It’s obviously a day for promising 1080p PMPs, with Teclast’s upcoming T56 also boasting Full HD. The T56 has a 5-inch 16m color WVGA (800 x 480) display and some endearingly angular styling to its case; it also has an HDMI output for putting 1080p clips onto your nearest HDTV.
Having taunted us with one of the most alluring Android MIDs we’ve seen to date, only to reveal it was a mere husk intended to show off their 720p-capable HD chipset, Rockchip may slowly be working their way back into our good books. RAmos Digital are teasing an upcoming Android device for an event to be held on September 25th, and from the promo shot it looks to be exactly the same as the Rockchip concept.
Full specifications of the RAmos Android MID are unknown, though it’s unsurprisingly expected to be ARM based rather than using x86 architecture. It’s also tipped to support 1080p MKV (H.264/VC-1), AVI (Xvid/DivX) and various other formats, with bitrates ranging from 30 to 40Mbps.
Microsoft’s first Zune attempts won it a few dedicated users but a whole lot of criticism. In the face of Apple’s all-conquering iPod touch there was only really one way to go, and that was touchscreen; the Zune HD marks not only the transition to being finger-friendly, but packs the latest OLED display technology, HD radio and by no means least 720p high-definition support. Clean reboot or BSOD? Check out the full SlashGear review to find out.
Sony Japan have announced a bevy of new Walkman PMPs, the NW-A840, S740 and S640. The A840-series gets an OLED display like its X-Series sibling, but in this case its a regular display rather than a touchscreen. Still, it manages to be the thinnest Walkman to-date, at just 7.2mm thick, despite that 2.8-inch display, up to 64GB of storage and a battery apparently good for up to 29 hours of music playback or 9 hours of video.
Video demos after the cut
SlashGear stopped by the Archos launch event last night for the company’s new Android-powered Internet Tablet, the Archos 5. The idea is straightforward: all of Archos’ usual media-centric abilities are there, including broad codec support and the ability to play local and network-based content, but rather than their home-grown Linux-based OS the French company has turned to Android and a custom UI shell.
Hands-on video and gallery after the cut
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If seeing the outside of Microsoft's Zune HD wasn't good enough for you, then Rapid Repair have gone a few steps further and fully dismantled the touchscreen OLED PMP. Their latest teardown delivers no great surprises - unlike the iPod touch 3G, there's no sign of a camera module nook, nor untapped WiFi potential - but the mediaplayer itself is deemed relatively straightforward (though warranty-breaking) to get inside should you need to attempt a DIY fix.
Seagate have announced their latest media player, the 1080p-capable FreeAgent Theater+, and if you’ve already bought into – or are willing to adopt – the company’s FreeAgent Go USB hard-drives then it might be a straightforward way to get digital content on your HDTV. The FreeAgent Theater+ adds HDMI, ethernet and both Dolby Digital and DTS 2.0 audio to the original Theater, as well as a whole flood of supported codecs.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin iPod dock may date all the way back to January 2008, but it’s still one of the most distinctive designs in third-party Apple accessories. What it’s not is cheap, so the company has introduced a compact Zeppelin Mini that promises high-style and audio excellence but with a smaller footprint and price-tag.
Only the other day we were wondering whether Apple would be doing anything interesting with their Apple TV DVR and mediaplayer what with iTunes 9’s nifty Home Sharing functionality. Today, while there’s no new software announcement to be had, the Cupertino company have axed the entry-level 40GB Apple TV and given its 160GB big-brother a $100 price cut.
We’re used to Brando having a selection of – dare we say it – moderately rubbish USB peripherals and other novelty nonsense, but their latest PMP actually has us tempted. The 7-inch touchscreeen bmorn BM-888 apparently supports 720p video through a TV output, and can play back MPEG (AVI), RM, RMVB and FLV video files along with lossless audio and image files.
SlashGear Japan
