Hasta La Gadget!

And here you were assuming the tried-and-true PMP was dead. Au contraire. Cowon’s not giving up on its dream quite yet, but after the D2 hung around at the company’s low-end for the better part of four years, it’s an alphabetic step backwards that’s taking over as the successor. The diminutive C2 is about as simple as a PMP gets — design wise, anyway — but it’s actually capable of supporting both music and video on its 2.6-inch resistive touchpanel. And then there’s the purported 55 hours of battery life, included microSD card for expansion and the company’s world-class audio quality. Still, $135 goes a long (long!) way in the portable music industry these days — does the C2 pack enough punch to make your short list? Head on past the break to find out.

Continue reading Cowon C2 portable media player review

Cowon C2 portable media player review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Lifeplayer in Kenya. Photo Lifeline Energy

This big, ugly gadget is the LifePlayer, and it can change people’s lives. It’s a solar-powered five-band radio and MP3 player designed to be used as a teaching aid in the developing world. Currently, the units are being tested in Rwanda where the government has decided to switch the nation’s language from French to English. I know — crazy, right?

The LifePlayer can be run from either a removable solar cell or by turning a hand-crank. It has 64GB to store educational materials — in this case English lessons — and content can be added via a microSD card slot or by recording direct from the radio.

The device also performs another key role: it can charge cellphones. This is essential in developing countries that have deployed cellular networks but have few power outlets.

You can’t buy one but then it’s not meant for you: an iPod Nano and a speaker can perform the same duties. But a big rugged radio that can run without power and time-shift radio broadcasts could probably have a much bigger impact than the OLPC in the countries that need it.

Lifeplayer [Lifeline. Thanks, Meaghan]

See Also:

• $20 Wikipedia Reader Uses 8-Bit Computing Power
• Cuban Cellphone Market Opened Up To Locals
• XO-3 Concept: A Crazy-Thin Tablet OLPC for Just $75

Any Android fans that envied Windows Phone 7’s Metro UI style can have it for their media player (the WP7 launcher has been emulated before, try Launcher 7 in the Market), thanks to this app released by the developer of the popular LauncherPro homescreen replacement. As seen in the video above next to a real WP7 device, the look and functionality of the Zune player is present in a remarkably full featured interface despite its early alpha status, complete with features like scrobbling and playlists. The only thing it’s really lacking so far is a name, and obviously any Zune software integration; while we wait to see if Microsoft has any reaction to this homage you can sideload the APK yourself from the source link.

Update: If you want to see the same app running on Honeycomb (and looking amazing) check out a screenshot after the break. [Thanks @Basil_Knows!]

Continue reading Windows Phone 7-style music player for Android arrives from the developer of LauncherPro

Windows Phone 7-style music player for Android arrives from the developer of LauncherPro originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those with more obscure tastes may not find much to their liking, but we’re guessing Amazon’s latest move to sway customers from a certain other music store will please plenty of folks. The company’s just launched a new $0.69 section on its website, which offers best-selling tracks for (you guessed it) 69 cents apiece. That’s down from $0.89 before, which already had iTunes handily beat in terms of pricing — Apple is still asking $1.29 for many of the same songs. Hit up the source link below to check out the current chart-topping singles available.

Amazon launches 69-cent MP3 store for chart-toppers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a while since we last saw Philip’s GoGear Connect PMP, and in the meantime it’s acquired a new look and a new flavor of Android. The new GoGear has gone from white to black, lost its trackball in favor of a capacitive touchscreen display, and exchanged the lowly Android 2.1 for Gingerbread. Like its competition from Samsung, the device also has access to the Android Market and all those apps that lesser PMPs lack. After getting some quality time with a prototype of the new device, we found the copper-colored buttons and speaker grill running along its right side to form an intriguing design, but the overall fit and finish — not to mention the lack of a backlight for the screen — demonstrated that it wasn’t quite ready for primetime. Luckily, there’s plenty of time to work out the kinks, as Philips has pegged a September debut for the 8GB and 16GB versions (at $179 and to-be-determined price points, respectively), and promised a 32GB iteration will come later. PR after the break.

Continue reading Philips GoGear Connect gets Gingerbread and some new threads, we go hands-on

Philips GoGear Connect gets Gingerbread and some new threads, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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