Color iPods

If you're style-conscious enough to deplore the limited color selections for the iPod Mini and are aghast that there is still only one iPod color, ColorWare has come to your rescue: they offer new 4G iPods in a choice of 20 colors. Of course, you'll pay a premium for the priviledge, but as a fashionista you already knew that. The 20GB ColorWare iPods are all $365 (compared with a $299 retail price).

And if you've already got an iPod, ColorWare will color it for $49.00.

New Toshiba Gigabeats: 60GB and Color LCDs

Toshiba has announced a new line of Gigabeat audio players, the F-series. Coming in 10GB (F10), 20GB (F20) and 60GB (F60) flavors, the F-series devices will have a 2.2" color LCD, a reported 11 hour battery and a cradle with WiFi support. There are even a few color choices, which seem to vary by capacity. Best of all, with 1.8" harddrives, the F-series still manage to stay slim. The F10 and F20 are 4.18"x2.48"x0.63", while the F60 is only 0.12" thicker. Compare this with the 20GB 4G iPod at 4.1"x2.4"x0.57" and the 40GB model at 4.1"x2.4"x0.69".

It really sounds like Toshiba has itself a competitor here except that the retail prices for these are sky-high, around $350 for the F10, $450 for the F20 and $575 and F60. Also, these might never see the light of day in the US.

More Gigabeat F-series photos here.

More bits at DAPReview, Gizmodo, Engadget and Digital Media Thoughts.

The DAP Review Empire Expands

The ever-useful DAP Review crew are launching a trio of new sites. The first is DAPdB.com which breaks out DAP Review's audio player database into its own site. DABdb.com lets you compare specs of devices side-by-side.

Second is a Cowon iAudio product community site, iAudiophile.net. This is a very nice addition since a forum for iAudio owners hasn't existed before now.

Finally, and not yet ready from prime time, is PMPz.com which will cover portable media players. Best of luck with all the new sites.

IDC Forecasts Audio Player Market Explosion

Market research firm IDC has just released a new report, "Worldwide Compressed Audio Player 2004-2008 Forecast: MP3 Reaches Far and Wide" that predicts that the audio player market will grow 20% annually over the next four years, to a size of $58 billion in 2008. The entire report is available here for one low, low payment of $3500.

As is typical, some of what they say is pretty obvious:

Compressed audio players, also known as MP3 players, are coming into the mainstream as portable flash player prices fall and capacities rise, the iPod mini and other small form factor portable jukeboxes come to market, and more and more devices, including DVD players, support compressed audio as a secondary feature. New opportunities abound for chip vendors, device manufacturers, and paid music service providers to guide mainstream music consumers into this rapidly evolving digital audio market.

More bits at Wireless Newsfactor, CNet and VNUNet.

USB On The Go Pulled from US iRiver H300s?

According to officially "verified" information, Mistic River, the iRiver community forum, has stated that the US version of iRiver's new H300 audio players will not have USB On the Go (USB OTG), a feature available on the European and Asian versions of the same device. If true, we can only call this development inexplicable. Along with a higher price tag and a color LCD screen, USB OTG was one the main differentiators of the H300s over iRiver's older, less expensive H100s and competitors from Apple, Rio, Creative and others.

It has been speculated that there may be US patent issues that have driven iRiver to this step, but no evidence has been offered thus far.

Sony NW-HD1 Review

Pocket Lint has posted a review of the new Sony NW-HD1, also known as the Network Walkman. The Pocket Lint crew liked it:

As a player you can't fault it. It's sleek, sharp and stylish and the size makes a big difference. Not only that but it gets the wow factor, not only from us in the office, but also people that have seen us using it out and about always a good sign. The catch is that the SonicStage software won't be everyone's cup of tea. While it works, there were a number of times we got frustrated. It's a shame because it may well be the deciding factor in not opting for this player.

Actually you can fault the NW-HD1 quite a bit. Having to convert your music (most likely MP3s) into ATRAC format is a huge pain. Sony, however, recently announced that they would "eventually" support MP3s directly, but it may not be available until 2005.

Related Links:
Sony Acknowledges Existence of MP3 Format
A Rough Week for Sony
Walt Mossberg: Sony HW-HD1 is "markedly inferior"
Sony Debuts Another New Network Walkman

Rio Chroma Appears?

Web retailer Electronic Express has what they say is the new Rio Chroma. Of course it's listed as "out of stock" and is nowhere to be seen on Rio's webpage, but Electronic Express will happily take $320 for it.

The page lists specs for the device and two pop out as really significant, if true. First it is supposed to be "1/3 Smaller Than Previous Models" which seems highly unlikely given the already very compact previous Rio devices. Second is the new addition of an inline remote control, which is always a nice touch.

We however are taking this with a grain of salt. The photo on the EE website looks suspiciously like a Photoshopped picture on the Rio Carbon and it would be pretty difficulty to cut 30% off the size of the Rio Karma. Time will, as they wisely say, tell.

Sony Acknowledges Existence of MP3 Format

Sony has a long history of ignoring the MP3 format in favor of its home-grown DRM technology, ATRAC. Even in the face of overwhelming support for MP3 music and virtually no market desire for the ATRAC format, Sony's newest harddrive-based audio players did not natively support MP3. Rather, users we forced to convert their MP3 originals into Sony's ATRAC format, compromising sound quality.

A dose of reality has, apparently, been injected into Sony as they have announced that players will (eventually) natively support the MP3 standard.

More bits at Engadget, MacRumors, CNet and GMSV.

Related Links:
A Rough Week for Sony
Walt Mossberg: Sony HW-HD1 is "markedly inferior"
Sony Debuts Another New Network Walkman

Weekly Price Guide

Player	Capacity	Brand	Price	Change	Vendor
iPod (4G)	20GB	Apple	$294	---	Buy.com
iPod (4G)	40GB	Apple	$380	-$14	Buy.com
iPod Mini	4GB	Apple	$237	-$8	Amazon
iAUDIO M3 + cradle	20GB	Cowon	$289	---	iAudio Store
iAUDIO M3L + cradle	20GB	Cowon	$349	---	iAudio Store
iAUDIO M3 + cradle	40GB	Cowon	$346	+$1	NewEgg
Nomad MuVo2	4GB	Creative	$150	-$25	Outpost
Nomad Zen Xtra	30GB	Creative	$180	---	Outpost
Zen Touch	20GB	Creative	$230	-$7	Comp-u-Plus
DJ-15	15GB	Dell	$179	-$20	Dell
DJ-20	20GB	Dell	$279	+$42	Dell
H120	20GB	iRiver	$270	---	1001Hitech
H140	40GB	iRiver	$355	-$4	Go PC Plus
Nitrus	1.5GB	Rio	$117	---	Broad Markets
Carbon	5GB	Rio	$225	---	Amazon
Karma	20GB	Rio	$232	---	6th Ave

Rio Carbon Firmware Updated

Rio has updated the firmware for the new Carbon player to version 1.16. Download it here. New in this version:

• Fixed issue where Time Remaining wasn't displayed properly
• Fixed Voice Recorder issue where that created duplicate ghost recordings
• Fixed issue where unit may hang when advancing to next chapter in Audible file.
• Fixed issue where Audible tracks advanced to next chapter after selecting Voice Record.
• Fixed language that wasn't properly localized or formatted in French, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese
• Slowed down text scroll rate to improve readability.
• General Improvements to Bookmark performance.
• General Improvements to User Inteface
• General Improvements to User Interface responsiveness including when drive is spinning up/down or caching
• General Improvements to Playlist performance.
• Fixed issue where Playlist would properly advance if it contained a spoken word track.
• General Improvements to Voice Recorder performance
• Fixed issue where FF didn't cycle through recordings in Voice Recorder Mode
• Fixed issue where voice recordings didn't have appropriate time code
• Fixed issue where voice recording format was displayed incorrectly
• Improved accuracy of recording level indicator
• Fixed issue where voice recordings were clipped.
• The Carbon can no longer be turned off when connected to your computers USB port. This allows the player to charge while it's connected.

Also available is an updated version of the Rio Music Manager.

iSkin for iRiver Preview

Mistic River has an early preview image gallery for the upcoming iSkin case for iRiver H100s. This should be a welcome addition as the case included with iRiver's is, though sturdy, kind of bulky. It looks as if the iSkin will give adequate protection without unnecessarily increasing total size. Also, the belt clip is a plus since the original case has a nearly useless belt loop only.

Rio Carbon Review

Austin over at DAP Review has given their usual thorough coverage to the new Rio Carbon. Like most who've reviewed it, it got high marks:

I have enough stuff jamming up my pockets so I'm happy to have a DAP this size that has most of the features I want. It's a 5gb mp3 player, portable hard drive, and voice recorder wrapped up into one tiny gadget. With MSC functionality, the self-databasing feature, and charge-over-USB all I need is one USB cable to keep it running. With 20 hours of battery life and the custom EQ, iPod Mini looks weak in comparison. The only thing keeping Carbon from getting a top score is that static-noise issue, since I'll have to live with tape on the jack. Other than that, it's a great little player. Recommended.

Related Links:
Rio Carbon Review
Rio Carbon Hacking
Rio Carbon Static Problem Discovered

iRiver H320 and H340 Officially Official

While we've known about it for a while, the iRiver H320 and H340 have been officially announced and are available for pre-order on iRiver's online store. Comparable to the Archos Gmini 400, the H3's are the big (as in slightly thicker) brothers of iRiver's older H1 line.

They have all the features of the old models such as Ogg music format support, FM radio, digital recording and USB mass storage device capability, but have a couple of nice, new features. First is the color LCD for viewing photos. Second is USB On the Go (USB OTG) which allows you to download pictures from a USB digital camera onto the larger harddrive of the iRiver.

Also, if you get your hands on one, the firmware has already been updated to v1.06.

More bits at Engadget and Slashdot.

Related Links:
iRiver H340 Review

Archos Gmini 400 Review

Engadget has a new review of the Archos Gmini 400, their new sort-of portable video player. We say "sort-of" since the Gmini 400 really isn't a PVP with a larger LCD screen, rather it's a compact 20GB audio player with the nicest color screen that happens to play video. Even though it seems to be a round peg trying to fit into square holes, Engadget liked it:

At this point what you really want to know is, should I buy the damn thing? If you don't care about video, well obviously the answer is no. Go with something less pricey, like a Karma, an iPod, or an M3. Likewise, if you really care about video a lot, then, actually, the answer is also no, since you'd probably be better off with a larger personal video player or even a Portable Media Center. But for what it's worth, I'm actually going to ask Archos if I can buy this from them in a couple of weeks when the loan is up and I have to send this bad boy back. In six months or a year there might be a few more options, but if you're looking for a truly pocketable way to carry a hundred hours of video, this is the best way to do it and right now that happens to be exactly what I'm looking for.

Personally, we think of the Gmini 400 as kin to the iRiver H3xx. It's most useful to someone who wants an audio player but needs the big harddrive capacity to free up space on a digital camera. And of course, you can still view the photos on the Gmini 400 once they're off the camera.

The New Napster

Jason at Digital Media Thoughts has written up his experiences into a brief review of the new Napster online music store. So far? Not good:

I've been using Napster for a couple of weeks now and while I like several aspects of it, the more I use it the more frustrated I am with it.

Xeni, Her iPod and the BMW Loaner

Xeni over at BoingBoing has a writeup of her experience with the in-car integration between the iPod and new BMWs:

I loved the car, and I loved grooving out to my own digital tunes by way of the iPod. The abilty to select songs, playlists, and control volume from the steering wheel was great. But some aspects of the system seemed lacking. For instance -- the iPod sits inside the glove compartment, but just sort of bangs around loose inside there. No special case to protect it, and passengers in the car with me were always cramming keys or sunglasses in there. Damage seemed inevitable. Also, when I'm in iPod mode -- why can't I see what's playing? The stereo display shows you names of radio stations, even program and song details -- but you get nothing but playlist number and song number when you've selected the iPod mode. Other aftermarket products do display the names of songs when you're in iPod mode, and I was frustrated by the fact that this system didn't.

Xeni's post also spawned another thread with several good suggestions for in-car connectivity for your MP3 player.

Rio Carbon Review

CNet has a new review of the Rio Carbon. Like most reviews thus far it is very positive, even though it notes the static problem the Carbon has with some headphones. CNet gave it an 8.3/10:

The Carbon largely lives up to the hype. This minihard drive player has a great design, an excellent interface, and Energizer-like battery life.

Related Links:
Rio Carbon Hacking
Rio Carbon Static Problem Discovered

Weekly Price Guide

Player	Capacity	Brand	Price	Change	Vendor
iPod (4G)	20GB	Apple	$294	---	Buy.com
iPod (4G)	40GB	Apple	$394	+$9	Buy.com
iPod Mini	4GB	Apple	$245	+$5	Buy.com
iAUDIO M3 + cradle	20GB	Cowon	$289	---	iAudio Store
iAUDIO M3L + cradle	20GB	Cowon	$349	---	iAudio Store
iAUDIO M3 + cradle	40GB	Cowon	$345	+$5	Chief Value
Nomad MuVo2	4GB	Creative	$175	-$8	Mwave
Nomad Zen Xtra	30GB	Creative	$180	---	Outpost
Zen Touch	20GB	Creative	$237	-$3	Chief Value
DJ-15	15GB	Dell	$199	---	Dell
DJ-20	20GB	Dell	$237	-$2	Dell
H120	20GB	iRiver	$270	---	1001Hitech
H140	40GB	iRiver	$359	+$5	Go PC Plus
Nitrus	1.5GB	Rio	$117	---	Broad Markets
Carbon	5GB	Rio	$225	---	Amazon
Karma	20GB	Rio	$232	+$3	6th Ave

Coming Soon: Archos Gmini XS200

It's not on Archos's website yet, but an Italian retailer already has it listed for sale: the Archos Gmini XS200. With a 20GB capacity and a supposed retail price of $249 it comes in a compact package that should be competitive with the iPod Mini. It measures 2.9"x 2.3"x0.75� compared with the iPod Mini at 3.6"x2.0"x0.5" and 4.3oz versus the iPod Mini at 3.6oz. Reportedly, the XS200 will hit the market in October. [Via DAP Review]

Sonance In-Wall iPod Station

The unending torrent of new iPod accessories continues with the Sonance iPort, a novel in-wall docking station for the home. The iPort is intended to integrate your iPod into Sonance's line of home multi-room audio distribution and control system. Engadget has more pictures here.

More bits at Digital Media Thoughts and Engadget.

Rio Carbon Hacking

Not to be outdone by Creative MuVo² owners, Greg Hughes successfully hacked his new Rio Carbon for the 5GB CompactFlash harddrive, a Seagate ST1. If you need more space for your greedy 6 megapixel digital camera, he has plenty of instructions and photos. [Via Slashdot]

Related Links:
Creative MuVo² FM Hacking

Rave MP Hits the Stores

Two new audio players from Rave MP, the Arc2.5 and Arc5.0, are just starting to hit the stores, but already face stiff competition from Rio and Apple. Differing only in storage capacity and helpfully named, the Arc2.5 has 2.5GB of space for $199 while the Arc5.0 has 5GB for $249.

Visually resembling the Rio Carbon somewhat, the Arc only has 10 hours of battery life compared with 20 hours for the Carbon. While street prices will certainly be lower than retail, the Rave MP may be a tough sell against solid competitors like the Rio Carbon and Apple iPod. However, according to Gear Live, the Rave MP will be sold at Costco, so at least a few pallet loads will end up on the streets.

Behind the Numbers for Storage Capacity

Whatever you do, don't take the manufacturer's word for it. Hard drives hold information, and whether it is a 20 GB Apple iPod, a 20 GB Dell DJ, or a 20 GB Sony Walkman - they all hold 20 GB of info. None holds more than the other.

That's sound advice. How many songs your player will hold depends entirely on you, what kind of music you prefer and, most importantly, the method of compression you choose and how much compression you are willing to tolerate.

DIY iPod Battery Replacement

Mark at BoingBoing has written up his experience with do-it-yourself iPod battery replacement. It's great to know that replacing a dead or dying iPod battery is quick, easy and not too expensive. Unfortunately, a lot of batteries are going to need replacing as those early model iPods turn 2 or 3 years old.

We Made Slashdot!

In the tooting-your-own-horn department, our story on Rockbox starting an open-source firmware replacement for iRiver audio players got our first mention on Slashdot. *sniff*

Rio Carbon Static Problem Discovered

Rio has confirmed that audible static may appear when using certain kinds of headphones with the new Rio Carbon. Apparently the static is produced by a headphones with a metal base coming into contact with the metal surrounding the headphone jack. Pertinent Riovolution forums threads are here and here. Rio's official statement is here:

Q:I hear Static in the headphones I use with the Rio Carbon

A: A small number of users have reported that when they use their own headhpones, not the ones included with the Carbon, the sometimes hear static during playback.

[Via DAP Review]

Rockbox to Take On iRiver Firmware!

The crew at Rockbox, a venerable open source replacement firmware project for Archos audio players, is putting together an effort to port their firmware to the iRiver H1xx-series of devices. In the wake of iRiver's much-maligned (and delayed) attempts to add desirable features to their proprietary firmware, this is excellent news.

Related Links:
Neuros Firmware Goes Open Source
iRiver H1xx Firmware Finally Out?
New iRiver Firmware Dates
New Firmware Schedule in English
iRiver Forums NSFW
Upcoming Updates for iRiver iHP Players

Weekly Price Guide

Player	Capacity	Brand	Price	Change	Vendor
iPod (4G)	20GB	Apple	$294	---	Buy.com
iPod (4G)	40GB	Apple	$385	-$9	FuturePowerPC
iPod Mini	4GB	Apple	$240	+$1	Winsor Sales
iAUDIO M3 + cradle	20GB	Cowon	$289	---	iAudio Store
iAUDIO M3L + cradle	20GB	Cowon	$349	---	iAudio Store
iAUDIO M3 + cradle	40GB	Cowon	$340	-$5	Chief Value
Nomad MuVo2	4GB	Creative	$183	---	NewEgg
Nomad Zen Xtra	30GB	Creative	$180	---	Outpost
Zen Touch	20GB	Creative	$240	+$5	Chief Value
DJ-15	15GB	Dell	$199	---	Dell
DJ-20	20GB	Dell	$239	-$12	Dell
H120	20GB	iRiver	$270	---	1001Hitech
H140	40GB	iRiver	$354	+$3	Go PC Plus
Nitrus	1.5GB	Rio	$117	-$10	Broad Markets
Carbon	5GB	Rio	$225	---	Amazon
Karma	20GB	Rio	$229	-$3	Harmony Computers

Rio Carbon Review

Hector at Gear Live managed to get his hands on one of the few Rio Carbons in the wild and has his thoughts on the new 5GB device in their Rio Carbon review. We think they're right to call the Carbon hot since the 500 Limited Edition Carbons have already sold out. Gear Live gives the Carbon 9 out of 10:

This is a solid number from Rio that they can be proud of. Both the desktop software and the Carbon menu systems are so intuitive that you won't bother reading the manual. You get rich, clear and long lasting sound, in such a small package it's really a marvel of technology. For those of you with a decent (but not enormous, as in, hundreds of CD's) collection of songs this player is a great little product. Heck, even the headphones are decent. At a price point that is the same as the iPod mini, and yet with almost double the amount of battery life (20 Hours!), plus an additional gig of storage, you have an all around excellent package, and a wonderful investment to keep you entertained on those long commutes. The AC adapter charges the unit at an even faster rate than the USB connection, and the playback options are plenty. Highly recommended.

Related:
Rio Carbon Limited Edition and more Carbon Photos
SigmaTel Inside
Rio Carbon Officially Official

Sony Network Walkman NW-HD1 Review

Up until now, Sony's entries into the hard drive audio player market haven't got much positive press. However the Gadgeteer ends Sony's losing streak with its review of the Sony NW-HD1. However, one reason for the turnaround in opinion that the write may not be the hardcore audio player devotee that often writes device reviews. In any case, it is something to keep in mind if considering the Sony.

Pros:

• Incredible battery life - I got 27 hours!
• Smallest digital music player available (as of June 2004)
• Solid metal body
• Easy to navigate
• Classic style

Cons:

• Prices higher than other 20GB players (Typical Sony move)
• Must use SonicStage to manage music
• Must convert music to ATRAC format when transferring to player
• Not all songs purchases through Sony Connect can be burned to CD

Creative MuVo² FM Hacking

What would a Creative MuVo² release be without people pulling out the CompactFlash harddrives for use in their digital cameras? The gang at Virtual Zone get the first punch in. They have a photo-filled excursion into successfully removing the Seagate ST1 5GB CF drive and popping it into their memory-eating Nikon D70.

Creative Zen Touch Review

Pocket Lint has posted a new review of the Creative Zen Touch, their latest 20GB audio player. Like most other Zen Touch reviews, it's positive but there is the inevitable iPod comparison:

There is no question about it, the player is very nice, sound good and performs well, however its not with out its faults. There is currently no Apple Mac [support]. Will you buy this one over the iPod? It's a close call. They both cost the same amount, and for everything they both offer it will really come down to personal taste, what OS you are running and whether or not you fancy scrolling your finger up and down to select tracks or around in circles.

Creative Zen PMC Review

Engadget takes an in depth look at Creative's Portable Media Player in their new Zen PMC review. They mostly like it, but there are important caveats:

The soundbite is that we think the Portable Media Center is good for folks with Media Center PCs and PCs with TV tuner cards which can record TV - that's really the one killer feature of these new devices. If you don't have a Media Center and don't record TV to your PC (or don't download a crapload of movies) then this device might not be quite as useful for you.

Creative Gets Busy: MuVo² FM and More

Creative Technology announced that it will add 8 new products before years end and begin a multi-million dollar marketing campaign to expand its market share. Although exactly what these new models would be wasn't detailed, but Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo did have this to say:

"We intend to double the MP3 player lines by year-end from eight to 16, to provide more choice to the big markets, and each line will have different design, features, (storage) capacity and colors"

These may or may not be included in the new 8, but Creative is also releasing an update to the MuVo² line, the MuVo² FM. The MuVo² FM includes will have a 5GB capacity (compared with the 4GB of its predecessor), an FM tuner and recorder and 5 color choices.

Neuros Firmware Goes Open Source

Neuros Audio, makers of the Neuros backpack audio players, have open sourced the firmware to their devices and made it available for download. Now Neuros enthusiasts can improve, update and customize the software that runs their audio player as they see fit.

This is quite the contrast to iRiver's current travails with outraged users and multiple missed deadlines for their proprietary, closed source firmware. We've long held that open source firmware is a good thing, in general, and an excellent way for an audio player maker to differentiate itself from the pack of competitors. Hopefully, Neuros Audio's decision will spur other vendors to take this worthwhile step.

More bits at The Register and Slashdot

iRiver US and EU Firmware Released

iRiver has released updated US and EU firmware and a new version of its song database manager to complement yesterday's release of a Korean update. The feature set seems to be the same as the Korean version as well:

• File Delete
• Re-format the device harddrive
• Adjust playback speed
• Delete gaps between songs (NOT true gapless playback however)
• Text support for sub-folders

Download them here:

• H1xx Series Database Manager Program V1.70
• H120/H140 Firmware V1.60 (US)
• H120/H140 Firmware V1.60 (EU)
• H110 Firmware V1.60 (US)
• H110 Firmware V1.60 (EU)

Rio Carbon Limited Edition and more Carbon Photos

Rio has announced a Carbon Limited Edition that will be available to the first 500 buyers from their online store. The Carbon LE is supposed to ship on Sept. 3rd with expedited shipping for the same $249.99 price as the standard Carbon. While the LE has no functional differences, it is engraved with its number on the back, has a fancier box and includes special offers for the Napster online music store.

Also, AV Watch of Japan has more hi-res photos on the Carbon.