How many times have you wanted to listen to your playlist out loud while in your car but all you have is an old crappy AM/FM radio installed? Of course, you might have your portable media player, but nothing really beats good ole’ headbanging to ear-shattering music while on the road. This auto FM transmitter could be the answer to your fantasies and even more.

All you need to do is plug the FM transmitted to your FM player and you can stream music from your PMPs or cell phones. Moreover, the system even has a USB player you can use to charge your devices. The iPhone Auto FM transmitted comes with an LCD display and is compatible with all iPod models (even the Shuffle), mp3 players, PDAs and PMPs (as long as they can be plugged in the 3.5 mm jack), and of course, the iPhone. It’s now available for US$31.99 in USB fever.

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LG has just revealed a new member to their growing family or Portable Media Players. The T80 features a 3-inch, 260k color (420 x 240) touchscreen, supports MPEG, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, ASF, JPEG, TXT files, has an FM tuner, integrated microphone and a DVB-T receiver.

The T80 has an expected battery life of up to 5.5 hours of video playback or 3 hours of TV viewing on a single charge. The most unattractive part of this device however, is the paltry 4GB disk space.

The LG T80 is available for about $473 or €299.

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Yes, it looks like an iPod (or even a Zune), but this is actually a competitor to the ubiquitous music player that dominates the worldwide scene. A company called Reigncom is currently preparing for the release of the irier E100 mp4 Player in the Japan market. The PMP is being touted as an all-in-one player with a 2.4-inch TFT LCD screen, the D-Click–an advanced clicking method that enhances the overall usability of the player, two built-in speakers, recording function, FM radio, microSD card slot, text and photo viewer so you can read ebooks or bring digital pictures along anywhere, and an internal mic for the recording function.

With regards to looks, the mp4 player actually draws parallels to the usual square-ish Japanese keitais in the market. But that’s just it–I don’t think it really offers something unique that people would want to get it. Nevertheless, those in Japan who are interested can get the irier E100 now for $190 and $140 for the 8GB and 4GB versions respectively.

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In preparation for the upcoming 2008 Olympics to be hosted in Beijing China, Lenovo, the third largest personal computer manufacturer in the world, after Hewlett-Packard and Dell of the US, has released a new USB Flash Drive with a very peculiar design - a tribute to the upcoming Olympics.

Memorabilia will be much sort after, as the Olympics will be held for the first time in Beijing China. Amid all the controversies, let us all hope that the event will go on without a hitch. The USB drive is targeted for the China market.

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Yes, it looks like an iPod (or even a Zune), but this is actually a competitor to the ubiquitous music player that dominates the worldwide scene. A company called Reigncom is currently preparing for the release of the irier E100 mp4 Player in the Japan market. The PMP is being touted as an all-in-one player with a 2.4-inch TFT LCD screen, the D-Click–an advanced clicking method that enhances the overall usability of the player, two built-in speakers, recording function, FM radio, microSD card slot, text and photo viewer so you can read ebooks or bring digital pictures along anywhere, and an internal mic for the recording function.

With regards to looks, the mp4 player actually draws parallels to the usual square-ish Japanese keitais in the market. But that’s just it–I don’t think it really offers something unique that people would want to get it. Nevertheless, those in Japan who are interested can get the irier E100 now for $190 and $140 for the 8GB and 4GB versions respectively.

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Here’s a quick tip for those who have the iPhone or the iPod Touch. Check out this flexible stand by NAJA King. Its a flexible stand perfect for your portable media devices. It rotates for wide screen viewing and is designed with a 3 foot soft flexible coil that is slender yet durable.

Its secure and sturdy design can be folded and compact enough to bring with you as you travel from place to place.

Here are additional specifications for this stand:
-For all iPhones or iPod Touch (select type at checkout)
-6 inch flexible coil*
-Rotating head 360 degrees
-Secure grip holding power (device stays put)
-Anti scratch grips
-All steel construction
-Made in the USA

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To be available this Spring is the new NavGate AVIC-F500BT, a navigation system which is a combination of an in-dash and a portable system. The navigation system sits on your dashboard and can integrate with any audio system you might have on your car. It uses your audio system as its speaker to relay important information and route guidance. Connect your phone with it and you can use your speakers for phone conversations too. It’s also compatible with various entertainment devices such as SD-cards, USB, and the iPod. The NavGate AVIC-F500BT gives out traffic alerts, has Bluetooth compatibility, and supports Text-To-Speech support and voice guidance. You can pre-order the NavGate AVIC-F500BT now.

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SanDisk announced a new 2-factor authentication technology stored in its Cruzer Enterprise line-up of USB Flash drives. The drive is managed by SanDisk’s CMC (Central Management and Control) server software, enabling IT departments to provision and monitor flash drives. The Cruzer drives also contain RSA SecurID software tokens for a two-phase authentication for remote/mobile network access.

The Cruzer drives offer additional security through the use of 256-bit AES encryption, as well as requiring users to create a complex password during the initial set-up. The flash drives are available in 1, 2, 4 and 8GB capacities with a claimed 24 MB/s read speed and write up to 20 MB/s.

via press release

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Cheers to the technological revolution and innovation. Due to continuous experiments, the companies all over the world are unveiling heart-gratifying products. Just a look at the new launches brings smile on the face. Korea Media System has announced the release of its latest colorful ARO, a 1.8-inch portable HDD in the Korea market. This HDD is designed to offer two benefits, one being the mobility factor while other low power consumption. Built in Mondrian style design the HDD ARO is very compact and measures 59(W) x 98(D) x 12(H) mm. It features plug-and-play operation, SF-coating stability and LED indicator. Sporting high-speed USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) the HDD is available for 143,000(KRW).

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Have you ever wanted to bring all your music with you? That would be fun. With the rise of Portable Media Players, MP3 Players, and Portable Multimedia devices, that is not so hard to imagine. What’s even better, Motorola has that same thought with the release of the MOTOROKR EQ3 Compact Foldable Speakers. MOTOROKR EQ3 offers rich sound in a compact design, turning your mobile device into a stereo experience.
The EQ3 is the perfect companion for your portable multimedia devices. Its lightweight and compact foldable design enables easy carrying for instant music, out loud, anywhere. The device is powered by four AAA batteries, so you won’t even have to worry about looking for a power outlet - very portable indeed. The EQ3 runs on these batteries for up to 12 hours. It has a universal 3.5mm plug that is compatible with most devices nowadays.

The EQ3 also features an extension cable that has been optimized for FM radio to help ensure clear reception when connected with radio-ready devices. Whether packed in a suitcase or carried by hand, EQ3 lets consumers enjoy their mobile playlists with stereo sound wherever they are.

Simply plug a music-optimized mobile phone or MP3-player in to the speaker and become immersed in rich, stereo sound. High-excursion drivers, neodymium magnets and ferrofluid cooling help deliver smooth frequency response and a dynamic punch in a petite, portable package.

The ROKR EQ3 is expected to become available in Q2 2008.

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A new brand of ebook reader came out recently — the jetBook e-book reader. Released by ECTACO, this ebook reader has a built-in MP3 player for some audiobook listening if you don’t want to or can’t scroll through the digital pages of an ebook. Equipped with a 5-inch screen, jetBook comes preloaded with translating dictionaries so you can look up foreign words on the go. Moreover, you can also load it with pics. Although jetBook is packed with features, I believe it’s facing tough competition. At US$349.95, I think jetBook will find it a bit hard to convince buyers to purchase one of its product rather than the Amazon Kindle, but then again, it all depends on one’s tastes.

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The new Philips GoGear SA5225 digital audio/video player just cleared the FCC hurdle. The player handles WMV and MPEG4 video files as well as WMA and AAC audio files. It also has a picture viewer, and is capable of displaying album art. There’s an on-board FM radio receiver, while the recording utility lets you record not only voice memos but also FM audio.

The GoGear player can also stream audio and transfer files using Bluetooth wireless technology. The player features an Options button which throws up useful options depending on the current menu, as well as volume controls at the bottom. There’s a 5-way control point that lets you play/pause, skip forward/back and scroll up/down. It comes with a USB connector to aid in data transfer.

The Philips GoGear SA5225 can be charged over USB, which is convenient. It takes a good 4 hours for a complete charge (80% charge takes 2 hours).

No word on the pricing or availability, but check back with us for that later.

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MIU unveiled a device which is a convergence of various portabled devices in one. Called the Hybrid Dual Portable Computer (HDPC), it’s a mobile phone, navigation device, car PC, internet phone, MP3/PMP player, handheld gaming device, voice recorder, digital camera, and more. It has a 4-inch 800×480 resolution display and can be equipped with either Windows XP/Windows CE 5.0 or Linux Qplus. The MIU HDPC will start shipping on July 2008 in the Korea market for US$400-500.

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Ah yes, if the pic above looks familiar, then you’re probably spot on. It DOES look like the LG Prada, except it’s sans the phone. Think iPod Touch and the iPhone. This portable media player by RAmos, the RM95, has a 2.8-inch screen with QVGA resolution and Bluetooth connectivity. It supports JPEG, BMP, MP3, and AVI files with the functionality to sync with your PC via USB connection. When the RAmos RM95 PMP hits the stores in April, it will be available in 2GB and 4GB version, although both are equipped with microSD card slots. No word about pricing yet, but I doubt it would be as expensive as the LG Prada itself.

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If you’re the kind who’s always harried each morning as you drive to work, phone in one hand, comb at the other (what’s holding the steering wheel?), the Bluetouch car kit is something you’d want to consider getting. It’s a hands-free system which lets you listen to music or talk on the phone while driving. Controlling the car kit is as easy as tap-tapping on the bright touch screen interface. If touch screens aren’t your thing, you can also control it via its voice-recognition feature. All you need to do is connect your mobile phone/PDA/other devices to it via Bluetooth. Bluetouch Car Kit costs US$399, which is admittedly quite expensive. But then again, better safe than sorry, right?

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If you’re proposing to someone of equal geeky stature as you, then perhaps something like the USB Flash Drive Swarovski Crystal Engagement Ring isn’t as strange to you as it is for me. The idea is that you’d carry your own collection of pics, music, or whatever in your drive, while your partner carries their own collection in their drive. When joined together, the two drives can exchange files. Not exactly my idea of romantic, but I reckon some might find it appealing. And if you want to download and upload files to your PC, you can use the necklace accompanying this USB drive, which is equipped with a mini USB port, two ‘sharing ports’, and a standard USB port.

Another pic after the jump.

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HD-DVD lost the high-def disc format in battle which many seems to think it never had a chance to win from the start. After Toshiba’s retreat from the forefront of the high-def disc formats, it’s only normal to expect various Blu-ray-centric devices to crop up. PLDS or Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions, understands the demand for the format and hence, has come up with the world’s first USB-connected external BD-ROM drive. Called the Lite-On DX-4O1S, it can read the following formats:

Blu-ray Disc media at 4X
single-layer DVD at 12X
dual-layer DVD at 8X
CD media at 32X maximum

“Due to recent market developments we can expect an increasing volume of movies to be released in high definition on Blu-ray Discs,” said Jelmer Veldman, European Marketing Manager at PLDS. “The market adoption of Blu-ray as the optical disc standard for High Definition content results in a growing demand for Blu-ray playback solutions. The portable external Lite-On BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB 2.0 cable.”

The Lite-On DX-4O1S USB external Blu-ray Drive will start shipping on the second quarter of 2008.

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KaonMedia is currently prepping for the launch of its new slider PMP — the UPOP — in the Korean market. The 4.8-inch UPOP has a slide-and-tilt 800 x 480 pixels resolution LCD touch screen. The PMP features a 61-key pad and has electronic dictionary support of 46 different types of dictionaries with focus on English and Korean ones. For video playback, its DaVinci chipset does the work, which is utilized extensively with its T-DMB with time-shift function support. The battery can support up to 5 hours of video playback. The UPOP PMP also has the ability to be used as a portable PVR set-top box. Various other features include Text to Speech function, image/text viewer, Office Viewer, Widget interface, calculator, calendar, and mp3 player.

Another pic after the jump.

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Viliv is prepping for the release of the new Viliv X5 AIO portable media player, and I must say, it seems like a beauty! The device was created by YuKyung Technologies for the Korean market. The Viliv X5 AIO is touted as an all-in-one PMP. Indeed, its features would make you want to pick it over its competitors. The device features wireless internet using an exclusive browser, video player of various formats, Flash Lite 3.0, T-DMB, mp3 player, video playback, navigation function, and T-DMB. It runs on Alchemy Au1250 processor, and is equipped with a 4.8-inch WVGA LCD touch screen and jog wheel. The Viliv X5 AIO PMP will be available in 30GB and 60GB versions offering 6 hours of playtime.

Another pic after the jump.

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Over the last few days, a couple of casings for the iPod Nano has been released.

DLO Video Shell

The DLO Video Shell is a crystal clear casing with a kickstand for some serious stationary iPod listening. The DLO Video Shell is made of polycarbonate to shield your Nano from being scratched. It’s available for US$19.99.

Rhinoskin iPod Nano 3rd Gen Aluminum Hardcase

Rhinoskin, on the other hand, is now offering a protective aluminum hardcasing for the 3rd generation of the iPod Nano. The Rhinoskin aluminum casing is a rugged hardcasing which features a scratch-resistant transparent front with an aluminum back. The casing features soft-grip sides to prevent slipping. It also comes packaged with a lanyard. The Rhinoskin iPod Nano 3G Hardcase is available for US$24.95.

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