PMP Today

Shenzhen’s Go Quick Design Engineering Co., Ltd. has no time for fancy touchscreen devices. Their engineering and seign team have better priorities. Making a PMP impregnable by dust, for example, can do wonders for the users. Imagine having your PMP around for the journey across the desert and getting hit by a sandstorm and still being able to play music. Everyone knows sand particles are nothing compared to household dust. These buggers are even smaller in size and coming from our own bodies they can really ruin the playing quality portable multimedia players. Not this PMP from Go Quick.

With a 2.8-inch screen and playback for a host of files including AVI, MP4, MP3, WMA, WMV etc., Nintendo games support, FM tuner, miniSD slot, stopwatch, calculator and calendar, it’s an air-tight piece of pocketable entertainment device. Available wholesale for now at the link below.

[product]

If my Chinese is correct, the GTC G850 is made partly of the same stuff that makes the MacBook. I can believe that. I have a white MacBook and when the screen is turned off, it looks exactly like the G850 photo above. Well, except that my MacBook is wide screen and the G850’s 3.5-inch QVGA screen is not. It is powered by a Switzerland-RK2706 core chip, which we’ve seen used elsewhere. Support for RMVB, AVI, MPEG, MPG, DAT videos and MP3, WMA, JPEG and TXT. Other specs include a miniSD slot, USB and AV out. It is available in 2GB and 4GB models. Price is 850 yuan ($119) for the 2GB.

[via imp3]

Throughout the months that PMP Today has been online, we have brought you many iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone Clones. Though we get several queries every week from readers about them (some offering good money to us if we could send them working units), we wonder if people are actually interested enough in Apple knock-offs for keep the cloning industry afloat. Yes, we worry for the cloners. Which is why we ask our readers to participate in this little poll. We value your opinions so much we are also opening our comments area below (well, it’s always open but for this post it’s more open than usual) if you have anything more to add. Just to give you more of an idea what you are voting for, we have provided links to several iPhone or iPod clones that we like from our pages.

1)C-002 HiPhone , 2) Boxu T32, 3) ONDA VX747, 4) Pasen iTouch, 5) Meizu M8, 6) RAmos miniQ or Q12.

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Yes, it is possible to stream songs among different PMPs, be it an iPod, Zune, or a China-made knock-off - thanks to this gadget called Jook. If you and your friends hook up the Jook to your portable media players, you can broadcast your music to other Jook-enabled devices within the vicinity. You can also use your Jook to listen to streaming music from Jook devices nearby, and as a social networking tool. Jook users can create personal profiles on their devices and share them with other listeners. Of course, social networking and music-sharing isn’t really much fun when you don’t know anyone else in the network. The other downside is that you can’t actually send files through the Jook so if you hear something you like, you’ll have to go through the trouble of downloading the mp3 or buying it off iTunes. If the Jook retails for a low price it could be a hit but otherwise - I doubt it’ll take off.

[via digital trends]

Here’s my Christmas Wish List. Hope you like it. If you don’t, feel free to make a comment with your own list.

1. A new phone: Nokia 6500 Classic Slider. It’s a very well-designed phone that would look good in Christmas casual.
2. A portable LCD TV: something like this baby from BenQ. This one from a Shenzhen company is even better, since you can use it to play old NES gmes if nothing good is on TV, and it’s currently available.
3. A massage chair: the iJoy ZipConnect Massage Chair has speakers built-in so you can listen to relaxing music while you’re getting your sore muscles unsored.
4. A new router: AirPort Extreme.
5. A new green car: there’s nothing cooler than driving the greenest (unofficially) mass-production car in the world. The new Prius 2008 is my conveyance of choice and I like my Prius in Magnetic Gray Metallic.

So that’s it folks. If someone can gift me these five fine items, I’ll be all set this Christmas.

Presenting a collection of some of the greatest drool-worthy portable video-playing devices available for your gifting pleasure this holiday season. Be warned, though, you might end up getting one or more of these for yourself (especially the shiny ones at the higher price points).

Under $100
Creative Vision:M 30GB
Price: $99

Discontinued but still a great device. You’ll have to hustle if you’re interested, though, because it looks like they’re just finishing their stock.

Quick look: 2.5-inch screen. Supports JPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV, DivX and XviD videos, MP3, WMA (with DRM) and WAV audio files, and JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG and BMP images.

$101 to $200
Zune 2 8GB
Price: $199

Great performance, and flash memory to boot. Get the free laser engraving (they’ve got some pretty cool designs available).

Quick look: 1.8-inch, 320×240-pixel display. Supports MPEG-4, WMV, H.264 and DVR-MS videos, WMA, WMA Lossless and MP3 audio files, and JPEG images.

$201 to $300
Creative Zen 16GB
Price: $249.99

Recently redone, and it looks like Creative did a great job, too. A viable alternative if you’re not into the whole Apple vs. Microsoft fanboy thing.

Quick look: 2.5-inch TFT display. Supports M-JPEG, WMV9, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX 4, DivX5 and XviD videos, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV and Audible 2, 3 and 4 audio files, and JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG and BMP images.

$301 to $400
Asus eee 4GB
Price: $399

Great ultraportable laptop for a beginner, as well as for those who need something for just basic word processing and surfing. Can’t beat that price, too.

Quick look: 7-inch screen. Flash memory, Linux OS, WiFi, and a whole host of software found on the larger (and more expensive) laptops.

$401 to $500
Archos 705 WiFi 160GB
Price: $499.99

Archos has a history of making great PMPs, and this one is arguably one of the best models they’ve ever released.

Quick look: 7-inch TFT touchscreen. Supports MPEG-4 and WMV videos, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA and WAV audio files, and JPEG, BMP and PNG images.

$501 and up
Nokia N95 8GB
Price: $799

Nokia’s superdevice brought pixel-envy to the high-end cameraphone segment, and comes with an impressive feature list, too.

Quick look: 2.8-inch, 240×320-pixel TFT screen. HSDPA, 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Supports MPEG-4, RealVideo, H.264, H.263 and 3GP videos, MP3, AAC, AAC+/, AAC+ and WMA audio files, and various image types.

Tech Digest tried out Nokia’s new Internet radio. Internet radio is a little different than having an online music store with lots of titles available for download so Nokia is taking it slow (i.e. software does not support personalization a la Last.fm and Rhapsody). The Internet Radio application is easy to use and streaming is smooth. There are too few stations because Nokia only includes stations that sign up (hm). Stations are available in different bitrate, much like in your iTunes, but are also interoperable via WiFi, GPRS or 3G. The interoperability is automatic and seamless, which is pretty neat. You can browse or type in the URL of stations and you can import WinAmp playlists of radio stations.

[Read]

If I had around $1,000 from my Christmas bonus to burn, I’d get consumer electronics for my immediate family this Christmas. Gift-giving is a big deal for me because I make sure that whatever I get for my loved ones matches their interests and their personality. I mean, if you’re gonna get something for someone, might as well make it an item they’ll have a use for instead of grabbing them the newest, shiniest gizmo on the market. So without further ado, here’s my gadget gift guide for the family. Feel free to comment and make your own suggestions!

Dad - Amazon Kindle

My dad is a voracious reader, making the Amazon Kindle THE perfect present for him. Not only Amazon’s wireless reading device designed so it feels like you’re holding and reading an actual book; you can use the gadget itself to purchase e-books from amazon.com and subscribe to magazines like Newsweek and Time. Besides that, the Kindle comes with its own dictionary and allows you to highlight important sentences, make annotations, and change the font size. Perfect for someone who constantly complains about his bad vision. Price: $399

Mom - Newman L1200 PMP

My mom’s always been big on pictures. She captured practically every single waking moment of my childhood on film, and our family has a photo at every important historical landmark whenever we travel. That’s why I was reminded of her when I saw the specs for the Newman L1200 PMP. Aside from being able to play AVI videos and mp3 files, this PMP comes with a 12-megapixel digital camera and an 8x zoom. It also has a USB and SD card slot to increase its memory. For something so feature-packed, this gadget also wins at price: $132.

Sister - Creative Zen Vision: M

Any girl in her early twenties loves her music, and my sister even more so because she’s a classical singer. I’d get her the Creative Zen Vision:M because it does a little bit more than play mp3s. It can play movies and TV shows on its 2.5-inch screen, has an FM transmitter, and is compatible with music-subscription services like Napster and Rhapsody. This one’s another winner at price: $99.99.

Brother - Lenovo i909 Gaming Phone

I’d actually getthe Lenovo i909 for myself but I think my hyperactive brother would use it more than I would. This Chinese mobile phone is so full of awesome simply because it supports old school NES games. But what makes this even better than other gaming phones is that it comes with a D-pad, PMP capabilities (including mp4 support), and a 2.0 megapixel camera. It’s also a sleek-looking phone too, except for the green color, but I’m sure my brother won’t care. Price: $164

Singapore is notorious for its square and rigid laws, and I suppose this promotional video is the Media Development Authority’s attempt to show the public that they’re not as tight-assed as they seem. After watching this mess of a video, I’m not entirely sure what they’re really driving at. Are they trying to prove that they can be cool, hip, and creative? Is this supposed to encourage Singaporeans to dare to be different? I’m no advertising expert but watching middle-aged men attempt to rap isn’t really getting their point across. The message is blatantly stated, but I was too busy cringing to really pay attention. See for yourself. Yes yes ya’ll. Peace.

Can’t wait a couple of days for Mac OS X Leopard? Someone actually dug up all the startup sounds and logos of Microsoft Windows as it went from one version to another starting from 1985 with Windows version 1.01 and ending in Vista. It’s a pretty amazing clip, really, reminding us that the long history of Microsoft’s operating system may have steeled it from perhaps its biggest challenge yet: Vista.

[via yugatech]