PMP Today

The bidding for the 700MHz spectrum will begin on January 24 and search giant Google is definitely set to make a go at it.

Engadget quotes Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt:

We believe it’s important to put our money where our principles are. Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today’s wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet.

It will take you $4.6 billion just to be considered on the open access C Block auction. The 700Mhz spectrum is Google’s door to the wireless business. Apple was also rumored to be interested in the spectrum but has made no formal announcements.

[via engadget]

After the M43 do-it all PMP and the S43 do-it-all PMP, i-Station is announcing the U43, the new do-it-all. Boasting a 4.3-inch WVGA screen and 30 or 60GB of storage, the U43 is a GPS device, an e-Dictionary and a PMP. There is a DMB version and a NAvi version, so depending on your need, the U43 will be the a fully-featured media player with DivX, XviD, WMV, MPEG1/2/3/4, AC3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC, FLAC, APE, JPEG, BMP and PNG support. The i-Station U43 is just a little pricier than most PMP/PND devices in the market selling for $481.

[via engadget]

Two more PMPs are coming out of iRiver’s closet. The D27 is another e-Dictionary with a QWERTY keyboard. It has a WVGA screen with support for ASF, OGG, MP3, WMA, JPEG, GIF , BMP, TXT files. There’s an FM tuner on board and 10EQ for the audio files and 2GB of onboard memory. We don’t know how different this is from the recent D5 model of the same company except for the media file support and the addition of more rominent external speakers on opposite sides of the screen.

The W7 is a smaller W10 and sans the WiFi connection. It has a 3-inch WVGA touch screen with 260k colors. The W10 was also used as an in-car navigation device. It seems the W7 is primarily used as a PMP with AVI, WMV, MPEG1/2/2.5 layer3, WMA, JPG, TXT, SSC, SWF support. It comes in 4GB and 8GB versions both with microSD expansion slots. It measures 110.5 x52, 6x 15.7mm and weighs 105g. No word on pricing yet of this sleek device.

[via gmp3]

This unnamed model from Soomer International has an appearance that, quite frankly, looks like the result of playing around with the iPod options on ColorWare. Yeah, around the time when you realize flesh-tone and neon green just don’t match.

The device supports WMV, ASF and AMV videos, MP3, WMA and WAV audio files (with synchronized lyrics) and JPEG images. E-book reader, FM radio and voice recording functionality are included, as is gaming software and seven EQ settings. A 1.8-inch TFT screen, a USB 2.0 port and a speaker are built-in. Internal memory capacities are 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB, all flash. Dimensions are 90×41x7.5mm.

[via madeinchina]

The GG-2008 from G&G pays homage to the older HDD PMPs of Archos, which is something that we’ve seen happening before. With the latter company’s impressive brand image, this doesn’t seem very surprising. Anyway, the device plays AVI and MPEG-4 videos on its 3.5-inch TFT screen. MP3 (with lyrics display) and JPEG files are also supported.

The GG-2008 has e-book reader, PictBridge and AV-in and -out functionality, and can record videos at a VGA resolution and 30fps. A speaker, USB 2.0 port (with OTG capability) and microphone are built-in. The device packs a 2.5-inch HDD with 60GB of memory, and measures 125×78x23mm.

[via global sources]

Who says PMPs have to be bulky and expensive? These mini video players from ThinkGeek may be credit-card sized, but they only cost $99 and are very simple to use. The Neon M3 (left) has a 2.4-inch LCD screen and heat-sensitive glowing buttons to make navigation easy in the dark. The Ice (silver model to the right) has a bigger display at 2.8 inches and normal, non-heat sensitive buttons. In addition to letting you carry your favorite movies and videos in your pocket (in AVI and MPEG format), the Mini Media Players also have an FM transmitter, voice recording features, and allows you to transfer files to your PC via USB. Battery lasts 3-4 hours with video playback.

[via portable gadget]

Remember the 6.9mm OPPO Blast we admired some months back? Some real pictures have surfaced at last of this super-slim PMP. The V9 plays AVI and FLV videos natively as well as MP3, WMA, WAV, APE and FLAC audio formats. The media buttons are an homage to the touch-sensitive LG Chocolate buttons. It looks plasticky and it only has 2GB of memory but for 599 yuan ($81) it can make a poor relation happy during the holidays.

[via zol]

RAmos has just unveiled the RM970, a delectable PMP multi-featured device with dual processors and the capacity to add on such tasty treats as GPS and Bluetooth (not confirmed yet). Besides the 3-inch 480 x 272 pixel, which showed up very well on review, and a paltry 2GB of onboard memory, it has a built-in 3 megapixel camera, DAB TV and NES emulator.

Anyway, as for the big news, the RM970 holds up on the looks department as well as on the press photos, even better looking in my humble opinion. The user interface has a few bugs that needs fixing but picture and video viewing is pretty good overall. All in all, the lack of touchscreen seems a little disappointing for such a sleek design, but maybe the pricing (still unannounced) will more than compensate for it. Click the link for more details and pictures.

Note: as reviewed, the RM970 has a 2.8-inch wide screen instead of a 3-inch wide screen. I know this is just .2 inches difference but that’s like 5mm in metric.

[imp3]

Newman-Hyun has upped the ante in convergence devices with their new release. The L1200 PMP will definitely win the megapixel count with it 12 megapixel built-in digital camera with 8X digital zoom. The camera is located at one end of the PMP and should be rotatable up to 180 degrees. As a PMP it supports AVI videos with up to 24fps playback and MP3 audio files with JPEG and TXT support. Too bad we don’t kow much more except that the 3-inch QVGA screen supports 260k colors and it has a built-in USB 2.0 and SD/MMC card slot for more storage. Price tag is a dirt cheap 999 ($132). The L1200 is probably equipped with TV Out, though I am not sure from my Chinese translation, but there is definitely no mention of an FM tuner. Too bad that having a 12 MP camera built-in should deprive us of a built-in FM tuner.

[via zol, yesky]

Next, the iPhone will browse the unwatered down version of the Net in near broadband speeds even without a WiFi hotspot nearby. Lacking 3G is one of the top complaints against Apple’s iPhone. A 3G iPhone has been rumored for months now without an official word from Apple itself. Apple’s promise to deliver a 3G version of their phone doesn’tspecify much more than that it will be release next year. The first iteration of the iPhone was announced with 2.5G technology because 3G, Apple thinks, will be a drain for the battery. We do not know whether Apple has finally resolved the battery problem of a 3G iPhone or whether Apple will keep the same pricing.

[via brighthand]