I’ve mentioned the free iLounge iPod book download here before (when iLounge.com was still called iPodlounge.com). Well this week the iPod gadget website released the latest version of ‘The Free iPod Book’, (Version 2.2) which Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg recommended as the “free manual on getting the most from your iPod.”

The latest edition boasts 200 plus pages covering everything you could possibly imagine related to Apple’s iPod and iTunes and is available as a higher-res printable PDF or lower-res monitor friendly PDF download.

You can find a fuller description on the iLounge website here but its a rare thing on the internet, a freebie which carries more value than many paid downloads, whatever the category. Brilliant.
Download

The Free iPod Book 2.2 (hi-res 21mb PDF) Print Version
The Free iPod Book 2.2 (lower-res 13MB PDF) Monitor Version

Related Links

The iLounge Library (iLounge.com)
iPod Hacks (iPodhacks.com)
iPod Hackaday (Hackaday.com)
iPod and iTunes Product Guide (PlaylistMag.com)

Sony have updated the Playstation Portable this week with firmware updates to add streaming support for Podcasting and WMA files.

Using the PSP system’s RSS Channel feature, you can add link information to your channel list that will enable your system to link to RSS-distributed audio content available on Web pages.

The device doesn’t download the Podcast but rather uses the RSS feeds to tell you what Podcasts are available and streams the audio content rather than downloading it for offline use later. Useful for on the move browsing I guess but if you want to download you’ll want something more than the expensive memory Stick option.

Online gadget retailer Lik Sang have a neat Datel 4GB Hard Drive which would free you from the limitations of the expensive Memory Stick. The 4GB Hard Drive is connected with the PSP by means of what Datel calls a flexible Memory Stick adapter that is plugged into the Memory Stick slot on the PSP. The unit retails at $199.

Thanks to Russell Beatties Notebook

Related Reading

PSP RSS Channel Tutorial (Playstation.com)
Flixpo.com (Free PSP and iPod Downloads)

We mentioned the prototype iPod DJ mixer from Numark back in April after its unveiling at Frankfurts Musikmesse exhibition.

The iDJ is a two channel mixer that lets iPod DJs use their portable music libraries alongside other music and sound reinforcement systems. It’s equipped with two universal iPod docking stations. Users aren’t restricted to using iPods: the iDJ has phono/line inputs for adding additional devices on both channels. The product also offers a USB port, so users can dock with their computers to input and edit music to the device. The device is set to ship in the summer in the US and will retail at $399.

Related Links

iDJ Overview PDF (Numark.com)
Computer DJing Summit (ComputerDJSummit.com)
Prototype Numark DJ Mixer (CreateDigitalMusic.com)
Playlist (iPod-DJ.com)
The iPod DJ Revolution (Methodshop.com)
No Wax (NoWax.co.uk)

That much over hyped headline, ‘iPod Killer’ made its now regular appearance in the news again last week (and has been appearing since 2003) when Nokia announced the N91 4GB hard-drive multi-media cell phone in Amsterdam last Wednesday. The N91 looks great and is impressive sounding enough, coming standard with MP3, M4A, AAC and WMA music compatibility.

There’s connectivity with your PC via USB 2.0 for simple drag and drop file transfer. Also included is an audio industry standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack, a two megapixel camera and multiple wireless connectivity options, including WCDMA, WLAN and Bluetooth technology.

Expected to be commercially available worldwide by the end of 2005, Nokia estimates the retail price of the N91 to fall between 650 and 750 EUR ($835-$963). For all its looks and killer features, without a substantial manufacturers subsiduary its hardly going to threaten or even tempt the average iPod demographic. In comparison the 30GB iPod Photo retails at $349, less than half the proposed price of the new Nokia.

Korea’s Samsung Electronics introduced the SGH-i300 last month with a 3-gigabyte hard drive, enough to store 1,000 songs. A 10-gig phone could hit the market within two years. Research firm Strategy Analytics estimates that in 2008 50% of the 860 million cell phones sold will be able to store and play songs, up from 8% today.

Related Reading

Nokia N91 Preview [InfoSyncWorld.com]
The iPod Killers? [BusinessWeek.com]
Of iPod Killers and Mobile Dreams [Billboard Postplay]
Attack of the Anti-iPods [Time.com]
Samsung Unveils SGH-i300 3Gb Hard Drive Mobile Phone [Pocket-Lint.co.uk]
The Father of the iPod [Cult of Mac Blog]
Inside the Apple iPod Design Triumph [DesignChain.com]
Microsoft’s iPod Killer? [CNet News]
iPod Killers Coming Soon [CNet MP3 Insider]

If you’re slow getting started on the MP3 portable player bandwagon, can’t afford an iPod and have a sizeable CD collection just waiting to get squashed into MP3 files and put into your pocket and on the move DAP Review put us on to a deal right now at J&R.com. Actually Amazon are doing the same too.

They are both shipping the 20GB Entempo Spirit for $99.98 and OK, the Spirit is never going to win prizes for the design, in fact they would if there was an award for ugliest hard-drive player ever, but besides that, even as a cheap hard drive back up its pretty impossible to beat at that price. All for less than the cost of the half gig Shuffle.

The blue and white unit comes with integrated FM radio and built in voice recorder, something even the mighty iPod doesn’t offer. There’s the usual USB 2.0 transfer, built in shock protection and WMA and MP3 compatability. The California based Entempo also have the much nicer looking 20GB Rubato which retails for double the price of the Spirit.

Thanks to DAP Review for the lead

MP3 Player Shopping

MP3 Player Love [MP3PlayerLove.com]
Digital Audio Player Review [DAPReview]
Top 10 Portable MP3 Players Guide [About.com]
MP3 Player Buyers Guide [CNet Reviews]

As a dance music producer myself and someone who has humped around boxes of 12 inch vinyl records all in the name of DJing in the past I’ve seen the ‘death’, or more accurately, the steep decline of vinyl for years. Instead of backbreakingly heavy piles of vinyl, a handful of CDs can take their place. With MP3 music compression it hasn’t stopped there however, why bother with CDs when you can carry all your music on a device the size of a box of cigarettes. The end of vinyl getting lost in transit for the DJ jetsetter, everything fits in your pocket. The only minus point about DJing with an iPod in the past has been the lack of pitch control. Not anymore.

DJ gear specialists Numark unveiled a prototype iPod DJ mixing console a few days ago at Frankfurts Musikmesse exhibition. Though camera shots of the unit were apparently shielded at the show, German HipHop website WebBeatz managed to grab some shots, one of which we have here the other is being shown at Engadget.

Details are sketchy right now but Engadget are reporting that Numark aims to put out a consumer model in the next couple of months, retailing in the $250-350 range, to be followed with a pro DJ version with pitch control and other goodies required by the pro mobile DJ. Both versions will feature the dual iPod dock with crossfaders and transport controls.

Another turntablist website, Skratchworx were showing the same leaked pictures.

Thanks to Engadget

Related Links

Prototype Numark iPod DJ Mixer [CreateDigitalMusic.com]
iPod For DJs [DJZone.net]
Playlist iPod DJ [iPod-Dj.com]
With iPod, Who Needs a Turntable ? [Wired.com]
Downloaded and Ready To Rock [Washington Post]
iPod Lounge [iPodLounge.com]
Everything iPod [Everythingipod.com]
NoWax [NoWax.co.uk]
Playlist Mag [Playlistmag.com]
The iPod DJ Revolution [Methodshop.com]

Quite a few things that we’ve missed whilst we’ve been ‘away’, even since the end of January and the last proper posts here under the old URL, the buzz surrounding ‘Podcasting ‘ has gone from a speculative whisper to a very loud shout, to the point where the grassroots internet broadcasting+P2P+RSS craze has even spawned its own Expo , ‘The Portable Media Expo’, which will debut in California this November.

Weblog pioneer Dave Winer probably explains it best here:

“Think how a desktop aggregator works. You subscribe to a set of feeds, and then can easily view the new files from all of the feeds together, or each feed separately. Podcasting works the same way, with one exception. Instead of reading the new content on a computer screen, you listen to the new content on any capable mp3 player on the computer or hardware player such as the iPod. Think of your player with podcasting as having a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates.”

The latest variation on the Podcasting ‘theme’ is ‘Skypecasting’ which has been picking up mentions over the last few weeks on various websites with many people pulling their quotes from a spartan mention on the News Target website. Though the word seems to have been originally penned by Stuart Henshall on his Skype Journal back in December of last year where he revealed a straight forward how-to.

“The SkypeCasters’ recipe is simple and we have written it up in detail. Add together Skype, Virtual Audio Cables, Windows Sound Recorder, a simple Wav to mp3 converter MT_Enclosures and iPodder and you can be Podcasting later today! The solution will cost you $40.”

The Skype software was founded by Niklas Zennstr�m and Janus Friis, the creators of Kazaa and boasts 29 million users. Skype is the largest of the new breed of companies offering voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, which lets Internet connections double as telephone lines by treating calls no differently than e-mail.

The new development is being done without Skype’s active input. But Skype has made some of its source code public so developers can tinker with new applications, such as Skypecasting, Skype spokeswoman Kelly Larrabee told CNet, “We’re aware of this and encourage developers to help facilitate it,” she said.

Related Links

VoiP Gets the Podcast Treatment [CNet News]
Hot Recorder [HotRecorder.com]
Skype + Podcast Recorder = SkypeCasters [SkypeJournal.com]
iPodder [Sourceforge.net]
Skype + Podcast Recorder = SkypeCasters ( 8 page PDF instructions download) [Henshall.com]
Adam Currys Weblog [Curry.com]
Pod Show [PodShow.com]
iPodder Podcast Directory [iPodder.org]

Thanks to the Silicon Valley Good Morning daily newsletter for pointing us in the direction of this one.

There’s not enough people taking good humoured digs at po faced Apple as far as we’re concerned so it was great to see this parody mock-up ‘Apple Store of the Future’ on writer David McCandless’s homepage this week.

McCandless was previously responsible for editing the Seethru website, a big favourite here during its heyday actually and the interactive half of the BBC2 / World Productions drama series, Attachments.

To satisfy Apple’s “slavering techno-fetishist followers” McCandless came up with an iStore front page complete with the iTug firewire masturbation machine, a 6ft x 3ft iPod Maxi and the Apple Mysteron, amongst others.

“The Apple Mysteron. Inexplicable brushed titanium box with a single, tiny green flashing light. Does nothing but looks great. Perfect talking piece for the living room or to put in the corner of an architect’s reception area.” Funniest site this year so far.

Related Links

iTunes iSbogus [DownhillBattle.org]
Our Mac Parody [Happynowhere.net]
Switch Gates [MacBoy.com]
JustOneMoreThing-Mac’N'Stuff-Steve Jobs’ Weblog [JustOneMoreThing.com]

UK TV writers David Wellington and Adrian Peters production firm Mantlepies were asked to come up with some sketches for comedian Armando Iannucci’s end of year TV show for the BBC, 2004: The Stupid Version.

They came up with ‘iPod World’ a wry dig at the way the iPod is becoming ingrained into the fabric of society. 2004: The Stupid Version, was broadcast on BBC THREE, on New Year’s Eve. Its starting point is taking all the footage from the year and re-editing and re-voicing it to make it become something completely different.

Iannucci, talking on the BBC website said, “What’s been really heartening about making it was discovering lots of creative and funny people who do this sort of thing for a laugh, but in their homes or during the night in posh commercial editing suites. They then normally send these sorts of things out as virals on the internet.

What I wanted to do was bring some of them together and say to them, look, now you’ve got all the BBC’s resources at your disposal. If you need help, we’ll provide it. Don’t change what you do, just aim higher. And they did. I’ve always fiddled about with videotape anyway, so the programme was also an opportunity to get a few more of those jokes off my chest as well.”

View the clip here (in QuickTime .mov format) and grab it here (5.52MB) ( right click and save as-from Gizmodo).

As predicted for a while now just about everywhere, Apple CEO Steve Jobs yesterday announced Apple Computer’s Flash memory based MP3 player, dubbed the iPod Shuffle.

Unveiled for the first time at the Mac World Expo in San Francisco CEO Jobs said, “It is smaller than most packs of gum,” and, “It weighs about four quarters.”
The iPod Shuffle will sell for $99 and $149. Unlike other iPods, the Shuffle uses flash memory, rather than a miniature hard drive, to store songs and it is priced lower than many competing flash players with less memory than the 512 megabytes and 1 gigabyte Apple will include.

As predicted at MacMind over a month ago the unit comes without an LCD screen.
“Get this: NO SCREEN. Got a cellphone with one of those flat joysticks? This is apparently how you’ll get around on the screenless iPod.”
Like its big brother the hard disc drive iPod, the iPod Shuffle includes a navigation wheel. There’s also a slider on the back of the player that determines how tunes will be played. The first switch position tells the iPod shuffle to play songs from the beginning of the playlist to the end in orderm, one more notch and it will shuffle the songs on the device. The third position turns the device off.

Jobs told Conference goers, “With most flash-memory music players users must use tiny displays and complicated controls to find their music; with iPod shuffle you just relax and it serves up new combinations of your music every time you listen.”

Users can charge and transfer music from their Mac or PC by plugging iPod shuffle directly into a USB port. The Shuffle also doubles as a portable USB flash drive and comes with its own lanyard so you can wear the tiny player. Apple already have a number of accessories for the new iPod including an arm band, dock connector and sports case.

The players go on sale from today on the Apple website.

Related Reading

iPod Shuffle:First Impressions [PlaylistMag.com]
iPod Shuffle Sparks Stampede [Wired.com]
Apple Introduces iPod Shuffle [Yahoo Finance]
Apple Makes Tiny Steps for the Masses [Washington Post]
Apple: Jobs Unleashes Mini Mini Pod [Silicon.com]
Apple iPod Shuffle (512MB) [CNet Reviews]
Turn Any iPod into an iPod Shuffle in 3 Easy Steps! [Flickr.com]

Philips were showing off one of the oddest entries amongst the army of new MP3 portables at CES last week with the dinky looking Personal Sound System (or the PSS 110 as its known officially).
The super compact digital stereo comes with built in speakers, doing away with the need for the after market accessories needed for iPods to escape the restrictive headphone only playback.

The unit comes with a relatively sparse 256MB (though this is still sufficient enough to cram over four hours of reasonably high bit rate MP3′s on there) with no expansion slot. In its favor there’s an FM radio tuner, WMA and MP3 playback and a built in clock/alarm. Its due in the US in April for around $159.99.

Still a huge list of MP3 players, PMP’s, PVP’s and other similar acronymed portable music and video players that we havn’t had time to mention from the CES gadget fest last week. Koreans iAudio/Cowon ( JetAudio in the USA) had a bunch of funky looking new models–new to the USA that is, some of these have been floating around the Far East for a while– on show in Las Vegas. The iAudio5 (pictured below) has a choice of flash memory ranging from 256MB right up to 2GB. It has a color screen, USB 2.0, support for Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WMA and the newer secure Janus/WMA (see PlayForSure.com, better known as PayForMore amongst digital cynics). Other Flash memory players included the G3, and the U2. Cowon were also showing off the 20GB hard drive big brother M5 and the unexpected A2 portable media player.

Elsewhere there was the Korean Enox EMX 830 said to be the worlds smallest and lightest MP3 player and featuring capacity ranging from 256MB to 1GB.

LG had the 20GB MF-HE 700 with color screen and MP3, Ogg, WMA and video playback function, FM tuner/recorder and voice recording capabilities. And another name new to these shores was Koreans Ezav who were showing off the smooth looking EMP 500 flash player, with the usual 256MB-1GB range, color display and direct MP3 encoding feature.

Related Links

iAudio Cowon Forums [iAudiophile.net]
CES 2005 Portable Audio and Video [CNet]
DAP Review [DAPReview.net]

Geeks and electronic gadget fans attention will be shifting from Las Vegas to San Francisco tomorrow as the much anticipated Mac World Expo opens just 48 hours after gadget-fest Las Vegas ends.

Much of the anticipation surrounds the expected official announcement of a smaller Flash based memory version of the iPod which has already been much whispered and speculated about web wide (including here). I cant think of a portable device that has sprung up so many speculative DiY designs and gossip ever.

The MacMind website was the first one to actually post leaked mock-ups early last month. A few days ago Think Secret had even more information (from reliable ‘sources’) with claims that the device will be in 1 and 2GB sizes with the Flash memory module sourced from Samsung. Prices are said to be $149 for the 1 Gig player and $199 for the 2 Gig (which is said to have two mini Flash modules) with manufacturing already underway in Taiwan courtesy of Asustek.

The other much talked about device expected to be elaborated on at the San Francisco Expo (there was a sneak preview at CES) is the Motorola iTunes capable phone which has been the source of frantic debate almost as much as the Flash iPod.

Related Reading

iPod Flash Will Have a Screen? [Engadget.com]
The Chinese MP3 Invasion [MusicbizNews24.com]
Applele [Applele.com]
iPod Flash Player Revealed? [MusicbizNews24.com]
the Cult of Mac Blog [Wired Blogs]

If you want to see just why there are so many manufacturers fighting for the digital portable audio market right now, aside from all the iPod hype, sales of MP3 players more than doubled in 2004, to 6.9 million units, with dollar sales nearly tripling to $1.2 billion, according to data released by the Consumer Electronics Association. The CEA (organisers of the CES) projects that MP3 player sales in 2005 will reach 10 million units and $1.7 billion in dollar sales.

So another tidal wave of MP3 and multi media devices to mention from CES this week, some of them we’ve mentioned before but its the first US appearance for most of them here. Panasonic had four new flash players on show including the SV-SD100 (pictured above) with 256MB and an OLED screen MP3, WMA and AAC playback. Unremarkable judging by the spec but some unusual shapes in the 512MB units the SV-MP120V and the SV-SW120V.

The SAFA SR-M800 model we highlighted last month. There are four models, the 128mb M800F , 256mb M820F , 512mb M850F and the 1GB capacity M890F . The players are available in four colours, blue, red, black and silver. Besides having an integrated FM tuner, line-in recording, and built-in speakers, it also has a 1.5-inch 65,000 color LCD screen you can use to look at your digital photos.

Taiwanese ASmart Technology have some unusual flash models including the weird looking SU-745 and the U-538 (pictured above) both in 128 and 256 sizes and with SD/MMC slots for expansion. RCA/ Thomson introduced the 5 GB Lyra Mini Photo with a 1.5inch LCD screen (where everyone else is already moving to OLED) and a $270 price tag (more than the iPod Mini benchmark of $249).

Related CES News

DAP Review [DAPReview.com]
Report: 2004 U.S. MP3 Player Sales Double to 6.9 Million [CE.org]
I4U CES 2005 News Coverage [i4U.com]

As well as all the usual leading audio manufacturers displaying new MP3 players at this years CES that market is set to get decidedly busier in 2005 with a whole raft of new names (at least to the US) showing off an interesting (though not exactly ground breaking) group of new models. The Mobiblu brand from Korean firm Hyun Won Inc. have some sharp looking players on show.

Three flash models are making their US debut, the DAH 1000 and 1200 both come in choices of 128/256 and 512MB while the 1400 has a 256/512 and 1GB memory option. The DHH-100-5 has a 5GB HDD and is compatible with MP3 and WMA and also the newer DRM’ed WMA format. The feature rich unit has built in voice recorder, USB 2.0, an SD/MMC memory card slot and built in stereo speakers and direct MP3 plug and play encoding (rip without a PC) and retails for $229.

Related Reading

MobiBlu DHH 100-5GB Review [Cnet Reviews]
I4U CES 2005 News Coverage
[i4U.com]
CES 2005 Daily Updates [CrutchfieldAdvisor.com]
Portable Audio and Video CES 2005 [CNet News]
Engadget at CES [Engadget.com]

Dont know a whole lot about Korean gadget manufacturer IOPS but they have a handful of nice but quite generic looking flash players. At CES they are showing off the F4 model which plays WMA, MP3 and Ogg, has USB 1.1, comes in four colors and four memory sizes, the pretty standard 128/256/512 and 1GB flavors. There’s FM receiver and recording, voice recorder, direct encoding feature and OLED display. No details on price or availability. The model is marketed in Europe via Czech Republic based brand Emgeton.

Related Reading
Global Gadget Sales Seen Up 11 Percent in 2005 [Reuters.com]
2005 International CES:Audio [CESWeb.org]

There’s an overused buzz word, the PVP, or the Portable Video Player, or PMP, the Portable Media Player. Whatever. Chicago based Ovideon are better known for their LCD TV screens though they have jumped on the increasingly crowded PVP/PMP bandwagon with the promising looking Aviah portable media player/recorder.

The Aviah player/recorder comes with an integrated TV/Cable Tuner, 5GB 1 inch microdrive, 2.2 inch high res 521 x 218 pixel OLED display, voice recording, Windows Media, DivX, JPEG, MP3 and AVi compatibility and a weight of 5.1 ounces. The device will retail for $599.

Related Reading

Best PVPs [BestPVPs.com]
PVP For You [PVP4U.com]
Portable Video Players [CNet Reviews]

Atlanta based Giant International are at CES showing off some of their Tao brand consumer electronic devices, in particular the Tao WiFi MP3 player and the XM 2Go handheld satellite radio receiver.

The black clad WiFi MP3 unit has a 20GB hard drive and the device lets you download music from anywhere you have WiFi access and can transmit MP3′s to your car or home stereos or any FM radio using the FM transmitter. It’ll be available for around $350 retail.

“The Tao WiFi MP3 once again allows us to deliver on the promise of the Tao brand by bringing wireless downloads to MP3 players,” said Cortlandt Minnich, vice president of marketing for Giant International. “Now, music and audio book lovers with active lifestyles can update their collections whenever they wish and wherever they go.”

Rival gadget maker Soniqcast were the first to market with a wireless MP3 player with the Aireo which appeared February 2004 though was ‘hampered’ by its small 1.5GB drive and chunky size. The sleeker looking 20GB Aireo 2 will follow in mid 2005. Oh, and the Aireo 2 and the Tao WiFi Mp3 look identical, except one’s white, (Aireo) and one is black (Tao).

Related Links

Tao Life [TaoLife.com]
Squeeze Box [SlimDevices.com]
Barix Exstreamer [SmartHome.com]

All the hype may be about the expected Apple anouncements in San Francisco (the much rumoured Flash iPod and 5GB Mini Pod for two) at the Mac World Expo in a few days time (January 10-14th), but a few days earlier–January 6-9th– in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show 2005 there are bound to be a barrage of new MP3 players unveiled, not least from the Far East.

If Apple are going to show off a flash-memory based player, whats it going to be, 512MB, 1GB ? The bar may already have been set and raised by Korean gadgets kings EZMax who are set to unleash the EZMP-4100 at CES. Looking like just another sub 1Gig flash player the 4100 actually boasts a 2GB drive inside which is double the capacity of nearest rival, the 1gb Creative Muvo Micro N200 and also half the physical size.

There is line-in and voice encoding, a dual earphone jack to share your music with a friend, FM tuner/encoder and even support for open source audio codec OGG Vorbis and the usual MP3 and WMA formats. There is an OLED display and fast USB2.0 connection. If the company can compete pricewise (the Muvo N200 retails for $200) this one will certainly create some ripples against the established giants in the US.

Related Links
Creative Muvo Micro N200 (1GB) [Cnet Asia]

Korean MP3 manufacturer Muzio are introducing another new model next month to add to their range of flash-memory based MP3 players. The JM300 comes in 256/512 and 1GB sizes, three colors (black, red and silver), supports MP3, Ogg Vorbis and WMA and weighs 45.5g with dimensions of 70 x 44.5 x 19mm.

The device has a 180 degrees swivelling USB connector, two headphone outs, FM radio and recording, a watch function, 3D sound support, voice recording and direct encoding feature. No news on USA prices or availability as yet. Muzio have also started to branch out into the increasingly popular HDD player market with the JMH 1000 a 1 inch HDD 4GB model, the companies biggest capacity model so far, though already surpassed by the new breed of 5GB mid range players appearing elsewhere.

Related Links

AVing Korea [Aving.co.kr] Google Translation
South Korea Pushes Digital Music Ubiquity [DigitalMusicNews]
South Korea Leads the Way [CNet News]
MPIO Korea [Mpio.com]
iRiver Korea [iRiver.com]

BenQ are Taiwan’s market leading flash-based MP3 player manufacturer with around 20% of local market share and are cashing in on the increased demand for larger capacity players with the release this month of the Joybee 720, which was originally unveiled in prototype form at Japans Createc back in October.

The 99 x 58.4 x 14.7mm, 114gram sized player looks like it’ll be aimed at the UK and Australia outside of the local market where its list price is $9900Taiwan ($311 equiv.). The 5gb player uses a Seagate 1 inch drive and has a slot for SD/MMC cards.It has the standards like WMA and MP3 compatibility, FM radio, 1.8 inch color display, USB 2.0 and 10 hour battery life.

Oddly there is no voice recording facility, something which usually comes as standard on these things. Again, a nice looking, full featured player in the increasingly busy mid sized market, but it’ll take something more to dislodge the iPod mini which is expected to increase capacity early 2005 from 4 to 5GB (using the same Seagate hard drive).

Related Reading

Apple Begins Manufacturing New iPod Mini Player [AppleInsider.com]
Apple Readies 5GB iPod [theRegister.com]
Creative Zen Micro [Creative]
Zen Micro Review [PCMag.com]
5GB MP3 Players [i4u.com]
Micro Hard Drive MP3 Players [CNet Reviews]

Some nice looking compact MP3 players on the way from Korean manufacturer Safa next month. The SR range has four models, the 128mb M800F , 256mb M820F , 512mb M850F and the 1GB capacity M890F . The players are available in four colours, blue, red, black and silver.

On the up side they will play Ogg Vorbis, WMA and MP3 formats have a 1.5inch color screen, FM tuner and are a compact 41mm x 76.2mm x 17mm, on the downside they only come with USB 1.1. The units also come with built in stereo speakers. The models will be available in the UK next month with the 1GB coming in at a hefty $365 (189 UK pounds) . Hard to see where their market is aiming at with the 20gb Apple iPod retailing in the UK for just another 30 pounds. More details will be announced at the Las Vegas CES 2005 in January.

If we tried to feature just three Far Eastern MP3 manufacturers here a day, it would take over a year to squeeze all of them in. Recent reports suggest that including smaller low volume operators there could be as many as 1000 manufacturers in China alone. We decided to look at a few of the more unusual, ugly or just plain odd MP3 players being churned out in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, some of them you’ll never find in the West some of them will find their way to mainland Europe, the UK and USA eventually.

The Zarva MM comes in four sizes of 128/256/512 and 1GB of flash memory, supports the usual MP3, WMA, Wav and ASF, has a recordable FM tuner, USB 2.0, voice recorder and a choice of three body colors, silver, blue and red. Its ‘big brother’, the Z-Pod M200 has a 20gb HDD, FM radio, voice recorder support for MP3/WMA/WAV and OGG Vorbis. It clocks in at 186grams, 66.5�99.5�22mm dimensions and has a 160 x 105 LCD display.

The Korean Woodi brand boast a big range of flash players including the funky looking 256mb Swing WD M400 model pictured here in white/grey (see also below). Still in Korea, iBead (or T Mode as its known for the Korean home market) have a number of smaller flash models and the larger iBead 1000 which has a 1.5gb HDD, support for MP3, WMA and Ogg, 128 x 128 pixel color screen, USB 2.0, FM radio and voice recorder which are standard features on even the smallest models in Korea and China.

Ann are another Korean manufacturer with a range of flash players including the 128mb FM 7000.Chinese manufacturer EZMax have a nice looking range of flash players including the EZMP 3100 model in a choice of red and silver and 128/256mb capacity. Hong Kong’s WeWa have a big range of models ranging from bog standard 128mb models to the king size 20gb HD 200. Gemei, Pisa, Koky and BeAll are just another handful of the army of firms popping up in China by the day it seems. In the flash player market ‘war’ things will be hotting up a tad in the new year should Apple announce their own entry in the flash player market as expected at Mac World Expo , something which will not only boost Apple’s own profile but also have a ripple effect on some of the more promising newcomers.

Related Reading
The Chinese MP3 Invasion [MusicbizNews24.com]
Whats Hot and Whats Not in the MP3 Market [Chosun Korea]
Sales of MP3 Mobile Phones to Break 5 Million at Home This Year [Chosun Korea]

Far EastTech Sites
Ez iT [Ezit.com.cn]
MPLove Korea
IMP3 [IMP3.net China]
MPNavi [MPNavi China]
PC Online Digital Audio [PC Online China]

We’re not sure if there are any plans for its its availability in the West but Hong Kong based Matsunichi announced a mid range MP3 player last month with a 2.2 GB micro hard -drive. The MD289 comes with a 1 inch 2.2 GB hard drive, OLED screen, FM radio, the usual support for MP3, WMA and Wav and a choice of five colours, silver, pink, blue, white and light green. There’s a 5GB version on its way too. Matsunichi are better known for their wide range of Flash based memory players in China.

Such is the ferver and anticipation of the (still as yet unconfirmed by Apple) soon come Apple Flash-memory based audio portable, that impatient Mac addicts have taken it upon themselves to come up with a slew of predictive dummy prototypes of the much rumoured ‘iPod Flash.’

The best examples of which you’ll find at the independent iPod user site iPod Lounge and Isamu Sanada’s accomplished Japanese Applele Mac fansite . One thing that is certain is that Apple’s ‘inevitable’ arrival into the smaller capacity portable market will undoubtedly have the same effect on the Flash player arena that it did on the hard disk drive player marketplace when the iPod was introduced in late 2001. This will quite possibly have the effect of putting a rocket under the profile of some of the (hundreds) of manufacturers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. A report by market research specialists IDC in September predicted that the worldwide market for MP3 players would hit $58 billion by 2008.

The report predicted that the biggest growth in MP3 players should come from portable flash players. The volume of flash players shipped will jump to 50 million units in 2008, up from 12.5 million in 2003. The competitive global MP3 player market is expected to more than double this year to 15.4 million units from last year’s 7.5 million units.

There is estimated to be over 400 MP3 manufacturers in mainland China and 2003 saw up to 4.5 million units shipped, half of which were for export markets . Export figures are projected to reach 6 million by the end of 2004. Recent statistics by the China Center for Information Industry Development show that 1.77 million MP3 players were sold in the country last year, a 235.8 percent growth compared with the previous year. It predicts that for this year, China will have domestic sales of over 4 million players, a projected 200 percent increase. In other studies, Taiwan based AT Chip Corp, a major designer of MP3 chips projects annual shipments of MP3 players in the Chinese mainland will reach 20 million units next year, and 50 million units in 2007.

The dramatic growth of the Chinese mainland’s MP3 player market has also been fuelled by the increasing penetration of broadband Internet, which accommodates faster downloads. The average price of an MP3 player fell from 1,100 yuan (US$133) last year to 700 yuan (US$84) in the first half of this year, indicates Beijing-based data tracking firm CCW Research. AT Chip Corp’s Micheal Chang told China Daily that more dramatic price drops are expected, given decreasing costs of chips, which will boost the MP3 player market. AT Chips unveiled a new semiconductor for MP3 players last month that the firm claim is the least expensive chip of its kind in the industry at much less than $5. “When the cost of a chip is lower than US$5, the MP3 player market will undergo snowballing growth,” said Chang.

The possibility of a Flash-based iPod surfaced in October this year, when Thomas Weisel analyst Jason Pfaum claimed, citing “numerous” Asian sources, that Apple will use MP3 chip maker SigmaTel’s controller chip in an upcoming music player.

Related Links

Shenzen Hosts up to 500 MP3 Player Manufacturers [GlobalSources.com]
China to Lead Global MP3 Market Growth [MacWorld UK]
Apple to Sell 22m Flash-iPod Within Two Years – Analyst [Yahoo News]
iPod Share Slips 5% on Strong Flash Sales [Mac Observer]
MP3 Player Market at Full Volume [China Economic Net]
The ABoss iPocket Says, Apple Please Sue Us! [Engadget]
iPod Competitors are Going After a Slice of Apple’s Pie [Seattle Post Intelligencer]
MP3 Player Market Set to Explode [CNetNews]
Korea Loses Out in MP3 Player Market [Korea Times]