Those in attendance at CES last week got a sneak peek at HandHeld Entertainments new ZVUE 260 Personal Media Player, its entry-level next generation media player. The ZVUE is comparable to the Video iPod in size, at 4.16- X 2.4- X 0.5-inches and 3.93 ounces.

The ZVUE 260 features a 2.5-inch active matrix TFT backlit screen and supports videos running at up to 30 frames per second (fps) at resolutions of up to 320X240 pixels. The ZVUE 260 is also the first ZVUE player to feature a built-in audio speaker. The ZVUE will have SD memory storage capabilities, and will have at least two different SD memory configurations upon official launch.

The device is powered by a lithium-ion battery, and is compatible with Windows Media Player 10 with Microsoft's secure Digital Rights Management (DRM). The ZVUE 206 will support both Windows Media Video (WMV) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) formats, as well as other video, audio and image formats.

The ZVUE 260 is expected to be available in mid-2007. Final pricing has not yet been decided on, although it has been suggested that the entry level model be made available for $99 retail.

Philips introduced two new iPod Screens this week at CES, the DCP750 and the DCP850, which allow you to connect your Video iPod and watch your videos on a 7 or 8.5-inch screen.
The device also allows you to play DVDs and content from memory cards, making this a very versitile portable movie player.

The Philips DCP750 and the DCP850 iPod screens also come with car adapters so you can watch your movies on the road, as well as a rechargeable battery for those times when electricity is not easily found. The batteries have a life of about 2 hours. While your iPod is plugged into the devices, the iPod recharges, so there is no need to worry about your iPod running out of juice.

The cost of these new gadgets is pretty affordable at just $150 and $200.

Treo smartphone users will now have the option to view and control their home television experience at broadband-like speeds using the Slingbox and SlingPlayer Mobile Software. In other words, you will now be able to watch TV on 3G enabled Palm OS devices, such as the Treo 700p.

The SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS will feature an enhanced navigation control, enticing graphical interface, while maintaining the ease of use and functionality of the Palm OS and Treo Smartphone. SlingPlayer Mobile is a software client that gives Slingbox customers the ability to watch and control their home TV from a wirelessly enabled smartphone.

SlingPlayer Mobile now supports Treo smartphones running both Palm OS and Windows Mobile, including the Treo 700p, the Treo 700w, the Treo 700wx and the recently announced Treo 750.

SlingPlayer Mobile is different from other services that are currently available for mobile phones and computers. It gives consumers their entire home TV experience. Anything that can be watched on your TV at home, can now be watched on a Treo 700p smartphone. As well, you can control a home digital video recorder (DVR) to record shows, watch previously recorded shows, and pause and rewind live TV.

The new software, expected to be available Q1 '07 as public beta software that can be downloaded from their site. It will be demonstrated at the Anytime-Anywhere Tech Zone in the Sands Expo & Convention Center, Sling Media booth, No. 69430. Pricing has not yet been determined.

Forget DVB-H cell phones for now. Bluedot unveiled the new BTV-400K, a portable TV that supports 1Seg. Featuring a big 4" display running at 480x272 pixels resolution, the BTV-400K is less than half-an-inch in thickness.

Of course, the lighter model comes with a sorry 3-hour battery backup. A bigger model will also be made available, and it will satisfy your TV requirements for up to 10 hours.

You can hook it up to your computer's USB port for charging. Priced at ¥30,000 (approx US $253). Expect this one on Japanese shores in Feb 2007.

Read

The International CES is honoring many products and companies at the 2007 show in Las Vegas. One of them is the Directed Mobile Media DP102CS Portable Entertainment System.

This device, pictured on the right, looks like it is designed to hang off a car roof. Whatever the case, it is definitely built for portability and can play DVDs. It also plays all sorts of formats including MP4 and video from an iPod. Not only that, it has 40 GB of Portable DVR playing, so you can take your entertainment with you.

The company advertises this as a "Video Jukebox", and I think that is profound description.

The 2007 International CES will bring a very unique product: the KVH TracVision A7. This product, a CES honoree, offers up to 185 channels of DIRECTTV service plus broadcast networks for those with in-car televisions. It uses groundbreaking hybrid phased-array technology, and it is also able to receive XM Satellite Radio.

It has an integrated GPS and exclusive 12V mobile receiver that easily installs to the vehicle's roof rack or rooftop. It also has compatibility with virtually all standard factory-installed video systems, including S-video inputs. You also won't have worrying about getting confused over this, because it has a user-friendly system control with RF remote control and onscreen messaging.

In a way, the KVH TracVision A7 is kind of a sign of the times. Now we can take channel surfing on the road.

Not certain if a picture is worth a thousand words, but I believe that this one of Media Life's AVI 030 Portable Media Player might be your money's worth in verbiage. So far, we don't really know much about it, but I would pay some money to see a picture of this with a ruler next to it. I don't know how small it actually is, but it looks pretty teensy-weensy on a blank background. Still it looks like a good size of a QVGA.

Well, this is a PMP, so you should probably expect it to play the usual assortment of formats including MP3, WAV, and other video as well. It supposedly comes equipped with wireless IPTV, podcasting support, and even satellite TV, even HDTV.

Who knows when this little device will hit the market, but it might make quite a splash. The design looks pretty good, too. A lot of people say the design looks like a Game Boy Advance, but I would say an iPod with a clamshell design.

Chinese company Ramos announced three new models of PMP with the Q10, Q10, and Q15. Unfortunately, the press release didn’t quite translate well on Babel fish, and I have absolutely no idea what features or specs they have. I’m serious, the translation was so odd that you would split your sides laughing in reading it.

I was able to obtain pictures of all but the Q10, which looks a lot like the iPod nano. Probably has all the same features, too. The black model to the right is the Q12, which looks a lot like the old-school iPod. The silver model to the right is the Q15, which looks like it has some high resolution video playback. Got to like that.

Well, sorry I wasn’t able to get more info about this, but it looks like these will have a Chinese release. We’ll probably hear more when they officially come out, with prices as well.

Cowon, a known force in the world of portable media players, unveiled its latest offering with the announcement of Cowon D2, a portable PMP featuring a rather tiny 2.5" TFT LCD screen. The USP of the D2 has to be its DMB capability.

On-board, the Cowon D2 comes with 2GB of user-accessible memory. Useful for storing voice memos using the integrated voice recorder or songs from the FM stereo receiver. You can also expand the memory using an SD/MMC memory card.

Cowon claims a battery life of 45 hours (audio-only) or up to 8 hours of video. Supported formats include MP3, WMA and Ogg (audio), and MPEG4, WMV9 and FLAC (video).

Expected to hit Korea in November 2006. No word on where else it will be seen, or what the price will be.

(via Read)

I’m not certain what the Sharp PW-TC900 is really meant to be, but it seems to have the functionality of a Portable Video/MP3 Player. However, I believe the PW-TC900, also known as Papyrus, is truly meant to be a dictionary. Portable electronic dictionaries are popular in Asian cultures, and this one could be the mother of all of them.

You have to admire this swivel design with TV screen (480 x 272 resolution) on one side. The device also has a fully functioning QWERTY keyboard, as well as a built-in 1Seg TV tuner. You also can insert an SD card for more fun with videos, MP3s, and photo-viewing.

Right now, the Sharp PW-TC900 Papyrus is slated for a Japanese release sometime next month. However, it could make its way over to the States. These Portable Video jobs are starting to become a lot more common.

Best Buy's Insignia PMP just got the nod from the FCC. The sleek looking player sports a big screen and will be available in three versions:

If you’re like me, you keep seeing these Internet ads for the Slingbox everywhere. I actually found out what it was the other day. The SlingPlayer allows you to view a complete home TV experience from popular handsets using standard network connections, which include 3G and WiFi. Sling Media has announced a partnership with Symbian Limited, a leader in open operating systems for smartphones, to bring the SlingPlayer to Symbian systems S60 and UIQ.

Not only will anyone with these smartphone operating systems be able to watch television, they will be able to have access to a Personal Video Recorder (PVR). This means users will be able to watch recorded shows, pause, and rewind live TV, even queue new recordings while away from home. So, if you have this operating system, you can catch your latest episode of your favorite TV show while on your way to work.

Will this change TV watching as we know it? Personally, I think it’s already changed enough in the last few years with TiVo and all. Something tells me that watching TV in the living room will soon be a completely planned experience, the exception and not the rule.

Considering the popularity of MP3 players these days, it’s really hard to come up with an original design. The Microsoft Zune and Apple’s iPod both have the screen/circular control deal going on, and it looks like Thomson’s EH308 Black Diamond has that, maybe.

I mean, look at the picture. What are those blue glowing lines there? Apparently, they are “tactile controls”, and I’m not certain what that means. Features that it definitely has are 8GB of internal memory, as well as a 1.8 inch OLED screen. It also has a rechargeable lithium battery with 15 hours of playing time. I’m not certain if this time applies to music or video, which tends to burn up battery time like no tomorrow. At least this is rechargeable via USB.

Anyway, this little PMP (Personal Media Player) allows MP3, WMV, and MPEG4. So what’s not to like? Maybe the price. The Thomson EH308 Black Diamond runs about $300, and should be available soon.

This next year may begin a new era in portable video technology: the glasses. For example, take a gander at the Icuiti AV230 Video Glasses. They may look like something that Cyclops from the X-men movies would wear, but this is designed to blast into your eyes, not out of them.

The Icuiti AV 230 is designed to support and array of devices, including Portable DVD players, media players, gaming systems, digital cameras, camcorders, even cellular phones with video output. Supposedly, this is designed to give you a private viewing of a 44” home theater (viewed from 9 feet away). You can then use the two separate focus adjustments for better viewing, and you can also use different stereo headphones if you want better sound. The rechargeable battery is good for up to 4-5 hours worth of playing, has a mini USB charger.

The Icuiti AV 230 comes with video eyewear, carrying case, headstrap, AC power/charger, composite audio/video cable for about $269 USD.

Since MP3 players like the iPod have been all the rage, it was only a matter of time before MP4 players started to become as common. Muzatch has created the Super Max MZH-801 MP4 player that claims to be “the world’s most powerful player in next generation MP4 technology”.

The MZH-801 has a 7-inch color display for watching any video files that you can download from your computer or laptop. It comes with about 40GB of flash memory which is sufficient enough to hold 8 full DVD movies or 50 DIVx MPEG4 movies. You can also download up to 30,000 songs on the device, and even transmit them wirelessly from the MP4 player to your car radio. In addition to that, you can also store up to 50,000 still photos.

The MZH-801 also has a full channel TV receiving function with TV tuner inside, and is completely portable with its Super Rechargeable Lithium battery.

The Muzatch Super Max MZH-801 is available from the website for about $247.95. You should definitely place an order very soon if interested.

Not sure what to think about the new DMB from Fusion Soft. The odd-i N700D certainly looks like a nice Portable Media Player with its 7 inch screen and elegant battery cradle, but I’m having a hard time finding out exactly what it’s capable of.

Here is what I’ve been able to find using a few sources. As you can see, it’s got that menu window which allows for DMB, PMP, and GPS capability. I have also heard that the device has none, that is zip, internal memory, so therefore all input must come from its detachable 2.5 inch HDD and USB drives. It also has a battery that can only give 3 hours of play time.

Beyond that, the rest of the odd-I N700D remain a mystery to me. Look in Korea for the release of this guy, but I’m not certain when or what price it will be.

For those that like the portable media players (PMP), Toshiba has a new one that looks very impressive. This little guy has 60 GB of disk space which equals 250+ video playing.

The Toshiba V60E also has a 3.5 inch QVGA display, and has a OneSeg ISDB-T mobile TV tuner. This allows up to sixteen shows to be recorded for up to 1 week in advance. As for battery power, it has 27 hours of music playback (MP3 and others), 9 hours of WMV video, or 7 hours of OneSeg TV.

The Toshiba V60E will have a Japanese release in December for a price of $507 USD.

Mobile Magazine have reveiwed the Archos 604 Portable Media Player

The Archos 604 is one of the newest Portable Media Players (PMPs) on the market, and Mobile Magazine has just finished its review of it, here is what they think are the pros and cons.

We’ll start with the Pros:

Mobile Mag definitely liked the customizable menu with the icon-based navigation. Using it is just like using Windows, really. You’ll have to see it for yourself.

They also like the brilliant widescreen display at 4.3 inches. This screen has three levels of brightness to match the light around you.

Another thing that was helpful was that USB mass storage compliant, which means all you need to do is drag and drop folders from your PC or laptop onto the Archos 604.

They loved the layout of the photo gallery function, which arranged the thumbnails in a 6 x 9 grid.

They also preferred the replaceable lithium ion battery.

Here are the Cons:

It only has 30 gigabytes of storage. I honestly don’t know what that amounts to as far as actual video or audio playback, but I’m guessing it’s not enough for many.

Another comment was its odd button layout. Apparently, each button on its side is two buttons that can be pushed on their left or right side. That could end up being a problem, or maybe a quick adaptation.

The Archos 604 does not come with a PVR station, which may require another $100 investment.

The included remote control is not very responsive, nor is it the same as the on-board controls.

This may not be a con to some, but it is worth mentioning under this section. The Archos 604 does not have an AC/DC adaptor cable. Any recharging must be accomplished via the USB cable.

The Archos 604 costs about $350, but with the aforementioned PVR station, that could be $450.

If you like portable DVD players, then I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll love this one. The Amandana portable DVD player has the same features of regular DVD players, but it has a style that is all its own.

The device actually looks more like a laptop, but I can’t remember any appliance I’ve used that has a laminated bamboo finish. The screen is a 10 inch wide that can capture the excellent images off of your favorite DVD films. The flat touch panel allows for easy operation, and it even comes with a remote! It also features Dolby Digital Sound as well as a handy SD memory slot for audio/MP3 files, video footage, and photo stills.

Hopefully, you’re willing to pay the high cost for a quality product, as the Amadana Portable DVD Player costs about $1200.

Advanced MP3 Players unveiled the new iAudio D1, one of the smallest devices featuring digital DAB radio and media playback. Manufactured by Cowon Systems, the iAudio D1 comes with 4GB of storage and features a small 1.3" OLED color screen at 160x128 pixel resolution.

Thanks to the OLED, the iAudio D1 boasts of a 30-hour battery life on the lithium polymer battery. Apart from the usual features like text and photo viewer and integrated voice recorder it comes with a DAB radio - and the D1 even lets you record from it.

The touchpad navigation system is a nice addition to the D1. You can view MPEG-4 XviD video files on the device. To convert your videos into this compatible format, you also get jetAudio VX software. All major codecs - MP3/WMA/OGG/WAV/FLAC - are supported.

The integrated JPEG image and text viewers are also useful. Using the line-in jack, you can record audio in MP3 format from various sources. It comes with a high-speed USB 2.0 interface.

Priced at £154.99, the Cowon iAudio D1 4GB DAB Radio and Media Player is available from Advanced MP3 Players. Check out the specs in the extended entry.

Nexx unveiled its slimmest MP3 player yet in the form of the new Nexx NF-810. Measuring 39mm x 88mm x 7mm, it weighs just 38 grams. Packed with features, it can playback MP3, WMA and ADPCM.

The NF-810 also supports video playback of SMV-format files. To convert existing MPEG/WMV/AVI movies into SMV, Nexx also provides you the necessary software that runs on your computer. The player features a 1.66" TFT screen capable of displaying 65k colors, and it also includes a JPEG photo viewer.

Nexx has included a multi-lingual interface on the NF-810 which is always good. Other usual goodies on the player include FM radio and a voice recorder. It has a built-in battery and provides a digital equalizer to play around with the music.

Available in three capacities - 512MB, 1GB and 2GB - Nexx claims a battery life of 10 hours. No word on pricing yet. Specs in extended entry.

Those of you who like to take your video files on the road have surely noticed two problems. First of all, you’re quite limited to a few inches of an the itsy-bitsy screen, which is hardly a full entertainment experience. Second, your neck has this terrible kink as you bow your head to see your video on your lap. It’s either that, or hold it at eye-level, but then your arm gets tired.

22Moo has remedied these two problems with the invention of the HMD (Head Mounted Device) 800. The HMD 800 is designed to be connected to an iPod or other mobile AV device, and then placed on your head like a set of futuristic sunglasses. The headset is designed to fit ergonomically and snugly on your head, and the Hi-capacity Lithium Battery is capable for up to eight consecutive hours of play. The HMD 800 can deliver 30 inches of virtual theater experience, as well as 2.1 Dolby surround-sound.

The 22Moo 800HMD should be available soon for a little under $200 USD.

The unobtrusive Gemei X-900 does pretty much everything! It may not be in the same league as a PSP but with its built in camera, its video support, its gaming support, its image viewer (JPEG, BMP, GIF) and FM tuner, we have no complaints! Another cool feature is its ability to support FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) which may be memory hogging but has unbeatable sound quality!

The 1GB portable video player has a design reminiscent to the old school of gaming and the dual analog sticks further give it a retro look. Thanks to the onboard 8-bit and 16-bit emulators it support games from Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Mega Drive consoles. The Good News - The Gemei X-900 claims to have a battery life of 6 hours, which is not bad by any standards. The Bad News - It may never reach the shores of the US!

Via Xataka

For those who like Personal Media Players, you might want to look at the simplicity of the Onda VX737. The 2.5 QVGA screen and minimalist controls genuinely produces excellent audio and video capability.

It has Phillips UDA1380TT audio decoder chips which will give CD quality. It can play MP3s, WMA, and WAV, as well as many types of video files as well. It is also capable of still images (JPEGS), flash animations, FM radio, e-books, LRC lyrics, and SRT subtitles. The battery has about a 5 hour charge, but is probably less when running video.

There is also rumor that the Onda VX737 PMP might also have video-game playing capability, but sources seem to contradict each other on that one.