Here’s something to look forward to at the upcoming CES 2010 in January. ZAGG, Inc (better known for their invisibleSHIELD products) has announced that their upcoming ZAGGbox product has been selected as a finalist for the CES i-stage 2009 competition. According to ZAGG, the ZAGGbox “is the culmination of 6 years of development and an investment of over $35 million, undertaken by an external partner company with significant technical resources and expertise. ZAGG acquired the license to the technology and IP in 2009”

So what exactly is the ZAGGbox? Here’s what ZAGG disclosed yesterday:

• ZAGGbox is a media aggregator for videos, photos, and music in a single device.
• It will easily record, store, and play all of your media
• Automatically reads and transcodes any video codec into two formats – one for TV viewing and one optimized for the Apple iPhone/iPod family
• Operates as a universal remote. It can control any connected device using video switching via analog or HD/SD video cables through IR blasting. An on-screen interface allows users to easily manage their integrated home media equipment using one control
• Stream all stored content onto a mobile Internet device like the iPhone. Stream via UPnP, Video podcasting, or a built-in webserver.
• Aggregates video from compatible security cameras
• ZAGGbox iPhone app which provides easy access and control on iPhone
• Allows for home automation via Z-Wave system. Compatible with security systems, HVAC systems, door locks, or lighting and will be available shortly after the launch

ZAGG expects the formal launch of the ZAGGbox to take place at CES 2010 with preorders to take place after the show and units shipping in late Q1 of 2010. Sounds nifty so far right? Now for the down side – initial retail pricing will be under $999. Ouch…

Sorry but there are no pictures available at this time so we can only imagine what the heck this thing looks like.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: ZAGG, ZAGGbox

Roku expands their streaming player product lineup today with the introduction of the Roku SD and Roku HD-XR. With these two new players, Roku now offers three different price points for consumers that have different wants and needs all while supporting streaming content from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and MLB.TV.

On the low end of the spectrum, we have the Roku SD (pictured above) which features:

• Connects to TV sets via yellow/red/white video/audio cables
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g connectivity
• Ethernet port
• Stream their favorite movies and TV shows to their TV at up to DVD quality

The mid-range Roku HD and high-end Roku-HD-XR (pictured above) feature:

• HD streaming capabilities
• HDMI or component video connections (S-Video or Composite connections available also)
• Optical audio output
• Roku HD-XR features support for 802.11n dual-band connectivity
• Roku HD-XR also includes a USB port for future usage

Prices for the three players are as follows:

• Roku SD - $79.99
• Roku HD - $99.99
• Roku HD-XR - $129.99

For a limited time, buy one of these players from Roku or Amazon.com, and you’ll receive free shipping.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Roku, Roku SD, Roku HD-XR

Now if you’re looking for an inexpensive MP3 player from Sony, you might be interested in the newly announced E Series Walkman Video MP3 player. It has a similar design to the previously mentioned S Series Walkman and comes with the same “Clear Audio” technology for high quality sound. Other specs include:

• 2 inch QVGA display
• Support for MP3, WMA(DRM), AAC(non DRM) and Linear PCM for audio and WMV(DRM) for video
• 30 hour music playback battery life and 4 hour video playback battery life

As for the price, the 8GB E Series will be available for around $80 dollars while the 16GB model will be available for around $100 dollars. Both will be available in red or black.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony, E Series Walkman Video MP3 player

Ah.. innovation at its very best. (do you sense the sarcasm yet?)

Sony one-ups the competition today with the announcement of the new Sony S Series Walkman Video MP3 player which now features “high quality built-in stereo speakers”.  Yup.. that’s right folks – this new media player has built-in stereo speakers which according to Katie O’Brien, manager of the Walkman business unit at Sony adds “a new social element to the world of digital music and video.”.  Don’t you love it? Add a pair of speakers and your device is now “social”. 

Other features of the S Series Walkman (which are arguably much more respectable) include:

• Bright high contrast 2.4 inch QVGA LCD display with fast response time
• Clear Audio and Digital Linear Phase Speaker System for high quality sound
• Built-in FM tuner
• Headphones, mini USB cable, and hands-free stand included
• Voice and FM recording function
• Built-in alarm clock with sleep timer
• Supports wide variety of codecs including MP3, WMA (DRM), AAC (nonDRM), and Linear PCM.
• Video codec support includes AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profle, MPEG-4 and WMV(DRM)
• Long lasting battery – 42 hours of music or 6.5 hours of video
• Available in 8 or 16GB capacities

The S Series Walkman will be available in several colors including black, red, violet and pink. AND OK.. if there’s one nice thing about the new S Series, it would have to be the pricing. The 8GB capacity will be available for around $110 while the 16GB model will be available for $130 dollars. Pre-ordering is available now at SonyStyle.com

Technorati Tags: Sony S Series Walkman Video MP3 player

I’m a huge fan of the WD TV HD Media Player so you can imagine my excitement when I saw these leaked images of the supposed second generation player dubbed the “WD TV Live Media Player”. According to our friends over at eHomeUpgrade, the second gen will feature DLBA/UPnP support, Internet streaming capabilities, DTS down-mixing (Nice!), and support for composite and component A/V.

Here’s the full list of unconfirmed features and specs for the WD TV Live Media Player:

• 1080p video support
• Network capable for access to content on PCs, network drives, Internet locations
• Compatible with HDMI,Full HD (1080p), AAC, MP3, JPEG, USB 2.0, H.264, SimplayHD, Energy Star®, Dolby Digital, DTS, DLNA, Bonjour, AVCHD, Windows Vista
• Supports AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1),
• Supports TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1) MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9
• Supports JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG
• Supports MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
• Supports playlist – PLS, M3U, WPL
• Subtitle – SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI
• MPEG2 MP@HL up to 1920×1080p24, 1920×1080i30, or 1280×720p60 resolution. MPEG4.2 ASP@L5 up to 1280×720p30 resolution and no support for global motion compensation.
• WMV9/VC-1 MP@HL up to 1280×720p60 or 1920×1080p24 resolution. VC-1 AP@L3 up to 1920×1080i30, 1920×1080p24, or 1280×720p60 resolution.
• H.264 BP@L3 up to 720×480p30 or 720×576p25 resolution. H.264 MP@4.1 and HP@4.1 up to 1920×1080p24, 1920×1080i30, or 1280×720p60 resolution.
• An audio receiver is required for multi-channel surround sound digital output. Compressed RGB JPEG formats only and progressive JPEG up to 2048×2048. Single layer TIFF files only. Uncompressed BMP only. Specific details, please refer to the user manual.

No word on pricing or availability.. but dang.. I’m going to upgrade to this puppy when it comes out. About the only thing I see missing is ISO support.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: WD TV Live Media Player Leaked Pics

The new Sony X Series Walkman Video MP3 players are now available for purchase over at SonyStyle.com. Here’s a refresher just in case you forgot about these new touch-screen media players. The features and specs include:

• 3 inch OLED display with 432 x 240 resolution
• Touch-screen navigation – access your music, videos, and photos through simple flicks of your finger
• Wi-Fi
• Podcast support
• Slacker Radio support
• Digital Clear audio technologies including S-Master digital amplifier and digital noise canceling functions
• Premium EX noise canceling headphones
• 33 hours of music playback or 9 hours of video
• Measures 2-1/8 x  3-7/8 x  13/32 inches
• Weighs 3.5 oz
• 5 band equalizer
• Audio support for MP3/WMA/AAC/L-PCM
• Video support for AVC(H.264/AVC)/MPEG-4/WMV DRM
• FM tuner

The 16GB X Series (model NWZ-X1051FBSMP) is available for $299.99 while the 32 GB X Series (model NWZ-X1061FBSMP) is available for $399.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony X Series Walkman Video MP3 player

ARCHOS has quietly introduced a new media player on their website called the ARCHOS 3. Detailed specs and feature lists are extremely scarce at this time but here’s what we do know about the device:

• 3 inch “tactile screen”. This could infer the display is a haptics-enabled touch-display
• Virtual Wheel Selector provides a unique way of navigating through content
• Lightweight design
• 8GB of storage space
• Plays back music and photos
• Voice and audio recorder
• Stopwatch and calendar

No word on pricing or availability at this time.

[Check it out via Crave]

Technorati Tags: ARCHOS 3, media player

Sony Europe announces two new hard-drive based home audio systems – the GIGA JUKE NAS-SC500PK and GIGA JUKE NAS-E300HD. Think of these systems as small portable digital music jukeboxes – perfect for storage gigs of music in file formats such as MP3, AAC, Linear PCM, WMA, and ATRAC. Unlike other systems which typically rely on file streaming over a network, the GIGA JUKE systems allow you to store all of your files on a local hard drive within the music system itself. Here are the details for each of the systems.

GIGA JUKE NAS-SC500PK:

• 160 GB hard drive
• Multi-room support via wireless music players. Comes with one wireless music player but will support up to five wireless players. You can access main server from the wireless players and you can play different songs in each of the five zones.
• Press a “PARTY” button and you’ll be able to listen to the same song in every room with a wireless player
• Supports wide range of audio file formats
• Built-in database of approximately 350,000 albums. Additional data can be pulled from the Internet
• Redesigned woofer featuring  twin magnet technology
• Digital Sound Enhancement Engine technology restores original sound quality
• 100 W S-MASTER digital amplification
• SensMe channels support – automatically categorizes your music into 27 different channels to suit your mood
• WM-PORT for Sony Walkman
• USB port for MP3 players

GIGA JUKE NAS-E300HD:

• Compatible with MP3, AAC, and WMA
• 80GB hard drive
• 60 W amplification
• WM-PORT for Sony Walkman
• Same music database as the above system
• Insert CD to record music to hard drive

Both systems will be available across Europe starting in the middle of this month. No word on whether these systems will show up in the U.S.

[Check it out via Sony Insider]

Technorati Tags: Sony, GIGA JUKE NAS-SC500PK, GIGA JUKE NAS-E300HD

Sony finally let the cat out of the bag with the introduction of their new flagship Walkman Video MP3 player today called the X-series Walkman (NWZ-X1000 models). The media player features Wi-Fi connectivity, a beautiful OLED touch-screen display, Sony Digital Clear Audio technologies, and support for Internet content. Let’s spend a bit of time on each of the new features found in the X-series.

Display:

• 3 inch OLED touch-screen display
• 180 degree viewing angle
• Movie image can be adjusted based on user preferences
• New scene scroll navigation feature allows users to easily scroll through a movie. Simply select your preferred time increment and then swipe across the screen to scroll fwd or back through scenes

Audio technologies:

• First video MP3 player to feature integrated digital noise cancelling (DNC)technologies to help block out ambient noise
• Comes with 13.5 mm EX headphones which also have an embedded small microphone to measure “intrusive noise”. This allows the software-based DNC filter to create an “optimal inverted sound wave” that reduces the noise up to 98 percent.
• User can select custom settings for different listening environments (e.g. airplane, bus/train, office etc)
• Turn on DNC feature even without listening to music for peace and quiet

Content

• Supports popular audio and video codecs including WMV files, AVC Baseline (H.264) and MPEG-4
• FM tuner
• Supports Slacker radio. When you’re near a Wi-Fi hotspot, content can be refreshed and buffered on the player
• Comes with Content Transfer software for easy drag and drop transfer of non-DRM music, videos, podcasts, and playlists etc

Other notable features:

• 33 hour battery life for music playback
• 9 hour battery life for video playback
• Wi-Fi support
• Internet web browser
• Subscribe and refresh podcasts
• Search/playback content on YouTube
• Related Links function when playing your favorite songs allows you to quickly search complementary content via YouTube
• Buttons for volume, play/pause, rewind/fast forward, lock, and noise cancelling

Not too shabby eh? Now let’s talk about availability and price. You can pre-order the new Walkman players now over at SonyStyle.com with models expected to ship in mid-June. As for pricing – it’s basically the same as iPod touch pricing. The 16GB NWZ- X1051 is priced at $299 while the 32GB NWZ- X1061 is priced at $399.

The question for all of you to decide is – do you get the iPod touch or do you get this Sony X-series Walkman. Right off the bat – the mere fact that the iPod touch has an incredibly diverse App Store gives the media player an edge over anyone else out there. So .. Sony – if you want to stay competitive, you’re either going to need to add many MANY more features or you’re going to need to price the X-series at an even lower price point down the road.

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Technorati Tags: Sony X-series Walkman

If you’re a fan (and a customer) of Amazon Video On Demand, then you’ll be happy to hear that the company has added HD titles into the service mix. Customers will now be able to rent movie titles and purchase TV shows in HD format from a wide variety of networks and studios. There are currently over 500 HD TV show and movies from places such as Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Showtime Networks. In addition, Amazon also announced that their entire library of 40,000 titles (including HD titles) will now be available on Panasonic’s VIERA CAST enabled HDTV sets. Other devices compatible with the service include the Roku digital video player, TiVo Series3, HD, and HD XL DVRs, and the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link.

Using the aforementioned devices, customers will be able to rent HD movies for $3.99 to $4.99 a title. Customers will also be able to purchase HD quality TV shows for $2.99. Purchased shows can be watched on Macs, PCs, and other compatible media devices.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Amazon Video On Demand