CES - MP3 and portable video players

If you can get only one gadget to tag along on your workouts, make it an MP3 player. Samsung would certainly appreciate it if you made the new W1 your selection in that regard. Today, ahead of the CES 2010 schedule, the company announced two new portable audio devices for the coming year, one that is the super fitness-friendly W1, aka the MyFit.

The W1 stands out from the crowd with an entire menu dedicated to features that are designed to get you in optimal health. Indeed, it's the first player we've seen to include built-in fat and … Read more

Looks like Samsung is taking a pre-emptive strike against any potential embargo slip-ups by jumping the gun with its CES announcements, at least on the portable audio side of things. The first device out the gate is the YP-H1, Samsung's next-generation touch-screen MP3 player and likely complement to the P3. In that vein, what say we go ahead and drop that "YP-" now, eh?

Since I won't have a chance to lay hands on the actual device until CES starts later this week, my initial impressions of the H1 are rather generic. It certainly seems pretty … Read more

With all the buzz over the tiny LCD screen on the bottom of Barnes & Noble's Nook, I was excited to get some time with the Entourage Edge, a device that pairs a large 9.7-inch E Ink screen with an even larger 10-inch LCD touch screen.

I got that chance on Monday, when the company stopped by CNET with a prototype of the product, which is set to ship in February for $490.

The goal of the Edge, the company says, is to offer a device that can replace the textbooks and notebooks carried around by typical high school students.

"We just thought here was a way to take technology and apply it to what they carry around," said Entourage Systems Vice President Doug Atkinson. "The initial goal was to put a 30-pound backpack in a device. I think we've achieved that."

There are a lot of features to like about the three-pound device, although, it definitely has the look and feel of a first-generation product.

The Edge's main selling point is, of course, the fact that it has two screens to do true work on. Unlike the Nook, which uses its color screen only for navigating the eBook and as an on-screen keyboard, the Edge's LCD can be used to run a variety of Android applications or to browse the Web.

The electronic ink side, meanwhile, can be used not only for reading books, but also for taking notes, using a stylus.

One of the Edge's many neat tricks is letting you go back and forth between the two screens.… Read more

I know this is a post about tech's big annual Consumer Electronics Showcase, but for a minute, let's talk about the annual Macworld Expo. Rather, let's talk about what Apple's backing out of the Macworld Expo means to CES and the category I cover (portable audio and video).

In years past, my January's involved a dizzying dash between San Francisco's Moscone Center and the Las Vegas Convention Center, as I strained to cover Apple's Macwold keynote and a week's worth of CES announcements in the same breath. But without Apple's presence, this year's Macworld (now in February) is far less significant, and I suspect that the iPod-centric vendors who were previously split by the two events will now come home to roost at CES. In short--iPod accessory announcements will likely play a larger role at CES this time around.

The flip side of this observation is that iPod competitors will probably have a harder time being heard. That's of course assuming there are any substantial iPod competitors left, beyond Microsoft.

Last year, Sony made a big stir with their OLED touch screen X-Series Walkman. Today, that same Walkman is being passed over in the discount bin and Sony's latest Walkman models aren't even slated to come to the U.S. We were also excited to see an affordable iPod Touch alternative in the Samsung P3, but by the time the promised 32GB model finally became available, many had already begun pinning their hopes on the Zune HD (and appropriately so). Creative can't even seem to be bothered to ship us their latest player, possibly because they're too busy cooking up smartphones. SanDisk came out with their SlotRadio player, and the world promptly yawned.

The takeaway from all of this is that I suspect we're going to see fewer manufacturers launching iPod contenders at CES just to watch them fail, and more companies exploring the iPod/iPhone accessory space.

Specifically, from the e-mails I'm already getting, I'm going to be up to my neck in… Read more

The comfort of earbuds, especially those issued with MP3 players, is often unpredictable--they fall out, sit loose, or just plain hurt.

Seth Burgett, CEO of St. Louis, MO-based Yurtopia, realized the need for a comfortable earbud while training for the Iron Man triathlon.

Using his background in minimally invasive surgical devices, he saw an opportunity for consumers to improve instead of replace their existing earbuds with "earbud enhancers."

Consumers can send in a photo of their ear, which Yurtopia uses to determine the correct size. There are a total of 12 different sizes, so although Yurbuds aren't … Read more

Last year, appliance manufacturer Haier America surprised me by producing its very first MP3 player. More specifically, I was confounded by the fact that the company actually made a decent one that offered a variety of compelling features most mainstream MP3 player companies had overlooked (wireless podcast updating, for example).

Now, Haier is updating its Rhapsody Ibiza line with--get this--the Mini and the Touch. Those certainly aren't the most original names (in fact, the words "blatant rip-off" come to mind), but to Haier's credit, the new players look nothing like the iPods of the same name.

First up is the Rhapsody Ibiza Mini, which will replace the current flash-based Ibiza Rhapsody. This pocketable player measures just 3.5 inches by 2 inches by 0.4 inch and features a 2.2-inch color QVGA screen dominating its face. Just below is a four-way directional pad composed of tactile controls for main navigation. Around the edges of the device, you'll find a dedicated volume rocker, a power button, and a Wi-Fi connect key.… Read more

CES 2009 delivered a surprising amount of MP3 player-related product announcements compared with last year's show. No, I didn't see any "iPod killers" out there, but there are still plenty of manufacturers eager to fight for second place in the world of MP3 players.

The biggest trend I'm seeing right now is touch screens. For better or worse, every MP3 player manufacturer at CES was tripping over itself to show off its latest touch-screen models. Sony, Samsung, and Iriver had some beautiful, yet pricey, touch-screen devices to show off, but even budget-minded manufacturers, such as … Read more

Update (4/19/2009): CNET now has a full review of the Zoom H4n.

I practically squealed when I saw Zoom's new H4n professional handheld audio recorder on display at CES 2009. The $350 recorder was announced just a few days ago with hazy details on when it might hit store shelves, but lo and behold, here it was hanging out in the Samson booth, dressed up with full retail packaging.

To read my first impressions, take a look through our Zoom H4n slide show, fresh from the showfloor of CES 2009.

Jasmine and Donald talk about their favorite portable audio discoveries from the 2009 Macworld Expo and the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This episode is recorded live from the CNET stage at CES 2009.

Listen now: Download today's podcast… Read more