The ULALA 1-K1 is designed specifically as a budget smartphone, offering low-end specs across the board with a price tag to match at about $95 USD. The display is 3.5-inches with a super low resolution of 320 x 480. Inside you’ll find a Cortex A5 processor, while around back there’s a 3-megapixel camera accompanying a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The handset runs the old but trusty Android version 2.3.5 Gingerbread, a fairly antiquated version of the mobile operating system that has exceeded 4.0. Connectivity is your standard Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and support for 3G. There’s a microSD card slot with support for up to 32GB. Aside from its super-low price point, the ULALA also features dual SIM functionality.

iriver isn’t delusional about what it is offering, aiming the low-end handset at the budget market and as a device for those who need a second phone as a backup or sacrificial model in the place of a primary phone. Few other smartphones are available at this price point that aren’t complete garbage.

[via WSJ]

The trick is to go to the Help page from the eBookstore on the Story HD, then use the default links running across the top of the screen. Selecting “Books” takes you to books.google.com, at which point you can then choose “Web” and get to Google.com. As you’d expect, from that page you can search and go pretty much anywhere you like.

Unfortunately, unlike the WebKit-based browser on the third-gen Kindle, the iriver app isn’t particularly internet-friendly. There’s no address bar, obviously, and if you want to move forward and back through your history, refresh the page or stop it from loading, you have to go to the options menu. Also, if the Story HD goes into sleep mode, it will boot you back out of the browser.

Still, it’s usable in a pinch, and sometimes it’s not so much the aesthetics of the webpage that matters as it is getting online and checking something in the first place. Obviously text-based content is most suited; for more on how well the Story HD handles ebooks, check out the review.

Apple:
Apple’s New MacBook Airs To Launch Late Next Week
Apple’s Revamped LED Cinema Displays With Thunderbolt Coming Soon
Apple iOS 4.3.4 Released, PDF Vulnerability Fixed
ITC Finds HTC Infringes On Two Apple Patents

Google:
Android patent situation not critical insists Google CEO
Google+ Has Over 10 Million Users, 1 Billion Items Shared Per Day, Says CEO Larry Page
Google Activates 550,000 Android Devices Daily, Reaches 250,000 Android Market Apps
Google+ Corporate Accounts Testing To Launch Next Week
Google Games discovered in Google+ code
Android Market Files Hint At Google Music Store

Spotify:
Spotify US goes live
SlashGear 101: What is Spotify?
SlashGear Free Spotify Invite Giveaway

Microsoft:
Microsoft Reveals New Windows Phone 7 Mango Handsets From Samsung, Acer, And More
Fujitsu Windows Phone could be tweaked 12MP Android handset
Microsoft To Ship Windows Phone Mango Devices By September?

Netflix:
Netflix Announces Price Hike, Splits DVD And Streaming Plans
Is this the chance Netflix rivals have been waiting for?
Netflix lands on Nintendo 3DS today
Blockbuster Attempts Neftlix Customer Thievery in Wake of Price Hikes

Reviews:
Android Market 3.0.26 Hands-On and Review
Spotify Premium Mobile App and Service Review [USA]
Swiftkey X Review for Android Handsets
SwiftKey Tablet X Review
T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide Review
iRiver Story HD Review

Hardware

The design of the iRiver Story HD is a bit surprising at first glance. Chocolate milk brown is an unusual color choice, but that’s what covers the back and the framing edge while the front face is a creamy white. The keyboard is comprised of horizontal slivers of raised buttons resembling clear glass beads with brown backing underneath while the four-way controller button is silver.

The 6-inch E Ink display with XGA resolution is the device’s strongest asset, boasting 63.8% more pixels than other E Ink e-readers. Comparisons with the display of the Amazon Kindle have generally shown that the iRiver Story HD’s image quality is much more crisp and rich although they both have 16 levels of gray scale.

The redesigned buttons help to shorten the space allocated for the keyboard and the keys have a resistance to them that eliminates accidental presses. They do, however, make a loud and reassuring, albeit annoying, click when pressed. The four-way controller that is used to navigate menus and to flip pages is situated nicely at the center for easy left-hand or right-hand use, especially convenient when trying to operate the device with only one hand.

The overall dimensions measure 5.02 x 7.39 x 0.37 inches, which makes it a hair wider and thicker than the Amazon Kindle. But when it comes to weight, its 7.3 ounces beats the Kindle’s 8.5 ounces. Surely the exclusion of several features that require certain hardware components could be a contributing factor.

There’s no headphone jack or speakers of any sort, meaning audio books are out of its scope. The only other items embellishing the exterior, then, are the power on/off slider, a covered SD card slot, and a mini USB 2.0 port. Inside, it has 2GB storage instead of the Kindle’s 4GB, but is expandable with SD cards up to 32GB. It connects via USB for charging and for transferring files to and from your computer. It can also connect to your wireless network via Wi-Fi, but only to access Google’s eBookstore.

Software & Performance

The iRiver Story HD is the first e-reader to be integrated with Google’s eBookstore, which was launched late last year. Unlike the Amazon Kindle bookstore, Google’s offering is open to all publishers, retailers, and manufacturers. It can also be accessed from any device on any platform with an internet connection. You simply create a Google Account and log into it via the app or the web browser from your smartphone, tablet, or PC to access the ebooks you’ve purchased or to browse and download new ones. In this way, your Google ebooks are always synced across all your devices. However, no e-reader has yet to make accessing the Google eBookstore simple until now.

Instead of having to sideload ebooks you’ve purchased from Google’s eBookstore to the iRiver Story HD via SD card or USB transfer from your computer, you can now connect directly to the platform via Wi-Fi. There are hundreds of thousands of Google eBooks for sale and over 3 million free e-books available. Ratings and descriptions can be viewed, however, reviews don’t seem to be accessible from the e-reader. The first several pages of an e-book can also be downloaded to sample prior to purchasing.

E-book formats supported include ePub, PDF, TXT, FB2, and DJVU, while the Office Viewer supported files include PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, DOC, DOCX, and HWP.

Navigating the iRiver Story HD’s interface is pretty straight forward, although the standard font style and size used on the main navigation screen isn’t ideal and can’t be changed. Within e-books you can adjust text size but unfortunately not the font style. There is a dedicated button for changing text size and another for switching page orientation. There are also dedicated Home, Back, Enter, and Option buttons.

Refresh rates of the E Ink screen are fairly fast with the help of a higher performance processor from Freescale Semiconductor that’s based on ARM’s Cortex A8 chip technology. But it won’t be noticeably astounding as you’ll still experience with each refresh or page turn, as with all E Ink displays, a blacking out of the screen for a couple milliseconds before a new page is formed.

The 1800mAh built-in lithium polymer battery is rated for up to 14,000 page turns of continuous reading or up to an impressive 10 weeks if used for one hour a day and powered off immediately after each use. This beats the Kindle’s claim of a one month span with one-hour-a-day use, but we’ve not been able to put this to the test. On standby, the battery can last up to six weeks. Charging time is approximately 4.5 hours.

Wrap-up

Despite the notion that the iPad and the onslaught of Android tablets would kill e-readers, that just hasn’t been the case. For those seeking to surf the internet, watch videos, play games, and use various apps, the tablet is the obvious choice. But for those who simply love to read and are looking for a way to replace paper books, the choice is still an e-reader.

Hence, the selection of e-readers has also continued to evolve with some going the route of becoming tablet-like, such as the Barnes & Noble NOOK Color, while others stay true to reading like this new iRiver Story HD.

The iRiver Story HD is such a purist device that it does feel a little outdated. Outwardly it looks to be competing against the Amazon Kindle as it has the same overall form factor, a 6-inch E Ink screen, and full physical keypad below. But, it does away with a lot of the features of recently launched e-readers such as the ability to surf the web, check email, and listen to music or audio books. The iRiver Story HD completely forgoes all this although this is not necessarily bad.

For many this means a lot of skimping on features, while for others this means a pure reading device absent of all the distractions.

Whichever way you look at it, the iRiver Story HD certainly isn’t making any bold moves except perhaps in its radical color choice. Brown? It’s still hard to grasp how the design team decided on this color, but it certainly does the device a huge disservice. A neutral gray or even a muted lime green or pastels, but brown?

Priced in line with the Amazon Kindle at $139, the iRiver Story HD is lacking in certain features, but to some it’s made up for it with a higher resolution display, longer battery life, lighter weight, expandable storage with SD card, and Google eBookstore integration. The iRiver Story HD will be retailing at Target stores nationwide and on Target.com starting Sunday, July 17.

The reader will hit Target stores across the country and will be offered on Target.com for sale as well. The eReader will be able to buy books from Google eBooks over the are using WiFi connectivity. The Story HD will sell for $139.99 and has an e-ink screen with high resolution. There are about 3 million free books on Google eBooks that the user will be able to download right away.

The reader supports the Google Books APIs that makes it easy for publishers to offer users with devices supporting the Google service access to their entire catalog of digital cooks. The Story HD was unveiled for the first time at CES in January. It has a QWERTY keypad, 6-inch screen, WiFi and lots more. The screen has a resolution of 768 x 1024 making it the highest resolution reader in its class.

The interface is very polished and does look a lot like Mac OS to my eyes. It has big icons for major functions like music, video, and the integrated FM tuner. The screen has a resolution of 800 x 480. It also supports HD resolution video when connected to your TV or computer via an HDMI input. The P8 supports all the file formats that you expect with AVI, WMV, MKV, and XviD.

The P8 also supports a number of audio files with MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, FLAC, and APE. The P8 can also view photos and has eBook capability along with voice memo recording as well. It will hit Russia first with a version in 8GB and 16GB both supporting microSDHC cards for expansion. That expansion allows for up to 32GB more storage. The player weighs in at 227g and measures 145 x 54.5 x 13.8mm.

[via DesignBoom]

The T9 has a sleek Apple-esque form factor and looks almost like a thumb drive with a slide-out USB 2.0 connector. In fact, it works just like one, too. You can transfer files just by plugging it directly into your computer, or play music just by plugging it into a compatible USB port in your car or audio system.

A fitness mode helps to track your workout sessions including counting distances and calories. And there’s no need to fumble with small buttons and controls, all you have to do to change songs, is shake the device. It has a high visibility 1-inch Mono OLED LCD display with a UI that easily switches based on the orientation of the device.

Other features include the ability to record sound, play FM radio, up to 24 hours of battery life, and support for a wide range of file formats. Its aluminum body comes in four colors. However, other than the long and lovely graphic below, no details were given on pricing and availability.

[via AnythingButiPod]

The internal storage of the DAP is up to 16GB with 8GB and 4GB versions offered as well. The device has WiFi and a microSDHC card slot for expansion storage. Other features include a FM tuner and support for most common file formats for audio, video, and photos.

The U100 weighs 82g and measures 106 x 56 x 8.9mm thick and will have a battery good for up to 11 hours of playback. Pricing on the device and availability in other countries is unknown.

Via Akihabara News

That panel runs at 768 x 1024 resolution, which means it has 63.8-percent more pixels than its rivals. iriver also reckons it flips pages faster, a side-effect of both the screen and the Freescale i.MX508 processor.

There’s also WiFi – along with Easy Wi-Fi Network support for easier logins at open hotspots – and a QWERTY keyboard, along with support for Adobe EPUB and PDF formats with DRM. iriver reckon the Story HD will last for up to three weeks on a single charge. No word on pricing, but it’ll be available in Q2 2011.

Press Release:

iriver Unveils The World’s Highest Resolution 6” eBook Reader At CES 2011

iriver Teams Up With LG Display To Introduce The iriver Story HD eBook Reader With The Best Legibility Ever, Wi-Fi and Rapid Response

Irvine, CA — iriver, the award-winning producer of stylish digital devices, unveils the new iriver Story HD eBook at CES 2011, the world’s first 6” XGA (768×1024) eBook reader with 63.8% more pixels and faster page turns than the competition.

The iriver Story HD provides outstanding legibility with crisp fonts, fast response and high performance with an advanced i.MX508 eReader applications processor from Freescale Semiconductor based on ARM® CortexTM technology and automatic, built-in Wi-Fi. The eBook will be able to access content through the major content partner.

The Story HD will also be equipped with the Easy Wi-Fi Network (www.easywifi.com) feature so that users can access any open or subscribed Wi-Fi hot spots automatically without log-in process. Easy WiFi is the world’s largest WiFi network, and with the network supporting thousands of providers, users can also personalize access by extending Easy WiFi to any personal WiFi accounts as well. The service features a map to locate hot spots, classified by capability. Users can find hot spots, get connected, and personalize access.

Chulmin Lee (COO of iriver Ltd. and President of iriver Inc.), said, “iriver is excited to unveil the iriver Story HD at CES as a world’s first. No other eBook features a higher resolution, and users will appreciate fast page-turn performance and the chic design that is the hallmark of iriver. ”

The slim and lightweight e-reader features the signature; sleek, iriver style, QWERTY keypad, a curve with two-tone colors at the front and back for easy grip and slim design. The Story HD has buttons located from the side to the center of the keypad, featuring the up/down layout instead of the right/left design to make the unit more user friendly than other eBooks – other models feature the right/left buttons for flipping pages.

The iriver Story HD has a 3-week battery life, making it ideal for travel, and supports Adobe EPUB and PDF formats with DRM.

In June 2010, iriver and LG Display established a joint venture for the OEM development production and sales of e-Books. Iriver is responsible for product design, accumulated knowledge on e-book technology, including designs and platform development, as well as technical assistance within the joint-venture. LG Display, with its global sales network and world class production skills, provides a stable supply of e-book displays, such as electronic paper displays (EPD).

The iriver Story HD will be competitively priced and available in the second quarter of 2011.

About iriver, Inc.
iriver Inc. is the award-winning producer of iriver digital A/V devices, owned by iriver, Ltd., the global digital A/V product powerhouse. Since its founding in 1999, iriver has become renowned for its product innovation, style-driven technology, and track record of market dominance. The company’s ever expanding digital product lines include: Multimedia Devices (MP3. MP4, PMP, DMB), Network Devices (Home Media Center, Wi-Fi Network, Navigation products) and Content Devices (E-Dictionary, E-Book). For more information on iriver and its product lines, please visit: www.iriver.com.

There’s also WiFi b/g in this FCC tested version, which iriver told us at IFA 2010 would allow for basic web browsing as well as wireless downloads of ebooks.  No word on US pricing or availability, though the Cover Story did go up for sale in the UK back in September, priced at around £149 ($239) for the basic model and £179 ($287) for the WiFi version.

[via Wireless Goodness]

What you do get is a note-taking app that works with the thin pull-out stylus in the top right hand side, a straightforward four-way navigation control (suited to left- or right-handed users, since the Cover Story has an accelerometer for page rotation) and a fast enough processor to make sure the only lag involved is the e-ink’s inherent pauses.  There’s the usual, slightly cutesy UI too, with the added bonus of some swipes and taps thanks to the touchscreen.

iriver does have a WiFi model coming, which will apparently get basic browsing functionality (though probably not the same sort of Webkit browser as the third-gen Kindle totes) though there’s no mention of pricing for that.  It seems they’re looking more at Sony as their rivals: the 6-inch Cover Story lines up against the similarly wireless-free PRS-650, which is €229.  It’s nice enough, but unlikely to lure Amazon users away from the more well-rounded Kindle.

There’s also 2GB of onboard storage, an SDHC card slot, stereo speakers and a microphone, together with an accelerometer for automatic screen rotation and a stylus for touchscreen control.  Compatible formats include Epub, PDF,CBZ and DJVU for ebooks, MP3 OGG and WMA for music, and DOC, DOCX, PPT, XLS and XLXS Office files.

No sign of any integrated wireless, which is a shame, and neither is there mention of a price or when we might expect to see the Story Touch Edition launch.  It’s yet to get a mention on the iriver site.

[via The Digital Reader]

The big missing feature on the Story back in January was wireless connectivity. The latest version of the Story now packs in WiFi and can connect with the UK digital bookstore offered by WH Smith’s. The new version is called the iRiver WiFi Story EB03 officially.

It packs in a 6-inch 600 x 800 resolution screen with 16 levels of gray. It is Linux based and supports all major eBook formats along with Office documents. The big catch is that the thing is massively overpriced at £250 compared to the Kindle which costs about half as much. Fail.

The first output from the L&I plant will carry the iriver brand, though technical details of the model itself are unclear.  It’ll likely have a monochrome e-paper display, however; LG Display reckon they’ll grab the number one spot for color and flexible EPD by 2012.  No word on when the first ereader device will be available, however.

[via The Digital Reader]

Press Release:

Iriver – LG Display Establish joint venture for e-book business

Iriver and LG Display financed a total of 5 million dollars to establish a joint-venture company in Iriver’s China Plant

Operating an ODM and OEM system to manufacture e-book reader

Develop and produce leading e-book readers in the global market by generating synergy in the technology and manufacturing aspects

Iriver and LG Display have agreed to establish a joint venture company, ‘L&I Electronic Technology (Dongguan) Ltd.’ in China to expand their e-book business.

Each Iriver and LG Display will finance 49% and 51% of the joint venture company, respectively, totaling up to 5 million dollars. The business will be founded on original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and original development manufacturing (ODM) systems to develop e-books and provide production services.

Iriver is responsible for product design, accumulated knowledge on e-book technology, including designs and platform development, as well as technical assistance within the joint-venture. And Iriver will be the first customer for the joint venture. LG Display, with its global sales network and world class production skills, will be in charge of providing a stable supply of e-book displays, such as electronic paper displays (EPD) to the joint venture.

Iriver expects to gain a stronger market presence in both the domestic and global e-book markets as it will gain a price competitive e-book reader supplier from the new relationship. The prospect for LG Display also seems bright. It will stand out from its competitors by securing a stable distribution line for its e-book displays, while also making its debut in the final product business.

Jae Woo Lee, CEO of Iriver, said, “The joint-venture is significant in that it lays the foundation for a more stable and competitive manufacturing line. If we succeed in generating a synergy between Iriver and LG Display, our joint-venture company will grow to become the market leader with unrivaled competitive power in e-book development and production business.

LG Display’s Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile/OLED Business Unit Mr. Eddie Yeo said, “LG Display decided to establish a joint venture with iriver to supply customers with more competitive products as part of our upstream-downstream business transformation strategy. LG Display will utilize its advanced EPD technologies to achieve early commercial production of color and flexible EPD and reach the global No.1 position by 2012.”

iRiver is bringing the style back though with a new MP3 player called the T8 Candy Bar. The player is rounded and comes in white, black, and two pink shades and a few other colors for eight shades total. It sells for about $58 and has been unveiled in Taiwan to start with.

The player has 4GB of storage and measures in at 83.4 x 26.8 x 12.7mm and weighs 26g. The device supports MP3, WMA, OGG, ASF, APE, and FLAC audio formats. It has a 1-inch OLED screen with a 128 x 64 resolution for track information and menus. Battery life is promised to be 17 hours and the thing apparently has a FM tuner and recording capability as well.

And we can’t argue with the fact that, despite its entry-level positioning, the iRiver S100 brings quite a few features along for the ride. iRiver’s calling it a “soft silhouette design,” and we can see how that’s fitting. It’s obviously designed to fit well in your hand, as well as your pocket, especially with those rounded corners. Much in the same vein as Apple’s iPod Touch/iPhone, there’s a single hardware button below the 2.8-inch screen. It features a resolution of 320×480, and it doesn’t seem to be touch-enabled.

You’ll have the ability to access a whole suite of supported file types, such as MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, and FLAC. Video wise, you’re looking at H.264 support. There will be two models: 4GB and 8GB models, but you can expand those memory limits by using a microSD card. The S100 also features 42 hours of constant music playback, seven and a half hours of video, or 6 hours of pure DMB playback. We don’t have any information on availability or release date quite yet, but it should be available soon.

[via Player Bities; thanks Gavin!]

Video demo after the cut

Still, there’s plenty to like about the HD K1.  Up front there’s a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen, and the PMP supports AVI, WMV, MP4, TP, MPG, ASF and MKV video.  Various models are available, kicking off from an entry-level 8GB K1 and then climbing through versions with DMB mobile TV tuners, 16GB of storage and integrated WiFi.

To be fair, Windows CE functionality is only an “added extra” rather than something you have to deal with on a regular basis, and iriver’s standard UI is pretty respectable.  No word on when the iriver Smart HD K1 might make it out of Korea.

[via PlayerBites]

The player will come in either 8GB or 16GB flavors, many had hoped for a 32GB variety. If the storage capacities available don’t float your boat, the good news is that the device has a SDHC card slot for more storage. An FM tuner is built-in along with a voice recorder, flash 3 support, and Outlook sync among other things.

There will be four versions of the Smart HD dubbed the Basic Edition, DMB Edition, Edu Edition, and the DMB-WiFi editions. The basic and DMB editions will only come in 8GB and the obvious difference is the addition of DMB. The Edu edition will have 16GB of storage and have a built-in dictionary. The DMB-WiFi version will have 16GB and feature WiFi and DMB. All of the devices claim 18-hour runtime for audio or 6 for video. The device is set to launch this month.

Video demo after the cut

Like other ebook readers we’ve seen lately, the Story uses a 6-inch E Ink Vixplex display and has a full QWERTY hardware keyboard underneath.  It looks a little Kindle-like, we have to say, but the controls are responsive and the UI generally easy to navigate.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, given iriver’s PMP background, the media player app is slicker than that of the Amazon ereader in our opinion.

A second version, with integrated WiFi, will follow on in the next couple of months – potentially Q2 2010 – but the initial version will require books to be loaded onto a memory card (up to 32GB) or side-loaded to its 2GB internal storage via a USB connection.  That first-gen model will go on sale at the end of January, priced at around $279; no word on how much adding WiFi will add to the cost.

iriver Story demo:

The Story is an eReader with a 6-inch e-Ink display, is only 0.36-inches thick, and sports a full QWERTY keyboard. The device can view office files, and has a built-in MP3 player, voice recorder, and personal organizer with memo pad and scheduler.

The device has 2GB of internal memory and has a SD card slot for more storage. It also supports PDF, PPT, DOC, and XLS files. The Story is set to ship in January at undisclosed pricing. iRiver also reports that it is meeting with major newspaper publishers for content.

That firmware update – taking the Story from v1.02 to v1.04 – added PDF text reflowing to the ebook reader’s 6-inch 800 x 600 E Ink display.  That panel still suffers from the usual epaper delay in refreshing, but iriver’s library optimization, thoughtful menu system and dedicated shortcut keys seems to have paid off with a generally brisker navigation experience.

It’s enough to put it ahead of Sony’s Reader range, though the absence of integrated wireless means Kindle customers will still have it easier when it comes to accessing new content.  All in all, they’re impressed; unfortunately there’s still no word on when – or if – iriver will bring the Story to the US.

It also manages to squeeze in a four button control panel, and comes with both a neck strap and a wrist strap for easy carrying.  We can’t help but think it looks like a 9v battery on a string, but hopefully it’ll be a little more convincing in-the-metal.

As for the Apple rival, that’s believed to be the iriver K1 (aka the P50) and is tipped to have both a 3.5-inch display and WiFi.  It’s also said to be the predecessor to the Android-based iriver K2, though again none of this has been confirmed by the company themselves.

[via PlayerBites]

Up to 32GB memory cards are supported, which means there should be no shortage of space for your ebooks, while the battery is tipped for around 9,000 page turns.  While the preorder page is for Korea, the Story’s menus are available in 15 different languages, suggesting that earlier rumors of broader availability might pan out.

In the face of IREX’s recently announced DR800SG, however, or Sony’s Reader Daily Edition, the iriver Story’s lack of a touchscreen or integrated 3G/WiFi look like serious shortcomings.  The company have confirmed that a WiFi version is planned, while they’re looking for a suitable 3G WWAN module for a further model.

[via MobileRead]

The 3.5-inch 320 x 240 touchscreen is half the size of that of the NV classic, but iriver have scaled up the UI to make gloved cyclists’ fingers more welcome.  Underneath the custom UI there’s Windows CE 5.0, playing content from an SDHC card with an integrated speaker together with a 3.5mm headset socket.

Ironically the NV mini seemingly comes with an in-car mount, whereas a handlebar mount is a separate accessory.  It’s on sale now for 188,000 South Korean won ($156); no word on whether it might make it over to the US or Europe, as iriver’s other PMPs have.

[via Navigadget]

Connectivity qualms aside, the Story is a reasonably handsome – if not exactly boat-rocking – device, with a full QWERTY keyboard, 0.6W mono speaker and 3.5mm headphone jack.  The 1,800mAh battery is good for up to 7,000 page-turns or 20 hours of audio playback, and the whole thing measures 127 x 203.5 x 9.4 mm and weighs 284g (a little narrower, little thicker and a little lighter than the Kindle 2).

According to Heise, iriver are not only targeting readers but comic and manga lovers, together with education markets, and are currently in discussions with suitable content partners.  Pricing should be between €250-300 ($360-432) when it arrives in October or November.

[via Engadget]

That iriver was developing an ebook device was first tipped back in July, when an Australian distributor leaked some details about the company’s upcoming range.  However at that point specifications for the device were unknown, whereas now the company is apparently discussing their new collaboration with Korea’s biggest book retailer, Kyobo, together with revealing ongoing negotiations with content providers in the US, Russia, Europe and Australia.

The Story also has a comic viewer, and the battery is said to be good for up to 9,000 page turns.  Although not yet officially announced, it will apparently go on sale on September 16th priced at 350,000~400,000 KRW ($282-323).  iriver are also said to be looking at distribution overseas.

That leaves us at the mercy of PConline, who are quiet on the E30′s performance aside from mentioning that the PMP’s use of a Sigmatel DSP chip results in above-average audio quality.  Vocal tones and low-frequency sounds are particularly praised.

Otherwise it’s a regurgitation of the E30′s spec sheet, which means WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, SMV, JPEG and BMP compatibility, together with an FM radio, recording from radio and an integrated microphone.  iriver are still keeping quiet on when we might see the E30 officially launch, together with what sort of price tag it will carry.

[via Generation MP3]

The display is a 2.8-inch QVGA 320 x 240 LCD, and connectivity includes USB for synchronizing and a 3.5mm socket for your headphones.  File support includes MP3, WMA, OGG, ASF and FLAC audio, together with MPEG-4, Xvid, WMV, RM and RMVB video at up to 30fps.  The E200 will also show JPEG, BMP, PNG or GIF images, record audio files and tune in to FM radio stations.

iriver are quoting up to 17hrs audio playback or 5hrs video playback from a single charge, and the whole thing weighs 94.1g.  No word on pricing or release dates, but we’d imagine this to come in at around the same price – or less than – Apple’s iPod nano.

Other specifications include an accelerometer and browser, and while the device would obviously lack the iPod touch’s App Market, it would presumably have access to the Android Market for third-party software.  However, according to Bejanoff the iriver K2 has not yet been green-lighted, and details such as screen type and onboard storage capacity are unconfirmed.

News of the ebook reader and internet tablet is even more scant, though Bejanoff seems more confident about their reaching the market than he is the K2.  No release dates, prices or complete specifications – never mind word from iriver themselves – for any of the three devices, but we’d sure like to point iriver in the general direction of Creative’s Zii department and see what happens.

[via Android Community]

Other defendants include Cowon, Philips, LG, Meizu and TrekStor, amounting to twenty in total.  However it’s Apple – as lead in the PMP segment – which Tsera view as the biggest cash-cow here, with claims that they notified the Cupertino company as far back as September 2004 as to the nature of the patent and accusing them of being “wanton” in continuing the “misuse”.

Tsera is seeking ongoing royalties from each of the companies, together with damages for prior infringement.  However from Apple they’re seeking “enhanced” damages, likely a result of all that “wanton” behavior.  A jury trial has been requested, which if granted will be held in the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler) District court.

[via Apple Insider]

In fact, the iriver A100 looks to be a bog-standard OEM headset that the company have self-branded.  It supports Bluetooth v2.0 and has a range of 10 meters, while battery life from the Li-Ion pack is unknown.  For your money you do get a fingerprint magnet fascia, and we’re betting that Bluetooth logo flashes blue.

No word on pricing, but apparently iriver will be selling the A100 in China, hoping to mop up some of the 300 million cellphone users there.  That given, we’re expecting it to be cheap.  Word of advice, iriver: don’t bother bringing the A100 to Europe or the US, wait until you’ve a headset with some of the cleverness from your PMP range first.

[via DAPreview]

The Korean version also has an optional DMB digital TV tuner, a feature unlikely to be carried over to the US model.  More likely is that iriver will use the mid-range WiFi-enabled version of the P35, which includes an internet browser and the company’s “Magazine” UI.

The 32GB iriver P35 retails for 488,000 South Korean won ($389) in its home country.  No word from the company on how the PMP will be priced once it reaches the US.

[via DAP Review]

The NV Classic’s media player will happily churn through your MP3, WAV, OGG and WMA audio files and MPEG1/4, WMV9 and Xvid videos, together with displaying JPEG and BMP images.  Storage is via SDHC card, with iriver supplying two as standard: the first a 4GB card for your media, the second a mapping card for use with the NV Classic’s PND functionality.  That seems a bit of an unnecessary fuss to us; we’d have preferred some internal memory for at least the map data.

Still, you also get a DMB tuner and on-screen control of channel presets for TV and radio, and there are twin 1.5W speakers and a car-kit.  It’ll apparently be the equivalent of $264 when it lands in Korea; no word on availability outside of there as yet.

[via Generation MP3]

Video demo after the cut

As well as the digital TV and radio broadcasts, the B30 has either 4, 8 or 16GB of flash storage, together with a microSD card slot and a USB 2.0 connection to fill it all up.  The battery is good for up to 40hrs of audio or 5.5hrs of video, plus there’s a user-selectable equalizer for tweaking audio quality.

As the video shows, all navigation is done via the touch-sensitive buttons on the front panel, since the B30 lacks a touchscreen.  Nonetheless it’s a slick arrangement.  Unfortunately there’s no sign of the B30 – which ranges from $151 to $231 in Korea – crossing over to Europe or the US.

[via Generation MP3]

Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson announced the Satio – the phone formerly known as Idou – together with the Yari and Aino, and we went hands-on with all three at their London launch.  With just a week to go until the Palm Pre hits shelves, our sibling-site My Pre offered up the user-guide, Getting Started and Features Guide documents.  We also saw camera samples from the phone, plus heard it will have push-GMail support and native iTunes compatibility. 

In netbooks, it’s been a week of newly polished systems and slightly more unusual hardware.  HP unveiled their Mini 1101, 110 XP and 110 Mi machines, while we saw the first full review of the SmartQ 7 MID and heard that UMID’s mbook M1 will get a few more interesting variants over the next month or so.  With Computex kicking off this week, Viliv have dropped some heavy hints about what they might be announcing, including what sounds like a version of the S5 MID with a QWERTY keyboard.

E3 is just around the corner, and what’s likely to be Sony’s pride and joy, the PSP Go, has leaked.  A compact handheld gaming system almost half the weight of the PSP-3000 and dropping the UMD system in favor of digital download, the PSP Go looks set to go on sale alongside the existing console.

Also suffering leaks a-plenty are Apple, whose next-gen iPhone and iPod nano 5G were both tipped this week.  The former is expected to have Google Latitude support as standard, among other things, while the latter is said to bundle a new camera. It’ll go up against PMP heavyweights like iriver’s P35, which will land in the US sometime this fall, and Microsoft’s new Zune HD.

Finally, we brought you the second part of our behind-the-wheel test drive of the Lincoln MKS, together with reviews of Seagate’s Showcase DVR Storage Expander and the Hantech Siso Tablo.  That just left enough time to slot in a review and video demo of the Tonium Pacemaker Pocket DJ.

There’s also a microSD/SDHC slot, content with cards up to 16GB, and a SPINN control wheel on the side.  The whole thing measures 128.3 x 79.7 x 17.8mm and weighs 220g; the internal battery is good for 16hrs of audio or 8hrs of video playback.

What’s unclear is whether the US model will come with WiFi (and the accompanying web-browser).  In Korea, three versions of the P35 are available, from a basic PMP through to a WiFi-enabled version and, finally, the DMB model.  All can play back MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, APE and FLAC audio files and MPEG4, Xvid and WMV7/8/9 video files.  No word on pricing for the US; the range starts at the equivalent of around $286 in Korea.

[via DAPreview]

The player comes with 2GB of internal storage and supports MP3 and WMA file formats. Just like the shuffle, it does not feature any display; only basic controls such as play, stop, volume controls, and track controls. Battery life is said to last up to 9 hours. It is available in Japan for 12,800 yen (roughly $150).

Unboxing video after the cut

It’s a partial unboxing, really, as we don’t get any more down and dirty with the iriver P35 than its retail packaging.  Still, there’s more content promised, and if you want a sneak peek of the P35′s user-interface then you can always check out last week’s video demo.

What remains to be seen is how the iriver P35 is priced if it ever reaches US shores.  We’re expecting to see a release (if only because of the hype), but there’s no telling if the Korean starting price of roughly $286 (for a model with 8GB and no WiFi) holds true.

Video demo after the cut

To be frank, the P35′s GUI looks very similar to the “magazine” style interface iRiver showed us on the P7.  We caught up with that PMP at CES back in January, and you can see our video demo here.  A key difference, though, is the physical scroll-wheel on the P35, carried over from the iRiver SPINN.

The iRiver P35 is available in three versions, from a basic 8GB model, through a 16GB which also has DMB digital TV, and finally a 16GB version with both DMB and WiFi.  It boasts 16hrs audio playback and 8hrs video playback and is priced from the equivalent of $286 in Korea.  No US or European availability details have been released as yet.

[via Portable Alliance]

The P35 supports a raft of formats, including MPEG4, Xvid and WMV in video (up to 8Mbps for MPEG1/2, and up to 4Mbps for MPEG4/Xvid) and MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, APE and FLAC in audio.  The WiFi version has a full browser, all have support for the open-API UCI widget platform.  The display is 4.3-inches at 480 x 272 resolution; it’s priced from $286 in Korea.

As for the P7, that will be priced at around $142 for the 8GB version and $171 for the 16GB model.  As with the P35, no word on a US or European release for the 4.3-inch touchscreen PMP as yet, which has a microSD slot and iRiver’s new “magazine style” GUI.

[via Portable Alliance]