We rarely hear of a firmware update for a cheap Chinese PMP. Benss has recently announced one for the iCool BX-96 gamer with good reason. The BX-96 looks sleek, despite the PSP looks. The new firmware update, which can be uploaded from Benss site, gives the BX-96 a new 3D user interface. My Chinese is not too good but the new UI should have a more sensible feel about it. Also included in the firmware upgrade is support for 720p RMVB playback, as well as fix bugs, improve speed and stability. Besides the goodies that come with the update, the BX-96 is a 4.3-inch player and an 8- to 32-bit gamer (it even supports some 64-bit games) and comes with a 5 MP camera. This Benss gamer plays RMVB , RM, FLV, AVI, H.264 videos.

[via imp3]

The cheapest and arguably most sensible PSP clone we’ve written about has a successor. The JXD1000 was a little lacking in a few things like an antenna, which the JXD2000 has. We’re not sure what it’s meant for, though, since the store specs doesn’t mention TV reception. The specs does include an improved FM tuner with automatic search and recording. Besides that it’s pretty much the same player except the promise of longer battery life. The 4.3-inch LCD screen, 8GB flash memory, NES and GBA games support, 720p and 30fps video playback all came with its predecessor. Price has also increased slightly to $110.

[via ownta]

It’s been a long while since we posted some Nintendo DS news. I’m not sure we’re pretty interested with ths one either. The Nintendo DSi LL has the biggest screen among all DS versions so far. That’s 4.2 inches on top and at the bottom. More of interest are the two stylus pens that comes with the DSi LL. The thicker and longer one and the thinner and shorter one. So almost an inch of screen space on each LCD screen compared to the original Nintendo DS and an additional pen. The DSi LL will suffer from a little weight gain, however, and added bulk, though battery life is now 3 hours.

The Nintendo DSi LL will be released in Japan November 21 and is priced at $220. The color brown above (one of the options) makes me thing the DSi LL has some work functions aside from the entertainment slash gaming ones.

[via crunchgear]

The PSP Go clone above may get you in hot water at Sony, but between just you and me, I think I’d prefer the $84 PXP-2000 over the $250 PSP Go.

But you’re thinking, for that amount of money, surely I won’t be getting too much. You’d be wrong. For one thing, besides supporting an entire army of the most popular video codecs (RM, RMVB natively, AVI, WMV, ASF, MPG, MPEG, MPE, MP4, DAT, MOV, DAT), it’s also an NES emulator, besides supporting Gameboy and SFC. It also takes microSD cards, so no worries about lack of storage memory. Hey, it’s no iPhone but at least it’s cheap and just as usable as Sony’s offering. Check out the details at the linky.

[via chinagrabber]

Sony has made the PSP Go, their latest gaming handheld, in stores a couple of days ago and the reception is a less than lukewarm. You know you’re in trouble when what’s supposed to be a sleeker successor of your hot-selling device is called “a fail” by one of the most respected tech blogs in the Web. Mainly it’s a question of price and the lack of redeeming features, which is basically all the bad points you need. For $250, it’s not so easy to conclude that the iPod Touch may be a worthier gaming platform for your money.

So where does Sony go from here? PMP Today has no idea. It took them years to come up with a redesign and some sort of a successor to the PlayStation Portable, so it’s highly unlikely Sony has an idea either.

I’m not sure if $90 is a cheap PSP clone for you but it sure is the cheapest I’ve heard about. It’s got good specs like 720p support, direct playback for DVD not to mention multiple video format support (RMVB/RM, AVI, VOB, DAT, MPG, FLV), a 2.0 MP camera and the all important games support, which includes NES, GBA, GBC, SMD and SFC. It also has a voice recorder, TV out and FM tuner. I also happen to like the 8GB built-in. The JXD1000 gets cheaper the more quantities you buy from the link below.

[store]

Apple has been criticized over their stringent but inconsistent approval process for apps that will be featured in their App Store, but it seems that things are turning for the better. Word is that Apple is now reconsidering their stand on some rejected apps, and has started contacting several developers already asking them to resubmit their works sans any changes for an “expedited review.” On a probably similar note, the developer of the officially licensed C64 emulator for the iPhone disclosed that a senior Apple director has gotten in touch with him and said that there was “BIG new coming.” We’re not sure if this is related to the first part of the report or they’re an exceptional case, but nonetheless, this does give us hope that this gaming app might soon finally become available to the public.

[techcrunch, macnn via engadget]

Likewise, considering that iPhone 3.0 now officially supports 3rd-party accessories, it’s not a far fetched idea anymore for the iJoyPad to be made available commercially without the need for overly technically hacks to be used. Couple that with the iPhone 3G S’ faster performance thanks to its new processor and doubled RAM, this latest iPhone is shaping up to be a very compelling gaming device.

[nowhereelse via engadget]

China is very fond of portable gamers, especially those with NES/ SNES emulation, but this new mystery gamer from Chuwi seems likely to blast the portable gamer industry wide open. Is this Chuwi’s PSP-killer. There’s talk about 720p support and up to 64-bit game support. There’s even a possibility that the new Chuwi gamer will come in different sizes, including a large 7 incher. A 7-inch gaming PMP with HD playback is the most tempting combination I can think of right now.

[via imp3]

Even the Chinese cloners are steering clear of the PSP Go. Venus has a new all-around PMP that coincidentally resembles the PlayStation Portable hardware. The JXD300 supports GBA, NES games as well as various video and music files like RMVB, RM, AVI, MPG, FLV and playing DVDs and VCD files directly is not out of the question either. Oh, it’s an e-Book as well. Not much more details and no pricing yet but it’s crystal clear we probably won’t see much PSP Go cloning.

[via imp3]