto your iPod were too brief, Ars Technica have provided a nice little six page version…

The release of a video-capable iPod has opened up a world of possibilities for people upgrading to the newest model. While some people might have experience with encoding video for portable devices with strict format requirements like the PSP, most new iPod owners will be getting their first taste of this in the upcoming months.

Read source article: Getting video onto your iPod : Page 1

Lookup on Amazon:

“Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Technorati Tags: Apple, ipod video, personal video player, portable entertainment, portable media player, portable video, video ipod

PC Magazine provide another review of the new Apple video enabled iPod. giving it an exceptional 5 out 5 - as an MP3 player.

Don’t call it the Video iPod, the vPod, or anything that indicates that this is a video player. It’s the new iPod, period. Though it does have video-playback capabilities, Apple has chosen to keep the iPod’s focus on audio (for now). That said, video looks excellent on the new model’s 2.5-inch screen, and the thinner profile—not to mention new audio capabilities such as high-quality stereo recording—makes it more versatile than previous generations.

Read source article: Apple iPod 30GB review by PC Magazine

Lookup on Amazon:

“Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback Black” (Apple Computer)

Technorati Tags: Apple, ipod