(Credit:
Creative)
Creative's ZiiLabs announced on Monday the ZMS-08 processor, its third-generation product that brings 1080p H.264 decoding to the table.
According to ZiiLabs' specifications page, the second-generation ZMS-05 is capable of H.264 720p video decoding at 8Mbps, while the new chip does H.264 1080p at 40Mbps and also boasts OpenGL ES 2.0 support, an integrated HDMI controller, and Flash acceleration.
This chip is powered by a 1GHz Arm Cortex A8 processor. It's targeted at media-rich applications, yet is supposed to have low power requirements. ZiiLabs does not make any consumer products itself but intends for the ZMS-08 to be used by manufacturers in devices such as Web tablets, Netbooks, connected TVs, video conferencing systems, and home media hubs.
While 1080p video playback would be pointless in some of these products because they usually come with small screens, it will allow the devices to output HD material to larger displays, effectively giving you a media hub in your pocket. The company says it's working with partners, but there hasn't yet been any product announcement from third-party manufacturers.
The Zii Egg portable media player is an example of what ZiiLabs' processors are meant for. The ZMS-05 is found in that device, which is a developer platform for the company's own Plaszma OS and Google's Android OS.
(Source: Crave Asia)
First the Nook (pictured), now the MediaBook?
(Credit: Barnes & Noble)The question is, who isn't getting in on the e-book reader action these days? Less than two weeks after we met Barnes & Nobles' Nook and just a few days after hearing of tire maker Bridgestone's plans for a flexible e-reader, our friends at Crave UK alerted us that Creative may be hopping on the e-reader bandwagon as well.
Creative fan site EpiZenter.net (so named for Creative's family of popular Zen MP3 players) reports that the company showed off a working model of its first e-book reader, tentatively named the MediaBook, at its annual general meeting Thursday in Singapore. The device reportedly has a touch screen, text-to-speech function, and an SD memory card slot. It will run on Creative's Zii System-On-Chip technology and will be Internet-enabled.
At the meeting, Willie Png, Creative's vice president of strategic business, described Amazon's Kindle as "just another electronic device which displays books in text" (snap!), according to EpiZenter.net, and said Creative's e-reader will harness "videos, pictures, text, and services in one device that supports a media-rich experience." Color Creative ready to join the ever-tightening race to produce that proverbial "Kindle killer."
Creative reportedly is talking to 10 international and local publishers to provide content for the MediaBook, with fiction, newspaper, magazines, education materials, and textbooks all slotted for the device. Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes 17 newspapers and more than 100 magazines, could be one local content provider, saying it is exploring with Creative how to provide a variety of multimedia content, including videos and radio programs, for the device.
No word yet on pricing and availability, but we'll fill you in as soon as we hear.
You think your job is hard? I had to narrow down three potential deals for today. Three!
Woot.com's refurbished 10.1-inch Acer netbook for $229.99 (plus $5 shipping) was a strong contender, but I know lots of you visit Woot already--and many more of you are sick of Netbooks. (Awesome, awesome deal, though.)
Then I considered the refurbished 2GB Sansa Clip MP3 player: $19.99 shipped at Buy.com. Mighty sweet.
Ultimately, I settled on the Creative Labs Vado pocket camcorder, which Dell has for $39.99 shipped.
Although this isn't the newer HD model, it's perfectly good for shooting YouTube-ready, VGA-quality video. And it can hold up to 60 minutes of it at the high-quality setting or 2 hours at "SP."
I love these little camcorders, which are easy to toss in a pocket, glove box, or wherever for capturing life's little moments.
CNET had mostly good things to say about the Vado, which is noteworthy for its built-in USB connector, onboard software, and one-touch uploading to YouTube.
This is a new unit, not a refurb, so it comes with a full one-year warranty. It regularly sells for at least $85, so $40 shipped is hard to beat. Great gift item!
Dell deals often expire or sell out without warning, so if this sounds good to you, act fast. (And if it does sell out, well, you've got the aforementioned runners-up. See? I'm always thinking ahead. Well, starting now, I am.)
Not to sound like a broken record, but the stock plastic earbuds that came packaged with your shiny new MP3 player aren't doing you any favors. After loading up your device with music, the next thing to do is replace the headphones. Of course, if you're not absurdly picky about audio quality, we can understand not wanting to spend $100 or more on a new pair. That's where options such as the Creative EP-630 come in. These sound-isolating earphones offer a comfortable fit and improved audio for just $39.99.
Unlike most other touch-screen players, the X-Fi2 operates in landscape mode.
(Credit: Creative)Updated: September 2, 2009 at 11:32 a.m. PDT.
For those Creative faithful who were a bit disappointed that the Zii Egg wasn't launched as a fully baked-and-branded media player for the masses, the company is about to make it up to you. This morning, Creative unveiled the Zen X-Fi2, a second-generation device that adds a touch screen and TV-out capability to the already solid X-Fi foundation. The new player features a 3-inch, touch-sensitive, TFT LCD capable of displaying up to 262,000 colors, and by the looks of it, this new Zen carries over the excellent icon-based menu found on other players in the line.
At 4 inches long by 2.2 inches wide by 0.4 inch deep, the Zen X-Fi2 is quite a bit longer than the previous-generation model and more inline with the size of the iPod Touch, though it's still smaller overall. It also appears to offer some sort of home button, but we're happy to see that Creative elected to orient this player in landscape mode, making it standout from the touch-screen masses. In addition to the updated navigational method, the Zen X-Fi2 features direct TV-out capability, though you will need to purchase a cable accessory to take advantage of it.
Credit: Creative
Other than that, the features largely carry over from the Zen X-Fi. ... Read more
(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET)
It's probably time you said goodbye to your PowerPC-based Mac.
Adobe confirmed Tuesday that future versions of its Creative Suite will run only on Intel-based Mac computers. There will be no support offered for PowerPC-based systems.
The company's decision follows Apple's announcement in June that it was discontinuing support for the PowerPC in its new operating systems, starting beginning with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). With Apple's future development focused on Intel Macs, Adobe is aligning its resources accordingly.
According to Adobe, existing customers who own Creative Suite 3 and Creative Suite 4 will still be able to use the software on either a PowerPC-based Mac or an Intel-based Mac without having to make any changes. However, Adobe will provide support for these two suites only to address critical issues that may arise.
Creative Suite is Adobe System's collection of well-known industry-standard graphic design, video editing, and Web development applications. These applications include Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Flash, and many others.
While Snow Leopard has not been released yet, and the new version of the Creative Suite hasn't been announced, either, Adobe decided to announce these changes now so its customers will have time to plan their migration strategy accordingly. This means you should go get yourself an Intel-based Mac if you haven't done so already.
For more information on the discontinuation of support, check out Adobe's FAQ.
The Creative Zii Egg is officially announced, and Jasmine is very confused about the whole thing. Donald's muted attempts to offer clarity are unsuccessful. Also, the MP3 Insiders have caught wind of the potential new S-Series Walkman and are none-too-taken with the Disney design leanings. Plus, a dead-simple (and ugly) new MP3 player from Archos draws scorn, and Donald and Jasmine respond to criticism about talking about Apple too much...and then proceed to dedicate the last third of the show to iPhone apps and the potential for cameras on the iPod.
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The Creative Zii EGG in all its Android-loving glory.
(Credit: Zii.com)We knew Creative was up to something when that Zii Egg FCC application flew past us earlier this month, but we had no idea it would be this awesome, or this confusing. Turns out the Zii Egg (what an unfortunate name) is a multitouch-wielding, HD video-playing, dual-camera-having (front and back) rival to the iPhone and iPod Touch, running on Google's Android OS (see all the official specs over at Zii.net).
You can grab a 32GB model now for $400, but don't expect it to be fully baked. Creative is announcing this as a "developer edition" in the hopes that the Android community will pick up the platform and run with it. I guess it takes a village to beat an iPhone.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that we may never actually see the Zii Egg released to consumers as an official Creative product. The company is looking to sell rebranded Zii Eggs directly to other manufacturers as an OEM product.
For a company that's been trickling out half-hearted products all year, it seems odd that Creative would make something with such unprecedented appeal, only to lob it to open-source developers and slap someone else's name on it. Then again, maybe it's smart enough to know it has made a product that's potential is beyond Creative's capabilities to execute. If this thing ultimately becomes a phone (all the ingredients are there) Creative is likely just being cautious about entering the mobile phone market as a newcomer.
(Via DAP Review)
Creative released the Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes ($150) this week , which allows music to be wirelessly streamed from a computer to the wireless adapter, using only USB dongle. According to a press release from Creative, the system works with virtually any music source, not just iTunes, on both Macs and PCs.
Creative's Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes promises to stream music from any computer to any speakers.
(Credit: Creative)The Sound Blaster Wireless looks similar to Logitech's discontinued Wireless Music System for PC in that it enables you to stream audio from your PC using a simple USB transmitter. The transmitter, which appears to be about the size of a thumb drive, promises to work with any music software and service, including iTunes, Windows Media Player, Rhapsody, Pandora, and Last.fm. You can then stream music to the included receiver, which comes bundled with the device, and has both a headphone and left/right speaker outputs. The transmitter is also compatible with the Creative's own GigaWorks T20W speakers with built-in wireless receivers.
Instead of Wi-Fi, the Sound Blaster Wireless utilizes Creative's proprietary 2.4 GHz technology. We've had some trouble before with non-Wi-Fi wireless systems, but Creative insists that the Sound Blaster Wireless will work up to 100 ft away. The system also comes equipped with Creative's X-Fi sound enhancement technology and software that "enables individual control of music in up to four specific rooms equipped with Creative Wireless Receivers," according to the press release.
This Creative Sound Blaster Wireless is similar to the Bose SoundLink system we wrote about earlier this week, promising to stream any audio source using the "USB audio output" as a workaround. We're not exactly sure how the remote will handle different software and streaming Web services, so we'll need a hands-on test to see how it works.
Using an iPod on a Mac is so simple--it's a little scary. With iTunes already installed on every Mac, a newly-connected iPod will just automatically soak up your music collection like a sponge.
But what if you want to use a non-Apple brand of MP3 player with your Mac? iPods are great and all, but they're not for everyone. Even die-hard iPod owners sometimes want a cheap little iPod alternative to take to the gym or hand over to a destructive toddler.
If you're a Mac user whose MP3 expertise begins and ends with iTunes, you might feel a little out of your element when it comes to syncing a non-iPod MP3 player with your Mac. To help you out, I've put together a handy video with some tips and tricks for getting most MP3 players to work on a Mac (sorry Zunesters, still no hope for you).
