How would you like to wait for two years and get the same phone from Apple, only with improved processing speed and camcorder functionality? Instead of six new iPhones we got a $99 8GB iPhone 3G (available today) and a faster iPhone dubbed iPhone 3G S, which will be available in 16GB and 32GB. So, there’s a 32GB iPhone but no matte iPhone or an OLED iPhone. This is the iPhone 3rd gen folks, the terminus of months of rumors and anticipation.

The 3G speed is upped to 7.2Mbps HSDPA, there’s a Compass, Nike +, 3 MP camera and improved battery. Added is a voice control feature. (For a full review of the rumors, see the annotated iPhone photo.) The 16GB iPhone 3G S will go for $199 with contract and the 32GB for $299.

• iPhone 3.0 software
• 32GB available
• 7.2 mbps HSDPA
• 3 MP camera and video recorder
• 3D support and 30fps videos
• built-in compass for instantaneous navigation
• Nike +
• hands-free voice control feature
• A new user interface feature  of the…

iPhone 3G S provides new accessibility features including VoiceOver, a screen reader that speaks what appears on the iPhone 3G S display, enabling visually impaired users to make calls, read email, browse web pages, play music and run applications. The new universal Zoom function magnifies the entire screen, and the White on Black feature reverses the colors on screen to provide higher contrast for people with low vision. iPhone 3G S also supports Mono Audio which combines left and right audio channels so that they can be heard in both earbuds for those with hearing loss in one ear.

• Available June 18th for US and in 80 countries in August,  in 16GB and 32GB (any new iPhone clone may be deterred by the fact that it will have to copy some of the specs (built-in compass?) to be officially a new iPhone clone if not an iPhone 3G S clone.)

[via engadget]

It’s time to say, yes, we believe the ZuneHD will come, but if you’re wondering if it’s going to be a one-word or two-word name, it’s probably going to be the latter. Microsoft will also unveil the details of the Zune HD at the upcoming E3 next week. Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Microsoft Zune, also confirmed the Zune HD will be a straight rival to the iPod Touch. No Xbox on Zune, however, but this will come eventually as Zune Marketplace will eventually replace Xbox Live. The Zune service should be available in North America and key European territories immediately. Microsoft also recognizes that Zune’s FM radio is a very popular feature and now with HD Radio, it will set itself apart from Apple offerings. For now, we don’t know if Zune HD will a full-fledged gaming. A mobile version of Internet Explorer (multi-touch controlled) also means that Zune HD WiFi is full Internet capable, unlike past Zunes. Besides that, it’s OLED, which should get more oomph put of battery life, not to mention better for viewing even if you think the 480 x 272 resolution is too low.

The Zune HD in the Fall will be the flash version. Microsoft is planning to release a hard drive larger-capacity Zune HD with QWERTY keyboard. This should be worth waiting for as well and we’ll see how the Zune’s focus on content match with the iPod Touch and its embarrassment of features.

Also, no Zune Phone.

[source]

Amazon’s intentions seems to be to move quickly before Hearst and Plastic Logic can make its own announcement on the same technology: the digital newspaper. Hearst has its own partnerships to combat Amazon, which has already partnered with publishing bigwigs like the New York Times. This is a fairly logical move to both big players since the world is running out of trees. I just hope the Amazon are Hearst-Plastic Logic electronic newspaper reader are going to be OLED.

[via engadget, electricpig; photo: nyt]

The portable DJ system from Sweden is a popular device, so popular Tonium is coming out with a new version every year. The Pacemaker V2 is reasonably priced at $500. Measuring 164 × 69.6 × 22.8mm, it weighs a pocketable 200 grams with a built-in 60GB of memory (the old 120GB also available). It supports MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV, SND. It boasts a new UI that is supposed to make amateur DJs happy. Seriously, tech blogs who have managed to get a hands-on are going about the new firmware, which simplifies the DJ work so much more than earlier first version. For example, DJs can easily more blend tracks on the new UI and there’s a helpful display that specifically tells you when you are put of pace with the beat.

[product site via gizmodo, stuff.tv]

[amazon] Thanks Ron!

Yeah, not much and you could probably get a better deal browsing on our genuinely cheap MP3 players page.

[via engadget]

The claim by Chinese PMP maker OPPO hit us with a little shock to the system. China has never made high-def touchscreen PMPs before? I guess no matter how the rendered photos suggest touchscreen, it isn’t touchscreen when there’s no touchscreen. So we’ll take this announcement giving the benefit of the doubt to the new OPPO S39, the first ever touchscreen HD PMP.

Here’s what we’re really looking at when we are oggling the photo above:

• 4.3-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen
• 720p video encoding
• 8GB internal
• rmvb, rm, flv, avi, dat, vob, mpg, mpeg, mkv, ts, WMV, ASF, 3GP
• UI includes virtual keyboard
• Album cover, drag and drop, screen shot functionality and looks like great overall UI aesthetic
  
• games

No price yet but we’re hoping it doesn’t match the features all too well.

[via zol]

]]> http://www.pmptoday.com/2009/04/28/oppo-s39-is-first-high-def-touchscreen-mp4-player/feed/ http://www.pmptoday.com/2009/04/25/32gb-samsung-p3-also-available/ http://www.pmptoday.com/2009/04/25/32gb-samsung-p3-also-available/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:21:37 +0000 BrianB http://www.pmptoday.com/?p=11719

After COWON has announced the 32GB S9, Samsung has felt it’s time to make a 32GB Yepp P3 available as well. No firmware updates in time of this announcement like with the S9. Price for this high-capacity Samsung player is around $290 when converted. No release date has been announced. Makes me wonder when the cheaper brands will adopt the 32GB capacity in their line ups. It won’t hurt for a basic MP4 player to have enough capacity to play all those video codecs they ordinarily support, and a price that’s consistent–say, $150-ish–with what we expect of them, of course

[moveplayer via dapreview]

One thing that is always spot on with the Microsoft Zune is the Zune Originals, artwork on Microsoft PMPs. This year it’s inspired by spring. Three artists contributed:

• APAK – this Portland-based husband and wife duo create colorful paintings that explore the beauty, mystery and magic of life through adventures of curious creatures living in utopian environments. Their tree-like design is featured on the pink device below; their celebration of nature, creativity, music, love and the gift of time.
• Carolina Melis – an Italian-born illustrator whose artwork explores concepts of life cycles and relationships, with a subtle hint of romance. Carolina created the tapestry-like design featuring birds on the green device below.
• Linn Olofsdotter – an illustrator whose art is described as emotional and surreal created the colorful Queen Bee matriarch by digitally combining hand-drawn images with other elements and textures. Linn’s design is shown on the blue device below.

This is obviously under the Artist Series of the Zune Originals. You might also want to check out Zodiac Series and Tattoo Series. Hey, we may think iPods beat Zunes but we never said there’s nothing to love about Zune.

[source and store]

It’s finally gotten official pricing and the touchscreen Sony Walkman X1000 w/ WiFi will be costing consumers a bundle, starting 40,000 yen for the 16GB ($401) and topping at 50,000 yen for the 32G or just over $500. It’s WiFi all right and it’s a touchscreen but to price a PMP at smartphone levels? We were hoping price will remain around $300 to $400, just as Amazon made us believe weeks ago.

Video walkthrough after the break (in Japanese).

[sony via engadget]