Technology Blog

Not sure why any company would go and name their portable media player "Tomato U7 but one thing's for sure, the U7 may be small, but it has a host of features included. Weighing 25 grams, and its size being 38 64x14mm, it's smaller than a common cellphone and it yet manages to fit a 1.8 inch CSTN screen that displays 65k colors.

It comes in 512MB, 1GB or 2GB sizes, and plays a bunch of formats, including the usual MP3, MP4, WAV, WMA, ASF, OGG, WMV, AMV, JPEG. Aside from that there's an FM tuner, voice recorder, equalizer, e-book reader and games. Battery life is clamed to be 10 hours.
However, it looks like it might only be released in Korea and we have no idea how much it costs.

Labels: gadgets, mp3 player, music player, tomato, U7 player

Posted by Aadi at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

SanDisk, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, introduced the new Sansa Connect WiFi Enabled mp3 player at today's CES show.

The MP3 is WiFi enabled to allow consumers to enjoy music and recommend music from almost anywhere. Users can "un-tether" themselves from their PCs by using the MP3 player's wireless capabilities to download music and photos from wireless hot spots.The Sansa Connect WiFi MP3 player allows you to contact to a wide range of music through subscription services and streaming internet radio, without having to connect to a PC. It is specially designed to work with premium internet services, and can recommend music and photos with the click of a button and a live internet connection.The Sansa Connect player is works seamlessly with popular music formats, including MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files. The device also uses an open digital rights management system that allows users to purchase songs or access subscription download services. It will support Microsoft PlaysForSure subscription music and is designed to work with Microsoft Vista when it ships.

Labels: mp3 player, sansa, wireless, Wireless Internet MP3 Player

Posted by Aadi at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

1. Battery Life
Battery life was a major issue when the iPod came out. Now, they managed to have a decent playing time with most of their models. The Zune needs to provide a battery life similar to the iPod. We already know that both players have the same kind of battery. What we don’t know is how much power the Wi-fi and the bigger screen are going to drain.

2. Hype around Movie Downloading
With the introduction of movie downloading at iTunes store, Apple could create a buzz strong enough to put a shadow on the Zune player. Microsoft already announced that they would not be able to download movies from the Zune Marketplace anytime soon.

3. Weight
Weight is a major issue with portable devices. Even a small fraction of an ounce can make a difference. We know that the Zune is heavier then the iPod, but only the future will tell if users are annoyed by that Zune “overweight”. Another important aspect is that Microsoft does not have a light version of the Zune like the Nano or the Shuffle.

4. Ease of use
One of the key features of the iPod is the ease of use. The seamless integration of iTunes with the iPod is certainly the top reason why the iPod was a huge success. You don’t need to be a computer geek to use it. Zune users do not expect anything less from the Zune player and software.

5. Prototype look & feel
Even more with the brand new design of the iPod, Zune fans are expecting a very attractive and professional design from the Zune. At this point, photos and videos are not enough to have a good idea of the quality of the design.

6. File Formats
By turning their back on Playforsure, Microsoft is going against their own fans. This is usually not a good thing! Other formats like .aa are also not currently supported by the Zune player.

Labels: black zune, microsoft zune, mp3 player, zune

Posted by Aadi at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments